Claymore by Studio Madhouse
Claymore is a fantasy-action survival series based off the manga of the same name (for the first 24 episodes anyways - the final two try to conclude the anime's own self-contained plot). It follows w woman named Clare, who is a warrior clad in White and Silver. Clare is part of what is unofficially known as the 'Claymores', a group of female warriors who are genetically enhanced to fight off creatures known as Yoma, who feed off of Human flesh. Yoma have the ability to disguise themselves as Humans, so humanity is under a huge threat at all times. One day, Clare arrives in a town and meets Raki, a young boy whose family has been ravaged by a Yoma. After saving Raki's life, Clare allows him to join her and sort of becomes a mother figure to Raki. Clare's motivation for fighting the Yoma is clouded at the start of the series, but through her flashbacks and memories we see her real reason for joining the Claymores and - as the series tagline goes - wanting to 'fight for revenge'. What I like about this set up is that I love revenge fueled plots (as evidenced by my liking of Attack on Titan) but where Claymore falls is that sometimes scenes are needlessly dragged out, which leaves you extremely tired after watching an episode. Also as mentioned before, the final two episodes of the anime deviate from the Manga's plot and therefore give us a rushed and incomplete ending to the series which leave you on such a cliffhanger, and I hate those 'Read the Manga' endings.
The characters in Claymore are some of the best and worst parts of this show, and I'll just say it now; Yes, Raki is by far one of the most annoying characters in any anime ever (especially in the English Dub, which isn't really Todd Hackerborn's fault but even still) and I honestly think his addition to the plot was only necessary to give our main heroine some development in the present (as Claymore takes place in two time periods - when Clare was a child and her as a Claymore). Clare herself is a bit of a mixed bag. I think that she's a good character but some of the decisions she makes are pretty damn stupid (particularly when it comes to Combat...although you could blame this on her being the lowest ranked Claymore). She's a bit rash and improvises - normally resulting in a positive result - but sometimes she can just be extremely stupid.
Animation is another mixed bag. The animation itself is fantastic, with amazing and intense action all going at a fluid and smooth frame rate. The problem for me is the inconsistent art style, which can sometimes just look extremely ugly and other times quite unique. What I can say though is that if you're a goreaholic (which I know a few of) Claymore is sure to entertain you regardless of whether or not it looks ugly.
The one excellent standout thing Claymore has is the soundtrack, headlined by what is definitely my favourite ending theme to any anime, Danzai no Hana (Flower of Conviction) by Riyu Kosaka. Oh My God....I have never heard anything quite like this song. Another great track is the opening, raison d'etre By Nightmare. The rest of the OST is great, fitting with the mood and setting quite well. When the action heats up, so does the music which is again, a perfect fit.
Fundamentally, Claymore is a solid shounen anime which follows tropes which ultimately lead to its downfall. While it's nice to see a cast that's mainly strong, the decision making of said cast is quite questionable. Another annoyance is the inconsistent animation, which is really a pain to look at sometimes but at others is gorgeous. The music is without a doubt the highlight and is definitely iPod worthy.
Story: 8
Characters: 5
Animation: 6
Music: 10
Personal Enjoyment: 6
FINAL SCORE FOR CLAYMORE: 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment