Episode 1 of Black Torch spent its entire runtime setting things on fire. Episode 2, which aired July 11, is what happens the morning after. Jiro wakes up in a Bureau of Espionage hospital, fused with a demon cat named Rago, whom he met two days ago, and learns he is now officially a missing person. Not a great week.
Why the Bureau of Espionage Won’t Let Jiro Go
The Bureau of Espionage is the modern incarnation of the Edo-period Oniwabanshu, the historical ninja spy organization repurposed as a paranormal containment agency, and they are not asking nicely. Because Rago fused with Jiro to bring him back from death, the bond is irreversible.
The Bureau’s position is that Jiro is no longer human, which means he is no longer their problem to protect and, at the same time, their problem to contain. He is under surveillance, under their roof, and going nowhere.
Rago, for his part, is doing what Rago does. Anime News Network described his decision to fuse with Jiro in episode one as a very feline solution to a feline problem, which is exactly right. He is an immortal mononoke and also very much a cat, and that means he took the path that suited him, regardless of what it cost Jiro.
Episode 2 gives him less to do, but his presence in every scene is a constant reminder that Jiro is carrying something that he did not ask permission for before moving in.
The Bureau’s history with Rago is also starting to come into focus. They were pursuing him specifically because a rival group of mononoke freed him during a raid on their facility.
Rago had been held captive by them for a long time before that, which means the Bureau’s interest in keeping Jiro close is not entirely about his safety. Shiba and Ichika are polite about it. That is not the same as being honest about it.
Why Jiro’s Grandfather Tried to Kill Him in Black Torch Episode 2
Jiro escapes anyway. He goes home to say goodbye to his grandfather, Toshimasa, which is where the episode stops being setup and becomes the reason you stay with the show.
Toshimasa turns out to be a former Bureau member himself, something Jiro had no idea about. His response to finding out his grandson has permanently bonded with a mononoke is to try to kill him. Not out of hatred. Out of the completely unsentimental logic of someone who has spent his whole life knowing what mononoke cost people.
Shinpachi Tsuji, who voices Toshimasa in the Japanese dub, said in pre-release materials that the man’s harsh training methods would not fly in the real world, but that the love beneath it all is real. Both things are visible at the same time in this fight, which is what makes it work.
Toshimasa’s Fight With Jiro Reveals a Bureau Secret
Jiro does not win by being stronger. He wins by showing Toshimasa enough of his own conviction that the old man finally stands down. It is not warm. It is not a reconciliation. It is closer to a reluctant acknowledgment that this kid is not going to stop, and there is no point trying to make him. For a character like Toshimasa, that might be the only argument that ever lands.
By the end, Jiro walks back to the Bureau himself. The episode title earns it. Nobody dragged him there. He made the choice, which is the whole point.
Black Torch airs weekly on Crunchyroll every Saturday.