manga: Claymore Vol 18-22

I forgot how rewarding it is to read this manga and be treated with pages and pages of nothing but women in armor (or matching black leather, depending on what group your with at the time) and to have about 95% of the named characters be women. (Actually, I think this series must be approaching 100 named female characters, even if a number don't actually last that long.)

Then again, I also forgot just how demented Norihiro Yagi's brain can be when it comes to monstrous bodies, and his fondness for flying body parts.

And I have to say, while I know some people weren't able to get into the series because the friendships between the characters were slow moving, for me they resonate more than in most shounen I've read precisely because the characters were trained since childhood to avoid connections and to not have many feelings makes it resonate even more when they rebel against their training and forge bonds. And, with the rare exception, bonds with other women.

( spoilers employ liberal use of capslock )