Claymore (manga)

is a dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. The series initially premiered in the now defunct Monthly Shōnen Jump in the May 2001 issue. When the magazine was canceled in June 2007, the series was temporarily moved to Weekly Shonen Jump. When Jump Square was introduced in November 2007, the series was switched moved to it and is still on-going. The individual chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with 14 volumes released as of May 2008.

Madhouse Studios adapted the first eleven volumes of the series into a a twenty-six episode anime series. Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka the series premiered in Japan on NTV on April 3, 2007 and ran until September 25, 2007. A CD soundtrack for the anime series, and a CD of character songs using the anime voice actresses were released on July 25, 2007 and September 27, 2007, respectively.

The Claymore manga is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, which began serializing the title in its Shonen Jump manga anthology in the April 11, 2006 issue. It released the first volume of the series on April 4, 2006 and has released 12 volumes as of July 2008. The anime adaptation is licensed for release in North America by Funimation Entertainment, which is scheduled to release the first DVD for the series in fall 2008. Madman Entertainment has licensed the anime for release in Australia and New Zealand.

Plot

In a world where humans coexist with creatures called sentient monsters that feed on human organs, a nameless and highly secretive organization has created an order of superhuman warriors called Claymores to protect humans from the Yoma, for a large fee. One Claymore warrior, Clare, struggles to hold on to her humanity while she fights the Yoma. As a child, Clare was adopted by the Claymore Teresa. Teresa rebels against the organization and is subsequently killed, so Clare volunteers to become a Claymore using Teresa's flesh to take revenge on the Awakened Being, an exceptionally powerful form of Yoma, who killed her. With determination and her human friend Raki by her side, Clare overcomes her low demonic power by honing the skills she inherited from Teresa, and other Claymores. As the series progresses, she becomes stronger and a better fighter, gradually earning the respect of strong allies and coming in conflict with the shadowy organization, the top Claymores who support them, and many powerful Awakened Beings.

In the twelve volume of the series, the story jumps seven years. The claymores now are fully battling the awakened beings. Clare and Raki, having been separated during the gap, are searching for one another.

Characters

• , the series' protagonist, is a distant and quiet Claymore, with an occasional impulsive side. After one of her assignments, she picks up a boy called Raki, who was exiled from his village. Raki gradually manages to break through her shell and becomes her friend. Originally ranked the lowest and weakest of all Claymores, Clare grows in power over the series and gradually increases in rank.
• is a young boy whose family was murdered by a Yoma, which Clare subsequently slew. Suspected of being a Yoma himself, Raki was exiled from his village and Clare allowed him to join her on her journey. Wanting to become strong enough to protect Clare, Raki trains under Isley. When Clare disappears for seven years, Raki begins traveling along the paths they once walked to meet up with her again, with Priscilla joining him.
• was once the second ranked Claymore, who had the potential to become stronger to than Teresa. She was one of the four Claymores sent to execute Teresa after Teresa broke with the organization. During the attack, Priscilla's lack of experience caused her to become an Awakened being.

Species

In the fictional world of Claymore, are a species of humanoid monsters that coexist with humans feeding on their organs. Most are similar in size to humans, though some are noticeably larger and more heavily muscled. Most have rows of stubby spikes growing from their upper backs, with elongated limbs that end in clawed digits, large fang-filled jaws and pointed ears, giving them a bestial appearance. Yoma have greater strength, speed, and durability compared to humans, and are capable of both regenerating afer being wounded and shape-shifting to appear completely human. Taken a step further, they can eat a human's brain to absorb their memories and completely replace them. Yoma are identified by their , or life energy, which can be sensed by other yoma and by claymores.

Claymores are created by the organization to fight the yoma. By implanting Yoma flesh and blood into humans, they are able to create a hybrid that is more powerful than the source Yoma with their original human combat training and intelligence. This hybridization process changes the human's hair to a light-blond or white, their eyes to silver, and sometimes they develop elf-like ears. Claymores are stronger than typical humans, have an enhanced healing ability, and some limited shape-shifting abilities. In battle, claymores wield large claymore swords, hence their name. Claymores are endanger of losing control of their powers if they activate more than 80% of their yoma capabilities, changing them into a form of yoma called an "awakened being". The majority of claymores are female, as human males who are changed to hybrids tend to lose control of their powers faster. In an attempt to avoid this fate, claymores will ask a friend, usually another claymore, to kill them if they begin to awaken. Some rare claymores have been able to pass the 80% mark but avoid awakening, permanently increasing their strength. Such claymores are regarded with suspicion by the organization as they can't be sure if the claymore will be able to retain their control.

Awakened beings retain their original memories and intelligence that they had as a Claymore, but gaining the most basic bloodthirsty nature of a yoma. The "great shame" of the organization, the true nature of awakened beings is kept from the public. Instead, they are called "voracious eaters" and are proclaimed to be particularly old yoma who have gained greater experience due to their age. As they were originally human then claymores, the awakened beings are as varied as their sources, with differing personalities and appearances. As awakened beings are more powerful than regular yoma, and generally as strong as or stronger than many claymores, a team of at least four claymores is necessary to deal with them, lead by a top level claymore. It is originally believed that all awakened beings have lost their humanity, but as the series progresses, it is revealed that they do not always. The organization publicly denies this, while making use of such awakened beings.

Media

Manga

Written and drawn by Norihiro Yagi, the individual chapters of Claymore began serialization in Shueisha's Monthly Shonen Jump in 2001. After the magazine was discontinued, the series moved to Weekly Shonen Jump where it is appeared monthly rather than weekly. On November 2, 2007, it moved to Jump Square, Shueisha's replacement for the original Monthly Shonen Jump, where it continues serialization. The individual chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, which released the first volume on January 5, 2002. As of May 2008, 14 volumes have been released.

On July 18, 2006, Viz Media announced the serialization of the Claymore manga in North America in it's Shonen Jump manga anthology. The first chapter of the English adaptation appeared in the April 11, 2006 issue and continues serialization. Viz released the first volume of the series on April 4, 2006, and as of July 2008 has released 12 volumes.

The series is also being released in English in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. It is licensed for regional language releases in France and Spain by Glenat, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid, in Italy by Star Comics and in Germany by Tokyopop Germany.

Anime

Madhouse Studios produced a twenty-six episode anime series based on the manga series. Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka, the series aired between April 2007 and September 2007 in Japan on Nippon Television. The series adapts the first eleven volumes of of its source material over the first 24 episodes, then uses an original storyline for its final two episodes.

As of February 2008, seven DVD volumes, each containing three episodes of the anime, have been released in Japan by Avex Trax. In addition, four limited edition sets have been released. The first limited edition set contains the first DVD volume, while the other three sets each contain two DVD volumes. The latest limited edition set and volumes were released on January 30, 2008. Two more DVD volumes and one more limited edition set are planned for release on March 26, 2008. On February 15, 2008, Funimation announced that it has acquired the Region 1 DVD and broadcast licenses for the anime, and plans to release the first DVD volume in North America in fall 2008.

Two pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is by Nightmare. The ending theme is J-pop singer Riyu Kosaka's single, . These two themes are used in all twenty-six episodes.

CDs

Two CDs have been released for the Claymore. Claymore TV Animation O.S.T., the soundtrack for the anime series, was released on July 25, 2007 with instrumental compositions by Masanori Takumi. Spanning 32 tracks, the soundtrack includes the television versions of the opening and ending themes.

A CD of character songs, was released on September 27, 2007. It contains ten tracks, one each for ten characters from the series, featuring songs performed by the character voice actresses from the anime adaptation.

Reception

References

External links

• Official Shueisha Claymore manga website
• Official Shueisha Claymore anime website
• Official NTV Claymore anime website
• Official Funimation Claymore anime website