Asta from Black Clover is aro ace (to me)
I recently started rewatching Black Clover, and the idea that Asta is aromantic and/or asexual hit me in the very first episode.
Asta very loudly declares his love for Sister Lily, a nun at the church he lives in. It’s not said how long she’s been there, and I’m not aware of any Hage flashbacks she may show up in later in the series, but by the way all the characters seem intimately familiar with Asta’s antics, it’s probable that she’s been with their church for a few years at least. This would give her a sense of familiarity and comfortablility with Asta.
Another thing that’s important for me to note is that, in the fallout of the first of his attempts we’re privy to, Asta calls Yuno, his adoptive brother, a “big lady killing jerk”. Yuno is, by Asta’s own words, involved in the romance sphere. It’s more than likely that it’s unwilling on his part, and a separate case for Yuno being on the aro ace spectrum could be made, but nevertheless girls and romance seem to follow him around in Hage. Asta, having grown up with him and having a close bond with him (though it’s strained when we start off and the whole romance thing could be a contributing factor, though obviously not the main one) has most likely seen more than his fair share of Yuno “one-upping” him in that department.
These things come together with Sister Lily. Sister Lily is a woman of the cloth, stated plainly in the show. She cannot marry or have sex; she is off the table because of her profession. Not to sound too crass, but she is essentially an unattainable goal. Along with that, she is also familiar with Asta and seems to not hold his interest in her against him or take it too seriously as she treats him kindly outside of his attempts to ask her out.
It’s within the realm of reason that Asta is using Sister Lily, whether intentionally or unintentionally. He could be using his crush on her as a reason to not think about other girls that would be fair game, or to dissuade others from talking to him about it. He could be using his loyalty to her to justify his disinterest in others or console himself about how it seems girls don’t like him as much as his rival Yuno for reasons people seemingly have at the ready anytime to remind him of (noisy, short, lacking both composure and tolerance, and having nothing about him that appeals to women).
Asta grew up in a church, so it’s frankly impossible for him to not know what being a nun entails. He still pursues her despite knowing this. Maybe he pursues her because of this. He doesn’t have to think about love or sex because he’s given his heart to Sister Lily and could never love another.
By setting himself an unattainable goal (forgive the crass language once again) he’s setting himself up for failure. He’s shooting himself in the foot by soley going after one of the only women he knows that cannot and will not reciprocate his feelings.
Maybe he knows that.
Maybe that’s why he chose her.