Black Torch 1

BLACK TORCH 1 by Tsuyoshi Takaki
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Jiro bonds with a mononoke named Rago, he is thrust into a world of demons and ninja! And what does the Bureau of Espionage want with him?

While I was flirting with manga last year, Black Torch kept popping up in my recommendations. A boy raised as a ninja, bonded with a cat demon? It sounded fairly interesting.

Black Torch is full of action. Jiro takes on demons and shady government operatives alike before joining the Bureau of Espionage as part of a new team, Black Torch. It was entertaining while I was reading it but nothing really stood out apart from Jiro bonding with Rago. The art was average and the installment was over too quickly.

I guess my beef with manga is the same as my beef with modern american comics: there's not a lot of substance. Nothing is self-contained and the individual installments don't really stand on their own. Black Torch has potential, though, so I'm reserving final judgement until I read the next installment. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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