Black Clover became one of the most popular Shonen anime of the modern generation. Yūki Tabata’s masterpiece follows the story of two young protagonists, Asta and Yuno. Both share the same dream of becoming the Wizard King. While Yuno is blessed with immeasurable magic prowess, Asta gets his hand on anti-magic. The plot is intriguing and can be a fun watch for Shonen lovers.
When asked about his inspirations, Yūki Tabata mentioned that Kentaro Miura’s Berserk was his inspiration. The legendary late Mangaka created one of the greatest Seinen anime. Tabata could not entirely change Black Clover in a Seinen anime because of its dark and Shonen-defying qualities. However, there are a few elements that remind the fans of Kentaro Miura’s magnum opus.
Black Clover’s Dark Scenes Inspired From Berserk
Black Clover belongs to the Shonen genre and began as any typical Shone anime. Two friends cum rival share the same dream and compete against each other. But later in the story, Yūki Tabata started to add dark elements, which caught the fans’ attention. The mangaka is in his early thirties and is quite inspired by Kentaro Miura’s Berserk. During an interview, he mentioned, “I wanted to make a manga like Berserk.”
Berserk is filled with violence, starting from r*pe, sexual assaults, children getting massacred, bloodbaths, etc. As a Shonen mangaka, he couldn’t showcase these things in Black Clover. While Miura’s creation was full of disturbing things, it made the story iconic. The history references also proved to be an inspiration to the Black Clover mangaka. As a result, he kept his manga readable for teenagers, along with dark scenes.
As a Shonen mangaka, he had to create each manga panel carefully. Even though he was writing the story, he did not have the entire authority to publish it. His editor and Weekly Shonen Jump’s editors checked his writings, and if everything abided by the rules, then only the draft was passed. Tabata started writing manga in his early twenties and was somewhat experienced. Using those experiences, he projected dark and violent scenes through Black Clover.
Black Clover Became Darker With Each Chapter
Currently, Yūki Tabata is busy with the final war between the humans and the demons. Black Clover started with a light tone, but with the introduction of Demons, it took a darker turn. The arc with Licht and Zagred saw the introduction of other magical creatures apart from humans. The anime went on a hiatus after the introduction of the Dark Triad, while the manga completed the arc.
There were several bone-chilling moments where Yūki Tabata beautifully implemented violence and darkness into his creation. The ritual to sacrifice Yami and William Vangeance, the destruction of the Spade Kingdom, Zagred’s ending the reign of elves, etc., gave Berserk vibes. The Wizard King, Julius Nova Chrono, turned out to be the elder brother of the Dark Triad, Lucius Zogratis. It was similar to Berserk’s Griffith, who turned evil and caused destruction.
Black Clover can be streamed on Crunchyroll, and the manga is available on Viz Media as of August 18, 2024.
