Story 5: the plot of claymore focuses on a hero's journey approach for the first half of the series, but in this it stumbles pretty constantly by making the protagonist constantly reactive instead of active in her world, meaning she has little to no agency as a character. Still its held up by solid world building and a good supporting cast that still earns the investment in the narrative. Until the last act, when the plot twists so freaking hard that I swear half the cast lost their spine. Its so ridiculously out of nowhere that it almost ruins the entire series because it means that the previous worldbuilding was now made null and the characters who had little agency, now have absolutely none.

Art 9: The art is most easily described as a "polished berserk". In that it is very graphic, visceral, and filled with detail that is just a feast for the eyes, but it has the extra note of being really smooth, characters are all beautiful and elegant in their renditions, and the way the motion is drawn, ohhh damn is it just the most savory dish on the manga buffet. Out of anything in this series, the art holds it up the most because it is just consistently excellent.

Character 6: the problems with the characters arent immediately apparent, because at first each character feels well written, they feel dynamic and deserving of their place in the series. Even the protag, with her bizzare levels of stoicism and lack of expression make sense in the way they give context. However, the problems are revealed later because no one has an arch, and if they do, they are way too short. This is compounded with the fact that the characters have little agency whatso ever, meaning it really can be hard to care about them.

Enjoyment 8: Now, regardless of the criticisms this series is entertaining. its visceral, fast paced, and has the slightest hints of philosophy that trick you into thinking on a deeper level as you watch the mass mutilation that can only be compared to the likes of berserk. And even when it falls off, it still continues to be a worth while experience for the excellently creative designs and visual style.

Over all 7: Claymore in regards to its writing is a very poor mans berserk, in almost every way, but that does not mean its truly 'bad'. Its visceral, beautiful, and has sparks of great story telling that appear now and then, and did I mention that the art is amazing, because man is it amazing. This series is not for someone that will close a book solely because the narrative lacks good direction, as you will become frustrated very very quickly if you are that person. Instead this series is more for the hunger fiend that just needs to sink thier teeth into a juicy manga flank steak with a side of home made potato casserole washed down with some smooth cider and topped off with a slice of mass murder torture and gore...ahhh, tastes like heaven.