So episode 12 is centered on Yuno's party, who must escort the noble asshole Yuno defeated in the exam and they pay a visit to Hage for some reason. They're also attacked by a few thugs on the way and… absolutely nothing of interest happens.
So yeah, we're having a filler arc before the first cour is even finished. I guess the episode serves to introduce Klaus and Mimosa a bit more smoothly, if anything?
Episode 13: second part of that filler mini-arc. It didn't really accomplish much, but it did give a tad more personality to Yuno, made Klaus more sympathetic and showed a bit more of Mimosa before she becomes an Asta fangirl. So it wasn't entirely wasted I guess. Not sure it needed two entire episodes though.
As always the shonen moments fall flat. I felt nothing for Imouto Lover saying he cares cause of how inorganic it is & the other two's declaration cause they have been both out of focus & used nothing more than gags most of the time. I pity the people who are not young children who genuinely like this crap.
Can we get back to the base raid?
edited 29th Dec '17 5:51:26 PM by slimcoder
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."Yeah, I can't really care much for the invasion given it involves the two most blatant bit characters and the worst character in the series.
Unrelated, but something I will give to Black Clover is I like how while Asta wouldn't have been able to become a Magic Knight or Wizard King without his swords, I think his physical training has actually come in handy in believable ways.
It makes his efforts not seem pointless while still not going the completely terrible route of "Skill and training trumps world destroying power!" or some such nonsense.
Just popping in to say that I made a thread for the anime
so that anyone else who is an anime only viewer can avoid spoilers.
Hmm yeah, the anime isn't catching up to the manga anytime soon, so it might be wiser. >.>
![]()
You know, after 9 volumes I'm surprisingly starting to like Asta a bit. Not for his Mage Emperor speeches, but for his more quirky personality traits, like being always impressed by everything and everyone. He can be fun to watch in the right scenes.
I hate Asta, mainly because he lacks real Hidden Depths which Naruto had, and he isn't really super creative with how he fights, which is the appeal of Luffy.
"And when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat?"I mean, did Naruto have Hidden Depths? Nothing that happened with his character ever really took me by surprise.
I don't really care about Luffy's fights outside of inherent plot importance so that doesn't matter a lot to me.
edited 4th Jan '18 9:44:42 AM by LSBK
Naruto had a solid arc from the beginning to about the Pain arc where he gradually gets more responsible to the point that by the end of it he's saved the entire village.
Essentially he was de-flanderized as his more goofy characteristics were toned down and he gradually grew into becoming the sort of person worthy to become the Hokage.
However, even from the beginning it was clear that a lot of Naruto's acting out was born from his desire for acceptance and attention.
edited 4th Jan '18 9:51:59 AM by Sigilbreaker26
"And when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat?"I mean, growing as a character isn't the same thing as having Hidden Depths. And Naruto's growth itself was questionable, especially right after that part you mentioned.
A character doing something surprising isn't the same as Hidden Depths.
Naruto's bluster and typical shonen attitude overall was a result of him covering his insecurities. There's more to him than meets the eye at first meeting him.
Asta on the other hand...what you see is exactly what you get. His shonen attitude is just there since birth (according to the anime) and there's not much to find if you dig a little deeper because there's about as much depth to him as a puddle on a dry day.
He'll never be as bad as Natsu though.
edited 4th Jan '18 10:09:04 AM by Archivist10
Who didn't see that Naruto was deeply insecure deep down though? Like, that was apparent in the first chapter. Perhaps I should rephrase, Hidden Depths, doesn't necessarily make a character more likeable or interesting either, even if it can certainly help.
Its like Luffy is more care free & Naruto is sad so I don't get mad with them though it helps I haven't seen early Naruto in a long, long while.
Asta is just such a genuine mental incompetant he makes my skin crawl. What doesn't help is that Yuno is decently smart so Asta has no excuse for being dumbass. Few things is worse than a guy who wastes a decent education.
![]()
Oh fuck right Natsu...... Eh I don't like him either for being an unchanging hothead.
edited 4th Jan '18 10:16:52 AM by slimcoder
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I think the main reason I dislike Asta is that he doesn't seem to be made as a character, but as a sort of Stock Shōnen Hero and absolutely nothing else. Like, all of his traits seem to be there because "that's what these sorts of characters are like".
You can get annoyed with Naruto, that's totally understandable, but his character traits did come from a clear - if a little simple - basis. He acts out because he wants friends and attention and thinks becoming Hokage will get him that respect, but over the course of the series he switches to earning that respect and wanting to become Hokage because he wants to protect his friends. It's not exactly very deep but it is at least not static.
Why does Naruto act out? "Because he's a moron" is what all who meet him initially think. But that's not true (at least, not the whole truth).
Why does Asta act out? "Because he's a moron" is what all who meet him initially think. And they're pretty much right.
"And when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat?"

Volume 8 and 9: wow, there's almost good character development in there. Ô.Ô The team work to defeat Vet was quite something. It almost made Asta likeable to me… actually, one thing I realized is that Asta and Yuno's rivalry is entirely irrelevant to the story. It's like the author made them rivals because it's a shonen and you gotta have a rival… but Asta's character would work the same whether or not Yuno exists. Hell, he actually works better without it. When he's not babbling about being the Wizard King, Asta is actually quite tolerable.
After that we meet again with Yuno who's still his magnificently boring self. And also with Finral's little brother Landris, aka Elitist Noble Prick© #17. I'm not even sure if we met him before, since ENP's in this series are pretty much interchangeable.
Meanwhile, we learn a bit more about William Vangeance who… actually seems like a decent human being…? Huh… I didn't expect that, but thank god. And I like his relationship with Yami. Seriously though, this author needs to let his readers catch their breath once in a while… There's barely a single chapter of transition between the fight in the underwater city and the war with Diamond.
PS: Oh, and another annoying detail I've noticed… so far, almost every single female character in this series is in love with a male one. Noelle, Mimosa and Rebecca like Asta, Charmy and Bell like Yuno, and even the Blue Rose captain likes Yami. On the other hand, Asta's crush on Sister Lilly is treated as a joke and Gosh's crush on his sister is… what it is. At least that water city guy's crush on Noelle seems genuine.
edited 14th Dec '17 3:02:40 PM by Lyendith