Yagi Norihiro - Claymore, vol. 01-08 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

I think I actually flipped through volume one in a bookstore before and decided the series was too bloody to read; luckily, my public library has it, so I ended up mainlining it anyway.

In a medievaloid fantasy world, humans are often preyed on by yoma, demons who can assume anyone's form and who like eating human guts. In defense, a secret organization of men created half-yoma, half-human beings to fight the yoma. For some reason, only women survived this transformation, and the humans call them Claymores after the giant swords they all carry. The Claymores travel through villages, kill yoma, and let the black-clad men of the organization get the money.

Unfortunately, the more the Claymores fight, the more of their yoma power they have to use, and eventually, it consumes them. Then, they either become yoma themselves, or they send a black card out to a fellow Claymore so they can die while still human.

Clare is a Claymore, with a more unusual backstory than most. In volume one, she wanders into the boy Raki's village to kill the yoma that killed his parents. The first volume plays much like a western: the solitary village, the villain, the innocent boy whose gratitude she earns, the triumphant yet lonely walk away in the sunset. But Raki ends up following her, and Clare begrudgingly accepts his company.

Like several other people on my flist have said, I love that this manga is shounen and yet revolves around a host of female characters. Raki is our viewpoint character for volume one, but he's really a very minor character who's mostly there to be the kid in distress for Clare to rescue. While volume 1 stands alone, volume 2 gets into a more interesting yoma plot (less slash and bash, more strategy), and then we get to Clare's backstory, which as mentioned, is great.

Unfortunately, the series bogs down a little later with many fight scenes and assorted new fighting techniques; this will probably be fun and enjoyable for shounen trope fans (I, on the other hand, have a limited tolerance of power ups and fights). I am still bothered by the amount of violence, though I've discovered it's less because of the bloodshed and more because so much of it happens to be the chopping off of limbs and assorted decapitations and bisections. I'm not quite sure why this makes me more queasy than a simple sword thrust to the gut, but there you have it.

On the other hand, there's promise of getting more into the nature of the Claymores, the history of the organization, whatever shadowy secrets the organization is hiding—what organization with black-clad men isn't hiding secrets?—and more of Clare's main goal. I'm hoping there will be less limb-chopping, although the number of limbs flying seems to be increasing rather than decreasing. Ah well.

Also, this series may have the first decapitated head hugging scene that is actually tragic and not accidentally hilarious.

Please put any spoilers for vols. 1-8 in <span style="color:#333;background:#333">spoiler text</span>! And no spoilers for further volumes; I have them on hold at the library.

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The head hugging is when I declared this to be the best shounen ever.

[oyceter]

Hee!

[furikku.livejournal.com]

I just got the first volume a while ago and it's interesting, but I wasn't sure if I'd want to keep reading it. Raki's reduced presence is a good sign in my eyes, at least. Does the art get less stiff as the manga goes on? That was one of my big sticking points. :/

[oyceter]

Umm. Hrm, I actually didn't notice that about the art! The style stays similar, very long and lanky. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I love love love that there are all these female bodies and almost no objectification! Like, all the nude shots? Did not feel like they were for the sake of nudity!

There is one thing with Raki that I don't like much later on, but it's more a hint than anything else. But yeah, I'd read on to at least v. 3 if you're interested, since that's when cool backstory kicks in.

[furikku.livejournal.com]

Awesome, I'll definitely give it a try! Thanks! :D

(And yeah, I totally hear you on the lack of objectification! It's really nice seeing that, especially in shonen.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think we're meant to see them as being completely de-sexualized, really. Their attitudes towards sex seem to be either "meh, dull" or "that's just weird," and the nudity is either devoid of sexuality, or it kills off any interest the person seeing it may have had.

[octopedingenue]

I agree with this. One of the few problems I have with the series is when it goes to the flipside with Sexuality/Sensuality=EEEBIL, though I won't go into spoilery detail here. But that does make the series all the more interesting! And I still love, love that the Claymores are all undeniably, differently female and manage to be interesting and sympathetic as women without ever going "If only I could stop kicking ass and get a man to screw me for some babies!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think they only do that flipside of "Sexuality/Sensuality=EEEBIL" with the one character, though. Actually, I (and others) have a half formed theory about that. (Spoiler only if the earliest Claymores haven't been mentioned yet. IIRC, that happens fairly early.) I wonder if the early, male Claymores may have let their sex drives get them in trouble(since they were combined with whatever thoughts nd instincts the youma have on the dubject), which led to them becoming AB in the first place, resulting in the female Claymores being raised to look down on the act and things connected to it.

[octopedingenue]

I'm thinking less of the one character than an overall combination of implications...I'm going to be vague and allusive 'cause I'm sure my full Thoughts On Yaoi will definitely be too spoilery, though I'm warning off oyceter from this bit anyway since I can't remember where volume 8 ends: I agree with the interpretation that the male Claymores' sex drives sent them over the edge, which is itself problematic for me: sexuality is dangerous and must be controlled? men can't control or are particularly bad at controlling their sex drives? women are more suited for Claymoredom because they're less physically sexual and/or better able to control themselves? Yes, Awakened!Priscilla went full on Evil Madonna/Whore (and nobody outcrazies Ophelia!), but all of the female Awakened Ones display exaggerated secondary sexual attributes and attitudes lacking in their un-Awakened counterparts. And the act of Awakening itself is described like an overwhelming full-body orgasm, a sensual overload on the extreme edge of physical pain/pleasure. Pleasure = sex = loss of control = INEVITABLE DESCENT TO EEEBIL?

Now the Iiiiiinteresting parts of this come in in seeing how much of this series is about (insert equation above here), and how much of it is in a weird way about women taking control of their bodies and physical sexuality, dancing on that Awakened razor edge between gaining power and losing themselves.

I love you so hard, Ladies With Swords series~!

"Glittering Cloud (Plague of Locusts)" by Imogen Heap has become my Unofficial Totally Official Claymore song, and if somebody awesome doesn't do a great anime vid from it I'll make the world suffer with a sucky version by me.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*nods* I largely agree with you, and the bits where I'm not sure I do are because...well, we don't know exacly where Yagi is going with these things yet, nor have we had a "reveal" to solidify what he's doing there.

(Though maybe we should take this to one of our LJs where it's spoiler free-for-all?)

[octopedingenue]

I know! With all my caution I still like where Yagi's going thus far, so I'm willing to keep on this story ride for a good while yet.

(Take away! I vote your LJ 'cause I have not read past volume 13 and so could not host a full discussion yet.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

And, of course, some of the pertinent things I would say would be more Vol 14-15...

[octopedingenue]

That's why God made ROT13 (and scanslations!)

[oyceter]

Ooooh, that's really interesting. And yeah, have gotten to Priscilla's backstory and Ophelia, though not to Priscilla's reappearance (I don't know this for sure, but given how shounen goes, I will somehow not keel over from surprise when the main enemy reappears eventually!). I do like that the men are punished for their sexuality as well, from the potential rapists to the male Awakened Beings.

I hadn't realized that the female Awakened Beings get more prominent secondary sex characteristics! I am pretty sure (?) that the male Awakened Beings don't, thanks to Japan's censorship laws in part (copious breasts always ok! Penises, never!).

Also, if being Awakened = sexual awakening, I wonder what of Ilena and Clare and the other Claymores who supposedly have Awakened, but aren't Awakened Beings yet? They seem like they're the ones dancing on the knife edge the most, because they're using the power and not having it control them (yet), and I'm hoping that they'll use the power to overthrow the patriarchy the Organization! I would like to see a Claymore in a sexual relationship that wasn't demonized, largely because I keep thinking about Buffy and how sexuality in Buffy was so frequently punished. But I have a bit of a hard time imagining any Claymore in any sort of emotional relationship....

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

No real spoilers, but just in case. The series seems to have strong themes emotional ties at times-often as "we should not want them, but we crave them"-especially between the Claymores. Sophia and Noel seem to have been very close, Helen and Deneve are my OTP obviously close, and there's also Clare's friend from the first volume. I tend to read it as they want the emotional closeness, but are trained to act like they don't. That said...I can't really picture any of them being "interested" in someone as we would interpret romantic interest, which is why that one bit with Raki seems so odd. OTOH, Clare has less Youma blood than the rest, so that could be a factor.

[oyceter]

*nods* I'm not quite sure what I think about the rape threats to Claymores and how they end up with the men being disgusted by their bodies. I think some of it has to do with how it supposes that rape is a act fueled by sexual desire and not violence, but I also read a little of it as commentary on a fighting woman's body and how it's monstrous (I mean, literally for the Claymores, but you know). Still withholding judgment in general, but will be curious to see how that pans out.

Still, I am all for lack of objectification and sexualized female nudity!

[larryhammer]

Have you read Angel Densetsu? It's the mangaka's first series, and at the start of it he could barely draw bodies. His art improves dramatically as the series goes on, but even the start of Claymore (I never got past volume 1) is markedly better than at the end of Angel Densetsu.

(It's an interesting read: gentle boy gets a rep in his high school for being a badass mofo because of his scary face. Kinda repetitious in the last third, but it wraps up surprisingly well, and has a couple of literally kick-ass female characters. Unlicensed, but scans are complete.)

---L.

[oyceter]

No, I haven't, but may put that in the queue, thanks!

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

re nude shots: I gather that the English translation may be censored? I believe it's just less anatomical detail in the nude shots, especially of the underage characters, although I'd like to hear from anyone who has read it in original or scanlated form to know if we have lost anything plot-relevant.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've been reading scans/buying Viz releases both since Vol 11 (as much as Viz had released when I caught up with their releases). But based on the few overlapping volumes I've read and some scans of earlier chapters (and given what they did show in earlier chapters here) I don't think there's been much, if any, censoring, and I can think of a couple cases where I've seen both versions where I'd think they'd have censored if they were going to.

[octopedingenue]

There's at least a note in volume 2 of the Viz edition that reads "Some scenes containing nudity have been modified from the original Japanese edition." But yeah, I don't think there was much lurid material to cover up to begin with; the nudity in Claymore has rarely been particularly sexual.

[oyceter]

Actually, I'm guessing it might be in the original. Japan has laws about nudity in manga, which means usually you have genitals done in white blobs (this looks very weird in erotic manga) or covered with teeny black bars, but sometimes artists just don't add all the details.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

I have a pretty high tolerance for gratuitous violence in entertainment, but even I must admit to being occasionally icked out by the copious amount of dismembering. Nevertheless, I really do enjoy Claymore; 'cause it's like somebody wrote a shonen just for me.

[oyceter]

Hee! I would love it much more if it weren't so shounen fight scene sometimes, but I am biased ;). Still, troupe of fighting women!

[octopedingenue]

I'm a shonen fan and I do love the SHONEN FIGHT!iness off it. I think in particular because so few women in shonen get their fair share of SHONEN FIGHT as do their male counterparts, and even when they do their SOMETHING I MUST PROTECT concerns so often revolve around Girly Things or men. Claymore's cast of mostly-female characters adhere to the gold standards of shonen heroes and are simultaneously actual women—there's a real sense of that, that their being women is not unimportant and they aren't men with breasts, nor is it all "HAY LOOK HAWT CHICKS WITH SWORDS!" There are men in Claymore, even nice men, without the women immediately gravitating to them as Shiny Special Male Rarity. It would be nice to see more input from the "normal" women of Claymore's world, though.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

My library only has volume one of this series, and it's very upsetting! Glad to know that it continues to be decent, though.

[oyceter]

It does! I think my favorites are still vols. 3 and 4, since I am forever a sucker for Tragic Backstory.

[octopedingenue]

This is some of the best Tragic Backstory EVAH. Almost nothing inappropriately hilarious! Bittersweet adherence to the Shonen Creed of needing a Precious Person to be Something To Protect! Women getting Epic Angst that can beat any man's and that does not involve being spirited off to Troy!

I have no defense whatsoever against the coolbit of hardened badass rediscovers own fuzzy humanity by going squishy over a baaaaaaaby Morality Pet, and Teresa & Clare (and by extension Clare & Raki) have earned a spot among my very favorites of the trope.

(How much do I love the statues of Teresa & Clare, Goddesses of Love & Beauty? SO MUCH. Especially in volume 2, when the church-yoma cuts at the statue where Clare's sword is hidden as Clare's holding it, and there's the beautiful shot of the statue protecting Clare.)

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

I have read vols 1-4 and am wondering how coincidental it is that there are glaring similarities to... not so much Buffy itself, but some of the darker fanfic and fanon extrapolations of the world-building that were popular in the later years of the show.

[octopedingenue]

I am totally all the happier for it if the mangaka stocked up on Wishverse fanfic as reference. Claymore is no match for BtVS in humor and such, but I'd've given kidneys for Buffy to explore some of darker extrapolations of the grim circumstances the series share.

[oyceter]

*nods* Yeah, I was thinking that too! Especially with the organization in Claymore and "Get It Done" and the First Slayer and the Watchers and etc.

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks Claymore is like Buffy S7, except done more interesting. It's like Claymore took the Buffy potentials storyline, the corrupt Council, and just ran with it and developed all the implications.

[nojojojo.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I gave this one a one-volume try, and lost interest because the gore seemed unnecessary and I suspected it would only get worse from there on (but the story wouldn't). I may have to take a second look at it; maybe I judged it too quickly.

[oyceter]

The gore sadly does not let up, though I got a little more used to it (I am rather uneasy about that as well), but the backstory was made of win.

[octopedingenue]

Teresa of the Faint Smile! She is Paku Romi in the anime! She is MY WIFE ON THE ASTRAL PLANE!

[oyceter]

ZOMG really?! Must watch!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think you'll like the anime. It's almost to-the-letter faithful to the manga until about vol 10 (when it goes off into an annoying-but-not-terrible ending) and the gore and maiming kind of whiz past you.

[oyceter]

Hrm, ok. I'm a little iffy sometimes when it comes to anime from shounen manga, because then you can't flip through the fight scenes really fast (*cough*Bleach*cough*). But I'm curious about the voicework and the atmosphere...

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

When I was watching the anime, I was kind of cursing it for being so fast with fight scenes at times. "Slow down! You're moving too fast to cap this cool moment!"

I find series like Bleach and Inu Yasha (and parts of Kenshin) make for good background material while you do other things when they do that.

The voicework is great. In addition to octopedingenue's astral wife, i'm really fond of Helen, Priscilla and Ophelia's VAs. I especially like how Helen's made her sound like such a punk.

[octopedingenue]

Bishō no Teresa! Here to kill your monsters and seduce your women!

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

Like several other people on my flist have said, I love that this manga is shounen and yet revolves around a host of female characters.

Another shounen series you might prefer over Claymore, that has a host of female characters is Venus Versus Virus. It has a truckload less graphic violence, has action intermixed with slower paced slice of life/characters and relationship* stuff, and what's currently a buddy relationship with femslash subtext. (The manga has one of those ambiguous relationships between the main characters that can be read as best friends forever, developing a romantic relationship, or even as honorary siblings.)

*I mean this in a variously friendship, family, and femslash subtext that could almost be canon way.

That said, Claymore is awesomesauce. I'm glad you checked it out, because I think everyone should check it out. But the series does get more graphically violent later on, and the fights are really involved. On the up side, it does really interesting things with the secret organization, and the nature of claymores. Every time I thought it might look gender squicky, a later plot development made it turn out to be even more awesome.

[oyceter]

Ohhh, ok! I remember thinking that the cover looked intriguing, but not what it was about.

I am glad about later plot developments! I had a moment when Clare was flying Raki around and he blushed at being shoved between her breasts and she kissed him on the mouth and I was all, Oh, they cannot go there, right? Come on! But I am hoping it will be ok. Also, I want more backstory.

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

Venus Versus Virus has a gothic-lolita style, and is one of those series with episodic (although the last volume feels like it's developing a longer story arc) fight/purify the bad spirits of people who come to the main characters for help. They also work in a jewelry/antiques shop.

I'm not sure about what you put in the spoiler text would end up being not squicky, since I barely remember the scene you're referring to. The volumes are also a blur in my head. But I was referring to how the organization is male dominated but the claymores are female, grunt workers who're supposed to obey orders, and considered disposable; the nature of claymores; and later things about male and female Awakened Beings. The series takes those things, and takes the awesome route over the squicky one. The backstory is good, if doled out in between extended fight scenes.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I was all set to read this in scans, but it turned out they were the licensed translation, and I discovered a MORAL LIMIT in myself. Maybe the library has it by now -- it did seem to be starting to pick up when I left volume 2.

[oyceter]

I knooow! I was like, ack, no! Waiting for the library to get 9-11 to me now...