Black Clover's final arc doesn't need death to have high stakes

One of the biggest criticisms of author and illustrator Yuki Tabata’s Black Clover series, as well as the manga aimed at the shonen demographic, is how the death of characters is usually handled. Most shonen series skate by with very few deaths, with the few who do end up dying being older, mentor-like figures rather than any of the series’ young heroes.

Many fans claim that this provides no stakes or drama to the series, since it’s certain that every main character will likely survive in the end. While some shonen series in the past have proven this wrong, Black Clover, interestingly, doesn’t seem to be heading towards any major or significant character deaths in its final arc.

This could be due to the fact that the series doesn’t necessarily need the fear of death to create a dramatic, high-stakes story. Follow along as this article fully explains why Black Clover’s final arc doesn’t need death to have high stakes.

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Black Clover’s use of character-driven goals, conflicts, and emotions create high stakes without death looming overhead

Why the final arc doesn’t need death

With the recent pseudo-salvation of Sister Lily in Black Clover’s final arc, a section of readers began airing their complaints about what they perceived to be a missed opportunity in the form of Lily’s death. They argued that having Sister Lily die could have been used to the effect of elevating Asta’s character by having him fail in a grand and spectacular way.

However, the same effect could’ve also been achieved by having Asta completely fail to save Sister Lily in recent issues. To a certain degree, this is quite achievable, given that Asta could halfway save Sister Lily with the recent use of his Anti-Magic Zetten. In either scenario, the same result can be achieved without implementing something as dramatic as Sister Lily’s death.

This is only possible due to the character-driven and focused way in which Tabata has crafted Black Clover’s story. By focusing on the personal goals, dreams, and desires of each character rather than the general concept of heroes and villains, high-stakes can be reached via the emotions and successes or failures of these characters.

The core plot of the series represents this better than any other sidestory or subplot, with Yuno and Asta’s desire to protect each other and their friends forming the basis of their competition. Without the strong emotions that the two have for each other and everyone else in their lives, there wouldn’t be a series to write about.

While Black Clover’s core plot best exemplifies this lack of need for high stakes, recent subplots have also done a great job of establishing this idea. Yami Ichika’s strong devotion to Ryudo Ryuya is part of what motivates her to become as strong as her. The former's hatred for her brother Yami Sukehiro also pushes her in a similar way.

The move to capitalize on this hatred as well as insist on not featuring unnecessary deaths is further exemplified by Ichika discovering that she is responsible for the Yami clan massacre. Upon discovering this truth, she absolutely breaks down, instantly arresting the attention of fans, who dubbed this as one of the best subplots in the series. These moments and many more prove that the series’ final arc doesn’t need death to have high stakes.

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