I wasn’t sure about Claymore when it first began. It was a premise that was, speaking euphemistically, very familiar. In a world overrun by powerful monsters, warriors who are half-human, half-monster fight to protect mankind while at the same time never being accepted by them. It’s a thousand pulp vampire novels, countless sci-fi penny dreadfuls. But as ever with such concepts, there’s always the possibility of doing them extremely well.
Claymore’s monsters are yoma, typical goofy-looking creatures, usually with spindly arachnoid limbs and gnashing fangs, easily the worst part of the show’s aesthetic. The force aligned against them is that of the claymores, an organisation of pale, light-haired women with silver eyes and heavy armour who fight with – you guessed it – big ole claymore swords. When we are introduced to them, it seems they are all cold, emotionally aloof, distant, taciturn – although later in the series ones with more varied personalities appear.
Our story follows a young boy called Laki whose family is slaughtered by the yoma, who are in turn exterminated by a Claymore by the name of Clare. She barely eats, hardly sleeps, possesses superhuman strength and endurance and shuns Laki, but he follows her doggedly until finally her icy exterior begins to soften and she grows to need Laki and his humanity in order to combat her dark, monstrous side.
It is when we are shown Clare’s back-story, abruptly and unexpectedly, that Claymore really takes off. Clare is less like her fellow warriors than she is like Laki, and has an interesting story of her own, one that culminates in a driving desire for revenge. However, we soon learn that while her skills are formidable, Clare is nowhere near at the level she needs to be to succeed, and her rebellious ways lead her organisation to put her in more and more dangerous situations. It is seeing her grow, as well as grow more human, that makes her interesting.
Unfortunately, despite the early promise shown by the series, it is ultimately either unfinished, or deeply unsatisfying. Being based on a manga that is not yet concluded and moves at a slow pace, it became necessary for the anime team to make up an ending – though all they managed to do was destroy any chance of a second season continuing to follow the manga, while showing an ending that resolves nothing and leaves stories untold. Laki, after being our human connection with the storyline, becomes first peripheral and then utterly useless; no great victory is won; the story ends on a note that is less ‘to be continued’ than ‘end of exposition.’
Claymore has a lot of promise. The animation and art is excellent, with a deliciously grim aesthetic, good-looking characters and some great costumes. The trouble is that it’s not even close to having finished yet. I hope for a second season, but in the meantime, I’ll just have to check out the manga if I want any sense of closure.
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