Black Clover Chapter 216 Review- Re:Emperor SprigganChapter was mostly a world building chapter, but done pretty nicely. It kicks off with Asta panicking about what the Fourth Hokage has forewarned him about, in regards to his death. Captain Kyoraku offers his condolences for Asta, albeit in a comedic manner. Julius continues to explain that Asta's anti magic comes from a devil, a detail that was a bit obvious to most of the readers.
Asta himself is shocked by this reveal, but he recalls a few times in the past where he felt his power was too ominous. Noelle herself affirms this, but she and Mimosa are unfazed by the reveal. It does nothing to change how they regard Asta. The Hokage continues to explain Asta is affected by a curse called 'Vegh', ala, Hollowfication. TL: DR-Asta is becoming a Vizard, so he needs to find a new group to train with and tame his powers.
Nero (I forget her real name, sorry), explains that in the past, she sealed off the devil in Asta's grimoire using a certain curse. The same curse is what has turned her into a parakeet, because it mixed into her own magic. As expected, Julius geeks out over Nero's bird form and explanation. Asta asks him to resume his earlier explanation, and he goes into detail about the Four Great Elemental Nations.
First off, is the Hidden Diamond Village. The first of the Four, we already saw it in part detail when the Black Bulls and the Golden Dawn entered that dungeon in the third arc, and Yuno got his Djinn. Julius explains them as a heavily militant nation, who specialize in human experiments and the like. They also had a custom in the past where graduates were supposed to fight to the death. Giving it a reputation known as the 'Bloody Diamond Village'.
Secondly, we have the Hidden Heart Village. It sounds like the most decent out of the other hidden villages, considering how they use mana from the earth and have no such issues with power and military might. That explanation makes them sound a bit like the Elves, at least the Mana explanation. Personally it's the place I am most excited about. Until we get a backstory later on that they tried raiding Clover to steal Hyuuga Mimosa as a kid;P
Lastly, we have the Hidden Spade Village. The big bad, out of the villages. They are said to serve the ancient horror that slumbers within the cold of their massive land (A Devil?) This is a huge reveal, so the author might be trying to integrate other races into the story. Like he did with Charmy. The country itself is also a winter country, plus covered in mystery. A bit similar to the Sand Village, and the One Tailed Shukaku.
Julius explains that the Clover Kingdom currently is severely weakened because of the fight they just had with the elves, plus the in fighting they had among those of them that had reincarnated souls. Asta tries rationalizing this, saying that those who turned enemy did not want to by their own means. If anything, all the blame lay with the devil they just beat. Julius echoes this, but adds on that the Magic Congress (A legal jurisdiction of sorts?) will judge the devil's power as being in the wrong here. That all points to Asta being used as a scape goat for the sake of the country.
Asta asks who will even lead the Magic Congress. Both Noelle and Mimosa, being nobles themselves, seem up to spec with what Julius is talking about. They explain that the Magic Congress is led by the House of Kira. The same as one of the King's middle names. At this point, we cut to a scene where Augustus is thanking Sekke for protecting him. Sekke himself is revealed to have been overwhelmed by what happened during the Elf Wars, but nonetheless he accepts Augustus's gratitude.
A group of people in hoods suddenly show up, plotting on taking Augustus's life. They reveal themselves to be part of the Eye of the Midnight Sun (Rly guys? Get with the times please), and Sekke is out of options as the King intends on using him as a meat shield. Just then, we see someone placing weights on a scale, kind of like Libra's power from Fairy Tail. The leader of the hooded people stops short, realizing all his Mana has been erased.
The mysterious savior of the King orders the assailants to kneel, accusing them of taking advantage of the war torn state of the country. One of the Midnight members asks him if he is from the House of Kira. The King identifies the savior as Damnatio, proceeding to complain about how soiled his clothes are. Chapter caps off with Damnatio swearing to judge Asta, since he is possessed by the Devil's power.
Personal thoughts:Chapter was nice, the best part for me was the world building. Looking forward to the other Kingdoms aside from Diamond, so there is that as well. I don't really care about this new character, but seeing Asta turned into a pariah will be a nice development. I just hope that when it comes to it, both Mimosa and Noelle will help him escape. Then we will have the fated timeskip of the story, before skipping into Black Clover:Shippudden.
Chapter rating:7/10To discuss the manga, please visit our Black Clover forum!
