Set in a land where a dark breed of flesh-eating beasts called Yoma terrorize the human race, “Claymore” tells the story of Clare, a beautiful human-Yoma hybrid who works for a secret organization that hunt and kill the very demons that make her who she is. When a young boy named Raki begins following her around after a Yoma kills his family, Clare takes him under her wing – learning more about how she became a Claymore, as well as the organization pulling the strings, along the way. “Claymore” is exactly the kind of anime you’d expect just from looking at the cover. It has a beautiful protagonist, tons of action, and is as shiny as the giant sword Clare carries. That may not sound very involved, but though the first volume of the 26-episode series doesn’t dig too deep into the mythology of the Claymores, it teases the audience just enough to ensure that they’ll be back for more. It’s quite rare to see such a dark and gritty anime that doesn’t take place in the future, but if you like you’re fantasy starring hot babes with big swords, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Click to buy “Claymore: Chapter One”