Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4 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 4 Blu-ray Movie Review

A fun batch of episodes.

The action continues to be non-stop in Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4! The mega-hit anime series is back with a vengeance in the fourth collection of episodes. Based on the original manga written and illustrated by Yuuki Tabata, Black Clover continues to explore magic, action, and comedy (in good measure). Produced by Maiko Isogai, Naomi Komatsu, and Masahiro Sugasawa, the anime is a must see gem that never outstays its welcome.

Asta and the Black Bulls face their latest (and greatest) challenge to date when they go up against the Eye of the Midnight Sun group in Black Cover, Part 4. Who will emerge victorious in the battle of a lifetime? As Asta teams up with the black bull's sister-obsessed Gauche, who remains determined to protect his little sis no matter what (however creepily), the action intensifies and the villains now find that they have met their match. Asta fights to the finish.

One of the best elements of the fourth collection of Black Clover is the way in which the storyline finds time to explore the supporting cast of characters more so than before. Though Asta remains the lead of the series (as always!), it is refreshing to see the other members of the Black Bulls working together more. I found the dynamic led to some interesting episodes. The set also has a good time featuring Noelle Silva (Kana Yuki) as it explores her unique relationship to Asta – which continues to keep audiences guessing.

Thumbs up!

Yami Sukehiro gets more of a chance to shine in the spotlight in the set, too. The leader of the Black Bulls, Yami is a tough-cookie who doesn't give up easily. The action-packed adventure finds some interesting new ground towards the end of the set and the leader gets a nice chance to shine more. Anyone who considers Yami one of the best characters on the show will be pleased with the cool developments.

The animation remains one of the best elements of the production aesthetic. The animators keep on aiming for a Gothic-undertone sensibility (which works well for the hyper-stylized approach to the production). The character designs by Itsuko Takeda (Mirage of Blaze, The Galaxy Railways) shine radiantly while the art direction by Yuki Maeda (Twin Star Exorcists) continues to impress in spades.

Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Fighting Spirit, Bleach) remains the head screenwriter of Black Clover. The set excels when it focuses on the fan-favorite characters and on the under-rated supporting cast. The set features more side-characters in prominent roles than in some of the previous sets in the first season. However, the side-story involving Gauche and his overly-protective adoration for his younger sister was creepy – though it was supposed to be funny – and that element could have easily been tossed by the wayside in to a recycling bin (or garbage basket).

Tatsuya Yoshihara (Yatterman Night) keeps the energy upbeat and the action scenes engaging. Despite the season having an enormous quantity of episodes in its order, Yoshihara manages to keep the quality consistently high and better than some other long form anime series have been able to pull off over the years. Black Clover could have easily devolved to a point of redundancy and boring one-note episodes by now but the fact is – the series keeps working and entertaining. Black Clover is a cool series and it is one that fans will be pleased to continue to experience (as the wild ride continues). Don't miss it.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Black Clover – Season 1, Part 4 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The set includes some of the most colorful and robust episodes in the series to date – as the characters spend some free-time away from their perilous quests. As the characters spend some more time in the sun during Part 4, the animation style is not quite as dark and Gothic – though these scenes still manage to crop up from time-to-time. No matter the style, the colors are well reproduced and the slick action-scenes are well-encoded. The encoding never struggles to present the series and it doesn't suffer from any egregious issues with compression artifacts (and other such woes). Fans will be quite pleased.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4 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). The audio remains crisp, clear, and dynamic throughout the entire batch of episodes in the collection. Dialogue is never harsh sounding and is consistently easy to understand. The audio tracks aren't fatiguing. The music score is well reproduced and manages to help the series excel throughout the entire set. The sound effects are similarly well-implemented by design.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Page 33: To Help Somebody Someday Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Inside Studio J: New J City (HD, 14:12) features behind-the-scenes discussion with members of the English dub production team. The piece features Cris George (ADR Director), Dallas Reid (voice of Asta), Rob McCullum (voice of Julius), and Brandon McInnis (voice of Finral).

Black Clover: Inside the Episode –

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 28-30 (HD, 4:52)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 31-33 (HD, 5:19)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 34-36 (HD, 5:06)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 37-39 (HD, 5:44)

Page 37: The One with No Magic Audio Commentary

Clover Clips Special Edition (HD, 6:28) features extended-edition footage of the beloved mini-episodes highlighted at the end of the episodes. Featuring mini chibi versions of the characters.

Textless Opening Song: Black Rover (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song: Black to the dreamlight (HD, 1:32)

Lastly, the release includes a selection of trailers (HD, 2:54) promoting other releases available from Funimation Entertainment.

Black Clover: Season 1, Part 4 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fourth collection of Black Clover is another entertaining and action-packed set. The series has great production values – including crisp, vivid, and engaging animation. The direction is action packed while the script finds moments for comedy, drama, and action- adventure. The Blu-ray release from Funimation Entertainment features a stunning video-audio presentation and a robust selection of bonus features. Fans won't want to miss a second. Recommended.