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Black Torch #1
Black Torch, Vol. 1
Ninja and animal lover Jiro Azuma’s life is changed forever when he finds himself in the middle of a war with ninjas vs. demons.
Jiro Azuma is descended from of a long line of shinobi, and he also can talk to animals. One day, he rescues a very unique black cat named Rago, a supernatural being, and is dragged into a secret supernatural war.
Although he may appear rough-and-tumble, Jiro Azuma’s compassionate side emerges when it comes to the furry critters he can communicate with. But Jiro's soft spot for animals gets him in major trouble when a suspicious stray cat fuses with him, granting him exceptional power but also dragging him into humanity's hidden battle against powerful Japanese spirits, mononoke.
Jiro Azuma is descended from of a long line of shinobi, and he also can talk to animals. One day, he rescues a very unique black cat named Rago, a supernatural being, and is dragged into a secret supernatural war.
Although he may appear rough-and-tumble, Jiro Azuma’s compassionate side emerges when it comes to the furry critters he can communicate with. But Jiro's soft spot for animals gets him in major trouble when a suspicious stray cat fuses with him, granting him exceptional power but also dragging him into humanity's hidden battle against powerful Japanese spirits, mononoke.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2017
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1160 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
January 26, 2019
When Jiro bonds with a mononoke named Rago, he is thrust into a world of demons and ninja! And what does the Bureau of Espionage want with him?
While I was flirting with manga last year, Black Torch kept popping up in my recommendations. A boy raised as a ninja, bonded with a cat demon? It sounded fairly interesting.
Black Torch is full of action. Jiro takes on demons and shady government operatives alike before joining the Bureau of Espionage as part of a new team, Black Torch. It was entertaining while I was reading it but nothing really stood out apart from Jiro bonding with Rago. The art was average and the installment was over too quickly.
I guess my beef with manga is the same as my beef with modern american comics: there's not a lot of substance. Nothing is self-contained and the individual installments don't really stand on their own. Black Torch has potential, though, so I'm reserving final judgement until I read the next installment. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
While I was flirting with manga last year, Black Torch kept popping up in my recommendations. A boy raised as a ninja, bonded with a cat demon? It sounded fairly interesting.
Black Torch is full of action. Jiro takes on demons and shady government operatives alike before joining the Bureau of Espionage as part of a new team, Black Torch. It was entertaining while I was reading it but nothing really stood out apart from Jiro bonding with Rago. The art was average and the installment was over too quickly.
I guess my beef with manga is the same as my beef with modern american comics: there's not a lot of substance. Nothing is self-contained and the individual installments don't really stand on their own. Black Torch has potential, though, so I'm reserving final judgement until I read the next installment. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
March 3, 2019
To sum up this series: It’s a mediocre story that we’ve already seen hundreds of times before, but its saving grace is its extremely appealing art style. The ONLY reason I didn’t drop this series after the first chapter or two was because the art kept pulling me back. It’s just so so so nice to look at… Also the main character is really hot, okay?!
The story is the regular: Teenager who’s part of a fancy-pants family who’s had a bit of fighting training suddenly gets caught up in some goofs and realizes the world is a bit more complicated and magical than they had previously anticipated. There’s really not much else to this series. There’s an evil cat, the really bitchy tsundere, the rival who’s a condescending dickhead who has short hair and wears glasses, and the dimwitted main character who is also half demon so he doesn’t fit in with the demons or the humans. Also known as every MC ever.
I was really surprised when I saw that they were releasing the first volume so soon and after only four chapters have been serialized, and that the volume only has three chapters in it. I've seen volumes of monthly series (which Black Torch is) contain only four chapters before, which makes sense since the chapters are longer since it's monthly, but I've never seen a publisher dare to print only three chapters in a volume! There is absolutely nothing striking or stand-out about this series yet that could possibly make anyone want to continue reading and buy a whole other volume. You’d think that by the first volume they would have done something interesting; But no, not really. All I can say now is that I hope that something interesting, new, or unique will happen soon that will actually distinguish this series from all of its shonen predecessors.
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November 27, 2025
It's so fast paced, I could read it over and over again. With that being said, I just realised this is my first manga that I have to continue through multiple volumes. It's got great art and... interesting dialogue. My only complaint is this: I wish we could have gotten more Jiro before we got the kickstart for this entire story. Also, Rago is such a cutie 🥰.
April 18, 2021
Love at first page - though I could do without the main female character being overly sexualized, I loved the story and concept. Will definitely be finishing this series.
October 29, 2018
Check out more manga and graphic novel reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
Although he may appear rough-and-tumble, Jiro Azuma’s compassionate side emerges when it comes to the furry critters he can communicate with. But Jiro's soft spot for animals gets him in major trouble when a suspicious stray cat, named Rago, fuses with him, granting him exceptional power but also dragging him into humanity's hidden battle against powerful Japanese spirits, mononoke. Descended from of a long line of shinobi Jiro can't back down now!
Hey you know me, I'm down to try any new supernatural manga that is based on Japanese mythology! This one is based on mononoke, a specific sort of yokai dealing with illness and spirits. It's basically another form of a demon... and, of course, there is a bureau in Japan to take care of these spirits or demons (demons just sounds more evil, right?!) Well Jiro has brought their attention onto him and I enjoyed how that came to be! At this point we got world building and the creation of Black Torch, so I'm not sure how the story will go from here but I know that I'm really liking Jiro and Rago and NEED to see more of their partnership!!
A major part of who Jiro is, is due to his grandfather! I loved meeting the man and his reaction to the whole Black Torch, Rago deal. I mean he is EPIC and the battle with him was too! I was happy to read this just to meet him... and I think his whole badass old man thing speaks A LOT to who Jiro is... And Jiro is such a good kid, even if he's a bit of a punk! Actually ALL the characters seem to be punks and I really enjoyed that!! The demon setup we have going on here is nothing new, okay?! What makes a manga are the characters... Are they worth following? What do you think about their choices? And I related quite well with Jiro's attitude.
I admit the cover totally drew my eye to this manga... I loved the simple character design with the bold title... But did I enjoy the internal art?! Well this is not about the backgrounds, that's for sure (they are sparse and far between, though I do enjoy them when we come to a new place)... It's a simple style that focuses on the characters... well I love the characters and find them quite compelling, so the art works quite well... The character designs are quite strong too. I can't say I'm blown away by the art like I am sometimes but it suits the story and does its job well!
I actually totally didn't know where this all was going so I pretty much accepted everything as it came up. I'm interested in the world and learning more about Rago and seeing him work with Jiro. I'm not sure what kind of manga this will be in the end... will I enjoy it more? I don't know! I was surprised by the stories direction, like where the story went with Jiro's grandfather, but I wasn't tense at all when it came to battles with the mononoke. This is one of those manga starters where I'm intrigued but I need another couple volumes to really get hooked!
Black Torch vol 1 was quite exciting as I LOVE yokai stories and this takes it from a different POV than normal. The world is one I'm intrigued by and we have characters in Rago and Jiro that I seriously want to follow! Plus this world is populated with punks that its hard to label as strict good guys or villains and I NEED more of that in my life... I'm cautiously hopeful this is a brand new series for me to LOVE on...!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity
⋆ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tension
⋆ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot
⋆ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art
This is a multi-volume series and there may be references to the plot of those volumes... SO READ WITH CARE! Here is my review of 1 | 2 |
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews in a special feature called Saturday Morning Cartoons...
September 6, 2018
Alright, I'm going to be blunt: I will not be continuing with this series. But I want to be clear-it's not because this volume was bad. I can imagine a lot of manga readers will be drawn to this story, and honestly if it had been available maybe 10 years ago, I would too. However, I am following a lot of series right now and I have to pick and choose what I continue to read. As for praise, all I can say is that the artstyle is okay, the story is average but okay, and it can easily appeal to a wide audience. Now I will list in detail all the reasons why I won't continue the series (cuz I feel like ranting):
1. The story is at best okay and at worst painfully generic. Kid raised in ninja clan and can fight but wants to do his own thing gets attacked by monster. Kid merges with another monster, learns about a bureau that defeats monsters, kid joins bureau. Obviously, there is potential for the story to change gears and do something interesting, but from what I gathered from this volume that doesn't seem likely.
2. The characters are incredibly boring and the banter is uninteresting. The main character is exactly as I described but with a "strong moral code to help anyone in need," like EVERY OTHER SHOUNEN MAIN CHARACTER. And that's the issue: nothing about him separates him from other characters of his type, Midoriya's optimism and incredible sweetness from My Hero Academia or Nagisa's timidness but desire to learn from Assassination Classroom. He is as generic as you can imagine if you've read ANY shounen series, and the banter he has with Rago is boring, weak, and poorly written.
3. There is a fight scene in the last chapter between the only female character introduced and some monsters. First off, the fight scene is not that interesting, but worse is that when the girl lands from making a jump, readers are treated to detailed shot of her butt that was clearly meant to be fanservice. My problem with this is that aside from her outfit being tight and short, fanservice was not introduced until this scene. In my opinion, if a mangaka is going to have fanservice in their work, they need to introduce it as soon as possible so that readers know that this will part of the story. For Takaki to wait until the last chapter to put such an obvious bit of fanservice is absurd to me and doesn't jive with the tone of the story.
4. This is purely nitpicking, but going off of point 3, at the end of the fight readers are treated to a two page spread of the girl slicing the monster to pieces. Two problems I had with this spread: 1. The girl's pose is utterly ridiculous. She looks like she's squatting with her knees bent forward and her crotch on full display, but she had been in the air prior to slicing the monster. The scene is obviously suppose to be more fanservice while making her look like a badass, but it just looks stupid. 2. Aside from her pose and the sliced up remains of the monster, there's nothing else of note in this spread, making it an utter waste of space. If you want awesome two page spread action, read One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, or Fire Force.
Anyways, I hate being this negative, but this was a huge disappointment. If you did like it, great, but I will be passing on this. Thanks for dealing with my rant!
1. The story is at best okay and at worst painfully generic. Kid raised in ninja clan and can fight but wants to do his own thing gets attacked by monster. Kid merges with another monster, learns about a bureau that defeats monsters, kid joins bureau. Obviously, there is potential for the story to change gears and do something interesting, but from what I gathered from this volume that doesn't seem likely.
2. The characters are incredibly boring and the banter is uninteresting. The main character is exactly as I described but with a "strong moral code to help anyone in need," like EVERY OTHER SHOUNEN MAIN CHARACTER. And that's the issue: nothing about him separates him from other characters of his type, Midoriya's optimism and incredible sweetness from My Hero Academia or Nagisa's timidness but desire to learn from Assassination Classroom. He is as generic as you can imagine if you've read ANY shounen series, and the banter he has with Rago is boring, weak, and poorly written.
3. There is a fight scene in the last chapter between the only female character introduced and some monsters. First off, the fight scene is not that interesting, but worse is that when the girl lands from making a jump, readers are treated to detailed shot of her butt that was clearly meant to be fanservice. My problem with this is that aside from her outfit being tight and short, fanservice was not introduced until this scene. In my opinion, if a mangaka is going to have fanservice in their work, they need to introduce it as soon as possible so that readers know that this will part of the story. For Takaki to wait until the last chapter to put such an obvious bit of fanservice is absurd to me and doesn't jive with the tone of the story.
4. This is purely nitpicking, but going off of point 3, at the end of the fight readers are treated to a two page spread of the girl slicing the monster to pieces. Two problems I had with this spread: 1. The girl's pose is utterly ridiculous. She looks like she's squatting with her knees bent forward and her crotch on full display, but she had been in the air prior to slicing the monster. The scene is obviously suppose to be more fanservice while making her look like a badass, but it just looks stupid. 2. Aside from her pose and the sliced up remains of the monster, there's nothing else of note in this spread, making it an utter waste of space. If you want awesome two page spread action, read One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, or Fire Force.
Anyways, I hate being this negative, but this was a huge disappointment. If you did like it, great, but I will be passing on this. Thanks for dealing with my rant!
January 19, 2020
I really enjoyed this!
September 9, 2020
This was such an epic manga!!
The art is gorgeous and the storytelling was quite well done. It’s quickly paced but in a clever way. Some chapters are full of fast action while others are the in between ‘how is the hero reacting to this?’ scenes.
I love this art style!! The lineart is done in one of my favorite ways and it’s consistently done well. It is sort of a cutesy realism, something like you would see on an anime artist’s Instagram.
Rago looked just like Jiji from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”!! He’s adorable and a good mentor to Jiro.
The only character I didn’t like was the girl. I get where she’s coming from, I just don’t think her feminism is preformed in a healthy way.
It is similar to Blue Exorcist in a few ways, but I personally prefer this one. There’s something about the realistic depiction of contemporary life that this one did quite well.
The art is gorgeous and the storytelling was quite well done. It’s quickly paced but in a clever way. Some chapters are full of fast action while others are the in between ‘how is the hero reacting to this?’ scenes.
I love this art style!! The lineart is done in one of my favorite ways and it’s consistently done well. It is sort of a cutesy realism, something like you would see on an anime artist’s Instagram.
Rago looked just like Jiji from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”!! He’s adorable and a good mentor to Jiro.
The only character I didn’t like was the girl. I get where she’s coming from, I just don’t think her feminism is preformed in a healthy way.
It is similar to Blue Exorcist in a few ways, but I personally prefer this one. There’s something about the realistic depiction of contemporary life that this one did quite well.
November 21, 2025
happened to my good friend denji
June 5, 2024
The pain of finding a manga that as it relates to the premise couldn’t be anymore specifically tailored to me to find out it was cancelled after 5 volumes. Oh well. This was fun. A ninja that can talk to animals and saves stray cats regularly. Merges with some kinda wild demon that’s in a cat he saves. I mean come on why couldn’t this be the thing that pulls a one piece and goes on for decades???
Read
November 26, 2023I liked the concept, loved the artwork, but felt a little info dumpy which made me a tad bored. 3 chapters isn’t enough to give a fair judgement though so I may give another volume a chance.
February 14, 2025
La historia es interesante aunque de momento en el primer tomo no acaba de destacar de otras del mismo estilo. Me ha gustado más la gran expresividad que muestran algunas viñetas. Faltará ver que tal evoluciona el argumento en los tomos siguientes ya que este al ser el primero es bastante introductorio.
May 17, 2018
Le coup de cœur immédiat.
très lgt que je n'étais pas tombé en amour comme ça pour un personnage et un univers <3
très lgt que je n'étais pas tombé en amour comme ça pour un personnage et un univers <3
September 4, 2021
Decent start! Really like the art and Jirou is a fun MC.
January 1, 2021
Perfect for Animal Lovers!
Jiro Azuma is a kind but troublesome kid who gets into fights everyday due to his ability to talk to the animals which creeps everybody out and puts him in the thick of things. He is raised by his grandfather "Toshimasa Azuma" who gave him basic Ninja training to defend himself. His world is forever changed when he meets a legendary mononoke known as "Rago" that fuses with him and then becomes a part of "Black Torch" (an experimental unit of Onmitsu who fight against evil doers and Mononoke).
"𝔹𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘! 𝔹𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠."
The artwork is amazing, the plot is good and the characterization is just perfect. It also has a stubborn protagonist who is a NINJA! I don't need any other reason to read this series. 😉
Jiro Azuma is a kind but troublesome kid who gets into fights everyday due to his ability to talk to the animals which creeps everybody out and puts him in the thick of things. He is raised by his grandfather "Toshimasa Azuma" who gave him basic Ninja training to defend himself. His world is forever changed when he meets a legendary mononoke known as "Rago" that fuses with him and then becomes a part of "Black Torch" (an experimental unit of Onmitsu who fight against evil doers and Mononoke).
"𝔹𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘! 𝔹𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠."
The artwork is amazing, the plot is good and the characterization is just perfect. It also has a stubborn protagonist who is a NINJA! I don't need any other reason to read this series. 😉
November 23, 2024
This manga is similar to JJK but with Ninjas and talking animals. The MC Jiro ends up meeting a cat that he can understand, but the cat is not just a normal cat. Jiro ends up joining a group of people who want end him but also protect him at the same time.
May 10, 2021
It starts with him saving a cat. Oh captain my captain!
May 10, 2021
3.5
Not super original (literally the same start as Chainsaw Man) but the art is really nice and this has a cool talking cat demon.
Not super original (literally the same start as Chainsaw Man) but the art is really nice and this has a cool talking cat demon.
December 15, 2021
This manga reminds me of a mix between Jujutsu Kaisen meets Naruto. This manga doesn’t really do anything new or outstanding besides the art being amazing to look at. The main characters are somewhat generic.
However it’s still in its early stages with there only being five manga’s out right now. I think if the writer play’s his cards right it has good potential to be really great.
Even though the main characters are a little generic I love the design and all of there personalities.
However it’s still in its early stages with there only being five manga’s out right now. I think if the writer play’s his cards right it has good potential to be really great.
Even though the main characters are a little generic I love the design and all of there personalities.
September 15, 2019
Black Torch is another entry in the demon-hunting genre. This time, it's about a modern-day ninja boy fused with a cat demon.
The main character, Jiro, is trained in ninja stuff and also can talk to animals. He helps a cat demon, Rago, and after being killed by another demon, Rago saves him by fusing with Jiro. Jiro's then taken to join a super secret government agency of demon-hunting ninja.
For a demon hunting manga, though, the best fight so far has been the one between Jiro and his grandfather. Granted, there's only so much demon stuff you can do in the first volume alone, when the main character isn't even really part of the demon-hunting organization yet.
Art-wise, it's okay. I like the character designs in general well enough, though the organization's uniforms leave a bit to be desired (it's tactical gear that leaves the vital areas unprotected). It's a bit odd in that it looks like it was trying to be a happy medium between fan service on Ichika and "normal" on guys (judging by the cover, Jiro's going to wear basically the same thing sans booty shorts) and ended up with something that's... okay, but not particularly memorable or practical.
I also question some of the awkward posing that Ichika gets into and would find some amusement (if I could draw) in putting male characters in those poses a'la the Hawk Eye Initiative, but it's not the egregious I've seen. I actually really like Ichika's character and what little back story we've gotten for her. I just find some of her framing in the panels a little... out of place.
Honestly, though, the highlight was Rago. Takaki-sensei did a nice job making a normal-looking cat have a touch of the supernatural and be pretty expressive without becoming cartoony. Rago is quite the character and stays distinctly cat. Rago is definitely the reason I'm going to give the next volume a shot.
It's not exactly a standout from others in the genre so far, but it's an enjoyable enough read.
The main character, Jiro, is trained in ninja stuff and also can talk to animals. He helps a cat demon, Rago, and after being killed by another demon, Rago saves him by fusing with Jiro. Jiro's then taken to join a super secret government agency of demon-hunting ninja.
For a demon hunting manga, though, the best fight so far has been the one between Jiro and his grandfather. Granted, there's only so much demon stuff you can do in the first volume alone, when the main character isn't even really part of the demon-hunting organization yet.
Art-wise, it's okay. I like the character designs in general well enough, though the organization's uniforms leave a bit to be desired (it's tactical gear that leaves the vital areas unprotected). It's a bit odd in that it looks like it was trying to be a happy medium between fan service on Ichika and "normal" on guys (judging by the cover, Jiro's going to wear basically the same thing sans booty shorts) and ended up with something that's... okay, but not particularly memorable or practical.
I also question some of the awkward posing that Ichika gets into and would find some amusement (if I could draw) in putting male characters in those poses a'la the Hawk Eye Initiative, but it's not the egregious I've seen. I actually really like Ichika's character and what little back story we've gotten for her. I just find some of her framing in the panels a little... out of place.
Honestly, though, the highlight was Rago. Takaki-sensei did a nice job making a normal-looking cat have a touch of the supernatural and be pretty expressive without becoming cartoony. Rago is quite the character and stays distinctly cat. Rago is definitely the reason I'm going to give the next volume a shot.
It's not exactly a standout from others in the genre so far, but it's an enjoyable enough read.
February 17, 2020
25 Dec 2019:
RAGO!!
~(❤ω❤) aa...
Bonus: Versi 'live action' (✧ω✧)❤
*diperankan oleh Kin alias Pumpkin alias Mamat alias Item, kucing liar yang woles dan selalu datang tanpa dijemput, pulang tanpa diantar~
Bonus 2: Makhluk lainnya~
Gambar pertempurannya oke banget (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ aku juga suka sifat tokoh utamanya yang ga pake kebanyakan ngomong~
________________
17 Feb 2020:
~setelah tamat di vol.5 ଲ(ⓛ ω ⓛ)ଲ Rating tetap!
Kisahnya memang sudah disiapkan untuk lebih panjang lagi, tapi satu arc ini pun sudah bagus sekali penyajiannya, baik gambar pertarungan yang keren, maupun ceritanya yang simple tapi tetep bisa bikin jantung 'mak-dheg!' Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→
Rago sangat imut!❤
RAGO!!
~(❤ω❤) aa...
Bonus: Versi 'live action' (✧ω✧)❤
*diperankan oleh Kin alias Pumpkin alias Mamat alias Item, kucing liar yang woles dan selalu datang tanpa dijemput, pulang tanpa diantar~
Bonus 2: Makhluk lainnya~
Gambar pertempurannya oke banget (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ aku juga suka sifat tokoh utamanya yang ga pake kebanyakan ngomong~
________________
17 Feb 2020:
~setelah tamat di vol.5 ଲ(ⓛ ω ⓛ)ଲ Rating tetap!
Kisahnya memang sudah disiapkan untuk lebih panjang lagi, tapi satu arc ini pun sudah bagus sekali penyajiannya, baik gambar pertarungan yang keren, maupun ceritanya yang simple tapi tetep bisa bikin jantung 'mak-dheg!' Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→
Rago sangat imut!❤
March 22, 2020
This is extremely derivative and akin to a number of existing series, most notably Blue Exorcist; the protagonist is even similar visually, has a similar salty-but-sweet attitude (even connecting with a cat), a gruff relationship with someone who is not their parent (and shares a connection with the organisation they will join) and so on. The only difference is that Blue Exorcist worked quickly to get you hooked and move things along; this feels rather slow - there's a surprisingly small number of chapters and it ends quite abruptly.
This might sound negative, but it is a decent enough book with great art; the issue is that you may have seen this before - and likely better with, again - and I hate to sound like a broken record - Blue Exorcist being the prime example, and with more material readily available and more set to come, while Black Torch seems to be somewhat short-lived.
This might sound negative, but it is a decent enough book with great art; the issue is that you may have seen this before - and likely better with, again - and I hate to sound like a broken record - Blue Exorcist being the prime example, and with more material readily available and more set to come, while Black Torch seems to be somewhat short-lived.
April 6, 2022
I liked this more than I thought I would. We got our main character, Jiro, who talks and helps animals. And we got a cat mononoke named Rago. Together they make an awesome team!
What I like about this so much, is that Jiro and Rago have a caring and firm relationship. They're not constantly annoying eachother or putting the other one down. I feel like they're genuinely trying to better eachother. Jiro rescues Rago and nurses him back to health and in return Rago saves Jiro from death.
I'm not so sure about the other characters introduced yet. They're rather standoffish and their hatered for mononokes fuels them. We'll see where it goes though, and maybe they'll warm up.
Overall, I am looking forward to this series and excited to continue!
What I like about this so much, is that Jiro and Rago have a caring and firm relationship. They're not constantly annoying eachother or putting the other one down. I feel like they're genuinely trying to better eachother. Jiro rescues Rago and nurses him back to health and in return Rago saves Jiro from death.
I'm not so sure about the other characters introduced yet. They're rather standoffish and their hatered for mononokes fuels them. We'll see where it goes though, and maybe they'll warm up.
Overall, I am looking forward to this series and excited to continue!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2021
I will say man, the art is pretty great in this, especially the fighting scenes! However i just felt the story was dragging and I just couldn’t connect much from the characters, especially the main character acting just basic edgy and constantly shouting a lot. I decided to drop this at 16 out of the whole 19 chapters because I just felt less excited what’s going on tbh. This manga might as well be an artists exhibition book than having a actual story to it. I think the story might as well just disappear and let the whole plot go at its pace. It’s just a thought......
January 30, 2020
There's a lot going on here, but nothing that's really novel except in the way the different elements are combined. I can see the appeal, though, especially because the art is way better than average and the action is clear and engaging.
August 24, 2022
Reread:
Auch beim zweiten Mal ist es ein sehr gelungener Auftakt. Mal sehen ob ich die Reihe dieses Mal beenden werde.
18.08.2019
Verstehe den Hype darum. Es geht halt nichts über sprechende, schwarze Dämonenkatzen, die Sympathie für nur einen Menschen aufbringen können und frech sind.
Auch beim zweiten Mal ist es ein sehr gelungener Auftakt. Mal sehen ob ich die Reihe dieses Mal beenden werde.
18.08.2019
Verstehe den Hype darum. Es geht halt nichts über sprechende, schwarze Dämonenkatzen, die Sympathie für nur einen Menschen aufbringen können und frech sind.
September 19, 2018
Reminded me a lot of Bleach. Ninja, mononoke vs. humans, special abilities. A character with an inherent strong moral code. I wonder if he'll start naming his battle moves?
September 26, 2020
Overall a pretty exciting shonen, the art and action carries this first volume but the relationship between the MCs Jiro and Rago is pretty funny and interesting.
May 21, 2019
Als ich das erste Mal von dem Manga hörte, wurde er mit Blue Excorcist verglichen von Kazue Kato und ab da wusste ich schon, dass ich ihn lesen muss. Doch mit Vergleichen ist es immer schwer, oft hat man dann gleich eine Erwartungshaltung an den Inhalt und auch hier war das der Fall!
Zu aller erst, ich kann den Vergleich gut verstehen. Der Protagonist Jiro ist schon ein Rebell, aber auch ein Typ mit den richtigen moralischen Vorstellungen und dass, das nicht immer gut gehen kann, ist uns klar! So gerät er schnell in unausweichliche gefährliche Situationen, dabei fliegen einige coole Sprüche, einige Fäuste und eine mächtig actionreiche, als auch unterhaltsame Grundlage ist geboren!
Doch ich finde, dass er inhaltlich sich von Blue Exorcist darin abhebt, dass er viel rauer ist. Der Held kommt deutlicher älter rüber, die Texte fallen ebenfalls stärker aus und in einem Punkt sind sie sich ähnlich: düster, aber amüsant und fesselnd.
Die Story kommt sehr schnell voran und der erste Band ist mit seinen knapp über 200 Seiten auch einer der etwas dickeren Mangas, sehr zu meiner Freude. Nicht nur, dass wir schnell vorankommen, wir sind auch schnell in der Geschichte drinnen und kleine Rückblenden erklären das Wichtigste an den Charakteren.
Alles in einem fand ich, dass der erste Band sehr gut abgerundet ist, weil ich am Ende das Gefühl hatte “Ich will unbedingt weiter lesen”, aber auch zufrieden war mit den Charakteren, der Story und dem leichten Cliffhanger.
Auch der Zeichenstil hat mich positiv überrascht, denn einerseits ist er klar und typisch für den Shonen-Stil heutzutage, andererseits gibt es viele Szenen, die skizzenhaft rüber kommen. Schwer vorzustellen, aber so gesagt: ein Teil der Zeichnung ist sehr klar mit direkten Strichen, ein anderer Teil wirkt wie eine ausgearbeitete Skizze, besonders bei Ichikas Kleidung ist mir das aufgefallen. Tolle Kombination: der Zeichenstil wirkt auf mich dynamisch und er arbeitet die Personen auch super aus! Die Hintergründe sind hier Hintergründe, mehr nicht. (Haha.)
Zum Schluss kann ich sagen, der Manga ist ab der ersten Seite ein heftiger Spaß mit einigen Kämpfen, einer überschaubaren Zahl an Charakteren, Mysterien und wird von mir auf jeden Fall weiter gelesen! Mir haben nicht nur gleich die Personen gefallen, sondern auch die Story verspricht Unterhaltung und Action. Dämonen, Ninjas, Geheimorganisationen und noch viel mehr wartet auf euch in BLACK TORCH.
Zu aller erst, ich kann den Vergleich gut verstehen. Der Protagonist Jiro ist schon ein Rebell, aber auch ein Typ mit den richtigen moralischen Vorstellungen und dass, das nicht immer gut gehen kann, ist uns klar! So gerät er schnell in unausweichliche gefährliche Situationen, dabei fliegen einige coole Sprüche, einige Fäuste und eine mächtig actionreiche, als auch unterhaltsame Grundlage ist geboren!
Doch ich finde, dass er inhaltlich sich von Blue Exorcist darin abhebt, dass er viel rauer ist. Der Held kommt deutlicher älter rüber, die Texte fallen ebenfalls stärker aus und in einem Punkt sind sie sich ähnlich: düster, aber amüsant und fesselnd.
Die Story kommt sehr schnell voran und der erste Band ist mit seinen knapp über 200 Seiten auch einer der etwas dickeren Mangas, sehr zu meiner Freude. Nicht nur, dass wir schnell vorankommen, wir sind auch schnell in der Geschichte drinnen und kleine Rückblenden erklären das Wichtigste an den Charakteren.
Alles in einem fand ich, dass der erste Band sehr gut abgerundet ist, weil ich am Ende das Gefühl hatte “Ich will unbedingt weiter lesen”, aber auch zufrieden war mit den Charakteren, der Story und dem leichten Cliffhanger.
Auch der Zeichenstil hat mich positiv überrascht, denn einerseits ist er klar und typisch für den Shonen-Stil heutzutage, andererseits gibt es viele Szenen, die skizzenhaft rüber kommen. Schwer vorzustellen, aber so gesagt: ein Teil der Zeichnung ist sehr klar mit direkten Strichen, ein anderer Teil wirkt wie eine ausgearbeitete Skizze, besonders bei Ichikas Kleidung ist mir das aufgefallen. Tolle Kombination: der Zeichenstil wirkt auf mich dynamisch und er arbeitet die Personen auch super aus! Die Hintergründe sind hier Hintergründe, mehr nicht. (Haha.)
Zum Schluss kann ich sagen, der Manga ist ab der ersten Seite ein heftiger Spaß mit einigen Kämpfen, einer überschaubaren Zahl an Charakteren, Mysterien und wird von mir auf jeden Fall weiter gelesen! Mir haben nicht nur gleich die Personen gefallen, sondern auch die Story verspricht Unterhaltung und Action. Dämonen, Ninjas, Geheimorganisationen und noch viel mehr wartet auf euch in BLACK TORCH.
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