Title: Black Clover Vol. 18
Author: Yuki Tabata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Shounen, Battle
Publication Date: November 5, 2019
The Story
Volume 18 of Black Clover continued the action as the Magic Knights battled against those who were possessed by elves thanks to the reincarnation spell. The volume opened up with Asta, Magna, and Vanessa taking on Elf Luck. Asta’s black sword ended up being the key to victory, causing the spell to break and Luck returning back to his former self. They head back to the headquarters where everything is completely demolished after Henry used the hideout as a weapon in their previous battle. With everyone’s magic drained, Charmy shows up wanted to know who trampled all over her garden. Once they pin it on the elves and The Eye of the Midnight Sun, she swears revenge and cooks up some mana regenerating food to help them. Henry then converts the base, once again, into a massive stone golem that resembles a bull and it’s off to the capital they go.
The next battle sees Master Yami taking on Elf Charlotte of the Blue Roses. We then take a peek at what’s going on over at the Crimson Lions where Elf Randall is going on a rampage, abusing his air magic. This gives way to a moment many have been waiting for! I’ll let you guys read the volume to find out but I’m sure many people have been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the series!
Finally, we see that more of the elves have gathered at the headquarters of The Golden Dawn. It was stated that Latry’s cousin summoned them all there. With that, he proclaims that The Eye of the Midnight Sun is no more and they will show the humans The Golden Dawn. With that, our volume comes to an end!
One of the things that nagged me a bit in this volume was the over usage of proclaiming that “my friend is still in there somewhere!” We understand that the elves have taken over people’s bodies thanks to the reincarnation spell; however, not every battle has to remind us of that. I guess from the character’s perspective, they realize that their souls are, indeed, still in there but to a reader, it just seems like it was stated over and over again to drive home the plot point that everyone can be saved. Tabata already proved that was the case when Asta saved Luck in the beginning. I think we got the point.
Other than that, with this being an action-heavy volume, the story was advanced when and where it needed to. I certainly loved the big surprise in this volume… something that was long overdue. The ending; however, shows that this battle is far from over and everyone’s biggest test has yet to come.
Characters
We received some nice development for three of the Midnight Sun characters: Rades, Valtos, and Sally. While their development would serve as a bit of a spoiler, it was refreshing to see them in this kind of light. It also further enhanced Latry’s proclamation at the end of the volume. It’ll be interesting to see where these three characters go from here.
Outside of this, we did get another flashback scene in the form of a dream for Patry. He has now been fully revived and heads to the capital to join Licht, who he mentions should already be there or on his way there. Coupled with the ending, it looks like the grand finale of this battle is drawing ever closer.
Final Thoughts
Another action-packed volume of Black Clover. I did have a bit of a complaint with how key battles were given attention, showing off the power of the elves as they inhabit other people’s bodies but any battles that served to connect point A to point B were often short and rushed… such as Asta just cutting down a few elves with his sword “off-camera.” I know we can’t pay full attention to everything as it would artificially extend the volume beyond the scope of the story but stuff that kind of makes me wonder if it’s worth having it in there at all.
Other than that, everything else was solid. Some great moments in this one and I’m hyped for what may be the conclusion to his battle next volume… or, at the very least, the beginning of the final battle which may span two volumes.
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
