Review: Claymore, Vol. 2

Claymore, Vol. 2
by Norihiro Yagi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Claymore, Vol. 2 / 9781421506197

I've actually watched the complete Claymore anime first before getting into the manga; when I started deconstructing the incredible anime series on my blog, a kind reader was nice enough to mail me the first five manga volumes as supplemental material. I wasn't sure how closely the anime followed the source material, but so far it's been a very close match, with some extra (and delightful) details available in the manga.

I really love the artwork in this volume -- the drawings are black-and-white, and manage to be very detailed but with a consistently 'clean' simplicity that I find really appealing. The original formatting of the Japanese book was maintained instead of flipped, so you do have to read right-to-left and back-to-front with this volume. The right-to-left reading is a fairly simple adjustment for my eyes (though I do sometimes forget when I drop down a panel), but the back-to-front reading was a bit harder for my hands to get used to -- it's hard to shake years of muscle memory at the drop of a hat, but in this case it's worth it.

Volume 2 provides the following scenes:

Scene 5: Darkness in Paradise, Part 1
Scene 6: Darkness in Paradise, Part 2
Scene 7: Darkness in Paradise, Part 3
Scene 8: Darkness in Paradise, Part 4
Scene 9: Darkness in Paradise, Part 5

For those following along with the anime series, this volume corresponds to:

Episode 3: The Darkness in Paradise (An adaptation of Scene 5, Scene 6, and Scene 7 from the manga.)
Episode 4: Clare's Awakening (An adaptation of Scene 8, Scene 9, and carried over into Volume 3.)

This volume covers the adventures of Clare in the Holy City of Rabona, up to the recovery of her great sword and the start of the battle with the Voracious Eater. If you liked the anime series, I am certain you'll like this manga volume; I recommend it for extra detail and backstory on the Claymores and their organization.

~ Ana Mardoll

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