Claymore review

A Claymore is a broadsword wielded by two hands. In the native language of Celts, it can be translated as “big sword”, and this term was used in reference for broadswords created be the people of Scotland in the centuries 17 and 18. Although the actual use of this kind of weapon comes from the 15 century.

Manga

   This manga is a dark fantasy set on the medieval era. Made by Norihiro Yagi in the year 2001, it currently has 24 volumes y is still serialized once a month in the Jump Square Magazine.

   Even when it has well defined and fantastic drawings, this masterpiece is extremely dark. The author does not care if he has to how mutilations, dead people y horrendous monsters similar to the ones created by H.R.Giger.

Animation

   Produced by the crazy ones in Madhouse, this animation series of 26 episodes was emited in Japan in the year 2007. The animation is fairly faithful to the original manga until tome 11. In the last 2 chapters of the anime, we can see an alternate ending, which has nothing to do with the manga.

   Although it was a great quality animation, in current time it´s hard to get it subtitled in “good quality”, because it was one of the first series transmitted in high definition, but the only we could get that year was the Dvd format.

Plot

   In this medieval fiction, humans try to survive to the attack of their natural predator, the yoma, monsters taking human form to feed from the intestines of people… disgusting…

   To stop them, a nameless Organization created the Claymore, women known popularly as “silver eyed witches”; human women that somehow obtained supernatural powers to be the hunters of the yoma.

   The story starts with Clare (considered the main character, even when there are spaces of time where she does not appear), rescuing Lucky from a yoma, and taking him on her journey.

  The real development of the story is how Clare y her warriors partners face an infinity of dangers to finally unravel the secrets of the Organization, and try to take revenge against the most powerful yoma in existence.

  

Claymore

   The Claymore women are based on Joan of Arc, virgin warriors who sacrifice their lives and fight for their justice and protection ideals for the good of all mankind.

   In the beginning, the organization created a first male Claymore generation, but they were discarded due to their fast loss of control. Every next warrior generation has been only girls.

   Somehow, the organization takes kids from the entire island and transforms them, through hard training and an horrible surgery, into the perfect warriors to stand against the yoma, the Claymore, known under that name because of the indestructible swords they carry.

   Due to the half-yoma, half-human union, the Claymore women discolor their hair to a pale blond, and their eyes take a silver color. When they use more than 10% of their yoki, the energy from the yoma placed in the interior of their bodies, their eyes color change to a strong yellow.

   Their yoma within grants them supernatural strength, agility and regeneration power, but if they use more than the 80% of its power, they will lose their humanity y will become in a Kakuseisha, awakened, monsters with more power than any yoma or normal Claymore.

   The first in trespassing this “awakening barrier” and not losing her humanity is Clare, who unlike all other warriors, doesn´t carry a yoma within, she carries the flesh and blood of Theresa, her mentor and old number 1 of the Claymore. Clare was the only one in offering herself voluntary for the experiments of the organization, and did it after the tragic and shocking death of Theresa in the second arc of the series.

Opening, Ending, Ost

   From a personal point of view, the opening is a little dull, considering the power and brutality which the series can show us. The ending is quite good.

   On the other hand, the original soundtrack (Bgm) uses Celts sounds to show the pacific human life, while some others manifest the dark and constant war between Claymores and yomas.

Videogame

   There is only one videogame based on Claymore, made for the Nintendo Ds console, in a format similar to the old Castlevania and Metroid…  and honestly…  it sucks  :S

Animation versus Manga

   The Claymore animation ends in the tome 11 of the manga, giving us an alternate ending to the series. The manga continues with “The Rebellion of the Claymore” against the Organization seven years after their last battle in the north of the island.

   This war, where only survive 7 warriors later called “The North Ghosts”, is just a distraction made by Isley, the old male number 1, to reach the south island and finally conquer it.

   From the 15 volume start to reveal the real plans of the organization and all of its secrets: the actual origin of the yoma, how the Claymore are created, and who really are the Abyssal, the most powerful creatures on the earth.

   I feel the current arc of the series is in fact the last one. The author has gathered all the protagonists in one place, where is occurring the last war of the Claymore: the defense of the holy city Rabona.

Claymore as a Masterpiece

A dramatic opera, a classic shonen full of battles, where the main characters, most of them girls, face the disease, the raw of war, the treachery, the misery, the suffering and the pain of losing everything that surrounds them, even themselves and their own humanity.