Claymore

Overall Rating: A
Summary: This 26 episode fantasy/supernatural/action shonen anime is based on the manga of the same name. The series is set in a world where humans coexist with creatures called the Yoma, which are sentient monsters that eat humans (specifically their guts). The Yoma can take on the appearance of a human, and so often infiltrate villages and kill the villagers off slowly.

To combat the Yoma, a nameless, secretive organization create human/yoma hybrids by implanting Yoma flesh into humans. These hybrids are known as Claymores, because of the large swords they all carry. Villages can hire the Claymores to protect themsleves from the yoma, for a large fee.

All Claymores are wormen, and all have similar features. The latter is the result of the hybridization process, and makes their hair light-blonde/white, and they develop elf-like ears.  Despite the protection Claymores provide, they are almost universally feared because of their Yoma heritage.

The series follows Claire, a Claymore who is ranked 47th out of a possible 47. In other words she supposedly sucks. However, she continually demonstrates what a bad ass she is, so there is a great deal of question about why she is 47th. Early on in the anime, she meets an incredibly annoying kid named Raki, who is exiled from his village after his family is killed by a Yoma. Despite his incredibly annoying behavior and the fact that he is often down-right stupid, Claire breaks character and the two become friends. He is the worst part of this anime.

I had heard a lot of good things about both the manga and the anime, and so I decided to check this one out. I immediately liked Claire, and as the series progressed, and I learned more about the Claymore, I got more interested in the plot and supporting characters. Well, everyone except for Raki, whose voice is incredibly whiny and made me wish he would die almost everytime he was on screen. Luckily, there are many episodes where he doesn't appear at all, or only briefly. The other issue is that many of the Claymore look very similar and it can become difficult to tell who is who in scenes with multiple Claymore. I would probably give the series an A+ if it wasn't for those two issues. If you like bad ass women with large swords, and a good plot (and who doesn't?), then check this one out.