When is Black Clover coming back? Season 5 potential date explored

One of the most unfortunate anime cancelations in recent memory is that of Studio Pierrot’s Black Clover television anime series. After airing 170 episodes and being on the precipice of adapting some of the most highly rated material in author and illustrator Yuki Tabata’s original manga series, the adaptation ended suddenly.

Especially concerning to fans was the lack of a return date for the adaptation, given the many flashbacks to the 2004 Bleach anime’s sudden hiatus from which it never returned.

As a result, one of the biggest and most incessant questions fans of both the anime and manga series alike have been asking is when is Black Clover coming back. Unfortunately, this isn’t as cut and dry a question as they would’ve liked.

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Black Clover's supposed season 5 is one of the most highly-anticipated anime projects with essentially no confirmed info

When a special announcement for the franchise was teased in 2022, many fans instantly assumed that this would be the anime’s return. However, this proved to not be the case, with the franchise instead announcing its first film, Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King, set to debut on Netflix in June 2023 as of this article’s writing.

Although any anime project, period, is a good sign of the mainline series’ return for a fifth season, fans of the anime adaptation were understandably disappointed by the news. While no announcement of the series’ return has been made yet, fans have instead found a new possible time and venue for the announcement to come.

The theory of many is that the film’s release will either be followed by or even possibly include an announcement of the anime series’ return. Unfortunately, with the Black Clover film set to release in June 2023, as mentioned above, fans will have to wait at least this long to see such news become officially confirmed.

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Potential return date for the series

If June 2023 or a later date does indeed see the anime series announced as returning for a fifth season, this would unfortunately not bode well for a quick return of the series. Considering the Sword of the Wizard King film has already been pushed back due to production issues, it’s unlikely that significant production for the fifth season is underway.

As a result, fans will most likely not see a fifth season until Spring 2024 at the absolute earliest. A more realistic return date is for the Fall 2024 season, which would give Studio Pierrot the proper time to give the series the adaptation it deserves. Likewise, fans deserve a high-quality adaptation of the series considering its juggernaut status in Shueisha’s shonen catalog.

This is especially true following Studio Pierrot’s exceptional job on the Bleach: TYBW anime series, proving them to be as capable of high-quality animation as any other studio. While the relatively low episode count of the series’ first part could justify this, Pierrot could undoubtedly break up Black Clover’s final arcs in a similar manner to prioritize quality over everything else.

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Where the anime left off

Episode 170 of the Black Clover anime left off with both Asta and Yuno training for the upcoming Spade Kingdom Raid in their own ways. The former had just finished contracting with Liebe, while Yuno was last seen speaking with Langris Vaude in a break from his own training. Once Asta had contracted with Liebe, the two were set to actually fight against Black Bull Vice-Captain, Nacht Faust.

The Spade Kingdom Raid Arc is the last arc the series left off on, as evidenced by Asta and Yuno’s preparation for the eponymous operation. The anime had only adapted the equivalent of 9 chapters of the arc as of episode 170, leaving 61 chapters unadapted.

These 61 chapters are regarded as one of the best stretches in the series’ history, with tons of exciting moments and scenes. Should the series ever return for a fifth season, it’ll undoubtedly have plenty of exciting and engaging moments to adapt.

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Be sure to keep up with all Black Clover anime, manga, and film news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.