Release Date 3-10-20
Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Plot/Story: 10/10
Animation/Design: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Action/Fights: 0/10
I love the Black Bulls. After all the action of the recent episodes, it is nice to kick back with our favorite Magic Knight squad for a slice of life. The music throughout the episode is light and comical, a perfect reflection of the episode. We are back to the original location of the Black Bulls hideout, but there is one problem. Henry, who has transformed the base into a rampaging bull using his recombination magic, has forgotten the base looks! Yikes. But as usual, Asta comes up with an idea that benefits everyone. He figures this is the perfect opportunity to custom design the base as everyone would like. The gang has fun discussing their different design ideas. Luck pesters Magna. Noelle attempts to hide her love of Asta and jealousy of Nero, who I must say has become one of my favorite characters. She kind of reminds me of Raven from the DC Universe and the fact that she can “Animorph” into a bird at whim is sick!
While the base is being shifted into shape, Yami orders Asta to go retrieve his magical beasts that escaped during the battle. He asserts that even though Asta thinks they will come willingly to him, that after a short period in “their backyard” they most likely have returned feral. Yami tells the rest of the Bulls to join Asta in the search if they get bored. Luck, of course, enters the forest with Magna only to bait him into a fight. Luck is confident that there is no way that Magna can compete with him after his elf amp, but this is exactly why Magna feels that he can compete. He is WAY stronger after battling against elf Luck and its pretty sick to see them both power-up. Asta performs his search with Noelle and Nero since they are “newbies”, but, honestly, Asta just has that Shonen protagonist juice! It is fun watching the rest of the members break off into groups and interact as a reminder of their camaraderie. The Black Bulls are not just knights of the Clover Kingdom, they are a family.
Normally, I am not a fan of slice of life episodes. I often find the slow, with not much to offer to the overall series. But I have appreciated the last few episodes of Black Clover that took a step back to refocus on important moments and characters of the series. We even get to see how Yami acquires his pets. There was little to no action, contributing to the average score of this review. Yet, this episode had me cracking up, especially after seeing all the design requests from the Bulls. All the known members of the Black Bulls are in one place, regrouping before the next big adventure and I am BIG EXCITED to see what is to come!
Immersion Entertainment 