A teenage ninja, a talking cat, and a fusion that defies death
In short: Jiro Azuma is a punk ninja with a secret: he can talk to animals. When he saves a mysterious, injured cat named Rago, he is thrust into a supernatural war. After a fatal attack, Rago merges with Jiro, granting him a second life and a dangerous new mission.
Created by Tsuyoshi Takaki, Black Torch follows Jiro Azuma, a young man trained in ninja arts who finds himself isolated by his unique ability to communicate with animals. His life changes when he rescues a cat that turns out to be Rago, an immortal mononoke—an evil spirit—from the Black Star of Doom. Rago, having been targeted by his own kind for refusing to cooperate with their malevolent agenda, is mortally wounded. When a hostile mononoke kills Jiro, Rago chooses to fuse with him, saving the boy's life and creating a powerful, symbiotic partnership.
Following this fusion, the pair are apprehended by the Bureau of Espionage, a government agency that manages supernatural threats. To survive and continue their fight against other mononoke, Jiro and Rago join the Bureau. The manga, which spans five tankōbon volumes and nineteen chapters, was serialized in Japan between December 2016 and July 2018. It eventually received an anime adaptation produced by 100studio, which aired in 2026.
Critical reception of the series has been mixed but generally positive. Reviewers like Rebecca Silverman have noted that while the series suffers from a rushed beginning and limited character development, its action-oriented narrative and character dynamics show promise. The art style has been compared to established shōnen works, though it maintains its own identity. In 2019, the series was recognized by the Young Adult Library Services Association as one of the top graphic novels for teens, cementing its place in the modern manga landscape.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Black Torch
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