Black Clover Watch Order: Episodes, Movie and Season 2 (2026)

Black Clover is easier to follow than its size suggests: one TV continuity, one film, very little filler and, since 3 October 2026, a second season that picks up exactly where episode 170 stopped. The short version of the Black Clover watch order is episodes 1-170, then Season 2 from episode 171, with the 2023 movie slotted in along the way. Below: where the movie actually belongs, an arc-by-arc map, the 18 filler episodes you can skip, and the manga chapter to read next.

Order	Title	Episodes	Released	What it covers
1	Black Clover (TV series)	1-157	From October 2017	Asta and Yuno's start through the Elf Reincarnation arc and the anime-original stretch after it
2	Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King	Film	June 2023	Anime-original story set in the six-month time skip
3	Black Clover (TV series)	158-170	Ended March 2021	The time skip, the Heart Kingdom arc and the first steps of the Spade Kingdom Raid
4	Black Clover Season 2	171 onward	From 3 October 2026	The Spade Kingdom Raid arc, airing weekly

How to watch Black Clover in order

There are two sensible routes, and they differ only in where the film goes. There are no alternate timelines, recap movies or reboots to untangle.

Chronological order (our pick for first-timers)

1. Episodes 1-157
2. Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
3. Episodes 158-170
4. Season 2, from episode 171

The film is set during the six-month gap that follows the Elf Reincarnation arc. A tie-in book released with the film was numbered "volume 23.5", wedging it between the manga's 23rd and 24th volumes. The Heart Kingdom arc begins on the far side of that skip in episode 158, so watching the movie just before it keeps the cast and their power levels consistent with the episodes around it. It also lands right after the anime-original run (roughly 130-157), so a story with a film budget is a welcome change of gear.

Release order

1. Episodes 1-170 (2017-2021)
2. Sword of the Wizard King (2023)
3. Season 2 (2026)

This is the right call if you are already past episode 157 or would rather not interrupt the TV run as the Spade Kingdom story heats up. The film is self-contained, so you lose nothing except the sense that it happens "now", and it makes a fine warm-up before Season 2.

Where does the Black Clover movie fit?

Sword of the Wizard King opened in Japanese cinemas on 16 June 2023 and landed on Netflix worldwide the same day, after the pandemic pushed it back from its original 31 March date. Ayataka Tanemura directed it at Pierrot, the studio behind the TV series, and the K-pop group Treasure performs the theme song, "Here I Stand".

The setup is about as on-theme as Black Clover gets. Conrad Leto, a former Wizard King who had been sealed away, breaks free and uses the Imperial Sword to revive three earlier Wizard Kings: Edward Avalache, Princia Funnybunny and Jester Garandros. That means Asta, Yuno and the Magic Knight captains spend the film fighting four past holders of the exact title the two boys have sworn to win. Creator Yūki Tabata supervised the story and is reported to have said it was an idea he wanted to use in the manga but could not fit in, which is why many fans treat it as canon-compatible rather than throwaway filler. The film is a Netflix release, while Season 2 streams on Crunchyroll.

Black Clover arc by arc: episode ranges

Spoiler note: the table names arcs, settings and villains but avoids major twists. Fan guides disagree by an episode or so at a few arc boundaries, so treat the edges as approximate.

Arc	Episodes	What happens
Magic Knights Entrance Exam	1-13	Asta and Yuno receive their grimoires and join the Black Bulls and Golden Dawn
Dungeon Exploration	14-19	A dungeon near the Diamond Kingdom border; Mars debuts
Royal Capital Assault	20-27	An undead army hits the capital; Fuegoleon Vermillion steps in
Eye of the Midnight Sun Encounter	28-39	The terrorist group becomes the main threat
Seabed Temple	40-51	The Black Bulls dive for a magic stone and clash with Vetto
Witches' Forest	52-65	Asta seeks a cure for his cursed arms; Vanessa's past
Royal Knights	66-96	The Royal Knights selection exam, then the raid on the Eye's hideout
Elf Reincarnation	97-157	Ancient elves return in the bodies of Clover's mages; anime-original tail from about 130
Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle	158-167	The time skip, the Dark Triad strike, training in the Heart Kingdom
Spade Kingdom Raid	168-170, then Season 2	The counter-attack on the Spade Kingdom begins

Episodes 1-39: the rough start

The opening stretch is the most divisive part of the show. Asta shouts a lot, the animation is modest, and the early missions follow familiar shonen beats. What carries it is the Black Bulls, a squad of misfits led by Yami Sukehiro, whose deadpan menace balances Asta's volume. If you are unsure, give it until the Seabed Temple before deciding.

Episodes 40-96: where it clicks

The Seabed Temple is where many fans say Black Clover finds its feet, partly because Noelle Silva finally gets her water magic under control and becomes a real fighter. The Royal Knights arc then does something long shonen rarely manage: the selection exam called by Wizard King Julius Novachrono gives almost every squad real screen time before turning into a full-scale assault on the Eye of the Midnight Sun.

Episodes 97-157: the long peak and the long wait

The Elf Reincarnation arc is the series' biggest story, rewriting the kingdom's history and pushing Asta's mysterious grimoire to the centre. Its manga material ends around episode 129. With the anime closing in on the manga, most of episodes 130-157 are original, and real life added a pause too: after episode 132 aired on 28 April 2020, COVID-19 production delays held episode 133 back until 7 July, a nine-week gap.

Episodes 158-170: the time skip and the cliffhanger

Spoiler warning: this paragraph covers the final arc of the original run. After the time skip, the Spade Kingdom's rulers, the Dark Triad of Dante, Vanica and Zenon Zogratis, strike at the Clover Kingdom and capture two captains, Yami among them. The Clover and Heart Kingdoms ally, Asta trains under the Black Bulls' long-absent vice-captain Nacht Faust, and episode 170 ends just as the raid on the Spade Kingdom gets going. Fans waited five and a half years for the next episode.

Does Black Clover have filler?

Very little. Fan-run filler databases count 18 pure filler episodes out of 170, around 11%, which is low for a weekly shonen of this length. The full breakdown:

• Filler (safe to skip): 29, 66, 68, 82, 123-125, 131, 134-135, 142-149
• Mixed canon and filler (watch these): 2, 8-9, 12, 30, 69, 102
• Anime canon (original material that sits inside the story): 3, 13, 55-56, 130, 132-133, 136-141, 150-157

The only real detour is 142-149, eight anime-original episodes in a row; skipping them saves about three hours. The scattered single fillers are light breathers you can take or leave. We would keep the anime-canon episodes on a first watch: they are not in the manga, but they fit the timeline. If you need a comparison point, our Fairy Tail watch order shows what a much heavier filler load looks like.

Black Clover Season 2: the October 2026 return

Season 2 premiered on Saturday 3 October 2026 on TV Tokyo, five and a half years after the original finale. Pierrot is back as the studio, Ayataka Tanemura (who directed episodes 153-170 of the first run and the film) takes over from original director Tatsuya Yoshihara, Keiichiro Ochi handles series composition, and Minako Seki returns as composer. The rock band WANIMA performs the opening theme. Crunchyroll streams it worldwide, with new episodes every Saturday.

The numbering confuses people. Crunchyroll and most coverage call the premiere Season 2, episode 1, while the official numbering simply continues the overall count, so the premiere is episode 171 and the 10 October instalment is 172. It is the same episode either way, and it starts straight after 170 with no reboot. Many listings used to split the first run into four seasons (51, 51, 52 and 16 episodes), which is why some older guides talk about a "season 5".

Spoiler warning: the new season adapts the Spade Kingdom Raid arc, in which the Magic Knights invade the Spade Kingdom to rescue Yami and William Vangeance from the Dark Triad. As of October 2026 no official total episode count has been announced, so treat the two-cour figures circulating online as unconfirmed.

Why the first anime stopped in 2021

The original series aired weekly, almost year-round, producing 170 episodes in about three and a half years. At that pace it was running out of manga to adapt. It ended on 30 March 2021 with an "important announcement" that turned out to be the film. The manga slowed down too: Tabata took a roughly three-month break in 2022 to prepare the final saga, then moved the series to a quarterly magazine, and by the time the anime returned, the story had finished.

Where the manga stands, and where to read after episode 170

Tabata's manga began in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2015, moved to the quarterly Jump GIGA in 2023 (its last weekly chapter ran on 21 August 2023, and it resumed on 25 December), and ended on 1 May 2026, when chapters 390-392 were published together. The finished series runs 38 volumes, the last of which came out in Japan on 4 August 2026.

Episode 170 stops partway through chapter 270, in volume 27, so start reading at chapter 270. That leaves a little over 120 chapters, covering the rest of the Spade Kingdom Raid and the final arc, and Season 2 picks up from that point. You can read the complete ending today, and the anime now has a finished roadmap with no reason to pad.

What to watch after Black Clover

Asta's story owes an obvious debt to Naruto: an orphan everyone underestimates, a gifted rival raised alongside him, and a title they both want, so our anime like Naruto list doubles as a follow-up menu. If the magic system was the hook, try the best magic anime ranking. Fairy Tail is the natural next guild adventure, and The Seven Deadly Sins swaps Magic Knight squads for Holy Knights and a war with the Demon Clan (see our Seven Deadly Sins watch order). My Hero Academia runs on the same powerless-kid engine.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes of Black Clover are there?

The original Black Clover anime has 170 episodes, aired from October 2017 to March 2021. There is also the 2023 film Sword of the Wizard King and Season 2, which began on 3 October 2026 and continues from episode 171; as of October 2026 its total episode count had not been officially confirmed.

Is the Black Clover movie canon?

Sword of the Wizard King is an anime-original story, so it does not appear in the manga, but creator Yūki Tabata supervised it and it is set during the six-month time skip after the Elf Reincarnation arc. Many fans treat it as canon-compatible. Watch it between episodes 157 and 158, or after episode 170.

Does Black Clover Season 2 start after episode 170?

Yes. Black Clover Season 2 picks up directly after episode 170 and adapts the Spade Kingdom Raid arc. Crunchyroll labels its first episode Season 2, episode 1, while the official overall numbering makes it episode 171. There is no reboot, so watch episodes 1-170 (and ideally the film) first.

Is Black Clover worth watching in 2026?

Yes, and 2026 is an ideal time to start. The original 170 episodes are complete, filler is light at around 18 episodes, the manga has finished, and Season 2 is now adapting the climactic Spade Kingdom Raid. Expect a slow first few arcs; many fans say it improves sharply from the Seabed Temple arc, around episode 40.

What chapter should I read after Black Clover episode 170?

Start at chapter 270 of the Black Clover manga, in volume 27. Episode 170 ends partway through that chapter. The manga ended on 1 May 2026 with chapter 392, so reading from chapter 270 takes you through the Spade Kingdom Raid and the final arc to the complete ending.