Review of Black Clover

You'd think some of the best arcs in any show tend to be redemption arcs, but the fact of the matter, Black Clover's entire run was a redemption arc on display. What started as ear torture that everyone would make fun of and label as Shounen trash came overboard and forced everyone to eat their words, becoming their very own favorite Anime of all time and it is still far from finished. What was announced first as a 13 episodes series quickly became 51 and kept on increasing its deadline until it inevitably concluded on a magnificent run of 170 episodes in more than a 3years production with minimal breaks and filler, for a long-running show, it achieved what every other show fails at.

Story (8.5/10):
I'm a Manga reader, so I know and can confirm that as a fact, the Black Clover story is nowhere near its conclusion, and from the content that's present in the Manga but is still not adapted YET in the Anime, as a whole, the story is first class, full of satisfying deliveries and revelations that tie everything full-circle, but for the sake of this review, I'm only going to discuss the story up to the point the Anime was concluded.
Two boys one dream, a classic Shounen tale that has been done so many times than I can count with every series throwing its special ingredient to the mix, however, not every series successes in resulting with its own original thing, and most fall under the trap of overly saturated blueprint that's easy to predict and hard to be impressed by. Perhaps Black Clover was just that in the beginning, but the more you watch, and the more you learn about the world of the story, the more you realize that even at the earlier episodes it was completely its own thing, separated from your typical Shounen as everything lines up perfectly until it all clicks and makes sense. Not every arc is equal, but at the end of the day, in most of the adapted episodes, the majority of the arcs fall under the same Saga which ties things together and makes up for the slower arcs that are not as impressive when looking at them from a standalone perspective.
The Anime in particular suffers from painfully slow pacing at some parts, I can't come up with any excuses for that but it only proves the greatness of this show, overcoming even that back draw and keeping you hooked week after week.

Art (7.8/10):
This is a hard one for me, if anything the show sucks at is keeping up a consistent animation and art direction. While some of the most important episodes look world-class in terms of visuals, many scenes can look hot garbage even compared to dated shows from decades ago, again, giving the staff the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure there was no slacking but tight deadlines and a lower budget.
Character designs, it's very distinct and memorable. Tabata sensei's art has such a unique vibe with pointy chins and well-defined eyes, it looks like a mix of Bleach and a 90's Shoujo, a match that I never thought about, let alone like.

Sound (8.5/10):
If anything, Black Clover is known most for its very amazing selection of opening and ending theme songs. Even non-fans can openly agree on that. For a show with 13 openings and none of them to be below great is a feat in and of itself. A controversial opinion that has been cursing the franchise for so long is Asta's voice. For it to make even Bakugo haters diminish their criticism, Asta must have surely been one loud fella.
The truth of the matter, I never noticed, but many people swear by it, however, 10 or so episodes in, many confirm that it's never there. The Seiyuu behind Asta was new to the medium, still in learning but he got himself figure out, and what was just Asta shouting loudly became a source of hype and emotion that gives you shivers when you hear it later.

Characters (8/10):
Black Clover is very rich character-wise. It introduces so many characters and keeps them relevant enough for everyone to enjoy, to the point that you find yourself memorizing countless names and having no problem recollecting and distinguishing between them, making you sub-consciously connect with them.
Black Clover's take on the protagonist's rival has always been one of my favorite things of the show, Yuno, someone who appears to be your typical Sasuke clone, very edgy, popular with the ladies, and talented beyond believe turns out to be a very supportive and faithful friend since day one. When it's time to battle, it's not only Asta and Yuno, no, everyone partakes, male and female, friend and foe, all contribute within the boundaries of the arc.
Of course, how could we forget Yami, one of the most popular characters from recent Shounen, the dude is a straight-up retire Anime protagonist at this point.

Enjoyment (9.5/10):
To me, Black Clover was more than just a weekly Anime I had to look forward to every Tuesday, it has accompanied me through the last 3 years through a very important transition in my life, the show thus became closer to me and impactful on my real-life decision, it could not achieve that on a whim, it had something special to it, something like a family bond between the cast, perhaps that's the magic that drew me in and kept me involved this entire run. It might have been cliché and predictable, but that quickly changes with each turn of events, especially nearing the climax of the first Saga which spanned from episode 1 to episode +120. Also, the idea of grimoires always sounded cool to me.

Overall (8.46/10):
Hey you, reading this and hesitating not to watch Black Clover, here's a word from me. No, it's not Fairy Tail, and it's not Naruto either, it might look like it is, but trust me the story pulls you in, if not, the characters will do. Watching through and following feels very easy and natural, almost like reading a personal diary, it does not try to be the next Attack on Titan, it knows its boundaries but it doesn't shy from experimenting with the genre either. At the end of the day, I was here, I watch Black Clover, and it's your turn to do so too. Have fun.

Thank you Tabata, and thank you BC Staff. I'm forever grateful.
Until the next time we meet.