NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS *SOME* SPOILERS

TL;DR at the bottom if you don't want to read this wall

I've read a few of the other reviews of Black Clover and I'm a little disappointed to see that a lot of the negative (sub-5 star) reviews were written by people who have read 30 or less chapters of the manga. Of course, people who dislike the series would tend to drop it quickly but I don't think it does Black Clover (or any manga, really) justice to review it after less than 50 chapters/1 year of publication.

With that short bit out of the way I'll start my review:


Story: 6/10 (minor manga spoilers)

Admittedly, Black Clover does start out like a very standard Shonen manga. However, I think any Shonen battle manga that will come out in the future is going to be very similar to its predecessors - so much has been done at this point that it is very difficult to be truly unique nowadays. Honestly, it's accurate to say that the first 10 or so chapters greatly resemble what I think I'd get if I smashed Fairy Tail and Naruto's first few arcs together, so I understand where many other posters are coming from.

Luckily, the manga does begin to differentiate itself from those two reasonably quickly, which is the reason I'm a little annoyed that some people reviewed it after just the first "large" arc of the series, or chapter ~20. I'd certainly agree that the first few arcs of the series are not all that great, however after roughly the first 40 chapters they really take a step up in both their overall quality and uniqueness. This series is one that seems to be getting more well done as time goes on, and although the basic premise of the story and some characters' core motivations won't change, the circumstances they're in (and consequently, the story arcs) can and will be different and perhaps more interesting.

One portion of the story that I think many people will overlook is the pace. A few of the manga I've read weekly fall into the trap of dragging things out, or stretching arcs until readers start to get impatient (looking at you, One Piece). Though this is reasonable to do for some manga, Black Clover doesn't do that to the degree others do. Every chapter that I've read after being caught up has felt like story progression is being made, and at a brisk enough pace to keep me really interested in what happens in the next chapter. Very few arcs in this story last more than 30 or so chapters too, so if you're beginning to dislike an arc you can just stop reading for a few months and then binge the rest of the arc in an hour or so. This brisk pacing is a major bonus in my eyes and one of the reasons I decided to give the story section a 6 instead of a 5.


Art: 8/10

By far the strongest point of Black Clover, I find the art to be really fantastic. The level of detail is usually quite high, and many of the larger panels are exceptional. There are certainly points where the art is a little muddled (some fight scenes spring to mind) but that's not typical for the manga. I'd give it a higher score if the times when a concept is being explained there weren't some panels that are just a gray background with text or very low detail, but to be fair the chapters where that happens are usually a bit longer or more detailed elsewhere to make up for it.


Character: 4/10 (spoilers here, obviously)

As opposed to the above category, this is by far the weakest point of the series. Both Asta and Yuno (the main characters) are exceptionally bland. Asta hasn't had much character development, if any, for the entirety of the series up until this point. He's stayed the same, cut and dry stereotype of a Shonen protagonist. Outspoken, stubborn and most importantly never giving up, make up the entirety of Asta's character. Yuno is one of the most neglected "main character" types in a series, and I'm hesitant to call him a main character at all because of it. He's been in about half the arcs in the series though, and since he functions as the rival to Asta, I suppose he is a main character. Very much the same as Asta, Yuno has basically undergone no character development as well and is effectively a kinder, friendly Sasuke (the Naruto comparison is merited in this case). Asta and Yuno are the most basic version of a comparison between hard work and natural talent that two main characters can be. Their backstory is significantly more bland than Naruto/Sasuke's though, which does muddy the comparison significantly. Personally I'd say these two characters are worthy of about 2/10 on their own, for being so straightforward and cookie-cutter in terms of protagonists.

Now, onto the other extremely weak point of the characters in this manga: the villains. I think I like maybe 2 or 3 of the antagonists of any of the arcs so far, and that's about it. They're really very similar, with 2 of the main antagonists apparently being so single minded that they only focus on literally one single thing. Most of these villains, especially the ones in the first 30 or so chapters in the series, feel incredibly bland and forced. This hasn't gotten a whole lot better as the series has progressed either - it's seemingly a perpetual weak point of Tabata's. Like many of the antagonistic side characters in the series, the villains are mostly 1 dimensional "I hate you, die" or "You got in my way, die" type characters whose purpose seems to just be there because arcs need villains.

Now after all that ranting, why do I give this section a 4 and not something worse, like a 1/2? Because there are some very good, well developed characters in Black Clover. Character development seems to be a thing that can't be done right by Tabata every time. For example, I'd consider the side character Luck to have an incredibly well done backstory considering his role in the story. It was about as much as any side character needs and was done, in my opinion, very well. There are other characters in the story who I think are extremely well done characters but since they appear in later arcs in the story I'll stay away from any major spoilers. It's a shame that that's not the usual for characters (especially main characters) in Black Clover, or else I'd be able to give this section a much higher score in line with the others.


Enjoyment: 7/10

I'll shamelessly admit that I'm one of the people often referred to as "shonen trash" and greatly enjoy the typical shonen battle manga. I've read/watched One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, HxH, and many others of this style and very rarely have they even gotten close to boring me. Black Clover isn't as enjoyable as most of the manga I listed but it is still a really enjoyable read, particularly because of the pacing and often entertaining interactions between some of the characters. It may not be a revolutionary story, but it doesn't have to be for me to enjoy it.


Overall: 6.25/10, rounded to 6/10 (alright, conditionally worth a read)

One thing I feel the need to mention that doesn't fit very well into the other sections is how interesting I think the approach that Tabata takes towards fights in the series can be. It feels as though he's trying to fill the "teamwork in fights" niche that other manga haven't covered well if at all, and this is done extremely well in my opinion. Most of the battles in this series are a team effort, usually including Asta since he's the main character (and is very OP) but the ways in which this is done can be quite interesting and this makes the story unique in and of itself.


TL;DR: If you enjoy other shonen battle manga, chances are pretty good that you'll get something out of Black Clover. Many portions are reminiscent of other manga series, but Black Clover does take a few interesting steps to separate itself from the rest of the crowd.

e1 (6.75 -> 6.25): Checked back after about 2 months and a reread, felt I needed to update since my opinion changed slightly. Will probably update at the end of each arc.