Black Clover Sword of the Wizard King has been out for several days now, and all manner of opinions have sprung up about it. The film runs for nearly two hours and is considered an action-packed slugfest between The Clover Kingdom and the former four Wizard Kings.
Opinions have been mixed because, on the one hand, it’s a welcome return for Black Clover fans the world over who were saddened after the anime ended in 2021 despite the ongoing manga. On the other hand, it’s also been regarded as a spectacularly animated but unremarkable film even for shonen anime standards.
Regardless, this review of Black Clover Sword of the Wizard King will go into the pros, the cons, and everything else in between of the first Black Clover movie.
Disclaimer: The following article is subjective and contains Black Clover spoilers from the anime and manga, and likewise from the movie.
Black Clover Sword of the Wizard King review: A great action fest, but a flawed movie
Brief story synopsis
When four ancient wizard kings suddenly emerge alive and well, wielding an old and powerful magic-draining Imperial Sword, it’s up to Asta and the Black Bulls to save the Clover Kingdom. With the Wizard King’s powers being far too much for a single opponent, everyone is forced to team up in order to handle them.
The movie deals with fighting the former Kings, and the entire Clover Kingdom at risk of being wiped out. Long story short, the Clover Kingdom’s fate rests in the hands of the Black Bulls and Asta who were all previously considered the absolute worst the kingdom had to offer.
It can be rather funny that the fate of a kingdom rests on the shoulders of a few that would otherwise be considered screw-ups, kind of akin to the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a race against time for the Black Bulls, as the Wizard Kings have the Imperial Sword that, when unleashed, will spell calamity for their kingdom.
Animation
The movie has incredibly fluid animation in the fight scenes and never drops even during conversations between characters. It’s easy to see who’s doing what, the fight scenes proceed with no dip in quality, and things move with purpose and fluidity that would normally be in a MAPPA or Ufotable production.
Studio Pierrot definitely brought their A game, having a pedigree for animation quality that nearly rivals the aforementioned productions of the studios mentioned prior. The animation never stops being gorgeous, even when looking upon moments like Asta’s small and quiet fist bump to Yuno in solidarity with his worry.
Highlights include Noelle’s super ice form battling the 20th Wizard’s King’s ice giant and the brawl between the 11th Wizard King and Mereleona, and even the beginning fight where Conrad has sealed away. The final fight especially, where Asta needs to destroy a meteor, is also worth mentioning for how beautiful it looks.
Plot
The plot is fairly straightforward: Stopping the Wizard Kings from destroying the kingdom.
It’s a serviceable movie plot but feels like it could’ve been built up or expanded upon in the manga or anime beforehand. Not to mention, things come out of nowhere without much buildup, like Conrad’s initial attack on the Triumph arena.
Although the various Wizard Kings are formidable characters, each with own fighting style, vibe, and attitude, there’s not a lot to say about their own motives. Everyone is in lockstep with Conrad’s idea of destroying the kingdom.
While the contrast between Conrad and Asta is amazingly done, with the story casting doubt on the “never give up”attitude, the problem comes in when Conrad’s motivation is shoved into the end of the movie. This makes one wish these events happen in the manga or anime somehow, rather than being restricted to the movie.
Direction and voice action
The direction of the characters and voice acting are well done. People show up when needed and the tension is escalated with the stakes being higher than just saving a person or a city. There are quiet moments here and there, like when Asta was out of it and needed healing, and fist-bumping Yuno in solidarity when he worried his captain.
The voice acting is great as well, with Black Clover’s main cast returning to their roles. The English Dub cast in particular includes Chris Niosi (Kawaki), Mara Junot (Sindel), Ben Diskin (Joesph Joestar), and Steven Blum (Orochimaru). The Japanese cast features performances from Fumiya Takahashi (Aruto Hiden) and Marie Iitoyo (Yayoi/Kyoryu Violet)
The movie flows rather well thanks to the direction, and everyone’s lines are well delivered with the sense of gravitas that a crisis like this deserves. Of note is Henry Legolant’s almost dreamlike and ecstatic voice, sounding like he’s holding a note or speaking in slow motion.
Manga/anime dichotomy
This is where things take a downturn for the movie overall. The movie is a neat idea in concept: four different Wizard Kings brought back from the dead to remake and destroy the kingdom because they felt it was too corrupt. In execution, while the Wizard Kings certainly make an impact, they all feel like they should’ve been fleshed out more considering their supposed importance in the movie.
This is a problem when it comes to Black Clover overall: things usually come down to just Asta vs. the big bad guy, and the movie devolves into a long fight between everyone and the Wizard Kings. While it is good that Noelle, Mereleona, and Yuno get to stop their opponents, here too, things ultimately boil down to Asta having to fight the final boss.
Another flaw of Black Clover is that it speeds through a lot of things: plot, character development, etc. to get to the fight scenes. This extends to the movie, which mostly consists of fight scenes from beginning to end. While that may be expected in Shonen anime movies, the manga at least tries to set things up beforehand and even makes Asta take a backseat for Yuno for a time.
Canon value
There are great moments and callbacks to Black Clover canon in the movie, from the first Wizard King’s sacrifice and fight to Liebe letting Asta use more of his devil power and Nacht contributing his own magic to the Imperial sword when Asta is using it. The Imperial Sword and Wizard Kings all feel like good additions to Black Clover’s overall story.
This does bring up a question of whether the movie itself is canon or not, and what value it would add if consolidated into the canon. There are good things here, especially considering the Wizard Kings’ history that was probably whitewashed, with the Kings all having gone rogue at one point.
The decade flashback of Julius sealing Conrad seems like it may have warranted a mention sometime during the series’ tenure, for example. As of now, the movie’s characters have been acknowledged as being canon by the mangaka, but the movie itself is a stand-alone. A bit of a wasted opportunity, given how much potential there is for further storytelling.
In summary, while a fun movie and very much a treat for the eyes, Black Clover Sword of the Wizard King feels like it shares more than a few of the series’ flaws. Namely, it’s mostly action over anything else and mostly Asta over anyone else.
Similar contemporary shonen like Demon Slayer, or My Hero Academia, or even Chainsaw Man don’t quite have that same vibe of the main protagonist needing to be involved in everything or that they’re action driven without anything else. The film is still worth a watch for Black Clover fans and fans of shonen anime in general. Not the deepest, but a lot of fun.
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