Was Black Clover inspired by Berserk?

Yes, on the record: Tabata has said Berserk was a heavy influence, and that he wanted to craft its shōnen equivalent.

Some influence pages have to be argued from panels. This one is a quotation. In interviews Tabata has listed his sources openly, and Berserk sits at the top of them: Miura's dark fantasy was the atmosphere he wanted, translated into a shōnen register of squads, rivals and shouted resolve. The European surface of the Clover Kingdom, its weapons, clothing and buildings, was researched out of photo books rather than invented, which is how the influence shows up on the page.

The rest of the list is a map of Tabata's reading: Dragon Ball, which he saw as a child and credits with making him a manga artist; Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai; The Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter; Guillermo del Toro's films; and the Jump lineage of YuYu Hakusho, Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. When Bleach ended, he published a comment on what it had meant to him. None of this is hidden: Tabata talks about his influences the way he draws, in the open.

The Library keeps the other side of this connection too: what inspired Berserk itself, and the full Berserk shelf in the archive.

Black Clover volume 30 Japanese cover, Yuno — **VOLUME 30**A late-run volume, Yuno on the cover, from the years the Berserk comparisons followed the series.

THE LIST, AS TABATA GIVES IT

Named influences

Berserk

The heavy influence. Tabata's stated ambition was a shōnen equivalent of Miura's series.

Dragon Ball

The childhood trigger: seeing Dragon Ball Z set him on becoming a manga artist.

The Jump line

YuYu Hakusho, Bleach, Naruto and One Piece, the magazine tradition he joined.

The bookshelf and screen

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Guillermo del Toro's films.

Was Black Clover inspired by Berserk?

THE LIST, AS TABATA GIVES IT

THE FIRST WORD