Black Clover Has The Most Realistic Hero in Shonen Manga

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Black Clover chapter 320!

Asta is the most realistic hero in shonen manga right now because Black Clover won’t make him all-powerful despite the fact that he’s the only one who can defeat the invading devils.

Most manga portray their heroes as undefeatable forces that can vanquish any foe. My Hero Academia‘s Deku recently held his own when he set off to defeat All For One all alone and his classmates could only stop their rogue friend by overpowering him as a group so he wouldn’t get killed eventually. Meanwhile, Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro of Jujutsu Kaisen are currently off defeating numerous opponents in the Culling games. But the King of Devils Lucifero in Black Clover just stomped Asta into a comatose state, forcing seven of the Clover Kingdom’s nine captains to protect his unconscious body as they, too, get beaten down in chapter 320 of Black Clover by mangaka Yūki Tabata.

The fate of the world is in Asta’s hands only because he possesses anti-magic, a fact he was able to prove mere moments before Lucifero beat him to a bloody pulp. Despite wielding this power, he is obviously no match for the King of Devils and would have been killed if his kingdom’s captains didn’t sacrifice themselves to protect him. This is an especially powerful image after everything he’s recently accomplished. He and his devil friend Liebe who created anti-magic were forced to stay behind to participate in a crucial training regimen while their comrades led the charge into the Spade kingdom to save captains Yami Sukehiro and William Vangeance. During this extra time, Asta and Liebe strove to perfect devil union, which would allow Asta to fully transform in his devil form and harness the entire scope of Liebe’s anti-magic just like members of the Dark Triad and the Black Bulls vice-captain Nacht Faust.

After fully mastering devil union, Asta and Liebe performed some truly remarkable feats, but they still weren’t nearly enough to defeat The King of Devils. And now Asta is reduced to a mere object that needs protection from his betters, including his friendly rival Yuno who just arrived on the scene. This isn’t the first time that Asta has been slighted. Probably the worst instance came from mangaka Yūki Tabata himself in chapter 269 when Asta had to defeat Liebe in battle so they could form a contract. Asta obviously didn’t have anti-magic at his disposal since he receives that power from Liebe, so he had to rely on his brute strength. Tabata intentionally soured this incredible moment by narrating that, for the first time, Asta’s training paid off in battle. This, in turn, belittled the only skills that actually belong to Asta since anti-magic isn’t actually his. This is akin to saying that his only accomplishment in battle was dominating a devil so he could harness that devil’s power because Asta’s skills aren’t enough.

It’s also critical to note that this is undoubtedly the most important moment in Asta’s short career as a mage. Throughout the manga, Asta has been slowly earning the respect of powerful mages outside of the Black Bulls as they eventually cast aside their bigotry for him being a magicless peasant. He has now just proven to every captain outside the Black Bulls (except for William who’s unconscious) that he is the key to defeating Lucifero and yet he can’t do anything as they are forced to protect him due to him failing to stop the devil on his own. No other shonen manga has put their hero in such a predicament, which is why Black Clover‘s Asta is so unique and realistic.

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