Black Clover is set to make its epic return in 2026, and though fans are hyped, there is an equal amount of trepidation. Studio Pierrot’s anime adaptation was beloved for its wildly positive energy and how it elevated Yuki Tabata’s already loved source material. Given this, the anime’s return has a lot to live up to.
If Black Clover season 2 really wants to make a splash, then there’s one thing it needs to do: bring back Ayataka Tanemura as director. Tanemura is a veteran animator who previously directed Black Clover’s movie, Sword of the Wizard King. Despite not adapting any of the manga’s source material, Sword of the Wizard King was critically acclaimed, even earning 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 96% Fresh from fans.
Black Clover’s Movie Director Could Be Key To Making Season 2 An Unambiguous Hit
A large part of the praise for Sword of the Wizard King came down to the direction and animation led by Tanemura. Tanemura’s direction really upgraded the anime’s look and felt appropriately cinematic, helping Sword of the Wizard King feel like so much more than just a bigger episode of the anime.
Series creator Yuki Tabata must have agreed, as he made Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King part of the series’ official canon, something that’s a little rare for fresh anime material not adapted from manga source material.
In addition to directing the movie, Tanemura also directed more than a few episodes of Black Clover’s anime, handled storyboards, and served as Unit Director, all meaning that the man clearly has the necessary experience to bring Yuki Tabata’s manga to vibrant life.
Black Clover Is Returning To a Changed Anime Landscape
It’s safe to say that when Black Clover returns, it will need to level up its production. The anime’s first part began in 2017, and the anime industry has gone through a lot of changes since then.
The bar for what a competent shonen anime has consistently been raised with the likes of critically acclaimed series like Ufotable’s Demon Slayer, MAPPA’s Jujutsu Kaisen, and Bones’ My Hero Academia. Even Pierrot, the studio behind Black Clover, has been upping its game. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is a huge step-up over the original Bleach anime, with consistently high-quality animation and smart changes to the source material that fans have loved.
This is the kind of treatment Black Clover deserves when Part 2 premieres in 2026, and Tanemura has shown that he’s the right man to do it.
Though it may seem hard to fathom now, there was a large portion of time when Black Clover didn’t enjoy the critical success it has now. The series endured critiques of being derivative and for following outdated shonen formulas.
When Black Clover returns, it has an opportunity to prove its harshest critics wrong, but that will necessitate a slight change in approach. Pierrot is still a studio in flux, but if their recent output is anything to go by, then fans have every reason to believe Black Clover’s return will do so much more than just match what came before.
- Release Date
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2017 – 2021
- Network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
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Matsuo Asami, Rokou Ogiwara, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Akira Shimizu, Fumio Maezono, Daisuke Chiba, Toshihiro Maeya, Yoshimitsu Tsuda, Toshiaki Kanbara, Takahiro Enokida, Yasumi Mikamoto, Kenichi Maejima, Chihiro Kumano, Naoki Horiuchi, Yoshino Miwa
- Writers
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Kanichi Kato, Mio Inoue, Masanao Akahoshi, Momoko Murakami, Kunihiko Okada
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Gakuto Kajiwara
Asta (voice)
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Nobunaga Shimazaki
Yuno (voice)
