'Black Clover' Review

A magical world where every 15-year-old is given a Grimoire, a book containing spells and enhances the wielders natural magical talents, and the kingdom is protected by the best of the best magical users. This is the world of Black Clover!

The Clover Kingdom is home to many different forms of magic with a huge variety of skill and power. The kingdom itself is divided into three sections: The Noble, think the most stuck up elitist country club you can think of. The Common section, the are of the nation where most of the people who idolize royalty and their powers. And the Forsaken section, in the anime’s own words this is where the common folk live. The Noble area is in the middle of the nation and the common area surrounds it and the Forsaken surrounds both.

It’s in the Forsaken area that the series starts. In small town with a run-down church and a demon’s skull on the horizon. We find out our two protagonists were left as infants at this rundown church to be raised by the priest. Even as infants there are extremes in their personalities. Yuno is the quieter and more reserved of the two and Asta is the loud mouthed, heart on his sleeve buffoon.

As the two infants grow up these personality traits are just one of the reasons that Asta and Yuno are treated so differently. As a theme perception and how people are treated based on that runs very strongly through the entire series. The nobility and royalty as a whole look down on anyone that wasn’t lucky enough to be born into one of their families. Folks that live in the common area understand their place, and because of that never let any one under them forget. The common folk are farmers, trades people, or labourers and as their magic is a drop in the ocean compared to noble magic power, Commoners are often treated as animals.

Asta and Yuno are on opposite ends of the magical power scale. Yuno is seen to be a genius level mage that can rival royals. Asta on the other hand can’t manage a basic spell. When it comes time to get their grimoires the two go to a nearby town where there is a ceremony in a library for all the 15-year-olds in the area. Yuno is chosen by an especially powerful grimoire which prompts a couple of noble kids to voice their distain for this low-born scum getting such a powerful Grimoire. Their views on Commoners are only exemplified when Asta is left standing with open arms and no Grimoire, which is essentially unheard of.

Asta doesn’t let much get in his way to become the Wizard King, the most powerful mage in the entire clover kingdom only second in authority to the king of the nation, so even though he doesn’t get his own Grimoire he still shouts to everyone that will listen that he will be Wizard King. He does it so much that it gets a little old. Black Clover has more than a few things in common with Shonen Jump’s massive series Naruto, and Asta’s entire personality seems cloned from Naruto and than had the volume turned up. It’s not an entirely negative point though. There’s a reason Naruto as a series did so well for 15 years, and Naruto Uzumaki’s determination and sincerity was always a bright point of the series.

Asta has the best and most annoying qualities of Naruto, but it’s almost always perfectly balanced by the supporting cast. Yuno is Asta’s rival from day one, and although there are more than a few comparisons to be made about Yuno and Asta vs. Naruto and Sasuke, the most refreshing aspect of Yuno and Asta’s relationship is that they aren’t begrudging rivals. Instead they are brothers that always push each other harder to achieve their dream: To be the Wizard King, and protect everyone they love. These two orphaned boys from one of the smallest villages want to become Wizard King and although they know nobility will more than likely have more power and have more chances to sit on the throne the only person that made stand in their way is each other. From episode 1-to-50 no matter their challenges they have faith the other will pull through because neither of them will let the other get ahead.

It’s the relationships that set this anime apart. They aren’t particularly nuanced or complicated. Many of the characters have become jaded due to one thing or another in their lives, but coming across Asta reignites their passions. Asta’s determination and confidence starts to seep into the insecure people around them pushing them to new levels of strength. Even Yuno changes expectations every time he makes a move.

The production values don’t start super high in the first 10 episodes. Background characters don’t have faces drawn in, the landscapes are basic fields with a few trees, and buildings are basic rectangles with little detail. This was to make it cheaper and most likely easier to animate in the beginning before the series proved its legs. There is a marked difference by the time the 15th episode rolls around. More varied character designs, fight scene become incredible frenetic and exciting, and city scenes become incredibly unique and lively. It’s worth paying attention to the details just to see how interest in a series can really change how it looks.

Black Clover is setting up for a long run as an anime. By episode 50 the most we know as the viewer is the name of the enemies. We don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing, where they came from, who works for them, or even what their ultimate power is. Not to mention the secret surrounding Asta’s mysterious power and Yuno’s unique Grimoire. The pace isn’t even that slow! An arc of two or three episodes will end with some wind down, but more often than not we’re already getting hints of what the next mission/adventure will be.

The series is available to episode 48 dubbed in English and up to episode 50 Sub-titled (as of writing this on September 25, 2018). The English voice over is quite good: The actors are enthusiastic and give lots of energy, but have a good handle on the quieter intimate moments. There are a few characters that stand out in a bad way because they sound more cartoonish than most, looking at you Nash. More than likely this is an issue that crept up due to the pool of talent available. It may have been as simple as taking anyone available for a character with only a few lines of dialogue, or a voice actor who does lines for a main character may need to change their voice a lot to make sure there isn’t any sound a like.

Black Clover is an entirely enjoyable anime with a lot of energy and flash! It isn’t completely unique taking inspiration from some magnificent series like Naruto, Dragon Ball, and Berserk with some great success, but there are times that they aren’t inspirations but crutches for the series to lean on. The real secret to the series is even though there is a clear main character, Asta is more a catalyst to make things happen in the world and not the only being that can make the things happen. If you enjoy a sincere, exciting, adventure anime with characters wielding unique magic, then Black Clover is for you!