The Summer 2026 anime season continues to heat up, thanks to the many amazing series currently airing on Crunchyroll, including a hot new shonen anime. There is no denying that this season offers a wide variety of anime, featuring the strangest adult anime on Netflix and one of the darkest anime of the year with a perfect plot. However, the hype surrounding the shonen anime is undoubtedly the biggest. This is especially true as the currently airing shonen anime, Black Torch, is doing something no one saw coming.
Like most anime, Black Torch is based on a manga. Created by Tsuyoshi Takaki, it first debuted in 2016 in Shueisha’s monthly magazine Jump Square. However, due to fierce competition during its serialization, the manga was eventually moved to Shonen Jump+ before coming to a premature conclusion in 2018 with only 19 chapters. Since cancelled manga almost never receive anime adaptations, Black Torch‘s arrival this season was a huge surprise, especially because the series is perfectly molded after classic shonen anime while also drawing clear comparisons to Naruto, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
It is indeed a big deal that Black Torch‘s manga even got an anime adaptation, as it is almost unheard of for a cancelled manga to receive one. However, Black Torch managed to get one thanks to the consistent support of the original manga’s fanbase, as fans eventually realized that it was indeed something special. Unfortunately, it took a long time for that appreciation to grow, and with Jump Square constantly judging the series by its popularity, it was eventually discarded before fans truly recognized its potential. However, the anime is finally helping the manga achieve the popularity it should have had, especially because of its classic shonen hero traits. It begins with a modern ninja setup and the twist of the main character gaining an overpowered ability inside him, much like Naruto receiving Kurama.
Meanwhile, as the series gradually forms its unit, it reflects Team 7 from Naruto, while the dynamic of the task force hunting down spirits and demons resembles the setup of Chainsaw Man. Its elements, especially those surrounding the main character, also make it feel like a Jujutsu Kaisen replacement. However, since Black Torch came first, it highlights that it was an inspiration Gege Akutami took while creating his magnum opus. Ever since the anime began airing, it has emerged as a perfect modern shonen series that fans are enjoying, fulfilling the need for every season to have an epic shonen anime.
The anime studio, Studio EEK, has also been elevating the source material with a perfect adaptation, perhaps finally presenting the fast-paced shonen narrative that Jump Square had hoped for during its manga run. Black Torch has made a comeback that perhaps no other series ever has. However, the anime will likely wrap up with 13 episodes, perfectly adapting all 19 chapters. Even so, it will still leave behind the disappointment of the manga being cancelled before its narrative could be fully realized. Perhaps, if Black Torch truly wants to make what could be the greatest comeback of all time, the anime should continue as an anime-original story that brings the author’s vision to life. That would help it become a Crunchyroll anime that delivers a generational comeback unlike any other series has ever achieved.
