A friend of mine, Mr. R, was convincing me to watch Claymore, claiming it’ll keep me hooked and addicted to the series.
Claymore, in English is a type of sword. In this anime, set in a medieval environment, it’s a reference to an organization mostly composed of warrior women carrying this type of sword. These women called “Claymores” are part human – part monsters (yoma) that are hired by villagers to get rid of monsters that eat humans for breakfast (or lunch… or dinner). So they go about village-to-village hunting monsters and killing them.
I gave it a try for the first 3 episodes, the sight of women carrying a big sword in a medieval setting was intriguing but wasn’t my cup of tea. While the animation is top-notch quality, an anime without the usual Japanese setting (I’m a big Kenshin and Naruto fan) will have to try harder to get me interested.
Nevertheless I continued to watch, heeding my friend’s advice, Mr. R after all knows his anime and I take his recommendations seriously. Alas! Starting at about episode 6 the story goes into overdrive, addicting is what I would call it after that. The story gets really interesting when the lead character’s (Claire) story gets visited in a flashback series of episodes.
This anime, while totally engrossing to watch, is not for kids. It is violent, but not in a gruesome or gory way. Arms, legs, even heads are chopped off as part of the action sequences you’ll see frequently. Tongue-in-cheek fun? Maybe not, it has zero humor in it, but it still kept me hooked.
In conclusion, Claymore is one kick-ass anime you’ll have to see… just keep the kiddies at bay!
Rating: 4 Bowls of Lugaw!!! Please keep ‘em rolling!!!
