Black Clover Episode 43 Review: Temple Battle Royale

What a fun episode of Black Clover this was! Even if it wasn’t that action-packed as the others, most of the events were amusing that I found myself grinning from ear to ear, eagerly waiting for what happens next! The surprise by the end of it, though, made me wish I enjoyed all that went on more.

Japanese Title: 神殿バトルロワイヤル

Plot

The temple’s 9-on-9 battle royale has begun, with Yami and the High Priest watching from the sidelines, betting on who’d win. Despite facing off with mysterious opponents that the High Priest claimed were far stronger than intermediate-ranked Magic Knights, most of the Black Bulls defeated them easily! Those who proved to be a problem were the Three Great Priests, one of whom Noelle and Asta knew.

Episode Highlights

Reason for the games: Now we know why the Underwater Temple’s citizens were excited to have visitors. It wasn’t because they wanted them dead. They looked forward to guests as it’s the only time they get to have some entertainment! Guess the High Priest’s game magic makes him more fitting as their leader, huh? We also now know that they can go to the beaches, but those are the limits of their affiliations with the outside world. That’s why they’re aware of certain things about the Clover Kingdom, though not enough.

Black Bulls vs. Temple Mages: Good grief, the battles that ended so fast were what entertained me the most in this episode, and it’s exactly because they ended so fast! Served the temple mages right for looking down on their opponents, even if they were highly misinformed about the Black Bulls being the ‘weakest’ squad of knights in the Clover Kingdom. I was the most amused by Luck’s attitude with his opponents (Yes, you know I like him!), but I was also amazed that Vanessa finished her fight quickly as well! Too bad we weren’t shown how it went down, but even so, she was so cool! No wonder Yami thought they should be higher than junior ranked knights with their capabilities! I loved how much trust he had in them, having the gall to bet on them, suggest more obstacles for them, and force them to face their opponents!

Asta/Noelle vs. Kiato/Kahono: My guess was right that Kahono’s the one in the dolphin mask! What caught me off guard, however, was her brother, Kiato. When I first saw him in the opening movie, I thought he was going to be a bit more serious than his sister. Now I know I was wrong! With how energetic and cheerful he is, and how he dreams of being a famous dancer, you can’t deny that he really is her brother! Just as Kahono is good at singing and it’s her magic, he’s also quite good at dancing, which is his power as well! Another thing they have in common is that they didn’t treat Asta and Noelle with contempt as opponents, but as friendly competitions instead. I mean, Kahono kept on encouraging Noelle to do her best, going so far as to give her a helpful observation! Whether it was to make the fight better to watch we don’t know, but with her dream was on the line, she shouldn’t have gone out of her way to help her opponent, right?

Luck and Magna’s battle: I was looking forward to watching these two fight that powerful mage together, especially since we’ve been seeing their duo often lately! And since that mage, Kahono and Kiato’s dad, has been said to be strongest in the temple, I was excited to see more of him in action too! Just with Luck’s lightning attacks not working on his water magic, he already seemed formidable. That’s why I was so surprised when Vetto and his team came to crash the party out of nowhere! They even pummeled down the dad! I hope he’s fine and that he can help out in defeating the intruders.

Themes & Trivia

Sword dance: Kiato’s fighting style is literally sword dancing, which is considered part of tradition in various countries, specifically in Asia and Europe. I tried researching on different kinds of sword dances to figure out what Kiato’s dance is based on, and for me, it resembles Korea’s Geom-mu, which looks like a beautiful, watery dance!

Lullaby: We all know these songs are used to lull babies and children to sleep, like what Kahono did with Charmy. But did you also know that, more than to aid sleeping, lullabies have other benefits? It allows the babies to be attached to their parents and helps them learn patterns through the music, making it easier for them to produce sounds leading to speaking.

Comments

As you’ve probably noticed from how I wrote this review, I enjoyed this episode very much! Starting with the art and animation, they looked really great! I’m so happy! Especially with Kiato’s dance, which was wonderful to watch! So far so good! As for the story, it managed to say a lot of things without forcing them, and even smoothly introduced the conflict once again, by letting Vetto come in unexpectedly by the end! It’s really one of the things I love about this show. I really hope the quality continues like this until the end!

A new challenger approaches!

Even if we didn’t get to see Luck and Magna work together this time, at least the next episode seems like it’ll focus on them! Hopefully, it’ll lead to both of them fighting Vetto! I’m super-duper excited! How about you guys? What are you expecting in the next episode? Let’s hear them in the comments, along with your thoughts on this one! Our Summer 2018 reviews are starting to pile up, too, so you better read up!

NEXT: The Pointlessly Direct Fireball and the Wild Lightning (愚直な火球と奔放な稲妻)