Black Clover is the Shonen genre's new problem child. The series has been up for a few years; and the reviews it received along these years were rather mixed, to say the least. However, whether you love it or hate it, it's a fact that Black Clover is on its path to the top, and nobody can stop it.
With that being said, deciding which series is deserving of the Shonen throne, and which isn't is an unrealistic task. Because at the end of the day, what is good and what is bad remains mostly subjective. And although we can't officially crown Black Clover as the best Shonen of all time, we can highlight some of the aspects that give it a sharp edge over the competition.
10 Best: Fight Scenes
Fight scenes are the very essence of every battle shonen manga. If the fight scenes were sloppy, then regardless of how good the story was, the experience remains sloppy. Luckily for the fans, Black Clover features well-executed hype-inducing fight scenes. The less important fight scenes in the anime often have subpar animation, but that can’t be said for boss fights. The bigger the fight was, the better the animation quality.
9 Fell Short: Power System
For a series like Black Clover, a much more complex power system would be unnecessary for the series’ progression. In the first place, the magic power system is by no means unique, in fact, we might’ve seen quite a lot in the shonen genre. Simplicity and unoriginality of the power system do not affect the average fan’s view of the series. That being said though, it does affect the series in the grand scheme of things. If a shonen wants to claim the number one spot, it better be original in at least one aspect.
8 Best: Worldbuilding
One word: huge. The world of Black Clover is huge and ever-expanding. Everything is where it’s supposed to be, perfectly in sync with the magic niche. Though it might not be a hundred percent original, sometimes following the route of the predecessors is a virtue. Fans are often more inclined to like a world they are -to some extent- familiar with, rather than a world where everything is new and bizarre to them.
7 Fell Short: Hook
Most viewers who drop a series do so in the first few episodes. A good hook is absolutely necessary to grab and maintain the attention of the viewer. Black Clover’s beginning offered the exact opposite of that. Instead of showcasing the series’ uniqueness, what the fans got was a mashup of bland genericness. This ultimately led to fans losing interest rather quickly.
6 Best: Pacing
In the case of Black Clover, fast pacing was absolutely necessary for it to transition from its boring and bland introduction to where the real substance was. And the series did fairly well in doing so. Many of the Black Clover dropouts returned because of the pacing. It’s not normally that you see an anime series get flagged as bad by the community; only for it to make a comeback later on.
5 Fell Short: A Try Hard Cast
The cast of Black Clover is not particularly bad, but it’s also not that good either. It’s right in the middle where a fan could care about a character, but not emotionally invest in them.
The problem with the characters of Black Clover is that they seem too forced at times. Every character just seems to be trying too hard to be unique, even at the expense of being unrealistic.
4 Best: Manga Art Style
There are no sounds or animations in manga. Thus, the only way you could judge the quality of a manga is either by the plot or the art style. There might be other aspects, but these two are the ones that stand out the most.
The story of Black Clover is great, but its art style is nothing less of phenomenal. Every fight is vivid and breathtaking, and every seemingly unimportant panel gets special attention from the author.
3 Fell Short: Overpowered Protagonist
A shonen protagonist can be talented, smart, or have an overpowered ability. But they can never be overpowered for their own good. An overpowered protagonist, if done wrong, could possibly take away the flavor of a series.
The one thing that a protagonist is not allowed to have is a smooth sailing journey. Because only through their suffering would they be able to form a bond with the fans. So far in the series, Asta has not stumbled across many setbacks as he should have.
2 Best: Getting Better As It Goes
Again, it’s unusual for an anime series flagged as ‘bad’ by the community to ever make a comeback. But not only did Black Clover make a comeback, but it also came back better than anyone could’ve ever imagined. Currently, Black Clover is considered to be a leading anime in the shonen platform-- and for nothing but good reasons.
1 Fell Short: Shonen Tropes
Shonen tropes are the features that make Shonen series, Shonen. A shonen series with a lack of shonen tropes could survive, but making it big would be difficult. A series with too much shonen tropes, however, will be rendered unwatchable sooner or later.
The early days of Black Clover had one too many cliches. Some of these cliches are, an underdog protagonist, an overpowered starting ability, and a lifelong rival-- the full package.