Yoma

Yoma（妖魔）are beings that feed on human flesh and blood. They can shape-shift into human form that allows them to live among humans. The Organization creates them by rounding up orphan boys and sending them to the North while the girls are sent to the East to become Claymores. They are created by combining the flesh of both a humanoid and an "Awakened" Asarakam, which forms a parasite with transfigurative abilities that is capable of infecting the brains of unsuspecting human hosts. The end result is a Yoma.

Yoma have strength and speed beyond humans and can regenerate damaged bodies at incredible speeds. Yoma in their true state have golden cat-like eyes, razor sharp teeth and claws, muscular, elongated limbs and torsos, purple blood and brown, purple, gray or green skin.

Biology and appearance

Normal Yoma

The most common and least powerful, they are the main source of revenue to the Organization. These Yoma vary in appearance in skin color and build, varying from lean to bulky but always muscular with long torsos.

They and their Flying and Awakened kin have sharp teeth and a predatory attitude to match. Most have rows of stubby spikes growing from their upper backs, with elongated limbs that end in clawed digits.

What one physically sees of a Yoma is not its true form. The true form of a Yoma is a parasitic, and to this point unseen, creature that invades the brains of human victims. By this, they seize control and can alter the shape of the host body to suite their needs, warping the size and shape into claws, fangs, and, in rare cases, wings. Originally, it was believed Yoma could perfectly replicate a human's behavior patterns by devouring his or her brain. This is only partially true, though the exact nature of the parasite's takeover of its victim is still and unknown process. However, the Yoma eventaully wears out its host, even if it feeds on the flesh of humans reguarely, and thus must switch to a new body. This seems to have lead to the rumor of Yoma being able to take the shape of others, though it is revealed they are simply switching bodies, and that those who are related or have been in continued contact with one discovered to be a Yoma end up becoming ones themselves; likely this is the parasite surviving the host's death and fleeing to a new one, possible as the true nature of Yoma are kept a strict secret from Claymores.

A chilling evidence shows that the hosts of the Yoma might be well aware of their actions. In at least two known cases, Yoma have been seen attacking or devouring their hosts loved ones, with tears pouring out of their eyes. Yoma are incredibly sadistic and cruel creatures, and while the crying could have been for sadistic reasons in one case, in the other it had already killed its victim.

Flying Yoma

Flying Yoma from Anime Scene 15, "The Witch's Maw (Part 1)"

Winged, they differ from normal Yoma by their flying ability, thus presenting a greater challenge. However, aside for this advantage, they do not demonstrate power levels any greater than their ground bound bretheren, and it is unknown if the ability is born of a unique trait or not. Claymores have speared them from street-level or rooftop by hurling swords.

But if a Claymore can jump high enough and has the skill, Flying Yoma can be attacked in midair . Flying Yoma make infrequent appearances in Claymore scenes.

Claymores

Claymores can be considered half-Yoma (except Clare, who is one-half her original self and one-half Teresa, thus one-quarter Yoma, though her right arm is from Ilena, a regular Claymore). Claymores are known also for their long- lasting youth and life-span.

Properly trained Claymores have a tactical advantage over Yoma, despite the Yoma's greater strength and number, as Claymores are trained in the martial arts since childhood (Extra Scene 4) and make more skilled use of their Yoki (brains over brawn). Claymores also have the ability to sense the Yoki of Yoma or other Claymores, sometimes across great distances. Their bodies are also incredibly maleable, and they are able to increase their body temperature to avoid the cold and also alter their bodies to not only create new ways to fight but to disguise their voices, such as lengthening their vocal cords. However all Claymores also have the "Stigma," a deformity that, until recently, was kept secret. While their body functions normally, the result of the surgery has left it flayed open and, without a specialized surgical string, the innards will hang out.

Ironically, Claymores, at least of the higher ranks, seem to be far more powerful than the Yoma they hunt. It is not as simple as wielding weapons either. Even lower level warriors can easily outmatch a single Yoma, and some of the more powerful Claymores can completely physically overpower Yoma as well. However, Claymores are physically more vulnerable, for they must keep their energy under control lest they Awaken and lose their human minds.

With the revelation of what Yoma are, a serious question has been raised. What is the flesh that is implanted in a Claymore? The flesh of the former host, likely drained of nutrients and having limited amount of the Yoma tissue, as the Yoma parasite form often shifts to new bodies, or the parasite itself?

Awakened Beings

Outside the Organization, a third type of Yoma, known as "Voracious Eaters," are alleged to be long-lived Yoma of extreme power and appetite. But this spin is meant for public consumption.

Within the Organization itself, they are called Awakened Beings, former Claymores who have lost control of their Yoki, changing into a massive Yoma-like form, and far more powerful than either Claymores and normal Yoma. While Yoma often have few variations in terms of looks, the shapes that the Awakened Beings can take on vary greatly, from bestial features to seemingly inorganic or even totally alien structures. Some Awakened Beings have animal shapes, while others look like enlarged normal Yoma with specialized traits, such as Dauf. Like Claymore it seems that only some Awakend Being can regenerate limbs.

Abyssal Ones

Awakened Beings that were former No. 1 Claymores. Abyssal Ones' form and abilities are similar to those of lesser Awakened Beings and Normal Yoma, but are vastly more powerful—strong enough to control an entire quadrant of the Island World of Claymore.

Abyss Feeders

According to Dietrich, after the disaster of the Northern Campaign, the Organization began a new line of research that resulted in the Abyss Feeders. Using the bodies of the eleven Awakened Beings killed by Alicia outside of the Organization's headquarters, the scientists implanted pure Awakened flesh into human girls and created monsters in human form, the reverse of Yoma and Claymores, who are humans that eventually attain monster form.

The Feeders are blinded, have their mouths sewed up, and only respond to nearby movement. They are designed to hunt down and destroy Abyssal Ones, like Riful and Isley, through tracking their scents like bloodhounds. Presumably they could also be sent after other creatures as well.

The Destroyer

A unique entity, The Destroyer is formed from the merged bodies of an Abyssal One (Luciela of the South) and a Claymore (Rafaela), accidentally Awakened by Clare. Deneve senses the Destroyer to be more powerful than the Abyssal Ones.

However, The Destroyer itself possess no will of its own, simply reacting to stimuli and nothing more, and seems to have little to no combat abilities as it does not seem to recognize singular targets, except for rare occassions. A being as powerful as Priscilla may attack it yet it will not directly attack that target. Through unknown means, Clare managed to take control over it and restrained both it and Priscilla for several months.

The Destroyer, however, has a distinct advantage over all other known forms of Yoma entity. It has no core to itself, thus it has not physical weakpoint to target.

Parasitic Rods

Rod-shaped projectiles fired by the Destroyer. Parasitic Rods grow into Yoma-like creatures, resembling Luciela's Awakened "hell-cat" form. Clare calls them lifeless automatons—parasites needing a host to reproduce that function on a finite amount of energy.

Behind the Scenes

• Yoma can disguise themselves as humans by eating their brains to absorb their memories and look like the human they devoured .
• Normal Yoma can form alliances with Awakened Beings.
• Overwhelming rage mixed with sexual ecstasy is why Claymores find it difficult to control Awakening.
• When Awakened male Claymores change to human form, they look like adults in their 20–30s, such as Isley, Rigaldo and Dauf.
• Human forms of Awakened female Claymores can range from “tweens” such as Riful or Priscilla, to a woman in her twenties such as Agatha.
• Not eating for extended periods can cause an Awakened Being's body to degenerate, but consuming flesh will reverse the process. This is shown by Priscilla, who reverted to a child-like form after having not eaten for seven years, then reverting to an adult appearance after consuming the inhabitants of a village razed by the Destroyer's parasitic rods.
• As with other predators such like lions and tigers, Yoma have preference for their prey's internal organs. Muscle meat is eaten last if at all.
• Eventually, some Claymores (Teresa and Miria) come to suspect the Organization of controlling and even creating Yoma. This is later proven correct when it is revealed that Yoma are the product of infecting humans with a parasite created from the flesh of two captured members of the Dragon's Kin. Instead of the Yoma taking on the appearance and memories of the devoured, as was initially stated, the parasite afflicts its host with an intense hunger for human flesh, and jumps from host to host as its current body degenerates from reckless transformations and overuse, transforming the new host into a Yoma.