Title: Black Clover Vol. 21
Author: Yuki Tabata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Shounen, Battle
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
The Story
Volume 22 of Black Clover finally brings the conclusion to the whole Eye of the Midnight Sun/Reincarnated Elves/Zagred battle. It has been a long time coming and I, for one, am thankful that it is over. While it was a grand fight, I felt that it dragged on for far too long and due to the sheer amount of characters and alternate personas, it was one of the most confusing fights I’ve read when trying to keep everyone’s names straight.
Still, the final fight against Zagred was about what I expected it to be. What happened after the battle concluded though made me shake my head as it fell like one massive plot device. I won’t spoil it but let’s just say that someone who you thought was gone isn’t… although that person is now impaired just a little bit. That person also decrees that other nations could come attack the Clover Kingdom now that they are weakened. They go through and talk about the Diamond Kingdom, Heart Kingdom, and Spade Kingdom. The Heart doesn’t seem like too much of a problem but the Diamond and Spade seem to be the issue.
While I can understand why this could be the next threat, they literally just beat reincarnated elves and the literal devil… it’s kind of hard to take a threat from another kingdom seriously after the grand scale of that battle and the type of enemy that they were up against. This battle against Zagred seemed like a final battle and while the way it ended kept things open for something grander down the line, everything else is going to seem as if it will pale in comparison to what just happened.
The volume ends when we are introduced to a new character named Damnato Kira, Chairman of the Magic Parliament. Asta was detained because even though he just saved the entire kingdom, he has been branded as a devil because of his anti-magic. Judgment is about to be passed on him when, obviously, he refuses.
Characters
Asta received some development here with his powers. He pushed himself beyond his limits and that allowed him, in combination with Yuno, the first Wizard King, Secre, and Captain Yami, to put an end to Zagred. Asta still has a long way to go but he did get a nice bit of a power-up here. Personality-wise, nothing has changed with Asta. Apparently, all you need to do to receive a power-up is to reaffirm your dream of being the Wizard King. Seems simple.
Zagred being confronted by a mysterious shadow upon death was interesting. Given what was also said about The Spade Kingdom, it seems as if there are more like Zagred that dwell there. If Zagred was that powerful, I’d hate to think what else exists out in the world. Still, with the whole plot of gathering all of the magic stones now put to bed, what actual reason aside from just pure bloodlust do other potential devils have to enact a plan? This battle really left things in a state of confusion.
Outside of that, there wasn’t much in the way of character development except for one person who I don’t wish to spoil. The new character, Damnato, just seems like a typical hard-headed no-nonsense, person who believes his judgment is always correct. You’ve seen this archetype before and, therefore, he isn’t anything special… for now.
Final Thoughts
Again, happy that this entire battle arc is over. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Asta now that he is resisting prosecution on the grounds of being a devil. I wonder if a Talk no Jutsu will get him out of this or if this will lead to a small mini filler arc before getting to the foreshadowed kingdom invasion arc. Still, it raises the question of which kingdom is going to attack? Shadow and Diamond are the two in the lead but, who knows? Maybe they’ll swerve us and the Heart Kingdom will be the strongest force known to God’s Green Earth?
Either way, there are a few directions the series can go but right now, it seems like it will be Asta vs The Magic Parliament for the time being. I’m looking forward to the breath of fresh air come volume 23!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
