is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series Black Clover by Yūki Tabata. The series follows Asta, a young boy born without any magic power in a world where magic is everything, and his rival Yuno, a talented mage gifted with the rare four-leaf grimoire.

Produced by Pierrot, the first season aired on TV Tokyo and its TXN affiliates from October 2017 to March 2021 and consisted of 170 episodes. A second season premiered in October 2026. An anime film, titled Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King, premiered simultaneously in Japanese theaters and on Netflix internationally in June 2023.

Plot

Series overview

Production and release At the Black Clover Jump Festa event on December 18, 2016, the anime television series adaptation by Pierrot was announced. It was directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, with Kazuyuki Fudeyasu writing scripts, Itsuko Takeda designing the characters, and Minako Seki composing the music. The series premiered on TV Tokyo and its TXN affiliates on October 3, 2017. The series was broadcast without any major interruption until late April 2020, when it was announced that future episodes would be postponed due to studio production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The broadcasting and distribution of Episode 133 onward were delayed and in its place, the first episode of the series was rebroadcast on May 5, 2020. The series resumed on July 7 of the same year, and the first season concluded with Episode 170 on March 30, 2021.

In July 2025, at Anime Expo, it was announced that the series would receive a second season, which will be also produced by Pierrot and directed by Ayataka Tanemura. It premiered on October 3, 2026.

A special episode, titled , was shown at the 2018 Jump Festa. A short original net animation titled , produced by DLE and directed by Tsukasa Nishiyama, began streaming on dTV on July 1, 2019. The opening theme song for the short is "Possible" by Gakuto Kajiwara and Nobunaga Shimazaki, under the name "Clover×Clover". Crunchyroll made the short available internationally on December 31, 2019.

International release Crunchyroll has simulcast the series, while Funimation produced an English dub as part of its SimulDub program as it aired. Adult Swim's Toonami programming block premiered the English dub on December 2, 2017. The series was added to the Hulu streaming service. Sony Pictures UK and Funimation released the first part of the series on home video in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with subsequent parts released by Manga Entertainment. Universal Sony classified the first part of the series for release in Australia and New Zealand, on behalf of Funimation, with Madman Entertainment releasing subsequent parts. The first of Black Clover became available on Netflix India with Japanese audio and English subtitles on February 23, 2021.

Film

On March 28, 2021, it was announced that the series would be receiving an anime film, with details to be revealed at a later date. It was later announced that the film's title is . It was directed by Ayataka Tanemura, with the screenplay written by Johnny Onda and Ai Orii, character designs by Itsuko Takeda, and music by Minako Seki. Tabata also supervised the film and provide the original character designs. The film was originally set to premiere simultaneously in Japanese theaters and internationally on Netflix on March 31, 2023; however, it was later delayed to June 16 of the same year due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting its production. Treasure performed the theme song "Here I Stand".

Reception Critical response Alex Osborn of IGN, in his review of the first episode, mentioned that its premise is not novel but concludes that it is "ultimately a solid introduction to the Clover Kingdom, and lays the groundwork for what will hopefully be an empowering story about the importance of never giving up." Writing for Anime News Network, Rachel Trujillo praised the anime for "the grand lessons that one can take away from the story" and ambitious animation efforts from the staff. In his review of Episode 170, Shawn Hacaga of The Fandom Post complimented the anime's improvement since its beginning, saying that he was "glad that Black Clover was able to turn it around."

Ivy Rose from Anime Feminist praised the way the story handles its female characters, giving them narrative importance and letting them partake in battles. Rose wrote: "Black Clover has truly raised the bar for depictions of female leaders in shounen anime, and female characters in general, as these solid portrayals are not just limited to women in leadership positions." Jeremy Looney of Common Sense Media, in his review about the anime said "Black Clover is a guilty pleasure, a by-the-books entry to the Shounen genre that recaptures the magic of earlier series by perfectly recycling them in its own way. A great jumping-in point for the genre for anime newcomers."

In November 2019, Crunchyroll listed Black Clover in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s". In January 2021, it was revealed that Black Clover was the most-watched anime series on Crunchyroll in 2020, being watched in 87 countries and territories all over the world. Asta and Yamis fight against Dante was also listed as the sixth best anime fight from 2021 by Crunchyroll.

Accolades + Year Award Category Recipient Result 2018 6th BTVA Anime Dub Awards Best Male Lead Vocal Performance Dallas Reid 2019 3rd Crunchyroll Anime Awards Best Continuing Series Black Clover Best Fight Scene Yami vs. Licht 2022 World Music Awards Best Selling Japanese Single Snow Man 2022 36th Japan Gold Disc Award Single of the Year Best 5 Singles

Notes

References

External links

at Crunchyroll