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Alongside the latest Black Clover spoilers and raw scans, it was revealed that author and illustrator Yuki Tabata’s series would also be getting the cover page for Weekly Shonen Jump, which has since been leaked. It is shown to feature Asta wielding his Demon-Slayer Sword while looking back at the camera.
Twitter user and apparent Black Clover fan @EtherionMaster recently posted a tweet comparing the upcoming cover featuring Asta to one of Bleach, which featured Ichigo Kurosaki. @EtherionMaster also asserted that this is clear proof that it wasn’t Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto that influenced Tabata’s series, but rather Tite Kubo’s Bleach.
Black Clover’s latest Weekly Shonen Jump cover proves once and for all which Big 3 series inspired it
With the upcoming Black Clover cover for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine clearly being a Bleach reference, discourse has started yet again over what inspired Tabata’s series. While there are many similarities to Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto in the series, these are largely circumstances of both Tabata and Kishimoto pulling from Japanese mythology and culture.
For example, the former's introduction of Ryudo Ryuya’s Tengentsu faced heavy criticism for being a copy of the Sharingan in terms of style. This was mainly based on both visual powers using the Japanese tomoe symbol for their designs. With this being the only similarity between the two, it’s hard to say whether or not Tabata copied Kishimoto or found similar inspiration in the tomoe.
There’s also the Yami clan massacre, which many fans of Kishimoto’s series argued was a direct rip-off of the Uchiha clan massacre from Naruto. The circumstances were certainly similar, with the entire clan being wiped out save for a pair of siblings. However, the final reveal and ultimate truth of what happened in the Yami clan massacre greatly differentiates it from its Naruto counterpart.
The similarities and clear inspirations from Bleach, meanwhile, are apparent and inarguable. For example, like how Sosuke Aizen was initially introduced as an ally but was later revealed to be the ultimate enemy of the series, so was Julius Novachrono. Tabata has even drawn Julius in ways that are clearly inspired by and references to Aizen’s character.
Now, the latest reference to Kubo’s series comes in the form of the latest Weekly Shonen Jump cover for Tabata, which clearly references Ichigo Kurosaki, and is meant to celebrate the beginning of the Judgment Day battle, set to be the climax of the series’ final arc, which began in July of 2022.
Be sure to keep up with all Black Clover manga and film news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
