Black Clover

Episodes 66-67

Last week's episode was a clip show going through the past few arcs, framed around the Yuno trio's study session about the Eye of the Midnight Sun. It sounds like the Midnight Sun is getting ready to make some moves, (when are they not?) but there isn't much to say about a recap episode, so let's move past it, shall we?

It's always good to have some downtime between major arcs, so before things get crazy and action-packed again, we're following the Black Bulls through the famous Star Festival. Every year, the Magic Knights hold a public festival to recognize and reward the squads that have earned the most stars, but that doesn't mean much to the Bulls who are always in the negative for causing trouble. Since the festival is just a chance to kick back and relax, Asta invites Kiato and Kahono (the brother and sister from the Underwater Temple) to hang out with them, and this quickly spins into a double-date because Kahono likes Asta and Kiato likes Noelle. But uh-oh! Noelle likes Asta too!

We've already had a goofy date episode with the mixer a few arcs back, but I suppose another one doesn't hurt. Kahono's not after Asta's heart so much as she'd just like to push Noelle into confessing her feelings by making her jealous. All the romantic blushing and teasing is about as cute as it's ever going to be, while we cycle through the usual festival activities such as carnival games and haunted houses. It all goes exactly how you'd expect up until the date stops so the four of them can cheer up a peasant girl who lost track of her mom. It's good scene where they all use their powers and talents to put on a show, and even if Noelle isn't ready to open up about her romantic feelings, she's long outgrown her snobbish royal upbringing.

After the Witch's Forest arc, I'm more than willing to let the show meander around before it tries to raise the stakes again. However, I was a little frustrated with how they fixed Kiato and Kahono's leg and voice with a bottle of vague all-purpose witch magic for the same reason I was unsatisfied with Asta's broken arms. The story went out of its way to introduce these serious consequences, only to immediately hand-wave them off with minimal fanfare. I wish these problems could feel just a little more important than they actually are. Their injuries get brushed off and then you spend the rest of the episode forgetting they were ever a factor. Although it was funny to learn that Kiato carries his severed leg around in a jar for this very occasion.

This is a laid-back and pleasant episode, so I'm taking the breath of fresh air while I can. The love-triangle stuff is well-trodden ground, and this episode doesn't really surprise or excite on that front, but watching a group of girls endlessly paw at Asta isn't as cringey as it felt toward the beginning of the series. I think Kahono's a likable character, even if she isn't going to be around much, and it's fun to see Yami get into the "festive" mood in his own weird way. Not an exceptional episode by any means, but fluff can definitely do worse than this.

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