Claymore Volume 7: Fit for Battle by Norihiro Yagi
ISBN- 9781421510491
Genre: Manga, Fantasy, Horror
Avg. Goodreads rating: 4.31
Is it a book review if I just sit here and mash the exclamation key? !!!!!!!!!!!!!! No? Alright then.
This is easily the best volume yet. I’m freaking out. I mentioned in my last Claymore review that the arc in this particular section is my favorite in the anime. It honestly might be my favorite story arc in any TV show ever and I loved it even more in the manga.
Th art style in this series has always been incredibly unique and striking but this one in particular is out of this world. I want every frame of this book tattooed on me.
Even more so here than in the anime, this arc reveals a lot about Clare as a character. We know that she was once held captive by a yoma as a child before she was rescued by the Claymore Teresa who then became a strong motherly figure to her. After Teresa’s death Clare was motivated to live almost entirely by her desire for revenge. She became a Claymore for the specific purpose of killing the one who killed Teresa. For the most part Clare is very stoic and we only see her softer side in the gestures she makes towards other people. Taking the young boy, Raki, under her protection the way Teresa did for her is a good example of this.
We see a surprising side of Clare in this volume when it comes to her relationship with Raki and I’m very interested to see how it develops over the rest of this story. That was one aspect that the anime kinda dropped halfway through and forgot about.
Clare also meets Quicksword Ilena, one of the elite Claymores sent to execute Teresa all those years ago. Their relationship is so fascinating because of that dynamic; they clearly have mutual respect for each other but there is still that bloody history between them. *Minor Spoilers* They have an incredibly moving scene together where Ilena advises Clare to give up on her revenge mission and to honor Teresa’s memory by living a better life. This is the first time we really see Clare become emotional and of course I was crying along with her. This series puts me through the damn wringer.
There are a lot of complex topics being brought up and discussed here. Morality, family, sacrifice and duty are all monsters of their own that characters must wrestle with to survive.
I’m so excited to see how Clare develops as the series goes on.
Trigger warning for this volume in particular: there’s a lot of body horror that some people may find upsetting.
Final Verdict: 5/5 stars
A Professional Bookdragon 
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