Episode 1

The first anime episode of Claymore, adapted from the manga by Norihiro Yagi. The episode was first broadcast on April 3, 2007 and was directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka and produced by Madhouse Studios. It was dubbed by Funimation and released on DVD in October 2008.

The episode is entitled: Great Sword (Taiken -KUREIMOA-; 大剣 -クレイモア-)

Short Synopsis


A village is being attacked by a Yoma and with the casualties rising the village leader decides to call for help in the form of a Claymore. When she arrives she finds the only person unafraid of her to be a young boy called Raki, who spends the day with her. He returns home to find that his brother Zaki was the Yoma. As he is about to be killed, the Claymore enters and manages to kill the Yoma.

Raki follows the Claymore to the desert but falls unconscious. When he wakes he discovers the Claymore had left him in an inn and he quickly goes to find her. He meets another Claymore in the woods who turns out to be another Yoma that captures him. The Claymore shows up and again dispatches the Yoma and saves Raki. He decides to follow her on her journey and discovers that her name is Clare.

Detailed Synopsis
The episode begins with an unknown warrior approaching a large monster which is eating someone. The warrior's eyes turn from silver to bright yellow and she decapitates the monster with a large sword.

The Claymore Arrives
The scene changes to a small village. There is blood left all over the street with large craters bashed into the walls. Many people have gathered around a body lying bloodied in the middle of the street. The villagers mention that this is not the first victim.

Inside the village elder's house a large crowd of men has gathered, including a young man named Zaki. Zaki tells the crowd that is obvious a Yoma has entered the village and the villagers wonder what to do, saying a Yoma can disguise itself as anyone and will be impossible to find. The villagers begin to gang up on one man, calling him suspicious and trying to imply he is the Yoma. The villagers begin to panic and the village elder decides to calm them down, informing he had received a reply to his call for help. He tells them all that a Claymore will be coming which angers the assembled crowd, who are adamant they don't need a Claymore's help. The village accuse the Claymores of being part Yoma but the village elder assures them all it is their only hope to kill the Yoma.

Outside Raki is waiting for his brother Zaki to appear. Zaki informs him that a Claymore has been called and also mentions how shook up everyone is. He warns him that Claymores shouldn't be considered human as they are half-Yoma. Just then a large crowd gathers to take a look at the Claymore who has arrived. Raki is surprised that the Claymore is female and also has silver eyes. A man nearby tells him that is why they are called "Silver-Eyed Witches". The crowd parts as the Claymore walks past, none wanting to get to close. A man comments about how "it takes a monster to kill a monster" and the Claymore turns to look at him. The crowd gasps and the man cowers in fear, but the Claymore continues to walk on into the village as someone warns the man she could have killed them all for that comment.

Fight with the Yoma
The Claymore continues on into the village and heads to the village elder's house. He attempts to pay her but the Claymore tells him she won't take the money. She says that if she is successful someone will come to collect it and if she fails then he won't need to pay at all. The village elder asks when she will find the Yoma and the Claymore answers that the time changes depending on the yoma, though she assures him that either her corpse or the Yoma's corpse will turn up in the streets of the village. She leaves after that and the village elder collapses, explaining he expected her to be more human but she was almost completely Yoma.

She continues on her journey, with the villagers all running into their houses to get away. Along the way she senses a presence behind her. Her eyes glow yellow and she goes to slice off her pursuer's head, stopping only inches away from Raki's face. Raki is startled and explains he was only walking behind her. He inquires about her being a Claymore but she informs him that Claymores are the names humans gave them and not what they call themselves. Raki tells her he is surprised that she looked like a normal girl, believing she would be scarier. Clare is taken aback, surprised at finding a human who isn't afraid of her.

They soon reach the edge of the village and the Claymore sits down, leaning against the sword she had stuck in the ground. When Raki asks why she was sitting she explains she has been walking non stop for 70 hours. Raki then gets a stick and jams it in the ground, mimicking the Claymore by leaning against it. Raki tells the Claymore that he finds her interesting and tells her about how the Yoma killed his parents. He asks her to avenge them for him, but she explains she is only going to kill it because she was assigned to and not to avenge his parents for him. Raki understands that she is only there to do a job. The town bell then rings and Raki runs off to make dinner. He asks for her name before she leaves but she tells she won't say as he'll only forget it soon anyway.

When he arrives at his uncle's he finds him dead, eaten by a Yoma that is currently in the house. He runs into Zaki, who transforms into a Yoma in front of him. He explains he ate Zaki's brains and took his body when he killed Raki's parents and had only been replicating Zaki's speech patterns and personality since. He says he had wanted to stay for longer hut had to leave because the Claymore showed up. Raki begins to cry and tries to hit the Yoma, but it knocks him down easily. He picks Raki up to eat him but just then the Claymore crashes through the roff and slices off the Yoma's arm. She tells the Yoma how she found him by following the Yoma scent on Raki. Raki seems afraid when he sees the Claymore's glowing yellow eyes. The yoma tries to attack but she quickly dodges and cuts off his other arm. He begs for his life but the Claymore uses more off her Yoki and quickly slices him in two. The Claymore leaves as Raki is left crying in his wrecked house.

Another Claymore
The next day Raki is seen walking through the desert during a sandstorm. He remembers what had happened, including the villagers throwing him out of the village because they feel that he may be 'infected with Yoma like his brother.' Raki continues to walk but soon collapses from exhaustion. He sees a shadow walking through the sandstorm but passes out before he can see who it is.

He then wakes up in an inn. The inn owner enters his room with breakfast and informs him he is in a town called Eagen and that he had been asleep for 24 hours. The inn owner tells him that a Claymore brought him to the inn and also payed for his stay. Raki runs through the town and just when he thinks the Claymore is already gone a villager informs him that a Claymore looking for him is in the nearby forest. He mmets the Claymore in the forest but realises that it is not the same Claymore earlier. He thanks the Claymore for saving his life but then notices she referred to herself as a 'Claymore', which the Claymores themselves never do. He pushes her away and tells her he now she's not a Claymore. The Claymore then turns into a Yoma and captures Raki, calling out to an unseen Claymore in the woods that it knows she's there.

The Claymore from before then appears but stops when the Yoma threatens to cut Raki's throat. The Yoma orders her to through her sword away, but the Claymore doesn't comply. The Claymore tells the Yoma a hostage won't work but the Yoma disagrees, pointing out that the Claymore had previously saved Raki and obviously cared for his safety. The Yoma bets that the Claymore had a little brother like Raki previously and then taunts the Claymore to attack. The Claymore then tosses her sword aside and it falls down the hill beside them. The Yoma laughs before running forward and impaling the Claymore through the stomach.

The Yoma laughs again and taunts the Claymore about how it is going to eat her. However the Claymore counters and flips the Yoma backwards, with the both of them falling down the hill. As they slide the Claymore climbs on top of the Yoma and grabs her sword as they slide past it. She cuts the Yoma's arm off, freeing her from it. She then activates her Yoki, turning her eyes yellow, and slices through its head. The Claymore then pulls the severed arm out her abdomen and tosses it aside, before kneeling down as blood flows from the wound. The Claymore's veins become prominent around the wound and it heals quickly, leaving no scars behind. Rai then slides down the hill asking if she's alright and apologizing to her for getting her injured. The Claymore tells Raki she only threw her sword away as it was the best way to trap and kill the Yoma, however Raki still expresses gratitude for saving his life for a second time. Raki tells her he'll never forget her and when the Claymore finds out he'd been thrown out his village she remembers her own past. The Claymore offers him to travel with her as her cook until he finds a new village to stay in. The Claymore also decides to tell him her name; Clare.

Characters Introduced
Clare

Raki

Zaki

Episode Order
Preceding Episode: None

Following Episode: Claymore Anime Episode 2