I don’t know how to title this post. Like, GENUINELY. I’ve tried looking for a pun on The Promised Neverland but never found it; I tried looking for the more direct reference in Peter Pan, but I only know the Disney stuff; I was going to do something tying into “Fate” and taking control of it, but that’s honestly something I feel I should talk about later. Hopefully I remember a lot of what I want to say. Then again- I have work the day I’m writing this(Thursday, March 30, 2023, at 4:30 pm). And it’s……. 12:21 pm at the time of me saying this. Not to mention it’s cold in f*cking MARCH!!! Oh well, I’ve written down some things that I want to talk about, and I’ve got a few images ready to go. I don’t have much else to say other than it sucks that “Sword of The Wizard King” has been delayed. Oh well, at least they can make sure the movie looks it’s best!! Black Clover Chapter 356: “Neverland.” Because of the Promise he made with Asta, right? Oh crud, I just used the only joke I thought of!!
Overview
Picking up from where we left off: Yuno comes to stand before Lucius, vowing to win as “The Man Who Will Become The Wizard King.” But Lucius tells him that “strength alone” is not enough to win this. As such, we see the Angelic beings deflect multiple Magic Knight attacks with several different kinds of Magic at once. Morris explains that the “Guardian Angels” are Rebels captured by Lucius and “reformed, combined, and transformed” into these things- “Beings Who Will Bring Order To The New World!” Morris finds the whole concept “highly rational.”
As the Magic Knights lament in their powerlessness, En of the Green Mantis Knights(that Mushroom/ Fungus guy from the Royal Knights Exam) stands firm, vowing to protect these people no matter how powerless he is. Sol agrees, as she makes a Dirt Golem for a Final Stand. But when it attacks, she finds that she was actually able to repel the attack!! The sprites around her lead to look up, revealing a much more mature Wind Spirt flying above them. This is all apart of Yuno’s Spell: Mana Zone- Star x Wind Spirit Magic: “Never Neverland-“ a spell that manipulates the flow of Magic Power and Time inside of the zone to amp their allies and WEAKEN the enemy!!
With new found strength and resolve, the Magic Knights stand ready to face off against the Guardian Angels. Meanwhile, Lucius catches Yuno in a Time Bubble, attempting to age him into dust. But “Neverland” is in play; it manipulates the flow of time so that it doesn’t pass, thus countering Lucius’ Time Magic!! It is here that Lucius completely realizes: Yuno Really Was Born to Oppose Him- His One True Rival. Yuno doesn’t feel the same way, summoning his “Spirit Of Zephyr” sword and moving to slash at Lucius. Black Clover Chapter 356 END!!D@mn; Lucius is more invested in their relationship than Yuno is. That’s cold.
REVIEW
Still haven’t found the joke. But I do have a few thoughts that I actually managed to write down while I had em. And we’ll get to them. But first, I feel like I should give Yuno a round of applause. I don’t ever think I’ve talked about Yuno as a character- beyond talking about how he is SO OBVIOUSLY a “Chosen One.” Come on, man; it’s hard to think of anything this kid CAN’T do at this point. And now he can control the “FLOW OF TIME?!” YOU GOTTA BE FRE@KIN’ KIDDIN’ ME!! B-but beyond all that; Yuno……… Okay, I don’t have any strong thoughts about him, really. He’s not the “Toxic Rival” that his inspirations or contemporaries are; Vegeta and Sasuke had their “Bad Boy” periods, and Bakugo always refused to recognize Deku. Yuno, though; he recognized Asta FIRST- he even refused to believe that Asta wouldn’t get a grimoire in chapter 1. For that reason, I’d say I like him more…….. as a character. As a Rival, I honestly prefer Deku and Kacchan’s relationship. Just narratively.
There’s also the difference in that- while Vegeta, Sasuke, and Bakugo have had MULTIPLE fights against their rivals- Yuno and Asta have yet to have the 1. Even though the openings always portray them like they’re going to. I can’t tell you how hyped Opening 7 got me to see them fight. Then they didn’t. It was a bit of a let down, though not as much as Deku vs Muscular compared to their sequence in Odd Future. Remember that? Deku in his Hero costume- breaking the ground beneath him as he taps into One For All, and the way Muscular just HULKED OUT right there on screen? Oh man did that look like it was gonna be a fun fight. Then I actually got to that episode, and- while still Cool– not as cool as the Opening. But hey, they did their job; they got me hooked so I would keep watching! But back to Yuno.
I find it a little comical how much Yuno has over Asta. It’s like……. Ridiculous when you think about it! 2 souls in one body- one is the Prince of the Spade Kingdom and has Star Magic, the other the offspring of the Leader of the Elf Tribe and a Clover Kingdom Royal with Wind Magic; someone chosen by the Wind Spirit; RIDICULOUSLY ABUNDANT reserves of Mana from all 3 aspects; and now he’s learned how to Control how Time flows in one area. His plan to overcome someone with who can control SPACE was to “Be Loved MORE than that guy.” His mom is alive and he’s the crowned heir to his own Nation! Asta lucked into Anti Magic, quite honestly!! If not for him being a Magicless Peasant then the 5 Leaf Grimoire never would have come to him, never giving him Anti Magic. I suppose he would have had something like the “Curse Of The Ordinary” from “Haikyuu!!;” “Only One Of The Best- Never THE Best.” He could have become a Magic Knight easier, but…….. on the same level as Sekke. And even if he reaches higher, he would have always been behind Yuno- never going past.
But because he has Anti Magic, he’s able to go far– farther than any Magic user that isn’t- you know- a Main Guy. If you’re not Yuno, Noelle, Yami, or a Main Villain, you’re basically chasing these guy’s coattails. And it’s made thematically and visually clear in Asta and Yuno. Black Asta has a horn and a wing; Spirit dive has a crown and the opposite wing. Then there’s Devil Union and Full Spirit Dive. Asta’s Devil arm- Yuno’s opposite arm was bandaged until recently. They level up the same way. And that’s not just something that applies to Yuno; Asta’s actions and how often he “levels up” inspires everyone to go higher all the same- Yuno Going The Highest. And it was more because he was Magicless than anything else. Kind of ties into this idea I have. You know the one; Yuno’s the “Chosen One” destined to Defeat Lucius, and Asta- through hard work and the use of Anti Magic- is able to defy his own fate of being behind Yuno and surpass him a few times, willing himself into the role meant for Yuno. That’s what I feel like this series is going to say come the 10th or 11th hour; an ACTUAL God coming to Asta and telling him what happened.
Man; that wasn’t even the planned stuff- that was all improvised!! Man, let’s see how this planning part goes. The first thing I wrote down was “Yuno takes control of his destiny.” Which he is. He seems to have this……. “Grand Fate” ahead of him; one that sets him on the path to be this World Savior. But……… that’s not what he wants. Like he told Lucius last week: “This isn’t about Revenge or anything.” He’s not trying to save the world because he someone “told him” that he was supposed to, or even to avenge his Foster Brother who- for all he knows– is dead. He’s trying to stop Lucius because he’s going to become the Wizard King someday. And like Julius told he and Asta all the way back in chapter 22; you need to build a reputation as “Someone Who Gets The Job Done.” So if he’s going to be the Wizard King, then he needs to get THIS job done.
I don’t mean to make him sound selfish or anything; I don’t want it to come off as him doing this just to be the Wizard King– more like……… He’s preparing for the “Job He Wants” and not the job he has. Oh, wait!! I didn’t talk about his “defiance of fate!!” Good thing I wrote THAT down too!! HA!!! The way that Asta chooses to defy his fate prompts Yuno and others to defy theirs. And that’s represented best with Neverland; just as Yuno is using his magic to change the “winds of fate” so that they blow however he wants them to, he’s lifts up his allies along the way………….. You know, that was a lot longer in my head. But in practice- even with what I’ve written down to talk about……. this was it.
The other thing that I wanted to talk about was something that my brother told me. He’s in to all that……. Demonology/ Christian Mythology stuff. Mythology in general. And something he told me after I told him about all the Christian symbolism and themes represented in Lucius made me think “Well That’s Something That’s Gonna Happen Later.” He told me that God had an ability called(and this name is pretty Anime-esque for a religion) “Annihilation-” the ability to Destroy Angels. 2 Thoughts Came to mind:
- Lucius has a spell called “Annihilation” that he’ll use at some point. I don’t know if it’ll be restricted to 1 of his Magics- he’s got Soul, Time, and Gravity. It might be a Soul Magic spell, but it could also be a 3 Way Combo spell that he uses as “Guaranteed 1 Hit KO.” Though if THAT’S the case then this probably isn’t gonna be the Whole battle; Asta or someone just as important is going to have to find a way to counter the spell. So maybe just a “Guaranteed 1 1 Shot” if he can TOUCH you.
- Say they done free the Paladins from Lucius brainwashing. He’s just gonna destroy them with “Annihilation-“ the only way to truly kill a Paladin. He’ll be the only one in his New World guaranteed to live forever, while those who’s souls he can’t f*ck with- like Asta and Yuno- are gone for good.
Last Thing: Yuno’s lack of an interest in Lucius as a Rival parallels his perceived lack of interest in Asta at the beginning. The anime plays it up more like the “Typical” rivalry at first; Yuno not even recognizing Asta as a rival, while the manga keeps it really vague right up to the reveal. Lucius recognizes Yuno as a Rival, but Yuno doesn’t feel the same- probably doesn’t even want to give him the satisfaction of thinking that he cares that much. Something like that; that last part didn’t come out the best. Honestly I probably just put it so that I could use this cool coloring I found. You should see below.
Conclusion
…………… That’s not………. as bad as it could have been. Actually, I’d say that one was pretty good. Though I didn’t get to talk about those Angels things. I had this plan to talk about them a little bit, whether or not they were classified as Seraphim or Cherubim. I even looked a little into what they do in Christian mythology and everything. But I never got the chance to bring them up. Oh well, you get the picture. Oda didn’t create the concept of the Seraphim, so Tabata’s free to use the term and concept. But……. you already had people calling the Land Of The Sun arc we just had a “Wano Rip Off.” So as much as I don’t care and want Tabata to feel free to use what ever term and concept he wants in his manga; I also think he’s going to try and avoid using the name- if for nothing more than to keep the haters off his @$$. ‘Cause they will pounce on the chance to call him a “Plagiarist” for the smallest of things. It’s kind of gross to think about.
But, that’s all I got for you all for today. Let me know what you guys are thinking in the comments. Till next time, all- See ya!!
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