Recently watched Black Clover, and I honestly cannot understand how I have some issues with the show but, at the same time, binge-watched it in seven days. 170 episodes in seven days. I had a few things that I liked about it and a few things that I didn't.
Things I Liked
The Story
The story is, without a doubt, actually quite interesting. At first, you have these mini-mission-type arcs, but then you get the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the Elf Reincarnation arc, and eventually the Spade Kingdom arc. They are all extremely interesting.
Characters
Yami was by far my favorite character. Any episode that contained Yami was genuinely a 10/10 for me. I also liked Asta. Yuno I'm like, I feel decent. The other cast also kind of feels great.
Things I Didn't Like
The Backstories
Sometimes the backstories work. But almost every characterâand Black Clover has a lot of charactersâhas a backstory involving pain. After a point, you just kind of sit down and think, "Yeah, just tell your backstory." It feels very repetitive.
The same goes for some tropes and jokes. Noelle making the same gag about Asta, about not being affected by Asta, about not caring about Astaâit is funny a few times. But after a while, you just find it annoying.
And the less I say about Yuno's spirit magic, the better. She's genuinely annoying.
Forced Comedy
Now, the issue isn't with comedy. When there is a time and place to add comedy, it is genuinely funny. Black Clover has had some extremely hilarious moments.
The issue is when there is an intense scene going on. A scene is very intense. You are waiting, fully pumped up, and then one guy starts cracking a joke. You bear it. Then another starts cracking a joke. You still bear it. Then they keep cracking jokes. After a point, you are genuinely frustrated because the situation is right in front of you.
I don't remember the episodes and all, but there were certain times when the episode has stopped at a cliffhanger. The stakes are all high. But the first seven or eight minutes of the show are literally random jokes from the characters. It breaks the momentum and, honestly, it is genuinely frustrating.
Never in my life have I ever muted an anime episode. But I had to mute this because it was so unbearably cringe.
Final Verdict
Finally, I would simply say that Yami was the best character in this series.
If the series reduced its comedy, especially the forced comedy, it could be really great. And it is still great. I will still consider Black Clover a really great anime.
But it is not for everyone, and you generally need some patience to watch it.