Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King explained

Native Name:
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Kanji:ブラッククローバー
魔法帝の剣
Revhep:Burakku Kurōbā:
Mahōtei no Ken
Director:Ayataka Tanemura
Story:Yūki Tabata
Music:Minako Seki
Studio:Pierrot
Distributor:Shochiku
Runtime:110 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese

is a Japanese animated fantasy action film directed by Ayataka Tanemura and produced by Pierrot. Based on the shōnen manga series Black Clover by Yūki Tabata, the film was released in Japanese theaters by Shochiku on June 16, 2023. It received an international streaming release on Netflix the same day.

Plot

Asta, a boy born with no magic in a world where magic is everything, and his rival Yuno, a genius mage chosen by the legendary 4-leaf Grimoire, have together fought a number of powerful enemies to prove their power beyond adversity and aim for the top mage "Wizard King".

Conrad Leto, the former predecessor of Julius Novachrono, once commanded the respect of the people in the Clover Kingdom. However, he unexpectedly turned against the kingdom and was subsequently sealed away by Julius himself. Now, Conrad has resurfaced and he wields the "Imperial Sword" and seeks to destroy the Clover Kingdom and bring forth a new era where equality prevails by destroying all and reviving only those whom he considers deserving of a place in his envisioned society.

He uses the power of the sword to revive three wizard kings of the past: Edward Avalaché, Princia Funnybunny, and Jester Garandaros, who share the same vision as him, in order to achieve his goal.

Voice cast

CharacterJapanese[1] [2] [3] [4] English[5]
AstaGakuto KajiwaraDallas Reid
Yuno GrinberryallNobunaga ShimazakiMicah Solusod
Noelle SilvaKana YūkiJill Harris
Yami SukehiroJunichi SuwabeChristopher Sabat
Julius NovachronoToshiyuki MorikawaRobert McCollum
Conrad LetoToshihiko SekiChris Niosi
Edward AvalachéHōchū ŌtsukaSteve Blum
Princia FunnybunnyMiyuki SawashiroMara Junot
Jester GarandarosFumiya TakahashiBenjamin Diskin
Millie MaxwellMarie IitoyoTia Ballard
Vanessa EnotecaNana MizukiLydia Mackay
Finral Roulacase Brandon McInnis
Secre Swallowtail Ayane Sakura
William Vangeance
Fuegoleon Vermillion J. Michael Tatum
Mereoleona Vermillion Monica Rial
Nozel Silva
Jack the RipperJustin Cook
Charlotte Roselei
Rill BoismortierDerick Snow
Dorothy Unsworth
Kaiser GranvorkaKenichirou MatsudaMark Stoddard
Magna Swing Genki MuroIan Sinclair
Luck Voltia
Gauche Adlai Dave Trosko
Charmy Pappitson
Grey
Gordon Agrippa Kenichirou Matsuda
Zora Ideale
Henry LegolantStephen Fu
Mimosa Vermillion Asuka NishiBryn Apprill
Klaus Lunettes Takuma TerashimaAaron Roberts
Marx Francois Yoshitaka Yamaya
Sekke BronzazzaGarret Storms
Leopold Vermillion Austin Tindle
Sally
BellTia Ballard
Liebe
Nacht Faust Hiro Shimono
Father Orsi Kazuki NakaoBrian Mathis

Production and release

An anime film adaptation of Black Clover was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump in March 2021.[6] On March 13, 2022, in the 15th Issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, it was announced that the anime film will open in 2023 with Yūki Tabata serving as the chief supervisor and original character designer.[7] In October 2022, it was announced that the film would feature a returning staff and cast from the television series, with Ayataka Tanemura directing, Pierrot producing the animation, Johnny Onda and Ai Orii writing the scripts, and Itsuko Takeda designing the characters. The film was initially set to be released simultaneously in Japanese theaters by Shochiku and digitally on Netflix internationally on March 31, 2023, but was later postponed to June 16 of the same year due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting its production.[8] [9] [10] [11]

On April 29, the movie's official twitter account announced that the production for the film has been completed.[12]

Music

In October 2022, it was revealed that Minako Seki would be composing the music for the anime film. On December 17, 2022, at Shueisha's Jump Festa '23 event, a new trailer for the film was streamed on Shonen Jump's YouTube Channels with an English subtitled version being streamed on Netflix's YouTube channel. The short trailer revealed and previewed the theme song for the upcoming movie "Here I Stand" by Treasure.

Reception

A single album including the theme song for the movie "Here I Stand" as well as the Ballad version of the 13th Ending OST for the TV anime, "Beautiful"; titled "Here I stand" was released on 29 March 2023. On its debut week the single album, ranked 2nd on Oricon's weekly single chart and sold 235,347 copies on its debut week[13] generating ¥464.4 million (approx. US$3.51 million).[14]

The song also ranked 1st on Japan Billboard[15] and Line Music's weekly ranking chart in its debut week.

Marketing

In March 2021, a key visual featuring Asta was released through the official Twitter account, with further details to be revealed at later date. In December 2021, at Shueisha's Jump Festa '22 event, a New Key visual for the anime film was released, this time featuring Yuno.[16] In March 2022, short 30-second promotional video for the anime film was streamed on Jump Comic's official YouTube Channel.

Novelization

On April 10, 2023, two novelizations of the series were announced.[17]

Reception

The film was released on Netflix on June 16th; from June 16 to June 18th the film gained 6.4 million views and was 2nd most watched Non-English movie on the platform that week[18] from June 19th to 25th the film gained another 4.1 million views and was 3rd most watched Non-English movie on the platform that week;[19] from June 26th to July 2nd the film gained yet another 1.2 million views and was 8th most watched Non-English movie on the platform that week.[20]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 86% critic rating based on seven reviews with an average score of 5.8/10.[21]

At the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2024, Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King was nominated for Best Film.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hodgkins . Crystalyn . December 17, 2022 . Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King Film Reveals New Trailer, 2 More Cast Members . December 17, 2022 . . December 29, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221229180619/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-16/black-clover-sword-of-the-wizard-king-film-reveals-new-trailer-2-more-cast-members/.193045 . live .
  2. Web site: Hazra . Adriana . December 12, 2022 . Black Clover Anime Film Reveals Another Original Character, 'Volume 23.5' Bonus for Theatergoers . December 12, 2022 . . January 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230112100943/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-12/black-clover-anime-film-reveals-another-original-character-volume-23.5-bonus-for-theatergoers/.192813 . live .
  3. Web site: Hodgkins . Crystalyn . December 3, 2022 . Marie Iitoyo Joins Cast of Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King Anime Film as Original Character . December 3, 2022 . . March 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325092604/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-02/marie-iitoyo-joins-cast-of-black-clover-sword-of-the-wizard-king-anime-film-as-original-character/.192516 . live .
  4. Web site: ja:映画「ブラッククローバー 魔法帝の剣」出演情報. https://www.mizukinana.jp/news/#news2169. MizukiNana.jp. February 21, 2023. February 21, 2023. ja. June 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190629141157/https://www.mizukinana.jp/news/#news2169. live.
  5. Web site: Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King Dub Cast. Imgur. June 16, 2023. June 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230616073418/https://imgur.com/a/icX5K9j. live.
  6. Web site: Black Clover Anime Gets Film. Anime News Network. Hodgkins. Crystalyn. March 28, 2021. October 7, 2022. December 17, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221217052842/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-28/black-clover-anime-gets-film/.171224. live.
  7. Web site: Hodgkins . Crystalyn . March 13, 2022 . Black Clover Anime Film Opens in 2023 . March 13, 2022 . . January 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230113051022/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-03-13/black-clover-anime-film-opens-in-2023/.183490 . live .
  8. Web site: Mateo . Alex . October 6, 2022 . Black Clover Anime Film Unveils Title, Trailer, Cast, March 31 Worldwide Premiere . October 6, 2022 . . February 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230219171914/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-10-06/black-clover-anime-film-unveils-title-trailer-cast-march-31-worldwide-premiere/.190558 . live .
  9. Web site: ja:劇場版「ブラッククローバー」3月31日公開、田畠裕基「原作でやらないんだコレという物語」. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/496577. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. October 6, 2022. October 7, 2022. ja. October 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221006130802/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/496577. live.
  10. Web site: Black Clover Anime Film Unveils Title, Trailer, Cast, March 31 Worldwide Premiere. Anime News Network. October 6, 2022. February 19, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230219171914/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-10-06/black-clover-anime-film-unveils-title-trailer-cast-march-31-worldwide-premiere/.190558. live.
  11. Web site: ja:映画『ブラッククローバー 魔法帝の剣』公開延期に関しまして. https://bclover-movie.jp/news/detail.php?id=1106209. Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King. February 17, 2023. February 17, 2023. ja. March 31, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230331125411/https://bclover-movie.jp/news/detail.php?id=1106209. live.
  12. 1652148706018476033. bclover_PR. 【制作現場レポート】V編の様子② 大画面に映し出されるアスタ✨ こちらのV編をもって映画本編の制作は終了しました 公開まであと少し!お楽しみに!! #ブラッククローバー #ブラクロ. Black Clover Movie Official. April 29, 2023. May 2, 2023. ja.
  13. Web site: 週間 シングルランキング . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406025645/https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/w/2023-04-10/ . April 6, 2023 . April 8, 2023 . . ja.
  14. Web site: 週間 総合シリーズ別ランキング 2023年04月10日付 . April 8, 2023 . . ja . April 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230414031659/https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/zzl/w/2023-04-10/ . live .
  15. April 5, 2023 . 【ビルボード】TREASURE「Here I Stand」チャートイン3回目にして初のアニメ首位 . April 8, 2023 . . ja.
  16. Web site: Hodgkins . Crystalyn . December 19, 2021 . Black Clover Anime Film Reveals New Visual Featuring Yuno . December 19, 2021 . . January 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230113051005/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2021-12-19/black-clover-anime-film-reveals-new-visual-featuring-yuno/.180768 . live .
  17. 1645259705600847872. bclover_PR. /『映画ブラッククローバー 魔法帝の剣』ノベライズ本が2冊同時に発売決定!!\詳細は映画公式サイト【新着情報】をチェック!⇒https://bclover-movie.jp/news/detail.php?id=1107538 #映画ブラッククローバー #ブラッククローバー#ブラクロ. April 10, 2023. April 10, 2023. ja. ja:/"Movie Black Clover Magic Emperor's Sword" Two novelized books will be released at the same time! !\ Check out the official movie website [What's new] for details!.
  18. Web site: Netflix Global top 10. June 22, 2023. Netflix. June 22, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230622124007/https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/films-non-english?week=2023-06-18. live.
  19. Web site: Netflix Global top 10. June 28, 2023. Netflix.
  20. Web site: Netflix Global Top 10. July 5, 2023. Netflix.
  21. Web site: Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King. Rotten Tomatoes. July 30, 2023.
  22. Web site: Hazra. Adriana. All the Winners of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024. Anime News Network. March 2, 2024. August 15, 2024. March 2, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240302162325/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2024-03-02/all-the-winners-of-the-crunchyroll-anime-awards-2024/.208219. live.