Who Is Asta’s Mom in ‘Black Clover’?

Anime has no shortage of great moms, just ask Jin Kazama from Tekken. But the better question here is who was Asta’s mom, because (spoilers) she’s dead. Anime has plenty of tragic characters, and this one is no exception. Grab some tissues kids, cause it’s time for a sad backstory.

Asta’s Mom’s name was Richita—and she was a weird kid. Why? Because she was born with a messed-up kind of magic that sucks the life force out of others, which I’m sure dealt a devastating blow to her chances of being one of the popular kids in high school. Because just being around her could literally kill you, she was forced to live in exile on the outskirts of her village.

After giving birth to Asta (we don’t know who the father is, so don’t ask), she was forced to abandon him on the steps of a church. She feared that her magic would drain his life force as well. Then, she filled the gaping emotional hole in her chest by adopting the young devil, Liebe, after finding him injured in the woods. They had an amazing, adorable life together (for a while at least) until the high-ranking devil, Lucifero, found out that there was a rogue devil living in the world above. He attempted to take over Liebe’s body, but Richita fought back and drained Lucifero’s magic out of her adopted son. But before she could completely expel Lucifero, he took control of one of Liebe’s arms and plunged it into her chest, mortally wounding her. With her dying breath, she sealed Liebe into a five-leaf clover grimoire so he would be safe in the mortal realm. Her biological son, Asta, found this book a year later, which allowed him to team up with his half-brother and kick ass together. Pretty sweet when you think about it.

(Featured image credit: Xebec Zwei)