Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King Parent Guide

The Clover Kingdom has long been ruled and its magic controlled by a Wizard King, chosen from the ranks of the Wizard Knights who protect the kingdom. Asta (Gakuto Kajiwara), a boy born with no magic, has his eyes set on this illustrious position. But when a previous Wizard King Conrad (Toshihiko Seki), long thought to be dead, returns seeking vengeance on those who wronged him, Asta and all of the Knights must join together to defeat their most dangerous opponent yet.

When a movie based on a TV show comes out, the first question is always “will I still enjoy it if I haven’t seen the show?” In this case the answer is going to be no. I would consider this less a movie and more an extra-long episode of the show. The anime series has over 150 episodes spanning four years, which is a lot of lore and characters to get to know. The movie offers some basic plot background, so I was able to partially follow the action, but overall, the story was incomprehensible without the preceding television show.

The extensive series lore doesn’t make this a bad movie. It’s just not designed to stand alone. The animation is rich and detailed, and the action sequences are fantastically choreographed. There are also some interesting philosophical differences between the villains and protagonists that could make for some good discussion.

This is not an anime production for young children, as there is a fair amount of violence. Parents and caregivers should take the TV-14 rating seriously. For fans of the series, I imagine this is a satisfying continuation of the story, with many characters uniting as they return from various quests. But for people like me who have never even heard of the series, it’s going to have to be a pass.