Claymore

Claymore (originally Claymore/クレイモア, meaning the Scottish greatsword) is a long-running dark fantasy manga created by Japanese manga artist Norihiro Yagi. It began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Jump in July 2001, later moved to Jump Square, and concluded in 2014 with 27 volumes and 155 chapters. The story takes place on a continent divided into 47 regions and overrun by yoma: monsters that take human form and feed on human innards. Ordinary humans cannot resist them and can only ask the Organization to dispatch female warriors who carry giant swords. These warriors have yoma flesh and blood mixed into their bodies, granting them strength and yoki perception far beyond ordinary humans; yet they are also feared and shunned by humans, called Claymores and also known as silver-eyed witches. The work opens with a Claymore dispatched to a mountain village to slay a yoma, and as the plot advances it gradually unfolds the bonds between warriors, the secrets behind the Organization, and the fate of warriors whose bodies are slowly eroded by yoki and who face awakening into monsters. The whole series revolves around battle, sacrifice, and self-identity; the art is stark, the pacing tight and loose by turns, and within the framework of shōnen manga it writes a heavy tragic sensibility. It was adapted into a 26-episode TV anime in 2007.