White is the new chic.

The slip box for Claymore certainly is unpretentious, and features a white background and simple pin-up of Clare on the front, with details and screenshots on the back. Each slim DVD case houses two DVD volumes and has both inner and outer reversible illustrations of the main Claymores of the series such as Teresa, Galataea and Clare. The DVD menus are as elegant as the series with ornate filigree border around a screenshot from the show (each one is different according to the sub-menu) with appropriate background music from the series. The Japanese voice cast is a joy to hear, but I found myself choosing the English dub track over the original because the actors seemed to give the characters that added spice of personality to each one through different vocal ranges and tones. It just seems to give the show an added element of enjoyability.

It really requires a “Bag of Holding.”

The complete set of Claymore comes with all the meaty punches of extra content that the individual discs had. Each disc has trailers, textless songs, and an episode with commentary; and that’s just the general package! You also get a healthy dose of interviews from the production team, original English casting recordings, the original Japanese TV promos, and two series guidebooks. Personally, I feel the guidebooks are, by far, the best offering of the extra features. Each book is packed full with character designs and profiles, concept artwork for settings, series info, and more. Our friends at Funimation certainly outdid themselves with this offering to series fans and the otaku masses.

Understated elegance.

It almost feels as though Claymore is a sleeper hit in the States. You don’t hear a lot of reviews about either the anime or the manga, from what I’ve seen. It’s almost an injustice, because the series is more than another hot-chicks-with-swords-series. (Ho-hum.) It’s story is complex and the characters, for all they physically appear blandly beautiful, are deep and well-constructed. The music and animation are beautiful works of art in and of themselves. It’s not about the awesome action and bloodletting of Yoma, it’s about the human element behind the Claymores themselves, and that’s what makes the story so absolutely compelling. I highly recommend watching the series, and promise viewers will likely be hooked at the onset.