English Dub Review: Black Clover “Light”

The Wizard King has spooky eyes.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

So, Julius Novachrono has just saved Asta’s hide and completely wrecked the group of rogue wizards that had kidnapped the young boy. Before their victory is assured, however, a piercing light blinds them, signaling the arrival of another, probably more powerful wizard. With the light concealing everyone in the room, the rogue wizards are able to escape, except for one, who remains in Novachrono’s time ball prison.

After receiving an urgent message from Novachrono’s magical secretary, the two quickly return to the Clover Kingdom capital to find the other magic knights worrying over the fate of Fuegoleon, who had received grievous wounds in the battle for the city. Novachrono is worried about Fuegoleon, too, but more concerned about the news that Fuegoleon’s magical pendant has gone missing. He concludes that the group that attacked the city probably wanted that pendant, but to what end, he doesn’t know.

The Silver Eagles go off to do their own thing, hair braids dangling in the breeze, and Leo bursts forth from the room he was resting in to meet the others. He does the shounen rival thing and declares that he’ll overcome his weaknesses and become the Wizard King, sealing this resolve with a diamond-shaped burn on his forehead, just like that of Fuegoleon’s.

Meanwhile, Novachrono concludes that there must be a traitor to the magic knights who allowed the rogue wizards into the capital city. To find the traitor, he interrogates two of the captured wizards, but to no avail. His prisoners share a cult-like devotion to their mysterious “master”, which keeps their mouths tightly shut.

We then get a glimpse of the rogue wizards, going about their evil business, with Rades complaining about getting his ass kicked by Asta. The gel-using wizard, Sally, is also excited to get her hands on Asta again so she can run some experiments on his anti-magic powers. We also get a glimpse of this mysterious master, who acknowledges the strength of Novachrono’s time magic.

Back in the capital city, Noelle, Asta, and Charmy enjoy some baked goods to celebrate the end of their time here. Charmy demonstrates some of her magic, and the three-run across Yuno and his group as well passing by. Asta demands that Yuno show him the new power he’s obtained, which he does by launching an extraordinary wind blast in the shape of a bird at Asta; a splendid display of animation that probably drained the show’s budget for the next few episodes. Asta uses his anti-magic to dispel the blast but is duly impressed by Yuno’s prowess. As the two groups part, everyone takes a moment to reflect on how far they’ve come and how much stronger they want to be.

Later, Asta and Noelle return to the Black Bulls hideout, where everything is business as usual with their hijinx and good times. Asta shows off his promotion to junior magic knight third class, and Yami explains how the ranking system for magic knights works. Yami tells Asta that he did good and that he should take some time to rest and recoup from his time in the capital, a suggestion he tepidly accepts.

Our Take:

Well, here’s an episode where not a terrible amount happens, but for what does happen, is actually pretty enjoyable. This episode is pretty sparse on animation, making it more about the dialogue between characters, which is admittedly pretty amusing and well-acted. Its an episode that relies mostly on his humor, and it rolls with that pretty well, especially compared to how atrocious some of the more drama-heavy episodes can be on this show.