| Claymore | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuring Clare | |
| Genre | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Norihiro Yagi |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine |
|
| Original run | June 6, 2001 –October 4, 2014 |
| Volumes | 27(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hiroyuki Tanaka |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Yasuko Kobayashi |
| Music by | Masanori Takumi |
| Studio | Madhouse[a] |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll
|
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 4, 2007 – September 26, 2007 |
| Episodes | 26(List of episodes) |
| Video game | |
| Claymore: Gingan no Majo | |
| Developer | Digital Works Entertainment |
| Genre | Action |
| Platform | Nintendo DS |
| Released | May 28, 2009 |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Claymore (stylized inall caps) is a Japanesedark fantasymanga series written and illustrated byNorihiro Yagi. It debuted inShueisha'sshōnen manga magazineMonthly Shōnen Jump in June 2001, where it continued until the magazine was shut down in June 2007. The series was transferred to the newly launchedJump Square, serialized from November 2007 to October 2014. Its chapters were collected in 27tankōbon volumes.
A 26-episodeanime television series adaptation byMadhouse was broadcast onNippon Television from April to September 2007. A CD soundtrack for the anime and a CD ofcharacter songs using its voice actresses were released in July and September 2007, respectively.
TheClaymore manga was licensed for English release in North America byViz Media and released its 27 volumes from April 2006 to October 2015. The anime adaptation was licensed for release in North America byFunimation.Madman Entertainment has licensed the anime for release in Australia and New Zealand and the anime is sub-licensed byManga Entertainment for UK distribution.
The series is set on a fictional medieval island where humans are plagued by Yoma (妖魔), humanoid shape-shifters that feed on humans. A mysterious group, known asThe Organization, creates human-Yoma hybrids to kill Yoma for a fee. These female warriors wear armored uniforms. The public refer to them as "Claymores", alluding to theirclaymore swords,[4] or "Silver-eyed Witches", due to their silver eyes.[5]
Yoma and Claymore warriors alike are powered by a demonic energy, Yoki (妖気), which allows shape-shifting and extreme strength. When warriors use too much Yoki, they "awaken", becoming a super-Yoma called anAwakened Being. The act of awakening is likened to the feeling of sexual climax, so while both male and female warriors existed in the past only the women proved to be successfully able to resist the allure of the awakening, and so the creation of male Claymores stopped altogether.
The island world is divided into 47 districts, with one warrior assigned to each.[6] Claymore warriors No. 1 through 47 are ranked on their baseline Yoki potential, strength, agility, intelligence, sensing and leadership. A warrior's rank rises and falls according to the warrior's strength in relation to other warriors. It is unclear whether the warriors strength comes from training/experience or if the potential lies within the warriors themselves.
In addition to all having different names, most warriors (usually high in rank) further their individuality by possessing a unique sword technique, fighting style, or Yoki ability. Examples of sword techniques are: twisting the arm around and thrusting for a drill-like strike, unsheathing and re-sheathing the sword faster than the eye can see, or vibrating the sword so quickly the enemy cannot tell where the blade is coming from. A few fighting styles include: stretching the arm, fighting with two blades, and releasing a burst of Yoki for a momentary burst of speed. For Yoki ability, there are several Claymores who can sense Yoki over vast distances and very accurately in close quarters. This appears to be, while not offensive, a very rare and valuable ability and the Claymores in the Organization with this ability are usually highly ranked. In addition, there are four Claymores that have offensive techniques that are Yoki based. The first is Galatea's ability to control her opponents' Yoki for brief periods during battle, usually to cause the enemy's attack to miss. The second is Teresa's: her ability to sense Yoki is so strong that she can sense it moving around her opponents' body and can therefore sense how and when her enemy will attack next, a technique later copied by Clare. The third ability is that of Raftela who is able to manipulate the vision and movements of other Claymores. She is trained as an anti-Claymore warrior; a potential countermeasure against betrayal from within the Organization.
The first arc introduces the protagonist of the series: No. 47,Clare, who saves a young boy,Raki, from a Yoma and takes him on as her companion. The next arc flashes back to the time ofTeresa, warrior No. 1 of her era, and the young orphan girl she saves—who is destined to one day take the name Clare. The arc ends with Teresa's tragic end at the hands of the Awakened BeingPriscilla and Clare's vow to avenge the woman she had come to think of as her mother.
Flashing forward to Clare's time, the Slashers arc introducesMiria (No. 6),Deneve (No. 15),Helen (No. 22) andGalatea (No. 3). The Gravestones arc introduces the sadisticOphelia (No. 4). The Witch's Maw arc introducesJean (No. 9),Riful andDauf. The Northern Campaign arc introducesFlora (No. 8),Undine (No. 11),Isley andRigaldo. Raki and Priscilla reappear here as Clare moves to finally take her vengeance.
Written and illustrated byNorihiro Yagi,Claymore debuted inShueisha'sMonthly Shōnen Jump on June 6, 2001.[b] The magazine ceased its publication on June 6, 2007.[10][11] Following four special chapters published monthly inWeekly Shōnen Jump from July 2 to October 6, 2007,[12][13]Claymore resumed publication in the then brand new magazineJump Square on November 2 of the same year.[14][15]Claymore finished after a thirteen-year-run on October 4, 2014.[16][17] Shueisha collected its chapters in twenty-seventankōbon volumes, released from January 5, 2002,[18] to December 4, 2014.[19]
On July 18, 2006,Viz Media announced the serialization of theClaymore manga in North America in itsShonen Jump manga anthology.[20] Viz released the first volume of the series on April 4, 2006,[21] and the last volume on October 6, 2015.[22][23]
A 26-episodeanime television series adaptation, produced byNippon Television, D.N. Dream Partners,Avex Entertainment, andMadhouse, was broadcast on Nippon TV from April 4 to September 26, 2007. It was directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka, withYasuko Kobayashi handling series composition, Takahiro Umehara designing the characters, andMasa Takumi composing the music.[24] Avex collected its episodes on nine DVDs (labeled as "Chapters"), released from July 25, 2007 to March 26, 2008.[25][26]
The series was licensed for English release in North America byFunimation (later Crunchyroll, LLC).[27] Its episodes were released on six DVDs from October 14, 2008, to July 14, 2009.[28][29] Funimation later released a completeBlu-ray set on February 16, 2010.[30] AfterCrunchyroll merged with Funimation, the series began streaming on Crunchyroll. However, it was removed in October 2025.[31]
Two pieces oftheme music are used for the episodes: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Raison d'être" (レゾンデートル;lit. 'Reason for being'), performed byNightmare, and the ending theme is "Danzai no Hana: Guilty Sky" (断罪の花 ~Guilty Sky~;lit. 'Flower of Conviction: Guilty Sky'), performed byRiyu Kosaka. These two themes are used in all twenty-six episodes.
Two CDs have been released for theClaymore. The first soundtrack, entitledClaymore TV Animation O.S.T., contained tracks from the anime series and was released on July 25, 2007 with instrumental compositions by Masanori Takumi. Spanning 32 tracks, the soundtrack includes the television-sized versions of the opening and ending themes.[32]
A second soundtrack, entitledClaymore Intimate Persona: Character Song Shuu (CLAYMORE INTIMATE PERSONA~キャラクターソング集~), was released on 27 September 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.[33]
Claymore: Gingan no Majo (CLAYMORE ～銀眼の魔女～;lit.Claymore: The Witch of the Silver Eyes) was released by Digital Works Entertainment, 28 May 2009, in Japan.[34] In thisNintendo DS game, the player controls Clare in a similar fashion to side-scrollingCastlevania andMetroid games. Player can alter the strength of Clare's Yoki by using thetouch screen andstylus.[34] Abusing the power results in Clare becoming fully possessed by the Yoma, resulting in a game over.
In March 2025, a live-action television series adaptation was announced to be in development withCBS Studios,Propagate Content,Masi Oka, and Shueisha producing.[35][36]
In his review of volume 7, Carlo Santos ofAnime News Network says about Clare's action scenes that "Clare's fights are nothing short of eye-popping, with page layouts designed for maximum dramatic effect". About the drama, he says that "even the occasional attempts at drama feel oddly distant". About the part in the story where Raki and Clare are separated, he states that it is more like "leave now because that's the obvious next step in the plot".[37] The art of volume 7 is rated A, story C+, and overall B.[37]
Theron Martin, also ofAnime News Network, says in his review of volume 14 that "the series has lost some of its luster, and it seems like less and less is actually happening with each volume". About the action scenes, he says that "the actual fights lack some of the dynamism seen in earlier volumes". As for the art, he states that "as has been true in the past, Yagi's artistry lacks for nothing".[38] He rates the art A− in his reviews for volume eleven, twelve and fourteen.[39][40][38] However, in his review of volume sixteen, Theron Marton says that "Yagi is back on track", and that "he provides a good mix of old friends popping back up, new allies, startling revelations, dire threats, and of course good-ol' beatdown action, in the process returning the series to arguably its strongest level since volume 12".[41]
Theron Martin also gave his thoughts on the first five episodes of the anime. He stated that "while not without some flaws, the first five episodes generally get the series off to a strong start, practically assuring that Funimation has a solid hit on their hands".[42] The rating he gave for the anime is: story A−, animation B+, art A−, music A, and overall A−.[42] In ICv2's list of "Top 50 Manga—Summer 2008", which subjectively ranks manga based on sales and perceived popularity,Claymore placed 42nd.[43]
On release,Weekly Famitsu scoredGingan no Majo a 21 out of 40.[44]
while the story is an interesting twist on the gothic sword and sorcery motif, it's not exactly breaking new ground.
![月刊少年ジャンプ 2001年7月号 [cover]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fweb.archive.org%2fweb%2f20070313204209%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fmj.shueisha.co.jp%2fbn%2fimg%2f01_07-l.jpg){kind=link}
