Black Torch, Vol. 5

Black Torch #5

by Tsuyoshi Takaki

With Jiro able to fully awaken and use Rago’s power, the final battle with Amagi is about to begin. Will Jiro and his friends be able to stop the rampaging demon Amagi in time? Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion! 

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Comics, Demons, Supernatural

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2018

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways I liked this ending, and in some ways I wanted more.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darker and more violent as the building confrontations of this series come together in an explosive conclusion, Vol.5 brings a strong ending to a series that has been a lot of fun to read from the very start.

I'm still a little surprised the story didn't go on longer, but in only five volumes, Takaki has created a dramatic adventure full of engaging characters and exciting storytelling. I'm sad to see it end, but it delivered most everything I hoped to see from this series.

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out more 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!


The Premise

In Black Torch vol 5 we finally get the face-off with Amagi that we've been craving since we met the mononoke! Of course we left off with Rago in a bit of a bind, being a powerless cat, only alive to act as a lure for Jiro. And Amagi isn't worried. He has his secret plan and executes it flawlessly. I frankly didn't expect the little distraction that he setup and it was the highlight of the volume for me! I wish there were more of these types of powerplays in the rest of the series because they necessitated a team effort... and that's what Black Torch has always been about.


The Buzz

Learning about Amagi's motivations in Black Torch vol 5 and how he came to the conclusion that humans are a waste of space is quite fascinating. I'd say mononoke don't have a sense of right or wrong to start with and need their experiences to shape them. And Amagi has had his fair share of horrible humans to contend with... but we see how the other mononoke have reacted to Amagi, interacted with Black Torch and even how the neutral ones have a code and know that he didn't need to go down this road.


The Feels

The mononoke have been a highlight of Black Torch! And I loved seeing the handful of mononoke who didn't fall into Amagi's trap assisted in Black Torch vol 5. The world building isn't the best I've ever seen in a manga but what I did see of the mononoke has been fun with plenty of reasons to battle it out with full testosterone levels active! Our little Black Torch group also comes together for this final battle and each plays a part of their own.


The Visuals

In Black Torch vol 5 the art is at its very best!! I would think hearing that your series is ended galvanized Tsuyoshi Takaki to put in even more effort to give us the very best illustrations possible... and I'd say he totally did. (I would certainly check out his next series if it were translated into English.) The art is a bit more gruesome than I expected but for good reason... if we're going out lets go out with a splash. You'll want to check out the battle scenes, especially in the paper volume as they are a really great way to end this series.

In Black Torch vol 5 Rago and Jiro Blow Out the Black Torch Finale! It's quick and without fanfare but it gives us the complete picture behind the wheres and hows of Amagi's master plan. If you missed this series I'd suggest checking it out... its a great way to see if you enjoy battle type manga. And you'll want to meet Jiro's grandpa...


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Thanks to Edelweiss and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.

______________________
You can find this manga review and many others on my book blog every Monday @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews at the bottom of the page.

Please like this review if you enjoyed it! *bow* *bow* It helps me out a ton!!

[Keeloween · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing worse than a series ending before it’s time

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this series. Very interesting premise and characters. Main complaint is the ending feels like the end to an arc vs a whole series. It has lots of loose ends left. Overall very enjoyable read.

[Liz Weasleyhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow 😍 was für eine wundervolle Manga Reihe ❤️
Ich kann mich noch erinnern, dass ich Band 1 ziemlich grottig und enttäuschend fand aber weitergelsen habe, weil ich Rago und Jiro mochte. Jetzt liiiebe ich die Reihe so sehr. Die Dialoge sind längst nicht mehr so stumpf wie zu Beginn, die Jokes bringen mich ständig zum schmunzeln, die Story ist sehr unterhaltsam und spannend und die Beziehung zwischen Jiro und Rago ist einfach klasse inszeniert. Auch die Nebencharaktere empfinde ich längst nicht mehr als so platt, sondern liebenswert. Die kurze Reihe hat trotzdem einen schönen Abschluss bekommen, die sämtliche Fragen aufklärt. Black torch hatte natürlich Potenzial für mehr, was auch die vielen Infos nach dem offiziellem Ende zeigen und ich finde es schade, dass die Reihe durch mangelnden Erfolg beendet wurde 😭 ich vermisse die Charaktere und die Story jetzt schon ❤️

[Sara Hollingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn on how to rate this overall. I did enjoy this series. 3 and 4 were really good, fun books. It's short for a manga series. Self contained in 5 volumes, the main plot is wrapped up satisfactorily. And not a single panel is really wasted. Everything is plot. Book 2, I'd say was the weakest. It had a whole first chapter dedicated to a pointless fight. But, overall, it generally kept to only addressing plot points.

The problem is, the wrap up left me dissatisfied. Book 5 ends the main story, but leaves sooo many questions. There were so many subplots that were brought up and dropped completely. Jiro's parents are mentioned as if they're important in one book, and then dropped completely. Our girl's mother is apparently frozen in stone and not dead, but again, never brought up again. And then we have the war between our ninja brother and the demon possessed brother that is in two books but again dropped completely. It's just there was a lot of potential for more story, and not having answers to these questions felt like it made the investment not worth it.

Though, I still love Rago. He's a cool cat and every art panel that has him in it or Jiro using his powers is super cool.

[Kulwinder Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"𝔸𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕥. 𝕀𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝕠𝕟 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕟𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖 𝕦𝕟𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪. 𝔹𝕦𝕥, 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤. 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘. 𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕒𝕕. 𝔼𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪. 𝔹𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕤. ℕ𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕕."

Ah, the end was so sudden. I was expecting more. All in all, a fun series considering it's only five volumes long.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jiro and Rago are reunited for a final battle with the monoke Amagi

This fifth and last volume really revved it into overdrive. The art was very impressive and I loved the big battles. I'm actually bummed that this series only has five volumes as I'd love to see the further adventures of Jiro and Rago.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun with nice art but not necessarily original or memorable. Other than the main character, the cat, and the bad guy, none of the characters have even remotely any development and there was a lot left unresolved. But nothing is technically bad about it

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great conclusion to the series. I just wished we could have more. I hope we get more manga from Tsuyoshi Takaki in the future, they are a huge talent. If you're looking for a manga similar to Akame ga Kill and Bleach, this is a great read.

[Eilidh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The typos are really annoying but I just love this so much 😭 💗

[Jace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

[Roglin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sure do love a good ending.

[LelandraTheLazyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad end. I do appreciate the character continuation summaries at the end. I'm crossing my fingers that the anime will be able to expand on that.

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes the ending to this was rushed but only because this manga series was cancelled when it had so much wonderful potential!
I really liked how in the last few pages of this volume, we get a bit of insight into each of the characters and what would’ve happened if the manga series continued. I wish this manga series would’ve been longer because I did really enjoy it.

[Aly]

You know, I really enjoy this manga. Even though a lot is left unanswered (even the mangaka says this at the end), there's just a lot of heart put into it. It was a short manga, but well worth the read. Just a whole lotta fun and I'm so glad I have physical copies. The art is beautifully done. Even though the story isn't god-tier, it was still a good ride.

[Thunderstorm Muffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une série très sympa.
Les dernières pages avec des paragraphes pour chaque personnage résumant ce qu'ils deviennent par la suite donne un goût de trop peu. C'est pas mal d'avoir des séries courtes de temps en temps... mais pour le coup, ça n'aurait pas été désagréable d'avoir plus de volumes pour voir tout ça se développer !

[Maurine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vraiment chouette série en 5 tomes ! J'ai trouvé les tomes de mieux en mieux. Mais j'ai un petit goût de trop peu et j'aurais aimé plus de tomes pour approfondir certaines parties de l'histoire... 😔 Je pense qu'il y avait matière à développer. 🙈

[Sunread26 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2023/...

Extrait :
Dernier tome de la série, l’ennemi révèle son vrai visage à tous, même ses anciens alliés qu’il a trahi pour gagner en puissance. Il ne fait aucun doute qu’il souhaitait réserver le même sort à Rago, et non pas le laisser au jeune comme il lui avait promis. Heureusement, il n’a toujours pas pu mettre complètement la main sur lui, une partie de son plan échoue donc encore. Lui qui se vante de vouloir aider ses pairs, et les siens qui sont si naïfs, si énervés qu’ils ne voient rien venir… Comme quoi, les humains et les Mononoke ont peut-être plus en communs que ce qu’ils veulent bien croire.

L’aventure reprend sur un très grand repas pour Amagi puisque les mononoke qu’il a réunis n’avaient pour but que lui servir de pitance. Que des êtres ayant des centaines d’années soient suffisamment aveuglés par la haine pour ne pas savoir que c’est un piège c’est quand même assez ironique. De plus, aucun ne semblait au courant des capacités d’Amagi, ce qui est tout aussi louche. La naïveté et l’ignorance dont ils font preuve causera leur perte, et Koga a bien faillit en faire aussi l’expérience si Rago ne l’avait pas prévenu avant. Visiblement, Amagi avait dû rester sage pendant un moment pour que beaucoup ignorent ses capacités. Au final, il restera surtout un boss de fin, assez difficile à cerner. Il semble ne pas saisir sa propre existence, ce qui l’a conduit à rechercher plus de pouvoirs, raison pour laquelle il était vénéré.

Pour Jiro, il n’évoluera pas vraiment, il arrivera juste à contrôler le pouvoir de Rago pendant quelques minutes. Ce qui ne fait pas de lui un héros « cheaté », mais pas non plus un héros qui évolue avec le temps, puisqu’il ne change pas de caractère et n’obtiens rien de plus. La seule chose qu’il accepte, c’est l’aide des autres donc ça n’est pas une évolution de malade. Il aura qu’une seule idée de génie dans son combat : libérer Rago le seul capable de l’aider pour manipuler leur pouvoir. C’est d’ailleurs à deux qu’ils vaincront, pouvoir de l’amitié et tout le tralala. Je dis ça un peu méchamment, mais je trouve juste que celui-ci est mal mis en place, puisqu’il n’a pas vraiment d’amis en fait… L’intrigue va bien trop vite pour qu’il ait un réel ami dans toutes ses nouvelles têtes. D’ailleurs, c’est les événements qui se déroulent après Amagi qui auraient pu être intéressant, comme Jiro et Rago restent unis pour le meilleur et pour le pire.

[...]

[✮Octjillery✮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I review mostly so that I can refresh my memory later/revisit my thoughts on a book, so my reviews can generally be spoilery.]

I started this series simply because it sounded interesting when I became aware of it last summer while just skimming through the Shounen Jump stuff that was available in the app/to read online. At the time, I only read a few chapters and put it on hold for something longer, but then I came back a few weeks ago wanting something shorter. Now all of a sudden this week, I'm seeing reports of an anime being announced--pretty neat, considering this ended nearly six years ago.

I know this series was cancelled, but I'm wondering how soon that was decided, because the pacing of the entire thing has been that of a short series where the mangaka was trying to pack everything in against a limited allotment of chapters. Most of these plot points, fights, backstories, etc., could have been longer or revealed later as they would in a more mid-length series. It's a shame because this has the bones of a really great longer run. I absolutely understand the criticisms because, if this got cancelled after the 19th chapter and not sooner, it likely would have done much better had these characters and plot points been given time to marinate rather than revealing everything to the reader almost before we can even wonder over them. That being said, I'm glad it wasn't written that way, considering we get some semblance of a full story and an actual ending.

We did get a conclusion to the main plot, and there are obviously openings for further exploration of this series should it get a continuation or something, but there were two big subplots that we unfortunately got no resolution for: the situation with Reiji's brother, and Ichika's mom.

Kouga was my favorite character, but Jiro was a good boy--solid enough main character. I liked Ragou a lot too. There weren't many characters to dislike, really.

I haven't actually looked into what's going on with the anime, but I might check it out someday.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amagi's plots come to a head as he assaults the human world once more. Jiro hasn't had enough time to master his power, but he hopes what little control he's gained will be enough to rescue Rago. As everyone comes together for the final showdown, who will be victorious: the mononoke or the humans?

As far as wrap-up volumes go, this one technically does everything it needs to. All the major characters are accounted for, and most have some role, however small. Jiro's final fight (with Rago playing the helpless princess) is suitably epic, and the end of the fight in particular really is a lot of fun. I like that the fight doesn't bog down too much with talking, as Jiro is aware he's on a time limit, and tries to focus on the important things.

In other ways, this is less satisfying. Jiro has the bulk of the volume's action, and everyone around him feels like they offer a minimal contribution just to say they were there. His team never felt like a team. The other two were still so unlikable overall that I found more sympathy for several of the mononoke. Rago only gets a small bit of freedom, so he isn't as big of a contributor as I would've wanted (he does help near the end, but at that point it's more of a final blow situation). And there just hasn't been enough time spent with this organization to get a feel for how Jiro and Rago are going to live going forward (since we've had a grand total of like two missions).

That said, it concludes well enough that I do feel like it's a decent end to the series. It's a shame it didn't get a chance to actually flesh out its world or expand on its cast more, but on the other hand at least what we get is generally strong. I rate this book Recommended.

[Mika · Rating 3 out of 5]

🇩🇪 German version
Scroll down for the English version 🇬🇧

🇩🇪
Irgendwie sieht Amagi mit seiner Augenschminke (oder was auch immer das sein soll) wie ein Metalhead aus. Aber es passt zu seinen schwar-weiß Haaren (gibt mir auch gleichzeitig Todoroki vibes).

Der letzte Kampf war schon cool, weiß nur nicht so was ich vom offenen Ende halten soll. Aber an sich kam das wichtigste was es zu sagen gab an und alle Charaktere die vorgestellt wurden, hatten auch ihr Platz in der Geschichte sodass es nicht so abrupt wirkt, dass es ein offenes Ende ist.

StoryGraph Rezension

🇬🇧
Somehow Amagi looks like a metalhead with his eye makeup (or whatever that is supposed to be). But it matches his black and white hair (also gives me Todoroki vibes at the same time).

The last fight was cool, just don't know what to think of the open end. But in itself, the most important thing there was to say arrived and all the characters that were introduced also had their place in the story, so it doesn't seem so abrupt that it's an open ending.

StoryGraph review

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final showdown and ultimate conclusion begins as Jiro faces Azami without Rago's help.

Alright, Jiro looks awesome in his Rago state and the ending is so satisfying. Jiro is such a smartass kid but that makes him charming in a way and also reminds you that he's just a kid. A super strong, demon possessed, working for a secret agency, ninja...but still just a kid. And one thing they don't tell you in the story (it's in the extra character bios in the back) but Kouga, that angry tsundere mononoke, is Jiro's brother (sorta...Jiro's dad had a hand in artificially making Kouga with Azami).

There's SO much that this series didn't get to include because it was so short and it was honestly pretty good. The art matched fantastically with the story and the characters were memorable and likable. I wish there'd been more, but Black Torch was probably ahead of its time; being a series that was nearly identical to Bleach which was still too fresh in the minds of readers to allow Black Torch to stand on its own.

Overall, 4/5.

This series has 5 volumes.

[Ruthsic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warnings: graphic violence, gore, body horror

You know, I didn't know while I was reading this that it was the last book in the series, so I was a bit confused with the character sheet in the end that was basically like an epilogue. It was only when I read the author's note that I realized it REALLY was the conclusion of the story. Anyway, so as it was the final one, it has one epic battle between Jiro and Amagi, obviously! But before that, we learn of Amagi's origins, his past and what is his motive. Jiro, back from his boot camp with Ibuki, has realized he can't pull it off alone, and it takes the Bureau and some other mononoke to get him inside Amagi's barrier, where he is keeping the depowered Rago as a hostage. Its a tough battle, and Jiro manages a risky move to get the better of Amagi, but the latter also leaves him with an ominous warning. Now, I thought that the warning was to be setup for future stories, so that is why I was so confused with that character sheet! Through the bits and pieces, the 'future' takes shape, and I am almost disappointed that instead the series is ending here, because the plot beats made for a nice arc. Still, this is a good conclusion that finished up this arc very nicely, so I can't really complain!

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Viz Media LLC, via Edelweiss.

[Elyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aujourd'hui je viens de terminer la série Black Torch avec l'ultime tome 5, et je suis heureuse et triste à la fois !

Je n'avais plus lu de shônen pendant plusieurs années, mais ces derniers temps quelques séries m'ont remise dans le bain. J'ai notamment découvert "Black Torch" de Tsuyoshi Takaki publié aux éditions Ki-oon 📚

J'ai tout aimé dans cette série ! L'illustration, l'univers, les personnages et l'humour. L'histoire est montée crescendo au fil des tomes et les deux derniers notamment m'ont conquise avec des planches de dessins qui en envoient plein les yeux 😎 Un vrai plaisir, et j'ai trouvé le "vilain" d'un charisme incroyable.

Malheureusement la série a précocement été stoppée au Japon, alors que l'histoire aurait pu être largement plus développée. Malgré ça l'auteur a réussi à apporter une belle fin avec en plus l'ajout de fiches qui résume la suite des aventures de chaque personnage. J'avoue avoir versé ma petite larme pour Jiro et Rago, ils vont me manquer🥰

Mon Bookstagram

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this series was short and to the point. So many action series draw out the battles forever, and the antagonist keeps getting stronger and stronger. Now realistically I don’t think this conclusion could happen, given how many powerful Mononoke Amagi ate. On the other hand, I don’t think he should’ve been able to kill 108 Mononoke all by himself. He didn’t kill them right away because he needed to eat them fresh, which makes it even more impossible to accomplish. As you’re eating them the other ones wouldn’t be waiting around.

It was interesting seeing that the author put in blurbs about the future of each character, as well as information about their pasts. I’ll have to look up whether or not he continued their stories in another series. It was a little ominous that Jiro’s father is unknown and also participated in the creation of Kouga with Amagi. I suppose that makes them brothers of sorts.

[Camilo Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

With just five volumes this manga gave me so much, and left me wanting at least another 45 volumes.

While it definitely feels like shonen, it feels like it’s gritty older brother that has art that comes alive in every page.
The characters are all super likable and memorable, and don’t really fall too hard into their shonen archetypes.

I’m still not too sure if the creator (who is godly in both story and art, omg the art is so good guys) chose to end this or if it just ended up on SJ chopping block, but I can safely say the ending is satisfying. Will miss these guys and will definitely revisit it.

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tamat dalam 5 jilid.
Keterbatasan volume ini barangkali yang membuat Tsuyoshi Takaki sensei membuat plot cerita padat tanpa tedeng aling langsung memacu arenalin. Pembaca langsung dihunjami beragam informasi karena pertempuran puncak melawan Amagi segera hadir. Beragam pertanyaan sebenarnya bisa menjadi pemicu kelanjutan kisah ini. Mulai dari masa lalu Rago, orangtua Jiro, hubungan para petinggi Oniwaban dengan Mononoke, Kakak Reiji, Ibu Ichika, latar belakang Pak Shiba serta wujud divisi Oniwaban dll.
Meskipun begitu, 5 volume ini cukup memuaskan.
Overall 7.4/10

[MajesticalLion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am astounded at the quality of this series. I'm completely convinced if it were adapted into an animated movie, it'd be one of the best ever made. Despite getting cancelled, the flow of the story never feels rushed, and manages to present it's themes convincingly and impressively. The art in the last two chapters in particular is INSANE. And above all, the characters are all amazing. I want desperately to see this adapted into anime form in some way. It has quickly become one of my all time favorites.