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CLAYMORE
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Animation - 9.0 |
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Sound - 8.3 |
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Story - 8.2 |
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Character - 8.2 |
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Value - 8.3 |
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Enjoyment - 8.7 |
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Average - 8.4 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Claymore is under the genre of fantasy, but compared to other fantasy animes, it feels nothing like one. There are no talking animals, no bad spirits, no generational curses, wolf tribes, staffs and wands, and plain no magic period! What exactly makes Claymore a fantasy? Besides the warriors called Claymores, the only thing that is supernatural about this anime are the human eating monsters known as youma. Doesn't sound like anything big, yet with only this one concept to work off of, the premise behind Claymore feels as vast, fantastical, and adventurous as any fantasy out there.
So what's the story behind this anime? The much feared youma roam the world freely with no parallels to stop it, except for the female fighting amazons known as Claymores. They are humans who have been infused with youma parts in order to battle these monsters. We follow the Claymore known as Clare and her human friend Raki, as they travel around the world slaying youma, while also struggling an inner battle known as "becoming awakened." While Claymores are half human, their youma side slowly eats away their human consciousness and they themselves have the chance of turning into youma.
Much of Claymore's premise revolves around this concept of becoming awakened. Later on, the story expands to introduce elements of conspiracy and power struggles smoothly along with the usual shounen traits of warriors possessing unique fighting abilities battling in long detailed, but not dragged out, fights. You'll realize that Claymore is like another shounen that is divided between cliques and parties spearheaded by technicality driven battles. However, Claymore's clean execution separates itself from other typical shounens, and its story only continues to get better. The battles aren't too terribly deep, but there is enough aesthetic value, blood, and flying body parts to fill the void, and the highly likable cast makes them that much more entertaining to watch.
Clare for one is a female lead protagonist that you can actually like and is at least above the age of 18--totally unheard for an anime these days. Although her personality overlaps that of the confident, strong willed, humble and soft spoken fighter in the group, she herself has many flaws and it's nice to know it's possible to have a protagonist that isn't perfect, but isn't pathetically emo too. Throughout the anime we're introduced to a grand cast of different Claymore warriors, and each and every one of them, even the ones used as fodder for the youma, are developed nicely. What's even more odd is that the characters all look strikingly the same, especially considering the fact they all have the same clothing, yet their unique personalities give them a distinct look that it's hard to get characters mixed up.
Can't really speak too highly of the antagonists as they fall victim to a number of cliches, most notably the total sociopaths that take extreme pleasure in torturing their prey, but they serve their roles well.
It was building up to becoming an all time classic for fantasy shounen animes, but it didn't welcome its stay nearly long enough for it to reach that plateau. There was so much promise, so much new characters we have yet to meet, too many unresolved conflicts, the conspiracy was getting better and the power struggles were getting tighter, and then it ends. You can't help but feel that you were teased this entire time before experiencing the main course. Though to give it some credit, compared to where it left off in the manga, it could have done much much worse, so given the circumstances, it was a tolerable ending.
Even when you do run the course with the anime, you can still move on to the manga. There is just so much going for Claymore that it's really hard to pass up. It breaks no new ground, but it's surprisingly refined and its memorable and large cast and a good storyline give it enough reason for at least a recommendable watch. The fights aren't exactly deep, but there is enough blood and guts to make them enjoyable. If you're tired of loli female leads that are stuck in middle or high school, or are overly emo and socially awkward teenaged boys, then Claymore is an anime for you.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Wow. Good show. There was much to this show that I enjoyed. It was quite an impressive anime. Though some things lacked, others were there to pick up the slack.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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Garuda |
(2009-03-02 09:50:35) 2008-12-22 19:46:46 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Well didnt think much of Claymore when i first read a few things of it, i mean demons and female warriors with large swords, those are things that dont atract me at all but i was curious.
So i started watching because i didnt know what to watch.
The first few episodes i had to get used to it, a bit of a strange dark vibe too it.
But then pretty fast the story gets better every episode and i realy started to like it.
I didnt think claymore was MASTERFULL WOW BEST EVER, but i tought Claymore was VERY entertaining & Cool! also an interresting.
[EDIT]i think the first 23 episodes of Claymore where a masterpiece LOVED it, but they shouldnt have left from the Manga story.... the last few episodes realy felt too rushed.
too bad that is was a bit of an open end, but i think/hope they will do a season 2 but i think we can wait a few years for that... *Cry*
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
4.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
| Another tragic example of a good manga that has been mangled at the anime level.
In a world filled with Yoma, demons that eat the souls of humans, female soldiers make a daring sacrifice to become Claymores - half-demon, half-human beings that are able to kill demons. Noticable by their silver eyes, pale blonde/white hair and large swords. But they are somewhat shunned by society as for one day, the risk that the demon inside them will awaken becomes a reality. This series explores such a world through Claire, a Claymore who is a bit more human than average and on a mission of vengeance. Through her experiences and other Claymores, the true ways of the world and the Claymore organisation are revealed.
Claymore has good aesthetics, a cohesive plot and a decent cast, but in its execution there is something missing. It always feels like the series has been watered down from what it should be to what we see. Which is very frustrating, because you know there was a great manga it was based on. So why was the true feel of Claymore lost in the conversion? Instead of the sheer thrill of action scenes, they come off as rather bland and scripted. Character developments scenes are handled very coldly and clumsily with the exception of Claire. The supporting cast seem to serve no more than to bog down episodes in walls of dialog, which is one of the main flaws of this series. It spends too much time on revealing matters of little significance instead of fleshing out the more important details, providing some better character development so that there is someone to care about besides Claire. If only Claymore kept it simple and got to the point instead of meandering. And action/gore scenes feel so utterly clean and sedate, they don't feel like what they should. A series like this needs good thrills and characters worth giving a damn about. When you've got no thrills and only one character to care about, it's just not enough.
Claymore feels like a car stuck in third gear - it just never reaches the full potential we know it should have. This is definitely a case of 'read the manga, avoid the anime' - unfortunately.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Claymore, is an anime series based on the serialised manga series by Norihiro Yagi (of the same name). I've seen the series describes as a dark fantasy setting. I would disagree though, as I think the series main focus is the action, with high intensity fights, and solid character development.
I have mixed feeling about the anime series. If you were to just take the first 13 episodes in isolation, the series is well paced, vibrant, and each episodes ends with you wanting more. Not surprisingly the storyline for this part of the series is taken straight from the manga.
As the serious approached its conclusion, the anime writers take and more liberalities with the story from the manga canon.
Unfortunately the result is a completely unsatisfying finish threaded upon an assortment cheap plot devices. It's almost like the production staff were desperately squirming their way towards having some semblance of a happy ending, and completely ignored the storyline (and logic) in the process.
Ultimately, whilst the end destination is a big let down the journey itself is good fun. Claymore has some of the best anime action scenes of 2007. Add to that its original premise, and you have a show that is well worth a look.
I just wish they hadn't messed up the ending...
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Claymore seems to be an interesting show that decides to bring in a horrific fighting genre similar to that of DragonBallZ, but not pointless fighting each fight there is a explained and goal to achieve the goals are not always the same. The show revolves around and organization that creates half human half demon creatures called Claymores. These claymores are sent to kill other types of demon or referred to as yoma. The Claymore since being half demon will one day become a full yoma and turn evil for the most part. Yoma prey on people because they have an insatisfiable hunger for human guts. This anime has so many cool fighting tactics that it cannot be ignored by anyone who wants a good thrill and a good fighting show. There is something in this show for everyone.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| ***SPOILERS***
Ahhhhh.... what a waste.
A waste of what, you say? A waste of my time, a waste of a plot that could have gone pretty far, a waste of money, etc. etc. etc.
Quick sidenote:
This show is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING(!!!) like Berserk. NOTHING. AT ALL. PERIOD.
...ok. You may continue.
I really, honestly, TRULY had my hopes up in seeing this show, but alas, I finish the series only to realize that my hopes had been put up by mindless (and seemingly sightless T_T) anime newcomers. This show tries to be a glitzy, action-oriented, beat-em-up-in-a-team style anime, but it completely falls short of the mark.
In the beginning, when I was first introduced to the show, I must admit -- I was extremely excited! You are thrown into a world where there are humans and demons (called Yoma) and half-human, half-Yoma beings named Claymores, whose sole purpose is to destroy Yoma by the requests of villages who are being attacked by these flesh-eating demons. Clare is the main character: a Claymore with a very sad past who has shut her heart to almost everyone. After she dispatches the Yoma in the first episode, however, she befriends Raki, a human boy who has been expelled from his village for fear of becoming a Yoma. From this point, they set out together for an epic adventure. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, but it sounds interesting, no? And no doubt, the show delivers -- until about the 7th or 8th episode, where you realize that everything is SO DAMNED PREDICTABLE.
Now, I've seen quite a few anime, so naturally I've developed a feel for how a show will progress. But this is just too much, people! And it seems like the writers of the show realized this fact as well, but instead of changing the plot, they tried to cover it up with gory fight scenes and blatantly transparent characters. So basically, in the end all you are left with is a weak storyline, with even weaker characters, with a couple of nice, flashy fight scenes. Read on, people. Read on.
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3 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Summoner |
(2008-02-20 09:12:08) 2008-02-17 06:50:50 |
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| Average |
5.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Wow... Who the hell was the first person to compare Claymore to Berserk? Claymore is as much Berserk as Naruto is Rurouni Kenshin: Reminiscence, and I'm not overestimating... Heh, such comparison just proves that there are people who watch anime with their eyes (or at least brains) closed.
Claymore's plot basically revolves around an order of elite half demon half human knights who hunt demons around the world. Only females can become Claymores, as to why, it is explained in the later episodes. Setting is actually quite commendable, while not amongst the best anime has to offer, it is interesting and quite fascinating. There are some really big and strong demons roaming around places not really accessible by humans and it kind of creates the feeling of the universe being very big. As directions like south, north or whatever have even their demon kings and stuff. Unfortunately the plot itself falls flat before its setting. A tale about not so dramatic revenge against a demoness who once slain one of the strongest Claymores in history. Stories about revenge rely heavily on their characters, as its hard to sympathize with their ideals if you don't like them. Unfortunately, exactly characters are Claymore's achile's heel and they've ruined practically everything the plot tried to set up.
The biggest problem about characters is that they are simply fake. The author of this show didn't think the right way when creating them. He thought not "this person tends to be like that, so he should say something like that in this situation", but "I want someone to say this line, hmm, this character might be best suitable for it". Basically, dialogue and character personality traits not always correlate. That really gets annoying near the end when supposedly dramatic content is introduced. I mean, how can you care about a character who is more like a speaking toy rather than a human being? Talking about speaking toys, characters in Claymore really like to repeat themselves, be ready to hear the same cheesy lines ten or so times (sometimes even in a single episode). "You are the only one I can't forgive". Heh, after the tenth or so repeat that line starts to get funny actually, almost like a song. -_-
Pick Claymore only if you want a non-serious action flick. I lucked out having low expectations for it in the very beginning (I mean, it's obvious nothing can be "like" Berserk), so don't get your hopes up before watching this, or you'll most likely be disappointed. Just judge this show like any other shounen show, like Naruto for example. Claymore and Naruto actually have much more in common than Berserk with any of them does.
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7 of 16 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Great anime with a dark story, and a lot of gore. How can you complain about blonde girls running around with big swords?
The only problem was the rushed way that it was ended. The story was basically building up, and then cuts off. So if you do not like unfinished business, you probably shouldn't start on this one.
However, I forgive them for the abrupt ending because I much prefer that over the implementation of filler episodes...a tactic that certain other animes employ to kill time.
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2 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Hukko |
2008-01-18 18:48:19 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| All I can say is that you should be prepared that there is no ending in this anime. It leaves it very open for a sequel. I would recommend that you wait till the sequel comes out or you will be very dissapointed.
A good show and is definetly worth watching.
Be prepared for a lot of owning of monsters and the extreme gore in this show.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This is a brilliant anime with a well built story and is very unique in the way the anime is carryed out. This anime should be placed in the top 100 as it has a great deal of quality and uniqueness which makes it something worthwhile to watch.
The animation is perfectly done with detailed enviroments and lots of animations along with quality sound and a great storyline to go with it. The characters through the story can be seen clearly, are detailed and straight to the point which creates a good background for Claymore.
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1 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Chimbie88 |
(2007-12-30 23:25:43) 2007-12-30 23:13:22 |
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This anime came as a total surprise. It has a great story, intriguing characters which grow and develop, which are easy care about, and great action. The anime is dark and gory at times but also shines as it brings you in and sets the tone rather well. It brought me into its world and took over my life for a week. It is hard to put my finger on what made this anime one of the most enjoyable animes I have seen in a long time. In every aspect I have seen better, but I felt that Claymore integrated each of them, interesting characters, immersive plot, appropriate animation and sound, into one seamless production. It did not try to do too much, and succeeded in creating a great enjoyable anime that is one of my favorites. Read for more details.
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8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I cannot say that its a bad anime, but I cannot say that I enjoy it to the max particularly as the story leaves a lot of gapes possibly for a sequel. Either that or the story comes to an end in a very unsatisfying way. Claymore means some broad Scotish sword (wiki it). (I know that the ranking symbols are not made up, but I don't remember where I seen it)
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0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Budding |
(2007-12-22 18:45:27) 2007-12-22 18:44:42 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Claymore is a 26 episode fantasy action anime released in 2007, which sets the foundations for a hopefully more promising sequel in the near future.
The graphics and animation of Claymore are sufficient, but nothing special. The character designs of many of the characters could have been more different to make them more differentiable, although most of it is directly caused by the manga. Most action scenes are well paced and exciting to look at, although there are a few which pace dreadfully resemble Dragonball Z. Claymore comes nowhere close to setting new standards, but it is by no means a disappointment in terms of looks.
The theme tunes of Claymore do fit in with the general mood of the storyline, but are nothing too memorable. The background music are noticeable and fit their respective scenes most of the time, although some tunes can get repetitive over time. The quality of the voice acting is acceptable, but the dialogue can get quite tedious and repetitive.
The storyline of Claymore can become very exciting at times, but also excruciatingly slow and boring. Most of the repetitive dialogue, especially during the fight scenes, don't improve the storyline either. Nevertheless, there are a number of genuinely gripping moments in Claymore. Furthermore, the storyline sets an excellent foundation for a potentially far more impressive sequel. The ending of Claymore is, therefore, very open, and a sequel should follow quite shortly.
Many of the side characters, despite looking very similar, have rather different and mostly unexpected personalities. Whether that is a boon to the anime is totally up to the viewer. The development of the main characters in Claymore are well executed, but only half complete. A high number of unanswered questions remain, which once more provides the sequel with room for character development.
In summary, if nothing else, Claymore sets a strong foundation for a sequel. Claymore concludes with plenty of opportunity for both storyline and character development, and a very open ended storyline. As an independent anime, Claymore's drawbacks outweigh its strong points. Still, it has a number of gripping and memorable moments, and the sequel has a very promising potential.
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1 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Hawthorne |
(2007-12-20 03:44:27) 2007-12-20 03:34:28 |
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| First of all, despite what all the reviews say, this was a decent action anime, which high and low points. It was engaging to the point where I actually watched the entire anime in a 30 hour period, but at the same time, I only went on to the next episode hoping that somehow, someone would get into a fight. As well be warned, if you love surprises, this is not the anime for you, because I could see the ending of this anime by episode 6 or so. Overall I enjoyed the anime, but at times I became frustrated with it and its constant shortcuts and disregard for its own rules.
Animation: The major strength of this anime is most definitely its animation. While it is very smooth and fun to watch, I could not help but feel as though I was watching an older anime. It just has that feeling, not that it hurts the anime at all.
Sound: The sound was appropriate for the anime, and nothing was overdone. Their choice as to when to use what sounds confused me though. Usually during an intense scene, there is some heavy rock sounding music quietly playing in the background, and early on, I made the mental connection that this music means business, but constantly they randomly throw that same music into other odd situations, which just caused me to wonder what were they thinking?
Story: The story had its strong points, and had some weak points. While trying not to spoil the story, essentially the story follows Claire, a Claymore who works for a secret society, which they refer to as the "organization" and their job is to hunt down demons in different towns. Sounds decent enough, and overall it works. Except they quickly detour away from the simple story equation. It soon turns into a blurry and disjointed story that the creators try to pass of as "powerful." In the end, I felt as though I had just spent all this time watching something that in the end, had little or no effect on anyone or anything, kinda like the story of a single solider in a war, that had no effect on the outcome of the war. So, even though their attempt at a powerful story crashed and burned, it still was a decent story.
Character:The characters were interesting, again, in both good a bad ways. People writing these reviews slam the claymores by saying they all look alike, and it is kinda true, its 47 tall, slender, white women running around with identical swords, but it is also obvious that there is a massive difference in the way that each character talks, as well the animators gave each one their own haircut, just to make out lives easier. I mean how else are you supposed to tell apart 47 people who all wear identical uniforms? Claire was the main character, and she was fine. They developed a back story, and she moved through the anime with a goal of revenge on a certain one horned demon. The only real weak character was Raki, whom to this point, I still have not managed to remember his name. To sum up his role, he is a whiny little kid, who has some unexplainable love for a fairly emotionless woman who is a half demon, and for some reason he can make Claymores do things that are impossible, or at least that is what the anime told us. He is in the story for the first 15 episodes, then randomly disappears for the next 7, and unfortunately reappears, and makes a bond with a new character that is somehow as strong as the bond that he made with Clair, which makes no sense (im trying not to ruin this).
Value: Overall, again it was just decent. If you like action animes, your in luck cause this anime is very action oriented and its animation makes the actions scenes just short of beautiful. I would consider this to be re-watchable, but not until way later, when you quite literally forget all of the flaws that this anime trys to spoon feed you around the action sequences.
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1 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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nauXolo |
(2007-12-05 00:49:36) 2007-12-05 00:45:53 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| From the beginning, I knew that Claymore would not have much story. With the flashy fight scenes, and the interesting style of battle, it showed off pretty well that it was going to be an action anime. The first 19 or so episodes of Claymore managed to do a good job of maintaining viewer interest, progressing the story, and executing showy battles. However, after the events that occur in the North, Claymore rushes to a conclusive, yet open-ended, ending. This last third was painful to watch, and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
I must confess, it was the animation that drew me into this anime... all the way to its bitter end. I found much interest in the characters. I recall that someone mentioned that ALL the characters are the same, except for their hair color and length. True statement. However, they are ALL orgasming half-human, half-beast characters. Don't believe me?
1. Male Claymore cannot hold back the urge.
2. Female Claymores find it pleasureable to go over the limit.
3. The hard headed stubborn ones are good at holding it back.
4. In order to get the female Claymores to go over and awaken, the organization sends them over to the male Awakened! Hmm... they called him "special"
5. The goal is to gain the benefits without actually going over, so you can keep doing it!
I realized that, in fact, becoming a Awakened was some sort of orgasming process of the Yoma! Once you realize that, you'll gain much more excitement, fun and realization from this anime. Imagine, 47 Claymore trying to hold back their urges. Yay.
Back to seriousness, aside from these lively bunch of characters, Claymore's second good point is the battle scenes. At first, the battles consisted of standard medieval type battles, with superhuman strength. Nothing too crazy. However, like someone mentioned, the speed and power grow exponentially. But people who complain about such things do not realize that for these action-based animes, while the power levels grows exponentially, the viewer actually only see the log of that growth. In other words, to notice a difference in strength gain, you need these obvious shows of power explosion.
There were many notable battles here. I won't spoil them, but there are more than 3 battles that I really enjoyed.
While the story may not be the most unique or creative, Claymore still manages to bring in exciting elements to the storyline. I found Claire's past-story to be moving. I was extremely annoyed at Raki, due to his uselessness, but I found Claire's one-track-mind to really fit in well with the battle scenes. Basically, Claire wants revenge, and she does everything she can to achieve it. She also runs into a lot of bad guys, and the organization is out to get her killed. Nevertheless, under her cool exterior, she's really hot headed, which actually causes some problems...
Problems: Claymore is not an anime you can really watch with other people. When you REALLY focus on it, it gets boring, and there's a lot of awkward moments with the person you are watching it with. Kind of like a... "Um.... so what's happening? I don't understand" type atmosphere. Just enjoy the fight scenes by yourself.
Overall, Claymore really entertains. From the animation style to the battle scenes, I ate it all (yum, guts). They really leave a lot of questions open at the end, but they never really hinted much about it, anyway. To enjoy Claymore, just take what it gives you. The extreme amounts of battle scenes and encounters really go a long way to make up for the lack of a story. If you aren't impressed by animes that aren't substantial, please avoid this.
Recommended for single viewer audience.
Not recommended for groups.
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6 of 9 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
5.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Ah... Claymore. After reading the first reviews, I could barely wait until the entire show had been finsihed, so that I'd be able to watch it all in a row. After all, this was supposed to be the best anime of 2007. Sadly, it wasn't. Combining busty blondes with a superficial revenge plot and a power curve making DBZ seem modest, Claymore actually is as average as it gets.
The story of Claymore is a joke. It lets you follow the Claymore Claire on her journey seeking vengeance against the "one horned demon". She's part of a super-shady organization with a lot of Claymores. They're fighting evil, man-eating monsters called Yoma. Problem is, Claymores eventually turn into Super-Yoma, making their entire existance pretty self-destructive to begin with. I actually don't know what to write here, since there isn't much of a story at all - apart from a few episodes describing Claire's past, which actually resembled a real story. Oh, and for all out there who dislike answers, congratulations, 'cause you won't be getting any out of the first season.
The characters, which I guess are supposed to make up for the lack of story, are so bland it's almost impressive. Not only do all Claymores look almost exactly the same, but they also act almost exactly the same. The writers have cleverly tried to mask this fact by making some characters seem bolder than others, but in the end all Claymores are designed to swear at their vastly overpowering opponents and charge blindly (which generally is a perfectly viable tactic). Just like the Claymore are essentially the same, all Yoma are of course utterly mad and suicidal. These traits are decreasingly apparent the stronger the Yoma gets. Accordingly, the super-powerful Yoma are usually just a bit bloodthirsty, but otherwise perfectly sane. And then we have Raki. He easily qualifies as one of the most disgusting characters of all time. I honestly shiver each time I hear his voice. He manages with ease to single-handedly make the story several notches less interesting. I got to hand it to him, though... there are few nice-guys who can spew so much melodramatic, sentimental bullshit in so little time.
While writing about the melodrama... it's everywhere. As the show progress, more and more of each episode is flashbacks from some earlier episode. I guess this makes sense, though, since every Claymore's power ultimately is based on how many flashbacks she can produce to go past her limits enough times.
Which gets me to another bad thing about this anime (in my opinion, I know many watches anime solely for this). The power-curve, i.e. the pace at which the main character grows stronger, is IMMENSE. It's exponential, and really starts to kick in about halfway through the show. The last few episodes are literally unbelievable. It usually takes at least a hundred episodes for an anime of this type to reach the point of ridiculous powers, but Claymore manages to do so in a single season. Another disastrous cliché used in Claymore, is the "fake deadline" - there's a supposed limit that no Claymore can go beyond without turning into a monster herself. However, with a hug, a kiss and a jolly mindset, this limit is just a joke.
Honestly, the only good part about Claymore is the animation. It's mostly fluent, and the artwork is beautiful. The Yoma designs are often very nice, and the major drawback is the Claymore character designs.
I will never ever re-watch any episode of Claymore, nor will I get its mediocre soundtrack. The value of this anime is really, really poor. Amazingly, I made it through the entire first season, since the animation actually made it enjoyable enough to make me want to force myself into watching the next episode. Well, that, and the tiny shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, the show would become interesting.
In the end, Claymore is your average "I-must-get-stronger-for-this-dramatic-reason"-anime. Except it has blonde babes with big boobs. Which is good. It also has a lot of gore. So, if you like boobs, blood, and an absolute maximum of amazing limit-breaks, you will likely enjoy the show. Unless you also like story, character development and good soundtracks...
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3 of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Carlo |
2007-11-09 01:28:23 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Overrated? Heck no! A rehash of other animes? Not really. While it does seem like it borrows from other animes, it takes the best parts of them and combines them into one spectacular anime. Not since Full Metal Alchemist have I seen an anime this perfect in every aspect.
When I first heard about Claymore I was expecting Berserk with boobs. It is very much like Berserk, but the writing is not as sloppy and the side characters are more interesting. It also is a lot like Bleach in the way that it builds plot and character. Since Bleach and Berserk are two of my favorite animes, the combination of the two quickly put this series in my top ten.
The thing that makes Claymore such a good anime is because of the writing. This is coming from a person who makes a living writing dark fantasy novels. I thought the plotting was brilliant. It's not just Claymore, a lot of animes have brilliant writing. I believe Americans can learn a lot from the Japanese when it comes to plot and character development. In my opinion most Americans don't know good writing if it hit them in the face. Claymore is an example of excellent Japanese writing.
The only problem with this anime is that it didn't make me laugh or cry. Many animes have been able to make me do both, but this one failed to move me in a powerful way. Still, it was extremely well done and throughly entertaining.
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7 of 14 people found this review helpful.
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Lavos |
(2008-02-15 00:59:37) 2007-10-17 05:04:13 |
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| Average |
6.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| This anime is very very overrated. Of course, I'm aware some people are easily swept away by the sight of young and beautiful, blonde and tall women, fighting aberrations from hell... but sadly the most that evokes in me is a feeling that most closely resembles sexual pleasure, rather than the enjoyment one is supposed to feel when watching a coherent and outstanding piece of work. And that is exactly the problem; few things are coherent and outstanding in Claymore.
This tells the story of Clare, a Claymore (hmmm, coincidental alliteration?), a highly trained, engineered breed of female warriors, who wanders about destroying any demons(Yomas) that come across her path, with no regards at all to her personal safety. In that sense she is [a bit] like Guts from Berserk, a person who has been dealt a pretty crappy hand of cards in the game of life, and has no consideration whatsoever with their own life... more so; she is almost willing to die. But in her travels she encounters a very idealistic kid(Raki) who is able to get her out of her state of flakiness. She remembers who she is and that there is a particular "person" she has to kill... for revenge.
Sounds like a good premise, doesn't it? I thought so too, only to be disappointed. Suffice to say I'm never taking into account popular opinions again when deciding to watch an anime or not. I had read lots of positive opinions on this. The one that struck the most was the amount of people comparing it to Berserk. Heh... this does not come close to Berserk in a million years, I have no clue how someone could ever even think that. The more appropriate statement would rather be: This rips off not only Berserk, but many other series, such as Noir. It even rips off movies, such as "Species" or "The Exorcist". Check my profile if you are interested in the full list of rip-offs I identified, I will not name what I did specifically found a rip-off , as some of them would be considered spoilers, but what I can say for example is that many moments in the first episode of Claymore, are totally copied from Berserk's first episode. Such as the "sword crushing the floor" scene, or the "please don't kill me" scene. If you are a fan of Berserk you will probably know what I'm talking about.
The world the action takes place in is interesting... for the first couple of episodes. I was able to tell soon enough that nothing, yeah NOTHING would be explained at the end. No explanation of who are "the company", where do the demons come from or what is the process of creating a Claymore (among other things). However, the ending is non-conclusive, so maybe the writers plan on explaining everything in a fore-coming season. But I simply don't care... I am not fooled: they have no explanations; in any case they will try to come up with them in the meantime. Despite, as the last couple of episodes were nearing, I still had a slight hope that at least some of the questions would be answered before the end. Poor fool me.
Characters are all as one-dimensional as it can be, they're all wooden. The one that has more "depth" is Clare, but still she cannot compete with most characters in my favourite shows. The idealistic kid is the typical idealistic kid, the villain is the typical insane villain(that makes no sense)... geez... 100% predictability. This wouldn't be a major issue if the show was plot-driven, but being a character-driven show the least the writers could have done is provide decent characters. As I couldn't care less about the characters, the supposed "climatic" ending made no effect on me, I had a blank stare throughout the whole thing, with my finger on the "fast forward" button.
Music is pretty strange, it tries to emulate the work of Susumu Hirasawa, but falls short and many of the themes are just, well... plain weird. Not worth downloading at all, only the OP did stand out a bit. Clearly the best thing here is the animation, though it has some flaws as well. Smooth animation, clean drawings, interesting monster designs, cool (but also ripped-off) style, and sexy females. Anyway, up to 2007 standards. Drawbacks? All the girls look the same, save the haircuts. That one who looks like a steroid-freak? No, just wait a bit and you’ll see she also looks like all the others(man... are they clones or something?). Still... honestly, I have to admit that I did enjoy some of the Claymore vs Yoma battles, and the Yoma designs are cool... those who are not complete rip-offs from Tekken, Species, etc... of course. Ah yeah... tall blonde girly girls :D
Only recommended if you fancy gorgeous and well-proportioned(realistic) blonde women, you won't find anything else interesting here. Everything has been done before and done better, there are much better action animes; check: Gantz, Noir, Berserk or Scryed. Like some reviewers said before me, people should really try to form themselves a criteria and watch some of the "classics" before judging animes such as this one, as it is not fair to give this undeserved high ratings that might fool poor unknowing otakus (like myself) into thinking this is the next best thing since peanut butter. Also, be more careful what you do compare this to, some people could take as an offense even the attempt to say that this... "is like Berserk". ¬¬
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12 of 26 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This is a good dark fantasy.
A claymore is a human girl transformed into a fighting machine by the addition of blood and flesh from the demons they hunt. I restate this, because I think it is an important element to the story that although they are incredibly fast, strong, and can miraculously heal themselves, they are always running the risk that they will overdo it and change fully into the very type of monster they hunt. They constantly living on the edge, trying to balance the level of power they use against the need of the moment.
Also, each and every one of them has personal internal battles over how much humanity they've lost to become what they are. Their own organization plays them as pawns, and to show signs of humanity means to give that organization more power to manipulate them or cause them to think that Claymore a threat when they act on their feelings.
If you don't mind a little gore, you can't afford to pass this anime up!
Vowels
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5 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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