Claymore (manga)

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Claymore
Teresa, a Claymore, a close friend of Clare, the protagonist of the series.
クレイモア
(Kureimoa)
Genre Shōnen, Heroic Fantasy, Horror
Manga
Authored by Norihiro Yagi
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
Serialized in Flag of Japan Monthly Shonen Jump
Original run May 2001 –
No. of volumes 12 (Ongoing)
TV anime
Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka
Studio Madhouse Studios
Network NTV
Original run April 3, 2007 –
No. of episodes 1 (ongoing)

Claymore (クレイモア?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi produced for Monthly Shonen Jump. As of April 2007, twelve volumes of the original Japanese edition and seven in English have been released. Each chapter in the manga is referred to as a "scene". An anime series has been announced [1] and began airing on April 3, 2007.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Background

The setting of Claymore's story is a fictional world with medieval technology. Politically, it appears to consist of a large number of scattered towns. In this world, humans coexist with monsters called Yoma. The Yoma, who are shape-changers, can take human form and live in disguise among human society. They feed on human innards, and sometimes take possession of memories from the brains of people they eat. These acquired memories help them to disguise themselves within human society.

A nameless and highly secretive organization has created an order of superhuman warriors to protect humans from the Yoma. These warriors are called Claymores by the village people, after their immense claymore swords. Villages being attacked by Yomas hire Claymores to kill the Yomas for a large fee.

This organization creates the Claymores by implanting Yoma flesh and blood into humans, to create hybrids that are more powerful than the original Yoma, in addition to their weapons training and possibly greater intelligence. A Claymore's standard abilities include faster healing, limited shape modification, the ability to detect other demons and hybrids, and overall enhanced physical prowess. They all wear the same armor and use large claymore swords that normal humans lack the strength to wield, and are characterized by their silver eyes and hair. However, the Yoma powers of each Claymore will increase overtime until the Claymore loses all humanity and becomes a powerful, highly intelligent, and incredibly bloodthirsty Yoma called an Awakened. They also constantly run the risk of speeding up their transformations into Yomas if they overuse their powers. A good Claymore will ask a friend (usually a fellow Claymore) to kill them if they sense they are "Awakening" so they would not become a Yoma.

The secret organization is contacted by the town council about Yoma killings and will then send a Claymore to kill the demons, although not every hybrid does so willingly. Upon a successful kill, it then sends an agent to charge a large fee for its services. A town that fails to pay will never receive further assistance and will be left at the mercy of the Yoma. It has been insinuated that the organization themselves send Yoma to the towns that could not pay. The organization is often strict and harsh; hybrids who break the rules (for example, by killing a human, even accidentally or to protect others) will be hunted down by their fellow hybrids. Claymores who causes trouble or Claymores suspected to be on the verge of Awakening will be sent on suicide missions without their knowledge or consent. Various characters throughout the series suspect the organization of being much more sinister than it appears.

Despite saving humans on a regular basis, Claymores are often feared and alienated by humans due to their incredible powers, their relation to Yomas, and generally cold attitudes. Claymores often live unhappy, lonely lives due to their loneliness and the knowledge that they will eventually die or become monsters. Presumably from the combination of their Yoma blood and their suffering, some Claymores develop an incredible thirst for blood and become bloodthirsty killers who enjoy taking life. Surviving family members of humans who had been possessed by Yomas are often alienated and banished from villages for fear that they might be Yoma too. Females who suffer this fate are often forced to become Claymores to survive.

The story of Claymore follows the adventures of the beautiful Claymore warrior Clare. The plot follows her as she fights Yoma and struggles to hold on to her humanity. Starting in the 3rd volume, there is a flashback to her childhood and how she was 'adopted' by the Claymore Teresa. After Teresa rebels against the organization and is subsequently killed, Clare volunteers to become a Claymore using Teresa's flesh in order to take revenge on the Awakened who killed her.

[edit] Claymore characteristics

The cover of the first volume portraying Clare, who is holding a claymore sword.
The cover of the first volume portraying Clare, who is holding a claymore sword.

Originally, most Claymore warriors were male, but it was soon discovered that releasing Yoma energy felt like pleasure for them. As such, they would be unable to control their release of Yoma energy and became Awoken quickly. Consequently, all Claymore warriors are now women. Because of their great strength, Claymore women can wield a heavy sword called a claymore one-handed with ease and grace. Claymores are each given a rank, describing their relative strength. Claymore #1 is the strongest, while #47 is the weakest. The number of existing claymores at any time is always 47 as they represent the total number of regional jurisdictions that the claymores are responsible for.

All Claymores wear the same armor and are characterized by their silver-eyes and hair. Also, "Claymore" is only a name given to Claymores by humans, and no Claymore would ever refer to herself as one.

Almost all Claymores are created against their will, only becoming Claymores because they had no other way of living. Many are orphans, abandoned children, or survivors of towns and families attacked by Yoma. The only known exception is Clare, who asked the organization to infuse her with blood from Teresa's head in order to become a Claymore and take revenge on Priscilla.

Unlike humans, Claymores do not need to eat two meals a day to survive, and are unable to be sleep comfortably lying down. They may only rest by sticking their claymore swords into the ground and then leaning against them. It would also appear that the front of a Claymore's torso is severely disfigured, though it still retains the shape of a normal human female. It is presumably a side effect of the process undergone to become a Claymore, though the reason for this, as well as exactly what a Claymore's front torso looks like has yet to be revealed in the English manga.

[edit] Attack styles

In Volume #7, the character Ofelia reveals that there are two possible categories of Claymore attack prowess: The offensive and defensive style. The nature of a Claymore's attack style determines the Claymore's regenerative/self-healing abilities.

In a further explanation in Volume #10 by Denev, the strength of a Claymore's instinct to live will determine the attacking style that she will use. The stronger the desire to live, the more likely the claymore's attacking style will be the defensive attacking style.

The defensive category endows the Claymore with incredible self-healing abilities. A unique characteristic is that if a Claymore loses any limbs and if she learns how to regenerate them, the new limbs will maintain their original demonic strength and prowess. Veronica, Cynthia, Deneb, and Yuma are known to be in this category.

Those in the offensive category, however, are not able to regenerate their bodies as effectively. If a Claymore in this category loses any limbs and she learns to be able to regenerate them, the strength of these limbs will only be equivalent to that of a normal human being. Clare, Ofelia, and Irene are in this category.

[edit] The Awoken

Demonic chi flows through the bodies of Claymores, Awoken and yoma, and they detect one other by this chi. Claymores can suppress or release their chi to enhance their abilities. The individual aptitude of each Claymore leads each to specialize in speed, agility, healing, shape modification, strength, chi detection, or control of other demons' chi. The degree at which chi is released is rated from 0% to 100%. However, if a Claymore goes beyond 80%, the release of chi is out of her control and increases to 100% within seconds. When this happens, the demonic side of the hybrid overcomes the human side completely and the hybrid transforms into a being called an Awakened one or voracious eater. It is believed that the Awoken can never become human again. Among themselves, Claymores call these beings awakened ones. However, they use the term Voracious Eaters with outsides and claim that they are simply very old Yoma, in order to hide their origins.

In the Mandarin version, it is explained that the organization will not deal with awakened Claymores unless they have been hired to do so. The villagers who hired them would not know that some of these demons were actually awakened claymores and the organization will not make known such matters as it is an embarrassment to the organization

In dealing with these awakened Claymores, the organization usually dispatches a team of four claymores with at least one single digit rank claymore as the team captain.

The Awoken are varied in character, ranging from malicious and wantonly destructive to seemingly normal, with human looks and behavior. The power of each Awoken varies, depending on his or her power while they were a normal hybrid, but it is significantly stronger that it was when a Claymore.

Some Claymores partially awake. It occurs when a Claymore is almost loses control of her demonic chi, but recovers in the end. This greatly strengthens the Claymore, but the organization regards members who are close to becoming monsters with deep suspicion. The transformation caused by incomplete awakening is not fully reversible.

It is unclear how each female Claymore feels when awakening. Clare describes it as "painful"[2], while Helen has sensations similar to orgasm (which is also what hybrid men experience when awakening).

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Claymore characters

[edit] Generation

Approximately every seven years, the organization creates a new generation of Claymores.

[edit] Class 1

  • Easley(No. 1)
  • Rigardo(No. 2)
  • Daf(No. 3)

[edit] First all female Class

  • Riful(No. 1)

[edit] Class 76

  • Lucera(No. 1)

[edit] Class 77

  • Teresa(No. 1, ID 182)
  • Priscilla(No. 2)
  • Irene(No. 3)
  • Noel(No. 4)
  • Sophia(No. 5)
  • Elda(No. 6)

[edit] Class 78

  • Alicia(No. 1)
  • Beth(No. 2)
  • Galatea(No. 3)
  • Ophelia(No. 4)
  • Rafaela(No. 5)
  • Miria(No. 6)
  • Eva(No. 7)
  • Flora(No. 8)
  • Jean(No. 9)
  • Undine(No. 11)
  • Veronica(No. 13)
  • Cynthia(No. 14)
  • Deneb(No. 15)
  • Lucia(No. 16)
  • Eliza(No. 17)
  • Lily(No. 18)
  • Queenie(No. 20)
  • Helen(No. 22)
  • Zelda(No. 24)
  • Emelia(No. 27)
  • Wendy(No. 30)
  • Tabitha(No. 31)
  • Pamela(No. 35)
  • Claudia(No. 36)
  • Natalie(No. 37)
  • Karla(No. 39)
  • Yuma(No. 40)
  • Matilda(No. 41)
  • Yuriana(No. 43)
  • Diana(No. 44)
  • Clare(No. 47)

[edit] Class 79

  • Audrey(No. 3)
  • Miata(No. 4)
  • Rachel(No. 5)
  • Miria (No.6)
  • Nina(No. 9)
  • Claris(No. 47)
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Anime

The anime adaptation of the manga began airing on NTV on April 3, 2007.

Opening Theme: "Raison D’être" by Nightmare

Ending Theme: "Danzai no Hana~Guilty Sky" by Riyu Kosaka


[edit] Notes and References

  1. ^ Claymore Anime - Anime News Network
  2. ^ Full quotation of Claire's description of her feelings (Italian):" Tra dolori violenti ed estasi...non so come feci a ritornare in me" Norihiro Yagi: "Claymore #6", Star Comics, April 2006

[edit] External links

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