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thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 4 months

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Hi there, Laura! Hope you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season. You don't have answer this ask, but after reading your thoughts on the new chapter, I just wanted to share that you're not alone in feeling frustrated with the BC manga right now. I have certainly been feeling the same way myself. I actually took a break from it for a while earlier this year (still kept up with the spoilers & such but didn't read week to week) partially due to my poor health and mostly because I was feeling frustrated & hoping it would keep my attention better if/when the pacing evened out. Unfortunately, the pacing issues seem to be persisting. Being a bit of a hobbyist writer myself I recognize that it can be very difficult to keep a consistent pace throughout a story especially a very long one so I try to be forgiving of that in works, especially when they are ongoing & published serially (like a manga). I think in this particular case there is just a big contrast between the pacing of previous arcs (i.e. Elf Reincarnation) and this one, and the added pressure of it being the final arc which draws more attention to the pacing here.

I liked what you said in an answer to another ask about how not every series can have "ups" all the time. I absolutely agree and would even go so far as to say that one of the things that was so special about BC and what I loved about it so much was how Tabata filled those downtimes and slower paced moments with really compelling characters & their dynamics with one another. And that's really what I feel I have been missing from the series lately. It sometimes feels like it's moving so quickly that all of these wonderful characters and storylines I came to love as the story unfolded have had to be pushed aside in favor of these epic battle sequences. They're great, of course, but it's not really why I've connected with this story and stuck with it for so long. But I realize that the target audience (at least) is probably connecting with this series for the epic adventure story and battle sequences. My cousin (who recommended BC to me in the first place), for instance, is 100% there for the epic battle sequences and doesn't care all that much about the character development and the little side people (i.e. he's been into BC far longer than I have and I've had to remind him multiple times who Langris even is lol. Needless to say, he'd be shocked to know I've written thousands upon thousands of words just about him and very few words about any battles). I love my cousin & will forever be grateful that he introduced me to such an incredible story that we both adore, but there is no denying that we love it for completely different reasons. And after reading what you shared about your frustrations, I wondered if perhaps you are a little more like me and missing those smaller character interactions and worrying that all these wonderful characters (whether with big roles or small roles in the story) that made BC so special will get their arcs wrapped up in a satisfying way.

When a story starts to move this quickly from one fight sequence to the next in the final battle, it can start to feel like all the characters' intrapersonal conflicts are just getting swept up into the fray, and for a story like BC that always did such an incredible job of giving *every* character their own arc, motivations, and really their own "moment"--it can feel a bit worrying, disappointing, and, yes, frustrating to feel like they aren't getting their moments when they really matter and when it's their last chance to get them. Yes, this is the end of the story of Black Clover but what's so special about the story of Black Clover is that it's not only Asta's story or Yuno's story...it's *everyone's* story. There are B-plots, C-plots, D-plots, all the way to Z-plots. Each and every one of these subplots--these stories and the characters they affect--deserves an ending, and I think there is frustration that sets in in knowing that unless the pacing of the story as it is now drastically changes there will not be room for closure for all (and possibly even most) of these subplots and supporting characters that we've come to know, love, & appreciate.

All of that said, it's still a work in progress. I don't pretend to know what Tabata has planned & I'll reserve judgment until the end. Truthfully, no matter how it ends I will be forever grateful for a wonderful story & amazing characters that I really connected with. I personally don't feel that what has been written is bad, but I will admit constructively that I do feel a little disappointed and am finding it harder to keep my interest with it as time goes on. To me, with these rushed battle sequences, it's almost like it's losing some of that magic (no pun intended) that made it special and different from every other battle epic shounen. I believe that in what it set out to do as a battle epic, it has succeeded and continues to succeed even now as it nears its conclusion, but it went above & beyond that in what it did with its characters and that's where it feels to be falling a little short recently. But again, I'll admit, I think that has more to do with the fact I'm the oddball that was never really there for the battles in the first place, so I'm not sure I can really speak to the "good" or "bad" of the writing, since in a way I feel like it's not being written for *me* because I'm not the target audience, if that makes sense?

I was curious of your thoughts on this (and hope my ramblings weren't too incoherent) so I thought I'd send an ask in case you wanted to weigh in. But please don't feel obligated. Thank you & Cheers, dear!! 💖

Hiya Acacia! I hope that you're well too!!

Tbh, I hadn't thought about BC being a "battle anime" per se, because though there were a lot of battles in the beginning, it was well balanced with the prose, and the battles advanced the plot. (Granted that the battles do advance the plot as well, but they feel relatively meaningless if there's no connection from the reader to the story itself on an emotional level. In my opinion) But we have very similar thoughts about the issue with pacing indeed. To me, it almost feels like Tabs deemed all the necessary characterization to be done, and now he'll just cut to the chase and "hack & slash". Or then, like any writer, he has scenes where he just really wants to get to. And the pacing suffers because of it.

If it was just a few chapters of battles, like... let's say 5 in a row in between some proper character interactions and story arcs where we can learn about the world and the lore, then I wouldn't mind. But because it feels like we've gotten a year of nothing but battle battle battle, it got to me. Luckily there's fanfic and other lil' projects in the meantime to keep one entertained.

I also didn't think about what exactly is the target audience here, because the story started as more character and story centric with some battle here and there, I probably thought the story to be targeted to people who enjoy action and adventure, which would include more than just fights.

But also, maybe this is like the Royal Knights arc (which I forget half the time). That was also very battle centric, but it was building up to something more.

Now, I was lucky enough to be able to fast forward the Royal Knights arc, by going as far as to skip some episodes because it didn't appeal to me and seemed to have minimal contribution to the plot as a whole in my opinion, but now I'm experiencing it in real time so to say.

This doesn't mean that I would dislike BC. I'm not going to say that "because of this BC is bad", because it's not. It's going through a slow season.

I certainly can't blame you for taking a break. I'm on a semi-break myself due to ... well, school. I might have a little more time next semester, but I can't say for sure, because the courses of next semester are supposed to be the toughest ones during the first 4 years. So, I'll be around, but probably not as vocal. And I suppose I'll feel less like I'd need to stay on top of the plot on a weekly basis, because Tabs has moved to the once every 6 months type of an arrangement.

And there has to be more than 2 chapters still to come

Source

These don't even include chapter 369's MagLuck VS. Lucius clone

This short text gives hope of at least 5 chapters still to come, all probably long ones. However, I want to believe that since they're "major fights" in which the MagLuck team up wasn't counted (meaning that chapter 369's battle isn't considered as "major"), these 4 battles will probably take more than 1 battle/chapter.

Also.... when you look at the colour page, you see at least five things:

Licita, William, Ichika, Nacht and Adrammelech

Nacht is probably going to tie in on the Yami VS. Morgen battle, and Ichika will meet up with her brother (dare I speculate a team up as well), with a high potential for some sibling reconciliation, because the ground work for it has been set.

Adra is the big question mark, because what exactly are they up to, is up for a debate. But because they are there, and Tabs hasn't placed people on coloured pages without a reason until now, there's potential for something more.

However, the thing that draws attention most, to me, as someone who wants more lore and plot, are Lichita and William.

The image of Lichita looks like it's from a memory, and considering how Asta's grimoire, with Liebe inside, somehow wound up to the grimoire tower, behind a brick on the outer wall, after Lichita died, gives good reason to wish for a flash back, maybe even a small story that takes place in the past. Not just in memories, because I doubt that Liebe can actually remember events of the grimoire in that manner.

And William's picture looks like it's a memory, to me, as well. For now, we're under the impression that William is... gathering himself after, maybe, losing a limb (we've been wrong about these before with Mereo, so I'm not saying that he actually has lost one), but he might feel like he needs to still atone himself somehow. Maybe he's reminiscing to something in his past, after meeting with Julius. That would be plot relevant in more ways than one, and could explain why Will is there, looking so solemn.

So, to me, after some contemplation, I think that we're going to mimic the elf arc, and the Final Arc is only now starting with chapter 370. Things up until now have just been the "Royal Knights Arc" of the Final Arc.

Idk, that's just what I think atm

#black clover #black clover manga #acacia #space brothers afficianado #lovely mutuals #Oh! and I will answer your ask game asks!#I've just been caught up with holiday season stuff ^^'

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