As Crunchyroll‘s standout shonen hit of 2026, Black Torch has quickly won over fans looking for a modern heir to Naruto. The similarities are baked right into the premise: protagonist Jiro Azuma hails from a contemporary ninja lineage and soon finds a fearsome demon sealed within himself. Over time, these parallels only grew stronger, particularly when viewers realized that Jiro’s core trio mirrors Team 7.
While Jiro clearly steps into the Naruto role, Ichika offers a welcome twist on Sakura, boasting a much sharper and more proactive motivation. Meanwhile, the group’s resident brooding swordsman, Reiji, fills the Sasuke-shaped void. Just as Sasuke’s early journey was fueled by a burning desire to track down the brother who wiped out their clan, Reiji harbors a nearly identical dark past. His own brother slaughtered their family after gaining a mysterious new power, sparing Reiji’s life and sending him on a secret path of vengeance—a confrontation that Black Torch is tackling much faster than Naruto ever did.
Black Torch Is Set to Deliver the Fight Naruto Took Hundreds of Episodes to Build Up to
In the latest episode of the series, Team Black Torch investigates a restricted zone where a trio of Mononoke have trapped humans to drain their vital energy. However, the squad soon discovers a fourth entity guarding the mastermind who cast the spell. As the team splits up to handle the threats, Reiji confronts the barrier’s protector, only to realize the guard is none other than his brother, Shinji, wielding the exact Mononoke blade used to murder their kin.
This shocking revelation tees up an explosive showdown for the next episode, promising answers regarding why Shinji turned on his family. Given that Black Torch is working with a tight, 13-episode run, major revelations are bound to drop quickly. Much like the legendary Uchiha dynamic, Shinji’s motives might echo Itachi’s tragic burden—perhaps he wiped out the clan to prevent their dangerous Mononoke weapons from falling into the wrong hands, setting Reiji on a path of revenge so he could ultimately tie up loose ends.
While it may not carry the decades-long baggage of Sasuke and Itachi’s iconic rivalry, Black Torch successfully remixes classic shonen tropes for a contemporary audience. By fast-tracking these high-stakes emotional payoffs, the series has cemented itself as a brisk, highly entertaining spiritual successor to Naruto and one of Crunchyroll’s absolute must-watch titles.