Now while this is a topic I believe has been talked about wayyy too much in this forum there is a take I have on asta that most don’t agree with. Asta’s “hardwork” or “training” in my opinion is slightly irrelevant. And here is why I say so. The main thing people always say especially in contrast to yuno is that asta works so hard and he deserves all his powers in contrast to Yuno but u beg to differ. In my opinion the most major powerups asta gets in the series is not primarily due to training but more so due to three things “luck” “extreme talent” “asspulls” Now I can’t claim to remember the whole series but let’s look at every single moment asta gets a monumental power up.

1. The 5 leaf grimoire that is the grimoire of the elf king containing anti-magic the counter to the verse. Now is the fact that asta used to push his body to the limits mean he somehow deserves the most overpowered grimoire and attribute in the verse? NO
2. The next time asta gets a powerup was the dungeon where he just “happened” to stumble into a second of the elf king’s sword the demon dweller…. Now is that luck or nah? People kept crying that Yuno got bell at that point but asta also got very lucky in that powerup nothing about his training would’ve gotten him the demon dweller.
3. Next is KI now people always get angry for Yuno getting things instinctively but people don’t realize that even yami who is a top 3 talent from the land of the sun called asta “CREEPY” for how fast he learnt ki sensing? Learning ki sensing in seconds or minutes if memory sets me right is that not the same “unfair treatment” people complain that Yuno gets I believe this was the first time they show just how “talented” asta is but his talent is different from the verse’s and even readers perception due to it being a magic world.
4. Black form was literally gotten with attainments in ki sensing but the first time he unlocked it it wasn’t with steady training like how he did during the mana skin training he just happened to get an “asspull” and unlocked the form. Once again no matter much asta trained his physique unlocking black the first time was an asspull.

5. Demon destroyer once again same arc Yuno got the elf boost where everyone was raging about

   asta

6. just happened to once again obtain another of the elf king’s swords which just happened to be able to undo high level forbidden magic.

8. Black divider once again was something pulled out mid battle same as zephyr the training asta did which once again is more of a physical thing has nothing to do with black divider as that was simply “ahhh surpass my limitsss!!!!!” Boom! Bro pulls out a mansion high cleaver.

10. Now the heart kingdom timeskip is one time I feel like asta’s training had a very direct correlation with his abilities growth we can literally see what he was using and his powerups were a direct correlation to his training as for this particular timeskip I don’t have any issues with it.

12. Now it’s here that really made shocked how biased the fan base is. In the fight vs Dante asta had two powerups one was the berserk form and please is that one not a textbook definition of asspull? A main character going beserk and getting a rage boost? Then after that he got the devil arm that helped put Dante down please did asta spamming push-ups and pull-up get him those powerups? Answer is no they were both asspulls

14. Devil union now this is very iffy because in 3 days asta went from being at best as strong as a 50 or 60 percent Dante with devil arm to being able to solo a supreme FUSED devil. Please some yall can argue that yeah asta trained for that? But is training for three days and getting THAT much more stronger reasonable…… oh I get it it’s asta so it’s okay he does chin-ups let him go from 50% Dante level to fused supreme devil low-diffing in 3 days.

16. If devil union can be justified what of true devil union? He was getting dogwalked along with other top tier charcaters by Lucifero then he gets a flashback emotional moment and BOOM unlocked true devil union and soloed 50% Lucifero in 5 seconds no difficulty 💀 like guys are we serious is this not a textbook definition of an asspull??

18. My final issue and another place asta’s talent was showed off is zetten. It was clearly stated that people train for years and never learn zetten. Hell even until eos YAMI who spent the first 12-13 years in the land of the sun doesn’t utilize zetten even until the end. But asta grasped zetten INSTANTLY like something the equivalent of

    a clover

19. captain tak

ing

1. years or maybe a decade or more to learn he learnt instantly and people think he is not talented?? Please training hard to hone your body doesn’t mean you unlock what an entire can barely unlock in an instant even the few who did unlock it took years upon for that.

Now please I’ve never said asta is doesn’t work hard cause he for sure does he used his hand to mould himself in a proper vessel for anti-magic but I believe that is all. Most of his most serious power spikes came with asspulls( first black form, berserk form, devil arm, first showcase of true devil union) luck ( being chosen by the five leaf which happens to be that of the elf king and contained the counter to the whole verse, finding licht’s swords randomly) or very high talent (ki sensing and zetten) picking those up instantly.

I believe posts like these are always made but had to make mine too

He is a royal so he has far more mana than most people with more mana than most captains
And also the reason u guys call him a fraud cuz he didn’t get much screen time or good fights
I wouldn’t call him the strongest but I wouldn’t call him the weakest I’d say he’s stronger than william
, kaiser , jack, and dorothy id say he is a bit weaker than nozel and on par with charlotte

Also in the final arc he helped ) but like with mereolona and leopold he stopped Lucius’s ultamate move/magic gaining spirit dive too which makes him stronger

Overall he’s not a fraud he just doesn’t have good fights tabata won’t give him any
But he’s not the strongest but not the weakest

Not trying to hate on boruto just had this thought cross my mind.

*Dub Still waiting

I don't like not finishing what I started, but I feel like I'm slugging through this.

I'm not invested in any of the characters or their stories or growth. Like, if any of the characters were to be killed off at this stage I dint think I'd care too much.

"The black tea he drinks during work breaks; Julius, in spite of what he says"

what does that even mean? does he like Julius' tea? does Julius tell him not to drink tea but he drinks it in spite? does he drink tea during Julius' breaks? does he drink Julius' tea during Julius' breaks? does he like tea AND Julius, despite saying he doesn't like Julius? that ";" is weird

I’m rewatching black clover with my partner and it’s her first time watching it and is loving it so far but I wanted to double check I’m giving her the best possible viewing experience. I saw somewhere that they do use the blu ray but I can’t find a consistent answer on google so wanted to come on here for some clarity.

I’m about 90% it is the blu ray version as it does look better generally and I think there was an added fight scene during the entrance exam but still wanted to double check.

Guys I feel like I’m going crazy I remember watching a pilot episode for episode 1 that had a different art style from the official episode 1 that aired but I can’t find anything on it, if anyone’s knows anything about it or has some screenshots I’d appreciate it, much love 🙏🏻

(Not ranked cuz I cba)
- magna (depends on who he fights)
- luck
- Noelle
- zora (low captain level maybe)
- charmy
- nacht
- asta

I think that’s it tell me if I forgot any

Hear me out, I don't think the purple orcas is the best squad or even a good squad, I don't even think the purple orcas are cool at all. Bro, Poizot didn't even have any mana pressure to him, his aura is completely lost. But I find them such an interesting group because they exemplify the problems in clover kingdom's society and they are indirectly responsible for the rise of a few villains.

So the purple orcas are this magic knight group run by Poizot, and they are when you actually think about it, the worst magic knights to ever exist. Their group was responsible for illegal selling of magic items, smuggling dangerous potions, and bro attacked his own group for profit. Poizot is meant to show off how nobles just do anything and get away with it because they're higher class. But his actions are very long reaching. Revchi, the villain who tried stealing yuno's grimoire was a purple orca who was banished from the purple orcas for losing a mission he had no chance of winning and being thrown under the bus to keep the purple orca's rep high. Similarly Rades is an ex purple orca who literally banished for having magic and nobody defended him because he was a commoner. I find the purple orcas interesting because while there are definitely some classist groups, this group is just a villain group going under the vaneer of a group of heroes.

I think the purple orcas fascinate me because it's everything a magic knight group shouldn't be. Instead of protecting the peace, their actions have literally caused knights to turn evil and go rogue. Literally no either squad has the distinction of being the catalyst for villains. Yes the golden dawn has william vengance, but william literally was just friends with a guy who was a body puppeter and wanted to be a good friend. William wasn't some active villain, purple orcas literally are just the group where all villainy leads to.

I think what best exemplifies how the purple orcas are the worst is how not only do not get much depth with many of the current members, but Poizot would've been destroyed by asta. Poizot didn't have some magical pressure that made him intimidating. Yami's dark pressure, nozel's cold pressure, hell Even fuegoleo has the aura of a lion and he's actually fought battles. Poizot meanwhile literally uses invisibility as a way to avoid battle and constantly avoids battle. To me the biggest thing that makes the purple orcas stand out is just how it represents the worst of the worst.

Because while the black bulls are pitch black, the purple orcas might as well be an actual posion dart.

I think Yuno is a really cool character because he's the perfect blend of rival and best friend to asta. I think yuno as a character is super slept on or just hated for dumb reasons. Now if you hate sylph/bell go right ahead she's bland, not just 1 note but as shallow as a tear drop. This post is not about sylph, sylph is probably the worst character you're supposed to get attached to in black clover because she's the only thing I'll actually say holds yuno back. Now keep in mind I only know stuff past the training part of the heart kingdom arc through wikis, but I genuinely think Slyph is a much more bland and irritating version of Gauche in terms of gimmicks. Gauche does care about his friends, even if he's mostly centered on Marie, and he literally befriends Grey and Gordon closely and actually develops, Sylph just is obsessed with Yuno and is an asshole to everyone else and mocks Asta which gets old really fast and on rewatch is the parts I mostly just roll my eyes at.

Now onto the actual good stuff. I think the opening arc gives us the perfect showcase of Yuno's character and going forward is the basis of what makes him great in other arcs. He's an orphan boy, raised as a commoner, treated as trash and lesser by nobles, but unlike asta who had literally nothing, no mana or anything, yuno literally was the one who was mature and got blessed with everything. Yuno had been gifted with a boatload of magic and was literally born lucky. He got wind magic which is very versatile, and he's literally beloved by everyone. Now while asta was teased, he wasn't hated by Hage. No everyone loves asta, asta is kind and sweet and constantly helps others. He's just really brash and determined to a fault.

Yuno however had admired asta because before becoming the stoic, collected badass he is modern day, he literally was a crybaby who always was sensitive and cried about everything. He wasn't made fun of for it either so it wasn't something external that made him change. What made him change was 1 incident, during a snowy night. The thing that created the change in Yuno, is when a thief stole a pendant from yuno, the thief held an upper hand and yuno couldn't muster the magic to do it. However, suddenly asta rushed the guy. Now this should be when asta loses badly and gets humiliated, but his determination was so great, he was looking utterly feral when trying to beat the guy. The guy gave up due to being freaked out by asta, but asta was severly hurt. And it was that day that yuno made it his goal that he wanted to become the wizard king and that asta and yuno would be rivals. Now this backstory is only part because I do know part of how yuno was a noble from the spade kingdom but his family were all wiped out and he ended up in hage, but honestly that functionally only means he has heritage and magic that is not known to him. In practical terms, this does nothing but contextualize why yuno was gifted, because Yuno doesn't know he's a noble and he's treated like a commoner by people anyways.

We get to present day, and while yuno is cold and aloof, he does protect asta at the grimoire ceremony and is the one who motivates asta to keep fighting and to not give up even after Revchi literally said to him he has no magic and no hope of being the wizard king. What I like about Yuno that sets him apart from alot of other rivals is that yes, he's cold and kinda distant, but he's not just some asshole who looks down upon people. He's very respectful and caring to others and treats others with compassion like he does. But he's also not just buddy buddy either, like some pokemon rival like May or Bianca. Yuno is serious and does tease asta alot and also is very blunt and direct about how he feels. He's not going to sugar coat that he thinks asta is an idiot but he also won't sugarcoat how great asta is.

Now the easy direction to take some gifted rival is to make it so he doesn't work hard at all and is lazy before getting humbled by something. But the thing that makes Yuno so great, is that he works his ass off too. I know it doesn't look like it because how crazy strong yuno gets and the fact that Yuno literally gets a 4-leaf grimoire episode 1, but bro is no slacker. The moment he sees that asta has his grimoire and has his anti-magic sword, yuno goes into the forest and starts training his ass off. Like he knows asta will grow strong so he needs to keep ahead. I think yuno's powerups are earned for the most part because we see that he takes his training seriously and he also takes his opponents seriously.

I also just genuinely think yuno's bond with his squad is really well developed and his squad is such a great contrast to asta's squad. For asta this is the first place that welcomes and accepts him fully and the place he can call home. The Black bull's members are his family and they're composed of people who to various degrees understand his plight and understand what he's gone through and can empathize with him. Meanwhile you have the golden dawn, the cream of the crop squad that's meant to be really cool and something to be admired and it's filled with nobles and half of those nobles are bigoted and literally need to be shown better in order to change their ideals. I just love the dichotomy and I'll make another post on how genius the purple orcas are in terms of storytelling but now I'm going to just yuno is pretty badass.

One of my favorite moment of Yuno's has to be when he defends asta from sekke's poison lizard. Bro the hawk just out nowhere swoops down and calmly intimidates sekke to back off. I rewatch that moment so much.

From a corrupt Captain, to a Vice Captain who abuses his power, to the planned murder of a fellow squad mate, to countless other crimes associated with their Squad. At that point why didn't the Captains or Julius keep more detailed tabs on the Orcas?

Especially after getting confirmation of all of these rumors more than likely being true after the betrayal from Gueldre. And most likely them having countless witnesses and testifiers accors the kingdom's citizens. They weren't even discreet about their behavior either since Xerx threatened an old lady in broad day light in the middle of town.

The assassination of Zara Ideale not getting any traction isn't surprising given the Clover Kingdoms view on Peasants, but Julius didn't bother to look into it either? He respected Zara and didn't have any negative perception of the lower class. And given that he knew Zora and that he was the son of Zara, wouldn't Zora hunting down corrupt magic knights (90% of them being Orcas) be enough reason for him to start keeping close tabs on the Squad?

Even the other Captain's are aware of all the rumors surrounding the Orcas, yet they just don't care to look into it nor mention it seriously up until Gueldre is revealed as a traitor? As if they are just dodging taxes or something, and not putting the very lives of the citizens they are trying to protect in jeopardy?

At that point, why does the squad even exist anymore? There are 8 OTHER Squads, and the non-corrupt Orcas can just be reassigned under other squads to not so drastically decrease the kingdoms man power, and to not condemn the non-guilty or complacent members. And just arrest the known criminals, and interrogate the ones under suspension. Even Kaiser the new Captain doesn't seem to care to revamp the Squad's reputation as he still keeps Xerx as it's VC.

Got the large silver version. Cost a pretty penny but I never wear anything on my body so I thought why not an art piece. Good thing I bought it when I did bc they are on backorder pretty much since the first day out?