Over Analyzing "Black Clover" Part 3; Surpass Your Limits: Fight with Friends

Dear Readers,
As promised, part 3 of my ongoing series "Over Analyzing Black Clover."  Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.  Part 2 was really long and got a lot of development, so I'm definitely scaling things back here.  This one is a lot shorter because I don't necessarily go into a lot of details.  It's basically breaking down what I love about the fight dynamics for the main characters in Black Clover, and the role that team work plays in that dynamic.

Do Your Best and Trust Your Friends
So, like I said in the review, one of the great things about Black Clover is the dynamics of friendship and teamwork that run throughout.  Many people compare Black Clover the Fairy Tail, and the comparison is not without merit.  One of the best aspects of Fairy Tail is the dynamic between characters in the guild.  In many ways, watching Fairy Tail feels like joining a new (slightly dysfuntional) family; the characters care about and support each other and encourage each other to grow stronger and move forward.  Black Clover includes the same dynamic, but with even more depth.  The Black Bulls are a collection of misfits and outcasts; and every character has a unique backstory, motivation, and dynamic within the squad.  While Asta is the main character of the series, every arc also focuses on a different member of the squad, giving the viewer/reader more information about their history, while also allowing them opportunities to grow and "surpass their limits."  Asta is a perfect catalyst for this development; his lack of magic means that there are things he will never be able to accomplish on his own.  Despite this shortcoming, however, he still works and fights harder than anyone; his work ethic becomes an inspiration for his companions, while his reliance on their skills and his appreciation for their capabilities allows them to grow in both power and confidence.

Real talk now... and spoilers for the anime.  One of the best examples of this is the undersea temple arc.  Almost the entire squad goes on a mission to retrieve a magic stone from an underwater temple.  The Black Bulls are told that if they want the stone they have to defeat a temple's warriors in a battle games setting.  The friendly fights are interrupted, however, by the arrival of Vetto, a powerful fighter from the main antagonist group of the series.  The fight becomes one for survival as he uses his overpowered (potentially demonic) beast magic to brutally cut down everyone he encounters.

This arc sees amazing growth for three of the Black Bulls, Noelle, Vanessa, and Finral.  Noelle is the female lead of the show, with powerful water magic that she struggles to control.  While fighting Vetto, she struggles because, while she has a very powerful defensive magic, she cannot control her offensive magic to hit her opponent.  This is linked to both her desire not to cause harm to others, but also the terrible insecurity she has in herself and her magic due to her poor relationships with her family (more on this in a different section).  When confronted with Vetto, however, her admiration for Asta and his unwillingness to give up despite his overwhelmingly bad circumstances becomes a catalyst for her own transformation where she transcends her insecurities and unleashes a massive new attack in defense of her friends.  She is able to do major damage to Vetto, allowing Asta, Finral, and Vanessa time to recover and move into the final confrontation.  This is where we also got to see Finral and Vanessa grow as well.  Up to this point, we knew that Finral was a flirtatious spacial magic user (and also a coward), and we didn't know much about Vanessa at all.  The two combine forces in order to help Asta move fast enough to defeat Vetto, combining Finral's portal magic with Vanessa's string magic to increase his manuverability.  In just this short fight, we see Finral struggle with his cowardice (which is born from his own insecurity and sense of inferiority about his magic) and Vanessa with her sense of helplessness.  Asta's absolute trust in the pair of them and his admiration for their abilities as mages allows them to surpass their limits and fight against such incredible odds.  This emphasis on mutual respect and teamwork is one of the major features that makes Black Clover stand head and shoulders above other shonen.



This is all made possible by Asta.  Asta does not have magic, so in many ways he is at a huge disadvantage in the magic knights.  He has swords that can negate magic, but he has to be in close range to be able to use them.  Against opponents who can use magic outside of that range, his only option is to be defensive or rely on others.  Using Finral's spatial magic to maneuver into range and Vanessa's string magic to change course rapidly in response to attacks allows Asta to fight to the best of his ability.  Similarly, Finral, who has no attack capabilities with his magic, and Vanessa who lacks power, would be unable to deal with such strong opponents on their own, but working as a team with Asta, they are able to transcend those limits.


This is something you don't see a lot in battle shonen anime.  Most of the time, even when fighting in a team, the heroes fight one on one, or maybe two on one in a single combination attack.  It is very rare to see three or more characters team up to take on a single opponent, and even more rare to see them do so in such a way were their strengths cover the others weakness to create a whole that is factorally stronger instead of just additively (power 10x10 instead of power 10+10).  Most "team work" in battle shonen consists of two heroes adding their power together in order for a single final hit to be stronger.  Yes, it's team work, but it doesn't really say anything about the characters themselves.  In Black Clover, however, each member of a team brings a unique skill that compliments those of their teammates; individually, neither Asta, Vanessa, nor Finral could fight Vetto and survive.  His power is too great a mismatch to theirs.  But by combining their strengths, they also provide a defense against their weaknesses.  The only other place I have seen this kind of team dynamic is in sports anime, and even there the temptation is often to let two or three main characters carry the team instead of focusing on the combination of skills to create a unified whole (Haikyuu!! and Eyeshield 21 probably do this best of all the sports anime I have seen).  Team work in fundamental in Black Clover, which creates truly unique battle scenes where each individual is contributing to the final goal.

This emphasis on team work highlights one of the main themes in Black Clover, which is that "anyone" can succeed if they try hard enough.  Asta wants to become the wizard king in order to show the world that a commoner, someone from the boonies, someone without magic, can still dream, be successful, and have value.  He wants to create a world where there is no prejudice against people because of their social status, magical ability, or race.  This seems like an idealistic and terribly unrealistic dream, but Asta isn't struggling alone.  Yes, it seem impossible for a kid without magic to join the magic knights.  But with hard work and a refusal to give up, Asta finds a way.  Yes, the nobility will "always" look down on the commoners who have less magic, but those who are intellectually honest will grow to respect the courage, the will to fight, and the results those commoners bring, and will gradually change their perspectives.  Impossible dreams, unwinnable fights are made reality, not just by sheer "force of will" or effort, not just by "the power of friendship" or "plot armor," but through the recognition of the strengths of others, and the choice to work with others, despite their differences, in order to achieve a common goal.  Asta's dream may seem far fetched, but he does not pursue it mindlessly; he thinks about the consequences, he struggles with his conscience and chooses to empathize with others, no matter how different they may seem, and this is the strength that allows hims to advance.  "Anyone can succeed" in Black Clover if they try hard enough, because trying hard is not just working out, powering up and growing stronger (although of course there is that), trying hard is relying on friends to offset your weakness, empathizing with enemies and thoughtfully considering their position, building "merit" in every sense of the word, not just in physical (magical) strength.

Well, back to reality.