Claymore manga review
Yes, it ended lol.
I assumed it's not really the end of the entire manga, but more like an end of an arc since no one's really talking about it. Plus the ending is really lackluster...even for an ending of an arc.
But anyway, here's my review of Claymore - a somewhat odd series that managed to get my attention every month. I wouldn't say this is a masterpiece, it's pretty far from it, but it's still entertaining nonetheless. I'd say it's a little closer to mindless read. The artwork is very nice, many gorgeous character designs, and the action is clear and easy to follow unlike many other shonen manga. Just don't try to read too deeply...as the story quality is fairly all over the place, filled with deus ex machina and unbelievable plot twist.
This manga is mostly character driven than story driven. There is a story, but I don't think I'm following it for that. At best you have some plot twist about the organization, but that's it. Nothing particularly ground breaking. All the interesting stuff lies in the characters. There are multitude of characters in Claymore, and likely you are bound to meet one that you would enjoy. There are also plenty of strong females, so those who are sick of useless heroines, Claymore might just be for you.
Speaking of heroine, I don't like Clare. lol. Naivety and stubborn aren't really a good combination. It doesn't help that she always get the plot armor, making her a walking deus ex machina. I do however, enjoy her relationship with Theresa. It's nicely done. One of my personal favorite moments in the manga.
The good thing about Claymore is that...the story doesn't always focus on Clare. There are many other characters who take the spotlight. Some may consider this a detriment, but I like it, mostly because I'm not fond of Clare. XD;;;
My favorite character happened to be Miria, who I believe the closest to the second main character. She's always in charge whenever Clare isn't around, and pretty much takes the spotlight in the latter part of the manga. She's also the one who led the rebellion against the organization and eventually succeeds in the end.
Miria is strong, smart and has a very cool ability, but unfortunately she shares a rather similar problem to Clare...the plot armor on her is pretty strong lol. Despite this, she has a nice development, and I quite enjoy her inner turmoil. It's strange that Clare lacks this, as her sole existence in the story is just to revenge on Priscilla...and perhaps find Raki. The problem with this is that...Clare hardly meets with both characters, making her a static character with little development. Compared to Miria who is constantly thrown into conflict with the organization, which her a league more interesting.
There are some other interesting characters such as Riful, Theresa, Priscilla etc, but the majority of them don't stay for too long. Riful in particularly got a short end of the stick. She is not alone in that department. Almost every abyssal have a very anti-climatic death. It's a shame as I really like abyssal designs. They are usually very creative, and one of the reasons why I enjoy reading the manga.
Last but not least, the ending...oh lol... Recently I read nothing but horribly cop out endings, but when it comes to Claymore...I was truly stunned. I was like "That's it?" then burst out laughing seconds later. I don't know if there will be sequels, but even for the arc itself...it's still very cop out.
Rating: B+ (Enjoyable mindless action manga, lots of cool design, but that's it. Everything else is all over the place.)
P.S: Speaking of which, this is quite a unique shonen as in, it feels more like seinen, and it's almost devoid of male characters. It's not even harem nor yuri. :P
I assumed it's not really the end of the entire manga, but more like an end of an arc since no one's really talking about it. Plus the ending is really lackluster...even for an ending of an arc.
But anyway, here's my review of Claymore - a somewhat odd series that managed to get my attention every month. I wouldn't say this is a masterpiece, it's pretty far from it, but it's still entertaining nonetheless. I'd say it's a little closer to mindless read. The artwork is very nice, many gorgeous character designs, and the action is clear and easy to follow unlike many other shonen manga. Just don't try to read too deeply...as the story quality is fairly all over the place, filled with deus ex machina and unbelievable plot twist.
This manga is mostly character driven than story driven. There is a story, but I don't think I'm following it for that. At best you have some plot twist about the organization, but that's it. Nothing particularly ground breaking. All the interesting stuff lies in the characters. There are multitude of characters in Claymore, and likely you are bound to meet one that you would enjoy. There are also plenty of strong females, so those who are sick of useless heroines, Claymore might just be for you.
Speaking of heroine, I don't like Clare. lol. Naivety and stubborn aren't really a good combination. It doesn't help that she always get the plot armor, making her a walking deus ex machina. I do however, enjoy her relationship with Theresa. It's nicely done. One of my personal favorite moments in the manga.
The good thing about Claymore is that...the story doesn't always focus on Clare. There are many other characters who take the spotlight. Some may consider this a detriment, but I like it, mostly because I'm not fond of Clare. XD;;;
My favorite character happened to be Miria, who I believe the closest to the second main character. She's always in charge whenever Clare isn't around, and pretty much takes the spotlight in the latter part of the manga. She's also the one who led the rebellion against the organization and eventually succeeds in the end.
Miria is strong, smart and has a very cool ability, but unfortunately she shares a rather similar problem to Clare...the plot armor on her is pretty strong lol. Despite this, she has a nice development, and I quite enjoy her inner turmoil. It's strange that Clare lacks this, as her sole existence in the story is just to revenge on Priscilla...and perhaps find Raki. The problem with this is that...Clare hardly meets with both characters, making her a static character with little development. Compared to Miria who is constantly thrown into conflict with the organization, which her a league more interesting.
There are some other interesting characters such as Riful, Theresa, Priscilla etc, but the majority of them don't stay for too long. Riful in particularly got a short end of the stick. She is not alone in that department. Almost every abyssal have a very anti-climatic death. It's a shame as I really like abyssal designs. They are usually very creative, and one of the reasons why I enjoy reading the manga.
Last but not least, the ending...oh lol... Recently I read nothing but horribly cop out endings, but when it comes to Claymore...I was truly stunned. I was like "That's it?" then burst out laughing seconds later. I don't know if there will be sequels, but even for the arc itself...it's still very cop out.
Rating: B+ (Enjoyable mindless action manga, lots of cool design, but that's it. Everything else is all over the place.)
P.S: Speaking of which, this is quite a unique shonen as in, it feels more like seinen, and it's almost devoid of male characters. It's not even harem nor yuri. :P