Ranking The Black Clover Openings (1-13)

So I talked about this in my review of Black Clover but it’s kind of crazy how much it holds true to me. Very few long-running anime have consistently great openings throughout their whole run. If Black Clover can be remembered for anything it will be its ops. So I decided to rank my favorite openings from 1-13. I thought it’d be pretty fun to break it down and rate the visuals and the song both out of 10. But my final thoughts and placement take into account the opening as a whole.

#13 – Rakugaki Peiji (Opening 6)

Episodes: 65-76

Visuals: 7/10

Song: 5/10

The opening for the tournament segment of the Royal Knights arc. This opening is okay. I like the initial visuals with some of the characters in a setting that mimics their element. It has some neat foreshadowing but overall it’s okay and the song itself is meh.

#12 – Stories (Opening 11)

Episodes 129 – 140

Visuals: 7/10

Song: 7/10

This one is pretty solid. It has some cool shots and the song is good as well.

#11 – JUSTadICE (Opening 7)

Episodes: 77-94

Visuals: 8.5/10

Song: 9/10

This song is really fun and upbeat and it matches the beautiful and stylistic visuals perfectly. Black Clover’s openings are at their best when they tend to lean more into rock music. I love the shots of Vangeance with the hands-on his mask, Asta and Yuno facing off, and especially the shots of the Black Bulls on the white background. A really good op.

#10 – PAiNT it BLACK (Opening 2)

Episodes: 14-27

Visuals: 9.5/10

Song: 8.5/10

Another great rock song with great visuals to back it. I particularly love the use of reds, blues, black and white with this one.

#9 – Gamushara (Opening 5)

Episodes: 52-64

Visuals: 9/10

Song: 9/10

This song fits the Witch Forest arc so well. It’s up-tempo but has a sort of melancholy to it which is enhanced by the visuals. Once again a beautiful use of colors and then there some museum-worthy shots of Asta, Yuno, and Venessa. I really liked all of the dual shots they showed too. This op was perfect for this arc.

#8 – RiGHT NOW (Opening 9)

Episodes: 103-115

Visuals: 9.5/10

Song: 10/10

Right Now is such a great song. The vocals are great but what really has me hooked on this is the beat. It’s so weird and poppy but I love it. Then the visuals are fun too. Seeing all the knights in their elf form, seeing Noelle in her new transformation. This opening was the beginning of the hype for the Elf Reincarnation arc.

#7 – Guess Who is Back (Opening 4)

Episodes: 40-51

Visuals: 9.5/10

Song: 10/10

The Seabed Temple arc was pretty fun and this op was great. A rock song with a little bit of rap in it. The beat breaks down for the rapping part was fire. This one visually has a lot of similarities with the entry above with the whole shadow thing and then inverting it. What just pushes this one above it is the shot of Licht turning into the distorted shot of Vetto and then the shot of Noelle reaching up. A great opening for a great arc.

#6 – Black Rover (Opening 3)

Episodes: 28-39

Visuals: 10/10

Song: 11/10

Now we’re stepping into goat territory. In a show about surpassing your limits. I think it’s fitting to surpass the 10 on my rating scale. First of all, visually, this op is stunning. A lot of cool shots especially the Yami vs. Licht fight. The animation was top-notch for this one. Then the song. VickeBlanka are the goats of Black Clover intros. The piano intro into the hard rock song is an unmatched formula. The vocals are great, the high note that’s hit when he sings “Black Rover” can get anyone hype. There’s a reason why is probably Black Clover’s most popular intro to date.

#5 – Sky & Blue (Opening 8)

Episodes: 95-102

Visuals: 11/10

Song: 11/10

The animation on this is so good. Imagine if the whole show looked like this? It showcased some of the best moments from the Elf Reincarnation arc. The song is so upbeat and happy which works with some of the happy moments during the op but it also clashes (in a good way) with the sadder stuff. The singing was beautiful as well. Now that I’m thinking about it, they really went all out for the Elf Reincarnation arc in terms of ops.

#4 – Grandeur (Opening 13)

Episodes: 158-170

Visuals: 11/10

Song: 11.5/10

Swole Asta and a banger pop song, enough said.

#3 – Everlasting Shine (Opening 12)

Episodes: 141-157

Visuals: 11/10

Song: 12/10

Imagine going this hard for a mini training arc. This got me so hyped for the captain fight. Seeing Yuno with his squad was nice. Asta doing pushups then the shot of him looking at all the Magic Knight flags was great. But the highlight of this op was the freaking high note. I wish I could sing, I really do. This song is phenomenal the whole op is.

# 2 – Haruka Mirai (Opening 1)

Episodes: 1-13

Visuals: 12/10

Song: Iconic/10

Visually it’s stunning, the parallels between Asta and Yuno on full display. Our introduction to the Black Bulls, seeing Noelle and her struggles. The visuals perfectly encapsulated the beginning of Black Clover. The song is so great. It just fits. Every anime has that song that will always be attached to it and defines it in a way. Attack on Titan has Sasageyo, Tokyo Ghoul has Unravel, and Black Clover has Haruka Marai. This was fully highlighted when the last episode carried this song’s name and featured it in maybe the best moment in the entire anime. You would think that with all that being said this would be #1. But there’s an op that stands out amongst the rest.

# 1 – Black Catcher (Opening 10)

Episodes: 116-128

Visuals: Yes/10

Song: The Best/10

The shot of Nero falling into the abyss with the piano swelling then the transition to her in her bird form and the guitar and drums come in crazy while the piano picks up-tempo. The black and white visuals. Asta looking up into the rain, Nero chasing after the First Wizard King, Patry chasing after something then stopping and crying in the rain. Then the beat reaches its climax and the Word Magic Devil replaces the statue of the First Wizard King. All you hear is “LETS DYE THIS WORLD” while the demons face off. It doesn’t get better than that. From a visual standpoint, it’s beautiful. From a song standpoint, it’s beautiful. Not only is this one of my favorite ops, but it’s one of my favorite songs ever. Not to mention there are 2 other versions of this op with different (but equally great) visuals. Very few anime openings can compete with this one.

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