Black Clover has made a powerful return, with the first episode of its second anime season becoming Crunchyroll’s most-liked anime premiere of 2026 during its first week online.
Black Clover Season 2 leads Crunchyroll’s 2026 premieres
Episode 171, titled The Battle Begins, had collected 135,500 likes on Crunchyroll at the time of writing. That total puts it ahead of other major 2026 premieres, including new seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen and Frieren: Beyond’s Journey End.
The episode’s wider reception has also been strong, with an aggregate user rating of 9.4 on IMDb. After such a lengthy wait, the response suggests that viewers are pleased to see Asta and the series return.
Asta’s long-awaited return
The first 170 episodes of Black Clover were produced between October 2017 and March 2021. Although they are commonly discussed as the show’s first season, they make up the entire existing television run before this new chapter.
The story follows Asta, a boy born without magic in a world where magical ability is normal. His unusual weapon is a five-leaf grimoire, which grants him Anti-Magic powers and allows him to challenge opponents who possess abilities he lacks.
A 2023 film released on Netflix gave fans something new to watch, but there had otherwise been little fresh anime content for more than five years. The Season 2 premiere therefore carries considerable weight for viewers who have been waiting for the next stage of Asta’s story.
The Final Wizard King storyline begins
The returning anime starts adapting the manga’s Final Wizard King storyline. The response to Episode 171 has already passed 135,000 Crunchyroll likes, while Episode 172, The Door to Hell, premiered on Crunchyroll on October 10 and had exceeded 14,000 likes at the time of writing.
Season 2 is expected to run for 26 episodes. The first 13 are scheduled to air weekly between the premiere and December, with every new episode available exclusively through Crunchyroll.
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