Summary

• Black Clover offers fast-paced storylines and well-animated battles in its first 51 episodes on Netflix.
• The anime's ongoing hiatus aligns with the manga's transition, ensuring a proper ending.
• The series, now on Netflix, deserves more attention for having very similar vibes to Naruto, Bleach, and My Hero Academia.

The underappreciated series adventure following the Naruto series' legacy.

Asta stars as Black Clover's main character, and like Naruto, he dreams of being the most respected warrior in his kingdom. Instead of ninjas, Black Clover's world is filled with wizards and witches capable of beautiful and terrifying magic. On the other hand, Asta is the only person in the world born with zero magic.

Netflix has been trying to add more anime to its streamable library, and most recently, that included the first 51 of the 170-episode Black Clover anime series. Its first few arcs contain some excellent battles and depth with a well-explored cast of characters that fans of series like Naruto and Bleach should find right up their alley.

From The Maker's of Fan-Favorite Anime

Black Clover's manga is written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata

One reason for Black Clover's appeal is that the creators of the anime, Studio Pierrot, are well-experienced in producing beloved anime series. It has released many other popular series, such as Naruto Shippuden, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Tokyo Ghoul, and many others. Even the most casual anime fans have likely seen and enjoyed at least one episode of something created by them. The care and ion of its teams have helped adapt many epic and moving moments from countless stories, and Black Clover's anime is no exception.

Studio Pierrot also released the film Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King to much acclaim in June 2023 on Netflix.

Pierrot's adaptation of Yūki Tabata's story covered nine of Black Clover's story arcs in the anime so far. Asta and his friends have faced overwhelming odds with each arc and pushed past their limits and fans' expectations. Exciting team-ups in missions thoroughly explore the ing cast's quirky personalities and unique magical abilities, helping create some incredibly epic and well-animated battles.

One aspect that helps its story stand out is its break-neck speed. While most anime storylines see its main characters fighting through increasingly strong opponents until reaching the arc's strongest foe, Black Clover doesn't hold any punches and usually gets Asta involved against overwhelming odds within a few episodes of a new arc. It also helps that each character has unique abilities that are cleverly introduced and utilized in battles that are consistent and fierce, thanks to Studio Pierrot's direction.

Black Clover Isn't A Rip-Off, It Expertly Employs Elements That Work

Asta's story begins when the teenage orphan s his fellow orphan Yuno in a coming-of-age ceremony where children are granted a magical book called a grimoire that bestows magical powers. Yuno, a naturally talented and refined individual, is given a book with a legendary four-leaf clover, a sign that he was destined to accomplish great things. On the other hand, Asta finds himself being given a mysterious and foreboding five-clover book with a power the world has never seen, anti-magic in the form of huge greatsword.

The ability to cut through and dispel any magic proves to be a handy skill for Asta, who must also focus on training his body more than anyone else to make up for his shortcomings. Because of his lack of natural magical ability, Asta is often regarded as a pariah in a world where everyone else has magical abilities. His plight and determination feel very similar to Naruto's journey. Still, it doesn't take long for the series to set itself apart with story arcs that move incredibly fast to provide epic scenes of satisfying action.

Soon after Asta gains his anti-magic abilities, he's accepted into the kingdom's least illustrious band of magical knights, the Black Bulls. Their leader and fan-favorite character, Yami, is voiced by the iconic and talented Christopher Sabat (voice of Vegeta from Dragon Ball and All Might from My Hero Academia) in the English dub, and like the rest of the cast, provides a voice that helps build the characters into a cast that each gets extraordinary times to shine, something the Naruto series often failed to deliver with its vast cast.

The Annoying and Loud Elephant In The Room

Another similar trait that Asta shares with Naruto is that he is not exactly the most enjoyable character to watch initially, but he gets better! His intense and direct personality eventually become enduring. It helps fuel some of the story's best parts, but in the beginning, Asta is loud and arguably annoying with his gung-ho attitude. However, the voice actors quickly find their groove almost as soon as the series introduces other cast for Asta to bounce off of, providing another highlight of the series: its characters' charm and dynamics.

Like many of today's most popular Shōnen series, Black Clover's Asta's determination and willpower go on to inspire those around him and push them to improve themselves. Its benefits proved incredibly helpful within the first few arcs that are available in 50 episodes now available on Netflix. Although Asta finds some cool upgrades for himself, more than a few intense battles in the series' first few arcs push its characters' abilities and personalities to their max, making for some highly entertaining anime.

Now's A Great Time To Get Caught Up Before Black Clover's Ending Is Spoiled

The manga for Black Clover recently transitioned away from Shōnen Jump's weekly release schedule and now comes out with one chapter every three months through Jump GIGA. Creating manga series with weekly deadlines is one of the world's most stressful jobs and is a profession that is notorious for taking a heavy toll on one's health. Author Yuki Tabata is no exception to this rule.

With the manga's story coming out at a slower pace, Season 5 of the Black Clover anime has gone on hiatus to prevent the anime from overtaking the source material. The manga's story has seemingly reached its final arc, and now that the author has been able to pace himself, he's in a better position to ensure that Black Clover gets a proper ending. With all that being said, now is a great time to start enjoying Asta's quest to become The Wizard King.

Black Clover's arcs indeed become grander as the series progresses with increasingly powerful foes with god-like magical abilities. Still, even its first arcs contain several entertaining battles against interesting and intimidating opponents. While it's debatable how well the series compares to other giants in the anime world, like Naruto and My Hero Academia, Black Clover contains a lot to enjoy, especially for fans of those series and the Shōnen genre. Hopefully, more people will give it a try now that it's more readily available on Netflix because it deserves the attention.

Watch the Black Clover anime on Netflix and Crunchyroll

Watch on Netflix