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

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

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

Season 2 is off to an action-packed start.

Black Clover: Season 2, Part 1 continues the fun of the first-season of the breakout anime hit. A action-packed anime series which blends adventure and fantasy elements, the series airs on TV Tokyo in Japan, and on the Cartoon Network Toonami action-anime block in North America. The series is licensed by Funimation Entertainment. Produced by Maiko Isogai, Naomi Komatsu, and Masahiro Sugasawa, Black Clover comes from acclaimed animation studio Pierrot (Hikaru no Go, Polar Bear Cafe, Yu Yu Hakusho). Don't miss an episode.

After the intense turn of events in the first season of Black Clover, Season 2 picks up where the first season left off. Asta – the hero of the story – is a part of a magic guild despite not having any magic powers himself. In Asta's own words his magic is “never giving up” and he puts up a good fight for becoming the Wizard King. Following an intense battle of epic proportions, Asta is weakened and injured.

Even Asta's strength is put to the test as his arms are now broken. Despite his serious injuries, Asta is determined to find a cure to his latest obstacle – as no magic appears to be strong enough to cure the broken arms. Heading out to a dangerous Witch Forrest, Asta seeks a cure to bring his strength back and heal his arms. Joined by his friends in the guild – can a cure be found – and before its too late to heal?

Animation remains one of the finer points of the second season. As the season gets underway, the character designs by Itsuko Takeda (Mirage Blaze, Boys Be...) remain creative while the crisp art direction by Yuki Maeda (Your Lie in April, Meitantei Conan: Excalibur no Kiseki) delivers viewers fantastic imagery. The animators continue to showcase the world of magic in a compelling, unique, and entertaining way.

New danger. More action.

One of the elements that stood out about the batch of episodes in this set was the comedic under-tones and the new dynamics at play. The series sometimes takes itself extremely seriously – and yet it can also have some fun when it needs to. The episodes in the first collection are some of the more funny, comedic, and charming episodes to be seen on the series.

This comedic element was a nice element of the set and it was something that made the viewing experience all the more memorable. There are some new characters – including a character who frequently shows up without clothes on – and jokes ensue. While a bit silly in comparison to some of the non-stop action beats of the series, the diversion was a nice change of pace for Black Clover.

The storytelling is one of the reasons Black Clover remains so effective after as many episodes as it has seen to date. The first set of season two features a nice emphasis on characterizations and this helps the set excel as something worthwhile. The writing is solid and the screenplays by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Beyblade, Claymore) manage to offer a nice balance of tonalities. The episodes are all the more entertaining because of this stylistic approach.

The series remains as well directed as always and there is a sense that the production is well managed. The filmmakers involved in the series production seem confident in their abilities and the beginning segment of Season 2 is no slouch. There is a good stylistic balance at play here and it makes this a entertaining collection. While the set might have more comedic moments than some Black Clover collections, the filmmakers also remember to balance the series out – with action and drama that enhances the experience. The end results are in the pudding: a fun, fantastic, and satisfactory set. Head director Tatsuya Yoshihara (Yatterman Night, Muromi-san) proves once again that the Black Clover universe is a fun magical realm to hang out in.

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

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Black Clover: Season 2, Part 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series continues to look phenomenal in high-definition and the second season is off to a great start with this first collection. The animation looks impressive throughout the batch of episodes and the encoding manages to showcase the efforts of the animators well. Color reproduction is spot on and the somewhat Gothic undertones of the production are well showcased here. The fight scenes are engaging without ever showing issues with compression artifacts. A well-rounded encode that only has some minor hiccups with banding. Fans will be pleased.

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

The release is presented with two lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). Either option will provide fans with a quality presentation. Dialogue remains clear, clean, and easy to understand. The music sounds quite impressive: both the theme-songs and the original score. The sound effects are also well implemented into the mix. The action scenes sound robust and engaging with regards to sound mixing.

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

Disc One:

Page 56 Audio Commentary

Disc Two:

Black Clover: Fan Questions Answered by Cris and Dallas (HD, 11:21) features a variety of questions from die-hard fans. Answers are given by ADR director Cris George and Dallas Reid (voice of Asta in the English dub).

Black Clover Inside the Episode -

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 52-54 (HD, 7:25)

Black Clover Highlights: Episodes 55-57 (HD, 6:31)

Black Clover Inside the Episode: 61 (HD, 4:13)

Page 62 Audio Commentary

Clover Clips: Special Edition (HD, 2:52)

Textless Opening Song "Gamushara" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "Tenjo Tenge" (HD, 1:32)

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

Black Clover remains an entertaining series in the first collection of Season 2 episodes. The saga is full of magic, whimsy, and action- packed fun. The animation is exquisite and compelling. This is a fun and charming series that fans of the franchise will want to continue to enjoy in watching. The Blu-ray set is also impressive (with great video/audio and a nice selection of supplemental features). Recommended.