The TV anime series adaptation ofBlack Cloverhas ended in Japan with its episode 170 on March 30, after several years, and with no episode 171 in sight - what happened, did it get canceled, why was there a special announcement for a movie, and when’s the release date? Last but not least, what’s the drama behind the war againstBlack Clover, MHA, and other popular Shonen anime?We’re here to explain everything.
WasBlack Clovercanceled, is it ending?
Black Clover, the anime, ended on march 30 with episode 170, and no announcement of episode 171, this was a calculated choice, decided months in advance, by Studio Pierrot, Shueisha, and all companies part of the anime production committee ofBlack Clover, the anime was not canceled.
I’s possible the anime was supposed to go past 170 episodes and was “canceled” internally several months ago, but we’ll never know.
However, while the TV anime series ended, theBlack Cloveranime itself is continuing with a movie, and theBlack Cloveroriginal manga by YÅ«ki Tabata is still ongoing and has no reason to stop now.
What’s theBlack Cloverspecial announcement and movie?
Soon afterBlack Cloverepisode 170 aired in Japan, the Japanese officialTwitteraccount for the series announced a movie is in the works.
TheBlack Clovermovie special announcement was paired with a new beautiful illustration of Asta, drawn by the anime’s character designer, Itsuko Takeda.
So when’s theBlack Clovermovie release date?
Well, I can read Japanese in case you’ve forgotten, and the tweet says “Additional details will be published in a later date. Look forward to it!”.
For now, we can only wait for more announcements.
What’s the drama withMy Hero Academiaand other Shonen anime fans?
Well,Black Cloverpretty much has been the laughing stock of some anime fans for several years now. Several Shonen anime fans, such as a portion of theMHAfanbase - be sure to keep in mind it’s onlypartof the fanbase - often ridiculed theBlack Cloveranime for its low animation quality. TheBlack Cloveranime ending, and the movie special announcement, triggered such remarks again on social media.
Black Clover, animated by Studio Pierrot, often had very poorly animated scenes, though still retained some cool sakuga for some fights. There’s a reason for that:
Black Cloverhas been airing every week, with nearly no breaks, from October 2017 to August 19, 2025. The anime followed the classic pattern of long running Shonen anime. These ultimately end up having episodes with much better animation than others. Depending on which animators worked on it.
Meanwhile, certain popular series, such asMy Hero Academia, orAttack on Titan, are using what we call the split cour system. After airing one cour, generally made of 10 to 13 episodes, the series take a break for one or multiple anime season, and come back later.
This system allows studios to provide very high quality animation for long running Shonen series. It’s another story whether the working conditions of animators have actually improved with it. Seeing wages are still lower than ever. But at the end of the day,This is whyMHAwas always better animated thanBlack Clover.
What did you think of theBlack Cloveranime? Did you watch all 170 episodes? You can always hit me up on Twitter to chat about it.
