It actually aches me that this series was abandoned with an irrelevant ending. They've been sitting on a gold mine all these years, yet they won't complete or reboot it. Talk about madness. Honestly, the manga is just stellar. The world, the lore, the characters, the art, the writing... everything is top notch. One of the greatest pieces of fiction I've ever known.
I adore the world of Claymore. It often reminds me of the world of Witcher, which I also love a lot; especially in the sense of Geralt and Ciri and their father & daughter relationship, mirrored here by Teresa and Clare, mother & daughter. Other similarities being an organization breeding warriors to fight monsters and protect humans, the warriors losing the pigment of their hair in the process, having silver eyes, et cetera...
The animation is sharp, the characters reflect their manga counterparts faithfully, it's gritty and bloody, and the music is awesome; it's clear that Norihiro Yagi himself was involved in the music selection, or at least considered in mind, since the manga states he likes rock/metal music, which is pretty nice and I appreciate it, being a metalhead myself. The soundtrack for this anime is just 10/10. I keep listening to some of the tracks on a daily basis since I first watched this series years ago. And the voice acting goes without saying, it's always good with anime.
The only problem with this anime is that it has a premature ending. It barely covers half of the manga and ends abruptly. Since it's incomplete, you're robbed of seeing the characters complete their journeys. Because of that, the only thing Raki does is whine, cry, and get in Clare's way. He's unbearably annoying in the anime, but again, it's because it's incomplete. In the manga, Raki completes his character development as well.
What I love the most about Claymore is the relationship between Teresa and Clare. Teresa is the strongest warrior of the organization, and because of that, she's literally alone at the top. She can slay any monster without breaking a sweat, or any of her comrades for that matter, but she's not arrogant either. She's alone, cold, distant, and seems unreachable on the outside, yet she's playful at times as well.
Clare is one of the countless kids in the world of Claymore whose family was devoured by monsters. She's traumatized and unable to speak. When Teresa visits her town and slays the monster that enthralls her and breaks her free, she bonds with Teresa for eternity. Teresa, being an emotionless killing machine for years, has no feeling toward humans and her only duty is to cut down monsters to keep civilians safe. She explains this to Clare and tries to get rid of her, but it's no use. Clare starts following Teresa around.
Later on, a pack of bandits tries to rape Teresa. She shows her battle scars, and it repulses them. They go away. Clare keeps following Teresa, almost dying. Teresa slowly begins to change her mind about her, as Clare amuses her, but not in a bad way. Some time later, one of the bandits whose hand Teresa had cut off comes back and tries to rape her again. Seeing the bandit, Clare tries to hit him but is slapped to the ground. Teresa picks up her sword and scares the bandit away. Clare gets up and embraces Teresa, finally uttering some words, asking her if it doesn't hurt. She tells her that from the moment she first saw her, she looked so sad; her face showed so much pain. She says Teresa's eyes are just like hers; so sad, hurt, lonely... as if she couldn't stand it.
At that point, Teresa understands that it wasn't Clare being the one comforted, but herself. Shedding tears, she's struck by the compassion a tiny, scarred little girl half her size shows to her. With that gut wrenching moment, Teresa abandons the organization and decides to live on for Clare's sake, becoming a mother for her.
However, that sparks Teresa's downfall, as she deserted the organization. Therefore, the organization sends some of its top warriors to neutralize her. As expected, Teresa cuts down every single one of them and leaves town with Clare. One of the warriors, Priscilla, a naive new recruit who sees the world only as black and white, cannot accept defeat and sets out to kill Teresa again, just because that's what the organization wants. Unable to understand the mother & daughter relationship between Teresa and Clare, Priscilla finally beheads Teresa when she drops her guard as she refuses to kill Priscilla, at the cost of becoming a monster, an Awakened Being. These are monsters stronger than Claymores and regular monsters. That marks the point of no return. Once awakened, Claymores cannot revert. Priscilla, now a monster, an Awakened Being, leaves the scene.
Alone with Teresa's severed head, Clare embraces her and weeps... a blood chilling moment. Then Clare goes to town and finds one of the organization's officers, asking him to put Teresa's flesh and blood into her, becoming a Claymore herself and therefore being with Teresa forever. The organization grants the wish, as it means a new experiment to them. Clare now is officially a Claymore, with Teresa's flesh and blood inside her... and her revenge arc begins.
Apart from the spectacular Teresa & Clare story, the rest of the characters are pretty well written too. Each Claymore has a sign of their choosing and a number assigned by the organization, based on their respective strengths. Each warrior also differs in class: offensive and defensive types. Defensive warriors are able to heal faster, even regenerate whole limbs; something offensive types cannot do. Clare, an offensive type, is number 47, the lowest rank, yet rank alone doesn't prove might, as Clare grows stronger and stronger with time.
Some other memorable Claymores include:
The greatest moment in the manga is the final battle between Clare and Priscilla. Priscilla, the strongest Awakened Being, eliminates everything in her path, be it Claymore or monster, as if she's crushing bugs. Not even the strongest Claymores or Awakened Beings stand a chance. It seems hopeless. Clare, dead set on exacting her revenge, is united with Teresa deep within her consciousness. Clare, as a little child, how Teresa sees her, is with Teresa after many years, even though it's not the physical world.
Clare runs toward her in tears, embracing her as she always has. She says it's her fault Teresa died, but Teresa dismisses her, saying the time they had together was precious. Teresa listens like a mother making small talk with her child. Clare tells her about everything that happened since then; her friends, how she likes each one of them.
Teresa, awakening through Clare, fights Priscilla. She's the only one who can defeat a monster of that caliber. However, Priscilla's misguided hate toward Teresa fuels her. The fight drags on. The other Claymores, watching this ultimate battle, are awestruck with how Teresa handles Priscilla without releasing an iota of power. But the more Teresa cuts her, the mightier Priscilla becomes. To end the battle once and for all, Teresa becomes an Awakened Being.
Priscilla never chose to be this way, it was all trauma she had to endure as a child. Defeating her frees everyone from misery, including Priscilla. Teresa, still with Clare in her consciousness, keeps comforting her. Clare, covered in tears and snot as still a child, embraces her one last time... smiling, just as Teresa asks of her. Finally, Teresa’s spirit vanishes, but she’s inside Clare’s heart forever.
Now back in her body, Clare is surrounded by her friends and Raki, now a grown man. They all part ways, live on, and walk the road ahead.
That's the incredible world of Claymore. Such an amazing story. It's forever etched into my mind. I absolutely love it.
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