Eight years after Black Torch ended its short manga run, the supernatural action series has reached another major turning point. Its 12-episode anime revival has now concluded, bringing Jiro Azuma, Rago and the world of mononoke to the end of the story currently available from creator Tsuyoshi Takaki.
But the finale may not be the absolute end. Takaki has revealed that although he has no current plans to continue the manga himself, he would welcome the chance to help develop an anime-original second season. With the original manga ending after only 19 chapters, that possibility could take Black Torch into completely unexplored territory.
Black Torch anime concludes with Episode 12 “ONCE AGAIN”
The BLACK TORCH anime officially began airing in Japan on July 4, 2026, with Crunchyroll streaming the series internationally.
The adaptation was produced by 100studio, with Kei Umabiki serving as director, Gigaemon Ichikawa handling series composition, Go Suzuki responsible for character designs and Yutaka Yamada composing the music.
After 12 episodes, the anime has now officially reached its conclusion.
The official anime website confirms that Episode 12 is titled “ONCE AGAIN.” The finale aired in Japan on September 19, 2026, closing the first season with Jiro and Rago facing their decisive confrontation with Tenki.
According to the official synopsis, Tenki takes on a monstrous form before confronting Jiro. Jiro uses Rago’s power as the pair prepare to enter their final battle, and despite Tenki’s overwhelming strength, Jiro and Rago continue to trust one another.
That final confrontation carries extra weight because the anime has now reached the end of the manga material created by Takaki.
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The first season at a glance
| Detail | Official information |
| Anime | BLACK TORCH |
| Japanese premiere | July 4, 2026 |
| Finale | Episode 12, “ONCE AGAIN” |
| Finale date | September 19, 2026 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Studio | 100studio |
| Director | Kei Umabiki |
| Series composition | Gigaemon Ichikawa |
| Character design | Go Suzuki |
| Music | Yutaka Yamada |
| International streaming | Crunchyroll |
The Black Torch manga ended after just 19 chapters
The biggest factor surrounding a potential second season is the surprisingly small amount of original source material.
Black Torch began publication in 2016 and concluded in 2018. The completed manga contains 19 chapters across five volumes, with Chapter 19, “ONCE AGAIN,” serving as the final chapter.
The official Shonen Jump+ listing identifies Chapter 19 as the completed series finale and confirms that all five collected volumes are available.
That means the anime is not stopping midway through a much larger manga storyline. Instead, its 12-episode first season has reached the conclusion of the existing Black Torch story.
VIZ also describes Black Torch as Takaki’s supernatural action series centred on Jiro Azuma, a descendant of a shinobi family who has the unusual ability to communicate with animals.
Jiro’s life changes after he encounters Rago, a seemingly ordinary black cat who is actually a powerful supernatural being.
The setup brings together the shinobi traditions surrounding Jiro and the supernatural world of the mononoke, creating the core conflict that drives the series.
And now that the anime has caught up with the complete manga, any future season would have to take a very different route.
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Tsuyoshi Takaki has no current plans for a manga continuation
Following the anime’s conclusion, Takaki addressed the possibility of continuing Black Torch.
His position is important because he has not announced plans to resume the manga. Instead, the creator explained that he currently does not intend to draw a direct continuation himself.
“I have no plans to draw a continuation myself at this moment.”
However, Takaki did not close the door on Black Torch returning in another form.
He added:
“However, if another miracle were to happen and we got an anime-original second season…that would be wonderful.”
That distinction is crucial.
Takaki’s comments are not a Season 2 announcement, nor do they confirm that a second season has entered production. They instead show that the creator is open to the idea of continuing Black Torch through an anime-original story if the opportunity arises.
And there is another important part of his response.
Takaki indicated that he would not simply leave an anime-original continuation entirely to the anime staff. Should such an opportunity become real, he said he would collaborate closely with the production team, including work involving the story and world-building.
A Black Torch Season 2 would need an entirely new story
For many anime adaptations, a second season can simply move into another manga arc.
That is not the situation with Black Torch.
With the manga ending at Chapter 19, there is no substantial unfinished storyline sitting beyond the anime’s finale waiting to be adapted. VIZ currently lists the manga through Chapter 19 and its five collected volumes, while the official Shonen Jump+ page marks the series as completed.
As a result, a future Black Torch Season 2 would need to create new material.
That could mean introducing new conflicts, characters, locations and mythology within the world Takaki established. Rather than adapting an existing published arc, the anime would effectively be creating the next chapter of Black Torch from scratch.
This is where Takaki’s willingness to participate becomes especially significant.
He has indicated that he would be willing to collaborate on the script and world-building. So while the creator is not currently planning to return to the manga himself, he could potentially contribute directly to a new anime story.
That would make a future season an unusual continuation: original anime material developed with involvement from the creator of the original manga.
The 2026 anime was already an unexpected revival
The possibility of another season is even more notable because Black Torch had already received an unusual second chance.
The manga originally ran from 2016 to 2018, while the anime arrived in 2026, roughly eight years after the original series concluded.
That gap makes the adaptation different from many long-running Shonen Jump properties that continue receiving anime adaptations while their source manga remains active.
The 2026 series instead brought Takaki’s completed supernatural action manga to a new generation of viewers.
At the centre of that story is Jiro, a teenager raised in the shinobi tradition who can communicate with animals. His encounter with Rago, the black cat whose real identity ties him to the supernatural world, changes the direction of his life.
The anime therefore served as both an adaptation and a revival of a series whose original manga story had already been finished for years.
Crunchyroll described the anime as an action fantasy series and confirmed its international streaming beginning on July 4, 2026.
The anime and manga share the same “ONCE AGAIN” finale
There is also a striking connection between the endings of the manga and anime.
Both final chapters carry the title “ONCE AGAIN.”
The official Shonen Jump+ listing identifies Chapter 19 as “ONCE AGAIN,” while the official anime website gives the same title to Episode 12.
That makes the anime finale closely connected to the ending Takaki originally published.
The first season therefore provides a conclusion to the existing manga material rather than stopping before the source story is finished.
But it also creates a clean dividing line.
Everything beyond this point would be new.
That is what makes Takaki’s comments about an anime-original second season so intriguing. The existing story has reached its endpoint, yet the anime format could theoretically allow the world of Black Torch to continue without requiring the manga to resume first.
Black Torch Season 2 has not been officially announced
For now, fans should separate Takaki’s enthusiasm from an actual production announcement.
There is currently no official announcement for Black Torch Season 2.
The official anime website presents Episode 12 as the final episode, while its latest updates focus on the completed series, including a campaign involving signed scripts from the finale and the release of the anime soundtrack.
So, at this stage, Takaki’s remarks should be understood as an expression of interest rather than confirmation that another season has been greenlit or entered production.
The situation is clear: the original manga is complete, the first anime season has finished its 12-episode run, and Takaki is open to an anime-original continuation should the opportunity emerge.
What a future Black Torch continuation could look like
If that opportunity eventually arrives, the second season would stand apart from the first in one major way.
It would not be adapting another completed manga arc.
Instead, it would have to build a new Black Torch story within the world Takaki created.
That could involve new conflicts, characters, locations and elements of mythology, with Takaki potentially contributing to the script and world-building alongside the anime production team.
The creator made his position clear:
“If that happens I would certainly give it my all, collaborating on everything from the script to world building.”
That statement does not guarantee that another season will happen. It does, however, establish that Takaki is willing to participate should the anime receive another chance.
For a series with only 19 manga chapters, that distinction matters enormously. The first season has essentially exhausted the published source material, meaning any future anime continuation would have to become something genuinely new.
Conclusion
Black Torch has now completed its 12-episode anime revival, with Episode 12, “ONCE AGAIN,” airing on September 19, 2026. The ending brings the anime to the same point as Takaki’s original manga, which concluded with Chapter 19 across five collected volumes.
Yet the door is not completely shut.
Tsuyoshi Takaki currently has no plans to draw a manga continuation, but he has expressed that an anime-original Season 2 would be wonderful and indicated that he would collaborate on the script and world-building if such an opportunity emerged.
For now, there is no official Season 2 announcement. Black Torch has reached the end of its existing story, but its creator has made clear that, under the right circumstances, the anime could potentially create a completely new chapter.
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Source/Research Disclaimer: This article has been prepared based on the information provided from the listed official and published sources, including the BLACK TORCH official anime website, official Shonen Jump+ material, VIZ Media, Crunchyroll News and ComicBook.com. It reflects the information available as of September 22, 2026, and does not imply independent verification beyond what those provided sources support.
Sources
- BLACK TORCH Official Anime Website
- Shonen Jump+ – BLACK TORCH Chapter 19
- VIZ Media – Black Torch
- VIZ Media – Where to Watch the BLACK TORCH Anime
- Crunchyroll News – BLACK TORCH Anime Joins the Brawl
- Crunchyroll News – BLACK TORCH Anime Previews Theme Songs
- ComicBook.com – Tsuyoshi Takaki’s Season 2 comments
Featured Image Credit:
- Viz Media
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