Black Clover Filler List: Every Episode to Skip (and the Few Worth Watching)

Season 2 premiered on October 3, 2026, more than five years after the original run ended, and Crunchyroll streams it as it airs. Six season 2 episodes (171-176) have aired through November 7, episode 177 airs Saturday, November 14, and none of them is classified as filler yet (see the season 2 tracker below). This guide uses that gap to give a full four-way classification, tell you which filler episodes actually earn their runtime, show the arithmetic instead of just asserting a total, and answer the two questions viewers ask right before a season 2 rewatch: where the movie fits, and what manga chapter picks up the story.

This page classifies episodes the way Anime Filler List does, cross-checked against Wikipedia's episode list for the total count, air dates, and titles. It is not an official Studio Pierrot or Shueisha ruling.

The four-way classification

Those four counts sum to 170 with no gaps or overlaps, which is worth checking yourself against the ranges above, since a lot of filler lists lose an episode or two in the arithmetic.

Mixed canon/filler episodes are not filler. Anime Filler List labels them "Mixed Canon/Filler" without defining the term on its show page, but the label marks episodes that combine manga-canon material with anime-original scenes. Skipping episode 30 or 69 the way you'd skip pure filler risks missing manga-canon beats.

How much time do you actually save?

Using the 24-minute episode length listed on AniList (MyAnimeList lists 23 minutes):

• Skip only pure filler: 18 episodes × 24 minutes = 432 minutes (7 hours and 12 minutes).
• Also skip anime-canon episodes: 18 + 21 = 39 episodes × 24 minutes = 936 minutes (15 hours and 36 minutes).

The second number is bigger for a reason: anime-canon episodes are original material, not adaptations of a specific manga chapter, so a manga-purist route can treat them the same as filler. The tradeoff is that a few of Black Clover's anime-canon stretches (episodes 136-141, for example) exist to smooth pacing around manga-canon arcs, so cutting them can make later scenes feel like they skip a step. Pure-filler-only is the safer default; skip anime-canon too only if minimizing runtime matters more than continuity polish to you.

Which filler episodes are worth watching, arc by arc

Not all 18 filler episodes are equal. Using their real titles from Wikipedia's episode list:

• Episode 29, "Path", a recap of the first 28 episodes. Easy skip.
• Episode 66, "The Eye of the Midnight Sun's Secret", despite the plot-sounding title, is a recap of the group's attacks so far, narrated by Klaus, and Anime Filler List classifies it as pure filler. Skip it without worrying you're missing lore.
• Episode 68, "Battle to the Death?! Yami vs. Jack", a non-canon fight between two rival captains, Yami of the Black Bulls and Jack the Ripper of the Green Praying Mantises. If you're watching for character moments rather than manga fidelity, this is the strongest pure-filler pick on the list: a genuine Yami-and-Jack showdown that the manga never drew.
• Episode 82, "Petit Clover! The Nightmarish Charmy SP!", a full episode of "Petit Clover" chibi sketches, the gag segment that normally runs at the end of episodes, framed as Charmy's dream. Skip for plot, watch only if you want the comedy tone.
• Episodes 123-125, "Nero Reminisces... Part One," "Part Two," and "Return", which air shortly after the Elf Reincarnation Arc ends. Episodes 123 and 124 retell Nero's backstory and then the story so far from Nero's point of view, and episode 125 is a comedy episode about the Black Bulls coming home and chasing Yami's escaped pet beasts. Episodes 123-124 are the filler most worth keeping on a manga-first watch, because they gather the arc's backstory in one place right after it ends.
• Episode 131, "A New Resolve", a single transitional episode. Skip.
• Episodes 134-135, "Those Who Have Been Gathered" and "The One Who Has My Heart, My Mind, and Soul", two standalone comedy episodes, a party at the Vermillion house and Finral's attempt to stop flirting at a mixer. Skip unless you want extra material with the supporting cast.
• Episodes 142-149 (eight episodes), the single largest filler block on the list. It's an anime-original arc in which a vigilante group, the Devil Banishers, kidnaps Gauche's sister Marie and a Black Bulls member, and a devil-worshipping group, the Devil Believers, turns out to be using them. Episode 149 is a lighter follow-up. At 24 minutes each, this block alone is 192 minutes (3 hours 12 minutes) of the 432-minute total. It's a self-contained side story: skip it for a manga-story-first route, or watch it as a standalone detour if you want a complete anime-original arc rather than isolated episodes.

The practical shortlist: if you only watch one filler stretch, make it episodes 123-124 for Nero's backstory. If you only watch one single filler episode for fun rather than plot, make it episode 68.

Where does the movie fit?

Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King released June 16, 2023, in Japanese theaters and simultaneously on Netflix internationally, with an original story not adapted from the manga. According to Wikipedia, it takes place during the six-month gap right before the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc. In the anime, that gap is the six months of training ordered in episode 130, and episode 158 opens once it's over, so the movie fits roughly between episodes 157 and 158. If you're rewatching in order, that's the natural place to slot it in; watching it after all 170 episodes also works, since its story is self-contained.

Where does the manga continue after episode 170?

Start at chapter 270, near the end of volume 27. Episode 170 ends on material that Wikipedia's chapter list places in volume 27 (chapters 262-272), and season 2's first episode opens with training from the end of that volume. ComicBook.com names chapter 170 in one sentence, but the same article places the finale's events before the final pages of chapter 270, so the 170 reads as a typo.

The manga itself has finished: it ran in Weekly Shonen Jump until August 2023, moved to the quarterly Jump Giga to finish its final arc, and concluded on May 1, 2026, at 38 volumes, with its last chapters landing in the 390-392 range on MangaUpdates. So picking up at chapter 270 means catching up to a complete ending, whenever you're ready to read that far.

Where can you watch it, and what about season 2?

As listed on JustWatch on October 23, 2026, the original run streams in the US on Crunchyroll (directly or through the Crunchyroll Amazon Channel) and Netflix, and Hulu carries part of it. JustWatch splits the show into seasons whose episode counts don't add up to 170, so check that episode 1 is there before you subscribe. For streaming, the new 2026 episodes are listed only on Crunchyroll.

Season 2 premiered on October 3, 2026 on TV Tokyo, and Crunchyroll streams it as it airs, per Anime News Network. Studio Pierrot returns, and Ayataka Tanemura, who directed episodes 153-170 and Sword of the Wizard King, directs the new season. Six episodes (171-176) had aired by November 7, 2026, per Wikipedia's season 2 episode list, and Anime Filler List still stops at episode 170 as of November 10. For the rest of the current release calendar, the site's anime release-date schedule tracks confirmed premiere dates across the season.

Season 2 episode tracker: is any of it filler?

No season 2 episode has been labelled filler. Anime Filler List hasn't classified anything past episode 170 yet, and the official season 2 introduction describes the manga's Spade Kingdom storyline (the Dark Triad invasion, the captured captains and the devils behind them). Our read, not an official ruling: treat 171 onward as manga canon and don't skip any of it until a list says otherwise.

The official season 2 site lists TV Tokyo on Saturdays at 23:00 JST, which is 9:00 a.m. EST, 6:00 a.m. PST, 14:00 GMT and 7:00 p.m. PKT under the November clocks. English titles below are from Wikipedia's season 2 list; the official story page carries the same seven episodes in Japanese.

Episode 6 is the one Noel fans were waiting for: the official site's November 7 news post confirms she unlocks her Undine-powered Saint Valkyrie Dress there, setting up her rematch with Vanica. Episodes 2 and 5 also reuse old season 1 openings as insert songs ("Black Rover" and "Rakugaki Page"), a nice nod for returning viewers.

Neither the official site nor Crunchyroll has announced how many episodes season 2 will run. The next official event is a Jump Station Online stream at Jump Festa 2027 on December 20 at 13:00 JST with Gakuto Kajiwara (Asta), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Yuno) and Kana Yuuki (Noel), shown on Shueisha's Jump Channel on YouTube (official announcement).

How long each route takes before season 2

Season 2's first episode picks up straight after episode 170, so newcomers and returning viewers need different routes. At AniList's 24 minutes an episode, all 170 episodes take 68 hours. This page's default route skips only the 18 pure-filler episodes, which leaves 152 episodes, or 60 hours and 48 minutes. The manga-story route keeps the 131 manga-canon and mixed episodes and takes 52 hours and 24 minutes, and the movie adds 110 minutes to any of them.

At two hours a night, a newcomer needs about 30 nights for the default route or 26 for the manga-story route. Either way, you'd catch up in about a month while season 2 adds one episode a week.

Returning viewers don't need the full run, because episodes 158-170 are all manga canon and take 5 hours and 12 minutes. They open with the Spade army crossing the border and close on the backstory episode that season 2 continues from. The site's anime release calendar converts season 2's broadcast time to your time zone.

A simple catch-up route

1. Watch all manga-canon and mixed canon/filler episodes, 124 + 7 = 131 episodes in all.
2. Watch anime-canon episodes too, unless you're optimizing purely for runtime.
3. Skip the 18 pure-filler episodes listed above, except episodes 123-124 if you want Nero's backstory.
4. Slot the movie in around episode 157-158, or watch it after episode 170.
5. Continue with season 2 on Crunchyroll, or read on from manga chapter 270.

This site's filler-guide hub applies the same four-way method to other long-running series, so the categories carry over even though the exact episode numbers don't. For classification of other franchises using the identical method, see the One Piece filler list, the Bleach filler list, and the Naruto Shippuden canon episode guide. If you're planning a full rewatch before season 2, the site's watch-order hub and legal streaming guide cover viewing order and regional availability questions this page doesn't.

Continue the story in print

Since the anime hasn't reached the manga's final arc, readers who want to see how Black Clover actually ends have to go to the source. If you'd rather own the physical volumes than read digitally, current Black Clover manga box sets and volumes on Amazon are one way to start building toward chapter 270 and beyond, once you've checked the exact volumes included, the seller, and the current price yourself.

Affiliate disclosure: PrimeTimeAnime may earn from qualifying Amazon purchases. The episode classification and skip guidance above do not depend on a purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many filler episodes does Black Clover have?

18 pure-filler episodes across 170 total, using Anime Filler List's classification: episodes 29, 66, 68, 82, 123-125, 131, 134-135, and 142-149. A separate 7 episodes are mixed canon/filler and should not be skipped, and 21 more are anime-original "anime canon" episodes, which are optional but distinct from pure filler.

How much time do you save skipping Black Clover filler?

432 minutes, or 7 hours and 12 minutes, if you skip only the 18 pure-filler episodes at 24 minutes each. Skipping the 21 anime-canon episodes as well raises the total to 936 minutes, or 15 hours and 36 minutes.

Is Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King canon?

It's an anime-original story not adapted from the manga, but it takes place within the anime's own timeline, during the six-month gap between the Elf Reincarnation Arc and the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc, roughly between episodes 157 and 158.

What manga chapter should I start at after episode 170?

Chapter 270, near the end of volume 27. Episode 170 ends on material from that volume, and season 2 picks up from the same point. ComicBook.com's mention of chapter 170 reads as a typo, since the same article places the finale before the end of chapter 270.

Is the Black Clover manga finished?

Yes. It ran in Weekly Shonen Jump until August 2023, moved to the quarterly Jump Giga to finish its final arc, and concluded on May 1, 2026, at 38 volumes, with its last chapters in the 390-392 range.

When did Black Clover season 2 premiere?

October 3, 2026, on TV Tokyo, with Crunchyroll streaming it as it airs. Studio Pierrot returned and Ayataka Tanemura directs. Six episodes (171-176) had aired by November 7, 2026, and episode 177 airs on November 14.

Is Black Clover season 2 filler?

Not so far. Anime Filler List hasn't classified episodes 171 onward yet, and the official season 2 introduction describes the manga's Spade Kingdom arc, so this guide treats them as manga canon until a list says otherwise. That is our reading of the official material, not an official ruling.

How many episodes will Black Clover season 2 have?

The episode count hasn't been announced. The official site and Wikipedia list seven episodes so far (171-177), with new episodes every Saturday on TV Tokyo.

Are episodes 123-125 worth watching even though they're filler?

Episodes 123 and 124 are the filler this guide recommends keeping on a manga-first watch. They retell Nero's backstory and then the story so far from Nero's point of view, shortly after the Elf Reincarnation Arc ends. Episode 125 is a comedy episode about the Black Bulls coming home, and it's safe to skip.

Update log

• November 10, 2026: added a season 2 episode tracker (171-177 with TV Tokyo dates and local times), the filler status of season 2, the Jump Festa 2027 stream on December 20, and two FAQs. Re-checked Anime Filler List (still ends at 170), Wikipedia's season 2 list and the official site. Season 1 classification and streaming notes unchanged.
• October 23, 2026: Season 2 premiered October 3; re-checked Anime Filler List, Wikipedia and JustWatch US; corrected the filler episode descriptions and the Nero recommendation (123-124); added the time each route takes.