Manga Review: Black Clover Vol 1

Hey all, Dani here.

Today for me is a day of relaxation before I head back to work. We spent the last two days at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, and that is a lot of fun, but by the end of it, I end up pretty tired as well. I can also say that it was a pretty productive weekend for reading as well, but I’ll cover that in my What I’m Reading post on Wednesday. Anyway, let’s get to the topic on hand, which is manga.

On this day I am going to be talking about the first volume for the Black Clover series, and this is a manga that I started buying after we watched the first couple episodes of the anime. Then, because I enjoyed what I read in the first volume, I have bought volumes two and three. Currently there are only around a dozen volumes out for me here in the U.S., and I imagine that catching up on the series shouldn’t take me that long.

Summary

Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem-he can’t use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can’t use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing’s for sure-Asta will never give up!

Young Asta was born with no magic ability in a world where magic is everything. In order to prove his strength and keep a promise with his friend, Asta dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the land, the Wizard King!

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

So this volume lends the story line for I think the first 8 or 9 episodes of the anime, which honestly is pretty impressive. There is so much that happens in this one, between establishing the world the story takes place in, to starting the story and development for several characters, and even leaving you to wonder where the story will go from here…because it is just getting started.

And the great thing with reading instead of watching is that I don’t have to listen to Asta’s speaking voice, which is really more of a yelling/screeching voice. Though I can admit to still hearing his voice in my head because of watching the show.

I am just so interested in the story of Asta and Yuno, and it is clear that we are mostly focusing on Asta, though I hope to learn more about Yuno’s training and such as well.

The magic system of this world is a pretty fascinating one, especially when we follow a character who has no magic, and is then selected to be the owner of the black clover grimoire, which grants him the power of anti-magic. What is really cool about Asta is that because his magical ability didn’t show up, he spent so much time physically training his body. Now that is working out in his favor because of the grimoire allowing him to wield this massive sword (which you can see on the cover of this volume).

I can already tell that I am going to be devouring this series as quickly as I can manage it, though buying anticipated release novels is a slightly higher priority to me than buying manga and/or graphic novels. Still, I have a number of volumes to look forward to reading before I am caught up and have to wait for releases. I’m excited to see where Asta’s journey will progress. I think the character development for this series has the potential to be amazing.

Where to Buy

You can pick up this volume for yourself from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.