Viz Media Announces Black Torch Anime And Others At ECCC

Peter Paltridge

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Viz Media held its Emerald City Comic-Con panel over the weekend in Seattle, and surprised the room with the announcement that Tsuyoshi Takaki’s manga Black Torch was getting its own anime adaption, now in production. It was surprising because, while the manga was a hit, it ran back in 2016. Ordinarily most manga is adapted into anime while it’s fresh and new, and if they don’t make that window, they miss their chance. Black Torch apparently didn’t. Black Torch is about Jiro Azuma, a teenage ninja who can talk to animals. He uses this ability to save them, but it gets him in trouble one day when the cat he rescues turns out to be the evil mononoke (spirit) Rago of the Black Star of Doom. Rago’s attackers then straight-up murder Jiro, but Rago saves him by fusing their spirits together. Now Jiro is even more powerful, but the tradeoff is he’s got an evil cat living inside him and they have to get along to save the day again. At the same panel, Viz announced Yasuhisa Hara’s critically acclaimed manga Kingdom will be localized through them and is set to launch November 11. A historical epic with over 110 million copies sold worldwide, Kingdom has inspired an anime adaptation, three live-action films, and video games. Now you can find out what all the buzz is about. The third announcement from Viz was regarding Yaiba: Samurai Legend. ” The action-packed adventure follows young samurai Yaiba Kurogane as he embarks on a journey filled with humor, epic battles, and legendary swords,” Viz says. The new anime is set to premiere on Netflix and Hulu April 5. Oddly Viz provided no trailer for the show, but they did give us a nice-looking poster….
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I can’t believe we’re finally getting a Black Torch anime! This series deserved an adaptation years ago, and I was worried it would never happen. The mix of ninja action and supernatural elements is exactly what makes a great shonen anime. Also, Rago is such a fun character—I love the idea of a powerful spirit cat being part of the protagonist’s life. Hopefully, the animation quality will do justice to the manga’s dynamic fights. I wonder which studio is handling it?
 
I don’t know if Black Torch getting an anime now is a good idea. It’s been almost a decade since the manga ended, and honestly, it was never as big as Naruto or Bleach. Anime adaptations usually work best when the fanbase is still active, but maybe Viz sees potential in reviving interest. I’ll give it a try, but I won’t get my hopes up too high.
 
While I’m happy for Black Torch fans, I always worry about how anime adaptations handle the source material. The manga had amazing panel layouts and detailed artwork—will the animation be able to capture that? Also, the series is only five volumes long, which makes me wonder if they’ll add filler or rush the pacing. I hope they stay faithful to the original story.
 
’ll probably check out Yaiba: Samurai Legend since it’s coming to Netflix. I don’t know much about it, but the description makes it sound like a mix of action and comedy, which I enjoy. It’s interesting that Viz didn’t release a trailer yet, though. Maybe they’re keeping things under wraps until the release date gets closer.
 

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