Claymore, a manga series by Norihiro Yagi, is set in a medieval world plagued by Yoma, humanoid shape-shifters that feed on humans. A mysterious group, known as the Organization, creates human-Yoma hybrids to exterminate Yoma for a fee. The public refer to these warriors as "Claymores," alluding to their large swords, or "Silver-eyed Witches," due to their silver eyes.Claymore 1, Scene 1, p. 17
Main characters
Clare is the series' protagonist. As a child, Clare's parents are killed by a Yoma disguised as Clare's brother; he and his pack force her to travel with them to deceive other victimsClaymore 3, Scene 13, p. 10 Teresa destroys the pack in Teo village and inadvertently frees Clare. As Clare is an outcast, Teresa assumes responsibility for her. Condemned to death for desertion, Teresa decides to live for Clare. As a result, the Organization sends an execution team. Though Teresa defeats the team, an awakened Priscilla kills Teresa.Claymore 5, Scene 23, pp. 62–63 Clare is converted into a Claymore and trains for years to attain the power necessary to kill Priscilla. As she is considered weak due to her Yoma abilities coming not from Yoma flesh but from the remains of Teresa, Clare is No. 47 - the lowest possible rank.Claymore 5, Scene 25, p. 131
Teresa of the Faint Smile is so named as she has no apparent technique or personality trait — only her faint smile.Claymore 4, Scene 20, p.148 Though she can sense Yoki flow in her opponents, she defeats Priscilla despite Priscilla's ability to hide her Yoki.Claymore 4, Scene 21, p.163 Teresa is never seen using more than 10% Yoki in battle, yet consistently defeats more powerful opponents and holds the highest possible rank - No. 1.Claymore 5, Scene 23, p.49 She adopts Clare, but is later killed by Priscilla. Clare takes Teresa's severed head and demands the Organization to use it in place of a Yoma to turn her into a Claymore.Claymore 5, Scene 24, p. 98
Priscilla is the main adversary of Clare. Priscilla is powerful enough to fight without Yoki, concealing her presence from sister warriors. Priscilla is assigned to lead an execution team against Teresa.Claymore 4, Scene 20, p. 151 Teresa defeats the team, despite Priscilla's Yoki concealment. In desperation, Priscilla begins releasing her Yoki and eventually kills Teresa.Claymore 4, Scene 21, p. 173 Priscilla fully awakens into a winged, one-horned demonic humanoid. She destroys the execution team, but ignores Clare. Priscilla flies to parts unknown.Claymore 5, Scene 24, p. 91 Eventually, Priscilla meets and defeats Isley and Rigaldo. Then she reverts to human form and regresses into childhood, losing her memory. Isley swears allegiance to Priscilla and promises to take Priscilla south.Claymore 14, Extra Scene 3, pp. 158–159 Later, she becomes attached to Raki, due to the scent of Teresa he carries, via his past exposure to Clare. Near the end of the anime, she regains her memories and battles Clare, believing her to be Teresa. Clare manages to defeat her, but before she can strike the killing blow, Raki protects Priscilla, telling Clare that she must not give into her desire for revenge as it would make her no better than a Yoma. Her life is spared, and Isley arrives to take her away with him as she again regressed to her childlike persona.
Miria plays the consummate leader in series. Her agility-based technique leaves afterimages, confusing opponents, earning her the nickname "Phantom" Miria. Miria secretly investigates the Organization after the death of a friend, Hilda, the target of an Awakened Hunt. At the end of the anime, she decides to leave the Organization, having grown disillusioned with its corruption and deception.Claymore 6, Scene 30, p. 75
Deneve is a Northern Campaign survivor that displays high regenerative ability. Deneve forms a close friendship with Helen early on, and after the Paburo Hunt, Deneve bonds with Miria and Clare. Deneve reveals that, as a young girl, a Yoma killed her family. She wishes to avenge her family, but as she has a strong will to live, she ends up becoming a Defensive Type instead. Ashamed of what she regards as her cowardice, she fights suicidally until she meets Helen, who convinces her that her thoughts are natural, as "We're only human, after all."Claymore 10, Scene 55, p. 118
Helen, the fourth member of the Paburo Hunt, can stretch her arms to extreme lengths to attack at range or bind her opponents. Helen likes to eatClaymore 5, Scene 26, p. 148 and drink.Claymore 15, Scene 80, p. 81 She is hot tempered and aggressive, and status conscious, initially disliking Clare for her low rank.Claymore 5, Scene 25, p. 129 Like Deneve, Miria, and Clare, Helen is partially awakened. After surviving the Northern Campaign, she combines Flexible Limb Stretching with Jean's Drill Sword technique.Claymore 16, Scene 87, p. 113
Supporting characters
Awakened Beings Awakened Beings (覚醒者 Kakusei-sha)Claymore 5, Scene 25, p. 113 are Claymore warriors that have fully awakened. They possess abilities similar to Yoma, only of much greater magnitude. Awakened Beings can take on myriad of forms—a bird (Hilda in anime), crustacean (Agatha), humanoid (Dauf), or mammal (Isley and Rigaldo). In Organization history, there are three cases of a No. 1 warrior awakening. Known as "Creatures of the Abyss" (深淵の者 Shin'en no mono), they settle in different regions of the island—one in the West (Lautrec), one in the North (Alfons), and one in the South (Mucha).Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 188 This status quo did not change until Isley, the "Silver King" of the North, began to raise an army of Awakened and expand his influence into the others' regions.Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 185
Abyss Feeders The original Abyss Feeders (深淵喰い Shin'en gui)Claymore 16, Scene 88, p. 156 are 11 warriors created from the 11 Awakened Beings that attacked the Organization Headquarters after the Northern Campaign.Claymore 16, Scene 88, p. 152 Abyss Feeders are trained to hunt Creatures of the Abyss. Their eyes and mouths have been sewn shut, the ability to sense and radiate Yoki has been removed and they track their target by scent alone. They are trained to return home if six or more Feeders are killed.Claymore 16, Scene 89, p. 167 After killing Isley, they are used to track down Riful for Alicia and Beth.Claymore 17, Scene 93, p. 126–127
Hiding in Robona, Agatha's presence is detected by Galatea, who is also in hiding. Galatea releases her Yoki, baiting the Organization to send an execution team—Clarice and Miata. They find and attack Galatea, resulting in a 3-way fight among the team, Galatea and Agatha.Claymore 14, Scene 76, p. 65–69 Later, she fights in a mummy-like body, but is defeated by the survivors of the Northern Campaign.Claymore 15, Scene 78, p. 36–37 and Identical twin sisters, they are part of the Organization's program to develop controlled Awakened Beings. The first experiment, using non-identical sisters Luciela and Rafaela, ends in failure.Claymore 12, Scene 64, pp. 7–9 Due to training from infancy, Alicia and Beth are of one mind—a two-body Claymore warrior in effect. One sister fully awakens, while the other sister retains the Twins' collective human mind and remote controls the awakened partner.Claymore 11, Scene 62, pp. 144–146 The Twins are defeated and killed by Priscilla.Claymore 18 Scene 98, p. 100
Consort of Riful of the West. Awakened, Dauf appears as a giant armored humanoid. He forms rods from his hands,Claymore 8, Scene 44, p. 141 armClaymore 8, Scene 44, p. 143 and mouth,Claymore 8, Scene 43, p. 128 firing them as projectiles. But for all his physical power, Dauf displays low intelligence and poor tactics. His regeneration and healing abilities are also low. Devoted to Riful, he fears her deserting him.Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 161
Isley is the Creature of the Abyss of the North.Claymore 9, Scene 49, p. 112–113 His awakened form resembles a centaur, whose arms can shape-shift into a lance and shield,Claymore 14, Extra Scene 3, p. 148 crossbow,Claymore 11, Scene 63, p. 164 and sword.Claymore 16, Scene 89, p. 166 When Priscilla defeats him, he swears allegiance to her.Claymore 13, Extra Scene 3, p. 158 In order to conceal Priscilla's true power, Isley claims that he won and that she is simply his consort. To keep his promise to take Priscilla south, Isley gathers the Northern Army. He also comes into contact with Raki, giving the young man valuable tutelage in swordsmanship. Despite being a powerful Awakened Being, he possesses a genteel manner and shows great respect towards even those who are opposed to him.Claymore 10, Scene 56, p. 141
No. 1 of Luciela era.Fragments of Silver Omnibus 3, "Yoma War Record III," p. 733 She and Rafaela are the Organization's first attempt at creating a controlled Awakened Being. The experiment fails due to use of non-identical sisters.Claymore 12, Scene 64, p. 8 Luciela's awakened form is cat-like.Claymore 11, Scene 63, p. 176–177 Luciela loses fight with Isley over control of southern region of Mucha. Rafaela finds Luciela and kills her by breaking her spine.Claymore 12, Scene 64, p. 36–37 However, Rafaela injects her Yoki into Luciela and they successfully merged.Claymore 15, Scene 82, p. 161
Ophelia is as powerful as she is unstable. As a child, her family was killed by Priscilla, with her brother sacrificing his life to ensure that she escaped safely. As a result of this childhood trauma, she displays sociopathic behavior, even going so far as to fight her fellow Claymores. She despises Awakened Beings because of her family's death, and she relishes any opportunity to hunt them out of revenge.Claymore 8, Scene 40, p. 24 Ophelia's technique is Rippling Sword, where her super-flexible arm undulates the blade, creating a snake-like illusion. She styles herself "Rippling Ophelia."Claymore 7, Scene 35, p. 50 She tries to kill Clare, but Ilena interrupts Clare's execution. Ophelia is defeated and badly injured.Claymore 7, Scene 36, p. 86–87 Pushed to the brink of insanity by her defeat and her past trauma, Ophelia awakens into a serpentine form; despite her transformation, she believes that she is still in control of her mind and body (the only oddity she notes is a newfound appetite for entrails). She tracks down Clare and they do battle in a lake.Claymore 7, Scene 39, p. 167 After seeing her reflection in the water, Ophelia allows Clare to kill her. As she dies, she has a vision of her brother, believing that she will reunite with him in the afterlife.Claymore 8, Scene 40, p. 34
Riful is the Creature of the Abyss in the West.Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 183 Riful is both the youngest No. 1 and the youngest Creature of the Abyss.Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 182 Riful's awakened form resembles a mermaid-octopus, composed of fleshy layers that can riffle apart.Claymore 9, Scene 49, p. 108 She lives with her consort, Dauf, in abandoned castles in Lautrec. To counter Isley of the North, Riful attempts to build an army of awakened Claymores.Claymore 8, Scene 45, p. 186
Isley's second-in-command. Rigaldo appears composed, but angers easily when provoked.Claymore 10, Scene 56, p. 151 Rigaldo's lion form is smaller than most Awakened Beings, but he compensates with greater speed and agility. For long-range and surprise attacks, Rigaldo can extend his claws at high speed.Claymore 10, Scene 57, pp. 174–177 In contrast to his high offensive power, Rigaldo is lacking in regenerative ability.Claymore 11, Scene 59, p. 46 While not friends with Isley, Rigaldo works for him, having been defeated by Isley earlier.Claymore 14, Extra Scene 3, pp. 131–132 In VIZ English translation, Isley nicknames Rigaldo as the "Silver-eyed Lion." He is killed by a nearly-awakened Clare; before dying, he expresses amazement at Clare's skill and power.
Claymores