Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Black Clover: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie Review

Black Clover: Season 4 explores the end of the line. The series has reached the grand conclusion of the saga. The last chapter of the entire saga is set to unfold. From series producers Naomi Komatsu and Masahiro Sugasawa, Black Clover: Season 4 amps up the action and finds more ways to explore the adrenaline-infused television series.

Broadcast on TV Tokyo in Japan, Black Clover became a huge phenomenon worldwide. The series also featured animation by production company Pierrot (Hikaru no Go). The series was a hit for the Cartoon Network Toonami action-anime block – winning popularity stateside.

Distributed by Crunchyroll, the final season brings the epic tale to a close. Black Clover fans have arrived at the epic finale. The end of the battle has been reached. The final chapter of Black Clover unfolds. In the last season of the series, Asta and Yuno face new challenges.

The entire kingdom of Magic Knights faces big stakes while training to defeat the evil devils. The devils have formed a unit known as the Dark Triad and these villains cause even more harm than ever before – and the training might not be sufficient in order for all the knights to unite and defeat them. The epic war against the Spade Kingdom is upcoming and only so much can be done to prepare.

Even after six months of preparing, the stakes seem as enormously high and every life is at stake. Can the heroes win the battle? What mysteries will unravel concerning the pasts of both Asta and Yuno?

The last season brings the tale of Asta and Yuno to the forefront. These characters have long been at the front of the lines. The characters are certainly strong driving factors in the series success. These strong lead characters helped the series to find a popular voice in pop culture. The characters are strong and determined.

What would Black Clover be without Asta and the sense of comedy and determination to succeed? The characters helped to make the show a lot more rewarding and relatable for viewers and there certainly is a lot to appreciate about how the cast effectively elevates the material by providing a more well rounded production. Asta is a key to the series success.

The score by Minako Seki (Masamune Datenicle, The Silver Guardian) is energetic fun. The music is one of the best elements of the series production. Seki certainly has a good time exploring the characters and providing them with the right ingredients for success.

The action elements are highlighted by the score as well. The compositions imbue the series with a good balance of adrenaline packed fun and the character beats that audiences expect to find as well. Seki is a talented composer and certainly delivers a worthwhile effort with the original score.

The animation style is compelling and one of the focal strengths of Black Clover. Black Clover has such a distinctly gothic art style and it is something that gives the production an “emo” vibe that fits the series perfectly. The art style is well balanced and the animators highlight the background animation effectively alongside the line art.

Details in the animation are certainly well rendered and the characters are well animated throughout the action sequences. Art director Yuki Maeda (Your Lie in April) provides Black Clover with a solid framework for success. This is a noteworthy component of the production.

The action scenes in the fourth season are entertaining as well. Black Clover wouldn’t be such a mega hit without the action-packed energy it delivers in spades. Fan of fast paced action-adventure anime will be thrilled to experience more exciting adventures. The production might not be on the same level as some series but it still fits in well alongside the likes of My Hero Academia, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z in the action-anime realm.

The fourth season continues to feature chief writing by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Claymore, Beyblade). The screenwriter of the series handles the material well. The production finds a nice balance of action and character-based moments. Fudeyasu might nit be the best anime screenwriter around but they do a solid enough job to keep things entertaining and enjoyable. Fans of the series will be pleased that the series continues to balance its tone and energetic elements well.

Director Tatsuya Yoshihara (Muromi-san) brings the tale to the close. Black Clover ends with as much bombastic style as before. The series finds the ingredients necessary to provide fans with plenty of spectacle and intrigue. While it isn’t easy to bid farewell to a long running television series, the conclusion has been reached nonetheless. Serious fans of the Black Clover mythos will want to experience the end of the saga.

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

Arriving on Blu-ray from Crunchyroll, Black Clover: Season 4 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has an impressive high-definition encoding. The native high-definition visuals are far superior to standard definition upscales (as seen on some releases by the company).

The release has crisp animation. Exceptional detail. Colors look vibrant and engaging on the release. The darker colors in the series aesthetic are well reproduced. The encode is impressive and showcases the animation style with exceptional detail. The encoding is worthwhile on the whole even if the release sometimes showcases some mild banding. The banding might annoy some viewers but for the average viewer it won't detract too- much from an otherwise enjoyable viewing experience.

Black Clover: Season 4 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless, high-resolution audio is satisfying and engaging. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear on the release.

The surrounds are well utilized on the English dub option. The soundstage on the English dub is more enveloping and the score is well integrated in to the surround channels. Despite enjoying the English dub, series purists will prefer to opt for the original Japanese language audio (which has a worthwhile lossless mix as well).

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

The first print-run of Black Clover: Season 4 includes a limited-edition o-card slipcover for the release. Fans of collectible slipcovers will want to pick up the first run of the release. The limited slipcover is something that adds extra charm to the collectability of the series.

Black Clover – Voice Actor Q&A (HD, 8:58) provides fans of the dub with a behind-the-scenes featurette with the dub cast. Fans of the Black Clover voice cast will appreciate getting to learn some details from the voice cast. This is certainly a featurette that will appeal to voice actor enthusiasts.

Clover Clips Special Edition (HD, 3:09)

Textless Opening Song "Grandeur" Snow Man

Ver. 1 (HD, 1:32)

Ver. 2 (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "Beautiful" Treasure (HD, 1:32)

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

Black Clover: Season 4 brings the epic action-adventure saga to its conclusion. The series features a fun thrill ride. With exceptional animation and production merits, Black Clover is a well-designed series. A production that certainly exceeds on many levels.

The Blu-ray release from Crunchyroll features an impressive video and audio presentation. The video presentation is crisp and colorful while the series audio presentation is encoded in lossless. Remember, folks: streaming Black Clover only offers a lousy and underwhelming compressed audio experience. The Blu-ray audio presentation will appeal to audiophiles.

The release also includes a selection of exclusive bonus features, including a voice actor question and answer session that will appeal to fans of the voice cast. An interesting bonus feature to find on the release and one that may appeal to a certain segment of the fanbase. The final season has come to a close but fans will be pleased to add the complete season 4 release to their collection. Recommended.