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New Director of Black Clover Season 2 Delivers on Tabata's Wish for 'Extra Cool' Battles

After five years, Black Clover Season 2 returns as a new anime series and continues from the destructive, destitute end of the first series. Originally premiering in 2017, Black Clover's first season covers up to the Spade Kingdom Raid arc. Despite the four-year run with over 170 episodes, the upcoming series is considered the anime's second season. This premiere coverage will contain spoilers.

In 2021, the anime caught up with the manga's storyline; however, the source material is now complete. Likely, the new season will cover the rest of Yūki Tabata's story, but for now, season two carries on from the aftermath of the crushing back-to-back inter-kingdom conflicts.

At Anime Expo 2026, the crowd became the first in the world to see the new season premiere alongside director Ayataka Tanemura and Gakuto Kajiwara, the voice of Asta. Fans will be happy to learn that Black Clover is in great hands as Tanemura confidently takes over the reins from Tatsuya Yoshihara. Of course, Tanemura knows the franchise well, having worked on the first season and directed Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King.

During the panel, Tanemura shared storyboards and sequences from the new episode. “Usually in the original works, the pages are limited. When you make that into animation, it's not enough to portray the impact of the scene.” This includes a scene in which the Magic Knights' captains invade the Spade Kingdom's castle, which was not in the manga. Author Tabata told Tanemura to “make the battles extra cool,” which he delivered on that promise.

For those who need a refresher or are completely new to the series, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot, Avex Pictures, and Shonen Jump posted a ten-minute recap video on YouTube. Despite his origins as an orphan with no magical abilities, he's now part of the Black Bull squad, considered the rowdiest rebels among the Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights. Even after intense battles and a serious setback, Asta and his team can't afford to make any mistakes as they prepare their counterattack to retrieve their kidnapped allies.

Thankfully, the episode itself doesn't spend much time on lengthy exposition replaying Asta's story from the start. Rather, it jumps straight off the last episode of season one, with Nacht Faust training Asta to perfect his Devil Union with Liebe. Tanemura's talent for action sequences is on full display as he gives the viewer a taste of heart-stopping sequences and engaging camerawork.

Though the stakes are high, the training sequence makes it clear that time is ticking: Asta must perfect his Union with Liebe in order to retrieve Captain within two days. But that doesn't mean the episode can't take a second to give the audience a silly comedic break. Nacht, on the other hand, isn't amused and unleashes his impressively animated Mana Zone, forcing the other two to seriously revisit their motivations for this training.

Once the two successfully form their Devil Union, Nacht reminds them they have a long way to go, but he also fully supports Asta's choice and wants him to succeed. He leaves to join the other captains and their charge on the march toward the Spade Kingdom castle. As a demon is summoned by the Dark Triad to exterminate the town, Mereoleona Vermillion makes a visually explosive introduction and easily steals the top spot for the best moment based on fan cheers. With such a strong start to the animation, episode flow, and production, Black Clover fans can expect even more epic battle scenes for season two.

After the conclusion of the premiere, director Tanemura himself commented, “I'm very happy with what I saw, and it's hard to believe I made that. That was me.”