When it comes to anime, there are few titles as epic as Claymore.
Claymore is the 2007 anime series produced by Madhouse and directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka. Like most Anime, Claymore was adapted from the manga. It is one of the most underrated, but highly cult-loved anime of all time.
Claymore Story
The Claymore story takes place in a world where humans live side by side with Yoma, humanoid monsters that feed on human flesh. To protect humans from the Yoma, an organization known simply as “The Organization” manufactures half-human, half-Yoma warriors known as Claymores.
The story follows Clare, a Claymore who sets out to get revenge against the one who killed the most important person to her. This leads her on a quest to find the truth behind the Organization.
Clare’s story is full of action, adventure, and drama.
What makes Claymore so unique is the fact that most of the characters are female. This is remarkable in a genre that is largely dominated by male heroes and the male gaze. The utilization of a mostly female world allows for a different perspective on the traditional anime story arc.
Claymore Character Ranking System
Characters in Claymore are ranked by The Organization by numbers, according to strength. They are further divided into “generations”, according to order of appearance. For example, Clare has the lowest rank in her “generation”. She is ranked No. 47, in the 150th generation of warriors. She’s known as the weakest among all warriors.
The land that the Claymore characters inhabit is divided into 47 sections by The Organization. Each section has its own assigned warrior who moves around according to the difficulty of the area. In instances where stronger Yomas appear in a single area, Claymores team up to fight them. Each Team assignment is done according to task difficulty, ranking and character’s proximity to the area of the incident.
In this way, characters like Clare can move around fighting stronger opponents despite being a weaker warrior.
Claymore Main Characters
This list of characters is based on the anime series and partially the manga.
While the anime is mostly the same as the manga, the slight difference between how the story unfolds in the manga and the anime could affect the story development should another season of the anime arise.
Thus, I have opted to focus on the anime version rather than the manga. More characters are involved in the manga, as the story moves forward, compared to the anime.
Claymore Protagonists
Clare
Ranked by numbers according to strength, Clare has the lowest rank among her generation. She is ranked No. 47 and part of the 150th generation of warriors.
She’s dubbed as the “weakest among all warriors”.
Nothing is unique about Clare aside from the fact that among all Claymores, only a quarter of her is Yoma, while all other Claymores are half. During the training period, warriors normally go through a transition –including Clare—where their body is surgically combined with Yoma parts turning them into half-Yomas. When they transition, their body transforms giving them hyper regenerative capabilities and superhuman strength.
However, they must never succumb to the side of the Yoma and completely transform. If they do, they will lose their humanity and start craving after the taste of human innards – turning them into an enhanced Yoma. The series paints the transformation as being akin to human lust. A Claymore can easily get drawn to the “Yoma side” if she doesn’t keep strict control of her powers.
As a result of her desire to protect her loved ones and seek revenge for those lost, Clare has her fair share of circumstances where she almost completely transforms (both body and mind) into a Yoma.
The very reason why she almost transformed many times is also the reason she can go back to her human side without completely transforming. As she journeys to seek revenge against Priscilla, the one-horned beast, more people get added to the list of the ones she must protect. They become her source of strength to find peace in a world full of chaos.
Raki
After his family is eaten by a Yoma, Raki is saved by Clare in a small village. Being an orphan with nowhere else to go, Raki decides to follow Clare on her quest. At first, Clare keeps pushing Raki away in order to keep him from being involved with the Organization and Yoma’s business. But his persistence eventually makes Clare accept him as her travel companion. She later realizes that Raki and herself were remarkably similar before she became a Claymore. She starts thinking about how to help Raki live a normal human life.
In an incident involving No. 4, Ophelia, Raki and Clare are separated. They are forced to journey separately to find each other. After being driven out of town by Ophelia, Raki is captured by a slave trader and is sent to the north where he finds the characters of Priscila and Isley.
Raki eventually finds out what Priscila really is, while Isley teaches him how to handle swords.
In the anime, Clare and Raki are reunited in the northern region of Alphonse. Here, Clare and 24 other Claymores fought against Isley’s army. However, in the manga, Clare and Raki reunited 7 years later, after the battle in the north.
Claymore Antagonists
Priscilla
Priscilla’s story is very common in the world of Claymore. Her family is killed by a Yoma right before her very eyes. While she escapes, she is traumatized for life. She swears to avenge her family by joining The Organization.
Because of her unique ability to suppress her Yoki powers while fighting, she immediately ascends to Rank No.2 after her graduation. The Organization wants to rival the then long-standing No. 1, Teresa of the faint smile.
Teresa breaks the rules of The Organization by killing bandits and goes into hiding. A group of four is gathered by the Organization to hunt Teresa. No. 4 Noel, No. 5 Sophia, and No. 3 Ilena co-lead the assignment with Priscilla.
Despite being outnumbered, Teresa easily defeats all four warriors hunting her. Ilena pushes Priscilla to hunt Teresa, but her childhood trauma causes Priscilla to uncontrollably transform.
Before reaching 90% transformation, Teresa tries to offer Priscilla a way out. She gives her the option of a swift decapitation. But it is already too late. In the blink of an eye, right in front of Clare, Priscilla takes Teresa’s head. Priscilla goes on a rampage, completely transformed. The incident leads to the death of Teresa, Noel, and Sophia, while Ilena loses her left arm and must go into hiding.
Priscilla is eventually found by Isley in the north and is kept as a “trump card”. Together, they start an army, causing an imbalance of power among the awakened beings. In the manga, this forces the Organization to take drastic action.
Important Supporting Claymore Characters
Miria
Ranking at No. 6, Miria, is one of the 4 close friends of Clare in The Organization. She is the leader of a rebellious quartet. The quartet was originally meant to be killed by the Organization, by assigning them to hunt a male “awakened being”. The quartet includes Clare, Miria, Deneve, and Helen, all of which consider themselves as “partially awakened”.
During the assignment with Clare, Helen, and Deneve, it is revealed that Miria was almost awakened after she and a squad of warriors, including Ophelia, was assigned to kill an awakened being. Miria later finds out that the awakened being in question is her friend and “batch mate” from training. Miria goes on a rampage. Ophelia provokes her to transform. Miria realizes what Ophelia is doing and composes herself.
Miria gains the ability “Phantom Mirage” and becomes known as “Phantom Miria”. Her ability involves “instant hyper agility”. Her movement is so fast that it leaves a “mirage image”. However, because this is an awakened ability, there’s a limit to how many times she can use it at a time. It is later revealed that this ability takes a toll on her body, once she passes her number of uses per fight. This is evident in her fight against Regaldo in the battle of the north.
In the anime, after saving Clare from Priscilla, Miria continues to serve The Organization while trying to gather evidence to bring about its downfall. However, in the manga, Miria, along with the surviving warriors in the battle of the north, hide themselves for 7 years before making their move to fight against The Organization and the awakened beings.
Deneve
Deneve is the no. 15 of the 135th generation of warriors. She is proud and known to fight suicidally. She is from the same class as Helen, who became her closest friend. Her regenerative ability is top-notch, even among defense warriors known to have great regenerative abilities when compared to attackers.
She experiences almost full awakening when she sustains a serious injury in her first mission with Miria and Clare. She forces herself to regenerate quickly by releasing her Yoki powers. However, this isn’t her first time. Helen mentions that Deneve has tested her limits before and almost caused her to become awakened. Deneve, Clare, and the rest of the half-awakened group realize that they can release their Yoki powers to up to 80% without fully awakening into a Yoma.
Deneve’s story is the same as most Claymore; having to survive a loss of family from a Yoma attack. As a child, she saw her sister being chewed alive by a Yoma in front of her. She hid under the bed drenched in her parent’s blood. The blood hid her scent, which helped her survive the night. She then joined The Organization with a determination to eliminate the world of Yomas.
Helen
No. 22 of the 135th generation of warriors is a tough-mouthed girl who has the talent to provoke anyone she meets. Her rough character almost gets her in trouble with No. 9 Jean when she greets Clare with a sword. In spite of that, she is actually portrayed as a very thoughtful comrade. During the battle of the north, she offers a despairing warrior food and comforts her with encouraging words.
Her half-awakened state gives her a special ability to stretch her limbs. In the manga, she is one of the most reliable comrades of Clare. This is seen when they fight The Three Abyssal, one by one. Even in the battle of the north where Clare fights Regaldo, Helen gives great assistance by chopping one of Regaldo’s arms into pieces, preventing him from reattaching his lost arm.
While Helen is not as strong as the top warriors, her assists are important and can change the tide of battle easily.
Jean
No. 9 of Clare’s generation, Jean, is one of the most honorable warriors of her time. Her ability to drill enemies into pieces is the most destructive in Clare’s generation. It is this destructive ability that has earned her a ranking in the single digits.
Jean becomes close to Clare when Clare changes her back into being a human, after her body is fully awakened. During her assignment in the west her team encounters an Abyssal creature called “Riful of the west”.
Riful has been gathering warriors and Yomas to counter Isley’s army. Riful tortures Jean into awakening but Jean shows her mental fortitude by refusing to succumb to the Yoma side. Despite turning into a Yoma, her mind stays human, at least for a while. This gives Clare a chance to change her to her human form by synchronizing their Yoki auras.
Jean vows to return the favor to Clare but Clare refuses her on several occasions. During the battle of the north, Clare almost fully awakens with her body transforming into a Yoma, much like Jean when she was saved by Clare.
Jean offers her life and forces Clare to synchronize her aura with Jean, reverting Clare back to being a human. In the manga, Jean becomes a driving force for Clare to keep herself from awakening in her further battles.
Teresa
The one person Clare values most meeting Raki is Teresa.
In Claymore, Teresa is one of the strongest warriors of all generations. Her ability is top-notch. She’s known to be cold and lethal. She is one of only 8 no. 1 warriors who can easily surpass an abyssal being.
Teresa is called “Teresa of the faint smile” not because she smiles every time she gets a kill but because she has no special characteristics that make her unique. In spite of that, she is gifted with a super-rare ability that puts her on the top of the list of strong Claymore warriors. This is her ability to sense the faintest Yoki aura. Ilena explains this during their hunt for Teresa.
During her fight with an almost fully awakened Priscilla, Teresa only uses 10% of her Yoki power – enough to change only the color of her eyes.
In fact, if Teres hadn’t shown mercy, Priscilla wouldn’t have had the chance to take Teresa’s head.
According to Ilena, Teresa became weak because of Clare. Her love for Clare made her merciful, which is the cause of her ultimate demise.
In the past, Teresa wouldn’t have had a single thought of finishing anyone who was a threat. In spite of her cold character, she avoids killing fellow warriors as much as possible.
When Clare comes into her life, she finds peace and happiness. No one has ever adored her more than Clare. Clare sees through Teresa’s cold façade when Teresa saves her from the Yoma, and the indifference of the villagers. Clare’s affection thaws Teresa’s cold heart and makes her care more for others.
In the manga, during the final battle against Priscilla, Teresa becomes the awakened form of Clare. Teresa says that Clare became her when she awakened because Clare’s idea of strength is Teresa. According to Teresa, in reality, Teresa is not as powerful as Clare thinks. But because of her mental image of Teresa, the awakened Teresa form is powerful enough to do Teresa’s unfinished business.
Ilena
While her official name is Ilena, her name is translated many times as “Irene”.
Ilena is one of the most important characters of the series. Despite being present only in a few episodes of the anime and a few manga chapters, her contribution to the plot is very significant. She is one of the reasons why Teresa dies in the series. She also saves Clare from Ophelia. More importantly, Clare inherits the “Quick Sword” from Ilena. This, along with her right arm, become Clare’s “special move”.
Ilena is No.2 in Teresa’s generation of warriors but is eventually demoted to No. 3 when Priscilla steps into the ranks. Priscilla is the only one who can rival the No. 1 Teresa.
After saving Clare from the hands of Ophelia, Ilena teaches Clare the skill she is known for, the “Quick Sword”. This constitutes continuous swift swings of the sword almost invisible to the naked eye. Teresa calls it her “fancy sword” technique.
Ilena considers Teresa her rival and feels envious when Teresa finds Clare. Ilena wants to be as powerful as Teresa. Ilena envies Teresa even more when she realizes that Teresa feels content when she lives with Clare, no matter how short it is. IThis is also the reason that Ilena decides to mentor Clare and gives Clare her right arm.
Ilena grows stronger as she ages. When Teresa fights Ilena, she admits that Ilena has grown stronger than the last time they met. Even after losing both her arms, Ilena is able to survive being hunted by then No. 5 Raphaela.
Clare considers Ilena an important part of her life and returns to Ilena at the end of the manga.
Galatea
Galatea is one of the most unique Claymore that has ever existed. She has a wide range of perception abilities; she can sense Yoki auras from a distance. Her ability is comparable to Teresa’s. The main difference is that she cannot predict movements by reading the aura, like Teresa. She can, however, read details such as the emotions and mental state of the owner of the Yoki aura.
This unique perception ability is why she is called “God-Eye Galatea”. She can control the enemy’s Yoki briefly through her own Yoki release. This synchronizes the wavelength of the enemy’s Yoki aura, which allows her to control it for a brief period.
Galatea is very concerned about her looks. She hates using her Yoki powers. Everytime she does this it changes her appearance!
Galatea is said to be the tallest warrior ever!
In the manga, after the battle of the north, Galatea escapes from the Organization by hiding in a church. She blinds herself so that no one can see her silver eyes (a mark of a Claymore). She takes on the visage of a Nun, while suppressing her Yoki aura. Eventually, Clare and the rest of the surviving warriors in the battle of the north come across her.
Galatea becomes Clare’s ally in her battle against the Abyssal ones, Priscilla and the Organization.
Supporting Characters Important to the plot of Claymore
Ophelia
Ophelia is ranked No. 4 of Clare’s generation. She hides her sadism with a weird smile and whimsicality.
Ophelia has a strong desire to fight strong warriors. Her desire to kill all the awakened beings comes from her trauma when her family, especially her older brother, were killed by the “One-horned beast” Priscilla.
Before her awakening, Ophelia is showing signs of insanity. Her obsession to be recognized has led her to come up with her own sword style that she calls “Rippling Ophelia”.
After she awakens, she challenges Clare with her new technique “Quick Sword”. If Clare can finish her Yoma body, Ophelia will pass on her will to fight the awakened beings.
Ophelia is an important supporting character because of the impact of her existence on Clare and Miria. Without Ophelia, Clare wouldn’t have met Ilena again.
Isley
Isley is the first No. 1 Claymore. In the past, the organization had created male Claymores along with the women. But the male ones awaken too easily. Thus, they decided to stop the production of male warriors.
When Isley awakens, he goes to the north and rules it for a very long time. His presence becomes more significant when he finds and takes care of Priscilla. He also helps Raki because he sees how fond Priscilla is of Raki. In the manga, it is revealed that Priscilla is only interested in Raki because Clare’s scent is stuck on Raki, reminding her of Teresa (who she wants to kill all over again).
Regaldo (Silver-eyed Lion)
Regaldo is the No. 2 of Isley’s generation. He follows Isley to the north and becomes his follower after they fight each other.
Regaldo is the reason why Clare almost fully awakens in the battle of the north arc. Being a previous No. 2, Regaldo possesses an immense power that almost rivals Isley.
Regaldo’s sadistic nature has caused the death of Clare’s team captain, Wind Cutter Flora, along with the other team captains, Undine and Veronica. Mira and Jean also receive heavy damage from the battle. This forces Clare to partially awaken some parts of her body to keep up with Rigaldo’s strength and speed.
Riful of the west
Riful is the No. 1 warrior of the first all-female generation of Claymores. She immediately awakens after she becomes No. 1. at a very young age. She remains the youngest warrior ever in the history of The Organization.
Her significance in the anime and manga is great, considering she is the reason that Clare meets Jean and works with Galatea. Riful is also the character that gives Clare information about Priscilla’s whereabouts.
In the manga, Riful fights Clare and the rest of the surviving warriors in the battle of the north.
Galk and Sid
Galk and Sid are the only human friends of Clare outside of Raki. She is assigned to the city where Galk and Sid live. Clare almost awakens. It is Galk and Sid’s job to finish off Clare should she awaken. Luckily, they never have to. Clare manages to pull herself back on account of Raki.
Later, in the manga, Sid and Galk play an important role in helping Clare and the rest of the surviving warriors in the battle of the north fight off other awakened beings. As chance would have it, the church where Galatea hides herself from the Organization is connected to the city that Galk and Sid protect.
Louvre (ルヴル, Ruburu)
Louvre is Clare’s handler in The Organization. While he acts coldly to Clare, he actually supports her the best that he can. There are many instances where Louvre warns Clare about her actions and intentions. He even gives her a little information about Priscilla. However, his mission is ultimately more important than Clare. He still acts according to the desires of The Organization.
Eventually, it is revealed that Louvre is a spy of another continent. He is trying to gather information about The Organization in order to keep an eye on the weapons they are developing against his country and people.
Claymore Characters – In Conclusion
In conclusion, the characters of “Claymore” are unique and intriguing. They are complex and layered, and each one brings something different to the table. Each character has their own unique motivations and backstories that add depth to the overall story. The anime does an excellent job of world-building and creates a believable and immersive experience for the viewer.
The show is worth watching for the characters alone, and it is clear that a lot of thought and care went into their creation. If you’re looking for a new anime to watch, “Claymore” is definitely worth checking out.
Contributor
Article by John Salinas.
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