Clare, Number 47, the weakest of the bunch (but wait until she powers up, she will KILL YOUR BRAIN)So let's try to analyze.
First case in point, I am not much of a manga reader. See my Anime and Manga lists and observe the disparity in numbers. While I always think that manga is almost always better than anime, it seems that I actually prefer watching anime to reading manga.
The reason may be because I am lazy and I like the more passive medium of the two. Face it, watching anime is easier and more entertaining than reading manga. And it may also have something to do with this unwritten rule that I follow that once I watch an anime, I usually neglect to pick up its manga version, and vice versa.
In the case of Claymore, I heard about the anime coming out way back but never paid any attention to it. But then suddenly I decided to read the manga and after I was finished with all available translated chapters, I started downloading the anime without even thinking about it. Crud.
Phantom Miria, Number 6: when in a group, she can surpass even Number 1. The ass-kicking leader of the fab 4.Second case in point, despite my insanely huge list of animes watched (90+ is a lot for me, okay? Shut up.), I am quite picky about animes to get obsessed about. The things I look for in anime are the same things I expect from all good stories:
- interesting characters - psychotic characters are FTW, emo brooding heroes PWNS all
- character dynamics - the relationships between characters merely serve as background, it's how they interact that cements my opinion
- good vs. evil theme - I'm sorry. I'm such a whore for world peace
- logical plot - a loose plot is preferable to a tightly-controlled one because the former allows for some speculation and I do so love to make pseudo-intellectual blog posts about possible outcomes and shit like that
- romance of the het variety - sure YAOI is hwt (L and Kira 4-EVARRR) and YURI is intriguing (LOLz at Sachiko and Yumi) but I LOVE MY HET !!!111
Holy--! My SOOPER SEEKRIT CLARE X RAKI HOT ♥ LOVIN' FANTASY is REEL! Yay for random kissin' So when I discovered the premise of Claymore -- a boy and a warrior woman out to fight demons -- my brain short-circuited. Interesting characters? Well yeah, if you like sword-wielding females. Character dynamics? What dynamic could possibly exist between a boy and full-grown woman aside from pedophilia-esque vibes? Good vs. evil? Monsters vs. monsters, huh? Logical plot? Not a good thing to look for in shounen. Romance of the het variety? Check comment for character dynamics.
Clare, with whole body "awakened" (Ad for Swiss Army Knife, retarded)Third case in point, I like my psychological, slice of life, emo-astic shojous (e.g. NANA) better than my action-packed, gore-fest shounens (e.g. Bleach and Gantz). I only really liked Bleach because of Ukitake's pretty hair and Yoruichi's badassness, but after the Soul Society Arc, my ♥ for the story went kaput. And Gantz was just novel. Flying decapitated bodies, DUDES! And right in between TEH SEX. It just...opened my eyes to what sort of things anime and manga can contain (You still think it's all just silly stuff? Go WATCH GANTZ NOW!!! Or better yet, go read BERSERK! I hear it's even more bloody).
Now Claymore is obviously shounen. That means it's "for boys," meaning it's action-packed with lots of ridiculously proportioned 12-year olds running around in miniskirts. Not really my thing. Or at least, that was the impression I got. The fantasy medieval setting was not even a factor.
Rippling Ophelia, Number 4. She is a complete lunatic. That's why she's so awesome. Fourth case in point, the ART and CHARACTER DESIGNS better not be sub-par. I'm not even looking for excellence. Ai Yazawa's skinny character design took some getting used to but eventually I grew to like it. Claymore's art is...not worth mentioning. When I saw the first page of the first chapter of the manga, I seriously doubted the sanity of those people who touted the "excellent art" of the series. Virtually no background and the characters (especially the males) all look the same. You can't even distinguish the monsters (youma) from the humans. Basically, everyone was just grotesque. Or so I thought. But once the other Claymores were introduced, it dawned on me:
OMG. It's Elrond! (Flash Sword Ilena/Irene, former Number 2)I must say, although the Claymore art is not initially appealing, it tends to grow on you. And once the action starts, you won't even care about how good the characters look because the mangaka has some pretty mad skillz in drawing action scenes.
So for all the foregoing reasons, why then did I pick up Claymore and now have to endure the unimaginable agony of waiting for the next scanlated chapter to come out?
It's simple. Because despite all my scholarly posturing about the superiority of my tastes, I am really just a sucker for anime and manga. Dude, I sat through the entire first season of DNA2! I mean, OMG, it was really bad but for some reason I could not un-glue my eyes from the TV screen.
So that's me.
Mommy!But you know, Claymore really does have a fascinating storyline (at one point, it employs non-linear storytelling. My favorite arc is the Teresa arc and virtually every chapter with Miria on it).
It is more than just monsters slaying monsters (because the warriors called "Claymores," are actually half-human, half-monster hybrids so it kind of deals with racial discrimination) or going on adventures for the sake of adventure. There is actually a reason why Clare, the main heroine, is roaming the countryside. Granted the reason is not unique in any way -- for revenge and to look for her shouta...I mean, Raki, the err boy and possibly romantic interest -- it's more like an acceptable norm in shounen series.
The story actually branches off. From a relatively simple and quite retarded story of a loner warrior girl wielding a SOOPER DOOPER HUMONGOUS SWORD OF DOOM meet boy outcast of society, hook up and live one happy adventure after another killing monsters and stuff, to the deep and sinister world of the organization responsible for the "claymores."
I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the cast of semi-lunatic characters is also well-developed. Like I can't make up my mind whom I like best -- the inspiring swash-buckling leader Phantom Miria or the psychotic bitch Ophelia. Well, Ophelia gets dead so Miria wins by default. But then there's Teresa of the Faint Smile whose name is just coolness itself and Isley who is BISHOUNEN HAWTNESS OMG FAINT! I'm sorry but I can't like Clare. I don't usually like the main characters in shounen series.
In short, Claymore appeals to my latent love for dark mystery and mayhem and attraction to impractical clothes. Dude, I adored the costumes of 300 even though more than half of these so-called warriors are running around naked but for a cape and a loincloth. Like, what's the fastest way to get killed?
Claymore is just the same: the warriors only wear shoulder blades and metallic skirt-things that a monster's nail can cut through.
Le sigh. So much for utilitarianism. I am more for aesthetics, really.
Clare, having facial hemorrhoid. This violates Galatea's sense of aesthetics.And so ends this blog post for the day. I am going back to my corner now and do some mental yoga. More meaningful entry to come later this evening.
More Info:
Official Anime Site
Official Manga Site
Wikipedia Article
Claymore @ Amazon
Claymore @ Yes Asia
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