So here is the Christmas supprise that I told you was coming. In the mail yesterday was a package from HLJ.com inside was Clare, I wasn’t expecting to get her till after the holidays. Clare is of course from the manga and anime Claymore. Ranked number 47 out of a class of 47 Clare maybe the ‘weakest’ fighter in terms of power levels but she has learned more then a few tricks enabling her to keep up with the big girls. This figure from Madhouse is the first in what I hope is a long line of Claymore figures. Clare comes with removeable cape and sword. You can also chose which right arm she has her original or the replacement that came from Flash Sword Irene.

Sculpt:
The sculpt capture the essence of Clare, powerful but still venerable. The over all look is closer to the manga then the anime design. This is most evident in the face. The armor is also more like the magna with the shoulder pieces flaring out more then being tight to the body and in the anime. The pose while not very dynamic it gives the sense that at any moment Clare could spring into action. My only gripe with the pose would be that Clare in looking down and so her face is hard to see from normal viewing angles. Most of the pics where her face is visible had me kneeling down and shooting up from below the level of the table top.

Production:
Cast:
While over all the seams are few and far between the most glaring one is the one that splits her hair in two. I like the inclusion of the multiple arms and they are switch out easily without the connection being sloppy or loose. The downside is that the shoulder part of the armor is not connected to the body but the arm making it impossible to pose her without it or even without an arm. The arm connection to the body is at the shoulder instead of the upper bicep as in the manga/anime. While not a major flaw it does limit the looks available. The cape is also easily removed and the sword mounts into its holder securely thou it is sometime hard to remove once you have it in there. But again there are limits, the sword will only mount over Clare’s right shoulder there is no way for it to mount over her left or for her to carry two swords as another girl does in the anime. And for the base is not just a plain circle. While nothing to wright home about it’s better then some of the fugly Tupperware lid bases I have been getting.

Paint:
The painting is very well done the shading bringing out Clare’s curves and the folds in cape. The amour and sword are a pearliszed silver finish not the highly mirrored metal look that was seen in the preview pics. Of the two I think I like the silverish finish better but it might have been better to top it off with a coat of gloss instead of the more matte finish it has. I am sure it was a cost issue that nixed the high gloss chrome from the production figures and while the armor looks very nice the sword should have been the high gloss mirror silver like the preview pics, it just looses something to have Clare’s sword be that dull looking. Mirroring the sword I don’t think would have added that much to the production costs. If I could afford it I would pick up a second one and try glossing the armor up a bit but I don’t see that happening as she is pretty much sold-out everywhere. They were however do very nice job with the paint on the face and eyes. Don’t know how they did it but there is a ring of more reflective silver around the iris that adds just the right amount of shine when the light hits it.

Overall, Clare is a welcome addition to my collection while there are a few thing I would have like to seen done better you cant beat it for the price. She is basically sold-out everywhere (so no links) that I have checked so it looks like those of you who missed out on the pre-order will have to hope they do a reissue.

Packaging: Window Box
Source: Claymore (manga/anime)
Scale: 1/8 (Approx 18 cm tall)
Production: Madhouse
Price: 5,775 JPY

Other Posts of Interest

• Review: Toy’s Work’s No.47 Clare (5)
• July Figure Shipment (5)
• Madhouse Clare Reissue (4)

Tags: Clare, Claymore, Figures, Review