As the Summer 2026 anime season is about to come to an end, many of the anime currently airing on the leading streaming platform, Crunchyroll, are also nearing their finales. Several anime have already come to an end, including what could be the Anime of the Year this year. However, the one anime that caught everyone’s attention by surprise was the debut of Black Torch from Studio EEK. The anime is adapted from the manga of the same name, which came to an end in 2018. Rather, the manga’s run was cancelled.
Since it is uncommon for an anime adaptation of a cancelled manga to get a chance to debut, Black Torch‘s revival was already a miracle. It was made possible by the fans’ continued support of the manga and their constant desire for an adaptation. With the manga having a total of 19 chapters, each with around 60 pages, it gave the studio enough material to be adapted into a 12-episode, one-season anime. That 12-episode run has finally come to an end, and it is more than safe to say that the anime knocked it out of the park, providing the perfect feel of what shonen anime is all about. This adaptation could give the industry a new direction regarding the potential adaptation of such underrated gems as well.
In just 12 episodes, Black Torch captures the perfect notion of what a shonen anime has always represented, including how to make it feel modern. From the get-go, it presents a modern ninja premise with its protagonist, setting up a perfect foundation for its main character that makes it feel like a Naruto series taking place in a modern era with its own twist. Meanwhile, other details also make it feel somewhat like Jujutsu Kaisen, especially with its main character’s nuances regarding his family and his special athletic body. As the series progresses, many other nuances, including the trio that continues to push one another, make it a perfect shonen experience that is hard to ignore.
What makes it feel even more like a Naruto anime is how its second male character, Reiji, has the foundation that makes him very similar to Sasuke Uchiha. Though these elements were entertaining enough for the anime, the series, in its very short run, also builds a perfect villain. The villain is eventually challenged by Jiro, the main character, as he emerges as an anomaly, with his condition alongside Rago, the legendary spirit, proving that there is hope for the coexistence between mononoke and humans. Across its 12 episodes, the anime perfectly establishes itself as a small shonen series, and naturally, its reception has been great among fans.
VIZ Media released the full box set of the original manga, which finally received the attention it should have gotten in the first place, proving that it was a perfect shonen series. Black Torch‘s success is surely a first spark in the anime industry, which could encourage more studios to pick up and adapt manga that have a fandom but were cancelled for absurd reasons. Perhaps in the future, such adaptations could also be expanded, allowing original fans to see these manga receive the extended adaptations they never got the chance to have.
The anime industry is clearly moving in a different direction, especially with the emergence of many anime receiving movie adaptations. Perhaps these anime movie adaptations could also be the key to adapting cancelled manga, forming an original element of their own. In any case, Black Torch‘s anime adaptation and its run on Crunchyroll have been nothing but a good sign, and it could have already led the anime industry toward a new direction.
