Black Clover (season 4)

The fourth and final season of the Black Clover anime TV series was directed by Ayataka Tanemura and produced by Pierrot.[1] The season premiered on December 8, 2020 on TV Tokyo in Japan, and will end on March 30, 2021. The season will adapt anime canon episodes supervised by Tabata before continuing off with the 24th volume of the manga and onward. Both Crunchyroll and Funimation licensed the series for an English release, with Crunchyroll simulcasting the fourth season, and Funimation producing a North American Simuldub.

Black Clover
Season 4
Key visual
Country of origin	Japan
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	TV Tokyo
Original release	December 8, 2020 – present
Season chronology

The four-season uses four pieces of theme music: two opening theme and two ending theme. For the first 3 episodes, the opening and ending themes are "Everlasting Shine" (永遠に光れ, Eien ni Hikare) by Tomorrow X Together[2] and "A Walk" by Gakuto Kajiwara.[3] The second opening and ending themes, used for episodes 158 onward, are "Grandeur" by Snow Man and "BEAUTIFUL" by Treasure.[4]

Episode list

No.	Funimation's English title / Japanese translated title Original Japanese title [lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]	Directed by	Written by	Original air date [5]	English air date [6]
155	"The 5 Spirit Guardians" Transcription: "Gonin no Seirei no Kami" (Japanese: ５人の精霊守)	Fumio Maezono	Kunihiko Okada	December 8, 2020	TBA
The Black Bulls travel to the Heart Kingdom with the other squad members (Leopold, Mimosa, Charlotte, and Rill), including an uninvited Charmy who insists on sampling Heart Kingdom cuisine. Gaja, who will train Luck, introduces the Spirit Guardians, Sarado of Earth who will train Mimosa and Charlotte, Potrof of Plants who will train Rill, Floga of Fire who will train Leopold, and Smurik of Wind who will train Finral. Queen Loropechika announces she will be training Secre while Undine trains Noelle. The Guardians reveal their technique, Mana Words, that enables them to imbue spells with complicated instructions, making them more intricate, accurate, and powerful. Unable to pass Gaja’s first test Magna is deemed not ready and leaves. Rill quickly takes to Mana Words by painting them. Charmy also proves adept at Mana Words but only uses them to find more food. Loropechika reveals to Noelle and Secre the others are being trained to stop the Spade army, but only Loropechika, Undine, Noelle, and Secre together will be capable of stopping Megicula and his human vessel, Vanica. Finral struggles in using his magic for attacks, more used to supporting his teammates. Asta also struggles as his straightforward methods are too limited for Gaja’s more strategic methods and he loses every training match. Finral passes on their progress to Yami who is shown undergoing his own training on Yultim Volcano Trail.
156	"Awakening Powers" Transcription: "Mezame Yuku Chikara" (Japanese: 目覚めゆく力)	Chihiro Kumano	Mio Inoue	December 15, 2020	TBA
Leopold admits to Floga he feels inferior to Mereoleona and Fuegoleon. Yami meets Mereoleona and admits that while he was able to instinctively use Mana Zone against Zagred he wants Mereoleona’s help using it to its full potential. Yami and Asta find they cannot match the speed of Mereoleona or Gaja even using ki detection. Asta remembers that his Demon Dweller sword possesses the ability to borrow magic from others while Yami suddenly develops the ability to manoeuvre in mid-air using Mana Zone like Mereoleona. Surpassing their limits Asta uses a ranged anti-magic attack and land his first blow on Gaja while Yami unlocks a new spell, Mana Zone’s Black Hole, which swallows Mereoleona’s magic leaving him unharmed. The Guardians report their progress to Loropechika. Rill and Charmy are naturals at Mana Words but Noelle and Secre have made the most progress while Leopold and Finral have self-doubt which holds them back. A group of rebel Spade kingdom mages attempt to escape into the Clover kingdom through the strong mana region with important information about the Spade army. They are attacked by Spade soldiers so they transfer their remaining magic to their leader, Ralph, so he can escape. As Ralph is the son of a deceased Spade commander the incident is reported to the Spade King, whose monstrous shadow reveals he is the vessel for a devil.
157	"Five-Leaf Clover" Transcription: "Itsutsuba no Kurōbā" (Japanese: 五つ葉のクローバー)	Takahiro Enokida	Kan'ichi Katō	December 22, 2020	TBA
Gaja asks Asta about his early life and the Devil in his Grimoire so Asta explains about being found by Father Orsi, his childhood with Yuno at Hage and his initial failure to receive a Grimoire. After Yuno was attacked by Revchi, Asta was granted the 5 clover Grimoire and was accepted into the Black Bulls while Yuno was accepted by the Golden Dawn, later finding the Demon Dweller sword that allowed him to borrow the magic of others and his first contact with the elves, when Patry was still masquerading as Licht. He also explains how Yami taught him Ki detection. Gaja asks how Asta activates his devil form so Asta explains about his visit to the Witches Forest and his fight against Ladros when he activated his devil form by accident, then his training at Yultim volcano where he activated it intentionally. Asta explains how he received the Demon Destroyer sword during the Elves invasion that helped in his defeat of the devil Zagred. All that remained was his trial by Parliament and attempting to prove his innocence. Satisfied with the tale Gaja resumes dueling with Asta. Meanwhile, Loropechika explains to Noelle how everyone is improving and Noelle is hopeful she can get revenge for her mother. Gaja disarms Asta and momentarily sees Liebe manifesting himself to protect Asta from harm and decides he must push Asta to his limit to grow his powers even further. Within Asta, Liebe declares events are getting a lot more interesting.
158	"The Beginning of Hope and Despair" Transcription: "Kibō to Zetsubō no Makuake" (Japanese: 希望と絶望の幕開け)	Naoki Matsuura	Kunihiko Okada	January 5, 2021	TBA
Ralph continues trying to cross the border. The Spade army begins crossing the border in a mechanized citadel called Candelo powered by siphoning magic from Spade commoners. Asta, who has grown even stronger and can now fly astride his demon slayer sword, flies to Candelo where he is enraged to see Spade Knights siphoning prisoners to death. Asta confronts Candelo’s commander who reveals he is also the vessel for a devil. He poisons Asta with poison magic but Asta easily absorbs the poison into the demon destroyer sword and furiously cuts the citadel in half, defeating the captain in a single blow. The Bulls arrive and Mimosa helps the prisoners recover. Noelle reveals Luck and Leopold were sent to destroy the Spade base near to the prisoner’s village. Realising they get to return home safely the prisoners reveal the Spade kingdom is ruled by the Dark Triad, each possessed by a powerful devil, and their followers the Dark Disciples who draw demonic power from the Triad. The Triad, siblings Dante, Vanica and Zenon Zogratis, consider the loss of Candelo trivial when they are close to their goal for which they only need capture two Arcane Stage mages. Ralph finally crosses the border and collapses by Hage Church where Sister Lily finds him calling out for “Prince Yuno”.
159	"Quiet Lakes and Forest Shadows" Transcription: "Shizuka na Mizuumi to Mori no Kage" (Japanese: 静かな湖と森の影)	Fumio Maezono	Mio Inoue	January 12, 2021	TBA
Sister Lily helps Ralph recover. Loropehika decides to keep capturing villages from the Spade Kingdom. Charmy has been pillaging the forests fruit and there is almost none left. Loropechika takes the girls to the royal hot spring to bathe where Undine is curious which of the girls is dating Asta. Noelle refuses to admit liking Asta while Mimosa admits she is too afraid to confess. Secre, who spends the most time with Asta, merely admits he has the best head for sitting on. Mimosa asks about Gaja and Loropechika who regretfully insists they are just friends. Asta finds Charmy has eaten so much fruit she has gained weight. He suggests she stop eating so she sets her giant sheep chef on him. Yuno receives a message from Hage. Potrof teams up with Asta and Rill who manage to defeat Charmy. Rill claims he fights for the woman he loves and shows Asta a portrait of her, which Asta realises, is Charmy in her adult form, though Rill doubts it is Charmy due to her weight gain. Yuno travels to Hage where Ralph reveals that the Dark Triad stole the Spade Kingdom from the former royal family, House Grinberryall, and Yuno is their missing heir, Prince Yuno of House Grinberryall.
160	"The Messenger from the Spade Kingdom" Transcription: "Supēdo Ōkoku no Shisha" (Japanese: スペード王国の使者)	Tazumi Mukaiyama	Masanao Akahoshi	January 19, 2021	TBA
After getting over his surprise at Yuno being the Prince of the Spade Kingdom, Father Orsi asks about Asta, since he was left on the same night as Yuno, but Ralph has no idea who Asta is. With his flame magic Ralph shows Yuno visions of his past. Yuno was born the first son of King Royce and Queen Ciel who gave him his necklace and for a time the Spade Kingdom was peaceful, until the three Zogratis siblings, three of the strongest Spade warriors, gained devil powers and attacked the castle. Yuno was smuggled out of the Spade kingdom through the strong magic region by Ralph’s father. After placing Yuno outside the orphanage he led the Spade soldiers away, killing them and himself by collapsing a cliff. Before Yuno can think how to react to the revelation he receives word Golden Dawn headquarters has been attacked. Zenon Zogratis of the Dark Triad orders his disciples to kill every Golden Dawn member except William Vangeance, the arcane stage mage he needs, and savagely attacks the knights who get in his way. Yuno rushes to help his squad, many of whom are injured or already dead.
161	"Zenon's Power" Transcription: "Zenon no Chikara" (Japanese: ゼノンの力)	Akira Shimizu	Momoko Murakami	January 26, 2021	TBA
Yuno tries to defend his surviving comrades but struggles against Gaderois, a Dark Disciple using devil enhanced stone magic. Gaderois brags about the Dark Triad who gave demonic power to murderers like him to make them Zero Stage mages. When he also brags about the Triad killing the Spade King Yuno summons his Zephyr wind sword and destroys Gaderois stone armour, defeating him. Klaus faces a disciple named Foyal using enhanced mist magic and he is unable to fight back as Foyal can turn his body intangible. Yuno blows away the mist while Letoile uses her compass magic to expose Foyal’s real body. Klaus impales Foyal with his iron spear, defeating him. Zenon suddenly appears, having defeated and captured Vangeance. Zenon, who uses bone magic, summons spears made of his own bones and impales Klaus and Letoile. Impressed by Yuno’s power Zenon decides to show Yuno his devil power and completely overwhelms him. Ralph arrives at the Golden Dawn and finds Yuno dying. Vangeance’s Yggdrasil tree suddenly sprouts from the rubble and begins healing everyone since, even defeated, Vangeance used the last of his magic to help heal his knights, though fully half of the Golden Dawn is dead and Yuno blames himself.
162	"The Great War Breaks Out" Transcription: "Taisen Boppatsu" (Japanese: 大戦勃発)	Naoki Kotani	Kunihiko Okada	February 2, 2021	TBA
Rill and Charlotte depart to meet the other captains so Asta and Finral return to their base. Loropechika and Undine suddenly sense six enemies inside the kingdom, including Vanica Zogratis and her devil Megicula. Asta reaches Bull's base and Finral teleports to fetch Yami. Gordon continues training in curse magic with his family. Asta learns after Magna returned from the Heart Kingdom he disappeared with Zora. Henry suddenly warns the Bulls the base is being levitated by Dante Zogratis using gravity magic. Realising his target, Yami, is absent, Dante attempts to crush the base, only failing due to Rouge. Seeing Vanessa is both powerful and beautiful Dante decides he wants her as a mistress. Gauche creates multiple Asta clones, hoping Dante cannot dodge them all, but Dante activates his devil form and generates a reality warping black hole so every attack misses. Seeing that Asta is also devil possessed Dante attempts to reason with him that humans are the evil ones but Asta furiously disagrees. Dante destroys Rouge and stabs Gauche. Asta has a very brief flashback of a woman calling him her son before unleashing his devil powers. Lucifero, Dante’s devil, assures him Asta is likely possessed by a low level devil, so Dante is shocked when Asta manages to predict his movements and slash his face, enraging him.
163	"Dante VS The Captain of the Black Bulls" Transcription: "Dante Bāsasu Kuro no Bōgyū Danchō" (Japanese: ダンテVS黒の暴牛団長)	Fumio Maezono Rokō Ogiwara	Mio Inoue Momoko Murakami	February 9, 2021	TBA
164	"Battlefield: Heart Kingdom" Transcription: "Senjō Hāto Ōkoku" (Japanese: 戦場ハート王国)	TBA	TBA	February 16, 2021	TBA
165	"Water Crusade" Transcription: "Mizu no Seisen" (Japanese: 水の聖戦)	TBA	TBA	February 23, 2021	TBA

Home video releases

Japanese

In Japan, Avex Pictures will release the season of the anime on DVD and Blu-ray in one "chapter" volumes, with the sixteenth volume scheduled for June 25, 2021.[7]

Avex Pictures (Japan, Region 2 / A)

Chapter.		Episodes	Release date	Ref.
	XVI	155–170	June 25, 2021	[7]

Notes

1. Adult Swim uses Funimation's English title.
2. If there's one title; it is taken from Funimation and Crunchyroll. As the second title is taken from Crunchyroll.

References

1. "Monster Musume's Tatsuya Yoshihara Directs Black Clover TV Anime". Anime News Network. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
2. "TOMORROW X TOGETHER Perform Black Clover Anime's New Opening Song". Anime News Network. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
3. "Black Clover Star Gakuto Kajiwara Makes Debut as Singer With Anime's Next Ending Theme". Anime News Network. August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
4. "Black Clover Anime Unveils New Theme Song Artists, New Cast Member". Anime News Network. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
5. "エピソード ブラッククローバー|テレビ東京アニメ公式" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
6. "Schedule - Adult Swim". Adult Swim. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
7. "Chapter 16" (in Japanese). Black Clover. Retrieved February 2, 2021.