Black Clover, a popular manga by Yuki Tabata, is currently in its final arc, while the anime is awaiting a sequel announcement by Studio Pierrot. The story is set in a world where magic is a day-to-day part of life. A person’s social status, the place they live in, and everything else is determined by how powerful they are. Asta, a young, magicless boy, dreams of becoming the Wizard King, a title given only to the strongest mage in the Clover Kingdom.
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Unlike him, his childhood friend and rival is a prodigy who has shown exceptional skills at a young age. Despite the odds against him, Asta strives to achieve his dream after receiving a grimoire with a five-leaf clover that grants him the power to nullify any magic. We follow his journey full of hardships as he joins the Black Bulls Squad and aims for the top. The story highlights perseverance and the desire to never give up no matter the odds. However, while Black Clover is considered one of the most beloved series, it received severe backlash in the beginning.
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Black Clover Faced Severe Criticism in the Beginning
The manga debuted in February 2015, and a year later, critics voted it one of the worst manga for anyone of any age during Comic-Con International. The list was shared by Anime News Network, which also included Tomodachi x Monster, Guardians of the Louvre, Ninja Slayer Kills, and Servant X Service in the same category. Furthermore, for the first few months after the anime debut in 2017, it had a score of 6.51 on MyAnimeList. It’s considered below average and a lot of the reviews were slamming the adaptation for bad animation and mediocre plot.
Other criticisms focused on the pacing, heavy use of common shonen tropes, and Asta’s frequent shouting, which some viewers found irritating. However, the anime currently has a score of 8.14 in the same platform and the manga is scored 7.85. The series began to gain traction midway through the first year when the anime was airing The Dungeon Exploration Arc which focused on Asta and Yuno’s teamwork against Mars, a powerful adversary from the enemy kingdom.
The arc follows Asta and Yuno’s team up in a dungeon raid where they run into knights from the Diamon Kingdom. However, Black Clover reviews got a massive boost when the anime started airing the Eye of the Midnight Sun Arc in 2019-2020. The studio upgraded the animation while the story showcased significant growth and character development. Fights against the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the Devil Zagred, and later antagonists highlighted high-stakes conflicts with emotional weight.
The actions of the Dark Triad in the Spade Kingdom Arc further increased interest in the series. The Clover Kingdom continues to face chaos in the Elf Reincarnation Arc, which again solidified Black Clover’s status as one of the best series in recent times. As the story progressed, viewers started to appreciate the anime for its world-building, magic system, side characters, battle choreography, and so on.
Black Clover’s Anime Is Delayed Far Too Long
The anime stopped airing in March 2021 with Episode 170 and it has yet to announce a sequel. It only set up the Spade Kingdom Arc after adapting a few chapters before the conclusion. The last two arcs include some of the best fights and plot twists fans have seen so far. An anime adaptation will elevate the excitement of these moments. It’s also imperative that the anime will resolve the unfinished story and give fans the closure they’ve been waiting for.
However, if the anime were to return, Studio Pierrot would likely make it seasonal, just like they did with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Although fans will have to wait longer for the story to conclude, it will provide the studio enough time to work on high-quality animation. On the other hand, the manga is in its final arc. Black Clover transitioned from Weekly Shonen Jump to Jump GIGA in 2023, with the series concluding its WSJ run on August 21st, 2023.
The manga resumed serialization in Jump GIGA on December 25th, 2023. It was incredibly challenging for Yuki Tabata to keep up with the weekly publication schedule amid personal and family issues. The manga is now releasing new chapters quarterly, which resulted in Tabata having a healthier work-life balance and maintaining the quality of his work. Tabata even apologized to readers for the sudden change while also promising to work on the manga conclusion in better condition.
H/T: Anime News Network, @ascillios
