| Overview |
Clear Note (クリア・ノート, Kuria Nōto), known as White following his ruination, and Vino (ヴィノー, Vinō), later Vino Friedman, are the main antagonists of the Clear Arc. They specialize in Annihilation Magic, the most destructive type of magic. They are the final and most powerful antagonists in the original series. They placed 3rd in the battle overall.
Appearance[]
Part I[]
Clear Note is a striking and ominous Mamodo with a towering presence and a chaotic aura. He has extremely tall, lean proportions and sharp, angular features. His most defining visual trait is his wild, spiked white hair, which fans out explosively in all directions—giving him a volatile, untamed look that matches his destructive nature. His outfit is simple but stark: a white tank top and teal-blue jeans, giving him a casual, almost deceptive appearance that belies his terrifying power. He also wears grayish sneakers. His pale skin and cold, indifferent facial expression reinforce his role as a major antagonist, and his eyes—usually depicted with minimal detail—carry a chilling emptiness. Everything about Clear Note’s design exudes danger, unpredictability, and sheer overwhelming strength.
Vino in his bubble
Vino, Clear's bookkeeper, is a small baby that usually wears a hood and sits in a cradle. During battle, Vino is suspended in a protective floating bubble made by Clear, which is said to cut Clear's power in half. This bubble has so far shown to be completely indestructible. Nothing is known about where Vino came from or how Clear had found him, but he seems to be able to speak in complete sentences even though he is just a baby. Vino seems to enjoy helping Clear, and also seems to derive some sadistic pleasure from hurting other mamodo and their bookkeepers. It is possible that Clear is controlling Vino's heart and mind with his power; this is evidenced by the glazed, near blank stare in Vino's eyes. During the final battle between Clear and Gash, Vino had 'merged' with Clear's demonic spell form, despite being scared of it, and was changed by Clear to have an endless supply of heart energy. When Gash's ultimate spell destroys Clear's last crystal, the protective barrier surrounding Vino is destroyed causing Clear's book to be burned. Kiyomaro immediately used a spell to protect the unconscious Vino from the vacuum of space, and catches the infant in his arms. After the battle, Vino was taken in by Dr. Riddles who planned on using his keen sense of locating people to look for his parents. He took Dr. Riddle’s true last name as well, and is now known as Vino Friedman.
Part II[]
Personality[]
Vino is as young as a baby and physically weak, but he has a clear way of thinking. His mental strength is incredible, allowing him to quickly recover even after using the most powerful spells several times. Despite his extremely small appearance, he is quite cold-hearted, violent, and foul-mouthed. His catchphrase is "We can do it, Clear!"
Biography[]
Background[]
Clear himself admits that he has few memories of his parents, saying that they “disappeared when I was little” and even expressing uncertainty as to whether he “erased them” himself or if they abandoned him.[2] Clear spent most of the early battle raising Vino properly so that he could speak to read his spells.[3]
After Zatch defeated his brother, Zeno, he gave Gash a letter that revealed that there was an evil power far greater than his still out there. Shortly after the amount of participants reached ten, Gash was confronted by Ashron, one of the finalists, who revealed that this evil was Clear Note, one of the remaining mamodo. It was revealed that if Clear Note became king, he intended to use the King's Privilege to unleash genocide upon the mamodo World, and then kill himself, making all mamodo extinct.
At some point before Zofis began his plan with the ancient mamodo, Clear and Vino crossed paths with Ashron, who was overwhelmed and scarred as a result of Clear's power and made it his personal mission to nullify his goals. Sometime after this encounter and before he confronted Brago and Sherry, Clear met with the mamodo Gorm, who had always been alone in his life, and his partner Mir. Gorm struck a bargain with Clear, offering the power of his Black Room to help him become King in exchange for being the only one left alive in the mamodo world and he agreed.
Part I[]
Clear Arc[]
Clear first appears in the Clear Note Arc to Brago and Sherry in France. His stunning human-like appearance does not deceive Brago and Sherry from sensing the power that he holds. However, in spite of their best efforts, Clear easily dominates them and is kept from annihilating them only by the timely arrival of Ashron and Gash.
Ashron then faces Clear in a rematch of a previous battle that had ended in a draw. They appear to be evenly matched at first until Clear reveals that he hadn't even been trying hard. He begins using more powerful spells, dominating the battle and severely wounding Ashron. Just as he is about to deal the finishing blow, Gash intervenes, demanding to know Clear's reasons for wanting to use the King's Privilege for genocidal purposes. Clear calmly replies that it was why he was born. Gash and Kiyomaro object to this and hit him with a Teozakeru, which fails to damage him. Clear continues by saying that the evolution of the mamodo had given birth to him, the power to destroy the mamodo, much like the humans' science had given birth to nuclear weapons, the power to destroy the humans, dodging Gash's Ganreizu Zakeru all the while. He states that it was his instinct to lead the mamodo to annihilation, and then attempts to use his Radisu spell, but Gash uses his mantle to guard against it.
The attacks pause as Clear goes on to talk about the battle to become the mamodo king, stating that the orchestrator of the battle is unknown; by no mamodo's will, the books simply appear every one thousand years, the order to decide the king is issued, and the battle begins. Clear states that it is called the "Trial of God", and while the god and the purpose of the trial are both unknown with certainty, Clear states that he believes that it is to keep order in the mamodo world. With so many powerful mamodo like Gash and Brago, if they were left to do what they wished freely, the mamodo world would become a place of endless war. The battle serves as a way to eliminate mamodo who think differently, which helps keep the race as a whole alive. Much like the humans, due to a lack of communication and conflicting opinions, there was no end to the war.
Gash yells for him to shut up, stating his own opinions on the matter: none of the living mamodo wanted or deserved to disappear, and he swears to Clear not to allow him to kill any one of them. Clear calmly states that now they know each other's opinions clearly, but the gap in power was too great for Gash to make a difference. However, this is quickly proven untrue; Kiyomaro's Answer Talker was reawakened thanks to Gash's speech, and Gash now had a stronger will to win, which results in the Zakeruga they launch damaging a vital point on Clear. They exchange blows again, Clear stating that Gash's power makes his heart dance with excitement, and tells him to bring everything that they've got, and that he will surpass them and destroy all mamodo. Thus incensed, Kiyo casts Baou Zakeruga, and Clear counters with his strongest spell, Shin Kuria Seunousu.
At first, they appear evenly matched, but the annihilation energies of Clear's spells consume Baou Zakeruga from the inside out, leaving Gash and Kiyomaro defenseless and Clear's spell with enough power left to annihilate them. Gash attempts to bear the blow, but Ashron blocks it with his body, entrusting Gash with the hope of the mamodo world, as his book was already burning. He tears off his arm and discards it, trusting Gash to give him a new body in the mamodo World. Clear attempts to destroy them with Raajia Radisu, seemingly eliminating Brago and Sherry but failing to kill Ashron, Gash, and their partners, having used up too much of Vino's energy in his battle with Baou Zakeruga. Lightened without his wings and arm, Ashron plans to use his Shin spell to eliminate Clear, but Clear reveals that though he only has weak spells left, he also has spells that can increase his speed, and states aloud that he'll dodge Ashron's attack since he's returning to the mamodo world anyway. However, Brago and Sherry survived Clear's attack due to Ashron's discarded arm, the dragon scales providing a strong enough defense against it and use the energy they had stored up to bind Clear in place with Nyuuborutsu Ma Gurabirei long enough for Ashron to impale him on his head spike.
However, despite the seemingly fatal wound, Clear proved to be too resistant and, with the help of Gorm, escaped into the Black Room, where he would be unable to attack, but also unable to be attacked. Before leaving, he reveals that in 10 months he will be at the apex of his power and will destroy them all. Brago and Gash attempt to stop him, but he manages to escape.
Clear Note's second form
During the 10-month period, Clear's body undergoes a transformation inside a cocoon where only his face could be seen. Meanwhile, Gash and Kiyomaro gathered all of their allies and, with the help of Dufort, trained to build up enough power to defeat Clear. Near the end of the ten months, Gorm comes across Purio, who had recently befriended Kanchomé. He attacks Purio, whose best efforts prove useless against Gorm's black holes. Kanchomé arrives and keeps him at bay with his new spells. Near the end of their fight, Kanchomé befriends Gorm, but his and Purio's books are burned by one of Clear's long-distance spells. Gorm considers Kanchomé's offer of friendship, and subsequently asks Clear to spare him in the end as well, but Clear refuses. This leads to Gorm's defection from his loyalty; while he loses half his body in their fight, he transports Clear and Vino to the Rocky Mountains in America, and he and Mir convey this to Gash and Kiyomaro before they burn his book at his request.
With only three months before Clear's deadline, the remaining contenders gather their power and attack four days after Gorm's defeat. Clear realizes this, and proceeded to launch an attack at the plane that was transporting Gash and his allies to the battlefield. They manage to fend off Clear's two strongest spells, but Tia and Ponygon lose their books in the process. Directly after this, Clear sends the remnants of his last spell towards them, but it is destroyed by Brago, who had managed to get within point-blank distance of Clear while he was distracted.
Clear's ultimate form
During Clear and Brago's rematch, the former transforms into a very powerful, sleek body covered in slim armor. Gash soon arrives, teaming up with Brago and succeeding in destroying Clear's last and strongest spell. However, this enables Clear to access his final and most powerful form (which even Vino was surprised by), fusing with his last spell and becoming a towering demonic creature as large as Faudo, composed of pure annihilation energy. He then merges with Vino, changing his form to provide a bottomless supply of heart energy, and unleashes powerful waves of annihilation, destroying Gash and Brago's most powerful spells and leaving them both crippled and at his mercy.
Just as he prepares to finish them off, Gash and Kiyomaro's willpower turns their book to a golden color, and he begins to utilize spells from other mamodo: Danny, Wonrei, Rein, Arth, Kido, Laila, Pamoon, Victoream, Ashron, Ted, Cherish, Bari, Yopopo, Penny, and Byonko all lend Gash their best spells, and they repel all of Clear's attacks. After losing most of his body parts, an infuriated Clear flies up into space to destroy the planet, thinking that Gash would be unable to follow. He turns out to be wrong, however: after Tia heals them, Kolulu and Ponygon help Gash and Kiyomaro to follow Clear, who fires the blast he had been charging. However, the blast passes through the planet, which was nothing but an illusory duplicate courtesy of Kanchomé.
Following this, all the spirits of the mamodo world lend Gash their power, as does Brago, the only mamodo still on Earth. With all this power, Gash unleashed his ultimate attack, Shin Beruwan Baou Zakeruga, against Clear. Clear attempts to stop the colossal electric dragon, but even with Vino's endless heart energy, he is overwhelmed and ripped to pieces. Clear's last crystal shatters, breaking the protective barrier surrounding Vino, allowing Gash's lightning to incinerate Clear's book.
White[]
White, Clear's reincarnation
When Clear Note was defeated by Zatch’s Bao, he returned to the Mamodo World and, like the other mamodo, was restored to a physical body. However, Bao’s power—said to devour evil—did more than end the battle: it destroyed Clear’s annihilation abilities and erased his evil emotions and memories. After Zatch became king, he remade Clear into a small, innocent mamodo child, about six or seven years old, who came to be known as White (ワイト, Waito). With no recollection of his former self and an entirely new appearance and personality, White is essentially a different person—one whose true origin is known only to Zatch.
Part II[]
Placed under the care of Dr. Riddles in Nevada, Vino grows into a vital organizer and communicator, playing a central role in reconnecting the scattered Mamodo and their partners. When Dr. Riddles is seemingly killed by the Black Butterfly curse, Vino takes charge of the grieving group, refusing to let them collapse into despair. He gathers them together, brings them into a meeting room, and unveils Dr. Riddles’ final “gift” — a file labeled “Friends” containing information on allies stored securely in a cloud server. Vino also shares Dr. Riddles’ prerecorded message, which shocks everyone when it first appears as an obituary, then flips into a prank with a giant “KIDDING,” revealing that Dr. Riddles had faked his death. Vino helps explain the ruse in detail, noting the use of Dr. Riddles’ artificial heart, staged blood packs, and Rocket Foot’s role as the decoy body. He then confirms that he had already reached out to former book owners outside the United States and had been compiling their data. Vino later introduces Jeed, Lupa, Apollo Genesis, Harry Jet, Fern, and other survivors to Zatch and Kiyo.
Spells & Abilities[]
Clear Note's spells are based on the power of Annihilation. His defensive spells are able to nullify or crush the spells of his opponents. His attack spells likewise are able to crush or weaken his opponents.
Forms[]
Complete Form[]
Clear's true form is the transformed form of "Shin Clear Seunous", the essence of Clear's "power of annihilation", which absorbs Clear himself. At the same time as being the "power of annihilation" itself, it is also the source of the will to "destroy monsters" that has been contained within Clear since birth. Its overall form is similar to Seunous’s, but its entire body is dyed black, and it boasts an overwhelmingly demonic bulk with Clear's body (the shell) embedded in the forehead of its skeletal face. It refers to itself as "I", and although Clear's ego previously existed to some extent, it is no longer there. It begins to function by absorbing Vino, which has been adjusted to release an endless supply of mental power. While it does not appear to possess the "magic" of ordinary monsters, its entire body is practically a weapon made of annihilation energy. With a single swing of its tail, it can easily flatten the entire surrounding terrain as far as the eye can see. It possesses several attack methods equivalent to "magic," including firing annihilation bullets from holes in its body, spitting powerful annihilation energy from its mouth, and accumulating mental power to unleash devastating annihilation energy in all directions. Even with its "Answer Talker" ability, Kiyomaro declared, "I can't find the answer to defeat it." It even easily defeated the combined attack of Shin Baberuga Gravidon and Baou Zakeruga, both of which had been powered up through training. Its overwhelming power drove even the supposedly strong-willed Sherry to despair. Despite the apparent difference in their strength, they continued to struggle desperately, mocking Zatch, who stood up despite being completely worn down. However, after Zatch's book achieved gold status, they were overwhelmed by the power of Zatch's allies. In order to recover and replenish his powers, he escapes to space, where humans and ordinary monsters cannot enter, but in the end, his entire body is crushed, and he is destroyed by "Shin Beruwan Baou Zakeruga", who was born from the combined thoughts of Zatch and all the monster children.
After his first transformation, Clear receives two new spells, known as the left and right-hand spells respectively. They seem to be related in some way to his ultimate spell and are represented by two orbs in the hands of Clear's second form. When one of the spells is defeated, its orb breaks and Clear's body absorbs its power, transforming him into his third form.
Battles[]
Trivia[]
- Some of Clear Note's spells are themed after medieval weaponry such as spears (the Ranzu Radisu family) and cannons (Shin Kuria Seunousu Zarefedoora).
- The word vino is Italian and Spanish for wine.
- The color of his book, which is not a color but a transparent book, was revealed by the author on his blog.
- Clear technically (with his left and right-hand spells) has more than one Shin-class spell, making him, along with Ashron and Gash, one of the only mamodo with that privilege. He would also be the only mamodo with three Shin spells.
- Clear's clothes, at least in his second and third forms, seem to be a part of his body. While he is in the cocoon, his headdress can be seen growing while the rest of his body is regenerating, and when he transforms into his third form, his headdress and cape disappear, being replaced with armor. It's possible that the armor even replaces Clear's skin in this form. Clothes changing with the characters who wear them is a common trope in manga, but it is almost never taken this seriously.
- Since Clear's partner is only a baby, he has the youngest known partner in the entire mamodo fight.
- Clear Note has the distinction of being the last remaining mamodo who is taller than his partner.
- Vino's mature and sadistic personality is more likely than not due to Clear's influence on him, but this is never confirmed. It is unknown if Clear can exert this influence on other people in a way similar to Zofis' heart control ability.
- Clear’s starting location in the Human World was Italy. Due to Vino’s name.
References[]
- ↑ Zatch Bell! 2 Page.7
- ↑ Gash Café 15
- ↑ http://raikumakoto.com/archives/5649668.html