Noelle’s mistreatment at the hands of her siblings has been a cruel and ongoing plotline in Black Clover until very recently. Yūki Tabata’s decision to redeem the Silva siblings’ relationship has not been taken positively by fans, as their history of bullying Noelle is too much to be forgotten.
From belittling her at every step of her life to pouring drinks on her in a public gathering, Nozel, Solid, and Nebra Silva have done it all. Who needs an evil stepmother when you have brothers and sisters like these?
The Long History of Noelle’s Bullying by Nozel Silva, Solid Silva, and Nebra Silva
Let’s begin with Nozel, Noelle’s oldest brother, who has always ridiculed her because of her lack of control over her powers in the beginning. He has told her on multiple occasions that she is a blotch on the Silva name. He also tried to blame Noelle for the death of their mother. In fact, he even tried to discourage her from becoming a Magic Knight. After spending her whole life being belittled, Noelle had become somewhat submissive to Nozel.
It was revealed later in the series that Nozel sees a lot of his mother in Noelle and is terrified of losing her, which is why he tried to deter her from joining the Magic Knights and thus protect her.
Solid Silva, on the other hand, is another sadist of a sibling. He took genuine joy in bullying her over the years. From taking away her toys, teasing her, tearing up her possessions to even slapping her for eating first, his cruelty has known no bounds. In the War Merits Conferment Ceremony, he singled her out as the most unwanted guest and poured his drink over her head.
Nebra, the only sister of Noelle, shares the same opinion as those of her brothers. She was also equally involved in the atrocities committed on her sister and berated her at every opportunity. Both Solid and Nebra were shocked at Nozel’s apology to Noelle for their mistreatment of her. In chapters 372 and 373 of Black Clover, Yūki Tabata tried to give the siblings an ultimate redemption arc. Nozel bought Noelle time to charge up while Solid and Nebra supported her.
Fans Did Not Perceive Yūki Tabata’s Redemption of the Silva Siblings Well in Black Clover
In an interview with Viz Media, the issue of developing Nozel from a complete jerk to a good guy was discussed. As it turned out, Yūki Tabata had always planned Nozel’s bizarre character development arc.
Well, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I did plan on him being good from the beginning. I’m not sure how good of a job I did though.
If Yūki Tabata had actually wanted to know if he did a good job, then he only had to read through fan reactions to Nozel’s supposed redemption. The ratio of fans who have loved Nozel’s turnaround is nowhere near as large as those who genuinely think that the horrendous actions of the older brother are unforgivable.
Nozel’s apology to Noelle seems unacceptable to fans, as he thought she would never become stronger, but now that she is, he is sorry. Rather than an actual apology for traumatizing her, it seemed like the Silva siblings wanted to be a part of the glory that would come with helping Noelle, who is now a force to be reckoned with.
As far as Solid and Nebra’s case is concerned, they not only followed Nozel’s lead but also showed a more sadistic approach in their bullying. A few moments of a weak apology will not make fans forget the years of trauma that Noelle has received since her childhood.
Black Clover is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
