How To Watch Black Clover In Order

Shonen anime is full of stories about kids with powers going to some sort of academy to train, hone their skills, and gain friends before going out to fight increasingly more powerful villains. From "Naruto and "My Hero Academia" to "Demon Slayer" and "Jujutsu Kaisen," it's a very popular trope. Then we have the stories that follow a powerless character in a world of superpowered individuals, such as the fantastic Wizarding World parody "Mashle," or the popular "Black Clover."

Adapted from Yūki Tabata's manga of the same name, Studio Pierrot's "Black Clover" is set in a world where everyone can use magic. We follow a young boy named Asta who has zero magical skills whatsoever and instead gains anti-magic abilities. Asta grows up focusing on physical strength, motivated by a dream to become the next Wizard King (despite having no magic). The story then focuses on Asta's journey, joining a squad of warriors known as the Black Bulls and facing increasingly more dangerous threats.

The fast pace of the story, the creative power system, and the dark world with an interesting and poignant take on class, inequality, and discrimination all helped make "Black Clover" a popular show with fans. Unfortunately, the anime caught up with Tabata's manga back in 2021 and went on hiatus — even if it did follow the story with a movie in 2023.

While we wait for new episodes of "Black Clover," you can either watch one of these shows, or revisit the anime all over again following this guide.

With nearly 200 episodes of anime, a movie, and multiple OVAs (original video animation) released about "Black Clover," there is a lot to cover — even if it is still much easier to watch all of "Black Clover" than, say, every "One Piece" episode and movie. The easiest way to watch "Black Clover" is to go by release order:

• "Black Clover" Jump Festa 2016 OVA (unfortunately, this episode is not available to stream legally)

• "Black Clover" Episodes 1-17

• "Black Clover" Episodes 18-59

• "Black Clover" Special Episode "The All Magic Knights Thanksgiving Festa"

• "Black Clover" Episodes 60-98

• "Squishy! Black Clover"

• "Black Clover" Episodes 99-170

• "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King"

While this may be the order "Black Clover" was released — with special episodes and spin-offs released during the show's run — it is not the optimal way to experience the anime. For one, it can be disorienting to have a rather serious and climactic fight be interrupted by a silly parody episode in completely different style. That's why we have an alternative.

The best way to experience "Black Clover" is to go by mostly by chronological order, with a tiny exception.

• "Black Clover" Episodes 1-17

• "Black Clover" Jump Festa 2016 OVA (unfortunately, this episode is not available to stream legally)

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• "Black Clover" Episodes 18-59

• "Black Clover" Special Episode "The All Magic Knights Thanksgiving Festa"

• "Black Clover" Episodes 60-170

• "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King"

• "Squishy! Black Clover"

Here's why this is the best way to watch "Black Clover." The special episode ties into the main story, so it should be watched as a part of the main series, but once you get into the movie, things get a bit tricky. That's because "Sword of the Wizard King" — which we called one of the best Netflix releases of 2023 — technically takes place between episodes 157 and 158. The problem is that the movie also spoils things from the last few episodes of the anime so far, so it is best to just watch it after you're done with the anime, with the knowledge that the story technically takes place much earlier.

As for "Squishy! Black Clover," this is a web animated series that takes place in a completely different universe not fitting the main timeline, with a different art style and characters acting unlike their main story counterparts. It's best to leave that until you've finished the main story and consider this a bonus.