Compared to Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen, Black Torch shares a visual style, panel composition, and atmosphere. Both series follow similar introductory structures.
Almost a month before the start of summer 2026, a new anime that evokes the themes of Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen is about to change modern shōnen's history.
As one of Shōnen's Big Three, fans have had quite a few Bleach-like anime available. Even Jujutsu Kaisen took inspiration from Tite Kubo's story.
However, so far, not many worthwhile anime have managed to capture the charm of classic shōnen or the urban dark fantasy atmosphere of facing off against supernatural creatures that fans know and love. With the next season of Jujutsu Kaisen currently in development and Bleach nearing its end, Shōnen Jump needed another smash hit.
But while there are many new-gen manga good enough to warrant adaptations, it's rare for a short serialization that ended abruptly several years ago to be revived with an anime. Add to that the high expectations placed on it even before its premiere, and fans could be witnessing the birth of a new anime flagship. Fans of action anime should keep an eye out for the Black Torch anime adaptation, which will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll.
Created by Tsuyoshi Takaki, the original Black Torch manga was released in 2016, even before Jujutsu Kaisen, and distinguished itself with its visual quality and the intensity of its battle scenes, earning it an adaptation despite having only 19 chapters. Most axed shōnen jump manga fall into oblivion, but Black Torch is returning from the dead and is ready to prove that it deserved more time during its serialization.
Black Torch is The Perfect Blend of Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen While Black Torch also features ninja elements reminiscent of Naruto, there are many more reasons to consider it the spiritual successor to Bleach. Released just before the end of Tite Kubo's manga, Black Torch's art style, panel composition, and overall atmosphere are very similar to Bleach.
Furthermore, although most shōnen anime follow the same tropes, the introductions of both series share the same structure. ScreenRant.com | Anime Hub Interactive Quiz ScreenRant/ Anime/ Crunchyroll/ Trivia Crunchyroll · Anime Knowledge Edition The Official Crunchyroll Anime Quiz ⚔ClassicsLegendary ✨New GenRising 🎬StudiosCreators 🏆AwardsBest of ▶StreamingWatch START STREAMING! → QUESTION 1 / 8CLASSICS 01 Attack on Titan became one of the most-watched anime on Crunchyroll.
The story takes place in a world where humanity lives behind massive walls to protect themselves from giant humanoid creatures. What are these creatures called? AKaiju BTitans CHollows DDemons ✓ Correct! The giant humanoid creatures are called Titans.
In the original Japanese, they’re referred to as “Kyojin” . Eren Yeager’s quest to destroy all Titans after they breach Wall Maria became one of the most gripping storylines in anime history. ✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is Titans.
Kaiju are giant monsters from Japanese cinema like Godzilla, Hollows are the enemy creatures in Bleach, and Demons appear in series like Demon Slayer. In Attack on Titan, these towering humanoid creatures are specifically called Titans.
NEXT → QUESTION 2 / 8STUDIOS 02 Studio MAPPA has become one of the most prominent anime studios in recent years, producing several massive hit series. Which of these popular anime was NOT produced by MAPPA? AJujutsu Kaisen BAttack on Titan: The Final Season CChainsaw Man DDemon Slayer ✓ Correct! Demon Slayer is produced by ufotable, not MAPPA.
Ufotable’s stunning animation quality — especially the breathtaking fight sequences — became a hallmark of the Demon Slayer franchise. MAPPA produced Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan: The Final Season, and Chainsaw Man. ✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is Demon Slayer.
Demon Slayer is animated by studio ufotable, renowned for its gorgeous visual effects. MAPPA has produced Jujutsu Kaisen, took over Attack on Titan: The Final Season from WIT Studio, and animated Chainsaw Man.
NEXT → QUESTION 3 / 8NEW GEN 03 Solo Leveling became a massive hit anime in 2024 after being one of the most popular manhwa in the world. The story follows a weak hunter who gains the unique ability to level up. What is the protagonist’s name? AJin-Woo Sung BSung Jin-Woo CKim Dokja DYoo Joonghyuk ✓ Correct!
Sung Jin-Woo is the protagonist of Solo Leveling. Originally the weakest E-Rank hunter, he gains the power of the mysterious System, allowing him to level up infinitely. His transformation from the “World’s Weakest Hunter” to the most powerful Shadow Monarch captivated millions of readers and viewers. ✗ That answer needs more filler training!
The answer is Sung Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo Sung reverses the name order . Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk are protagonists from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, another popular Korean series. Sung Jin-Woo is the iconic Shadow Monarch of Solo Leveling.
NEXT → QUESTION 4 / 8AWARDS 04 The Crunchyroll Anime Awards celebrate the best in anime each year. Which anime won Anime of the Year at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards? AJujutsu Kaisen Season 2 BFrieren: Beyond Journey’s End COshi no Ko DVinland Saga Season 2 ✓ Correct! Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End won Anime of the Year at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
This beautifully contemplative series about an elven mage reflecting on mortality and the passage of time after her hero party’s quest ends charmed audiences and critics alike with its unique, introspective storytelling. ✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
While Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, Oshi no Ko, and Vinland Saga Season 2 were all critically acclaimed, it was Frieren’s meditative exploration of time, memory, and connection that captured the top prize at the 2024 ceremony. NEXT → QUESTION 5 / 8CLASSICS 05 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is consistently rated as one of the greatest anime of all time. The story follows two brothers who attempted a forbidden alchemical technique. What taboo did Edward and Alphonse Elric commit?
ACreating gold BHuman transmutation CDestroying a Philosopher’s Stone DKilling a homunculus ✓ Correct! Edward and Alphonse attempted human transmutation to bring their deceased mother back to life. The attempt failed catastrophically — Edward lost his left leg and then sacrificed his right arm to bind Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor. This event drives the entire series as they search for the Philosopher’s Stone to restore their bodies.
✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is human transmutation — specifically, attempting to resurrect their dead mother. In the world of FMA, human transmutation is the ultimate taboo in alchemy. The brothers’ failed attempt cost Edward his limbs and Alphonse his entire body, setting the stage for their epic journey.
NEXT → QUESTION 6 / 8NEW GEN 06 Spy x Family became a worldwide phenomenon with its wholesome yet action-packed story of a found family. The father, Loid Forger, is secretly a spy. What is his spy codename? AAgent Dusk BTwilight CShadow DNightfall ✓ Correct!
Loid Forger’s spy codename is Twilight, and he’s considered the top agent of Westalis’s intelligence service, WISE. His mission, Operation Strix, requires him to build a fake family — leading him to adopt the telepathic Anya and marry the assassin Yor, creating one of anime’s most beloved found families. ✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is Twilight.
Agent Dusk and Shadow are fictional names, while Nightfall is actually the codename of another WISE agent, Fiona Frost, who has a crush on Loid. Twilight is Westalis’s greatest spy and the heart of Spy x Family’s charming story.
NEXT → QUESTION 7 / 8STREAMING 07 Crunchyroll merged with another major anime streaming service to become the dominant platform for anime. Which streaming service was absorbed into Crunchyroll? ANetflix Anime BFunimation CHIDIVE DAnimeLab ✓ Correct! Funimation was merged into Crunchyroll after Sony’s acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021.
The merger consolidated the anime streaming market, bringing Funimation’s massive library of dubbed anime together with Crunchyroll’s simulcast catalog, making Crunchyroll the world’s largest dedicated anime platform. ✗ That answer needs more filler training! The answer is Funimation. Netflix Anime is part of Netflix and operates independently, HIDIVE is Sentai Filmworks’ streaming service, and AnimeLab was a smaller Australian service.
Funimation — once Crunchyroll’s biggest rival — was fully absorbed into the Crunchyroll platform. NEXT → QUESTION 8 / 8STUDIOS 08 Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are legendary in the anime world. Miyazaki’s final film was released in 2023 and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. What is the title of this film?
ASpirited Away 2 BThe Wind Rises CThe Boy and the Heron DPonyo Returns ✓ Correct! The Boy and the Heron was released in 2023 and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2024. The deeply personal, surrealist fantasy film was widely considered Miyazaki’s farewell masterpiece, exploring themes of grief, imagination, and the passage between worlds. ✗ That answer needs more filler training!
The answer is The Boy and the Heron. Spirited Away 2 and Ponyo Returns don’t exist. The Wind Rises was Miyazaki’s previous “final” film from 2013. The Boy and the Heron marked his true farewell, winning the Oscar and cementing his legacy as anime’s greatest storyteller.
REVEAL MY SCORE → Binge Complete Your Anime Watch Level / 8 Are you an anime sensei — or still on episode one? ↻ REWATCH Both series begin by establishing that their protagonists aren't ordinary: in Bleach, Ichigo has the ability to see ghosts, while in Black Torch, the protagonist, Jiro Azuma, can communicate with animals.
Also, like Ichigo, Jiro's life changes completely when he comes into contact with malevolent spirit entities while trying to save someone. Jiro also has a delinquent-type personality very similar to Ichigo's in his early days. These parallels make it seem no coincidence that Black Torch's anime is coming out at the same time as the final season of Bleach.
Related Crunchyroll Has Officially Found The Next Jujutsu Kaisen Jujutsu Kaisen's third season has cemented the series as incredible, and Crunchyroll has just released a new series that might match its energy. Posts 2 By Branson Garza On the other hand, in Black Torch, Jiro was raised by his grandfather and gets possessed by a Mononoke that had previously been sealed away by a secret organization that controls these creatures.
Becoming a hybrid, he's forced to join them, forming a special trio with a boy and a girl his own age, which makes him feel very similar to Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen. Black Torch offers a contemporary take on Japanese folklore, with swordsmen and ninjas that set it apart from other shōnen anime about exorcisms while still being exciting enough for fans of dark fantasy.
Black Torch Has the Potential To Become the Best Anime of Summer 2026 Although its short run reflects poorly on Black Torch, it's one of the few Shōnen Jump manga that received international releases in the US and France, and it's believed that it ended abruptly to make way for Tsuyoshi Takaki's next series, Heart Gear. The manga's positive reception explains why VIZ Media is one of the companies behind its anime adaptation, showing great potential due to the promotion the series has received so far.
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Not only have its trailers showcased high-quality animation, but in a recent interview with Radio Times, the president of Crunchyroll also named Black Torch as an anime he can't wait for fans to see. While Netflix's Dandelion was based on a one-shot manga and Psyren is another canceled shōnen with an upcoming adaptation confirmed, the situation with Black Torch is even more surprising since, being a short series of only 5 volumes, it will be expanded with original stories in the anime.
The anime will give a new vision to the story, according to the author.
"As for the production, I’ve been supervising the settings and storyboards, and I feel it’s been recreated into something even better, while still fully respecting the original story. " -Tsuyoshi Takaki. That's why Black Torch is already transcending history, feeling like the first subject test in an experiment, a chance to revive promising Shōnen Jump manga that were canceled, which could pave the way for forgotten classics to finally be adapted.
Black Torch has been confirmed to release on Crunchyroll on July 4th, with an early premiere at Anime Expo 2026.
Black Torch might be a risky project, but all the cards are on the table for the anime to generate buzz, being a premiere that fans of Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach will surely enjoy 178 9.2/10 Jujutsu Kaisen 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Animation Sci-Fi & Fantasy Action Adventure Release Date October 3, 2020 Network TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC Directors Ryohei Takeshita, Masataka Akai, Chie Nishizawa, Daisuke Tsukushi, Tomomi Kamiya, Kakushi Ifuku, Ken Takahashi Writers Hiroshi Seko Franchise Jujutsu Kaisen Cast See All Powered by Expand Collapse 20 9.4/10 Bleach 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Action Anime Fantasy Release Date 2004 - 2012-00-00 Network TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo Showrunner Tite Kubo Directors Mitsutaka Noshitani, Junya Koshida, Hodaka Kuramoto, Yasuto Nishikata, Hiroaki Nishimura, Kazunori Mizuno, Akira Shimizu, Rokou Ogiwara, Kazunobu Shimizu, Akane Inoue, Hikaru Murata, Tomoko Hiramuki, Kazuo Nogami, Taiji Kawanishi, Shigeki Hatakeyama, Eiko Nishi, Takushi Kimura, Koji Aritomi, Ogura Shirakawa, Kiyomu Fukuda, Yukio Okazaki, Mitsue Yamazaki, Yasuhiro Matsumura, Eitarou Ano Writers Masahiro Okubo, Masashi Sogo, Kenta Shimoyama, Genki Yoshimura, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Rika Nakase, Michiko Yokote, Natsuko Takahashi, Kento Shimoyama Cast See All Powered by Expand Collapse
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