Review of Black Clover

I will start this review off with a Chinese proverb that I have lived most of my life by, and I also feel is extremely applicable to the story of Black Clover, "Walking among three people, I find my teacher among them. I choose that which is good in them and follow it, and that which is bad and change it." - Confucious. People love to draw comparison and say Black Clover “steals” plot points from Naruto, Bleach, or even Fairy Tail. While that is undoubtedly true to some capacity, I feel as if Black Clover expands upon those very run-of-the-mill shōnen tropes and improves uponit. You could even say Black Clover chooses which is good in its inspiration and follows it, and changes the bad. This is why I believe it is the best long running anime, and why hardcore Naruto, Bleach, or Fairy Tail fans swarm this show with hate. So before I get into the proper review, if you are biased to a show you’ve watched prior, good for you, but it is best to watch this — or any other shōnen for that matter — with an open mind. You will enjoy the show if you stop drawing comparison. Now for the review.

The show follows Asta, a boy who had all of the odds stacked against him. Born with no magic power and existing in a world where almost everybody else has natural magic capabilities has proven to be very difficult for him. Within the very first episode, you can immediately see the difference between Asta’s character and everybody else. Many viewers find him annoying, but they also forget that he has grown up being doubted. Asta has always been the only one believing in himself for his entire life, acting in an almost brazen manner to keep himself and his ambitions in check. Even with his confident outlook, Asta learns very quickly that he cannot brute force his way to success. His magic inability and attitude causes him to be greatly looked down upon by his fellow peers at the village on the outskirts of the capital.

And as you can imagine, when Asta travels to the capital and decides to become a Magic Knight, a role of high respect and authority, his lack of magic, nonexistent formality, and brash attitude aren’t received very well. But against all odds, Asta is eventually offered a position in the Black Bulls squad, infamous for being filled with delinquents, outsiders, oddballs, and bad actors. This is the first turning point of the show where despite there being enemies that Asta has to fight — cause duh, it’s a shōnen — a lot of the fight also comes from Asta trying to gain a positive reputation within the capital as not only a Black Bull, but also as himself.

In a space largely dominated by royals because their natural magic power is simply greater, the Black Bulls are very looked down upon and seen as the “odd ones out”. As the show progresses, it is continuously put into perspective how Asta has begun at the absolute bottom. Asta is initially doubted by the Black Bulls, who, ironically, are the ones who are doubted by all other Magic Knight squads. So while we are watching Asta progress, we are also watching Asta slowly prove himself worthy to the Black Bulls, and we are watching the Black Bulls progress too. Asta’s personality has a domino effect which I find to be quite realistic, because the odds are truly set against him, but through his unwavering confidence, he still inspires. It’s as if we are getting triple underdog action at all times, and it makes the show all the more better. And the best part is everybody still doubts the Black Bulls for a long while, it’s not like an asswipe cliché where suddenly everybody views them as better… It’s realistic, people are biased, especially against those who have the odds stacked against them. The royals will always be held with higher regard, even if others work harder than them.

Which leads me to my next point, the characters. While I do find some character personality traits to be extremely bland and repetitive, I single-handedly think the characters are the best written aspect of this show by far. Characters are introduced in strange ways because it’s like they are all trying very hard to be distinct from one another, but after the introduction hurdle is passed, they all seem pretty rational and very human in their own regard. Hell, even the main antagonists of the show the first 100 episodes or so have actual reason to think the way they do aside from just being evil. I remember almost every relevant character name almost 2 years after watching which I have never been able to do and find so easy with any other show. This show simply wouldn’t have the same charm it does without some characters, even ones that seem somewhat irrelevant. If you take the time to put yourself into the shoes of some characters, you might be able to understand why they are the way they are. Except Gauche, I still don’t know or don’t care why he’s creepily obsessed with his sister. But even he eventually grows on me.

Also this point will make no sense at all, but the show feels like it was animated by underdogs. At times, the animation is so ass it’s almost hard to watch, but when there is something they KNOW they need to execute well, they lock in and it makes those moments all the more better. This show is perfect, despite its flaws, it’s is quite the rollercoaster of a show. But it still manages to be my favorite anime of all time. It undoubtedly has its highs and lows, but I think the highs stand out way much more than the lows.