CLAYMORE, VOL. 11
VIZ MEDIA
CARTOONIST: Norihiro Yagi
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Arashi Productions
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1571-7; paperback; Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200 pp., B&W, $7.99
In the world of the manga Claymore, written and drawn by Norihiro Yagi, monsters “from the pit,” called “Yoma,” prey on humans. The Yoma also live in disguise among humanity. The hope against the monsters are female warriors known as “Claymores” (named for the immense broadswords they wield). These silver-eyed warriors are half-human, half monster, and possess supernatural strength; however, they must fight to keep their savage impulses from also turning them into monstrous creatures.
Claymore, Vol. 11 finds Clare and a force of Claymores battling a powerful group of Yoma. The Organization, a shadowy human group, has ordered Clare, a special Claymore, and her comrades to hold the Yoma while the Organization prepares a secret weapon. Will Clare and her fellow warriors discover that theirs is a suicide mission in time to save any of their own lives?
THE LOWDOWN: Claymore is a battle-centric high fantasy title, with the monsters being horrid and the female warriors beautiful. The costumes are either armor or exoskeletons of some type (thinks crab, octopus, insect, etc.). Some of the textured art looks like pencil or charcoal toning, and it’s quite pretty. Yagi’s art is similar to that of some Korean (manhwa) artists: Kim Young-Oh (Banya, the Explosive Delivery Man), Oh-Se-Kwon (Utopia’s Avenger), or Jin-Hwan Park (Archlord). The creature design is also similar to the monster design by Yoshinori Natsume on Togari.
Claymore is intriguing, especially for the illustrative art, in particular the explosive battle scenes and exceptional compositions. The narrative, however, is not like a lot of manga (Naruto or Bleach) in that the reader will be required to be familiar with the series closer to the beginning to understand the story.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: A “Shonen Jump Advanced” title, Claymore will appeal to readers who like video game-infused high fantasy full of vigorous and brutal battles.
B
