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Ever since the anime wrapped up on March 30, 2021, fans have been debating if they will get Black Clover season 5 at all. While there was an announcement about a movie at the end of season 4, the general consensus maintained that the lack of content at the time prevented Studio Pierrot from renewing the anime for a fifth season.
However, there have been 60 chapters published since then, and while the mangaka Yuki Tabata is currently on hiatus, the manga is slated to return around the beginning of August. With what is likely to be the final arc well underway, fans have begun to question whether Black Clover season 5 has suddenly become a very real possibility.
Do the number of new chapters convince Studio Pierrot to greenlight Black Clover season 5?
Black Clover anime is divided into four seasons consisting of 170 episodes. The series has 13 opening themes and 13 ending themes. It’s animated by Studio Pierrot (Naruto, Bleach) and directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara (Jujutsu Kaisen, Barakamon, Naruto as key animator). It notably features Gakuto Kajiwara as Asta, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Yuno, and Kana Yuuki as Noelle.
The anime up to season 4 and the movie announcement
The four seasons of the anime are not evenly spaced. Seasons 1 and 2 consists of 51 episodes each, and season 3 ran for 52 episodes. However, the issue started in season 4, which covered 16 episodes and had to be delayed multiple times due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The total of 170 episodes covers 270 chapters of the manga and a few pages from chapter 272, thus bringing the adaptation ratio to roughly an average of 1.5 chapters per episode.
However, instead of an announcement for Black Clover season 5 at the end of episode 170, a movie announcement was presented to the audience. A trailer and a few visual keys were later released. While no set date has been given, the film is slated to premiere in 2023.
Possibility of season 5 and the content issue
The chief reason why Black Clover season 5 seemed like such an impossibility was the lack of content. The last chapter adapted into the anime, chapter 272, was released in November 2020, which was around the time when season 4 was slated to finish production. By March 30, 2021, there were hardly 15 more chapters published, which would have yielded 10 or fewer episodes.
It was not feasible for Studio Pierrot to greenlight Black Clover season 5. However, in the year since then, 45 more chapters have been published. These 60 additional chapters can be translated into roughly 40 or so episodes, which is enough for a season. On top of that, after the grand reveal in chapter 331, Tabata announced a hiatus to prepare for the final act of the series. This final act is likely to include more chapters than the Spade Kingdom Raid arc, which contained 71 chapters.
An interesting factor would be the voice actors brought on board at the very end of season 4. Liebe’s voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto (Bakugo from My Hero Academia, Nishinoya from Haikyuu!!) and Nacht’s voice actor Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu from Demon Slayer, Dabi from My Hero Academia) are both fairly heavyweight names in the industry.
It seems unlikely that Pierrot would have involved them in the project if they hadn't planned to expand upon their roles in the future. The ending of episode 170 also seems a little abrupt and appears to leave a channel open for Black Clover season 5. Moreover, the number of chapters also seems too many to be adapted into a movie.
Final thoughts
Tabata is expected to come out of hiatus at the end of this month, but no such announcement has been made yet. Nonetheless, the agonizing cliff-hanger he left the readers to suffer at the end of chapter 331, combined with the brilliance of the reveal and the art, makes the series one of the most popular at the moment.
All this to say that Black Clover season 5 is not only possible at this moment but seems to be the most logical course of action. Considering that it has a movie in production, Pierrot may not announce anything about the return of an anime anytime soon. However, readers can strongly expect that their beloved anime will surely return to finish the tale of Asta, Yuno, and the Wizard king.
