When Does Black Clover Get Good? Here Is Where to Start!

Black Clover is a manga written and drawn by Yūki Tabata and published in Shūeisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on February 16, 2015, after an initial one-shot of the series saw its release in November 2014. The title refers to the grimoire used by the protagonist which has a black pent-sheet on the cover. The animated adaptation includes OVA episodes, the anime series, the non-canon ONA series that aired in 2019, and an upcoming anime movie. But is it worth it? Is Black Clover that good that you should stick around the whole deal? In this article, we are going to tell you when Black Clover gets good and which episode you should start with.

In the case of Black Clover, as with most long-running anime, viewers will have an easy task. Namely, Black Clover is, as most globally popular shonen series, good from the very beginning. It does have a lot of episodes (although not as many as some), but you don’t really have to wait for some later episode to start watching it because the very first episode is already quite good. So, if you want to start watching Black Clover, definitely start from the very beginning and simply continue.

In the paragraphs that follow, we are going to elaborate on this answer and give you some additional information on the show’s content. You’re going to find out whether Black Clover is good from the very beginning and why you should watch it from the start, but also what it is about. This is going to be your ultimate newbie guide to Black Clover.

When does Black Clover get good, and which episode should you start with?

The Black Clover manga by Yūki Tabata began publication in 2015. Since then, the manga has received several adaptations. The first was a 27-minute OVA episode that was released on May 2, 2017, followed by a full, four-season anime series that aired from October 3, 2017, to March 30, 2021, with a total of 170 episodes. A second OVA was released in 2018, during the airing of the anime. On March 30, 2021, the Black Clover anime ended, but the franchise will continue through an anime movie that was announced that same month. Not much is known about the Black Clover anime film, but it will be a sequel to the finished anime series and will air sometime in 2023; it will present an original story that is not part of the already established manga canon. Also, there is an 8-episode ONA series that aired from July 1, 2019, to August 19, 2019, but it is actually a spin-off and is not part of the original narrative.

So, as you can see, there is a lot to take in, definitely. It’s not as long as One Piece or Detective Conan (who have more than 1,000 episodes, each), or even Naruto and Bleach (who have more than 1,000 episodes combined), but with 170 episodes it is still a long anime, especially if you compare it to modern-day trends where even major anime titles – such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, or My Hero Academia – don’t have more than 20-ish episodes per season and there aren’t that many seasons. Comparison-wise, Bleach has 17 seasons with almost 400 episodes (as of the time of writing).

Sure, a lot of that is filler content, but that is just how anime was made back then (about 15-20 years ago), and Black Clover is actually part of that tradition, so modern views might not be used to it. But, there is an innate beauty in watching such anime, as yours truly can confirm. But, where does Black Clover stand here?

Well, Tabata’s manga is quite thrilling and it offers a lot. The characters are quite intriguing, especially the protagonist Asta, who is a typical shonen protagonist, but he is unique enough to be liked regardless of the tropes he embodies. Along with Asta, there are also numerous other characters such as Yami, Liebe, Nacht Faust, Julius Novachrono, etc., all of which contribute to the intrigue and the evolution of the story, although not all of them appear at the same time and you’ll have to wait it out to meet some of them, it’s definitely worth it.

Namely, the pacing is quite good and the introduction of new characters, as well as the evolution of the story, follow a well-directed pattern that keeps evolving the story at a very proper pace. This, of course, makes the whole experience better.

As for the production, we have to state that the studio really did a great job. The animations have been consistently great throughout the series’ run and have followed new styles and achievements in animation, thereby increasing the standard of the series with each season. The style itself is in line with the shonen animation traditions of the era, resembling that of Bleach, Naruto, and Fullmetal Alchemist, but also differing from them enough to be called distinct and not a copy of any other style. The battle scenes are particularly impressive, but also the various types of magic we’ve seen throughout the series, as the effects needed to create it are quite impressive. All of this starts from the very beginning and only gets better as you move along the episodes, which is another reason to begin from episode one of the series.

Ultimately, the story of Black Clover is what attracts people and we can confirm that from the very beginning, Black Clover is worth the watch. It sets up the world slowly, it doesn’t rush into things, but the pacing is so great that you can actually approach it from the very first episode.

The story of Black Clover gets better as you uncover it, as the expansive nature of Tabata’s magical world becomes more apparent and intriguing. One of the better aspects of the story is that it has a lot of mysteries that are a natural part of the story, and not something that was intentionally put there like it is the case with One Piece, and they are uncovered as the story progresses, which is great for the viewers.

These are all the reasons why we think that it is not only advisable but also in the interest of the viewers to watch Black Clover from the beginning. In order to fully grasp the marvel and the mystery of Tabata’s plot, it is necessary to start from the beginning, which is also when the series actually gets good, so you don’t have to worry about starting from a later point in the story.

What is Black Clover about?

Now that you know when you should start watching the series and why we can give you a relatively spoiler-free introduction to the series so that you know what you can expect. And don’t forget, it only gets better from here.

When humanity was about to fall for an ancient demon, a single wizard defeated him and saved her. Later, the wizard became a legend and was known as the Wizard King. After that, the Clover Kingdom enjoyed peace through generations of wise men and nine subordinate magical orders. Asta and Yuno are orphans who have been raised together since they were born after being abandoned in a Hage Church orphanage, located in the forgotten area of the Clover Kingdom at the same time.

In a world where everyone has magical power, Asta is the only one born without magic, which leads him to physically train as compensation. Rather, Yuno was born a prodigy with immense magical power and the talent to control it. When he was 15 years old, Asta and Yuno have the ability to become wizards known as Magic Knights by receiving their respective grimoires, with which all magical power is channeled. Yuno is given the grimoire with a four-leaf clover, which channels wind magic and was used by the kingdom’s first wizard king, while Asta receives none.

However, Asta summons his own grimoire, a tarnished o and a five-leaf clover holding the weird and mysterious anti-magic (which enables him to nullify all effects), to vanquish it after a thief incapacitates Yuno to try and sell his grimoire on the black market. In order to become the Wizard King, the two adopted brothers, who are divided among their orders of chivalry, maintain a friendly rivalry. But not until they have established themselves as the strongest magical knights in the country.