Black Clover Episode 38 Review: The Magic Knights Captain Conference

Finally! After episodes of seemingly never-ending fighting stress, Black Clover brought back the lighthearted laughs and silliness that makes this show colorful! Personally, it made me appreciate the relief and calm one feels after working for a long time, more so when you have a lot of friends to accompany you and cheer you up!

Japanese Title: 魔法騎士団団長会議

Plot

After the ordeal, Asta wakes up to a lot of attention from his friends and admirers. Even back at the base, he and his squad mates went back to their silly antics to celebrate his recovery, like having a potato pie eating contest! However, the fun had to be put aside once the Wizard King summoned Yami for the Magic Knight Captains’ meeting, and Asta to help discover who the traitor among them is…

Episode Highlights

Lots of love for Asta: Aww! It was nice to see a lot of people fussing over Asta, whether it was because they liked him romantically, or as a friend! I would like to personally commend Klaus for being a mother hen to the guy he once looked down on, and Yuno for being Yuno. I was shocked when the latter said that he wouldn’t have let the terrorists escape if he was there; I thought that was harsh given all the trouble it gave Asta! But then his childhood rival completely understood what he meant and, as usual, used it as motivation to do better next time! Their tandem is truly amazing. However, when it comes to girls, Asta’s totally oblivious! Personally speaking, though, I think it’s good that he doesn’t easily assume things. It’s just too bad for Mimosa, Rebecca and Noelle, who’ve all been doing their best to get his attention! Rebecca even mustered up her courage to be the first to kiss him, on the cheek, much to Noelle’s panic! That’s what she gets for not being honest with herself, I guess.

Gauche and Sister Theresa: Aside from the kidnapped kids being saved and Asta learning how to use ki, Gauche and Sister Theresa were able to get along better as well thanks to the incident! Somehow. Not only was Gauche incredibly worried when she was in critical condition, but he’s actually glad that she’s alive and even expressed his gratitude to her for taking care of Marie. Let’s just hope that in the future he stops insulting her every chance he gets or being kind to her just to earn Marie’s praise. One step at a time!

Asta’s special task: Were you guys as proud as I was of Asta when he was summoned to break the magic seal on the terrorist prisoners’ memories? It’s amazing how the ‘useless’ person without magic had something only he could do, and it was a really crucial task at that! He was also able to provide info on new magic to the Wizard King himself! Sure, it just fed Julius’ magic otaku tendencies, but that’s still considered intel, right? Asta got to see Mushroom Head, I mean, Marx’s awesome magic as well! What a handy skill that guy has, especially when they need intel on certain things, like the traitor in their midst.

The Magic Knight Captains: Gosh, I didn’t think that most of the captains have weird quirks and personalities! Their conference was like a toned down version of the antics in the Black Bulls headquarters, although maybe that’s cause Yami was being the life of the meeting. Somehow I could tell that, while they’re not as tightknit as colleagues are supposed to be and that rivalry between them is not surprising, they all take their duties as captains seriously. That’s why, just like with the three captains helping Yami and his squad out, they’ll willingly work together to defeat their kingdom’s enemies. Or maybe it’s just my wishful thinking. What I am sure of is that, whoever the traitor among them turns out to be, this group of leaders will be greatly disturbed. Not only did they lose Fuegoleon, a valuable captain, to forced retirement, but now another captain, of all people, is a traitor! Do you anime-only fans have any guesses on who it might be? I think Vengeance is the most suspicious out of all of them, especially when Yami asked if he doesn’t have light magic, then it seemed like Charlotte and Nozel were on to something…

Themes & Trivia

Marx’s hairstyle: Actually, even though Yami called Marx ‘Mushroom Head’, his haircut is actually called the Pageboy. It’s named after the haircut of late medieval page boys, who are the attendants or messengers of nobles. Interestingly, even though Marx is not Julius’ attendant, he’s still serving under the Wizard King (and picking up after him when he suddenly disappears to be an otaku), so it’s quite fitting.

Uchiko Ball: I’ve often seen that ball on a stick that Yami was patting on his sword and always wondered what it was. Apparently, it’s a silk ball that has finely ground stone powder inside, and it’s used to take long-term care of a sword after you use it or before you put it in storage.

Comments

While I enjoyed the whole episode (despite the art becoming ridiculous at times, again), what certainly caught my interest was when Asta was asked to break the seal, and the last bit where Julius summoned the captains in the dungeon to tell them what’s going on. At first, I didn’t quite realize the gravity of Asta’s help yet, but once I saw his face when the captains were in front of him, it dawned on me that it was such a huge deal! It makes me terribly excited for what’s going to happen next! That’s why, for those who already know what’s up because they’ve been following the manga, please don’t spoil us anime-only fans!

Who’s the traitor?

We have to wait some days before finding out who the traitor is, but from the looks of it, the revelation won’t be pretty! It’s a good thing I’ll still continue reviewing Black Clover’s last cour this summer!

Do share your thoughts on this episode, or on who you think the traitor is in the comments section! Plus, a lot of shows have come to a close this Spring 2018 season, so you better go read them!

NEXT: Three-Leaf Salute (三つ葉の敬礼)