Every Dark Triad member has had ample time to flex and pop off in Black Clover, so I suppose it's a good time to talk about this introductory Spade Arc.

Long-ass thread ahead with attempts at facts and logic. Might have light slander

We've had very strong expectations set since before the time skip both in narrative weight and meatheady powerscaling, so naturally, it's time we tear the series apart or praise the fuck out of whatever weak or strong points the arc currently has.

Zeno's up first. Cold as fuck. Drip on point. No muss, no fuss.

Hate it or love it, it's the perfect introduction to the rest of the series.

While I'll admit Dante is currently my fave DT member, Zeno can honestly easily overtake him at any future point depending on how Tabata uses him.

He's everything I love about stone-cold antagonists. All professionalism, just in and out in the job.

The added spotlight for Letoile and Klaus well well executed in this fight. Perfectly compressed in pace and action.

And now onto the fallen star of the fight, Yuno Grinberryal.

I like this development, not gonna lie. It holds a lot of potential and adds another dimension to Yuno's character. I'm hoping it shifts his tone as a character beyond just racing alongside Asta to the top.

... Feral Yuno hits fr

... Woops.

Get fucked, prodigy. Homie got off-screened

First being the main Elven Hosts, and now being reduced to half in members. Yeesh. Golden Dawn 0-2.

Black Clover's stakes are there. Definitely.

It would obviously be much better if those stakes would extend more to the main cast than just side-characters, or civilians.

Zeno's cut of the arc is probably my favorite so far, as I feel like it has the least amount of flaws in execution and writing.

Hoping to see Yuno step-up in character, and develop a more proactive personality as not only Asta's rival, but in terms of his unique royalty.

Next up would be the King of Malice, Dante.

While I do believe Zeno's fight was the most consistent in quality, I would actually consider Dante's fight to be the series' most recent peak since the early Elf Arc, though it does carries deeper flaws. Lemme explain.

Dante in my opinion has the most complete character out of the triad right now.

His philosophy? Obviously fucked up, but interesting. Something unlike Zeno's cold professionalism or Vanica's indiscriminate bloodlust.

His magic? Fucking R A W

Despite this, it *is* a little easy to write him of as just a "Haha, I'm Evil " villain. Especially this early on, when we only have his main philosophy, but not exactly how he adopted it.

There's obviously more to explore, we just have to wait and see.

Earlier I mentioned that I considered this fight to be the series' most recent "peak". A lot of that has to do with Asta's involvement in the fight.

It's a very strong show of BC's most well done characteristic: Fast-paced, well presented action.

That's MY Wizard King

I'll just let these panels explain why I fucking love this fight enough to consider it the recent peak.

Rawness and Swag.

Kino.

Beneath the meathead action going on, there are two major narrative revaluations of this fight.

First being the introduction of direct Devil to Host communication. Something that the Anti-Magic Devil and Asta have yet to properly do.

... This was cold as hell though

The 2nd Narrative revelation from this fight was the reason why Arcane Stage mages were needed, and what they were meant to accomplish.

Zeno's fight only reveals that Spade had a need for Arcanes, and nothing more in regards to the Triad's plans.

Excellent Worldbuilding and lore involved, but it does make me want a deeper reason for Devils to invade the world other than just "more Devils means more malice~ ".

Perhaps each Triad member has something to gain, with this being Dante's cut alone.

Onto what many people (including me) consider this fight's weakest point.

O o f. Homie just got Tabata'd.

I actually liked Gray's backstory. Tabata's use of fairy tales is neat.

What I don't like is that Tabata, even after much time writing the series, relies way too much on cheaping out on either death or major injuries.

(Cough Chapter 214 Wheeze)

(Friendly note to all Black Clover readers.

We still have no idea what Gray actually *did* to Gauche. Was it healing... Or... S o m e t h i n g???

We dunno.)

The Gauche bait-and-switch is something I'm not sure I downright dislike, or just don't mind mostly because I'm not that attached to him.

I can obviously see why it pissed so many people off though lmao

... YAMI F U C K I N G SUKIHEROOOOOOOOOO

YAAAAAAAAMMMIIIIIII-

TOP TIER RAWNESS AND SWAG GOAT KINO FIRE DRIP JUICE GOD-

... Yes. Another reason as to why despite Gauche getting Tabata'd, I still praise this fight as much as I do.

Tbh Black Clover instantly gets more fire whenever Yami shows up.

Just GOAT thingz .

This scene is something that serves as both a "revelation", and foreshadowing.

I'll bring this up again when Vanica shows up.

To conclude my thoughts on Dante's cut of the arc

He was GOATED the moment he did this .

Can't wait to see how his resumed fight with Yami wraps up.

Onto the last leg of this thread. Vanica's fight.

The gang might be on my ass for this, but I'll be very frank.

To me, Dante and Zeno are currently better characters than Vanica.

Vanica isn't necessarily a poor villain, in fact, her fight actually has the most pushes in the narrative in this Spade arc.

She feels too much like the "psycho girl villain" to me, which is why I prefer the two other Triad members.

(This trope was also already used primarily with Sally, which is why I wanted to see Vanica have more nuances in character. Especially with her being a more Major villain.)

I consider Vanica's fight the weakest one out of the three because I consider her character to be weaker than the other Triad members, but also because

Of the side fights.

The fights themselves were fun, and of course seeing more of the cast us is a good thing.

These fights would be better if Vanica's grunts weren't as generic as they were. You win some, you lose some.

.... LEOPOLD F U C K I N G VERMILLLIIIOOONNNN

Vanica's less fleshed out character doesn't stop her fight from being absolute gas though.

Even if we've seen Blood Magic in a different form through the Witch Queen, it's still a ridiculously cool power.

Onto the importances in the narrative.

Zeno gave us barely anything except taking Arcanes. Dante brought more to the plate with Lucifero and the Devil insurgence.

Vanica is a different story.

Tabata's Black Clover is massive in terms of its universe. He took full advantage of Vanica's fight to further set-up how dangerous After-World is, how potent Megicula's curses are, the Devil Hosts' Dual-Elements

And most importantly: Devils sharing control over a host's body.

Noelle is a fantastic female lead.

Never shies away from the action, fights with all her might.

I have no complaints at all with where Tabata is bringing her character in the future.

What could go wron-

Ah. Shit.

Spirits being vulnerable to Devil abilities is also proven in this fight.

Megicula is more interesting to me as a character than Vanica is, though the dynamic they have is also nice to see.

The past is revisited, and the future is set.

Acier Silva being a prominent figure in the series is something I deeply enjoy exploring, and Lolopechika joins the list of kidnapped victims of Clover's allies.

F to the Vanica Simps though. I won't miss yall

Dante's fight has yet to conclude, though it's likely that Yami will succeed on his own.

As mentioned before, Dante's "flesh" magic is used as a brief foreshadowing to Devil hosts possessing both a natural ability, and their respective Devil's.

To conclude this thread

... Yeah, sure. You're allowed to dislike the arc.

But without a doubt, Black Clover is currently at its most interesting place after the strong, but polarizing Elf Arc.

The most exciting thing I'm anticipating?

This fucking bastard

Yuno's Spade background. Asta's Childhood. Acier Silva. The Devil Insurgence. The new Black Bulls figure. The return of most of the allied cast, and even the Diamond Kingdom's revenge.

With so much to explore, the series isn't going anywhere. That's a good thing.

To conclude this thread

The Spade Introductory Arc is a strong return to form for Black Clover.

If (or when?) Tabata starts to either commit to deaths or not use them as feints at all, and take his time to flesh out the cast

This saga will surpass the Elf Saga.