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We all know what this anime is. It's nice that it doesn't try and pretend it's something that it's not. You won't be surprised by the erotic nature of this show, it's exactly what we all expected when we saw the cover photo.

Not for the more wholesome among you.

The story is basically just a big setup to couch one of the 'moments'. They're travelling and need a bath? What a great opportunity to seduce the demon lord. Everyone's so willing in this show and it's kinda weird.

The art is great and I wouldn't be surprised if the character design was done by an H artist. ... Somebody has to be hiring them in this economy. Animation is good enough, but don't expect anything mind-blowing like scenes from the Fate series or Fire Force.

Anime has this way of making horrible characters seem whimsical. The two main women are really in a dodgy situation. The main character is a predator. Every woman this guy runs into reliably falls in love with him. Nothing we shouldn't expect from this kind of show. Don't expect any realistic characters, this is a caricature.

None of this really matters though because that's not what this show is about.

This show is about fan service.

Surely the most shocking surprise of last year. The only reason I even picked up this show is because it was so highly rated on MAL. I did NOT expect THAT. The whole thing feels like a confirmation that there are some really talented authors left in Japan. It's not all just derivative isekai trash.

Very, very impressive. A lot of authors wouldn't have the guts to pull some of the stunts this guy did. The storyline is gripping and well-executed. Time skips are tastefully done and pleasant to witness. It's tightly cut so that every second is an almost cinematic experience. It's an excellent take ... on a fantasy world where consequences MATTER and the stakes are high.

Don't hesitate with this one, dive in. You'll burn through 23 episodes in an evening or two.

I think it's time I wrote a review of Black Clover. At the time of writing, I've watched a horrendous 108 episodes. I've really given it my best shot.

Here's the short of it: Black Clover is an anime for people who don't watch much anime.

Black Clover really, badly wants to be one of the big boys. You've got a bit of Naruto and Fairy Tail, even One Piece influences. I haven't watched much of the extremely long-form shounen series, with Naruto being the only one I enjoyed and completed, so I'm sure that there are influences from others as well.

There is a whole cast of ... major characters and a world full of unique side characters that really is the strength of the show. Unfortunately, the characters are mostly one dimensional, with very little complexity behind their motivations.

The art is pretty atrocious most of the time and it's clear that the anime is on a tight budget. Some of the best most important scenes of the anime were completely ruined by some of the worst animation I've ever seen.

In my eyes, the sound is the most important part of modern entertainment. People really don't even notice it, but it makes all the difference. I strongly believe that Black Clover could be three or four times better if it had a good soundtrack. The music is absolutely atrocious and I don't know what they were thinking. As a side note, although it didn't bother me as much, the main character is extremely loud and annoying, pretty much all the time.

If you want an example of how important music is, go watch an intense scene of Naruto, and then go watch one of Boruto. Then go watch the Boruto arc where they go back in time and all of the music is switched back to the original anime. It's a stark and obvious contrast.

That brings us to the most important part of any anime. The story. Bad news, the story of Black Clover is boring. Yeah, there's a big twist in episode 115 that changes the meaning of the last 70 episodes, but it's not big enough to make those episodes worth watching. The story arcs are usually focused on uncovering one of the major character's powers or dealing with their 'struggles'. But the arcs are very simplistic and don't have a lot of depth to them.

The only positive note about this anime is that there is little filler. Things move pretty fast although some of the arcs were too long for what they were trying to accomplish in my opinion.

Black Clover is hamstrung at every turn by it's poor animation, boring story, flat characters and appalling soundtrack.

HOWEVER, you're also going to read a lot of glowing reviews. I strongly believe these are coming from people who don't watch much anime and don't know any better. That or young teenagers, maybe even children. If you fall into any of these categories and don't have more refined (or jaded depending on how you look at it) taste, then this anime might actually be for you.