WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Clover Episode 167, available now on Crunchyroll.
Black Clover is infamous for being unbearably loud. This helped catch fans’ attention initially but made it difficult to win over critics in its early days, making it a divisive tool. Since then, the show has proven to be a shonen heavyweight in large part due to its beautifully animated fight scenes. In Episode 167, “Black Oath,” the show surpassed its fight scene limits by masterfully using a surprising and uncharacteristic element: silence.
From the Reincarnation of the Elves arc to the Magic Knights Captains team battle, the show’s fight scenes have only grown more intense since their first intricately animated episode, Episode 63, “Not In The Slightest.” In the past few episodes, almost every character has been faced with an unbelievably powerful foe, meaning the show has had to pull out all the stops for every fight scene, back-to-back. What sets Episode 167 apart from every fight scene shown so far, though, is its dramatic use of silence.
In the episode, Yami and Asta face Dante, the leader of the Dark Triad, with astounding teamwork. As it was difficult for the Black Bulls members to keep up with what was happening, it understandably became difficult for viewers. At a point, almost everything paused -- music and movement included -- when Asta looked within himself to ask his Devil for power. With it at his disposal, the speed of the episode picked up even more until the final moments of the fight.
Asta is given a mere 50 seconds to use Liebe's power. That silence lasts through the episode into the final second of the fight. As the show held its breath, it also pushed the viewers to hold theirs. This deliberate use of silence helps bring an overwhelming moment of anticipation to a head, resulting in the shock of the fight’s result: defeating Dante.
By allowing the animation to show instead of tell, Black Clover finally focuses solely on the movements of the fight itself without any distraction. The stakes were already high since Yami is the last piece needed for the Tree of Qliphoth, the creation of which would open a magic channel to the underworld and allow Devils to surface. Sound wasn’t needed to hype up viewers or to show the intensity of the fight. This was already apparent, and made even more intense by the fact there was literally only one second left before hope, and the fight was lost.
Silence is used again when Yami is eventually captured. Just as soon as the Black Bulls, and viewers, get a moment to breathe, that breath is taken away again. Just before Yami is taken away, the close-up of his face implies he's going to say something. Instead, the lack of sound (except for that of Asta’s panicked breathing) holds the moment in a way that deepens the scene’s impact, letting viewers truly feel the weight of this loss.
This incredible use of silence in this Black Clover episode elevated what was already a phenomenal fight scene to that of a truly shocking one. As soon as silence proved to be a sign of hope, it was then flipped into a sign of despair. Regardless of how silence is used in the future, the one guarantee is that it will definitely be dramatic.
