Claymore anime

Claymore (2007)

Claymore
Release Date
2007.04.04
Our Score
80

The setting of Claymore’s story is a fictional world with medieval technology. Politically, it appears to consist of a large number of scattered, apparantly independant, 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, often by disguising themselves as their victim.

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 over time 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 alienated from and feared by humans due to their incredible powers, their relation to Yomas, and generally aloof attitudes. Humans will often call them “silver-eyed witches” or “monsters”. Surviving family members of a Yoma’s maskerade are often banished from villages for fear that they might be Yoma too. Females who suffer this fate are often forced to become Claymores to survive.

Claymores often live unhappy, lonely lives due to their solitary lifestyle and the knowledge that they will eventually die or become monsters. Presumably from the combination of their Yoma blood, their training, and their harsh lives, many Claymores are generally serious and at least outwardly cold. Others become hot-tempered and easily angered, while some other Claymores develop an incredible thirst for blood and become bloodthirsty killers who enjoy taking life, more savage than the Yoma they hunt. Almost all of them avoid any sort of companionship with humans.

Claymore
(クレイモア)
Ananime adaptation of the manga began airing on NTV on April 3, 2007. [-]It is a planned 50 episodes.[/-] A twenty-six episode anime adaptation of Claymore was produced by Nippon Television. Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka and Madhouse Studios, the series premiered on the Nippon Television channel on April 3, 2007 and ran until September 25, 2007. Although it follows the manga’s main plot, it diverges at certain points and, thus far, shortens fights. The anime character designs were created by Takahiro Umehara. The anime series follows the plot until episode twenty before diverging into its own storyline.
OP
S1. “Raison D’être” ~ Nightmare
ED
S1. “Danzai no Hana~Guilty Sky” ~ Riyu Kosaka

OP ~ Raison D’être

ED ~ Danzai no Hana~Guilty Sky

  1. I’ve been reading some good things about this so far.Guess I’m going to have to put this to the head of the list on ones to get.

    Excellent work as always.Thanks! 🙂

  2. I can’t believe this show is only one year old… it seems to me I wanted to watch it for far longer period of time. Oh well, finally been able to get to it and watch it in its entirety. :drop:

    This is definitely a good show… good, but not great (that’s what manga is for! :p ). The anime only covers first 11 volumes of manga, and there were moments when the show moved in the story arc of its own. Due to that some parts felt a bit rushed or too unbelievable. In addition, the anime creators felt like one season was enough, so in the last few episodes they took a sharp turn to nowhere, and headed straight for dead end to wrap everything up. It felt like one of many animes that either ran out of budged or time schedule, and with a miracle of plot holes and unbelievable coincident the show ends with more or less no loose strings.

    Of course, the manga series is still outgoing and is currently in the 14th volume. And while anime show did try to follow manga as close as possible (except for completely derailment at 20th episode to go to nowheresville), I enjoyed this anime show. ^.^

    I strongly recommend watching this show for all fans of dark fantasy, and I also recommend going grab Claymore manga and read it. :3:

  3. It’s planned for 50 episodes? Is that true, 4me? I was kinda hoping there would be a second season but I hadn’t heard anything about it yet. :p

    Anyway, I liked the series. Somehow it always kept me coming back for more. I’m usually not a fan of such dark and gruesome stuff but I enjoyed this one. ^.^

  4. Well…it was supposed to be 50 episodes, that’s what I fouind out a year ago… i’ll try to search why it is only 26 episodes.

    Maybe it was like that in first place :3:

  5. I don’t know how they going to recover… :drop:

    They basically de-trailed so much from manga storyline in the last few episodes that it would be hard to get back on track in season 2.

    The last 6 eposides in anime never happened in manga… Clare and Raki were never re-united.. Clare never fought Pristilla… The trio never went their seperate way…

  6. i doubt they make a season 2 thats why they screwed with the ending i guess, but you can always hope.

  7. So they’re not making a second season?? Aww, I’m disappointed! I thought the end of the series left open the possibility for a second season, but since I haven’t read the manga maybe Vexy is right.. u.u

  8. Poor Stu… yeah, Vexy knows better, if the end was that abrupt, I guess there won’t be a second season. u.u

  9. stukasa;11432 wrote: So they’re not making a second season?? Aww, I’m disappointed! I thought the end of the series left open the possibility for a second season, but since I haven’t read the manga maybe Vexy is right.. u.u

    The thing is that the ending that was presented in the anime never happened, according to the manga… :drop:

  10. LittleVexy;11438 wrote: The thing is that the ending that was presented in the anime never happened, according to the manga… :drop:

    I had a feeling you would say that. x.x I thought they totally could have made a second season where Clare and her friends went to fight the corruption in the agency or something. Claymores fighting other Claymores, it could have been great! Oh well..

  11. stukasa;11486 wrote: I had a feeling you would say that. x.x I thought they totally could have made a second season where Clare and her friends went to fight the corruption in the agency or something. Claymores fighting other Claymores, it could have been great! Oh well..

    Who knows, it might happen… So far, only 2 volumes of manga has been completed from the spot where anime left off… After all, anime did cover first 11 volumes :drop:

    So, there is around 9 more volumes to go till any possible 2nd season 😛

  12. I started watching this, then all of a sudden stopped. Maybe I’ll get back on that.

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