And so…….. The Time is Here. And Now We Face……. An Intermission. “Black Clover” as a series isn’t over yet. Just…….. the way it’s presented. It’s……. Not ideal, I’ll admit. I’ve been “ruminating” on the news for a few days now, yeah? My initial reaction was…….. well, Anger, but also depression and sadness. I was……… upset to say the least. Because this series is easily in my top 5. And it’s a Legit Top 5 now– not 4 with a tag on. My Top 5 series right now are: 

• Dragon Ball
• One Piece
• Edens Zero
• “Black Clover”
• Dead Rock

That’s in no particular order, ’cause I’m still waiting to see how much better or worse Dead Rock is, and the initial hype of Edens Zero is kind of all but gone at this point(and the story made some decisions that I’m not overly fond of). Dragon Ball will– regardless of the stupidity “Super” does– will always be my Top 1 series empirically, be it anime, manga, animation or anything. And I’m fairly confident that no other series will give me the same Euphoric High that “One Piece” can at its max. But “Black Clover” is in there over a lot of other series!! So hearing that it’s becoming QUARTERLY- as in 4 F*CKING CHAPTERS A YEAR for however long it has left– made me feel empty inside. There are some weeks where I’m looking forward to it over any other series I follow. It sucks, man. And it’s good for Tabata’s health and all, but it makes me wonder what the plan for Horikoshi is. ‘Cause I’d honestly argue that he’s doing WORSE in terms of Health problems. 

I feel like I shouldn’t be “comparing” People’s Health Issues, but genuinely- Why Hasn’t Horikoshi gotten this same offer? Why does Horikoshi have to stay in the main magazine putting out 7 page chapters struggling? He should get the same offer. Especially since his story is closer to the conclusion than Tabata’s. It may well take us into 2024, but probably only the first issue of Jump Giga that year!! Craziness!! But, well; My Hero makes more money and has a bigger, more “vocal” audience than “Black Clover.” And Tabata’s health issues stem beyond just himself; his wife and daughter have been sick recently, to the point where his mother-in-law came to help take care of them. So any spare time he has to rest for himself and help take care of them is necessary. “The longer you walk- the further you get. And the better you rest, the longer you can keep walking.” So……… It is what it is. He says after having about a week off of making this post. 

I’ll admit; I’m calmer now(Sunday, August 27th, 2023, 3:38 pm) than when I started. And that’s because I had a “experience” today that I’m going to incorporate into a a post about my experience and love of this series. A post for another day. For now, after much delay; The Final 2 Chapter’s of “Black Clover” released in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Let’s Go. 

Chapter 367: “Black Bond“

Having been returned to normal by Asta, Damnatio finds it interesting that he’s be saved by the very boy he tried to condemn as a “Devil.” And while Damnatio slips into a comma, the Witch Queen- using every last bit of the strength she has left- heals everyone still alive with a field of “Blood Cocoons.” They only managed to survive thanks to Secre sealing up their pain; she’s just getting them back to full health. Problem is: This is taking up all of her power, and may just end up being the death of her. Even if she lives, she can’t remain the Witch Queen can’t remain “The Witch Queen” anymore. So she offers the position to Vanessa. But Dorothy decides to take the position so Vanessa can stay with the Black Bulls. 

As for the Black Bulls themselves, even at Full Health; their stats are too low for even the Grunt Soldiers. Asta’s got them covered. As part of his training in the Land of The Sun, Asta learned of Anti Magic’s “Characteristics.” One of which being the apply to apply it to other things- such as Yami’s katana. So Ryu wonder’s if Asta’s able to grant his Allies Anti Magic. So- using the Demon Dweller sword– he grants the Black Bulls an Anti Magic Boost. I remember a lot of what I said about this chapter, but due to the nature of this post, I can’t get into all of that. So here’s a list of reasons why this makes sense in the context of the story: 

• Chapter 210 tells us that the Demon Dweller sword’s ability is to “Bestow and Store Magic for those who have ties to each other.” This is LITTERALLY the purpose of the sword.
• Chapter 271 tells us that- through a proper Devil union- one is able to apply “characteristics” of the Devil’s magic to their own, as Nacht showed with his Shadow Pack Magic. Liebe’s a Devil at the end of the day, and Asta- by nature of how his powers have been handled through the series- is almost one in his own right. This is essentially what Nacht said way back when. 
• Ryu brings to mind what happened to Yami’s katana to prove his point. 

I also speculated on what the Black Bulls can do with this Anti Magic amps, which I’ll just mention briefly: 

• Grey’s Anti Transmutation Magic might allow her to completely destroy matter instead of just changing it. 
• Vanessa’s Anti Thread Magic might allow her “Red Thread Of Fate” to cause the enemy Bad Luck. 
• Combatants like Luck and Magna might be able to completely destroy attacks coming their way with minimal effort by countering with an Anti Magic imbued attack. 

I’ll talk about the Dorothy thing at a later date; we’ve spent enough time on this part as is. 

Chapter 368: “Just Getting Started“

Yami continues to stand against his former squad mate Morgen. But with Paladification comes a Secondary attribute. For Morgen, Lucius saw fit to bestow upon him the power of the Supreme Devil Lucifugus, granting him Dark Magic. He uses Yami’s own Magic against him, creating a Darkness sword that pulls Yami towards him before slashing him with the Light Sword in his other hand. As for Yuno: His power’s starting to wane– fighting all these Lucius clones by himself and sustaining Neverland is taking its tole, and he’s about to give out. And when he does, the amp given to the Clover Kingdom and the dampener on the Guardian Angels and Paladins- Gone, along with the Clover Kingdom’s chances of Winning. 

And THEN The Black Bull’s Show Up To Save The Day.

Henry’s Anti Recombination Magic making an Anti Raging Black Bull and all; them diving into battle head first, getting amped by Neverland on top of the Anti Magic characteristics allowing them to negate Magic; and Nacht and Ichika jumping in to save Yami. While Asta takes his rage out on a Lucius clone, while also motivating Yuno to keep fighting. And from there, the Boys are off to see who will defeat Lucius first. And so ends “Black Clover’s” time in Weekly Shonen Jump. From what I’m hearing, Jump SQ chapters range about 50-60 pages, and the series moved over from the main magazine come there to finish up quickly. So probably only like 2 or 4 chapters left. But if it ends up taking LONGER than expected, then the series will be moved again to Jump+ or something to conclude serialization. Honestly, I would have preferred they brought over to Jump+ and made it a monthly series, but okay. Who knows, maybe there really isn’t that much more to the story……….

Conclusion

Well………. That’s the last of it until December. It’s gonna suck not having this series in the rotation after so many years covering it. But at the same time, it makes my job…….. a little bit easier. It’s one less series I have to worry about, yeah? And My Hero is ending this year(probably late in the year, and if any longer then it’s not making it out of January), so…….. that’s 2 series basically GONE. I can focus on One Piece all weekend once My Hero is over, and “Black Clover” either has about 4 or 5 chapters left or is gonna be another monthly and it finally concludes. I don’t think I’m “Happy” about it; at least not “I’m glad I don’t have to wear myself out working on multiple posts.” But I am getting a little excited that I might have more time for other posts in the next few months. Maybe I’ll actually be able to do some “Western Animation” related posts. That’ll be the day. 

Welp…. Until December, Tabata Sensei- Stay Healthy and take care of your family. We love you, man. See you all later.