By April C., Crofton High School
Black Clover is a manga series that tells the story of Asta, who, despite having absolutely no magical powers of his own, wants to become the Wizard King through pure determination and strength. He is helped towards this goal when he is blessed with the rare five leafed grimoire, or spell book. However, there is still much standing in the way of his goal, including elves, demons, and his own best friend and rival Yuno. This series is very sweet and inspiring. Asta is constantly trying to achieve his goals to push himself one step forward. This and his happy upbeat personality make a character you can’t help but want to cheer for. The world building is quite amazing and well thought out, and some of the power abilities the author has created are truly stunning. The theme of found family and self-acceptance is heavy throughout, and the villains they face are challenging and fierce and keep you turning the pages. However, in its warmth, this series can be a bit cliche’ at times. The fight scenes can be hard to follow, and the dialogue can be repetitive. Perspectives often switch and it is scattered with flashbacks which make reading difficult. I don’t recommend this series if you aren’t willing to have a little cliche with your plot. I would recommend it if you are okay with some repetition, love action-adventure fantasy, and generally need a series to make you feel inspired and tough inside and out.
Click here to read Black Clover v. 1 by Yūki Tabata