Weekly Shonen Jump doesn't dabble too much in fantasy these days, and the most recent example is...divisive, to say the least.
BLACK CLOVER (Burakku Kuroba), by Yuki Tabata. First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2016.
PLOT:
Asta is determined to become the Wizard King. It doesn't matter that he's a poor orphan with no magical ability to speak of or that he's thoroughly overshadowed by his magically-gifted best friend Yuno - nothing will stop him from achieving his goal. His life turns around when he is gifted a strange grimoire that grants him the ability to manifest a magic sword that negates magic. With this, he can finally join the Magic Knights and finally begin his journey to the throne.
STORY:
Black Clover has a curious fandom. While it's got its fair share of die-hard fans, most people I know consider it merely OK, and that it has remained merely OK for nearly 300 chapters. I can see where those people are coming from because this first volumes is not a particularly inspired introduction to this world. It's not outright terrible, but aside from all the wizards you've likely seen these kinds of characters and this kind of conflict done a million times before and in more interesting ways.
Your tolerance for this series will depend a lot on your tolerance for Asta. He makes a bad case for himself right from the start as he tries to harass a nun into a date. He's never quite that bad after that point, but his personality is so loud (to say nothing of his voice, as virtually every line of dialogue is delivered in a shout) that he can come off as downright obnoxious. It doesn't help that his anti-magic feels like the shonen take on a trope that even in 2015 had been worn out by countless mediocre manga and light novels about doofus harem leads in magic schools and alternate worlds. It also doesn't help that Asta is a pretty naked ripoff of One Piece's Luffy, right down to his constant declarations that he will become the Pirate Wizard King.
Asta might not stand out so badly if the story or supporting cast were more compelling, but it's just as derivative as everything else. Taller, more traditionally handsome and talented rival/best friend? Seen it. The hero ends up with a gruff, unconventional mentor and a team full of wacky misfits? Done it before. The authority figures of their world turning out to be selfish, snobbish bullies? Ho hum. The opponents are all one-note, mustache-twirling bastards while Asta's teammates are mostly defined by a single dumb quirk. The one exception to this is Noelle, an exiled princess whose lack of control of her magic gives her a major chip on her shoulder. Honestly, she was probably the most interesting character in the entire book, but sadly I can probably guess where her story will end up. After all, she's a girl in a Weekly Shonen Jump manga and she's not the protagonist. She'll likely always be a supporting player. She'll be strong until the plot needs her to be weak. She'll occasionally get a great battle, but her primary role will be to support and cheer on Asta. After all, that's how the formula goes and Tabata is not about to change that formula anytime soon.
ART:
At least Tabata is a pretty decent artist. The character designs are slick and handsome, with angular eyes, a lot of detail and hatching, and a lot of diversity in style. Despite the magical setting, they're very down to earth - Asta is about as goony as they get. In comparison, the action sequences feel a little lacking. There's a bit of imagination to the magic used and they are competently drawn, but when everything ends with Asta jumping in to slice or deflect everything it's hard for them to not feel a little anti-climatic.
RATING:
This series is published by Viz. This series is ongoing in Japan with 28 volumes available. 27 volumes are currently available and are currently in print.
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