Claymore is certainly one of my favorite anime series.
I first heard about it from a couple friends who were talking about one of the events of the show. I was just close enough to hear their conversation, and it sounded good from what I heard. When I found the short 26-episode box set at a store in the mall randomly one day, I decided to pick it up on an impulse buy. I have never regretted it.
In a series set in approximately the middle ages, humanity is troubled by the existence of yoma - monsters - that prey on humans. Possessing superior speed and strength, along with the ability to impersonate people (down to their memories!), any town with a yoma in its midst is in the middle of a crisis. People have begun to rely on warriors who are called "Claymores" after the 2-handed swords they all use as their weapon. These warriors - who are all female - are called "half-man, half-monster", and have the ability to fight, detect, and kill the yoma - for a price, which goes to the shadowy group known only as "The Organization".
About halfway through the first episode, I was thinking twice about my impulsive purchase. I audibly groaned at a particular line from our main character (the kind of line that will always make me groan and wonder if this game/show is really worth my time), but it never went to where I feared it would go, and quickly became very good and compelling. The very first action sequence is not to my liking, and they get better throughout the show, becoming good most of the time, and occasionally being great.
Despite being an action show (after all, it's monsters fighting swordsmen, with super-human abilities involved), it's still surprisingly human. The fighters struggle with their own identity, and working to save ordinary people who outright fear them most of the time. One particular three-episode sequence is structured like this -
First ep: Build-up to the fight, meeting the team, dealing with personality issues in the team
Second ep: the fight, along with discoveries about some of our characters
Third ep: further conversations about what's going on, the team in particular, and what The Organization may be up to
-So it's more than just action, and the simple act of having people converse is handled well.
If you are interested, the playlist is in the link. I suspect after 4 episodes, you will know whether or not it is for you - 2 episodes can probably do it too, if you're in a rush or don't want to spend ~90 minutes just to see if you like it.
_Claymore_ is certainly one of my favorite anime series.
I first heard about it from a couple friends who were talking about one of the events of the show. I was just close enough to hear their conversation, and it sounded good from what I heard. When I found the short 26-episode box set at a store in the mall randomly one day, I decided to pick it up on an impulse buy. I have never regretted it.
In a series set in approximately the middle ages, humanity is troubled by the existence of _yoma_ - monsters - that prey on humans. Possessing superior speed and strength, along with the ability to impersonate people (down to their memories!), any town with a _yoma_ in its midst is in the middle of a crisis. People have begun to rely on warriors who are called "Claymores" after the 2-handed swords they all use as their weapon. These warriors - who are all female - are called "half-man, half-monster", and have the ability to fight, detect, and kill the _yoma_ - for a price, which goes to the shadowy group known only as "The Organization".
About halfway through the first episode, I was thinking twice about my impulsive purchase. I audibly groaned at a particular line from our main character (the kind of line that will always make me groan and wonder if this game/show is really worth my time), but it never went to where I feared it would go, and quickly became very good and compelling. The very first action sequence is not to my liking, and they get better throughout the show, becoming good most of the time, and occasionally being great.
Despite being an action show (after all, it's monsters fighting swordsmen, with super-human abilities involved), it's still surprisingly human. The fighters struggle with their own identity, and working to save ordinary people who outright fear them most of the time. One particular three-episode sequence is structured like this -
- First ep: Build-up to the fight, meeting the team, dealing with personality issues in the team
- Second ep: the fight, along with discoveries about some of our characters
- Third ep: further conversations about what's going on, the team in particular, and what The Organization may be up to
-So it's more than just action, and the simple act of having people converse is handled well.
If you are interested, the playlist is in the link. I suspect after 4 episodes, you will know whether or not it is for you - 2 episodes can _probably_ do it too, if you're in a rush or don't want to spend ~90 minutes just to see if you like it.
Claymore is certainly one of my favorite anime series.
I first heard about it from a couple friends who were talking about one of the events of the show. I was just close enough to hear their conversation, and it sounded good from what I heard. When I found the short 26-episode box set at a store in the mall randomly one day, I decided to pick it up on an impulse buy. I have never regretted it.
In a series set in approximately the middle ages, humanity is troubled by the existence of yoma - monsters - that prey on humans. Possessing superior speed and strength, along with the ability to impersonate people (down to their memories!), any town with a yoma in its midst is in the middle of a crisis. People have begun to rely on warriors who are called "Claymores" after the 2-handed swords they all use as their weapon. These warriors - who are all female - are called "half-man, half-monster", and have the ability to fight, detect, and kill the yoma - for a price, which goes to the shadowy group known only as "The Organization".
About halfway through the first episode, I was thinking twice about my impulsive purchase. I audibly groaned at a particular line from our main character (the kind of line that will always make me groan and wonder if this game/show is really worth my time), but it never went to where I feared it would go, and quickly became very good and compelling. The very first action sequence is not to my liking, and they get better throughout the show, becoming good most of the time, and occasionally being great.
Despite being an action show (after all, it's monsters fighting swordsmen, with super-human abilities involved), it's still surprisingly human. The fighters struggle with their own identity, and working to save ordinary people who outright fear them most of the time. One particular three-episode sequence is structured like this -
-So it's more than just action, and the simple act of having people converse is handled well.
If you are interested, the playlist is in the link. I suspect after 4 episodes, you will know whether or not it is for you - 2 episodes can probably do it too, if you're in a rush or don't want to spend ~90 minutes just to see if you like it.