The Black Clover anime first released in 2017 as a direct adaptation of Yuki Tabata’s brilliant manga series. In 2020, it became the most-watched anime series on Crunchyroll, garnering a huge viewership from over 80 countries worldwide.
After 4 amazing seasons, the final episode of the anime – episode 170 – was aired on March 30, 2021, accompanied by a special announcement that the series would be getting a film next instead of another season.
But why was such a beloved anime canceled in the first place?
The Black Clover anime was canceled because the anime had almost caught up with the manga. By the time episode 170 released, most of the source material had been adapted, with the manga only 18 chapters ahead of the anime. Instead of adding fillers, anime production was halted.
Was Black Clover officially canceled or did it just end?
It was never confirmed that the Black Clover anime was being “canceled” but it was officially announced that the anime would be ending with episode 170.
The last episode of the anime ended with parts of chapters 270 and 272 of the manga. The Black Clover anime adapted until the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle arc and only just dipped into the start of the Spade Kingdom Raid arc when the announcement came that the anime would be ending.
The end of episode 170 revealed that this would be the final episode and that Black Clover would be getting its first anime film next.
There is a lot of debate in the fandom over the terminology of the word “canceled”, but it is understood that the series was canceled because the manga is still ongoing but the anime was explicitly declared as over.
Black Clover wasn’t canceled in the sense that it got poor ratings and was forced off the screens; instead, the production of televised content was so efficient that most of the manga content had been successfully adapted and delivered.
If the anime was to be continued in 2021 instead of being canceled, we would have gotten approximately 10 episodes before we ran out of content.
Also, the negative with having a series’ anime and manga run side-by-side is that the sales for the manga suffer, which obviously sucks since the manga is the source material. Black Clover follows the manga pretty strictly, so a lot of people prefer watching the anime rather than reading the manga.
Other reasons for cancelation include the hasty animation quality of some of the scenes and the deliberate avoidance of unnecessary filler episodes like in Naruto, the other mega-famous anime produced by Pierrot.
Also, releasing a movie instead of a 5th season would be more profitable – just look at Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.
The Black Clover anime was canceled mindfully; it ended where it did because of the obvious cliffhanger after Liebe’s flashback, the revelation of Asta’s mom Lichita, and Asta and Liebe’s Devil-Binding ritual.
Fans aching to know more were naturally pushed into reading the manga instead of waiting indefinitely for more episodes.
The foray into the Spade Kingdom is a huge and critical segment of the manga, and leaving us at the gates of Spade Kingdom arc was a perfectly calculated decision.
Will there be season 5 of Black Clover?
Black Clover will not be returning for season 5 any time soon. There have been no official announcements from Shueisha, Studio Pierrot, Funimation, or Crunchyroll, nor from any streaming platforms.
Everything you see online about Black Clover season 5 is speculation and rumor.
I am not saying that the Black Clover anime might not just be on an extended hiatus – in fact I hope it is – but the only official news for now is that the film is next in line.
The manga recently dived into its 11th and final arc, so there is still a possibility that we see the return of the Black Clover anime in the form of a sequel after the movie releases, kind of like a Black Clover Shippuden.
The manga is currently on its 342nd chapter so a new season potentially has 2 full arcs to adapt. For now, though, we have to be satisfied with the upcoming movie.
When is the Black Clover movie releasing? Is it canon?
Netflix confirmed that the film Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King will release on March 31, 2023. The Black Clover film will not be canon.
It will be an original story related to the anime but unconnected to the current plotline of the manga.
The plot of the Black Clover movie will revolve around a new character called Konrad Leto, the Wizard King.
The script has been supervised by Tabata but as with most other anime movies, it won’t be canonical. It will not touch upon the Spade Kingdom arc or the final Lucius Zogratis arc, or add to the story of the manga.
But it might give us some hints on Julius Novachrono’s past, since we see our beloved Wizard King in his Grey Deer uniform in the trailer.
Conclusion
The Black Clover anime was canceled because of lack of original manga content. It had caught up with the source material.
There are no announcements for season 5, but the Black Clover movie is set to release in 2023. It will have nothing to do with the current story of the manga, but whatever the plot, we will get to see Asta, Yuno, Julius, Yami and our favorite Black Bull squad back on screens.
About Black Clover
Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since February 16, 2015.
The story centers around Asta, a young boy seemingly born without any magic power, something that is unknown in the world he lives in; and his foster brother Yuno who received the rare four-leaf grimoire and has more magic power than most people! With his fellow mages from the Black Bulls, Asta plans to become the next Wizard King.
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