Norihiro Yagi

Riful of the West's motives make her a more interesting enemy. Yagi puts forth a question that I see as a theme in many manga/anime: if you've become non-human--and even superior to humans--then doesn't that mean that you can treat humans like they treat cattle? By itself, it's moot because cattle aren't sentient. However, hearing that idea come from someone so childlike, sweet-looking, and who wants friends and gets bored as Riful does cause one pause. The counterpoint is provided by the show more claymores who want to stay at least in control of their humanity instead of becoming what they see as a blood-thirsty--or viscera-eating--killer.

Let's see how Yagi develops this theme. show less

This is the 23rd volume in the Claymore series. This series is supposed to wrap up this year with volume 27. This was the best volume in this series yet. We finally get to see what has become of Clare. We also get the long awaited reunion between Clare and Raki.

Raki travels with Yuma, Helen, Tabitha, Cynthia, Miria, and Deneve back to the strange creature that is Clare, Luciela, and Rafaela all mashed into one. Raki uses his connection with Clare to help her. Miria also uncovers the horrible show more secret behind how the Yoma are made.

After all of those events the whole crew travels to the city of Rabona to take a final stand against the thing that is Priscilla.

This was a spectacular volume in this series. There are a lot of major revelations and a lot of progress in the plot. The story is very linear, action packed, easy to follow, and well put together. The illustration remains top notch as well.

Raki is an awesome character and it was so fun to have him back in the story. I also really loved that Clare was back in the story (if only briefly). It was wonderful to have all of my favorite characters banding together at last to fight for a common cause.

Overall this was the best book in the series yet. There are a lot of huge revelations and I really enjoyed where the story is going. I can’t wait to see what volume 24 holds. I would recommend this series to fans of action-packed fantasy manga. show less

This is the 20th volume in the Claymore series. The last couple books (including this one) have been lagging a little bit again. The plot is kind of scattered and unfocused. This was still a good read but just not as spectacular as volumes 17-18 were. The series is supposed to wrap up later this year with volume 27.

In this volume we meet up with Galatea, Miata, Clarice, Helen, Deneve and others as Yoma and Awakened Ones overrun the holy city of Rabona. Then we flash back to the organization show more for a quick look at what has become of Raki and some insight into what the Organization has planned.

After that Deitrich joins up with Helen, Deneve, and others as they head east via a northern trail to further investigate the news that Miria has taken on the Organization herself. Along the Northern trail they meet four new Claymores; Anastasia, Phina, Nike, and Keira.

Following that we go back to the Organization, which sends a huge group of Claymore out to hunt down the rebel group. We also get a glimpse at the terrifying new monsters that the Organization is planning to unleash. The story wraps up with what happened to Miria after her attack on the Organization in the Volume 19.

As you can tell from the above the story is all over the place. Clare really isn’t in this book at all, so we are left in suspense about what the fallout of Volume 19 will be for her. I continue to be curious about what is going on with Raki, but we are only getting a couple short scenes each book on him.

I continue to enjoy the story and the illustration is really well done. There are a ton of well done action scenes as well. I like that there is the “story thus far” portion at the beginning of the book. I wish they had a page of faces/names because we are getting to the point in the series where there are more and more Claymore to follow and remember...something I am having trouble with.

Overall this was a decent continuation of this series. The story is getting a bit scattered again, but you know since I am 20 volumes in I am not going to stop reading it now. There are some interesting developments around the Organization in this volume, but I missed having Clare and Raki in the story. This manga series is recommended to those who enjoy action-packed fantasy manga. I feel like I say the same things over and over about these books...but well there’s only so much I can say about this series I guess. show less

The manga centers around Kitano Seiichiro, a boy with a pure and kind heart but has a scary face. The plot is basically a running gag of how people always assume Katino is a delinquent and a drug addict (sometimes even the devil incarnation). But that’s not the case all the time. Despite attracting delinquents from other schools and even becoming the ‘banchou’ (gang leader) of his own school, Kitano manages to attract friends and a lover who see him for who he truly is: a kind yet show more socially awkward boy.
What I personally loved about the manga is that it doesn’t get repetitive. It’s what I was afraid of when I first decided to read it. I wouldn’t even call it a comedy since Kitano’s cheerful personality despite taken for a delinquent affects everyone he meets, which makes for great character developments. So much love is felt in the story. The artstyle is simple and a bit rough at the beginning but it gets better in the later volumes. show less