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Black Clover
Episode 5

by Sam Leach,

How would you rate episode 5 of
Black Clover ?
Community score: 3.7

Since my last review, Funimation's Simuldub for Black Clover has begun streaming, and it's a strong alternative to the Japanese version if you absolutely cannot stand Asta's voice. This was bound to be the case, independent of the quality of the actual dub, but thankfully the whole production is pleasing to the ears. If you've read our preview guide update on the dub, my feelings align with Jacob's there. I feel bad for Asta's seiyuu, since I can't think of the last time a negative opinion on an actor has been so unanimous, but Dallas Reid's performance does feel much more natural.

As for the show itself, I've been trying to keep an arm's length from the manga to leave my perspective fresh, though I have been checking in with the corresponding chapters after watching each episode and discovering that I vastly prefer the anime so far. Asta's win last episode was payoff after some proper build-up, and it's nowhere near as satisfying when the story zips right past you like it does in the manga. Maybe that's just for now, but at this point having more time to soak in this world has been working for me.

With each episode, I warm to Black Clover more and more. This week is all about the conclusion of the Magic Knight exams, where the various captains get to yay or nay the participants. Yuno put on a good show like Asta did, but Asta's clear lack of actual magic makes him an unwanted candidate despite winning his fight. The system of recruitment is that the captains (super powerful mages who have a lot of respect in this world) silently raise their hands as each participant steps forward. Most successful participants might get one or two hands from prospective squad captains, and if you get more than one, you're free to choose which offer you take. Obviously Yuno with his special Four-Leaf Grimoire is privileged with offers from all the captains and gets to accept the best one.

The outcome of this process is pretty easy to predict. I was ready to see Yuno get all hands, but even moreso I was ready for That One Guy who seemed fascinated by pathetic little Asta to be the black sheep once it was his turn. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, but the suspense leading up to it was delectable. I know so little about Yami of the Black Bulls, but I love him already. Knowing he's at roughly the same level as the other captains in terms of strength and magic but chooses to do things the fun way makes him all the more charming.

On some fundamental level, most Shonen Jump stuff is about self-esteem and comparing yourself to others. Stories about overcoming odds can be empowering (the amount that this show hammers home how impossible becoming the Wizard King is for the magic-less Asta is potent) but I think the general fascination with ranks and power levels and such means that there's a variety of interesting character dynamics built into the framework of the story. People will talk to each other differently depending on not just their personalities, but their power/social ranking. Asta learns a little too late that the Black Bulls are technically the "worst" of the squads, and we could infer that as meaning either strength or temperament for now. They're the scrappy underdogs nonetheless, and the friendly duo of Asta and Yuno now have to go on their separate paths.

The major downside of this episode is when Asta's rather warm recruitment gets interrupted by some bad poop jokes that bring Asta back down to the annoying little snot we know him to be. It's like "Oh no! We almost forgot to be funny for an entire episode!" and it's pretty groan-tastic. That said, any stigma that I was feeling toward this show for being generic has almost entirely melted away, and for the time being I'm enjoying it as simply another shonen series that I'm into.

Rating: B+

Black Clover is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Sam Leach records about One Piece for The One Piece Podcast and you can find him on Twitter @LuckyChainsaw


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