Black Clover is officially returning to television in October 2026. After more than five years without new regular episodes, the long-awaited second season has confirmed its premiere window, production staff and returning main cast.
Ayataka Tanemura will direct the new season at Studio Pierrot. Tanemura previously led the final portion of the original television series and directed the Netflix anime film Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King, making his return an encouraging sign for fans waiting to see the next major battles adapted.
A special retrospective video covering the first season was also released alongside the announcement. In addition, Tanemura shared a commemorative illustration and message celebrating the anime’s return.
Black Clover Season 2 Premieres in October 2026
Black Clover Season 2 will begin airing in Japan in October 2026 on TV Tokyo and its affiliated networks. An exact premiere date has not yet been announced.
Crunchyroll is expected to stream the new episodes internationally, continuing its long association with the franchise. The platform currently offers the original television series and has promoted the second season through its international news channels.
- Premiere window: October 2026
- Japanese broadcast: TV Tokyo and affiliated networks
- Director: Ayataka Tanemura
- Series composition: Keiichiro Ochi
- Character design: Itsuko Takeda
- Animation production: Studio Pierrot
The October premiere places Black Clover among the biggest anime releases planned for the Fall 2026 season. Its return comes after the original television run concluded with Episode 170 in March 2021.
Ayataka Tanemura Returns as Director
Ayataka Tanemura has been confirmed as the director of the second season. He is already deeply familiar with the world, characters and action style of Black Clover, having directed Episodes 153 through 170 of the original anime.
Tanemura also directed Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King, the original anime film released worldwide through Netflix in 2023. The movie followed Asta and the Magic Knights as they confronted former Wizard Kings who threatened the Clover Kingdom.
His return should provide continuity between the final episodes of the first season, the movie and the upcoming television storyline. The material waiting to be adapted includes some of the manga’s most demanding battles, requiring careful action direction and strong emotional performances.
To celebrate the announcement, Tanemura created a special illustration featuring Asta and shared a message thanking fans for waiting. He also expressed his determination to deliver an anime that matches the intensity and excitement of the original manga.
The First Episode Will Screen at Anime Expo 2026
Fans attending Anime Expo 2026 will have an opportunity to see the new season before its Japanese television premiere. The first episode is scheduled to receive a special advance screening during the convention on July 4, 2026.
The event will include a dedicated Black Clover panel featuring director Ayataka Tanemura and Gakuto Kajiwara, the Japanese voice actor behind Asta.
This early screening will provide the first full look at the returning anime’s visual quality, pacing and production approach. It will also allow fans to see how the new season transitions from the ending of Episode 170 into the next phase of the conflict.
The television premiere will follow several months later in October, giving the production time to continue promoting the season through additional trailers, visuals and cast announcements.
A First-Season Retrospective Video Was Released
The latest announcement was accompanied by a retrospective video summarizing the story of the original television series. The footage revisits Asta and Yuno’s childhood promise, their entrance into the Magic Knights and the many battles that shaped their journey toward becoming the Wizard King.
The video also highlights the relationships Asta formed with the Black Bulls. Characters who were initially considered failures, troublemakers or social outcasts gradually became one of the Clover Kingdom’s most dependable Magic Knight squads.
Major conflicts involving the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the reincarnated elves, devils and the Dark Triad are also represented. Together, these events explain how Asta and Yuno developed from inexperienced recruits into fighters capable of confronting enemies who threaten entire kingdoms.
For returning viewers, the retrospective serves as a reminder of the major developments that occurred across the original 170 episodes. For newcomers, it offers an introduction to the characters and conflicts leading into Season 2.
Where Did the First Black Clover Season End?
The first television series concluded while the Clover Kingdom was preparing for the next stage of its battle against the Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad.
Dante Zogratis, Vanica Zogratis and Zenon Zogratis had emerged as powerful devil hosts attempting to open the gate to the underworld. Their plan involved the Tree of Qliphoth, a magical channel capable of allowing increasingly powerful devils to enter the human world.
Asta had also begun training with Liebe, the anti-magic devil living inside his five-leaf grimoire. After learning the truth about Liebe’s past and his connection to Asta’s mother, Licita, the two formed an equal contract and started preparing to master Devil Union.
Meanwhile, the Magic Knights and their allies were preparing an invasion of the Spade Kingdom. Their goal was to rescue Yami Sukehiro and William Vangeance before the Dark Triad could complete the ritual needed to open the underworld.
Season 2 is expected to continue from this point, bringing the Spade Kingdom conflict and several highly anticipated manga battles to animation.
What Is Black Clover About?
Black Clover takes place in a world where magic is part of everyday life. Nearly everyone is born with magical power and receives a grimoire that allows them to develop and control their abilities.
Asta is the rare exception. He is born without any magic, making him an outsider in a society where magical ability determines social status, professional opportunities and political influence.
Despite this disadvantage, Asta dreams of becoming the Wizard King, the most respected and powerful Magic Knight in the Clover Kingdom. He compensates for his lack of magic through intense physical training and an unwillingness to surrender.
His childhood friend and rival, Yuno, possesses extraordinary wind magic and receives a rare four-leaf clover grimoire. While Yuno appears naturally suited to becoming the Wizard King, Asta receives a mysterious five-leaf grimoire containing swords capable of canceling magic.
The two join different Magic Knight squads and begin separate journeys toward the same goal. Their rivalry remains competitive, but it is built on genuine respect and a shared promise to continue pushing each other forward.
Asta and Liebe Must Master Devil Union
One of the most important developments leading into the second season is the partnership between Asta and Liebe. For much of the story, Asta uses anti-magic without fully understanding the devil responsible for it.
Liebe was raised by Licita, Asta’s mother, after being rejected and abused in the underworld because he possessed no magic. Their peaceful life ended when Lucifero attempted to control Liebe, forcing Licita to sacrifice herself to protect him.
After learning about their shared connection to Licita, Asta refuses to treat Liebe as a servant. Instead, he establishes an equal contract and declares that they will fight together as partners.
Their Devil Union combines Asta’s physical strength with Liebe’s anti-magic, giving them the ability to negate powerful spells and confront high-ranking devils. However, mastering the form requires precise coordination and places strict limits on how long it can remain active.
Season 2 will explore how Asta and Liebe improve that partnership while facing enemies whose magical abilities surpass nearly everything the Black Bulls have previously encountered.
Yuno’s Connection to the Spade Kingdom
Yuno also enters the new season with a deeply personal reason to fight. He discovers that he is not an ordinary orphan from the Clover Kingdom, but the surviving prince of the Spade Kingdom’s former royal family.
The Dark Triad overthrew his parents and took control of the kingdom while Yuno was still an infant. A loyal servant carried him across the border and left him at the church in Hage Village, where he grew up alongside Asta.
This revelation does not immediately change Yuno’s goal of becoming the Clover Kingdom’s Wizard King. However, it connects him directly to the people suffering under the Dark Triad and gives his confrontation with Zenon a greater emotional weight.
Yuno also carries the responsibility of avenging the members of the Golden Dawn who were killed during Zenon’s attack. His determination to grow stronger becomes a response to both his royal heritage and his failure to protect his squad.
The Spade Kingdom Raid Is One of the Manga’s Largest Conflicts
The coming battle against the Spade Kingdom brings together Magic Knights from multiple squads, Heart Kingdom fighters, resistance members and other allies who understand the danger posed by the Tree of Qliphoth.
Each member of the Dark Triad is connected to an extremely powerful devil. Dante uses the power of Lucifero, Vanica is linked to Megicula and Zenon draws strength from Beelzebub.
Defeating them becomes more difficult as the Qliphoth ritual progresses. Every gate that opens allows stronger devils to enter the human world, increasing the possibility that the entire continent could be destroyed.
The storyline includes individual battles, team confrontations and major character breakthroughs. Members of the Black Bulls and other squads must surpass their previous limits to survive enemies operating on a completely different level.
These events are among the most anticipated portions of Yuki Tabata’s manga, placing considerable expectations on Studio Pierrot and the returning production staff.
The Returning Main Voice Cast
The principal Japanese cast members are returning for the second season. Their performances have become closely associated with the characters across the television series, movie and other franchise projects.
- Gakuto Kajiwara as Asta
- Nobunaga Shimazaki as Yuno
- Junichi Suwabe as Yami Sukehiro
- Hiro Shimono as Nacht Faust
- Kana Yuki as Noelle Silva
Additional returning cast members are expected to include the voices behind the Black Bulls, Golden Dawn, Magic Knight captains, Dark Triad and other characters involved in the Spade Kingdom conflict.
The second season will require particularly demanding performances because many characters are entering emotionally intense battles connected to loss, family history and personal failure.
Full Production Staff Confirmed
The announced staff combines returning contributors with creators already familiar with the franchise’s visual identity and storytelling structure.
- Original creator: Yuki Tabata
- Director: Ayataka Tanemura
- Series composition: Keiichiro Ochi
- Character design: Itsuko Takeda
- Sub-character design: Kumiko Tokunaga
- Prop design: Kosei Takahashi
- Music: Minako Seki
- Animation production: Studio Pierrot
Keiichiro Ochi will handle series composition, shaping how the manga material is divided and adapted across the new episodes. His work will be important because the upcoming storyline moves between several simultaneous battles and character groups.
Itsuko Takeda returns as character designer, helping maintain visual continuity with the original anime. Kumiko Tokunaga is responsible for sub-character designs, while Kosei Takahashi handles prop design.
Minako Seki will once again compose the music. The soundtrack has always played an important role in giving the anime’s battles a sense of scale and reinforcing its themes of rivalry, friendship and perseverance.
Studio Pierrot Returns for Season 2
Studio Pierrot is returning to produce the second season. The studio animated all 170 episodes of the original series and also produced Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King.
The original anime aired continuously for more than three years, an unusual schedule that required the production team to deliver new episodes almost every week. While that allowed the series to build a large audience, it also created challenges involving scheduling and consistency.
The long break before Season 2 has given the manga time to move much further ahead and may allow the new production to adopt a different release model. However, the episode count and broadcast format have not yet been officially announced.
Fans are hopeful that the returning series will benefit from stronger preparation, especially because the Spade Kingdom material contains numerous complicated transformations and large-scale magical confrontations.
The Original Anime Ran for 170 Episodes
The first Black Clover television anime premiered in October 2017 and concluded in March 2021. Its 170 episodes adapted Asta and Yuno’s journey from their entrance into the Magic Knights through the early preparation for the Spade Kingdom raid.
The anime helped turn the manga into an international franchise, introducing viewers to the Black Bulls and the magical world of the Clover Kingdom.
Its popularity grew as later story arcs expanded the scale of the battles and gave more characters opportunities to develop. The conflict involving the reincarnated elves became a major turning point, connecting the history of the Clover Kingdom to devils and forbidden magic.
The series later introduced the Heart and Spade kingdoms, transforming the story from a national conflict into a struggle affecting the entire continent.
Sword of the Wizard King Kept the Anime Alive
During the television anime’s long absence, Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King gave fans a new animated adventure. The movie was released worldwide through Netflix in June 2023.
The film told an original story supervised by Yuki Tabata and introduced several former Wizard Kings. Conrad Leto and his allies returned with the goal of destroying and rebuilding the Clover Kingdom according to their own vision of equality.
The movie allowed Studio Pierrot and Ayataka Tanemura to explore the franchise with a film-level production schedule. Its battles demonstrated how the series could look with additional time devoted to animation and visual effects.
Tanemura’s return as Season 2 director creates a direct production link between the movie and the television comeback.
Based on Yuki Tabata’s Manga
Black Clover is written and illustrated by Yuki Tabata. The manga began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2015.
In 2023, the series moved to Jump GIGA, allowing Tabata to continue the final storyline with a less demanding publication schedule. The manga concluded in May 2026 after more than eleven years of publication.
The completed source material gives the anime a clear path for adapting Asta and Yuno’s remaining journey. Viewers can now follow the second season knowing that the larger story has a finished conclusion.
The franchise has sold millions of copies worldwide and inspired novels, video games, stage productions, merchandise and the animated feature film.
Why Black Clover’s Return Is So Important
The return of Black Clover is significant because the original anime ended just as its story was approaching one of its largest confrontations. Viewers were left with Asta beginning Devil Union training and the Magic Knights preparing to invade the Spade Kingdom.
The five-year gap has also allowed a new generation of fans to discover the series through streaming. Its themes of persistence and overcoming social limitations continue to resonate with viewers.
Asta’s lack of magic makes him a natural outsider, but his determination gradually changes how the people around him understand strength. He does not overcome every challenge alone. His greatest victories usually depend on trust, teamwork and the unique abilities of his companions.
Season 2 will bring that message into battles where the differences between humans and devils, royalty and commoners, and talent and effort become more important than ever.
What to Expect Before the October Premiere
Additional information is expected to be announced during the months leading to October. A new full trailer will likely provide a closer look at the returning characters, Devil Union and the Spade Kingdom raid.
The production has not yet revealed the opening and ending theme artists, total episode count or exact television premiere date.
The Anime Expo screening on July 4 should also generate the first public reactions to the new episode. The panel may include further announcements about international streaming and the production schedule.
Until then, the retrospective video and director’s illustration mark the official beginning of the final promotional campaign for the anime’s return.
Final Thoughts
Black Clover Season 2 will finally begin airing in October 2026, ending a television hiatus that started when Episode 170 aired in March 2021.
Ayataka Tanemura will return as director at Studio Pierrot, joined by series composer Keiichiro Ochi, character designer Itsuko Takeda and composer Minako Seki. Gakuto Kajiwara, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Junichi Suwabe, Hiro Shimono and Kana Yuki are also returning in their main roles.
The first episode will receive an advance screening at Anime Expo 2026 on July 4, giving attendees an early look at Asta and Yuno’s return before the Japanese television premiere.
With the Spade Kingdom conflict, Devil Union and some of the manga’s most anticipated battles waiting to be animated, the comeback has the potential to become one of the biggest events of the Fall 2026 anime season.
