Claymore 16 (A J!-Ent Manga Review)

August 20, 2010 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

”Claymore 16′ is the exciting continuation of “The Lamentation of the Earth” saga. This dark fantasy is full of action and wonderful characters. A Must Read for “Claymore” fans!”

MANGA TITLE: Claymore 16

STORY AND ART BY: Norihiro Yagi

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: By Shueisha on May 1, 2009 (ISBN 978-4-08-874668-5)

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media

RATED: T+ for OLDER TEEN

PAGES: 202 PAGES

In a world where monsters called Yoma prey on humans and live among them in disguise, humanity’s only hope is a new breed of warrior known as Claymores. Half human, half monster, these silver-eyed slayers possess supernatural strength but are condemned to fight their savage impulses-or lose their humanity completely.

After Miria’s incredible revelations about the origins of the Yoma, the seven warriors split up to settle their affairs and say their goodbyes in preparation for the final battle against the Organization. Helen and Deneve fall in with a spirited young warrior of the current generation and soon find themselves confronting the Organization’s latest, most terrible weapons.

Claymore is a manga that focuses on the Claymore Clare and her small band of Claymores who are now on their own after the Organization they worked for left them for dead. Claymores are warriors created by the Organization who are half human and half Yoma and are built so they can spot and fight Yomas that hide among the humans and plague the land.

In this particular volume, Clare and the other Claymores working with Miria split up and prepare for their final battle with the Organization. Helen and Deneve run into a rather powerful Claymore named Dietrich and run into the Awakened Being, Isley as well. As they are battling Isley, they run into the newest and most gruesome threat sent out by the Organization called Abyss Feeders. Abyss Feeders are creatures without a soul with just one motive: to devour Awakened Beings and kill anything else that may get in the way…

This particular volume concentrates on the following characters:

Clare: Clare is the main character of this story. She is one of the Claymores that was left for dead after the battle of the North along with a few others. She is on a mission to find Raki who was once her traveling partner that she was separated from 7 years ago. Currently, she is traveling with Cynthia and Yuma and they happen to run into Rubel.

Rubel: Rubel is a mysterious man in black that gave Clare her orders from the Organization when she was still in the Organization. He reappears in this volume and it is actually revealed that he is a spy working against the organization to take it down.

Helen: Helen is a rather hot-headed Claymore that usually leaps before looking. Her and Deneve are traveling together currently and just like Clare, she is one of the Claymores that was left for dead and is working with Miria.

Deneve: Deneve is a rather calm and serious Claymore that is currently traveling with Helen. She usually is the voice of reason of Helen… even though that might not always work either. Like the others, she is another Claymore that was left for dead and is now working with Miria. She has great regenerative abilities.

Dietrich: Dietrich is a current Generation Claymore that Helen and Deneve run into and help from an Awakened one. She is rather skilled and strong and is loyal to the Organization. However despite her loyalty, she is grateful towards Helen and Deneve for helping her and she assists them for a little while on their journey.

Cynthia: Cynthia is another Claymore working with Miria and is currently traveling with Clare.

Yuma: Yuma is another Claymore working with Miria and is currently traveling with Clare.

Isley: Isley is a very powerful Awakened Being that has decided to hide among the humans in the town that Helen and Deneve find, however he quickly reveals himself when the two warriors come before him. Their battle is quickly interrupted though by new weapons sent out by the Organization called Abyss Feeders…

Riful: Riful is another very powerful Awakened Being. She looks and acts like a child but is incredibly powerful. She lives in a castle with Dauf and are currently trying to awaken something that they found and she is trying to get the Claymore Renee to awaken it.

Dauf: Dauf is Riful’s lover and lives in the castle with her. He is definitely more brauns over brains and follows Riful blindly.

Renee: Renee is currently the #6 in this generation of Claymores and is currently captured by Riful and Dauf to try to awaken a certain being.

“Claymore 16″ features 6 chapters. Here is a spoiler-free breakdown of each chapter:

Scene 84: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 2 – Clare is unexpectedly reunited with Rubel and Renee tries to figure out how to escape from Riful.

Scene 85: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 3 – Helen and Deneve run into a Claymore named Dietrich.

Scene 86: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 4 – Helen and Deneve run into Isley.

Scene 87: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 5 – Helen and Deneve’s battle with Isley continues.

Scene 88: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 6 – Helen and Deneve’s battle with Isley is interrupted by the Abyss Feeders.

Scene 89: The Lamentation of the Earth, Part 7 – The battle between Isley and the Abyss Feeders concludes…

“Claymore” is a wonderful fantasy action series full of great characters and an exciting story. If you’re looking for a beautiful dark fantasy, “Claymore” would be an excellent choice. This is definitely a series for older readers though, since there is quite a bit of violence and some nudity. There is also quite a bit of the creepiness factor, especially in this volume with the Abyss Feeders.

This series is full of strong female characters, considering Claymores are mostly female. I believe that factor will attract both male and female audiences. It was definitely an appealing factor for me because I always look for strong female characters. Clare is a great leading character: strong, loyal and despite being a Claymore, still exhibits quite a bit of human emotions. A relationship I enjoy quite a bit is the relationship between Helen and Deneve. They are polar opposites, however that’s also the reason why they compliment each other so much. Helen is quick-tempered and quick to act, mostly before thinking and Deneve is calm and serious, always thinking things through. There are a few strong male characters in the series though, like Isley and Dauf. Despite being the strong male character in the series, Isley’s fate is challenged in this particular volume.

Since this is volume 16, I don’t recommend just buying and reading this volume by itself. There are so many characters in “Claymore” and so much has happened by this volume that there is no point in just trying to read this volume. You will not understand anything that is going on. This particular volume concentrates a lot more on Helen, Deneve, and Dietrich rather than Clare, who only appears in the first chapter and a little bit in the second chapter of this volume.

As I mentioned, this series definitely has a creepiness factor. Between Riful and the Abyss Feeders in this volume, it’s quite intense. Riful looks like a harmless little girl but is rather deadly and has dark intentions… which all in itself is creepy. The being she’s trying to awaken is quite creepy too… I won’t say what it is because it’d be a spoiler. The Abyss Feeders are probably one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen. They look like female zombie creatures that are barely dressed and have their eyes and mouths sewn shut. Of course, they are definitely supposed to be creepy. This volume is full of creepy, yes… but it doesn’t lack story or great characters.

At first, I wasn’t much of a fan of Norihiro Yagi’s art. I have had the first volume of “Claymore” for quite a while and didn’t really care too much for the art then. I thought that the villagers had awkward looking faces, and I thought that the Claymores were all too long in the bodies (I’m ridiculously picky on weird things in art). However, by this volume, his art has vastly improved (just like many other manga artists, their art improves a great deal over volumes). The art has definitely grown on me. The amount of details that he puts in the environment is beautiful. Not to mention the amount of detail he puts into the individual designs of the Awakened Beings is amazing. Also the individual faces of all the Claymores are beautiful and to be honest, it’s amazing that he’s able to individualize each of the Claymores and think up so many different hairstyles for each (since each Claymore has silver eyes and light blondish hair). As I mentioned, there is nudity in the series but I don’t think that it’s used crudely or unneeded for the most part. However, that may be a minor detractor for some people. Overall, I hope people can appreciate the beauty in his art.

When I first spotted “Claymore” in Japan, the first thing it reminded me of was “Berserk”, a manga series by Kentaro Miura. I thought the art styles were similar and both are dark fantasies. “Claymore” is definitely not as dark as “Berserk”, but I believe that audiences that enjoy “Berserk” may enjoy “Claymore” quite a bit too.

“Claymore” is definitely a must-read if you enjoy action series. This series, and particularly this volume is full of non-stop action. I think this series would have a huge male fan base, but I hope girls enjoy it too. There isn’t much romance in the series but as I mentioned earlier, there are so many powerful female characters that I hope would bring in a female audience as well. This volume of “Claymore” doesn’t disappoint whatsoever and I highly recommend this volume if you have already read the rest of the series. It will definitely make you eager to read the continuation. Wonderful work!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

Claymore: The Complete Series (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

February 17, 2010 by Dennis Amith · 2 Comments

“Claymore” is a violent, dark fantasy anime series that is gripping, action-packed, well-animated and well-written. I was totally engrossed by the whole series from beginning to end. Based on the popular ongoing manga series, if you want a solid and well-done anime series, let alone a solid Blu-ray release, look no further… “Claymore” is a series you definitely want to own on Blu-ray!

TITLE: Claymore – The Complete Series

DURATION: 26 Episodes (625 minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080i High Definition 16×9, Dolby True HD English 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese 2.0

COMPANY: Madhouse Studios/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV MA

Originally created by Norihiro Yagi

Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka

Series Composition by Yasuko Kobayashi

Storyboards by Yuto Sato

Music by Masanori Takumi

Character Design by Takahiro Umehara

Art Director: Manabu Otsuzuki

Art Design by Nobuto Sue

Sound Director by Yasunori Honda

Produced by Manabu Tamura, Masao Maruyama and Toshio Nakatani

Animation by Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Houko Kuwashima/Stephanie Young as Clare

Motoki Takagi/Todd Haberkorn as Raki

Aya Hisakawa/Brina Palencia as Priscilla

Hana Takeda/Caitlin Glass as Deneve

Hiroaki Hirata/R Bruce Elliott as Rubel

Kikuko Inoue/Monica Rial as Miria

Koji Yusa/John Swasey as Isley

Miho Miyagawa/Anastasia Munoz as Cynthia

Miki Nagasawa/Jamie Marchi as Helen

Nana Mizuki/Brittney Karbowski as Riful

Romi Paku/Christine Auten as Teresa

Ai Orikasa/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Galatea

Akeno Watanabe as Veronica

Akira Ishida as Zaki

Ayako Kawasumi/Wendy Powell as Elena

Cho as Ermita

A brutal scourge stalks the land. Yoma, monsters driven by a hunger satisfied by only one quarry: Humanity. The dark breed knows but a singular foe: Claymore. Human-Yoma hybrids of extraordinary strength and cunning, the Claymores roam from skirmish to skirmish delivering salvation by the edge of a blade.

Thus begins the twisting tale of Clare, one such sister of the sword driven by pain in both victory and defeat. A child silent and suffering hidden in her past, Clare’s march toward vengeance unfolds along a path marked by violence, solitude and scorn. In a land where even the predator is prey, the haunted hearts of hunter and hunted alike wear the scars of the age.

Definitely one of the best anime series I have watched in 2009 thus far. “Claymore” is a violent, dark fantasy anime series that is gripping, action-packed, well-animated and well-written. I was totally engrossed by the whole series from beginning to end. Based on the popular ongoing manga series, if you want a solid and well-done anime series, look no further… “Claymore” is fantastic!

In 2001, the manga series “Claymore” debuted on Monthly Shonen Jump. The popular series created by award-winning mangaka Norihiro Yagi (“Undeadman”, “Angel Densetsu”).

The series has remained popular and is still ongoing in Japan via Jump Square. Animation studio Madhouse adapted the first eleven volumes of the manga series in the 26-episode anime series “Claymore” which debuted on NTV in 2007. The DVD’s were released separately in individual volumes and a complete series box set by FUNimation Entertainment in 2009 and in 2010, here we are with a Blu-ray High Definition release of “Claymore: The Complete Series”.

“Claymore” takes place during a time where monsters known as yoma have lived in villages, disguising themselves as human. They feed on humans and when things get to the point where countless murders are happening in a village, a mysterious organization sends a Claymore to dispose of the Yoma.

The Claymore are humans that are half-human and half-yoma. They are the only ones that are capable of defeating yoma and are primarily female, blonde and have silver eyes. They carry with them a sword and some have supernatural abilities.

Upon defeating the yoma, someone in black collects the money for them. If a village does not pay, a Claymore will no longer defend the city. Claymore also have a rule that they can not kill any humans and also, as a Claymore tries to keep their humanity, by using their supernatural talent, they unleash their own personal yoma but each time they do that, they lose part of their humanity.

The animated series focuses on the Claymore known as Clare. She comes to a village who has been terrorized by a yoma and defeats it. But a boy named Raki becomes attached to Clare and will follow her everywhere to become close to her.

Clare is warned not to have a human close to her but for some reason, she allows him to be close to her and also feels protective over him. Over the course of the series, we learn about Clare’s history and why she is protective of Raki. We also learn what happens to Claymore who overuse their yoma energy and when they become the “awakened” and much, much more.

The main characters of “Claymore” are:

Clare – The protagonist of the story. A Claymore who may be low-ranked Claymore but she is more powerful than most. At times, reserved and emotionless, her life is changed when she meets a human named Raki.

Raki - A boy who’s family was murdered by the yoma. When he first meets Clare, he is the first and only person to welcome her and now wants to be by her side.

Teresa – A woman important in Clare’s life. Known as “Teresa with the Faint Smile”, once was the #1 Claymore and is the most powerful Claymore who is emotionless but that was until she came across a human girl named Clare.

Priscilla – A true believer of the laws of the Organization, she has a tremendous amount of power but has not been trained to utilize it quite well. Priscilla uses a lot of her yoma energy that changes her life completely.

Miria – Phantom Miria known for her tremendous speed. Suspects that the Organization is up to no good and although a Claymore, uses her position to investigate the Organization of any wrongdoing.

Ilena – A Claymore from Clare’s past who is known for her “Quick Sword Technique” and returns back to Clare’s life to give her another chance in achieving her goal.

The following 26-episodes are featured on three Blu-ray discs. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode of “Claymore”:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 – Great Sword – The introduction of Clare and Raki.
EPISODE 2 – The Black Card – Clare receives a black card and that means that they must terminate one of their own. But what happens when Clare discovers that the Claymore she must defeat is her closest friend.
EPISODE 3 – The Darkness in Paradise – Clare must take on a “Voracious Eater” but the problem is the city doesn’t allow Claymores.
EPISODE 4 – Clare’s Awakening – Clare takes on the “Voracious Eater”.
EPISODE 5 – Teresa of the Faint Smile - We learn about Clare’s past and how she attached herself to a Claymore named Teresa, the #1 Claymore in the organization.
EPISODE 6 – Teresa and Clare – We learn of how Teresa became fond of Clare and has protected her. But when bandits murder innocents in a town and intend to kill Clare, Teresa makes a decision that will alter her status as a Claymore.
EPISODE 7 – Marked for Death – With Teresa making a decision to defy the organization in order to protect Clare, Claymores #2-#5 must kill her.
EPISODE 8 – Awakening – The episode that introduces to how Clare became a Claymore.
EPISODE 9 – Those Who Rend Asunder I – Clare is assigned to take on an “awakened beings” and is teamed up with Miria, Helen and Deneve.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 10 – Those Who Rend Asunder II – Part two of four Claymores taking on the awakened beast.
EPISODE 11 – Those who Rend Asunder III – Deneve reveals to the other three Claymores of why she thinks the three of them were assigned the suicide mission.
EPISODE 12 -The Endless Gravestones I – Clare is assigned to go on another mission against another awakened beast but this time, she meets her partner…the bloodthirsty #4 Claymore Ophelia who is intent on murdering Clare and Raki. Clare vs. Ophelia and a mysterious person from the past shows up unexpectedly.
EPISODE 13 – The Endless Gravestones II – Irene trains Clare the “Quick Sword Technique”.
EPISODE 14 – To Be Qualified to Fight – Clare takes on the awakened Ophelia.
EPISODE 15 – The Witch’s Maw I – The organization sends Galatea to hunt after Clare since Clare has not reported in for three months. As for Clare, she sees a Claymore that looks as if she was mauled and goes to check on the other Claymores.
EPISODE 16 – The Witch’s Maw II – When Clare tries to check on the other Claymore’s she runs into two Awakened Beings – The “Abyssal One” (Riful of the West) and Dauf.
EPISODE 17 – The Witch’s Maw III – In order to beat Dauf, the Claymores need Jean’s special ability to defeat Dauf.
EPISODE 18 – The Carnage In the North I – Clare and Jean meet up with 23 other Claymore’s in the North to prepare to fight a horde of Awakened Beings.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 19 – The Carnage in the North II – While the Claymores take on the awakened beings, Raki ends up in a village where he meets Priscilla who takes him to a man named Isley.
EPISODE 20 – The Carnage in the North III – The Claymores talk about their fight after the awakened beings, meanwhile Raki asks Isley to train him on how to use a sword.
EPISODE 21 – Invasion of Pieta I – The Claymores go on to their next major battle against the awakened beings.
EPISODE 22 – Invasion of Pieta II – The Claymores take on Rigardo.
EPISODE 23 – Critical Point I – Clare takes on Rigardo but uses too much yoma energy which can make her become an awakened being.
EPISODE 24 – Critical Point II – Clare has pushed herself to far using Yoma energy and is unable to revert back to human form. Will the Claymores slay her?
EPISODE 25 – For Whose Sake – Clare’s long time dream of fighting against Priscilla (to avenge the death of Teresa) finally comes true.
EPISODE 26 – To the Successors – The final episode featuring Clare (in awakened form) vs. Priscilla (who is unaware that she is an awakened being).

VIDEO:

“Claymore: The Complete Series” is featured in 1080i High Definition (16×9). It’s important to know that this is not in 1080p and it is an upconvert. I ran comparisons between both the Blu-ray its DVD counterpart and picture quality wise, there is a difference.

In the DVD, you can easily see the compression artifacts, you can see the edge enhancement on the DVD especially on the edges of the characters. But in the Blu-ray version, it’s much more detailed around the edges. The backgrounds and the characters definitely give this dark fantasy atmosphere to the series. You see much more detail in the backgrounds, especially in the darker scenes. Colors and lighting play a big part in the series and there is a special feature in which this is discussed. Also, compared to the previous FUNimation Entertainment release, I didn’t notice that much discoloration as well. In fact, there was nothing that jumped out on me during the closeups of a character that were evident in “Basilik” and “Samurai Champloo”.

But let me just say that this film is not vibrant in colors. “Claymore: The Complete Series” uses a lot of grays and brownish, earthtone colors throughout the series. But for the most part, the animation and character designs really capture your attention. The scenes are action-packed and the fighting sequences and swordfighting are well done. “Claymore” definitely features solid animation from what one can expect from a television series but it’s important to note that videophiles expecting vibrant colors and 1080p might be annoyed that this is an upconvert. But personally, if you have wanted “Claymore, this version is much better than its DVD counterpart.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for audio, the lossless audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 and Dolby Digital Japanese 2.0. I definitely noticed a major difference audio-wise versus the DVD’s Dolby Digital 5.1. Originally, for a more immersive soundscape, on the DVD I selected stereo on all channels which for me was a better choice audio-wise. For the Blu-ray, the lossless audio seemed more alive and crystal clear with a good amount of audio usage in the surrounds. The soundtrack is not as ambitious as I would have liked. I didn’t notice any major use of LFE or my subwoofer being utilized as much. But audio coming from the front, center and surround channels were pretty good during the action sequences. The music was also nice and clear.

For the most part, voice acting is well done and the fact that there are so many characters in this series, both fans of English voice dubs and Japanese voice acting for anime series can expect some of their favorites involved in this series. Although I tend to watch a lot of anime series with the Japanese voice dub, for “Claymore”, I enjoyed the voice dub for the series because it was more mature in dialogue. For example, the character of Ophelia is one deadly woman and when you see her in pain, she’s cussing up a storm. And this is one of the few times where I felt the “F-word” and profanity was well utilized in an anime series (thus the TV MA rating). There’s no hiding from the pain a lot of these women must endure and so I felt that the dialogue for the English dub was well done and well-written and much more mature than its Japanese counterpart.

Subtitles are in English only.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Claymore – The Complete Series” comes with the following special features in 480i Standard Definition, Dolby Digital Japanese 2.0 (note: commentary is in English) and English subtitles:

DISC 1:

Episode 1 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by voice actress Stephanie Young (who does the voice of Claire), Director and voice actor Todd Habekorn (who does the voice of Raki).
Episode 8 Commentary – Audio commentary featuring voice actress Brina Palencia (who plays Priscilla) and voice actress Wendy Powell (who plays Elena).

DISC 2:

Episode 11 Commentary – Audio commentary by line producer and voice actress Colleen Clinkenbeard (who plays Galatea) and voice actress Monica Rial (who plays Miria).
Episode 16 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by voice actress Laura Bailey (Jean) and Director Leslie Patrick.

DISC 3:

Episode 19 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Caitlyn Glass (voice of Deneve) and Jamie Marchi (voice of Helen).
Episode 26 Commentary – Audio commentary featuring voice actresses Brina Palencia (who does the voice of Priscilla) and Stephanie Young (who does the voice of Clare).
Interview with Director Hiroyuki Tanaka – (7:00) Director Hirouki Tanaka talks about his impressions of the manga when he first read it and then being assigned to the series and the challenges he encountered on the series.
Interview with Sound Director Yasunori Honda – (8:37) Yasunori talks about his responsibilities for the series are for the anime series. Also, his responsible of working with the many voice talent on the series.
Interview with Art Director Manabu Otsuzaki (Kusanagi) – (6:30) Otsuzaki talks about the use of color in the anime series and what his responsibilities are.
Interview with Art Setting Nobuhito Sue (Kusanagi) – (4:14) Nobuhito Sue talks about his responsibilities for the anime series. Shading of sketches on the computer and creating the guidelines for the animators.
Cast Auditions – Featuring the audio cast auditions for Clare, Teresa, Rubel, Sid and Yomi.
Original TV Commercials – (4:21) Featuring the original Japanese TV commercials.
Textless OP & ED Songs - Textless OP song “Raison d’Etre” and Textless ED song “Danzai no Hana”.
Trailer – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS:

Also, included is a 48-page booklet. Featuring a character guide plus a staff interview with Hiroyuki Tanaka (Director) and Ryohei Takahashi (Animation Producer). Plus another interview with Yasunori Honda (Claymore Sound Director), Houko Kuwashima (Voice of Clare) and Motoki Takagi (Voice of Raki) plus illustrations and artwork.

My first impression after watching “Claymore” was “WOW!”.

The series reminded me of what I enjoyed with classic anime series such as “Hokuto no Ken” (Fist of the Northstar) and “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures” in which villages are being terrorized by evil beings and hopes for a hero to come and save them. But instead of male characters that kick butt, “Claymore” features a storyline about a group of female warriors that take down the evil monsters. So, that was pretty cool to see in this anime series!

With “Claymore”, what’s interesting is how this dark fantasy manages to capture your attention through the action but also character development and its character designs. The Claymore women (and there are many of them) have each been given a sort of personality that makes them unique in their own way. For the most part, their character designs and their supernatural abilities are very cool and exciting to watch but the fact that these women can easily turn on each other and their certain attitude is quite refreshing to see in an animated series.

This is one of the few anime series that I have seen back in 2009 where I literally watched one after the other in a marathon-like setting because the story was so captivating and you just wondered what was going to happen next. Granted, there are a lot of action-based anime series on television right now with a large cast of characters but the fact that “Claymore” is much darker, takes place in a fantasy type of world and the fact that the main protagonists can easily be the antagonist is very different.

Just watching how the story arcs are developed with Clare and Raki in the beginning, to Teresa and Clare right after and then back again to see Clare vs. Ophelia and various storylines of multiple Claymores and how violent the series can get but yet maintaining a well-paced, action-packed storyline featuring cool characters is a plus. Typically in an anime series, when a character doesn’t show up that much, you don’t really care for them but somehow the writers managed to make you care about the various Claymore warriors that you wonder when you will see them again.

And I’ve been asked quite a few times about the character of Raki and if I found this young boy hanging around with Clare to be very annoying and my answer is that I tend to measure my annoyance of a character alongside “Neon Genesis Evangelion” character Shinji, so in that case, Raki was not as annoying to me. Fortunately, he’s not seen in every episode either.

The manga series is still ongoing in Japan but I just hope that Madhouse Studios continues to make another Claymore series and cover more of the chapters from the manga because for a TV series, I was literally captivated by it. I just find the concept of all-female warriors (who happen to be all blonde albeit half monster) to be quite interesting and to see how violent this series is.

“Claymore: The Complete Series” is a more mature, dark and violent anime series. Granted, it was a TV series, but expect to see a lot of blood and severed limbs from time to time. It’s not disgusting at all but I know some anime viewers may be sensitive to those type of scenes. But some of those fight scenes are entertaining but a few that may be a bit twisted for some.

Overall, “Claymore: The Complete Series” on Blu-ray is an awesome release from FUNimation Entertainment. Is it the best in PQ and AQ, definitely not but for a release, “Claymore” has a solid storyline, cool characters, plenty of special features included plus a 48-page booklet included. I was very impressed by the presentation of content and of course, the quality of this television series.

“Claymore: The Complete Series” is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray

Claymore: The Complete Series (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

November 5, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

TITLE: Claymore – The Complete Series

DURATION: 26 Episodes (650 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: English 5.1 Dolby Surround Stereo, Japanese Stereo

COMPANY: Madhouse Studios/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV MA

Originally created by Norihiro Yagi

Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka

Series Composition by Yasuko Kobayashi

Storyboards by Yuto Sato

Music by Masanori Takumi

Character Design by Takahiro Umehara

Art Director: Manabu Otsuzuki

Art Design by Nobuto Sue

Sound Director by Yasunori Honda

Produced by Manabu Tamura, Masao Maruyama and Toshio Nakatani

Animation by Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Houko Kuwashima/Stephanie Young as Clare

Motoki Takagi/Todd Haberkorn as Raki

Aya Hisakawa/Brina Palencia as Priscilla

Hana Takeda/Caitlin Glass as Deneve

Hiroaki Hirata/R Bruce Elliott as Rubel

Kikuko Inoue/Monica Rial as Miria

Koji Yusa/John Swasey as Isley

Miho Miyagawa/Anastasia Munoz as Cynthia

Miki Nagasawa/Jamie Marchi as Helen

Nana Mizuki/Brittney Karbowski as Riful

Romi Paku/Christine Auten as Teresa

Ai Orikasa/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Galatea

Akeno Watanabe as Veronica

Akira Ishida as Zaki

Ayako Kawasumi/Wendy Powell as Elena

Cho as Ermita

In 2001, the manga series “Claymore” debuted on Monthly Shonen Jump. The popular series created by award-winning mangaka Norihiro Yagi (“Undeadman”, “Angel Densetsu”).

The main characters of “Claymore” are:

Raki - A boy who’s family was murdered by the yoma. When he first meets Clare, he is the first and only person to welcome her and now wants to be by her side.

Ilena – A Claymore from Clare’s past who is known for her “Quick Sword Technique” and returns back to Clare’s life to give her another chance in achieving her goal.

The following 26-episodes are featured on six DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode of “Claymore”:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 – Great Sword – The introduction of Clare and Raki.
EPISODE 2 – The Black Card – Clare receives a black card and that means that they must terminate one of their own. But what happens when Clare discovers that the Claymore she must defeat is her closest friend.
EPISODE 3 – The Darkness in Paradise – Clare must take on a “Voracious Eater” but the problem is the city doesn’t allow Claymores.
EPISODE 4 – Clare’s Awakening – Clare takes on the “Voracious Eater”.
EPISODE 5 – Teresa of the Faint Smile - We learn about Clare’s past and how she attached herself to a Claymore named Teresa, the #1 Claymore in the organization.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 6 – Teresa and Clare – We learn of how Teresa became fond of Clare and has protected her. But when bandits murder innocents in a town and intend to kill Clare, Teresa makes a decision that will alter her status as a Claymore.
EPISODE 7 – Marked for Death – With Teresa making a decision to defy the organization in order to protect Clare, Claymores #2-#5 must kill her.
EPISODE 8 – Awakening – The episode that introduces to how Clare became a Claymore.
EPISODE 9 – Those Who Rend Asunder I – Clare is assigned to take on an “awakened beings” and is teamed up with Miria, Helen and Deneve.
EPISODE 10 – Those Who Rend Asunder II – Part two of four Claymores taking on the awakened beast.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 11 – Those who Rend Asunder III – Deneve reveals to the other three Claymores of why she thinks the three of them were assigned the suicide mission.
EPISODE 12 -The Endless Gravestones I – Clare is assigned to go on another mission against another awakened beast but this time, she meets her partner…the bloodthirsty #4 Claymore Ophelia who is intent on murdering Clare and Raki. Clare vs. Ophelia and a mysterious person from the past shows up unexpectedly.
EPISODE 13 – The Endless Gravestones II – Irene trains Clare the “Quick Sword Technique”.
EPISODE 14 – To Be Qualified to Fight – Clare takes on the awakened Ophelia.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 15 – The Witch’s Maw I – The organization sends Galatea to hunt after Clare since Clare has not reported in for three months. As for Clare, she sees a Claymore that looks as if she was mauled and goes to check on the other Claymores.
EPISODE 16 – The Witch’s Maw II – When Clare tries to check on the other Claymore’s she runs into two Awakened Beings – The “Abyssal One” (Riful of the West) and Dauf.
EPISODE 17 – The Witch’s Maw III – In order to beat Dauf, the Claymores need Jean’s special ability to defeat Dauf.
EPISODE 18 – The Carnage In the North I – Clare and Jean meet up with 23 other Claymore’s in the North to prepare to fight a horde of Awakened Beings.

DISC 5:

EPISODE 19 – The Carnage in the North II – While the Claymores take on the awakened beings, Raki ends up in a village where he meets Priscilla who takes him to a man named Isley.
EPISODE 20 – The Carnage in the North III – The Claymores talk about their fight after the awakened beings, meanwhile Raki asks Isley to train him on how to use a sword.
EPISODE 21 – Invasion of Pieta I – The Claymores go on to their next major battle against the awakened beings.
EPISODE 22 – Invasion of Pieta II – The Claymores take on Rigardo.

DISC 6:

EPISODE 23 – Critical Point I – Clare takes on Rigardo but uses too much yoma energy which can make her become an awakened being.
EPISODE 24 – Critical Point II – Clare has pushed herself to far using Yoma energy and is unable to revert back to human form. Will the Claymores slay her?
EPISODE 25 – For Whose Sake – Clare’s long time dream of fighting against Priscilla (to avenge the death of Teresa) finally comes true.
EPISODE 26 – To the Successors – The final episode featuring Clare (in awakened form) vs. Priscilla (who is unaware that she is an awakened being).

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Claymore: The Complete Series” is featured in 16×9. “Claymore” is a television series and knowing that most animation studios tend to work on an episode quickly (especially if other animators and staff are working on several titles), this series is done very well. The backgrounds and the characters definitely give this dark fantasy atmosphere to the series. Colors and lighting play a big part in the series and there is a special feature in which this is discussed. But for the most part, the animation and character designs really capture your attention. The scenes are action-packed and the fighting sequences and swordfighting is also well done. “Claymore” definitely features solid animation and I can only hope that this series receives an HD presentation someday.

As for audio, audio is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Japanese stereo. For the most part, voice acting is well done and the fact that there are so many characters in this series, both fans of English voice dubs and Japanese voice acting for anime series can expect some of their favorites involved in this series. Audio is front and center channel driven but for an immersive soundtrack, I had my receiver set on stereo on all channels. I wanted to make sure the action and the growls of the yoma were more immersive but for the most part, both dialogue are well-acted.

Although I tend to watch a lot of anime series with the Japanese voice dub, for “Claymore”, I enjoyed the voice dub for the series because it was more mature in dialogue. For example, the character of Ophelia is one deadly woman and when you see her in pain, she’s cussing up a storm. And this is one of the few times where I felt the “F-word” and profanity was well utilized in an anime series (thus the TV MA rating). There’s no hiding from the pain a lot of these women must endure and so I felt that the dialogue for the English dub was well done and well-written and much more mature than its Japanese counterpart.

Subtitles are in English only.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Claymore – The Complete Series” comes with the following special features:

DISC 1:

Episode 1 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by voice actress Stephanie Young (who does the voice of Claire), Director and voice actor Todd Habekorn (who does the voice of Raki).
Cast Auditions – Featuring the audio cast auditions for Clare, Teresa, Rubel, Sid and Yomi.
Textless Songs
Trailer – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

DISC 2:

Episode 8 Commentary – Audio commentary featuring voice actress Brina Palencia (who plays Priscilla) and voice actress Wendy Powell (who plays Elena).
Interview with Director Hiroyuki Tanaka – (7:00) Director Hirouki Tanaka talks about his impressions of the manga when he first read it and then being assigned to the series and the challenges he encountered on the series.
Textless Songs
Trailer – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

DISC 3:

Episode 11 Commentary – Audio commentary by line producer and voice actress Colleen Clinkenbeard (who plays Galatea) and voice actress Monica Rial (who plays Miria).
Interview with Sound Director Yasunori Honda – (8:37) Yasunori talks about his responsibilities for the series are for the anime series. Also, his responsible of working with the many voice talent on the series.
Textless Songs
Trailer – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

DISC 4:

Episode 16 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by voice actress Laura Bailey (Jean) and Director Leslie Patrick.
Interview with Art Director Manabu Otsuzaki (Kusanagi) – (6:30) Otsuzaki talks about the use of color in the anime series and what his responsibilities are.
Textless Themes
Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

DISC 5:

Episode 19 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Caitlyn Glass (voice of Deneve) and Jamie Marchi (voice of Helen).
Interview with Art Setting Nobuhito Sue (Kusanagi) – (4:14) Nobuhito Sue talks about his responsibilities for the anime series. Shading of sketches on the computer and creating the guidelines for the animators.
Textless Themes
Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

DISC 6:

Episode 26 Commentary – Audio commentary featuring voice actresses Brina Palencia (who does the voice of Priscilla) and Stephanie Young (who does the voice of Clare).
Original TV Commercials – (4:21) Featuring the original Japanese TV commercials.
Textless Themes
Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

Also, included are two books. One is a 26-page booklet which features a character guide plus a staff interview with Hiroyuki Tanaka (Director) and Ryohei Takahashi (Animation Producer). Plus another interview with Yasunori Honda (Claymore Sound Director), Houko Kuwashima (Voice of Clare) and Motoki Takagi (Voice of Raki).

The second book is 26-pages and continues the character guide plus illustrations and artwork.

My first impression after watching “Claymore” was “WOW!”.

This is one of the few anime series that I have seen in 2009 where I literally watched one after the other in a marathon-like setting because the story was so captivating and you just wondered what was going to happen next. Granted, there are a lot of action-based anime series on television right now with a large cast of characters but the fact that “Claymore” is much darker, takes place in a fantasy type of world and the fact that the main protagonists can easily be the antagonist is very different. Just watching how the story arcs are developed with Clare and Raki in the beginning, to Teresa and Clare right after and then back again to see Clare vs. Ophelia and various storylines of multiple Claymores and how violent the series can get but yet maintaining a well-paced, action-packed storyline featuring cool characters is a plus. Typically in an anime series, when a character doesn’t show up that much, you don’t really care for them but somehow the writers managed to make you care about the various Claymore warriors that you wonder when you will see them again.

The manga series is still ongoing in Japan but I just hope that Madhouse Studios continues to make another Claymore series and cover more of the chapters from the manga because for a TV series, I was literally captivated by it. This is definitely one of the best anime TV series I have seen in 2009.

Overall, “Claymore: The Complete Series” is an excellent release from FUNimation Entertainment. Plenty of special features, two books included. I was very impressed by the presentation of content and of course, the quality of this television series. This series is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray