Sunday, January 10, 2016

Book Review: Claymore Vol 17

Title - Claymore Volume 17
Author - Norihiro Yagi
Series - Claymore #17
Genre - Horror Manga
Format - Kindle
Published - November 4th 2009
Publisher - Viz Media LLC

The Claws of Memory With the balance of power broken after Isley's defeat by the ferocious Abyss Feeders, the Organization, central hub of the Claymores, deploys Alicia and Beth to the West to go after the renegade Riful. In turn, Riful continues her scheme to Awaken the remains of the powerful Rafaela. As these dire powers all finally collide, Clare and her comrades must fight for their lives in the titanic battle that ensues.

Review
Claymore is a manga about Yoma who pretend to be human in order to kill and eat the humans. The Claymore are the hybrid of the two stronger faster but still human with the ability to slay the Yoma which they do for a price. They travel from village to village slaying Yoma with nothing but the sword on their back using the Yoma abilities but slowly turning into a monster that they hunt. When the time comes a Claymore will send a black card to another claymore to be slain before the Yoma takes over and so they die as a human.


In the 17th installment the girls from the north are still split up with Deneve and Helen headed in Clare’s direction. When Clare senses the possible missing warrior she separates from the other girls heading off to find the warrior who’s calling to her. She encounters Riful’s boyfriend Dauf who she quickly distracts heading into the castle where they are keeping the two who have merged.  She is drawn into the mind of Rafaela who explains her only chance to survive is to beat her. Things turn ugly when Rafaela and Luciela awaken together creating a massive awaken being who’s set on destruction. As if that’s not enough the Abyss Feeders have showed up as well as the number 1 and number 2 will they survive this encounter ?

I like Clare she’s a sword carrying slayer who isn’t afraid to die charging in risking her life. She's grown a lot in the last several volumes leading up to the battle in the north. After faking her death along with her fellow claymore's she's returned after seven years to battle the Organization. While she may not be the strongest she's determined and unwilling to give up. She's one of those underdog characters you can't help liking. We've seen a little of Raki but other than knowing he's traveling with Priscilla that's about it.

I’ve seen all of the episodes on Netflix a few years ago actually binge watched them over a long weekend. While it’s been a while I don’t think the anime has gone this far in the series. I don’t remember the girls taking on the organization which is where the story has turned. It’s interesting learning that the organization which has been creating claymores for a long time may not be the good guys after all. I love the concept for the Claymore the hybrids created using parts from the monsters that they have been created to fight against the Yoma that they created. The art is great it gives me just enough to create the story in my head as I read each detailed page. This is only my 2nd manga so I don’t have a lot to base on but I’m super addicted to them. They are perfect for when I have some downtime or when I feel like reading back to back. I already know that the ending is close as I’m about halfway done. I’m anxious to see how it’s all going to play out. 

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