FUNimation announced the acquisition of the Claymore anime, which is based on the Shonen Jump manga by Norihiro Yagi (published in the U.S. by Viz Media).  The 26-episode Claymore anime was produced by Madhouse and directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka.  It aired on the Japanese NTV network from April through September of 2007.  FUNimation has not yet announced a U.S. release date for the Claymore anime.

The first 20 episodes of the Claymore anime closely follow the narrative of Yagi's Claymore manga with its high concept narrative set in a dark fantasy medieval world in which monsters known as 'youmas' prey on humans.  Like the pod people of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the youmas 'take over' the bodies of their human hosts, even appropriating their memories.  Claymores, half-human, half-youma hybrids, are the only ones who are able to distinguish youmas disguised as ordinary humans.  The Claymores are able to eliminate the youmas by utilizing their two-handed Highland Claymore swords, which give the manga and anime series its name.

Interestingly for a shonen manga and anime, the protagonist of Claymore, Clare, is a female, but this doesn't mean that Claymore is short on violence and gore.  Quite the contrary, Clare wields her sword with the best of them. 

This action-packed series delivers the goods and should appeal to the same audience that has made the Bleach anime and manga series such a hit.  Like Bleach, the Claymore saga creates a complex fantasy world and delivers plenty of narrative twists to leaven its steady stream of action scenes. 

The Claymore anime should also benefit from the previous North American release of the Claymore manga (Volume 11 is due out in March), but the anime should in turn drive manga sales, particularly if FUNimation is able to get the Claymore anime series some television exposure.