A high schooler’s life gets really interested when a mysterious feline arrives on the scene in the highly anticipated anime adaptation of Tsuyoshi Takaki’s Black Torch manga. Final Weapon has everything you need to know about Black Torch, including the weekly schedule, release dates and timing for new episodes, and much more about the new anime.
The story of Black Torch focuses on protagonist Jiro Azuma, a descendant of ninjas trained in the ancient warrior art of the shinobi. Jiro can also talk to animals, leading to a strange encounter with an injured cat named Rago. He discovers that the cat is actually the legendary Black Star of Doom. With this knowledge, Jiro joins the Bureau of Espionage to fight off mononoke waiting to exploit Rago’s powers.
Black Torch Release Dates, Exact Premiere Time and Schedule
New Black Torch episodes will release on Saturdays at 6:00 a.m. PT / 9:00 a.m. ET on Crunchyroll. Episodes will be released with English subs and an English dub. Black Torch will feature 12 episodes in total.
Here are the release dates and schedule for Black Torch (subject to change):
- Episode 1 – July 4 – OUT NOW
- Episode 2 – July 11
- Episode 3 – July 18
- Episode 4 – July 25
- Episode 5 – August 1
- Episode 6 – August 8
- Episode 7 – August 15
- Episode 8 – August 22
- Episode 9 – August 29
- Episode 10 – September 5
- Episode 11 – September 12
- Episode 12 – September 19
New episodes of Black Torch will premiere at the following times (subject to change):
- Pacific Daylight Time: 6:00 a.m. PDT
- Mountain Daylight Time: 7:00 a.m. MDT
- Central Daylight Time: 8:00 a.m. CDT
- Eastern Daylight Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT
- Greenwich Mean Time: 1:00 p.m. GMT
OP/ED, Cast and Staff
SiM performs the opening theme song “Freeze Me Up,” and I Don’t Like Mondays. performs the ending theme song “Groooovy.”
The Japanese cast includes:
- Ryota Suzuki as Jiro Azuma
- Yoji Ueda as Rago
- Sayaka Sembongi as Ichika Kishimojin
- Junya Enoki as Reiji Kirihara
- Reina Ueda as Hana Usami
- Junichi Suwabe as Ryosuke Shiba
- Shinpachi Tsuji as Toshimasa Azama
- Yūko Kaida as Toko Kusumi
- Hōchū Ōtsuka as Banjuro Tokieda
The English dub cast includes:
- Jiro Azuma voiced by AJ Beckles
- Toshimasa Azuma voiced by Ben Balmaceda
- Amagi/Crow voiced by Ben Diskin
- Ichika Kishimojin voiced by Erin Yvette
- Rago voiced by Keith Silverstein
- Huge Mononoke voiced by Kellen Goff
- Hoodlums voiced by Kyle McCarley, Mick Lauer, Ben Diskin
- Stray Cat voiced by Mick Lauer
- Nachi voiced by Ryan Bartley
- Ryosuke Shiba voiced by Ryan Colt Levy
The English dub crew includes:
- ADR Production: Studiopolis Inc.
- Dialogue Director: Kirstie Simone
- Recording Engineer: David Walsh
- Producer: Jamie Simone, Rita Majkut
- ADR Script Adapter: Seth Walther
- Post Production Supervisor: James Lafferty
- Re-Recording Mixer: Ernie Sheesley
- Dialogue Editor: David Walsh
- Video Editor: Sean Kelley
- Production Manager: Kirstie Simone
Kei Umabiki will direct the anime at 100Studio. Gō Suzuki is designing the characters, Gigaemon Ichikawa is supervising and writing the series scripts, and Yutaka Yamada is composing the music. Additional staff members include:
- Sub-Character Design: Yumi Nakamura, Masahiko Suzuki, Mariko Kinoshita
- Design Works: Shunya Kikuchi
- Art Director: Sachi Takahashi, Shōko Imaizumi
- Color Design: Haruko Nobori
- CG Director: Hirotaka Naitō
- Director of Photography: Satoshi Yamamoto
- Editing: Masato Yoshitake
- Sound Director: Takeshi Takadera
- Sound Effects: Naoto Yamatani
Where Can I Watch Black Torch?
Crunchyroll is streaming Black Torch in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. In Japan, the anime is airing on the Tokyo MX, Sun TV, Aichi TV, and additional channels alongside several streaming services, such as ABEMA and d Anime Store.
What is Black Torch About?
The Black Torch manga series was first serialized in Shueisha’s Jump Square and Shonen Jump+ between 2017 and 2018. VIZ Media publishes the manga in English.
Lastly, here’s a synopsis of the story, via the anime’s official website:
Jiro Azuma is not your average high schooler. Hailing from a long line of ninja, Jiro has been brought up by his grandfather in the ancient warrior art of the shinobi. Jiro also happens to be a particularly skilled communicator able to converse with the animal world. But life takes an abrupt turn thanks to a mysterious encounter in the forest with an injured black cat named Rago.
Only, Rago’s feline appearance is deceiving…
It turns out the “ordinary” cat is the stuff of mononoke legend–the Black Star of Doom!
Swarming in the shadows are more mononoke, eager to exploit Rago’s uniquely immense powers. To fight back against the tide of dark spirits, the undercover Bureau of Espionage is poised to seek and destroy.
Of course, everyone has their motives when it comes to Rago’s powers. But Jiro and Rago are ready.
A shinobi clash between boy and mononoke is about to ignite!
