Black Clover Episode 31 Review: Pursuit over the Snow

Whether you love children or find them a handful, Black Clover’s latest episode will get you passionate about their protection and happiness! Suddenly, I found myself getting even angrier at kidnappers everywhere, and admiring people who know how to deal with kids.

Japanese Title: 雪上の追跡

Plot

The people in Nean finally realized that most of their children were missing, and so did Gauche, who was furious because Marie was one of them! But after some lecturing from Asta (which he learned from Fuegoleon! I’m crying), they managed to figure out how to track them down. So it was up to him, Asta, and the Sister to save the children from those who kidnapped them to take their magical energy and make a profit. What about Noelle, you ask? Well, her task was to report the incident to the Magic Knights’ headquarters…

Episode Highlights

Neige and friends: I feel so conflicted with Neige’s…motivations. He happily kidnapped children, saying they were going to be his friends, but then he just let his brother treat them like batteries? Well, he did seem to be a bit unhinged and manipulated by his brother. Maybe Baro told him he can keep them as friends after getting their magic sucked out? In any case, kidnapping children is a terrible offense!! What more sucking them dry of their mana? Seeing them scream out in pain, and then thrown away to the side when they’re all dried up was detestable! They were treated like juice boxes! All for what, just to make cash? Baro kept implying that someone was telling them to do it in exchange for money, though… I wonder who’s the mastermind behind it? What were they planning to do with the children’s mana? And why sweet, innocent children of all people?

Gauche’s mission: Looks like we’re only gonna get bits and pieces of Gauche’s backstory for now. From what we currently saw, I guess he didn’t join the Magic Knights in a traditional manner. Maybe he fought against Yami while he was trying to escape, and managed to impress him? What’s sure, though, is that Gauche really wants to protect Marie – and only Marie – that he doesn’t care about anything else. That’s why, even though I laughed so hard, I also felt bad for him when she ran to Asta instead of him for safety! Marie, how could you ditch your brother who faced the enemies first to save you!

Sister and Asta’s care: When Gauche said that the Sister would be worth taking with them, I wondered if she was such a powerful mage. Turns out her magic is handy for the cold and injuries, especially when Marco needed to be healed and warmed up! I loved that part so much, especially when Asta lent his cloak to him and convinced him to stay behind. It’s truly fortunate that both of them were the ones who saw Marco, and ‘accompanied’ Gauche to save the other children.

Noelle’s report: I didn’t expect Bah-hah, I mean, Sekke, to appear when Noelle called the HQ! Anyone think he was assigned to answer distress calls because he was actually bad at his missions? Which certainly makes Noelle have every right to be worried if her report will be safely delivered. Well anyway, it was still amusing. Thanks for lightening up the mood a little, Bah-hah.

Vs. Neige and Baro: These brothers were obviously no match for Gauche’s powerful and flexible magic, but Baro suddenly decided to take Marie hostage! Hiding behind a little girl, truly a scumbag! Although, come to think of it, good for him that he picked Marie and not the other children, because Gauche wouldn’t have cared one bit if it were them, huh? However, thankfully Asta came in the nick of time to assist Gauche, and he was the one who cared about the other kids! Especially when he heard that, for the sake of money, they would probably not be able to use magic anymore because it got sucked out from them. It just pushed a wrong button! A really wrong button, which sent Baro flying! Way to go Asta!

Themes & Trivia

Neige: A perfect name for a guy with snow magic, because ‘neige’ means ‘snow’ in French.

Human resources: I don’t mean the HR in offices, but actually using humans as resources. In stories, some might need them for energy or power, like what we saw. Others need them to feed, whether their blood like in Devil’s Line, or their flesh like in Tokyo Ghoul. Unfortunately, horrible people like Baro (and Neige, by extension) don’t only exist in fiction because, in the real world, children and adults get abducted to be sold, either alive or for their organs. Terrible, terrible world.

Comments

In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about this week’s episode. I quite liked the writing; it’s lovely as usual. However, due to the reappearance of the derpy art and stiff animation, there were some scenes that distracted me and ruined the momentum! Like with the first part of the episode, I just ended up becoming impatient seeing them only talking and dawdling because the visuals were lousy. The show was doing so well the past few episodes, but here we are again. I’m very sad. Well, at least most of the fight scenes were executed well.

Also, was I the only one bothered with Neige’s voice at certain parts? I get that he’s supposed to sound insecure/nervous, but sometimes I found his squeaky whining more annoying than Asta’s yelling (which I’ve already gotten used to, by the way).

Time to pay for hurting the kids!

From the preview, it looks like Sekke’s seriously going to do his job of reporting the incident! Will back-up arrive in time to help Asta and Gauche? So far though, I think Asta’s righteous fury will be enough to defeat the two brothers…

So, what did you think of this episode? Do share your thoughts in the comments section! Don’t forget to read our other Spring 2018 reviews as well!

NEXT: Three-leaf Sprouts (三つ葉の芽)