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What can I say about Black Clover? Barring shows that were clearly meant to sell toys and merch to kids(yugioh, bakugan, etc...) and the ever prevalent pokemon, Black Clover was one of the first anime that I watched. I was honestly a little nervous given how much the friend I watched the first few episodes with assured me that the show would get good later on and that I had to tolerate the early episodes to get there. It also didn't help that my more experience anime watching friends kept bashing the show, especially its main character Asta. Regardless of all the warnings I still ... watched the show figuring that it couldn't be as bad as they said, heck I watched the CGI star wars the clone wars movie on release so few things could probably disappoint me more.

Now that I'm here, having completed the show months ago as well as getting the chance to watch more anime leading up to writing this review, I can confidently say that Black Clover will stand as one of the best shows I've ever watched. While that is quite the statement I won't say that the show is flawed. If you've ever watched any shounen besides Black Clover then I assure you that you've seen almost everything the show has had to offer to the genre. Weekly episodes that spend the first five minutes recapping the last episode, two main characters who become rivals, useless tsundere girl, new villian that drives up the power level every arc, and so many more tropes that make shounen what it is.

So what makes me like this show? The banger openings? Less filler than other shows? Petite clover? While all of those are cool, I think I can summarise my feelings perfectly from a comment on a youtube video I remember reading shortly after I finished the show "Bro I swear naruto, Luffy, deku, they are all cool and all but I never wanted someone to achieve their dream more than asta." The way that the show handles characters coming from nothing into something, it's something that I've yet to see in other shows I've watched so far. What keeps driving them to get stronger? Asta himself! Everyone he meets in the show sees his never ending dedication to achieving his dream which inspires them to all to push themselves further just to match him. So many characters: Nero, Noelle, Yami, ok basically every member of the Black Bulls is given a proper arc showing their origins as well as developing their character so as to not just keep them there as "that shounen trope." Each fight scene in the show is full of awe inspiring moments and crisp animation that'll for sure keep you watching every second especially that one clip that crunchy roll posted on youtube(if you've watched the show it's surely popped up in your recomendations). Though they don't happen as often as I'd like them to, that scarcity makes each fight scene feel that much more amazing and precious. To see Asta constantly get beaten into the ground by villians who try to hold his lack of magic over his head only to hit back twice as hard pulls you right in cheering for him almost as hard as his friends. At every turn, Asta shows us that just because we don't fit neatly into what society expects of us, doesn't mean we can't surpass our limits and become a hero in our own right. It's not clever writing or good storytelling that sets the show apart, it's the pure emotion and drive coming from Asta that make this show a satisfying watch no matter which arc you're in.