Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 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 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

A nice conclusion to the second season of Black Clover.

The conclusion awaits: Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 is the final action-packed set in the second season of the smash-hit anime series. The saga delves into a new story-arc as the final episodes in season two unfold. Fans of the hit series will find plenty of action to chew on in the last batch of the season. Fantasy, action, comedy, and more... all rolled in to one. The series continues to be produced by the team of Maiko Isogai, Naomi Komatsu, and Masahiro Sugasawa.

The series airs on TV Tokyo in Japan (while Cartoon Network's Toonami airs it domestically). Released on home media by Funimation Entertainment, Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 offers more of the fun audiences have come to expect from the series made by the beloved animation studio Pierrot (Hikaru no Go, Polar Bear Cafe, Yu Yu Hakusho). A must-see collection.

The epic second season of Black Clover comes to its end as the story-arc finds surprising new territory to explore in its final moments! As Asta continues the good fight, the current Wizard King is faced with one of the biggest battles they have ever faced to date: an epic confrontation with Licht that will test the abilities of the Wizard King – and push magic to the max! The Magic Knights now face some of their biggest questions and obstacles to date. Who will emerge from the flames of danger victorious? Will Asta become the new Wizard King? Action, adventure, and mystery awaits as season two reaches its epic conclusion!

One of the highlights of the final set is the surprisingly effective clip-show episode that rounds out the collection. While the clip-show episodes tend to be some of the few episodes in Black Clover that can drag on a bit (and seem a little unnecessary), the final set in season two devotes the finale to reminding fans of some of the most memorable moments in the series to date – and the show-runners have done it in a fun way that doesn't feel overcooked. The episode includes a lot of new footage (in addition to the clips) and has a game-show style theme that keeps things engaging. A quiz show style smorgasbord is exactly what fans needed. A classic episode – despite the inclusion of flashbacks.

The game is on.

The animation remains solid in the final batch of episodes in the second season. The attention to detail given to the production by the team of animators is impressive and leaves a mark. The art direction is well managed by Yuki Maeda (Your Lie in April, Meitantei Conan: Excalibur no Kiseki) and rounds everything out nicely in the production. The character designs by Itsuko Takeda (Mirage Blaze) are continuing to impress (and the newer villains are well-illustrated). The story comes to life.

Featuring a memorable score composed by the great Minako Seki (The Silver Guardian, Masamune Datenicle), Black Clover always flexed its musical backbone muscles well. The score gives flexibility to the story and the animators – allowing the team to delve further into action or character-driven beats while still retaining the magic of each episode. The scores are a continual charm and the music can do no wrong.

Screenwriter Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Beyblade, Claymore) remembers what fans love about the series the most in the final batch of season two episodes – the characters – and makes them the focus of the set. This was a nice change of pace following some action-heavy stories that seemed to emphasis the big action set-pieces a bit more than the character-driven stories or drama. The set rounds out the season well and fans of the saga will be pleased with how everything comes together for a satisfying ending.

Tatsuya Yoshihara (Yatterman Night, Muromi-san) was a wise choice from the production team – as the head creative director of Black Clover, Yoshihara never manages to miss a moment to explore the topic of magic. The magic of never giving up is Asta's theme – and it's the theme viewers should hold on to as well. Even though the series has occasional missteps (such as an over-long action arc), the series remains entertaining to watch. The last set of episodes in season two provides fans some nice closure and simultaneously brings the promise of more adventures in the seasons to come. Don't miss it.

Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The last set in the second season hits a slam dunk with regards to video-encoding. This is a great presentation of the series that showcases the impeccable craftsmanship of the animators. There are few issues with the video – only some slight moments of minor banding in fleeting moments that most viewers won't be bothered by.

Color reproduction is top-notch and the dark color palette of the series is well reproduced. The series occasionally showcases a more neutral or natural palette and in these scenes the encoding manages to convey the animation accurately as well. The character designs, background art work, and stylistic flourishes are well preserved. Action scenes will grip hold and never let go: there are no problematic elements to report in regards to compression artifacts. The compression remained consistently noteworthy from the first episode to the last. Rounding out the second season of Black Clover, Part 5 might just be the best looking set yet.

Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The series is presented with two lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The audio encoding is phenomenal and there were never egregious issues to report in regards to hiss, crackle, warps, pops, clicks, and other audio- related detriments. Dialogue remained consistently crisp and clear throughout the entire presentation. Throughout the collection, the LFE was surprisingly potent, and action scenes carried weight. Experiencing the series audio in high-resolution helps to enhance the fun. This is a dynamic and noteworthy audio mix that retains the soundstage easily. Fans will be enormously pleased with the results.

Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One:

Episode 92 Audio Commentary

Disc Two:

Episode 94 Video Commentary

Black Clover: Inside the Episode: Episode 93 (HD, 5:36)

Black Clover: Inside the Episode: Episode 97 (HD, 7:36)

Black Clover: Inside the Episode: Episode 99 (HD, 4:55)

Black Clover: Inside the Episode: Episode 102 (HD, 6:31)

Episode 98 Audio Commentary

Clover Clips: Special Edition (HD, 3:22)

Textless Opening Song "sky & blue" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "against all gods" (HD, 1:32)

Black Clover: Season 2, Part 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yuki Tabata, Black Clover is a fun action-packed series that anime fans will appreciate returning to. The animation remains stellar and the storytelling is fun. The series has plenty of charm. The last batch of episodes in season two offers some of the best of the season. The Blu-ray release features a strong video-audio presentation and the set is rounded out with a nice collection of extras. Worth a look. Recommended.