Claymore

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST GORGEOUS MANGA I'VE EVER READ! If that statement wasnt enough to compel you then let me elaborate.
Fantasy setting has always been filled to the brim with highly acclaimed stuff and Claymore is no exception to that rule. The reason why I cherish this manga and think it deserves all the praise is mainly because of 3 reasons.

1. The Art : If you're of the opinion that manga have black and white imagery cannot look gorgeous then once you start reading Claymore, You'll take that statement back. The art honestly blew me away, I've never seen a series with such consistent and meticulously detailed artwork from start to finish. I honestly dont know how the author (Norihiro Yagi) pumped out chapters of this weekly but it deserves some serious praise. Sometimes in manga, there are certain panels where you are unsure of what is happening but this issue is absent in Claymore because the drawings are so detailed that even the backgrounds look gorgeous like seriously. This manga stands out on the basis of its artwork alone
2. A rare female cast : Now there are definitely other anime and manga out there which have female casts and etc. But what makes the cast of Claymore stand proud is the way they are treated. All of them and I repeat all of them get a chance to shine. Usually in anime/manga you dont see females getting such a main role (not to sound like a sexist lol but its a fact). I can confidently say that each and every character is unique in Claymore and they actually utilize strategy rather than just using raw power to topple their enemy.
3. The Story : It has an amazing start and one of the best endings I think I've seen. It doesnt do anything too ambitious and actually the story becomes repetitive after a certain later point but within the realm of this manga, I think the author really did a great job with it. So many unexpected plot twists are present.

Some more highlights of this manga are the gorgeously choreographed fights where you can feel every single motion of the people involved. There is actual skill involved in the fights and the concept of Yoma (The bad guys) actually seems very basic at first but later on the series has epic moments left and right. Some panels literally made my jaw drop and I actually looked at them several times to appreciate their beauty.
I can confidently say that Claymore is one of the best manga I've ever read and think it deserves all the praise it gets.

I'll 100% recommend this to people who are new to manga or are bored of the typical male protagonist trope and want to see something fresh which is just such a joyous ride to read from start to finish.

The wonderful thing is that while the art in Claymore is amazing no doubt but even the story, characters and the world building is top tier. It literally has everything and perhaps the only things which I can kinda nitpick about it is that it could have been a bit longer or if the story was a bit less predictable but all in all it's a solid 9/10.
Its definitely one of my favourite manga, Haha.

Thanks for reading!