I was asked what my favorite show of 2017 was, My answer was “Made in Abyss”. I was also asked what was the worst show of 2017? This was a very tough one to answer as there were so many shows that I did not enjoy, and so many shows that just did not live up to my expectations. Instead of listing those shows that I just did not enjoy, I’m going to review a show that I watched and was letdown by. The hype train for Black Clover was huge, ads everywhere, fan boys\girls going crazy, and the media spewing hype for this new king of Shounen anime. When the show debuted and I began watching it I was feeling excited for something new, something magical, something akin to the first of Naruto. And I found that Black Clover was kind of a blend of all Tropes in Shounen anime, little Naruto, dash of Bleach, sprinkle of cliche here and there and bingo, you got yourself a Black Clover. I have not read the manga which does have a huge following, so I can’t speak to that, but what I can talk about is this first disappointing season. Many of the talking heads on the interballs and facetubes state that the pacing of the anime adaption is bad, the studio Pierrot has already begun injecting filler episodes into what is a very strong setup arch in the manga. This is unfortunate for me, I have again have not read the manga but it this explains why I got board with the show quite quickly. The reason for this filler is to stretch the source material so that anime does not catch up to the manga, and the end goal is have a long production run. The side effect of thinking and presenting the anime this way is that it will turn away people like me. Those who are fans of the manga may not mind this pace, but to me this is just another reason to skip watching this show before it really takes off.
Okay so enough about that lets quickly take a look at the show itself. See video below.
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This pretty much sums this show up. Asta is a boy who lives in a village and he wants to be the very best mage in the land, but he can’t use magic. Well when it came to sorting hat day it turns out he has some super hidden power. Wow right!? He fights with his bro friend and the bad guys try to stab him. Then adventures begin. Honestly it is hard to recall the rest of the story as pretty much from the get the main character never stops screaming, and the plot thins to the point where you just don’t care anymore. I’m really hoping this is fixed in the next season or that this show just flat out gets a reboot because honestly the story is off putting for me.
The art and animation are okay, nothing to write home about, bog standard. Not a whole lot of detail or love went into this production, feels mass produced and lacking in depth or style. This one feels like it was made to be a product, created to sell something, maybe ear plugs. Honestly from what I’ve heard the manga is far better, so go check that out instead.
Voice acting and sound track on not bad but not good. There is way to much screaming in this production, and the talent working on the sound is passable, feels pretty average, again refer to video. The soundtrack is lackluster overall, it really does not compel you to feel or care about the story, if anything it just fills the empty space between screening
Bottom Line: If you are a fan of the manga you might like this show, if your not a fan and looking to get into a good new show I’d say look elsewhere. This one is a pass for now, maybe later seasons will be better.
Pros
- Has some Action
- Has some comedy
- Things move on the screen
- Music is not bad
- Magic and stuff
Cons
- To much SCREAMING
- AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
- Bad pacing, filler eppisodes
- Story is Cliche and predictable
- Does not live up the the hype
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