BLACK TORCH

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
5
RELEASE
July 11, 2018
CHAPTERS
19

DESCRIPTION

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 fuses with him, granting him exceptional power but also dragging him into humanity's hidden battle against powerful Japanese spirits, mononoke.

(Source: Viz Media)

CAST

Jirou Azuma
Ragou
Ichika Kishimojin
Reiji Kirihara
Kouga
Roren
Amagi
Ibuki
Ryousuke Shiba
Hana Usami
Shinji Kirihara
Toshimasa Azuma
Touko Kusumi
Monjumaru
Fuyou
Takeru Inui
Naruko
Banri Himezuka
Banjuurou Tokieda
Tetsuwa
Kanade Kishichimojin
Nishina
Kirihara

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Pikurasu
75/100
Just a weebs thoughts on a manga they picked up for 20$
I am not really one to go out of my way to review things on here but this felt like something I needed to sit down and process.
So to start, I was out one weekend with some people and I walked into this shop where they had a bunch of manga, both newish and old, a wonderful little shop. Sitting right before my eyes which I knew was a deal I would be unable to pass on was vol. 1-5 of Black Torch for TWENTY USD. Now this is a semi new series, I had seen vol 1 at B&N earlier that day for 10 USD plus tax. So without knowing anything about the series I scooped it up, bought it and went home.

Looking at this series from the outside and reading the first volume, I'll just say it for what it is: It's quite literally JJK mixed with a bit of Naruto but only if we had Naruto Shippuden. Of course I will break down my idea of this now (and this is in no way my own thought so to speak. I have seen a few others say the same thing).

On the JJK front you have the similarities of an iconic "demonic" figure inhabiting a boy who had no real ties to the world prior (that he THINKS at least). A trio of people who are put to the task by a much larger organization to take care of these spirits/demons/things without the general public finding out. You have a leader who is lovable in his goofy, fun loving approach but in reality is amazingly talented/smart and capable. And finally you have a similar overarching goal from the villain of seeking out this iconic demonic figure and making them work with them in their scheme.

Now comparing it to Shippuden is coming more to personal feelings in poor character development and treatment but Black Torch is very similar in the way that the characters are extremely one dimensional. No matter how you argue if Naruto Shippuden is good or not (I like Naruto so don't get me wrong) anyone can see that a majority of characters are only meant to represent an archetype of a personality and not much more' IE Hinata is soft spoken and shy, Sakura is out spoken and strong, Naruto is a go-getter, etc. In Black Torch however this is less of the fault of the mangaka and more of the fault of how long the series runs. The protagonists and even the antagonists have so much potential to be multi faceted characters but it's hard to do that in 5 volumes as well as having heavy fight scenes and exposition. Along with all that you of course have the similarities of Naruto and Jiro being half human half demonic-ish spirit as well as the whole ninja aspect, and the team of three being broken up into rambunctious half human boy, strong sassy girl and attractive up and coming prodigy.

Now for me to sing this series some praise: the art is fantastic. The character design and the art itself is honestly very well done and beautiful. The physical manga come with small mini posters for each volume and they're all absolutely beautiful. The design that goes into the demonic spirit "people" as well as the motion and the dynamic movements is honestly enough for me to recommend the series as well as it being a decent read for a non committing 5 volumes.

However I do feel that reducing it to 5 volumes which I have a theory was not the mangaka's choice to do based on open ended plots and things that were never resolved, has caused this manga more damage than it can really overcome. This manga came out two years (to my understanding) BEFORE JJK, meaning that by the beginning of the 4th volume, JJK would have just started production. Now I enjoy Shonen Jump as much as another but I have to say from an objective standpoint that SJ is not the kindest to their creators signed to them. I would not be shocked if SJ decided to chop Black Torch in favor of JJK which sucks because I would have loved to hear more about characters back stories and things that will never be known like Jiro's father.

All in all I do recommend this read to people who enjoy JJK and Naruto as well as D.Grey Man. With beautiful art, and not a whole lot of commitment it is honestly a decent way to spend an afternoon.
Continue on AniList
Nekomina
64/100
A good universe that could be much more but it lacks development

English Version:

Black Torch is a manga that unfolds the relationship between Mononokes and humans. The Mononokes are Japanese mythical creatures that transcend human powers in any sense, so before in a world without technology they were feared, but as humans evolved this hierarchy changed and this is where the world is presented; in how these two species are connected nowadays.

What can be observed without going into detail is that it is a short manga, with few chapters and this prevents the story from developing in its entirety, it feels like a presentation of this world rather than a journey through this adventure. It is a very good idea, it can be seen in some details throughout the manga, they are linked to each other, have meaning and a purpose, but the problem is that, although it is a good idea, it has a bad development; Not all the points presented are taken advantage of, they are not explored, they are only mentioned above in order to continue with the main thread of the narrative, removing the intrigue and how interesting Black Torch could become.

The depth is lost when they mention things, without explaining them or touching the subtopic that makes them relevant, if this were done, more history could be drawn, different arcs, and gradually solving points of the plot, which seem important and form a chain of solutions for the 3 heroes of this Shonen, but simply goes over it without giving it so much importance.

When we first dive into the world is not so forced. There is a presentation of the main character, Jiro Azuma, who is the typical shonen protagonist, a kind boy, not so smart who gets carried away by his impulses without thinking much about the consequences. There is not much explanation of what happens, like Jiro, the reader is confused by the events without having any explanation of why they occur.

The interaction between the characters is strange, sometimes the dialogues are not fluid enough to make them feel real, in some moments they feel forced, but they work since they are a group that cannot fully adapt to society and this way it can be expressed also the story refers to not being able to fit in. Likewise, the reader can never finish connecting with the characters since they do not have a great development, are stereotyped and one-dimensional, they are not balanced giving a feeling of unreal since they are not paradoxical.

The female characters in this manga are problematic since they are not well represented, they are created focused on feeding the fanservice and this gets in the way of what they could become, they would be pillars in the story and be deeper. An example is Ichika Kishimojin, the woman of the Shonen trio. She tries to be a feminist character, but she failed, it leaves much to be desired, it was not done in a concrete way, her representation is not good. It is annoying, since what she says does not fit with how she is visually, how she deals with others and is one of the most used characters in fanservice in the manga.

There are several surprises regarding the art in Black Torch, one of the problems is that it is difficult to locate oneself spatially in the manga since in most of the panels there is no background, only when they change location is that the background of the place is presented and in the following panels the characters are on a white background. A good point is that the art is ideal to represent fights and movements, this being appreciated since it is an action manga.

The visual concept of the characters is very interesting, it looks unique and well thought out, the mangaka tried to make sure that the characters did not all look the same, he gave each one a unique touch. This is notorious with most mononoke, especially the villains, since they are not human, they have to be given a special distinction that Tsuyoshi Takaki knew how to give them, although visually they are well done and interesting, that is the only information we have of them since they only appear as obstacles without more in the story.

With the development of the story, it was expected that the ending would be unexpected and unusual to leave an impact, but it was not, the closure was forced and predictable. It follows the Shonen rules where good guys always win and the opportunity to improve the series was missed. In the last chapter there are some summaries of the most important characters in history; This shows that the story, was planned, is a world with many details that could be investigated and many characters that could be improved. This was left only in the idea and the development that if it was raised leaves much to be desired.

How it was carried out may be a bit disappointing, but this does not mean that Black Torch should not be given a chance to see what it could turn out to be. It is a universe with an interesting conflict that has to be resolved, the characters have essence and personality but they can improve, the only thing that this manga lacks is more development so that the reader feels immersed and enjoy this adventure more. For what it is and what it could have become, this story is not bad for a casual manga.

Versión en Español:

Black Torch es un manga que se desarrolla la relación que tienen los Mononokes y los humanos. Los Mononokes son unas criaturas míticas japonesas que trascienden los poderes humanos en cualquier sentido, antes en un mundo sin tanta tecnología eran temidos, pero al paso en que los humanos iban evolucionando esta jerarquía fue cambiando y aquí es donde se entra en este mundo; en la actualidad y en cómo se llevan estas dos especies.

Lo que se puede observar sin entrar en detalle es que es un manga corto, tiene pocos capítulos y esto impide que la historia se desarrolle en su totalidad, se siente como una presentación de este mundo más que una travesía por esta aventura. Es una idea muy buena se ve en algunos detalles a lo largo del manga, se enlazan unos con otros, tienen sentido y un propósito, pero el problema es que, aunque es una buena idea tiene un mal desarrollo; no se aprovechan todos los puntos que nos presentan, no se exploran, solo son mencionados por encima para poder seguir con el hilo principal de la narración, quitándole la intriga y lo interesante que podría llegar a ser Black Torch.

Se pierde la profundidad al mencionar las cosas, sin explicarlas o tocar el subtema que las hace relevantes, si esto se hiciese se podría sacar mucha más historia, distintos arcos, e ir resolviendo puntos de la trama, que parecen importantes y forman una cadena de soluciones para los 3 héroes de este Shonen, sino que simplemente se pasa por encima sin darle tanta importancia.

La entrada al mundo no es tan forzosa, es decir, que empieza a la mitad de alguna acción confundiendo al lector. Esta tiene una presentación del personaje principal, Jiro Azuma, que es el típico protagonista shonen, un chico amable, no tan inteligente que se deja llevar por sus impulsos sin pensar mucho en las consecuencias. No hay mucha explicación de lo que ocurre, al igual que Jiro, el lector está confundido por los hechos sin tener alguna explicación de por qué ocurren.

La interacción entre los personajes es extraña, a veces los diálogos no son lo suficiente fluidos para que se sientan reales, en algunos momentos se sienten forzados, pero funcionan ya que son un grupo que no se puede adaptar del todo a la sociedad y de esta manera se puede expresar y en la historia se hace referencia de no poder encajar. Asimismo, el lector nunca puede terminar de conectar con los personajes ya que no tienen un gran desarrollo, son estereotipados y unidimensionales, no están equilibrados dando sensación de irreales ya que no son paradójicos.

Los personajes femeninos en este manga son problemáticos ya que no están bien representados, están creadas enfocadas en alimentar el fanservice y esto se interpone en lo que podrían llegar a ser, serian pilares en la historia y ser más profundos. Un ejemplo es Ichika Kishimojin, la mujer del trio de protagonista del Shonen; Ella intenta ser un personaje feminista, pero falló, deja mucho que desear, no fue hecha de forma concreta, su representación no es buena. Es molesta, ya que lo que dice no encaja con cómo es visualmente, como se maneja con los demás y es uno de los personajes más usados en fanservice en el manga.

Hay varias sorpresas referentes al arte en Black Torch, uno de los problemas es que es difícil ubicarse espacialmente en el manga ya que en la mayoría de los paneles no hay fondo, solo cuando cambian de locación es que se presenta el background del lugar y en los siguientes paneles los personajes se encuentran sobre un fondo blanco. Un punto bueno es que el arte es el ideal para representar peleas y movimientos, siendo esto apreciado ya que es un manga de acción.

El concepto visual de los personajes es muy interesante, se ve único y bien pensado, el mangaka trato de que los personajes no se viesen todos iguales, le dio un toque único a cada uno. Esto se hace notorio con la mayoría de los mononoke, sobretodo los villanos, ya que al no ser humanos hay que darle una distinción especial que Tsuyoshi Takaki supo darles, aunque visualmente están bien hechos y son interesantes, esa es la única información que tenemos de ellos ya que solo aparecen como obstáculos sin más en la historia.

Con el desarrollo de la historia, se esperaba que el final fuese inesperado y poco común para dejar un impacto, pero no fue así, el cierre fue forzado y predecible. Sigue las reglas de Shonen donde el bien siempre gana y se perdió una oportunidad para mejorar la serie. Por lo que en el último capítulo están unos resúmenes de los personajes más importantes de la historia; esto demuestra que la historia si estaba planeada, es un mundo con muchos detalles que se podrían indagar y muchos personajes que podrían mejorar. Esto quedo solo en la idea y el desarrollo que si se planteó deja mucho que desear.

El cómo se llevó a cabo puede ser un poco decepcionante, pero esto no significa que no se le dé una oportunidad a Black Torch para ver lo que esta idea podía llegar a ser. Es un universo con un conflicto interesante que se tiene que resolver, los personajes que tienen esencia y personalidad pueden mejorar, lo único que le falto a este manga fue más desarrollo para que el lector se sienta inmerso y disfrutara mas esta aventura. Por lo que es y lo que por lo que pudo llegar a ser esta historia no está mal para ser un manga casual.
Continue on AniList