If you’re a seasoned anime fan, you’ll understand the unique sense of excitement that comes with binging a brand-new show — and it’s exactly how I feel about Crunchyroll’s breakout series, BLACK TORCH.
As of writing, we’re now six episodes into the epic adventure, following high-schooler Jiro, who just also happens to be a ninja descendant who can talk to animals. He’s rescued an injured black cat named Rago, who is actually a powerful mononoke, or demon spirit.
I’ll let Crunchyroll explain the next part: “After Jiro is mortally wounded protecting Rago from hostile spirits, Rago fuses with him, creating a human-spirit hybrid. Jiro is then recruited by Japan’s covert Bureau of Espionage into a special unit called ‘Black Torch’ to fight rogue mononoke.”
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It’s a classic anime storytelling format with a new twist, and so far, its six episodes have successfully blended high-intensity action with a strong emotional core. Even the intro song feels a cut above the rest, and I’m not surprised that anime fans are lapping it up.
With six episodes left to go, what can we expect from the second half of BLACK TORCH? According to English dub cast AJ Beckles (Jiro) and Ryan Colt Levy (Ryosuke Shiba), you’re best off expecting the unexpected.
‘It’s more of what we’ve had… but bigger’
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“Expect the unexpected,” Beckles tells me. “It’s more of what you’ve got, but bigger. As we reach the end of the season and these episodes start to come out, there more high-octane, serious moments. There’s a lot to look forward to, for sure.”
It’s a vague response, but this doesn’t surprise me. Even the above trailer showed almost no signs of what was to come in the actual series, which was a refreshing decision. Of course, we can expect the drama to follow the original manga, but this can’t be assured as a given.
But has there been any pressure for either actor knowing that these episodes are airing to a pre-existing fanbase?
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily like a pressure… I like to think of it as a responsibility,” Levy says. “No matter what, there are people out there that you are making this for, and where we may never get to have that face-to-face feedback, we have access. People will put so much passion into that.
“We approach this no matter what with the intention to make sure that people who love it feel seen, and feel like they are spending time with the characters that they want.”
“We’ve been cast and It’s a ginormous responsibility, because it could have gone to anybody,” Beckles agrees. “So the fact that it went to us means that we have a duty to do a good job. We’re not necessarily thinking about the end result. The focus should be on, ‘Am I thinking as Jiro is thinking? Am I serving this character?’ Because if I do so to the best of my ability, someone will resonate with that.”
I’ve got no idea how I’m going to feel about the upcoming second half of BLACK TORCH, but hearing the sheer passion that the voice cast has for its craft fills me with hope — and the joy that my initial burst of anime excitement seems set to continue.
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