Dhruv Sharma
More often than not, I look at action-centric anime series with extreme caution because, a lot of the times, the creators of these shows take an easy way out. They create a very generic plot with paper-thin characters and then fill the rest of the anime with high production value fight scenes. Nonetheless, it is entertaining when you’ve got some time to kill but it’s just entertainment in its absolute basic form. So when I first came across ‘Claymore’, I thought, “Oh great! Yet another shounen with some sword slaying action.” I wasn’t too enthusiastic about watching it but I did anyway and I must say, I was more than surprised by what this anime had to offer. That’s why they say, “never judge a book by its cover”.
The one thing that impressed me the most about ‘Claymore’ is its character-driven plot. Most short-running shounen just set aside the whole character development part and instead fill it in with….well, more action. But even the action, here in Claymore, is entirely driven by the characters. The action scenes don’t just suddenly pop out of nowhere and all of them have a clear purpose behind them. The fight scenes are usually consequences of the actions of the main characters of the show and even their outcome is usually unknown. The unpredictable nature of these fights comes from the fact that none of the protagonists is portrayed as the “true hero”, which makes it really hard for you to bet on anyone’s life.
Speaking of the fight scenes, they do get a little draggy by the end of the first season because the storyline begins to suffer from serious pacing issues. And as much as I love this anime, I can’t help but complain about the disappointingly abrupt ending. But this flaw is understandable because, like many other anime series, ‘Claymore’ follows a manga that was written before its release. But then the anime was made much before the manga was even completed, so it’s quite clear why they decided to end with so many loose strings.
So despite its shortcomings, ‘Claymore’ manages to make up for most of it through its amazingly dark storyline that is mostly driven by the characters. If you are looking for a sophisticated anime that has a gripping plot throughout, then ‘Claymore’ is worth a try. Coming back to the loose ends and unfinished manga, this is a clear green flag for a new season. But considering the fact that more than a decade has gone by now since its release, the possibilities are quite low. Let’s talk about this further in the article.
Claymore Season 2 Release Date: When will it premiere?
‘Claymore’ season 1 released on April 4, 2007 and for the next six months, 26 episodes of the anime were released, with each one being 23 minutes long. Unfortunately, many anime fans did not share my positive opinion about it and the fan base acquired by it was just not enough for a new season. The manga went on for a while after this and ended with close to 155 chapters. A lot of the times, anime are made only for the sole purpose of promoting the source material. ‘Claymore’ is probably one of those anime because it has been more than 10 years now and we haven’t heard anything at all about it. So all those loose ends at the end of the season were for nothing. At this point, ‘Claymore’ season 2 release date of even 2021 or 2022 seems like a distant dream.
Claymore English Dub:
The English Dub of ‘Claymore’ Season 1 is available on Funimation and Amazon Prime.
Claymore Plot:
‘Claymore’ centers around a protagonist named Clare, who is the member of a group commonly known as “The Claymores”. This group is responsible for creating half human-half demon creatures like Clare to kill the pure breed demon creatures (Yoma), who mercilessly kill innocents and feed on them. They do this by disguising themselves as humans and luring ordinary people into their deadly trap.
The Claymores are determined to bring an end to these creatures and protect the humans from the Yoma. Clare has her own personal reasons for being a part of this mysterious organization and she wishes to avenge the death of her family members who were all killed by a Yoma when she was a child. Soon after that event, she was also tortured and abused by the demons and right before they could kill her, the Claymores had arrived to rescue her. Later, Clare gets to witness the death of another person who used to be like family for her, and this just makes her even more dedicated towards her true purpose.
Being a half-Yoma can be risky because if not controlled properly, the half-Yoma can actually take on the entire human existence of the person, turning him/her into a full-blown Yoma. Clare is one of the lowest ranked half-demons, according to the hierarchial ranking of the organization. But every time she’s out there on the battlefield, she proves to be no less than anyone on the team and pushes all her abilities beyond their true limitations. Even after stretching herself completely out of her comfort zone, not even once does she allow her Yoma side to take over her body. This shows that she has immense willpower and control over all of her powers. She uses her unique abilities to protect her friends and also to seek revenge from those who snatched her childhood from her.
Claymore Characters:
Clare
Clare is the main protagonist of the anime and is No. 47 in the mysterious Claymore organization, the 150th generation of Claymores. All other warriors on the team are, unlike her, half-Yoma. She is only a Quarter-Yoma because she is the only one who has taken the blood of another Claymore and not that of an actual Yoma. She is, more or less the outcome of a failed experiment which was initially intended to create a stronger Yoma warrior. But as a result, it created a subpar warrior who only possesses half the abilities of an average warrior. But after being ranked as the lowest amongst her peers, time and time again, Clare proves that her willpower and determination cannot be matched by anyone on the team. She may not be strongest on the team but her ability to risk everything and go beyond her comfort zone allows her to earn the respect of everyone.
In her partially awakened form as half-Yoma, her eyes turn blue and her body becomes all distorted with monstrous projections sprouting right out of it in different regions. Her dominant right arm turns into a giant blade and her left turns into a clawlike structure. Clare’s determination towards destroying Yoma is commendable but all of this comes with a big price. Her past hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows and during her early sensitive childhood days, she had to witness the murder of her entire family. It’s those disturbing events of her childhood that drive her now to kill the creatures who took away everything from her. When she later meets Raki, she completely understands what he personally goes through because she had gone through something similar when she was a kid.
Raki
The name Raki means “Lucky” in English and proves to be quite ironic in this case. Raki has brown eyes, messy hair, and a prominent scar beside his right eye. He keeps a very simple dressing style even during combat and only wears a basic tank top with harem pants and high top boots. Over this, he wears heavy armor that gleams over his heavily muscular and tall frame. His physical appearance is a clear outcome of the number of years he has put in to transform his body and become a worthy member of the Claymores. He contrasts Clare’s personality and unlike her, he is a complete extrovert. He is one character anyone can trust and his optimism is something that keeps everyone around him motivated.
Raki also specializes in cooking and later Clare allows him to cook for her as an excuse for letting him stay at her place. His sword slinging skills are not extraordinary in any way but are good enough to kill an average Yoma without sustaining too many injuries. Clare is the one who rescues Raki just like she was rescued by another Claymore during her childhood. After this event, Raki was exiled from his village and that’s when the Claymores took him in. He later faces a very bitter farewell from Clare, who gently kisses him on his lips and conveys a final goodbye. At this moment, Raki realizes that he might never see her again. But later, he tries to look for her because he could never forget what she did for him when he was a kid.
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