Reminder: No chapter this week. Next chapter is on Friday the 21st, 8 days from now.
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Update:
It seems there'll be a Black Clover stage thing at that same event too (according to Twitter's translating fucntion).
...They wouldn't make an event to announce the anime is ending, would they? Wonder what this could be. I don't really want the anime to go on for a fourth year so this is a bit concerning. Or is it just to detail whatever filler we're having the last two cours of the run? (But would they make an event to hype up filler? Idk)
The one gay ship that has a shot for now doesn't involve Klaus (or Asta).
Oh right Versus XIII Noctis was doing it too! I guess it's a Nomura thing lol.
Hmmm I Dont Know we gotta scan black clover outfits...do they got a lot of zippersOh right Versus XIII Noctis was doing it too! I guess it's a Nomura thing lol.
(Is Tabata a Nomura/KH/FF fan perhaps??)
Don't know about zippers but Asta's belt did get an upgrade post timeskipHmmm I Dont Know we gotta scan black clover outfits...do they got a lot of zippers
Damn that look so cleanDon't know about zippers but Asta's belt did get an upgrade post timeskip
Asta only loves Sister Lily. But for who loves Asta the most in his Harem (Noelle, Rebecca, Sally, Specs, Mimosa) it's clearly Specs, who changed his entire outlook on life from hanging out with the boy in the dungeon. How'd he survive when half the Golden Dawn was murked? His dedication to getting swole passed onto him by his idol Asta and his desire to see him again.
More cool Vanica art. Looking forward to seeing what her powers and potential devil are.
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Btw, the Black Clover manga 5 years old this week (specifically on the 16th, this Sunday)!!
I've only been caught up and following week to week since August 2017 so it didn't really hit me(I was even reading Dr. Stone and We Never Learn in Viz Jump before this lol) but at this point Black Clover is pretty much a veteran of the magazine, being the 5th oldest series in Shonen Jump when counting Hunter x Hunter.
5 years in, we've had a "Part I" of sorts with 23 Volumes/228 Chapters focusing on the Midnight Sun's plan and its aftermath before a time-skip starting in Volume 24/Chapter 229 and this new part of the focusing on taking down Megicula and the Dark Triad. Wonder how long is left and how much of the overall story this Megicula/Spade part represents.
When Volume 16, which is where the reincarnation finally happens, came out, Tabata said this in the afterword:
This was cool to see because the reincarnation is first brought up in Chapter 9, a shadowy Patry saying "the resurrection is at hand", and built up until it finally happens in Volume 16, with Patry saying "Now! Let the revenge begin!!!" once it does, so it figures Tabata would be excited to finally reach that point, the climax of what he considers the first arc.
But also interesting is how he just casually drops "one of the series' major turning points!". The world of the series is pretty big and depending on how much of what is mentioned is actually gonna become a focus eventually like the Spade Kingdom has become now, there's potential for it to only get bigger and for a lot of crazy stuff to happen. That really gets me curious for what is ahead.
I don't know how much we have left, I'm guessing at least 5 more years if he stays in good health and if the Midnight Sun part is indicative of how long a saga/part could be, but for now I'm really looking forward to it and hope the series can keep me as interested as it has up to this point. Cause I've been loving this for the past few years, especially once the reincarnation happened and I saw all the craziness that ensued.
could the shoes be Zora's?In the second image, we see a a bit of a pair of shoes that does not belong to any known member of the Black Bulls. It's showing the Black Bulls that would walk into the hideout, and thus provide energy for Henry, as of that point in the story (Ch. 140) after Yami tells this to Henry. I've labeled the shoes of all the known characters on there. The pair at the top is not Yami's, his shoes are black (and he's already in the hideout when he's saying this), so, while it's not much, this is the second (afaik) visual hint at the Vice-Captain.
Zora wears black shoes.
Yes I'm excited for the Blu Ray version as well because for as good as that episode is, there are parts where you can tell the staff was really rushed (and it's impressive the ep turned out that well despite its poor schedule). One of the animators said to look out for the final version of the ep cause it'll be much improved. We won't get it here for a while tho haha.omg i still get so teary eyed and smiling from episode 119, like, omg.
cant wait for the blu ray version since everything i watch on the stream version always gets pixelated during the cool black and white scene
Yup. Them going into the world of devils has only been a fairly recent consideration for me but it would make sense for them to eventually just be like "Yo these devils are just gonna keep popping up here, let's take the fight to them instead" if that's somehow possible.The way Tabata's previous series ended, I've always assumed that was the eventual goal.
Part of me wants a plotline where it turns out someone in the press is a secret huge fan of Asta and that's why they prettied him up like that.lol at how Asta looks in the paper in todays episode. So pretty.
Random theory time! Leaving this here for the record so that I can brag 3-5 years from now if this is true.
Theory: Grey is the Black Clover version of Loki (and the Queen of Witches is a goddess too)
Reasons I suspect this:
1. It's already been suggested that their are gods in their world. Throughout the Underwater Temple arc, a "Sea God" is mentioned multiple times, as the one to whom Kahono and Kiato would dedicate their performances to as children and it's also the term used by the people who live there when they see Noelle's Sea Dragon. And Noelle is called the "Sea Goddess" by the people of the temple. Vanessa also mentions a "God of Fate" during the same arc, when talking about Asta's nature. But the most concrete evidence of there not only being gods but also that the gods have interacted with mortals before is what Patry says about the elves to Yami in their first encounter:
(Vol. 6, Chapter 47)
There's also Sephira from which comes the name "Apostles of Sephira", the ten elves who can receive "divine" revelations.
(Vol. 19, Chapter 182)
There may be other mentions of them beyond those. And also just there being demons/devils means we're likely to see their counterparts.
2. Black Clover is inspired by Norse mythology in many ways. The currently known races of humans, elves, dark elves and dwarves are present in Norse mythology. There are also references in the magic used by some characters. Noelle and Acier Silva have "Valkyrie Armor" spells. William Vangeace uses World Tree magic and one of his spells is named "Great Tree Misteltein" which is apparently the name of a sword in Norse mythology. And the mark that was on Julius' is a Nordic rune.
And we also know that there are multiple worlds. There's the normal one we've been in so far and what is often called "the other world" or "underworld" (from which devils come, as well as some forbidden spells people use), the shadow palace which is in between the two and possibly others. (And William's World Tree magic may end up being the key to travelling between them, based on how Yggdrasil connects the nine realms in Norse mythology)
3. Grey's backstory is still largely unknown, with the only detail being that she wasn't confident and couldn't reveal her true form to people. Prior to the reveal of her true form, she's shown to use her transformation magic to be somewhat mischievous around the Black Bulls. And her transformation is presented as unique because she can transform her body like a few others but she can go beyond that to transform things around her, which other characters aren't used to seeing.
(Vol. 8, Chapter 66: Underwater Temple Fight with Eye of the Midnight Sun)
(Vol. 15, Chapter 139: G3 vs Eye of the Midnight Sun at Black Bull HQ)
And so far, the Black Bulls that were noted to have surprisingly or atypically strong magic have had big reveals tied to that. Charmy's magic was described as weirdly impressive and she was hinted at for a while as being something more than just a normal human, then was revealed to be a Dwarf hybrid. Luck had noble-class magic power despite being a commoner, then was revealed to be an elf reincarnation (incidentally, with Luck not knowing his father, having noble-class magic and his elf Rufel being the younger brother of Charla who took over Charlotte Roselei, there may be more to learn about his past).
Also, this is how Grey is first shown:
(Vol.1, Chapter 4)
Not her true form but she's introduced looking like a giant, considerably bigger than anyone in that panel and anyone we've seen in the series thus far (except for Licht's demon form). Besides this form, she's only transformed into people she's seen so this might be a hint at the kind of people she had around her in her past. And not only are Giants present in Norse mythology like the other races in BC, Loki is a half giant from his father.
4. This is the simplest yet biggest one to me...we still don't know what Grey's name is...
(Vol. 8)
I had either never noticed or forgotten about this until recently seeing it again but yeah...we don't know her real name.
Every time a character's real name has not been revealed at the time of introduction, it means that the name is important or has special significance. The most obvious case is how the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun is first called "The Master", then it's "Master Licht" once he appears on screen, then "Master Licht" talks about how everything he's doing is for "the master", suggesting someone above him and afterwards we learn that the real Licht died a long time ago and the one who went by that name is actually "Patry".
Another example is how the First Wizard King was unnamed for more than 200 chapters and his name was only revealed in the most important flashback of the series that revealed the truth about the past, when his friend Licht said "Lumiere, please kill me", showing that even their names are connected.
Name reveals are important and Grey's still going by an alias. Now that Patry and Secre's identities have been revealed, she's the character that's been going by an alias for by far the longest time in the series and her name being very important seems more possible when you consider the following:
The ONLY other character who had a Character Profile in the volumes BEFORE their real name has been revealed is the Queen of Witches (Zora, Lumiere, Secre and Patry all had their Character Profiles after their identities were revealed).
(Vol. 12)
This is the only other time it has happened. And it's very suspicious not only because it wasn't done with the others who had their names hidden, but also because "Real name unknown" suggests a future reveal and the only other character in Grey's situation is the woman who is probably a goddess herself given that she's been alive for over 500 years, seemingly knows about everything, was chaining high-level spells effortlessly to the point where a royal like Noelle found her magic more terrifying than that of the strongest elemental spirit Salamander and she's the one whose daughter can literally reshape fate. She also said that some of the elves were equal to her, which would fit with what Patry said about elves rivaling gods.
To let that man tempt you away...!
(Vol. 10, Chapter 82)
(Vol. 12, Chapter 101)
Conclusion:
...I think Grey might be BC's take on Loki...don't have much else to say. If she's not Loki, then regardless there's enough that makes it seem like she's pretty goddamn special considering the characters she's similar to. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now since re-reading the series and thinking about how there was still much unknown about Grey. I'm looking forward to learning more about her in the future.
Maybe there's other stuff I'm missing that strengthens or weakens this but I just felt like writing this up for posterity.
(Edit: Turns out I did forget some stuff, edited two details into points 2, 3 and 4. Took out some unnecessary stuff)
It's Grey's birthday, and for that I've updated my theory on her with a few things that has come to mind in the months since it's been posted, mostly from the last time I re-read like a month ago.
Anyway, I like Grey and am really looking forward to learning more about her. She has one of the backstories I am now most curious to learn about, along with Charmy and Yami. More than the Loki thing, I'm really curious about whether there really are giants and where they even are now. (Her being ashamed to be in her true form and defaulting to a giant form would make sense if she somehow grew up around giants and got teased for being small or something)
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Glad the manga finally returns tomorrow. Wonder if we're picking up in the Heart or with Yami and the Bulls.
bro PLEASE don't say thatMy guess would be Heart and that we don't see Dante vs Yami for a bit (or maybe even at all? I wouldn't be surprised if he was taken out off-screen like William to keep some mystery around Dante or something like that).
Dante's stomping him off-screen to hide his Devil Trigger and you're gonna like it!
Yuno 2020
well if it means Yami powers up and stomps him later i guess im ok with itDante's stomping him off-screen to hide his Devil Trigger and you're gonna like it!
Oh yeah rematch in Spade itself for sure. That's what I think will happen with Yuno toowell if it means Yami powers up and stomps him later i guess im ok with it
Damnatio probably wouldn't accept half-assed commitment to the kingdom lolWould it be against legislation or unethical for Yuno to both assume kingship in spade kingdom and become wizard king in clover kingdom.
I'll need Damnatio to weigh in.
Gravity Magic seems a bit derivative at this point in the shonen world, but hopefully Tabata puts it to some cool usageJolly first page with vibes that obviously weren't gonna last lol.
So Vanica has Megicula and not Dante? I'm surprised because I thought if anyone had them, the king would but also not really because the only two people tied to Megicula were women (Acier/Lolo).
(Is Noelle getting humbled now too then like Yuno?)
Interesting that the Bulls are just stationed near Spade. I guess Asta's been seeing them during the timeskip. Gauche's new outfit looks cool. Zora's situation is getting weirder and now I'm confused as to whether he actually trained in the Heart like the others that were shown pre-timeskip, since he's been spending time with Magna too.
When Dante was shown just casually approaching that was hype (Finral dipped at the right moment lol), then he lifted the building and I got more hype and then it was finally confirmed: GRAVITY MAGIC!!!!!!!! (called it)
(Interesting spell name btw, "Presence of the Demon King")
Asta vs Dante. Noelle looking to fight Megicula. Man the whole Big 3 getting stomped with the start of this arc...
Oh most the attributes here have been seen before lol. But I just like folks who control gravity haha. Hoping Tabata does some cool stuff with it.Gravity Magic seems a bit derivative at this point in the shonen world, but hopefully Tabata puts it to some cool usage
is Megicula the same devil that killed Noelle's mom or whatever? I assume so bc of her reaction on hearing the name.
Asta about to get bodied , so much for training lol, although maybe he will learn something about how to use his Devil more.
Yeah now I'm very curious what his devil could be.Ah, so he does have Gravity Magic. I was hoping for another Time Magic user, but oh well.
Him not having Megicula is rather interesting. This makes me think that Dante's demon is going to be something a bit more unique. He and his demon probably know the deal with Asta's Demon. This clash would be the perfect moment to reveal that potential link.
BruuuhhhhhhAlso of note, there is an interesting pattern.
Zenon was there when Yuno's birth parents were killed.
Vanica is housing the demon that was responsible for Noelle's mother's death.
Could we be leading up to some revelations about Asta's own heritage?
Yuno'd lol. But yeah it's happening.I never considered Vanessa would be classified as 0 but yea makes sense right.
asta can't get yuno'd right after a training arc right....
Let me have that it felt so good to say lmaoBtw, 6 Spade invaders in the Heart, 5 Spirit Guardians + Lolopechka so easy matchups, with Lolo probably fighting Vanica (if she fights at all). If it goes down like that I imagine each Spirit Guardian would have their Clover trainees as backup (though I'd like to imagine they can take down the invaders solo except for Vanica) and Noelle would probably join Lolo.
(A thing I'm curious about is how Noelle somehow took a copy of Undine with her to that town that Leo and Luck saved. Presumably it works cause she uses water magic but that's interesting and could make for a cool team-up)
Also, something I just thought about with Zora and Magna hanging out is that not only they're both peasants but they also both have Flame-based magic (Ash and Flame) so maybe they're training together. Both have to deal with being born with low magic amounts so maybe Zora's showing Magna some tricks. (And if Zora did train in the Heart, which I'm getting increasingly confused about but is still probable, he likely would've trained with the still unseen Fire SG Floga, who trained Leo, and now I think maybe he snuck Magna in somehow. Would be cool)
Yuno'd lol. But yeah it's happening.