The Summer 2026 season is packed with diverse anime; however, it wouldn’t feel complete without a shonen anime, and this is exactly what Crunchyroll is providing with Black Torch. Since the start of the season, Black Torch has emerged as the perfect shonen anime, embracing familiar tropes that have defined the genre. One of the best elements Black Torch has incorporated is its main hero, who consistently embodies the qualities of a classic shonen protagonist. Jiro Azuma instantly emerges as the physically powerful and hopeful protagonist that a shonen hero usually represents.
However, what further amplified his position was the first episode giving him an inner demon power, a trope that has become synonymous with shonen protagonists. Jiro gains Rago, a legendary mononoke, the spirits that humans are currently at war with. The first episode itself solidified their bond, as Rago had to use Jiro as his vessel to heal from a fatal injury. Their bond has only progressed since then, with the seventh episode already seeing Jiro gain a new transformation that represents the pinnacle of their power. Now, the eighth episode of the series, the latest, has incorporated one more defining characteristic of a shonen protagonist, cementing Jiro as a perfect new action shonen hero.
With all these elements established by the eighth episode, Jiro had already emerged as the perfect new shonen protagonist, possessing all the best traits of the genre. However, the latest episode also incorporated one more defining trait of a shonen hero that is usually only seen in the later stages of a series. After the latest major fight, Jiro and Rago are confronted by Amagi, the spirit leading the Mononoke in the current war. With Jiro unconscious after his latest transformation, Amagi forces Rago to join the Mononoke’s side, but Rago refuses. Fortunately, Jiro is saved by the arrival of the new team members, although Amagi still manages to capture Rago.
However, the twist at the end of the episode reveals that Rago gave all of his powers to Jiro, and now he is nothing more than a cat. This action from Rago has effectively eliminated the threat of Jiro gradually dying due to Rago consuming his vital energy, but the two have been separated, and Amagi seemingly also killed Rago. Jiro has already emerged as the shonen protagonist who has gained the perfect power but lost his companion. Fans have seen this trope with other shonen protagonists as well, with Naruto being the prime example, as he gained Baryon Mode through Kurama’s sacrifice.
These moments in a shonen hero’s journey often make it clear that their journey has reached its conclusion. However, Black Torch has already incorporated this trope, largely because the narrative of the series itself is very short. Adapting all 19 chapters of the manga is a quick job, and given the pacing, the series might actually conclude within three or four more episodes. Even with its short narrative, Black Torch has positioned its protagonist with the perfect shonen hero tropes, which only highlights that, had the original manga had a longer run, Black Torch might have emerged as an even better new shonen anime on Crunchyroll in 2026, becoming one of its mainstays alongside Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and Black Clover.
