Blair Loveday
If you know a lot about anime, and as a casual fan I don’t, Black Clover is one of the Shonen anime that are adapted from the Shonen Jump manga magazine.
This is probably not surprising then that many say it is a lot like other long standing series, such as Bleach. If like me you find the length of those shows too intimidating then a newer series like Black Clover is a great way to get that casual silly anime action.
Black Clover is set in the Clover Kingdom where magic is commonplace. The best of these magical users can become magic knights who fight to protect the kingdom. Brothers Asta and Yuno grow up in an orphanage and both harbour dreams of becoming the Wizard King, a role that is one of the most honoured in the kingdom. Yuno is a naturally gifted wizard, but Asta is at a disadvantage due to not having any magic whatsoever.
This has resulted in Asta overcompensating in many ways which has resulted in him being super strong, and annoyingly super yelly. Seriously he rarely talks in a tone that isn’t yelling even more so than the amount we are used to from Shonen anime. It doesn’t stop me enjoying the show, but even after two long seasons I still find it annoying.
They both attend a ceremony where young wizards get their source of massive power, the grimoires. The grimoires give wizards massive amounts of power, and essentially provides them their magic element such as wind and fire.This is all done by the grimoires choosing their wizards, and Yuno is gifted with the super rare and super powerful four leaf clover. Asta unfortunately doesn’t receive one until much later on when an incident follows with him being chosen by an anti-magic grimoire which basically gives him a super powerful sword.
They are both chosen by guilds and start off their journeys as Wizard Knights. I won’t touch too much more story because where is the fun in me spoiling that? All of this plot is covered in the first few episodes and the show goes bombastic from there. One of its strengths is that despite having a massive cast, the show gives you enough time to get to know a lot of the side characters. Some character arcs can miss a bit, but on the whole it is enjoyable.
This is the show’s strength. There are some slower episodes that do service the bigger story and provide a lot more character development. Other shows like Dragon Ball Z are famed for the slow pace they move while telling not much story, but Black Clover’s long season could easily be four great seasons with the story it tells and the number of major arcs that it goes through.
If by the time you have finished the show you are still itching for content, the Blu Ray package comes with a heap of special features, the best of which are the clover clips. Each episode comes with a clover clip at the end which is a Chibi Style animated short which is sometimes funny, other times meh. The bonus ones are way better and well worth checking out.
Black Clover Complete Season One is a fantastic package that is well worth your time. The show is a bit silly at times, but the perfect dumb fun action anime to chill out to.
After it takes its time to set up some main characters it jumps from strength to strength, even if Asta yelling every second sentence can be grating.
