Claymore

Storyline:
I'm very biased to the storyline, because I believe it's one of the better developed stories I've seen for awhile. I've seen this anime twice, about year ago or two ago, and I still remember vividly about it. It takes the form of a generic David versus Goliath into something much more than that considering that Goliath is her own people, and the reason she took on this role is entirely another matter, which was smoothly integrated within the episodes.

Music:
I don't quite remember the music, but since I don't remember it, it couldn't have been very bad and impaired the anime itself.

Characters;
The characters are excellent. There's a nice development, and there's nothing left question.

Animation:
I didn't mind the animation too much. Many of the characters were only set apart, for the Claymore that is, by their hair and the beasts they turn into. The towns people definitely looked different.

Overall, this is one of the better animes to watch if you want to learn/remember those lessons you were taught as a child. It also gives you a nice sense of hope.

Plot: Since the very beginning I was sure, that Claymore would be a great show, because its story was set in a medieval world. And I am a big fun of medieval ages and everything that is connected to it, especially fights and magic creatures (like vampires).
We are shown a unique universe, where people and Youmas fight and kill each other. As I got the idea, these Youmas are like werewolves. However, they are much stronger, smarter and always seek for human flesh.
Almost every episode is full of action and a bit of drama, as well. The story simply “draws” you like a magnet and you can’t stop watching it. I am very upset that Claymore has only 25 episodes.
Graphics: Claymore is drawn in a good way. I liked the characters and surroundings’ design. The fight scenes aren't bad, as well. During some combats you can see the movements and attacks from various sides and feel the action that is hidden inside of them.
The characters: In the beginning I thought that every claymore would be like the others: cold blooded, silent, obedient and powerful. However, I was surprised that none of this is right about them.
Every character has unique qualities, like sense of humour, week personality and so on. It is really interesting how they cooperate in fights and deal the things between them.
What’s more surprising is that the youmas aren’t that stupid. Towards the end we meet some of them, mainly the leaders, who are able to stand the hanger and keep their selves cool. Of course, watching fights with thinking monsters is much more interesting.
Though, there is a character, Raki, which I didn’t like at all. The main reason for this, is his behaviour. This boy is shown as an unconfident crybaby, who cries when he is happy and when he is sad. It’s a pity that Clare couldn’t get a better cooker.

I remember watching Claymore with my friend Josh from episode 1-21. You could say that, by the end, it had pushed all the right buttons.
The story follows that of the character Clare who is a claymore; a super-human woman who wields a big sword, on an escalating journey of high paced dark fantasy.
At first the series utterly confused me: not so much the plot, but other than the totally sensational opening scene, which is probably one of my favouries of any anime series ever, the animation, plot, music even character development was kept to a very simple bare minimum; it looks like a manga novel. The style of animation is very classic anime given a modern art revamp. The tone is very dark, the gore explodes out of bodies and standing at the centre is a very strong female character who probably has the most over=powered ability of all the characters in the series, despite being the weakest. Essentially, it's a beautiful conjuration of a gothic underdog story.
Claymore is one of the few anime I've seen, possibly one of the only ones, where the romantic sub-plot is essentially non-existent. Personally i thought this was brilliant. I hate romantic sub-plot; it detracts from the main storyline and most of the time gives no real depth and is only put in to widen the viewer market and anyone who says differently clearly hasn't realized why it's called "sub plot". The lack of filler because of this i safe assurance that watching the entire series is time well spent. The storyline has a few minor plot twists to keep everything on edge, and tension on screen is pretty rife nearly all the time with the big twists actually making you think, "Oh my God! I can't believe they just did that! I love it and hate it at the same time! Yes, yes, yes!" I won't ruin anything by telling you what happens, but I'll say this. Things get much bigger and much badder very quickly, and as long as you can stick out the annoying sidekick (sorry, he doesn't actually ever die...or shut up) you start to fall in love with the characters and empathize with their dire situation. Power is great, but seriously, after all they've been through, it raises questions to what you'd really do for it.
I wasn't really blown away by the music, like i said before it's kept simple, nothing really flamboyant but it sticks with the mood well and isn't anything cheesy. Also, i sat and watched every opening theme so i guess you could say that was a triumph.
Watch Claymore if you haven't before. At worst you'll have spent a portion of your life in mild happiness, at best you'll watch it over and over because you'll never be able to get enough. If you've seen Fate Stay Night and liked it then watch Claymore, if you didn't like Fate Stay Night, watch Claymore anyway, because it's essentially just a better version of it in nearly every way.
It delivers every episode that tension you get from the best of thrillers, simple but geniously effective fight scenes, a wealth of character development, but most importantly, the plot and story ooze of delicious moments that can only be described as "WTF" moments.
Watch Claymore, because if you haven't, you're missing something in your life.

claymore is an awesome manga but the anime, unfortunately, sucks bad.
the anime's sound effects and drawings are horrible!
...............when i first saw the anime i was like "......................what the f$%* is this %^&." so...any ways
if you want to try claymore, READ MANGA, NOT WATCH ANIME

Ok...I read claymore and i know that its a good MANGA but the anime makes it horrible!
the animations are not smooth, the facial expression is bad...and they make clare seem sooo weak,
even though she's pretty strong...I DON'T UNDERSTAND! I hate it when animators just doesn't
go with the story line and come up with their own ideas, dude, u don't own it!! and i hate it when
they just suddenly stop making claymore in anime..it sucks

In a world rife with deadly creatures called youma, a young silver eyed woman, Clare, works on behalf of an organisation that trains female youma halfbreeds (alot like inuyasha) into warriors with the ability to destroy these creatures.
Clare, a new Claymore in the organization’s ranks, is on the mission in a small mountain town when she meets a boy named Raki. This fateful meeting Starts a test for clare to see can she indeed control her youma side

Review

Claymore is a great action packed show with a great plot.The animation is also awesome. .but im pretty sure by now most of you guys and girls have heard of lots of plots like this before, take my word for it the story is an interesting twist on the sword and magic.

The fight scenes in this series are great.I love the sword duels in this anime. Lots of action and very fast paced. if your looking for action you will not be disappointed. But it does have alot of blood for those of you who do not like seeing too much blood.

the artwork I especially liked (hooray for anime Girls that don’t look like they are twelve years old!). It’s hard at first to make tell the group apart because that have the same hair and eye color, but their faces, hairstyles and sometimes even poses make them easier to tell apart throughout the series

- Review by emred13

Claymore is one of those anime that captures your attention the minute it begins. If you're into amazing in-depth story lines with many twists and turns, beautiful anime women with giant swords who brutally duke it out and non-stop action each episode than this anime is certainly for you. In any case, the show itself is very violent; hacking off limbs and blood spewing every which way will send off a red light for anyone with young children present.

The only real problem anyone seems to have with the anime is one or two particular flash backs which appear 1-3 times an episode. (It gets incredibly annoying at times if you're watching episodes back to back). That being said, it's an anime unlike any other. Very original and very watchable. If you have been searching for a good anime, look no further.

Any fan of great action and deep story lines MUST give this one a try.

In a fantasy world where your neighbor could be a flesh eating monster in disguise, mankinds only hope of survival lies in beautiful half human, half monster girls dubbed claymores after the two handed swords they wield. On the flip side not everything is so great about being a claymore as they have to forever battle with the monster within, least they lose their human self and become a monster themselves.

The story revolves around a claymore named Claire and a human boy named Raki both who have had their entire family killed by monsters. After a series of events Raki ends up traveling with Claire. He tends to provide the readers voice throughout the narrative, for example, being shocked at the strange and terrible things Claire is forced to do. Raki's company makes Claire reveal more of her human side, his presence undoubtedly helping in her struggle to remain human.

The art is consistent, but the style seems a little dated and character designs are kind of lackluster. The layout is well set out, making the dialogue, story and action easy to follow. Claymore does feature quite a bit of violence and was probably aimed at older teens, but besides being in comic form, it's also fantasy violence, anyone thirteen or older would not be phased from it.

With the final chapter not really leading onto anything else, it's hard to tell where exactly where the story of Claymore is going. It's made apparent that Claire goes from village to village clearing out the monsters. The story is a bit weak in that regard, at least in this volume, there is no real conveyance of any greater goal to follow on through to the next volume.