After more than a year of teasers, Black Torch is actually here, and the timing comes with a bonus most fans weren’t expecting.
Tsuyoshi Takaki’s manga ran for only five volumes before ending in 2018, leaving many readers feeling the story got cut short just as it found its footing. Viz Media picked it up for English release, and it quietly built a cult following, enough that Takaki himself confirmed an anime adaptation was in the works back in 2025. Since then, every cast reveal and trailer drop has slowly built toward one date.
‘Black Torch’ Release Date and Where to Watch
That date is July 4, 2026. Crunchyroll is simulcasting the series worldwide, and in a move that’s become rarer for new anime launches, it’s dropping with a same-day English dub instead of making dub fans wait weeks or months. The series is set to run 12 episodes.
The story follows Jiro Azuma, a teenage ninja who can talk to animals, a trait that got him bullied for most of his life. That changes when he rescues an injured cat that turns out to be Rago, an immortal mononoke. After Jiro is fatally wounded protecting him, Rago fuses with Jiro to save his life, and the two end up recruited by a covert agency that handles mononoke threats instead of getting locked up for what they are.
On the Japanese side, Ryota Suzuki voices Jiro Azuma, and Yoji Ueda plays Rago, with Toshiyuki Morikawa and Nobuhiko Okamoto joining as antagonists Amagi and Koga. The English dub cast is led by AJ Beckles as Jiro, with Keith Silverstein as Rago, Ben Diskin as Amagi, Erin Yvette as Ichika Kishimojin, and Ryan Bartley voicing Nachi.
Kei Umabiki directs at 100studio, with character designs from Go Suzuki and a score from Yutaka Yamada, who fans will recognize from Vinland Saga. The opening theme, “FREEZE ME UP” by SiM, is already turning heads for how well it matches the show’s fight choreography in early promo footage.
Black Torch Episode 2 lands on Crunchyroll next Saturday.
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