Anime Review: Black Clover Season One Part 5 Page 1

Anime Review: Black Clover Season One Part 5

Black Clover Season 1 Part 5 (UK Rating 12)

Over the last four parts of the season, the stage has been set between the Clover Kingdom and the group of shadowy mages known as the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and now the truth of the antagonists' plans are coming to light. The group is hunting across the world for 'Magic Stones;' a collection of 11 magical artefacts that they believe will allow them to complete their plans. They have eight. The race for #9 begins here. Coming courtesy of Manga Entertainment, this latest collection is available from October 14th.

When the Wizard King learned the objective of his enemies to be the stone, he immediately took steps to remove any more Stones from their grasp. He knew one such stone was being held in the Underwater Temple and sent the Black Bulls to recover it before the Midnight Sun beats them to it. It's not just Asta and one or two others here either, the entire Guild is taking on this mission (apart from creepy Manson looking Gordon, who gets forgotten and benched).

The first episode in this collection serves as a reminder that this could be stumbling into the cliché "Beach Episode" territory, as the Bulls are out swimsuit shopping… The Bulls haven't arrived at the temple yet and before they do so there are some of the usual old beach episode tropes as the trouble makers of the guild screw around, the girls try on bikinis, and the clan even manage to trash their resort. It's not just fun on the beach though. Part of this opening to the new arc focuses on Noelle mastering her magic. Noelle's control of her powers has been a long-running element of the story, it seems only in moments of emergency can she truly contain her water powers. That's being put to the absolute test in this new mission. The only way to reach the Undersea Temple is to use her magic to transport the Bulls down, but considering the insane currents, there's a chance that one mistake in her control will cost them all their lives.

While practicing her magic on the beach with Asta, the duo sees a beautiful young lady singing beside the shore; a young girl named Kahono, a girl with powerful song magic who wants to be an idol. She joins the duo and helps both Asta and Noelle to improve her powers. It's when the Bulls reach the temple where the arc really hits its stride. The High Priest of the temple isn't going to just hand the Stone over and luckily that the Bulls brought the full contingent as there's a game on the cards with the Stone as the prize. A nine-on-nine battle royale within a labyrinth, the best mages the High Priest has to offer facing off against the full contingent of Bulls, minus their leader Yami. He's a tad too OP, but the Eye of the Midnight Sun isn't going to sit back and let the prize be stolen out from under them, thus the battles in the labyrinth quickly become more than just a game.

After four collections with a serious lack of style, it's like Studio Pierrot stored up their budget, as well as their best action directors for this part. It's not all good, and occasionally, even in the same episode, the quality of art and animation is drastically different, with still a few too many "shoot coloured beams" moments, and horribly basic models used with uninspired camera angles, especially in some of the brief battles between the Water Temple Mages and the Black Bulls. But when the Beast Mage Vetto, a member of the Third Eye, and one of the most powerful mages of the Eye of the Midnight Sun returns, the action is ramped off the charts. The art and animation for this huge, multiple-episode battle scene, really shines, especially in its conclusion. There's some great dynamic moments, and the series finally gets to show why it's worth watching, finally living up to some of the other big shonen out there.

As with all the other parts, this release comes with both the English and the Japanese audio tracks. There are two episode commentaries, the clean opening and closing, Inside the Episode "Black Clover Highlights" featurettes, and finally, another glimpse into Studio J with the cast and crew of the English dub.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

The drastic improvement in the OP "Guess Who is Back" is appropriate for this season, as the Back Clover finally begins to live up to its Manga. This is a great arc; one that actually progresses the story, gives the whole guild a chance to shine, and best of all, supports that shining with the improved presentation in its big conclusion. Black Clover continues to stumble to reach the heady heights of the big hitters of the genre, and with series like Demon Slayer and Doctor Stone bursting onto the scene with their new anime adaptations, with My Hero Academia knocking it out the park consistently, and One Piece still looking down from the top of the mountain, it's hard to see how it can keep up. There's a lot to like and a lot of promise in this story, and the next arcs are even better. Stick with it.

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Anime Review: Black Clover Season One Part 5

Black Clover Season 1 Part 5 (UK Rating 12)

Very Good - Bronze Award

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