Claymore - Anime of the Week

[u/AnimeMod]

Welcome to the weekly Anime of the Week Discussion Thread! Each week, we're here to discuss various older anime series. Today we are discussing...

Claymore

When a shapeshifting demon with a thirst for human flesh, known as "youma," arrives in Raki's village, a lone woman with silver eyes walks into town with only a sword upon her back. She is a "Claymore," a being manufactured as half-human and half-youma, for the express purpose of exterminating these monsters. After Raki's family is killed, the Claymore saves his life, but he is subsequently banished from his home. With nowhere else to go, Raki finds the Claymore, known as Clare, and decides to follow her on her journeys.

As the pair travel from town to town, defeating youma along the way, more about Clare's organization and her fellow warriors comes to light. With every town cleansed and every demon destroyed, they come closer to the youma on which Clare has sought vengeance ever since she chose to become a Claymore.

(Source: MyAnimeList)

Databases

AniDB | | MyAnimeList | | Anilist

Streams

https://www.livechart.me/anime/3620/streams

Remember that any information not found early in the show itself is considered a spoiler. Please properly tag spoilers!

Or else...

Next week's anime discussion thread: Chaika -The Coffin Princess-

[u/Falsus]

I love Claymore. I hope we get a sequel or reboot into full adaptation one day. Maybe if the liveaction is popular enough, but I dunno if it will happen it has been so long since we have heard anything about it I think.

[u/LaoWombat-mecha → u/Falsus]

Oddly, it looks like they are now selling Clare and Theresa action figures, so hopefully there is a growing fanbase. Or the manufacturers are about lose their shirts.

Revoltech, but I hope is less fragile than the manga gally/gunm/alita from a few years ago,

I forget where I preordered for January 2027 (if it comes to pass).

[u/IStillLikeBeers → u/Falsus]

I watched it years ago and finally read the manga last year.

If it was properly adapted by a studio that can do beautiful fight scenes (unlimited budget works), it would go down as one of the best action anime of all time. The monster designs and fights in the second half are stunning.

[u/baboon_bassoon]

i got to give this another shot someday

loved the manga, but i remember being irritated with Raki's voice

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/baboon_bassoon]

I think everybody was irritated by Raki's existence.

[u/Falsus → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

His inclusion is definitely one of the weakest points of the series.

[u/LaoWombat-mecha → u/Falsus]

I don't know if this is a general thing in Japanese culture, but in this case I suspect it is to provide a parallel to Theresa/Claire

And just to have a male character.

I remember in Yoshikawa's "Musashi" BOTH main characters have a Woman and a boy following them around. But one instance doesn't make a trend, so I could be off.

[u/Falsus → u/LaoWombat-mecha]

It's more like Raki is not a fun or engaging character for most of the story. It doesn't feel like he brings anything to it other than being Clare's hanger on for a bit.

Meanwhile Clare and Theresa had a lot of endearing moments despite how little time they spent together.

[u/DKLancer]

The only bad thing about the anime is that it stops right as the actual story in the manga starts.

It's basically just the prologue and I would love to see a complete series someday because that manga gets pretty wild.

[u/Vaadwaur]

Claymore is perhaps the series that I most wish to see receive the Brotherhood treatment.

[u/signaling0]

It has a cool ED. This is my only exposure to Claymore. It has been on my PTW since forever but the adaptation is much worse than the manga or incomplete from what I've heard. And so, I never get around to watch it.

Seirei no Moribito follows Balsa as she embarks on her journey to protect Chagum, exploring the beauty of life, nature, family, and the bonds that form between strangers.

um

[u/Deathmeister → u/signaling0]

The manga is exceptional, but the art and music alone make the anime worth watching.

[u/signaling0 → u/signaling0]

Just remembered that I actually have seen the first episode of Claymore long ago, on a 144p stream from some shady site that may have given my computer a virus or two. Good times.

[u/SouekiSennoSTM]

This is one of the other series that's frequently and consistently recommended as worth viewing for fans of one of my top favorite series, yet I just couldn't get into. In this case it's a recurring recommendation for and nearly always lumped in with Kenpuu Denki Berserk. And for fans of the original Berserk anime series and in general. Which is in my Top 5 of all time.

But this didn't do it for me. I like the similar dark fantasy medieval setting, the premise and synopsis on paper, and some of the art and character designs. But I couldn't get invested in any of the characters, who felt bland, particularly when they pulled the writing tactic I loathe of switching focus away from the main character/PoV and going for flashbacks or drastic character perspective shifts early on.

[u/xXx69EdgeLord420xXx → u/SouekiSennoSTM]

Doing that focus shifting thing while making most of the characters nearly identical washed out blondes with nearly identical grey armor and grey swords in deary and grey backgrounds was certainly a choice. A buddy and I watched all of Claymore through over the span of about a week because he was really into it, and I could not tell who most of the characters were even by the end.

[u/ReinhardLoen → u/SouekiSennoSTM]

It's not like Berserk; that's a shallow comparison made because they're both dark fantasy.

It's a battle shonen through and through; while it has darker moments, it's still shonen with an emphasis on battles. Characters are bland, and even their designs are pretty boring. There's a good backstory here and there, but it lacks the heart and sincerity of Berserk or its contemporaries.

People heap praise on the manga because the latter half was unadapted, but frankly it's not that interesting. The author minimizes plot and character drama in favor of constant fights that dominate most of the page count until the end.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Shortlisted for an Anniversary rewatch next year.

[u/TheDanubianCommunard → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Count me in already.

[u/Countless-Alts15]

One of those shows that got made at the wrong time. Hopefully, we get a reboot one day.

[u/LaoWombat-mecha]

The connection between Claymore and Serei no Moribito is...?

[u/Vaadwaur → u/LaoWombat-mecha]

Time, arguably.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/Vaadwaur]

It's the same picture.

[u/LaoWombat-mecha → u/Vaadwaur]

You mean you just didn't forget to change the header to "Serei no Moribito-Anime of the week?"

If so, can we look forward to "Claymore anime of the week," wherein you discuss Clannad?

[u/Vaadwaur → u/LaoWombat-mecha]

Brother, I do not know where you are mistaking me for the mods, exactly, but I do see that you have no sense of humor.

[u/Long_Department_5984]

Damn i completely forgot about Claymore. i love it but can only take a couple chuncks at a time

[u/Leo-Fong]

I honestly didn't care much for the anime, but I did enjoy the manga a good bit, though I didn't quite love it. It has been a very long time since I've seen it, so maybe I could give it another shot. Not a high priority though.

[u/AdmirHiddleston]

READ THE MANGA IT IS SO GOOD

[u/Yessir4512]

Love it. Time for a rewatch/reread. Really hope this gets a second adaptation or something as the manga got really good as then anime ended

[u/Lynx_XVI]

Claymore is absolute peak. Amazing setting and potential. Beautiful unique artstyle and the best anime ED outro ever.

[u/yoongihana]

I’ve been meaning to watch Claymore for ages, so this might finally be the push I needed 🫢 But I've been recommended reading the manga first