StruckByBelz Can’t Support Asta Because They’re Christian? My Take as a Pastor’s Kid

So yo, it came to my attention that StruckByBelz is getting demolished all over Twitter right now. One clip, millions of views, all because of what they said about Black Clover. Y’all already know I’m a Black Clover fan. But I’m also the son of a pastor, so this one hit close to home, and I wanted to give my take as somebody who actually relates to it.

Let me make this clear up front: I’m not here to dump on these people. But I am going to keep it real.

The clip that started it

If you missed it, this is the post that blew up: a Christian anime YouTuber saying he can no longer root for Asta because of his link to a devil.

Here’s what bugs me before I even get into it. From what I saw scrolling the replies, the person who clipped it doesn’t even really care for their channel. They just watch them for Black Clover reactions, heard something they didn’t like, and clipped it. Y’all always say you want honest reactions. The man shares an honest, vulnerable moment, it gets clipped, and he gets absolutely ridiculed. That’s why it’s hard to expect people to be honest in a reaction. Sometimes you see something and you just stay quiet, and people go “you don’t got nothing to say?” No, I don’t, because if I say it, I end up like this.

He’s growing in his faith, and I get it

Right at the start of the clip, he says he’s growing in his spiritual journey. So there are going to be things that make him uncomfortable. I can relate. Go watch our Prison School reaction and then watch our Gushing Over Magical Girls reaction. I came from a real estate, sales, corporate background, plus my religious upbringing, and Prison School had me completely uncomfortable at the time. Now Gushing Over Magical Girls? It’s nothing. Me and him took opposite journeys. But the point is, I get it.

Why devils hit different for a Christian

A lot of people commenting aren’t thinking from the mindset or the heart of a Christian. If you know anything about Christianity, the devil is the biggest opp. Lucifer is the sworn enemy of every Christian. So those themes are going to be uncomfortable. And this isn’t me trying to change your mind, I’m just trying to help people see it from a Christian’s point of view.

When people say “separate fiction from reality,” a lot of Christians grew up with the mindset that it’s spiritual and physical warfare. If you keep watching it, your mind gets desensitized, and before you know it the great enemy doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. Same conversation people have about Hollywood: the language, the way people dress, family values, all of it.

Demons vs daemons: where East Asia sees it differently

Here’s where I differ. I went down the rabbit hole while watching an anime that deals with daemons, and I didn’t know until then that demons and daemons are separate. A daemon is more of a spiritual force, some type of supernatural power, a lesser deity. At some point on the Western side, religious folks said if it’s not of God, it’s a demon. God and angels on one side, everything else, fallen angels included, is a demon.

East Asia takes a different approach. You can be a spiritual entity and not be evil. Christians typically aren’t raised with that nuance. That’s my experience growing up Pentecostal and Jamaican: if it’s a spirit and it’s not of God, it’s evil. So when you’re showing up every Sunday, going to Bible study on Friday, and then you watch a main character form a contract with a devil, it can feel jarring and incongruous with everything you’re being taught. That’s why Christians believe what they believe.

What I think he should have said

When I watched the clip, I didn’t hear him telling y’all what to believe. He was just saying what he felt and what he was comfortable with. Where I think it went wrong: I don’t think he should have put it on religious reasons. I think he should have just said, “Yo, making a contract with the devil, that’s wild. That makes me uncomfortable,” and left it there.

This part is for my fellow Christians, if you care. If you can’t articulate the right words, and the Bible definitely emphasizes wisdom, you make Christianity a target. It can sound dumb, especially when it’s clipped like that. Sometimes you got to exercise discernment and wisdom. Say it makes you uncomfortable, then live your life as an example, and people will put two and two together.

And honestly, he was talking to his people, his viewers, his subscribers. If he’d known the internet was going to react like this, he would’ve worded it a little different. I actually think he is good with words. It just didn’t work out in that particular video. It’s like losing a basketball game. You could be the best player out there, but you lost, so yeah, you should’ve scored more.

My own journey with anime and faith

I grew up Christian, but I always liked anime. I remember my dad reading the description on the back of something I had and ripping it up. I was not allowed to watch any of this stuff. As I grew up, I strayed away from a lot of what my parents were preaching, because it didn’t make clear sense to me. I’m not cool with senseless killing in the name of a god. My thought process is, if God created the world, then he’s everybody’s God, not exclusively mine against yours. So I’m on my own spiritual journey, and that’s all there is to it.

That’s why, if I have a problem with something, I’m not going to use religion. There are things I’m uncomfortable with that I don’t even share with you guys. I just don’t watch them.

Where do you draw the line?

Here’s the real challenge. If you can’t do Asta’s transformation, and he’s the main character, I don’t think that anime is for you. And to be frank, you can’t watch a lot of anime. Dandadan. Mushoku Tensei. Shield Hero. The Eminence in Shadow. One Piece is cooking a whole lot of demons. Bleach got violence and mystical powers that have nothing to do with God. Kaiju No. 8? My mom is calling all that demon.

Naruto got a whole demon inside of him. Ichigo turned into a Soul Reaper. Beerus is literally the god of destruction. So where do you draw the line? Can there be devils in the show as long as the protagonist doesn’t work with them? What if there’s a greater force trying to destroy all three worlds and the devils have to fight it too? Now we’re on the same side. Is a fusion okay then?

If you’re against devils as a concept, you wouldn’t want to promote that media or let it in your mind, so you’d have to cut all of it. You can’t really pick and choose. But we all pick and choose. We’re all hypocrites, and I read that he even called himself one. If you believe only Jesus is perfect, then of course we’re hypocrites. Duh.

I also get that it’s a tough spot for them, because this is their livelihood. This is their bread and butter.

Why are y’all so mean about it?

I don’t really get into the drama often. This one got my attention because I grew up that way. You can call these people whatever you want, but I never see them cursing at anybody or antagonizing anybody. They mind their business, say their piece on their own platform, and people sit around and ridicule them. That’s the internet, I know. (I’m almost jealous. I’m trying to get a piece of these 3 million views. I gotta say something ridiculous in my next Black Clover video.)

I think the sincerity is what got people. He was dead serious. He had his guard down, he trusted y’all, and that’s what y’all did with him. If somebody on our channel had ripped into demons as a joke, people would’ve laughed. But because he said “this is how I feel,” y’all cooked the man.

I understand if you disagree. “Separate fiction from reality,” cool, I get why you’d say that. But some of y’all are real mean. If you’re mature and sound-minded, you’re probably just disagreeing, and you’re not who I’m talking to. But for the people making fun of them: why?

Watch my full take

More of my takes on arguing about anime online: A Character Is Not the Author: How I Argue About Anime Online. And for the Black Clover side of things, check out Anime of the Week: Black Clover S2.

Watching along? Grab the Black Clover manga on Amazon when you are ready. Amazon Associates tag yaboyrocklee_-20 helps keep the reaction machine running.

So what’s your spiritual journey? And if you’re one of the people clowning them, I genuinely want to know: why do you think that opinion deserves ridicule? Let me know in the comments.