Black Clover’s opening theme sequences are some of the best in action anime today, and with the series coming to an end with Episode 170, it’s the perfect time to look back on just how many great sequences we have seen over the years. Yuki Tabata’s original manga series is currently one of the most popular franchises in the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and it’s only gotten much more popular due to the success of its anime series. But like many fans have come to expect from long running action series, the openings here are stars of the show all on their own.
Black Clover’s anime makes ranking the top ten openings tough, however, due to the overall great quality of the series’ offerings. It’s sort of like splitting hairs (especially when it comes to the top of the list). So for this list I’ve tried my best to keep as much of my own personal music tastes out of it (as much as I could for a list like this anyway), and it’s not like I’ve got a history in music education so you won’t find deep breakdowns of the songs themselves.
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Instead, what we’re looking at here is the overall package. These openings are ranked based on the balance of visuals with the rhythm of the opening track themselves, how much of the then current arc they are able to convey (as this series is known for showing off future events through its openings), and just the overall explosiveness and hype.
Because at the end of the day, you want a hype opening theme sequence for Black Clover! Read on for ComicBook.com’s picks for Black Clover‘s top ten opening themes! This means there are some that did not make the list, so let us know your favorite themes in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about your picks @Valdezology on Twitter! Which was your number one?
#10 – RiGHT NOW
As the ninth opening in the series overall, EMPiRE’s “RiGHT NOW” hit at just the right time. It had a lot of ground to cover as one of the first real openings for the Reincarnation arc as a whole, and there are plenty of teases for fights that fans would get to see play out soon enough during the episodes. The only major issue here compared to some of the stronger opening themes is the balance of kinetic energy of its track with the actual visual presentation. The ebbs and flows just don’t quite match the expectations of what came before and after.ย
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#9 – Guess Who is Back
You’ll find that same imbalance of visuals and sound with the fourth opening, Kumi Koda’s “Guess Who is Back.” Although it’s quite a jam, the visuals of the opening are filled with lots of still images. They are dynamically presented still images, and there is some flair in between each of them, but there is a majority of still images nonetheless. The rhythm of the track fits better with this sequence than many of the more lower ranked openings, but it’s nowhere near the extent of the others you’ll find on this list.ย
#8 – JUSTadICE
An imbalance of energies is sort of the same problem with the seventh opening, Seiko Oomori’s “JUSTadICE.” While it’s undoubtedly one of the more sonically pleasing openings in the series’ history, the visuals of the sequence just don’t feel as fast or as high energy as the song itself. There are some great transformation sequences (and teases about future reveals), but this imbalance really comes to the forefront when looking at the climax of the opening. Those final seconds seeing the knights gather together is neat, but also kind of hilarious when you notice how amped the theme is for it.ย
#7 – Rakugaki Page
Serving as the sixth opening theme for the series overall, Kankaku Piero’s “Rakugaki Page” has a darker edge. This is backed up by the opening visuals of the sequence, which features a dark overlay through the first few seconds. This motif unfortunately gets dropped as it continues to tease the events of the Royal Knights selection exam. There are some great action sequences here, but it does not quite gel as well with the track that future openings do. But there’s enough energy here to keep fans engaged.ย
#6 – Everlasting Shine
The twelfth opening theme sequence had one of the toughest jobs in the series overall. Needing to cover the original training arc for the anime series in between the events of the Reincarnation and Spade Kingdom arcs, there’s not a lot that this sequence could have conveyed visually compared to what came before and after. But it succeeds due to TOMORROW x TOGETHER’s “Everlasting Shine” feeling much different than the other theme songs. Even with that much weight on its shoulders, it’s a fairly playful sequence that fits well with the more relaxing theme. It’s just pleasing to the eyes and ears.ย
#5 – Grandeur
As the final opening theme sequence for the anime (so far at least), there was a lot of pressure on the thirteenth opening to really hit the mark. It needed to stand out from not only every previous release, but also needed to tease the upcoming Spade Kingdom arc. Thankfully it nails it in this regard as not only does it feature tons of teases for the anime’s remaining episodes (one of the big strengths of these openings overall), but the bouncy tones of Snow Man’s “Grandeur” keep that energy. It’s not a bad one for the series to go out on, but it’s just held back a little by not being quite as intense of a theme as the visuals would suggest.ย
#4 – Haruka Mirai
Black Clover‘s very first opening might have been overshadowed by many of the opening themes released after, but Kankaku Piero’s “Haruka Mirai” got the anime started with a major bang. This was the first introduction many fans had to Yuki Tabata’s franchise overall, and not only did the opening tease many of the characters and fighters we’d meet over the course of the anime to come, but it also just launched the anime with the expectations of great openings to come. And it definitely exceeds it later, but the first opening still deserves its credit.ย
#3 – Black Rover
At first I thought this was nostalgia talking, but the third opening theme sequence really does hold up well after all this time. Vickeblanka’s “Black Rover” is not only a fun song, but the sequence hit so hard that it launched a whole new realm of expectations for the anime as a whole. There’s a lot stealthily going on here, and it feature some splendidly animated sequences that would become the norm in later openings. But this was also the first truly hyped opening in the series history, so it definitely earns its place here.ย
#2 – sky & blue
While “Black Rover” deserves the credit for how many of its smaller moments come out so well in the final sequence, the eighth opening sequence takes this to the next level. GIRLFRIEND’s “sky & blue” blends with an incredible sequence that not only teased some of the major events coming during the Reincarnation arc, but has tons of animated flair injected into each of its sequences. The climax of the track hits at just the right time, and it blends perfectly with the fight at hand. It’s a hard one to top, but there’s still one that’s just a bit better.ย
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#1 – Black Catcher
Serving as the tenth opening theme for the series overall, Vickeblanka returned for the best opening theme sequence in the anime’s run. “Black Catcher” received a few versions that had been updated over the course of the Reincarnation arc and its fallout, but the first version of the opening is the best one by far and the best in the series. It’s just so markedly different from anything coming before and after. Going all in on the darker motifs teased by earlier openings like “Rakugaki Page,” the opening piano riffs accompanied by the visual of Nero falling into a black void further emphasize the final struggle of the Reincarnation arc.
It’s such a bold choice for the series as this opening gets updated later with different takes. This was purely an artistic nod to the arc’s episodes themselves, and it was a choice that was pulled off spectacularly. It’s a height that Black Clover never really hit again…at least for now anyway.ย
