Yūki Tabata (Japanese: 田畠裕基, Hepburn: Tabata Yūki) is a Japanese manga artist.
After working as an assistant to Toshiaki Iwashiro, he created the one-shot Hungry Joker, which was later serialized as a full series. After its conclusion, he launched Black Clover.
The fights against the Dark Triad of the Spade Kingdom heat up! Highlights: - Asta, Vanessa, Gauche, Henry, and Grey go up against Dante of the Dark Triad. When Asta can't keep up, Dante impales Gauche. This does two things: 1) Enrages Asta so that he submits more to the demon then ever before to gain power, and 2) Forces Grey to reevaluate her past, discovering that she has a deeper magic than transformation: total restoration! She totally heals Gauche! - Asta still can't defeat Dante, which brings out Yami, who lands blows and drastically surprises the Dark Triad member. - Dante talks about creating a Tree of Qliphoth, which is a way to combine World Tree Magic (from William Vangeance) and Dark Magic (Yami) to allow a direct portal from the Underworld that will release hordes of demons upon the land. - As the forces of Vanica begin to fight against the Magic Knights standing with Lolopechka, Luck finds himself battling Svenkin. He defeats him by moving so fast with his magic, he becomes a bolt of lightning. - We learn about arrays of magic, which are runes that you can command basic magic to act on its own. The greater the array, the stronger the magic. - Leo fights Sivoir and defeats him with a huge fire array. - Charmy fights Halbet, proving that food always triumphs over beauty. Charmy uses her wolf to basically eat Halbet (this is awesome to see).
Where's the next Volume? Almost caught up! Strong recommend. This arc is really good.
Dante to Vanessa and Grey: You to have to be my women!
Me: *throws up, crawls into the fetal position, starts crying*
Exaggerations aside, Dante is easily the slimiest, creepiest villain Black Clover has introduced so far. His mannerisms, magic, and overall design screams creepy douchecanoe. I'm so glad Asta and Yami put him in his place and don't tolerate his bullshit.
Speaking of assholes, Grey's backstory made me want to travel to the Black Clover universe and punch both of her obnoxious stepsisters in the face because HOW DARE YOU SHAME AND HURT MY PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL?! Moving on from that, it was interesting to learn her connection to Gauche AND she got a glow up! I'm so curious to learn more about her magic and hope that we'll also learn how she was recruited into the Black Bulls.
Back at the Heart Kingdom, Luck, Leo, and Charmy put in some serious work against Vanica's underlings and I ADORED seeing my babies get glow ups! It was nice to see Luck and Leo show some subtle character growth as well, with Luck choosing to continue fighting not just for sport, but to protect others and Leo recognizing his own strengths and not comparing himself to the greatness that is Mereoleona and Fuegoleon. And Charmy was a badass as usual and her fight was easily my favorite. Now that I think about it, there were a LOT of glow ups this volume. Weird.
Shit's getting real everywhere and despite all the victories this volume, there's definitely an dark shadow creeping up on the Black Bulls and the Heart Kingdom. Curious to see what trials await our favorite band of misfits.
Asta and Yuno grew up together, abandoned at the same church. They both determined to become Magic Knights... Yuno's abilities soon grew to genius levels of power and control while Asta didn't show even a spark of magic and made up for it by training hard physically. It became apparent to both when they received their grimores, Yuno a coveted 4-leaf clover and Asta an unheard of black 5-leaf clover, that they were each other's biggest competition when it came to achieving their goals of becoming the next sorcerer emperor.
This volume was a middle arc and as such we get some crazy good battle moments even though nothing is resolved. I understand now why Asta had such an odd arc in the last volume. It was made up in spades this time! We learn a bit about a connection between our girl Grey and a male member of the black bulls! Plus Dante our newest villain tries to snatch up other black bull females for himself.
We see the outcome of the spirit guardians’ training of of the Clover knights and it’s magnificent! I loved seeing the ways everyone grew and how their abilities were addd upon. This was a battle packed volume that’s was just the start to this devilish arc.
the stakes are high as the clover kingdom trains night and day in preperation for their battle with the spade kingdom, the black bulls continue looking for evidence to prove asta's innocence.
The first chapter in this volume is called "The Great War Breaks Out" and the whole volume is about this great war, the war between Magic Knights and the knights from Spade Kingdom who are hosting demons. We learn a great deal about demons and their absurd power. This war arc is pretty shounen cliche in which both sides are extremely powerful and keep getting powerful during the fights. However, I've always liked Black Clover's magic system and interesting powers of the characters, so it was still interesting to read about them. I liked the book in general but it is nothing extraordinary in my opinion. I'm still curious to see what happens next.
ME: GOOD-BYE DANTE, HELLO BEST CHARACTER EVER CREATED!
This volume like most volumes of Black Clover was an emotional rollercoaster that I was not prepared for but that I didn't want to end. So much happened between the battle going on at the Black Bulls hideout to the Heart Kingdom where more of my favorite characters are really showcasing what they've learned over the last 6 months. Also, Grey. I've always loved Grey and learning more about her backstory was so heartbreaking and seeing her have a major glow-up moment made me feel so proud. I can't wait till we learn more about her and her mysterious abilities. The Spade Kingdom has only really just started beginning with this volume and it's not even really halfway done where the manga is currently. I can honestly say this arc/saga whatever the correct term is has become my favorite out of all the anime and manga series I've watched or read. Tabata should really be proud and praised for all the hard work he's done and continues to do for this series.
I'm really not liking the new direction the villains take. They all feel generically, cartoonishly, over the top evil. They want power. They want to fight things. They even have edgy blood magic and devil powers and whatever. Everything the series has presented us with is that they're... evil, doing evil things, because they're evil. No bigger plot we have hints of, new complexity, unlike the elves there is no retaliation for an obvious wrong like genocide. Just... evil, devil people, doing evil things for fun. And they... forcefully manipulate women? Say mean things? Hurt people for fun? Sadistic? Blah blah blah look how edgy my villains are.
That said... arrays are good. Instead of characters being pushed into a corner and randomly having a new spell appear in their grimoire they're having to use their minds to create symbols to modify magic into new spells that highlight their strengths. Yes, it's the same outcome of making a new spell and auto-winning a battle, but now it feels earned. And the ways in which different characters can make use of arrays with differing natural affinities helps make battles more unique than just firing off a generic blast attack.
Oh and I hate what they did with Charmy. I believe I complimented in one of the earlier volumes how it was cool that the "food-loving" character wasn't a generic fat person that everyone makes jokes about. But now... Charmy is fat! And they make jokes about how fat she is! And she's up against a villain who bodyshames her and makes the match all about "beauty"! It's gone right back into generic territory here. I've complained about Black Clover being a generic shonen but as it's gone on it's slowly taking away everything that might have made it more unique. The villains, now Charmy, the series keeps getting weaker and more outlandish.
No, but seriously, weird lack of "let her cook" memes in the MangaPlus comments for Chapter 250.
Anyway, this arc continues with very much of a One Piece Fishman Island feel. We haven't seen all the characters fight since the little timeskip yet, so that's all that's gonna happen for a while. One of the big Dark Triad guys, Dante, goes off to attack the Black Bulls, in pursuit of Yami. Turns out Dark Magic and World Tree Magic are both necessary to open the border between the human realm and demon realm, per another Sefirot thing, so I guess William will be targeted shortly. Asta gets a power-up not unlike how Uzumaki Naruto would get further Kyūbi Tail forms after his own timeskip. Turns out Yami has been training over the timeskip as well, so he gets to do some cool things also. We get a tease of what seems to be the Vice Captain of the Black Bulls, but before we can see much of them we go into a trio of chapters to give Luck, Leopold, and Charmy their own fights (even though Leopold isn't a Bull?).
Earlier in the series, we introduced power levels with Stages. Now, we have an explanation of Runes and Arrays as other Heart Kingdom features of their magic knowledge. Through these Arrays, Luck, Leopold, and Charmy were able to get stronger. But it seems many other characters don't use them? Or do they just not use them yet?
It should come as no surprise that I'm a fan of Halbet, or at least her exposed midriff...!
Kinda funny that Luck gives electroshock therapy to Svenkin 😉
Shout-out to Grey trying to get that 🍆 from Gauche.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Wow this fight is turning out awesome. I’ll be honest, I preferred the first half of the volume when we watched Astra/Yami fight Dante, which hasn’t finished yet. But it was cool to see Luck, Leo and Charmy’s growth. They are monsters now. Luck in particular looked like some strange little demo before his final attack. If the spirit guardians, Heart kingdom’s finest, couldn’t defeat the B-listers of the Spade kingdom then how much help is the heart kingdom going to be? It seems only The Queen has enough power. And luckily the Heart kingdom is so peaceful because they would not seem to be able to take down 1 magic knights squad let alone a whole nation. But I do of course like the Heart kingdom and it’s characters, it just looks nicer than the other places and the Queen is so sweet.
Asta has made contact with his devil again it seems. And we see a mysterious Black Bull in the Spade kingdom. Yami is as epic as ever. The new joy Dante has brought me was the highlight of this volume. He is a great villain, mainly because of his charisma and arrogance. Every time a fool in this series calls Asta trash, it just makes me want to see him destroy them even more. And I know he gonna.
Who knew Grey was an Arcane stage mage? I really want a list of the characters and their stages just so I can compare and know whose really gonna be in the battles. Can’t wait to see more of this stuff. This arc is gearing up to be a real treat.
- on commence avec dente qui attaque le taureau noir avec henry, asta, gosh, Vanessa et grey. Ducoup on a eu combat surtout avec asta vs dente la qualité des dessins était vraiment bof bof defois tu comprenais pas mais c'est pas pire que quand yami et t'arriver la vraiment la qualité du dessin était médiocre ça m'a soûler.
- on a eu le flashback de grey qui est pas mal est elle a sûrement une autre magie qu'elle a utilisé pour soigner gosh.
- et vanica attaque hearts avec ses soldat. Et on a des combat avec ceux de clover qui se sont entrainé a hearts.
ducoup luck a affronter un mec mais le combat était pas fou prc encore c'était un problème du dessin mais après comment il a battu le mec était stylé avec sa techniques de la foudre véritable.
Leopold a affronter un mec mais pas vraiment ouf le combat defois tu comprend pas les attaques et Leopold J'ai bien aimé les attaques qui la employé c'était grave cool.
Charmy a affronter une meuf chiante est grossophobe, mais charmy s'est transformer dans sa forme avec le loup mais après pour ces attaques j'suis pas non plus hyper fan.
The three devil possessed mages of the Spade Kingdom have advanced on the other countries. Vanica has attacked the Heart Kingdom, Zenon has attacked the Golden Dawn Headquarters, and Dante is confronting Asta and those who still remain in the Black Bull's mobile castle. Apparently, Dante is looking for Yami. (And Asta keeps popping up like a whack-a-mole, screaming "Fight me!" until something really bad happens that makes him go feral)
So... you remember what I said about the pacing of this series? Yeah, it's still going. We skipped over the training montage in the last volume and now we're back to watching individual characters fight random battles with foes who are even less relevant than the elf possessed magic knights. All to show that, yes, that training montage did make them stronger.
Although that last chapter with Charmy feels a bit...personal.
Un tomo interesante en el que nos enteramos el objetivo final de los antagonistas de este arco. Fue mas que nada peleas este tomo, y estuvieron bastante entretenidas aunque fueron un poquito cortas algunas. Las de los dark diciples pasaron demasiado rápido para mi gusto. Uno creería que te los intentaban vender como enemigos fuertes, pero sus proezas ocurren mas que nada fuera de cámara. Aunque debo decir que la de Charmy fue la mejor, aunque solamente porque la amo y cualquier pelea de ella es muy entretenida y un cago de risa. Definitivamente es de mis personajes favoritos de la serie. La pelea que si está durando bastante fue contra uno de los dark triads. Fue muy dinámico pero definitivamente se puso mejor cuando aparece Yami. Las interacciones que tiene con el oponente son tremendas. Se está poniendo bastante buena esta serie y no puedo esperar a leer el próximo tomo.
This was such an action packed volume, with the other 2 members of the Black Triad making a move on the Black Bulls and the Heart Kingdom. Lots of secondary characters got their chance to shine in this volume. Gray has developed a new skill that allows her to 'heal' mortal wounds, but it's clear that it's not true healing magic. Luck is still the little psycho we all know and love. Grown up Leo has quite a lot of fire power, and Charmy is still a beast.
Meanwhile, Yami is everyone's dad at this point, and takes no shit from creepy stalker guys, Asta's devil powers seem to be becoming erratic and there is another Black Bull that has been acting as a spy in the Spade Kingdom. So much development!! Keep it coming Tabata, because this arc has been excellent so far.
The Spade Kingdom's Dark Triad unleashes on the Heart Kingdom, with one of their members attacking the Black Bulls directly. Can Asta hold him off until Yami arrives?
More fun battle stuff - the Grey flashback was appreciated as well, with some unexpected links to other members. I did like the fact that Asta actually lost a fight for once, at least for now, and the quick-fire one chapter battles in the second half were impressive as well. I always love seeing Charmy unleashed.
I have officially declared war on the Spade Kingdom. First, you turn Gauche into a kebab. Second, you activate Asta’s demon side and give him extreme anguish. Third, you call Vanessa and Grey “my women” like they’re your pet or something, douchebag. I’m glad Yami kicked your a** because he sends chills down my spine. How Luck, Leo, and Charmy all leveled up is awesome though. Can’t wait to see how Magna pulls through.
Este tomo es impresionante porque nos muestran los cambios físicos y en fuerza que tuvieron los chicos que entrenaron en el reino de corazón con los guardianes.
También, conocemos una nueva enemiga, la chica que tiene el poder demoníaco de Megúla, que maldijo a la reina de corazón y a la mamá de Noelle.
Fue genial leer la cantidad nueva de poderes, hechizos, combinaciones, las cosas aprendidas y también las cosas que tienen los enemigos. Una locura la creatividad del mangaka.
You know what you get in this volume? The Clover Kingdom vs. the Spade Devils! And it is every bit as impressive as you imagine it to be. Yuki Tabata is firing on all cylinders with this heart pounding, action heavy volume that literally made me stop reading and go chat with my daughter who is at least 9 volumes in front of me on the series. To stop and want to discuss mid-read, oh it is 5-star worthy! Great volume!