Tsuyoshi Takaki’s Black Torch is a creative action manga with supernatural elements. It was published in Shueisha’s Jump Square and Shonen Jump+ from 2016 to 2018. While Black Torch uses many common tropes of action-packed manga, it creates a unique setting by blending high-speed spy adventures with over-the-top demon hunting.
The world of Black Torch hadn’t been seen since the series ended in 2018, but it recently made a comeback with an adaptation that’s quickly become one of Crunchyroll’s biggest and most anticipated successes this summer.
Black Torch’s Success Opens The Door For Older & Overlooked Shonen Series
Black Torch follows Jiro, a ninja whose family lineage gives him the ability to communicate with animals. His world is turned upside down when he rescues Rago, a talking black cat who is actually a powerful and dangerous demonic spirit called a mononoke.
Rago saves Jiro by combining with him, unexpectedly thrusting the kind-hearted ninja into a dangerous conflict between humans and demons. This union grants Jiro the Black Star of Doom – a powerful, dark energy – and leads him to join the Bureau of Espionage. There, he uses his newfound abilities to work with secret agents and track down dangerous, supernatural creatures.
This series combines action with supernatural elements, similar to popular anime like Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen. But Black Torch goes further, exploring the complicated connection between humans and ancient spirits. It delves into why that connection broke down and whether it can be fixed.
The characters don’t hunt spirits just to destroy them; they’re driven by a desire to understand them. This approach makes for a more compelling story than simply portraying spirits as evil enemies that need to be defeated.
The anime version of Black Torch arrived ten years after the manga first came out, leading many to believe an adaptation wouldn’t happen at all. While it’s great when popular new manga get quick anime adaptations, this can sometimes cause problems with the show’s pacing and quality as creators try to balance covering enough content with telling a good story.
This explains why we’re seeing more anime adaptations of stories nearing their conclusion – much of the plot has already unfolded in the source material. Many older manga series, even those largely forgotten now, still offer great potential and brought something fresh to storytelling, such as Black Torch.
Just like anime, older manga titles deserve the opportunity to reach new audiences and share their stories. The recent success of Black Torch – an older, previously canceled series – shows that many other classic manga could also find renewed popularity in today’s market.
Anime adaptations sometimes surpass the original manga, fixing problems and preventing issues that could have led to cancellation. Changes are usually better received when applied to older series—those from nearly a decade ago or more—compared to popular modern shows which receive much closer scrutiny.
Black Torch’s Anime Improves Upon The Manga’s Visual Shortcomings
Turning manga into anime lets more people enjoy the story, and can even enhance it with unique visuals. While Tsuyoshi Takaki’s storytelling in Black Torch was well-received and his world-building praised, some critics found his artwork to be somewhat unoriginal.
Takaki’s art style feels similar to that of Tite Kubo and other popular action manga, making it lack a unique identity. However, the anime adaptation of Black Torch remains faithful to Takaki’s original vision while also enhancing the visuals with more creative designs – all without changing the look of the characters or the world they inhabit.
The anime version of Black Torch builds on Takaki’s original story and helps to develop it further. The show features a large number of characters, and several – especially Ichika – are having a bigger impact in the anime adaptation than they did previously. This makes Black Torch more than just a retelling; it’s a chance to improve upon the source material.
The visually impressive style of Black Torch is thanks to 100studio, a relatively new animation studio using the series to showcase their capabilities. Black Torch is only the fourth anime project from 100studio, following Quality Assurance in Another World, The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei, and the film A Few Moments of Cheer – none of which achieved widespread popularity. This makes Black Torch their most crucial project yet, and it’s great to see them delivering such strong work.
This Anime Can Give Black Torch The Closure & Proper Ending That It’s Always Deserved
The manga ended fairly soon after it began, resulting in just 19 chapters collected into five volumes. It was canceled due to poor performance with readers and low sales figures in Japan.
The series didn’t resonate with viewers as strongly as other popular manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump at the time, such as Black Clover, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Dr. Stone. Its cancellation was unexpected for creator Tsuyoshi Takaki, resulting in a rushed ending that attempts to provide some closure.
The story of Black Torch unfortunately ends abruptly, with its final plot points and climactic battle crammed into just a few chapters. This rushed conclusion feels incomplete, leaving many questions unanswered about the world, characters, and overall lore. The author did share some notes on his original plans for the series in an afterword, but it doesn’t quite feel like a satisfying resolution.
Like many manga series, Black Torch likely would have changed its story direction over time. If the series had continued, the original plan might have evolved. Now, the anime adaptation has a chance to either follow Takaki’s initial vision or incorporate new ideas approved by him, ultimately giving Black Torch the satisfying conclusion it deserves.
2026-07-25 21:40