Review: Claymore, Vol. 9

Claymore: The Deep Abyss of Purgatory, Vol. 9
by Norihiro Yagi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Claymore, Vol. 9 / 978-1421510514

I've watched the Claymore anime before following the manga, and I absolutely love both. I love the crisp, clean, black-and-white artwork, and I'm finding that the "action" panels are getting easier to follow as I progress into the series -- I think that the artists behind this series are truly talented and skilled at conveying a complex story and wonderfully emotive characters.

And, on an excited side note, I notice now that the entire series is available in e-book form as Nook Books; I hope they'll be ported to other stores soon, to serve as many readers as possible.

Volume 9 provides the following scenes:

Scene 46: The Deep Abyss of Purgatory, Part 1
Scene 47: The Deep Abyss of Purgatory, Part 2
Scene 48: The Deep Abyss of Purgatory, Part 3
Scene 49: The Deep Abyss of Purgatory, Part 4
Scene 50: The Battle of the North, Part 1
Scene 51: The Battle of the North, Part 2

For those following along with the anime series, this volume corresponds to:

Episode 17: The Witch's Maw, Part 3
Episode 18: The Carnage in the North, Part 1

Spoilers ahead!

This volume finishes out the Riful arc and begins the Northern Campaign arc. The volume ends when the three Awakened Beings sent to scout Pieta decide to attack the Claymores.

Galatea plays for time while Clare finds Jean, the only one with an attack strong enough to pierce Dauf's thick hide. Clare finds Jean in an Awakened state, but in full possession of her mind and enough self-control to hold her body stationary while she pleads for Clare to kill her. Clare uses Galatea's synchronization technique to pull Jean back to human form, and the two return to Galatea to continue the fight with Dauf. Matters are brought to a stalemate; the three Claymore are just barely strong enough to defeat Dauf, but they are no match for Abyssal Creature Riful. Riful provides them with information on Isley in the north, and then allows the Claymore to leave; Galatea agrees not to turn Clare and Jean into the Organization.

Rafael, the tracker without an aura, finds Jean and Clare in the woods, and Rubel orders the two to join the Claymores gathered in the north. Clare capitulates, as the north is, after all, where she was heading anyway. In Pieta, Clare is reunited with Deneve, Helen, and Miria, and Miria breaks the Claymore into teams in order to more effectively combat the Awakened Beings converging on their location. The volume ends with the three scouts sent by Isley choosing to attack the Claymore rather than report back as ordered.

~ Ana Mardoll