Even though Black Clover is filled with all sorts of cliché moments that you would associate with a typical shonen anime, it still is one of the most popular shows. Also, it is an ongoing title so this article featuring all the Black Clover arcs will definitely be updated in the future!
Black Clover is written and illustrated by Yuuki Tabata and it follows the story of Asta, a young and energetic boy, who aspires to become the Magic Emperor when he grows up. But the thing is, Asta can’t use magic at all! There’s also Yuno, his childhood friend, who also has the same dream and unlike Asta, he is blessed with immense magic power.
The two work towards their goals in their own way, Yuno hones his magic prowess and Asta undergoes grueling physical training in the hopes that it will awaken his magic powers.
The day arrives when youngsters are bestowed with a grimoire of their own and Yuno, being blessed with great magical powers, receives a grimoire with a 4-leaf clover. It’s a pretty rare grimoire that only the most talented mages receive and it is said that the 4th leaf in the clover brings good luck!
While Yuno receives a 4-leaf grimoire, Asta receives a black grimoire with a 5-leaf clover; and it is said that within the 5th leaf resides a “demon.” This grimoire has “anti-magic” powers and it allows Asta to summon swords that can cut through any and all magic.
Spoiler Warning: The article contains minor spoilers. Only minor spoilers, I won’t spoil anything major, I promise!
Black Clover Story Arcs So Far:
At a glance, the story arcs in Black Clover are as follow:
- Magic Knights Entrance Arc
- Dungeon Exploration Arc
- Royal Capital Assault Arc
- Eye of the Midnight Sun Encounter Arc
- Seabed Temple Arc
- Witches’ Forest Arc
- Royal Knights Arc
- Elf Reincarnation Arc
- Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc
- Spade Kingdom Raid Arc
Black Clover Arcs In Detail
Magic Knights Entrance Arc
- Chapters 1-10 (Volumes 1-2)
- Episodes 1-13
This is the very first arc in the story, and so it might be a bit of a task to get into it. And I will be really frank, you will have to get used to the first few episodes because the main character is too damn loud!
We see Asta and Yuno growing up in an orphanage, them receiving their grimoires and then giving the entrance exams to become Magic Knights. Yuno gets accepted in the “Golden Dawn” squad which happens to be the best magic squads of all, while Asta gets into the “Black Bulls” squad which happens to be the lowest-ranked squad.
Dungeon Exploration Arc
- Chapters 11-21 (Volumes 2-3)
- Episodes 14-19
A new dungeon has emerged at the border of the Clover Kingdom and the Diamond Kingdom. Asta along with Noelle and Luck are assigned to go explore the dungeon and secure its treasures. Meanwhile, Yuno along with his teammates, Klaus and Mimosa, is on the same mission.
Since the dungeon appeared on the border of the Clover and Diamond Kingdom, there are several mages from the Diamond Kingdom as well in the dungeon.
As the Magic Knights from both the kingdoms are trying to conquer the dungeon and lay claim to the dungeon’s treasures, things are bound to get heated as the two groups collide.
This arc features the first serious life-or-death battle faced by both Asta and Yuno, and also features them getting even stronger and achieving new powers and skillsets.
Royal Capital Assault Arc
- Chapters 22-37 (Volumes 3-5)
- Episodes 20-27
After completing their missions, Asta and Noelle head to the Royal Capital to give their report where they meet Yuno and his group. Asta and Yuno also get to meet the Magic Emperor himself who takes a keen interest in each of their grimoires.
This is the arc where we meet a ton of other characters as there is an awarding ceremony where the Magic Emperor promotes the Magic Knights based on their achievements. But this ceremony takes a turn for the worse as the mages of noble birth aren’t really happy with Asta’s presence among them since he is just a commoner who can’t use any magic.
While the mages are confronting each other, there’s another mage at the outskirts of the capital who’s about to unleash hell by raising an army of the dead and sending them on a rampage.
Eye of the Midnight Sun Encounter Arc
- Chapters 38-56 (Volumes 5-7)
- Episodes 28-39
One of the major antagonist of the show makes an appearance in this story arc, resulting in one of the greatest duels in the show, making it one of the best Black Clover arcs to watch!
The children from Nairn village are being kidnapped by the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and it falls upon Asta and Gauche to go to their rescue.
While Asta and Gauche are able to gain an upper hand in their battle against the kidnappers, the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, Licht appears and he is too strong for the both of them. Luckily for them, their captain arrives just in time to save them and a battle ensues between Licht and Yami, a light magic user vs a dark magic user!
Seabed Temple Arc
- Chapters 57-73 (Volumes 7-9)
- Episodes 40-50
The Eye of the Midnight Sun is after several magic stones for their ultimate plan, and so the Magic Emperor assigns the Black Bulls squad a special mission. They are to head to the Seabed Temple and retrieve the magic stone there before it falls in the wrong hands.
It, however, isn’t easy to retrieve the stone because the head priest of the temple wants the magic knights to play a game with his warriors for the stone.
While the games are underway, an unexpected guest arrives. Vetto, one of the strongest mages in the Eye of the Midnight Sun, crashes the game and challenges the Black Bulls members as well as the warriors of the temple while he orders his underlings to go look for the stone.
The knights of the Black Bulls squad team up to defeat this foe whose mana far surpasses even their squad’s captain!
Witches’ Forest Arc
- Chapters 74-101 (Volumes 9-12)
- Episodes 51-65
After an intense battle with Vetto at the Seabed Temple, Asta is left with a bruised arm that can’t be healed even with the strongest healing magic. Hearing this, the squad members go off to find a cure.
Vanessa decides to head to the Witches’ Forest to ask the the Queen Witch’s help in curing Asta’s arm. But things don’t go as planned as the Queen has no intention of helping her.
The Queen isn’t exactly a good person and she only does things that ultimately benefit her. So, when she senses that there aren’t just Black Bull members in her forest, but also the mages from Diamond Kingdom, she decides to help Asta so that he and his teammates can fight off the invaders from the other kingdom.
Royal Knights Arc
- Chapters 102-146 (Volumes 12-16)
- Episodes 66-93
The tournament arc that’s become a staple in every shonen anime finally arrives in Black Clover as well because here we see the Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom competing against each other to become a part of the Royal Knights!
The Magic Emperor and the King of the Clover Kingdom has decided to prepare a Royal Knights squad, consisting of the strongest mages in their kingdom. And so a tournament is held to decide who will join the squad.
This is one of the longest and action-packed Black Clover arcs, and also one of my favorites because the badass Mereoleona Vermillion makes her appearance as the Captain of the Royal Knights!
Elf Reincarnation Arc
- Chapters 147-228 (Volumes 16-23)
- Episodes 94-157
This arc is the longest arc so far and it brings the whole Eye of the Midnight Sun saga to an epic conclusion! It also features the Magic Emperor showing off just why he is the Magic Emperor of the Clover Kingdom.
The Royal Knights squad is formed and they begin their invasion on the base of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Many battles begin; these battles are intense as the mages from both sides are some of the strongest, but things don’t exactly go as the Royal Knights predicted.
The Eye of the Midnight Sun uses all the magic stones they have collected to cast a spell that leads to the reincarnation of the Elf Tribe. And what’s worse is that most of the Elves get reincarnated within the bodies of several of the members of the Royal Knights squad.
Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc
- Chapters 229-260 (Volumes 24-26)
- Episodes 158-167
Following the epic conclusion of the saga featuring the Elves, the story now moves on to the devils and on the Heart Kingdom and the Spade Kingdom.
The mages from the Clover Kingdom, including Asta and most of his squad members, head over to the Heart Kingdom following the Clover-Heart alliance. The mages undergo grueling training there in order to get strong enough to defeat the devil-ruled Spade Kingdom and its forces.
While the mages plan to invade the Spade Kingdom, the members of the Dark Triad from the Spade kingdom decides to attack several places at once. Dante attacks the Black Bulls’ base, Vanica attacks the Heart Kingdom and Zenon attacks the Golden Dawn’s base.
Spade Kingdom Raid Arc
- Chapters 261-ongoing (Volumes 26, 27, 28, 29 and more)
- Episodes 167-170
Following the abduction of the captains and the princess by the Dark Triad members, the Clover and Heart Kingdom organizes their forces to mount an attack.
The Vice-Captain of the Black Bulls squad makes an appearance and he intends to help Asta become strong by bringing the devil in his grimoire under his control.
This is just a couple of episodes because the anime is now on a break. The Spade Kingdom Arc will continue as soon as the anime goes on air again.
Where to Watch Black Clover Anime?
Currently, you can watch Black Clover on a couple of streaming platforms. These streaming platforms also give you the chance to choose between watching the dubbed version or the Japanese version but with subtitles. Here are the platforms where you can watch the show:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Hulu (Subbed & Dubbed)
- Crunchyroll ( Subbed)
- Funimation (Subbed & Dubbed)
Black Clover Filler Episodes:
There aren’t exactly that many filler episodes in Black Clover like you’d think. But there are a couple of anime-canon episodes, and a couple of mixed episodes containing both canon and filler content.
Here’s a breakdown of the episodes:
Canon Episodes:
1, 4-7, 10-12, 14-28, 31-54, 57-65, 67, 70-81, 83-101, 103-122, 126-129, 158-170
Filler Episodes:
29, 66, 68, 82, 123-125, 131, 134-135, 142-148
Mixed Canon/Filler Episodes:
2, 8-9, 30, 69, 102
Anime Canon Episodes:
3, 13, 55-56, 130, 132-133, 136-141, 149-157
While you can completely ignore the “filler” episodes listed above, you absolutely must watch the “canon” and the “anime canon” episodes.
You can also watch the “mixed” episodes, if you want. I would recommend you do so because you don’t want to miss out on some foreshadowing moments or important plot points by skipping those episodes.
Conclusion
This brings us to the conclusion of this post featuring all the Black Clover arcs so far. The anime series is on a break right now because it caught up to the latest chapters of the manga.
Once there are enough chapters to cover, I am sure that the anime will resume and we will see our favorite characters back in action.
You must feel like the show shouldn’t have gone on a break, but this is a good thing because now there won’t be any filler episodes in the show. The episodes, when they start airing, will be able continue right from where it left off.
Till then, let’s rewatch the show or start reading the manga if you can’t wait to see what happens next. It’s completely up to you.
So, let me know what you are going to do, read the manga or wait for the anime. Also, make sure to share your feedback about this article in the comments section below!
Also Read: One Piece Story Arcs
