The magical manga turned anime spectacle “Black Clover” becomes a feature film in “Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King,” an offshoot of the popular TV series that struggles through a sea of characters, contrived factions and sword and sorcery magic practiced by those fighting to rule and perhaps “cleanse” the Clover Kingdom.

It’s a lot to wade into, an anime effects extravaganza with so many story threads, agendas and characters that it’s not really the sort of thing you “wade into.” And despite Biblical undertones to its central struggle over free will, self-determinism and the “fallen angel” who wants to “fix this country” by ridding it of most of the wizards, wizard kings and magic-free bystanders who live in it, it never really rises above the nonsense of it all.

Director Ayataka Tanemura, who worked on the TV series, and her crew deliver eye candy and a simple plot buried under clutter in the form of fan service.

Characters pop in for glib one-liners, rallying cries, death threats and spells — SO many specialized, unique to the character spells.

“Fake manipulation, ABSOLUTE EVASION!” “Spatial Magic! Fallen Angel’s Wingbeat!”

The story sort of drifts free of the “two orphans/rivals” dynamic of the manga and TV show, where Asta and Yuna compete their way towards Wizard King status. Here, the years-long struggle between wizards Julius, a righteous consensus builder, and Conrad the megalomaniac to control Clover Kingdom takes center stage.

A prologue captures Conrad, foiled mid-power grab, contained and exiled “forever,” which is why the good folks of Clover Kingdom are told he’s dead. Julius & Co. overpowered him.

Ten years later, at The Triumph, the contest between wizards to determine who gets to move up in the hierarchy, Yuna and Asta’s rivalry is set aside by a coup attempt. Conrad is back. And he has allies and minions.

It will take teamwork to resist him, his faction and his “magic soldiers.” The Black Bulls and their bluff, “just took a dump” leader Yami, scientists at the Magic Tool Research Lab and others join the fray

The rivals pay lip service and lip service only to debating power and discrimination and prejudice and honor.

“I will fix this country!”

Are we meant to believe Conrad has a point? Without examples? I mean, he does insist to Julius “You’re the one standing in the way of PROGRESS!”

To be as well-esablished as this narrative is, characters spend an INSANE amount of dialogue (in subtitled Japanese, or dubbed) delivering exposition, back-story, history, motivations and the like aloud.

Fan or no fan, you have to admit that’s infantile storytelling.

A puerile, Pokeman-level encyclopedia of rules — whose power trumps what — must be considered and arbitrarily abandoned when the next epic brawl begins.

The problem with a fantasy with this much “history” and this many characters layered on top of a simple story is that its “complexity” is superficial, gained by simply adding more colorful wizards and spells, and that its conflict is exposed as contrived claptrap to anyone looking for a straightforward plot, properly motivated characters, logic and the like.

There’s little here for a non-fan, and almost nothing to invite non-fans to become fans.

Rating: TV-14, violent action, a few toilet references

Cast: The voices of Chris Niosi, Dallas Reid, Brynn Apprill, Christopher Sabat, Robert McCollum, Tia Lynn Ballard, Josh Grelle, Jill Harris and many others

Credits: Directed by Ayataka Tanemura, scripted by Johnny Onda and Ai Orii based on the Yuuki Tabata manga that also inspired the TV series. A Netflix release.

Running time: 1:53