“Clues”
What They Say:
In a world where magic is everything, Asta and Yuno are both found abandoned at a church on the same day. While Yuno is gifted with exceptional magical powers, Asta is the only one in this world without any. At the age of fifteen, both receive grimoires, magic books that amplify their holder’s magic. Asta’s is a rare Grimoire of Anti-Magic that negates and repels his opponent’s spells. Being opposite but good rivals, Yuno and Asta are ready for the hardest of challenges to achieve their common dream: to be the Wizard King. Giving up is never an option!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yami asks Gordon to go back home and ask his family about forbidden magic. They may find some clues pertaining to the devils. Gordon agrees to go back home because he wants to help his best friend, Asta! Asta, Grey, and Gauche join him on his trip back home. Also, Yami forced them to go because he sure as hell wasn’t, haha. Gordon’s family consists of distinguished curse mages. Since cursing people was his family’s trade, he never got to make friends. He never wanted to curse people, he just wanted friends! That’s why he ran away from home. D’awww. I told you Gordon was a good boy! It’s revealed that he did ask his family for help during the time Asta’s arms were cursed but they never responded. He’s hoping things will be different this time around because he’s with his friends. I believe in you, Gordon!
They arrive at Gordon’s house and as you could probably guess, it’s pretty creepy. Asta, Grey, and Gauche all remark that they want to go home. We’re introduced to Gordon’s family who, by the way, all have the same face. There’s his father, Nathan. His mother, Jonna. His grandmother, Nilenia. His little sister, Roxanne. And his dog, Nunnally. The dog immediately bites Asta in the butt, haha. Poor Asta, no animals like him it seems. Now that introductions are over, it’s time for dinner! Gordon’s mom made everyone a nice homemade meal that includes eyeballs and raw paralyzing frogs. Yummy! Asta seems to love it. I’m not surprised by this. Any food is good food, yeah? Grandma keeps asking for the bread even though it’s literally in her hands and she’s eating it. Roxanne tries to befriend Grey and gives her a gift. It’s some weird creature with multiple eyes. Grey freaks out and makes a hilarious face. Jonna thinks it’s about time grandma takes a nap and escorts her away. She mumbles something about the curse of Megicula before leaving. That’s actually important so remember it for later. Roxanne also leaves. Finally, Gordon has a chance to talk to his dad. Gordon knows he pretty much abandoned the family and that he probably has no right to ask a favor. But dangit, this is to help a special friend! Will he tell him about forbidden magic and devils so that he can help that friend? Nathan agrees immediately. Well, that was easier than expected!
Nathan takes everyone to his curse research workshop. At the moment, he’s researching every type of pain there is. That totally doesn’t sound evil or anything. Nathan wants Gordon to inherit his research but he doesn’t want any part of that. He’s not here to stay, he’s here to help his friend! Nathan insists that Gordon learn all the secrets of death by curses, poisons, and drugs. Gordon refuses! People’s lives aren’t playthings. Nathan uses his Black Oil Creation Magic to create a black nail that stabs Asta in the throat! In an interesting twist, he’s perfectly fine. Turns out that Nathan was only checking Asta’s temperature. He reveals that he’s rechanneled what he knows about poisons that harm people, as well as the family’s expertise in curse killing, into health management and medical treatment. Basically, he’s trying to become a healer! Shocking truth! He adds that this venture only began with his generation. At the moment, he can only cure normal diseases and that’s why he couldn’t help Asta when his arms were cursed. Gordon totally misunderstood his dad! He thought his dad was cursing people but he was actually helping them. Gauche hilariously chimes in that they need to work on their communication, haha. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Nathan will happily tell the group what he knows about forbidden magic and devils. Gordon’s dad is pretty cool.
A wild Dorothy appears! Man, this episode just keeps getting better and better. She’s cleaning up the capital when she’s approached by Noelle. She wants to know the truth behind her mother’s death. Okay, that came out of left field. Nozel informed her the other day that their mother didn’t die because she gave birth to Noelle. At that time, she was already cursed to die. Her death was one that should not happen in this world. That sounds like the work of devils! Nozel tells her not to mention the devils or else she’ll be in danger. What the heck is going on!? If she still wants to find out the truth, he suggests talking with Dorothy. Thus, here we are at present. Will Dorothy tell Noelle why her mother had to die? Of course! She can’t say no to a cute girl. Well, that was easy. That seems to be a trend in this episode, haha. While she can’t talk about it in this world, the Glamour World is a different story! Dorothy uses her dream magic to transport them into her Glamour World. She offers Noelle some tea which she accepts. Randomly, Asta appears out of nowhere and tells Noelle that she’s looking cute today! Is this really happening right now?!?? In fact, he can’t stop staring at her because she’s just so darn cute! Of course, this isn’t the real Asta but a fake created by Dorothy. She’s always thinking about him so she thought she’d enjoy this, haha. An embarrassed Noelle blows the fake away.
Noelle just wants to know about her mother’s death! Dorothy explains that she lost her life due to a devil’s curse. Nozel couldn’t tell anyone about it because those who speak of it will ultimately share the same fate. Dang, that’s a lot to take in. By the way, Dorothy created a fake Nozel and he starts doting on Noelle. He loves his precious little sister! An embarrassed Noelle blows him away. She wishes Dorothy would stop playing around! In her defense, that’s how Nozel seems to her. Elsewhere, Nozel gets a chill up his spine. Dorothy explains that devils don’t appear in their world unless there’s an anomaly. They can also be summoned by forbidden magic but the mages have to pay a price and their power is limited. That used to be the case anyway. But now, their presence is wriggling around in their world. The name of the devil that killed Noelle’s mother is…Megicula. See, I told you that name would be important!
Back at Gordon’s home, Nathan uses his Black Oil Creation: Curse Candle Ritual Disk spell to summon a map that locates curses in the Clover Kingdom. They appear as flames on the map. There’s an intense flame exactly where the Black Bulls’ hideout is! I wonder why? Everyone seems to think that Henry is the one that’s definitely cursed. There’s a huge flame in the royal capital, too. There are also numerous smaller flames all around. I never knew there were so many curses out there. But the biggest flame on the map is coming from the Heart Kingdom. Perhaps they can find a clue over there?
In Summary:
I’ve been looking forward to meeting Gordon’s family and I was not disappointed. They’re basically a cooler version of the Addams family! His family is great. In particular, his dad, Nathan, is quite an interesting character. I loved that Gordon ran away from home because he didn’t want to curse people. He wanted to make friends! Such a good boy. If only he had known that his father was actually trying to help them! It was all a misunderstanding. As Gauche said, this family needs to work on their communication, haha. I did find it neat that using the knowledge of curses to heal people is something that Nathan’s generation started. It seems like he wants to help people, too. Like father, like son. Also, Noelle’s mother was killed by the devil named Megicula!? That bombshell caught me off guard. I need answers! And I’m guessing those answers aren’t going to be found in the Clover Kingdom. Black Clover, you have my attention. And lastly, Dorothy is awesome. I enjoyed this episode way more than I thought I would.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, VRV
