Black Clover Needs to Raise the Stakes with Its Current Arc

Black Clover might be one of Shueisha's top manga, but it has fallen into a trap as of late. The manga is still working through a series of battles that creator Yuki Tabata set up well over a year ago. Our heroes and their allies are taking on Lucifero, after all, so they have their work cut out for them. But even with all of its flashy battles, the fandom can't help but think it is time its stakes were raised.

For those who don't know, Black Clover began its push against the devils when the Clover and Heart Kingdoms finally teamed up with one another. This partnership began back in November 2019 in the manga before an action-focused raid arc came into play back in August 2020. This fight is still going on in the manga, and at this point, some fans admit they feel the battlefield has become stale.

Despite weaving a number of battles into these arcs, Black Clover has fallen into an odd trap most shonen fans will recognize. Asta and Yuno have charged forward into a number of life-or-death battles and lived as we all expected. The same can even be said for their allies as few if any major characters have died as of late. But much to our dismay, the manga keeps faking out these deaths time and again.

This death-baiting has been seen in tons of shonen series before Black Clover, and the trope won't go anywhere. But given how long Tabata has carried on this war, something needs to give. Lucifero is the literal King of the Devils, but he hasn't managed to kill any major character. This is all despite him having promised to deliver a number of finishing blows, but alas – we've got nothing.

The current arc's death flags and fake stakes have fans wading through the same scenario time and again. It is to the point some are asking for characters like Yami to die just to switch up the cycle, but others are more conservative with their requests. Death isn't the only way to up the ante in Black Clover, after all. Lucifero is a harbinger of doom, and his top-class powers should do meaningful damage to our heroes. His empty threats are beginning to sound like a broken record. And if Lucifero doesn't make good on his word, well – it won't mean much when Asta and Yuno do defeat the legendary devil.

How do you feel the manga is handling Lucifero these days? Does Black Clover need to up the ante already? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.