Clare (Claymore)

Clare is the main protagonist from the Claymore anime and manga.

Clare is a female Claymore and the Organization's No. 47 during her generation which was the 150th generation of Claymores. She is the main protagonist of the series. She is the only known Claymore to have taken the flesh and blood of a fellow Claymore rather than that of a Yoma, making her 1/4 Yoma, as opposed to 1/2 human like the other warriors. This was allowed to happen as an experiment to attempt to create a stronger warrior. This experiment was considered a failure, as she was considered weak and was given the last rank of No. 47 in the 150th generation. Despite this, through both her own efforts and the help of others, Clare eventually attained a significant level of power and became one of the first partially Awakened Beings.

Clare is also the only person known to have volunteered to undergo the process of becoming a Claymore.

Appearance
As a child, Clare appears thin and frail. She has straight, light brown hair in a long "hime" (princess) style, much like Galatea's, though shorter, and green eyes. Her scarred body reveals abuse from the Yoma that used her as a cover and a toy.

Her hair is cut in a pageboy and is now light blond. As a trainee, she wears it in the same style as when she was a child. When ambushed by a Yoma during her final test, she cuts off 2/3 of her hair to hang out a window as a decoy, (Extra Scene 4). It has remained short ever since. Her eyes are silver and her body scars are gone, except for the stigmata on the front of her torso. Her body appears wispy, disguising her supernatural strength. She is considered to be quite attractive, as commented by both Sid and a knight passing by her at an inn in Rabona.

When Clare loses her right arm in a fight with Ophelia, Irene gives her her own arm as a gift so that Clare can use the Quicksword more proficiently. Although Yoki-suppressants are supposed to return a Claymore's eyes to their natural color, Clare's eyes appear brown in the anime, not green, when she takes these pills in Rabona (possibly a directional continuity issue).

Partially Awakened Form
Clare's eyes turn gold with slit pupils like those of a Yoma and her face and body become distorted and monstrous. Her legs become hock-jointed like a horse's, making her faster, and blades grow from her right arm, while her left becomes large and claw-like. Her Awakened right arm is most likely what Irene's right arm would have looked like if she were to Awaken.

Personality
When first introduced, Clare was a very cold warrior who prioritized her duties over everything else; this is shown when after saving Raki from a Yoma, she told him that she had to get it into a position in which she could kill it easily, implying that she cared more about killing the Yoma than saving his life. Despite this, she was still willing to take Raki with her until they found a new village for him to settle in, largely because he reminded her of herself when she was a child. She insisted to Raki that she was not a kind person and that, if he tried to find kindness in her, he would only find disappointment. However, he refused to believe that due to what she had done for him and, in time, she defrosted due to his influence- ironically, she had previously done the same thing to her mother figure, Teresa.

Even from childhood, Clare's enormous willpower was apparent when she would persistently follow Teresa despite the dangers. While with Teresa, she was initially mute, but later on was able to speak again. Her determination to kill Priscilla made her take Teresa's flesh and blood into her body and become a Claymore. She had an immense desire to kill Priscilla, to her claim, it was the reason for her being alive. Hence she was an offensive type Claymore. Killing Priscilla became her sole reason for existing, hence her initially cold, calculating attitude.

Although she may look composed on the surface, her emotions can break out very easily, such as when she immediately rushed to Rigardo in anger when her companions were killed. Her burning passion is one of the reasons why she wasn't able to master the Quick Sword in her condition and repeatedly risks her life to save others. Because she often lets her emotions get the better of her, Clare will tend to ignore all warnings, rushing into any situation, regardless of danger. She can also be rather blunt as shown in the first episodes in the anime.

Following seeing Raki wounded by Priscilla, Clare became ashamed that she no longer wished to throw her life or her humanity away in order to vanquish Priscilla. Conflicted at the desire to live, Clare's turmoil was only settled by Deneve's remarks and she then decided to win to see life ahead with her friends.

Abilities
Clare started as one of the weakest claymores, having trouble dealing with even regular Yoma. However, as the story progressed, her abilities have grown exponentially. After the 7 years of hiding, she became able to stand on equal ground with the phantom Miria (who in turn was able to defeat an entire generation of claymores with the exception of No. 1 Alicia and No. 2 Beth).

Acute Yoki Sensing

 * From inheriting Teresa's flesh and blood, Clare has the ability to read the flow of Yoki in opponents and predict their movement. Clare unlocked this when she became a half-awakened. This ability has helped Clare to easily slay Yoma and battle Awakened Beings.
 * Intelligence: even when she was a trainee Claire was shown to be quite cunning. Like when she was battling her rival during the final exam she managed to use a stone on the ground to distract her. The best example though would be when she was escaping from Ophelia. She faked her death on a cliff to escape and almost succeeded.

Awakened Limbs

 * The awakened limbs were first seen during the Northern Campaign, during the battle of Rigardo. Clare's legs become hock-jointed—a cross between a horse and pterosaur. Her left arm becomes a giant claw, which awakens further into blades sprouting out of scaly, muscular limbs, losing the human-like form of the arm, and her right arm sprouts several blades. Her awakened limbs allow her to move at lightning speed. Clare's awakening stops with Jean's death, as she brings Clare back to normal. Clare's next awakening attempt fails against Priscilla, due to a mental block caused by Jean's death.

Quicksword

 * By releasing all yoki into her sword arm, and controlling the berserker arm through sheer will, Clare attacks at superhuman speed. Irene tries teaching Clare the Quicksword, but soon realizing Clare could never master the technique, Irene cuts off her remaining arm and gives it to Clare as a "parting gift"[1], and a way for her to master the Quicksword. Clare later learns to control the berserk nature of this sword swinging technique through willpower and reacting to yoki. According to Priscilla, Clare's version has the same power as Irene but has a shorter amount of time each time she uses it.

Rafaela's Fighting Style

 * After having absorbed Rafaela's memories, Clare learns the former's fighting style, which involves creating a very faint field of yoki around the body, allowing for extremely precise movements even when reacting to stimuli beyond the field of vision, and also allowing her to fight with the rest of her body with kicks and punches. According to Teresa, Rafaela's fighting style is reckless and mildly clumsy.

Windcutter

 * Flora's signature move, Windcutter, is similar to the Quicksword in many ways. Like the Quicksword, it attacks at superhuman speed but is somewhat slower. The Windcutter, however, is superior to the Quicksword in terms of accuracy. During the Seven Year Time-Skip, Clare masters Windcutter in replacement of the Quicksword, as Yoki is required for the use of the technique. With the Windcutter, Clare has managed to survive through the Seven Year-Time Skip and hide successfully from the Organization's purge. The physical improvement and sheer strength gained from mastering the Windcutter made Clare's Quicksword on par with Irene's.

Yoki Manipulation

 * Clare faintly used this to pull Jean back from her awakened state.

Yoki Suppression

 * During the Seven Year Time-Skip in Alphonse, Clare, along with the other "Seven Ghosts", has learned to hide one's Yoki aura, while retaining Yoki sensing and fighting ability. This ability was acquired by consuming "half" of the Yoki Suppression Pill to minimize side-effects and over time they've learned to re-emulate the effect without the need of the pills.

Voice Change

 * Clare has the ability to impersonate a male voice and other types of voices. She only does this once, during her search for Raki in Hanel.

Trivia

 * Given Clare became a Claymore using Teresa's flesh and blood this would make her roughly 12% asarakam and 88% human. (Simply division. If Yoma are half and Claymores are 1/4, just divide once more for a Claymore/human hybrid.)


 * Clare's voice actor is Houko Kuwashima and her English voice actor is Stephanie Young.
 * Clare's song on Claymore Intimate Persona is "Kioku," meaning "Memory."
 * Clare is ranked No. 47 within the Organization. Her ranking refers to the 47th prefecture, Okinawa prefecture, where Norihiro Yagi, the author of Claymore, was born.


 * In the manga, Flora and Clare battle to compare their sword techniques, but in the anime, Jean interferes before their contest begins. Although Clare did mention the name of her technique, but she did not reveal Irene's name like she did in anime.
 * In the anime, Clare fights Priscilla in the ending episodes. Jean dies afterwards in an attempt to save her from awakening. She then deserts the Organization with Raki. However in manga, Clare did not meet Raki until seven years later. Despite the similarities in anime, the fight with Priscilla did not happen and instead Clare awakened in the fight with Rigardo.


 * In the manga, she asks for Rubel to give her Teresa's flesh and blood in front of an audience in the town Teresa and Clare were staying in. However in the anime, she catches Rubel in town and Rubel takes her to a place where she demands for Teresa's flesh and blood to be put in her.