Title: Black Clover Vol. 34
Author: Yuki Tabata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 205
Genre: Shounen, Battle
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
The Story
Thought to be dead, Asta was saved and is now in the Land of the Sun. There, he meets Ryuya, the shogun who lords over the land. Turns out he, along with his healer, saved Asta although it’s not stated HOW he was saved… or even discovered. For now, Asta is in a new, foreign land where instead of magic, they use Yoruyoku. One of the abilities they use is called Zetten where they manifest the ki inside of their bodies by focusing it and using it as a weapon. Asta is filled with doubt after losing to Lucifero; however, when he’s shown Zetten, he believes that he can finally get stronger.
Ryuya has his elite knights known as the Ryuzen Seven. He instructs one, Ichika, to begin training Asta, much to her chagrin. During Asta’s new training arc, Lucifero foresees the future of the Land of the Sun causing a wrinkle in his plans. He sends Sister Lily and a couple of Paladins there to exterminate the country.
The volume ends with the battle between Sister Lily and the Ryuzen Seven.
Characters
The story section was a little short because it was pretty straightforward. Most of this volume dealt with character development.
Even though he didn’t truly make an appearance, this entire volume fleshed out Yami’s backstory. Turns out that Yami is originally from the Land of the Sun and Ichika, one of the Ryuzen Seven, is his biological sister. The backstory paints the picture of their father who wanted the land under the Yami Clan’s control and would stoop at nothing to have his goals met. While I won’t go into the full backstory, we understand now how Yami left the Land of the Sun for the Clover Kingdom and why Ichika has a deep resentment towards him… only to be treated to a bit of a twist towards the end of the volume. All I can say is that it’s about time we got the full backstory on one of the central characters in this series!
Ryuya is a pretty nice addition to the series. Even though he’s called a Shogun, his equivalent title in Clover Kingdom language would be that of The Wizard King. He is someone Asta can look up to because he’s in a position equivalent to the Wizard King without having any Yoruyoku. In other words, he’s magicless! Instead, he possesses an eye that can see everything, including the future. Combining this with his charm, he’s able to lead the Land of the Sun and it has earned him the respect of all of his subordinates. There are still things we don’t know about him, though which is fine. So far, it’s a great base for a new character… one who certainly is filled with compassion for his people and for helping others. Asta is proof of that.
Asta went through a bit of development. His will to get stronger by getting fired up was his weakness this entire time. After sparring with different members of the Ryuzen Seven, he finally realizes this. The doubt he placed in himself for failing to beat Lucifero and save Sister Lily further enhanced that weakness. Now that he has realized it, his personality begins to change. I’m not sure if this will lead to a more mature Asta but at least he has found a way to push past his self-doubts and grow stronger.
Final Thoughts
Another great volume. The Land of the Sun just came out of left field and I certainly didn’t expect us to land in a place like that after the last volume’s cliffhanger. As I mentioned, there are still some unanswered questions such as how Ryuya found Asta, how he transported him there, why he decided to help him versus just casting him out to avoid what his eye foresaw, etc. I’m sure we’ll get those answers in due time but, for now, we are beginning another battle. With Sister Lily leading the attack, Asta is going to eventually join this battle and it will be a test of whether or not he is able to push past his doubts.
Of course, with the way the volume is written, I’m sure the expectations are that Asta is supposed to battle Sister Lily and come close to killing her to prove he erased his doubts; however, I think the more likely scenario is that Asta will find his own answer and not resort to that. It’s the solution used time and time again in many shounen series and I don’t think it’ll be any different here. So, what solution will Asta come up with? That is the intriguing part. Also, what’s to say Sister Lily is defeated? She could escape and report the situation back to Luficero and we could have an all-out war in the Land of the Sun that could see the Clover Kingdom get contacted. That way, we can have a nice family reunion between Ichika and Captain Yami.
There are a few ways this can go but the only way to find out for sure is to wait until Vol. 35. Also…. Ichika’s shadow-cloaked armor looks amazing. One of the best character designs in this series to date!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
