Claymore is a violent fantasy horror manga with a uniquely feminine edge. Shape-shifting monsters called Yoma feed on humans and infest the world. To combat these creatures, a clandestine group called the “Organization,” has created Claymores—silver-eyed women with incredible power who are part Yoma themselves. However, if they use their Yoma power too much, they'll fall prey their Yoma side and become powerful monsters called Awakened Ones.

That’s the basic setup of one of the best and bloodiest SJ series. And 20 volumes in, things have gotten quite complicated to say the least. The war between the Abyssal Ones (extremely powerful Claymore that have become Awakened), the renegade Claymores, and the Organization has gotten more and more destructive. Entire towns have been wiped out, some Abyssal Ones have fallen, and the Organization’s forces have become threadbare.

After battling through town after town of Awakened Ones, the renegade Claymores discover the Organization have been implementing a terrible scheme. Determined to put a stop to it, they decide to go after them directly. Realizing their forces are spread thin, the Organization comes up with a desperate tactic that may turn the tide in their favor, that is if it doesn’t destroy them all.

Claymore is what I call a AAA battle manga. The art is far superior to most manga, the battles frenetic, and the action well choreographed. The fights are often between monsters that can change their shape or stretch any part of their body against humanoid foes with similar abilities, yet it’s easy to tell what’s happening. That’s no easy feat! If you ever plan on drawing any kind of action manga, you should study this series.

My one complaint is—it’s a little hard to tell the Claymores apart. They all have very similar faces, color of eyes, and body types. They also all carry giant swords, thus the name, “Claymore.” But, that’s a minor complaint and maybe just a “me” thing. I have lots of those.

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the story, you’ll probably want to start with volume one. But if you’ve let the series go stale, you should pick up where you left off, because this is one of those manga where the story and action just keep getting better and better.

Pick up the latest volume of Claymore today!

For a FREE PREVIEW of Claymore volume 1, go to VIZmanga.com!

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by Urian Brown