English Dub Review: Black Clover “Three Problems”

(Possible Spoilers Below)

When Yami and William find the Wizard King alive due to 13 years stored in a magic tool in case he was ever killed, rendering his body 13 years younger. Julius orders William to help with the recovery effort. Julius reveals to Yami, Asta, Mimosa, Noelle, and Secre that his younger body has far less magic, meaning he has less influence over the selfish asshole nobles and will be unable to protect the kingdom from any future attacks after this one.

He also worries that Asta may instantly be used as a scapegoat since it was a “Black Devil” who attacked the kingdom, the Magic Parliament will probably blame Asta then execute him. Secre confirms that Asta’s demon form, as well as the horns on her head, could also be used as evidence they had contact with devils. Mimosa explains the Magic Parliament are royals and nobles who create laws and preside over trials for serious crimes. Meanwhile, the Clover King credits Sekke for saving him, despite it being an accident. They are attacked by anti-royalists hoping to assassinate the king amid the confusion, but they are saved by Kira Damnatio, Chairman of the Magic Parliament.

As both Asta and Secre are asked to testify before the Parliament, when they arrive they are arrested by Damnatio who demands evidence of the devil behind the attack. When Asta can’t provide any evidence predictably, Damnatio decides to simply charge the people possessed by the elves as normal criminals. But the episode ends on an intense cliffhanger when Damnatio forces Asta into to make a decision that puts both him and Nero/Secre in quite a compromising position as predicted by Damnatio himself…

Our Take

Just as one problem is solved another one pops up Immediately. Even long before the Elf Crisis that was unraveled within this show’s history and lore, the recurring problem that’s always remained consistently prevalent throughout this series is the social unfair discrimination and classism between nobles and commoners within the show’s universe. Asta may have come from a poor background at the beginning of the series and later went on to save peoples lives and prove his worth on multiple occasions, but unless evidence can be proven about this so-called “Devil” species existing outside of himself, the unwilling people who were possessed via reincarnation at the time during the Elf-Arc are going to be killed for crimes they most likely don’t even remember doing.

Hopefully, later episodes will touch upon this Damnatio character that could potentially humanize him in some way? But As of right now, this Damnatio asshole seems to get his rocks-off when it comes to condemning and blaming people in court rather than give Asta any sort of fair trial. Sure Asta has demon powers, but Damnatio is like a twisted unforgiving and less likable version of Severus Snape and the fact he’s so quick to turn the odds against Asta and call it a day shows that he’s mostly in it for politically securing his place and just finding someone to blame, more than seeing actual justice be done.

Overall this was an interesting episode as we’re learning about new pieces of information that further expands upon the Black Clover Universe such as the existence of 3 Kingdoms, while unexpectedly turning itself into a magical court-drama filled with mystery and intrigue which may slow things down a bit in the action department.