Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Another must-see collection of episodes.

One of the most entertaining anime series on television, Black Clover returns for more high-octane adventure and action-packed glory in Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2. The anime adaptation is based upon the acclaimed manga written and illustrated by Yuuki Tabata. Produced by Maiko Isogai, Naomi Komatsu, and Masahiro Sugasawa, Black Clover has plenty to offer anime fans across the globe – and it delivers upon its promises in spades.

The second set picks up where the first collection left off. Asta (Gakuto Kajiwara) continues to fight to achieve his dream of becoming The Wizard King (who rules over all of the magic guilds and the vast number of magicians within them). Asta meets new friends and allies in his team while finding new dangers along the way – as he embarks on a new adventure involving the exploration of a magical dungeon. The danger picks up steam right off the bat as an evil mage enters the equation – seeking the treasure of the dungeon for his own nefarious means. Can Asta and his friends defeat the mage and win points for their clan along the way?

The second set explores the Black Bull team more than the first and brings the storyline in to focus more completely. As Asta has managed to join the Black Bulls (despite having no magical abilities at all), the team faces new challenges. Led by Yami Sukehiro, the Black Bulls are considered to be the “dark horse” of all the magic guilds – and the team currently has a points deficit of over 100 points! Despite their status as the worst group, the members of the clan never give up – making Asta a great match for the wild bunch.

"My magic? Never giving up!"

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 has fun expanding upon the supporting cast of characters as well. Noelle Silva (Kana Yuki), one of the girls within the Black Bulls, has an expanded part and begins to become one of the central leading characters of Black Clover. Another interesting aspect to the batch of episodes is the development of the enemy/frenemy dynamic with the “a-ha!” character, Finral.

The animation remains one of the strongest components of the production. The art work is fluid and highly stylized while retaining a unique sensibility that works wonders for the series. Under the art direction of Yuki Maeda (Twin Star Exorcists), Black Clover continues to find a perfect style. The collection of episodes showcase the talents of the animation team quite well.

There are many other areas in which the series excels as well. The character designs by Itsuko Takeda (Mirage of Blaze, The Galaxy Railways) are fantastic. The original music by Minako Seki (Kingdom, The Silver Guardian) adds a sense of gravitas to each episode. The entire production features a voice that carries things forward (in style).

Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara (Yatterman Night, Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls), Black Clover remains an enormously entertaining anime in its second set – and no doubt a huge part of this is due to the action-packed style of Yoshihara. The action scenes are intense and exciting. And with the strong writing of Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Fighting Spirit, Bleach), Black Clover continues to explore a world of magic in a fresh and exciting way. Don't miss an episode – and check it out.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Black Clover – Season 1, Part 2 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. Continuing to impress, the second set of episodes showcases the imaginative animation style with a crisp level of clarity and detail that is much-improved by the high-definition visuals.

The animation style is creative and engaging – and uses colors in a unique way in order to set the tone of the dark sci-fi fantasy. The background animation is well realized and the encoding is well-suited to the action scenes as well. The set never seems to struggle with reproducing the elaborate sequences – other than minor banding in a few brief scenes. Funimation has knocked it out of the park with another top-notch video presentation.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes two lossless audio options: Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 surround sound and Dolby TrueHD Japanese 2.0 (with English subtitles). Either option will provide viewers with an immersive listening experience that is greatly enhanced by the lossless sound reproduction. The dynamics of the audio are exciting and the sound effects are well integrated in to the presentation. Dialogue remains consistently crisp, clear, and easy to understand throughout the entire batch of episodes. This is an impressive effort by Fuinmation.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Page 12: The Wizard King Saw Audio Commentary

Page 15: The Diamond Mage Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Black Clover: Inside the NEW Studio J (HD, 17:42) is an inside-look at the production with members of the English dub crew. The discussion includes Cris George (ADR Director), Aaron Roberts (voice of Klaus), Bryn Apprill (voice of Mimosa), and Josh Grelle (voice of William Vangeance).

Black Clover: Inside the Episode –

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 10-12 (HD, 3:09)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 13-15 (HD, 3:09)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 16-18 (HD, 2:58)

Clover Clips Special Edition (HD, 6:37) presents some super-sized versions of the min-sized episodes featured at the end of the episodes (chibi style).

Textless Opening Song: Paint it Black Version 1 (HD, 1:32)

Textless Opening Song: Paint it Black Version 2 (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song: Amazing Dreams (HD, 1:32)

Lastly, the release includes a selection of trailers (HD, 8:14) promoting other releases available from Funimation Entertainment.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The second part of Black Clover remains a blast of high-octane energy from start to finish. There is something remarkably engaging about the series and its fun cast of characters. The writing is strong (and the direction is fast-paced – never boring). The Blu-ray release from Funimation features a strong video-audio presentation and a nice selection of extras. Any anime fan looking for an entertaining thrill ride should consider checking out Black Clover. Recommended.