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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the Black Clover manga.
Author and illustrator Yuki Tabata’s Black Clover has slowly cemented itself as a frontrunner for part of the new-gen Big Three throughout its seven-year serialization. An enjoyable rivalry between the main protagonists, a unique take on a magic combat system, and a well-developed female cast have all served to keep it at the forefront of new-gen manga discussions.
One of the less discussed aspects of Black Clover, however, are its plot twists, which are quite numerous and of uniformly high quality despite their numbers. While fans have had varying reactions to the series’ twists overall, there are a few which shocked everyone, despite how each fan individually felt about the twist in terms of quality.
Here are five Black Clover plot twists from Tabata that shocked everyone.
Yuno’s Royal Heritage and 4 other plot twists from Tabata that shocked the entire Black Clover fanbase
1) Lucius Zogratis’ introduction
The most recent Black Clover plot twist is also one of its more shocking, taking nearly the entire fanbase by surprise upon the initial reveal. Author and illustrator Yuki Tabata also executed this plot twist perfectly, revealing Julius Novachrono and Lucius Zogratis to be one just before taking a three-month hiatus from serialization.
The twist only became more shocking as it was given time to sit with fans, despite a plethora of teases from prior issues which became apparent in hindsight. The importance of such a twist also became emphasized the longer it sat with fans, as they recognized how Julius had always been observing, exploring, and discovering to work towards his and Lucius’ goal.
2) William Vangeance is Patolli
One of the earliest and biggest plot twists in Black Clover was that William Vangeance was revealed to have been the human host for Patolli, leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. What fans found most impressive and shocking about the reveal was the lengths Tabata went to in order to prove Vangeance’s innocence.
Yami Sukehiro is seen interrogating him before the reveal, to the point of asking the Golden Dawn Captain to remove his helmet and expose his face. Tabata's brilliant red herring made the eventual reveal of Patolli’s true identity even more mind-blowing for those who took William’s words at face value.
3) Yuno’s heritage
One Black Clover plot twist that fans were split on was Yuno’s royal heritage from the Spade Kingdom. Many had suspected this for quite some time, given Yuno being found with a Magic Stone at the Hage orphanage and his exceptional magic which has constantly been compared to nobility levels of skill and power.
Regardless of whether fans expected it or not, it was just as shocking to everyone involved, with purporters of the royal lineage theory even saying there were holes in its plot. Upon the reveal and explanatory patching of these holes, nearly every fan of the series had their mind blown that Yuno’s desire to be Wizard King could extend to two separate kingdoms.
4) Asta and Liebe are brothers
Just like Yuno's, Asta’s familial origins in Black Clover had been a long-standing topic of debate and theorycrafting amongst the series' fans. There were certainly plenty of guesses, many of which pegged his parents as being similar to Henry Legolant in his absorption of the mana of those around him. It turns out these theories were spot on, with Asta’s mom Licita being introduced as having the exact same affliction.
This reveal came alongside Liebe’s backstory, which saw him kicked out of the Underworld and become adopted by Licita after she helped heal him back to full health. This also pegged Asta and Liebe as brothers, essentially giving fans two massive plot twists in one which blew the readers' minds at the time.
5) The introduction of Devils
Arguably the most transformative of the series' plot twists is the introduction of Devils following the Eye of the Midnight Sun’s achievement of their grand plan. Even more incredible was the reveal that the series’ first named Devil, Zagred, had orchestrated every conflict which influenced this current and final war between humans and elves.
It’s one of the most memorable plot twists in new-gen shonen anime and manga series, mainly thanks to how unexpected and sudden it was. There was minimal foreshadowing, if any, to this reality, which added a surplus of shock value for fans as they experienced it for the first time.
