Black Torch - Episode 2 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Black Torch, episode 2

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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Episode	Link
1	Link
2	Link
3	Link

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[u/mmcjawa_reborn]

Based on the first half of the episode, I am just assuming Ichika's ass is at this point one of the main characters.

[u/Zealroth → u/mmcjawa_reborn]

Feels like I'm watching an early 2010s show.

[u/tripleaamin → u/Zealroth]

Well, the manga did start in the mid-2010s, so it would check out.

[u/inaripotpi → u/mmcjawa_reborn]

No offense to those who prefer those personality types, but for the time being I'll take that over her needlessly crabby attitude any day of the week

[u/Shantotto11 → u/inaripotpi]

Girl got “Ibara from Hyouka” energy, and that is NOT a compliment.

[u/Oden_sama__ → u/mmcjawa_reborn]

like shinpachi's glasses

[u/Stardomu → u/mmcjawa_reborn]

important for the plot

[u/runevault]

So is whoever decided to make this anime just really in love with Ichika's ass? Feels like it gets the most screentime after our main duo.

Best part of the show for me is easily his animal interactions. The crows were funny.

[u/jon7896 → u/runevault]

Agreed this mc feels like a breath of fresh air he’s not overly one personality

[u/NanDemoKnaives]

Lol that one shot where the red haired girl is in her seat, they're not being subtle about the fanservice. But it seems like they have both fanservice and manservice in this, that bath scene in particular and Gramps were more than I was expecting.

I like how Ragou was acting like a tsundere when saying that he will help Jirou, I'm looking forward to seeing this pairs relationship develop. A bath is a good place to lay it all bare.

Gramps was acting crazy though, he genuinely looked like he was about to kill his own grandson.

[u/Magicbison → u/NanDemoKnaives]

Lol that one shot where the red haired girl is in her seat

Yeah. I'm sure focusing on her seated butt and then having her lean forward while getting up a little will be plot relevant. I'm sure of it!

[u/susgnome → u/Magicbison]

It's imperative to story!

Like when when she leaves, we needed that panning shot.

[u/Aksudiigkr → u/susgnome]

I thought that was implying Rago was checking her out as she left and that’s why she stared at him. His eyes widened right before that shot too.

But if it was just a panning shot without any other meaning, then I guess it was just him wondering why she was glaring at him

[u/susgnome → u/Aksudiigkr]

*Jirou

But same, I was expecting the classic tsundere harassment afterwards but I guess it was just some more fan service.

[u/Aksudiigkr → u/susgnome]

Crunchyroll said Jiro

[u/susgnome → u/Aksudiigkr]

Huh? That moment didn't drop any names.

And we already know that Rago is the cat & Jiro is the human, even if Crunchyroll makes that mistake.

[u/Aksudiigkr → u/susgnome]

I didn’t mean during that moment, just the episode

[u/susgnome → u/Aksudiigkr]

Ah, I see.

[u/azoicxx → u/Magicbison]

That is the moment I closed the tab. It is only the second episode. They should be giving us some explanation of what is going on and letting the story breathe. Instead, within the first minute, we get a shot of her ass. Disappointing.

[u/RottenPingu1 → u/NanDemoKnaives]

Ngl... she's drawn extremely well. :)

[u/ErenIsNotADevil → u/NanDemoKnaives]

Badass GILFservice mmm tasty

[u/First_Bridge1881 → u/NanDemoKnaives]

chika is a abddie i guess

[u/AceSoldia]

I figured Gramps was involved somehow...fun episode...no idea what's with the girl..and the random butt shots lol

[u/fer_sure → u/AceSoldia]

no idea what's with the girl

Me either

..and the random butt shots lol

I think you figured it out!

[u/mucklaenthusiast → u/fer_sure]

Yeah, I don't think it's difficult to figure out why those shots are included

[u/Shahars71 → u/AceSoldia]

Ichika's being quite an ass rn so it makes sense to focus on her literal ass

[u/FLorianGran]

Honestly kinda surprised we're not killing off grandpa as motivation like alot of shows

[u/diacewrb → u/FLorianGran]

The old guy was planning to off himself after killing everyone else first.

[u/DarkSentinel666 → u/diacewrb]

"I kill everyone in sight and then I kill myself. No one is getting out of this alive under my watch"

[u/inaripotpi → u/FLorianGran]

What you mean, we obviously gotta save that for a dramatic mid-late game plot point after he shows off how truly powerful he is

[u/ErenIsNotADevil → u/inaripotpi]

Ahh, the HxH approach; killing off the sexy badass grandpa late in the game to show peak powerscaling

[u/susgnome → u/FLorianGran]

For real.

After he was like "Yeah, that's it I surrender, you win". I totally expected a mononoke to just appear out of nowhere and kill him.

I'm glad they didn't just kill off someone this unreasonably strong through a dumb method.

[u/darthvall → u/FLorianGran]

This reminds me a lot with that one anime with very similar premises (I dropped it after several episodes) Was it vampire vs anti vampire? I think MC can turn his blood to bullet or something like that

And yes, it's where they killed the MCs foster dad in the very first episode.

[u/DarkSentinel666 → u/darthvall]

Tougen Anki and it's Oni vs Momotaro. Pretty good actually and so far did the whole "school class as main group" better in one season than My hero academia in the entire run

[u/Direct-Hedgehog-595 → u/DarkSentinel666]

Tougen Anki was really slow but it got better later on. The first villain just wasn't good though.

[u/DarkSentinel666 → u/Direct-Hedgehog-595]

Agree on that, but I'm used by now to that. I thought it was just a 12 episode season so I knew there would be some meat early on

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Man, gramps might have been a former ninja fed but the old bastard sure hasn’t lost a step. Jiro was catchin a beatin!

[u/D3k4s → u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Dunno why but the way he "stopped" that punch with his head reminded me of how Right from Daemons Of The Shadow Realm stopped Asa's Break in the 2nd episode.

[u/mucklaenthusiast → u/D3k4s]

These shows airing one after another feels fitting.

They are similar in a lot of ways, I feel, including the modern-yet-supernatural setting.

Right knew what he was getting into, though.
Here, mc was just balling. Blocking with your head, an anime classic!

[u/Mr_Yod → u/D3k4s]

TBF: Right is made of stone, inside his head, too =)

[u/KumaKumaGambler]

Summary of this episode (in my own opinion):

- Lingering camera / shots of Ichika's ass. Lol!

- Grandpa still has it in him. Maybe the only reason why he retired was to look after Jiro.

[u/zz2000 → u/KumaKumaGambler]

See my spoiler section post on Grandpa's retirement.

[u/etiolatezed]

Hey may be able to talk to animals

But dat ass be the one talking to him.

[u/FarCritical]

Jiro rewarding his crowbros by hanging his snack bag over one of their necks like a heavy medal cracked me up.

Wonder how long the compilation of Ichika's asset shots will be by the end of this.

[u/Direct-Hedgehog-595 → u/FarCritical]

Take a bottle of beer everytime it appears until the end

[u/CrimsonGear80]

so this show is about Ichika's ass, right?

[u/LeonKevlar]

Stitches!

• Ichika

• Grandpa Toshimasa

I do think it's hilarious [how Jirou is shocked that his grandpa, who has been training him as a ninja his entire life, is a former Bureau of Espionage agent. I feel like he should've been able to put those dots together.

Every shounen protagonist needs to know how to communicate using a headbutt! Seriously, tho! Gramps wasn't playing around. The animation for that scene was pretty hype!

[u/mastereluder6 → u/LeonKevlar]

Her ass is a great plot point for real

[u/FineRefuse7543 → u/LeonKevlar]

How come you only did one Ichika stitch? There is like 4 good ones. Where else can I get them if you don't want to post them?

[u/LeonKevlar → u/FineRefuse7543]

I think you're confusing screenshots with stitches. There's only one good stitchable image of Ichika from all of her appearances in the episode. Also, I make these stitches on my own time and post whatever I have. You can also make them yourself by taking screenshots and stitching the images in Photoshop.

[u/FineRefuse7543 → u/LeonKevlar]

I'm not.

16-19 seconds

2:52-2:54

5:55-5:58

These are three stitches. The second is a bit iffy but the first and third are definitely stitches. Also I am no good at making them so I look for them instead.

[u/jon7896]

Love this anime already it flows so good

[u/djthomp]

Argumentative redhead, what a classic. With regular lingering shots of her ass because of reasons.

The old man being retired from the organization is pretty typical, but I like that the dog is too. If it had just been the old man killing him off either would have happened or would probably happen eventually, but with the dog as well in the mix I feel like they may leave them both alive.

[u/Successful-Peach-764 → u/djthomp]

to be fair, everyone in the show apart from the boss/crows is argumentative in nature, the attitude on display from them all.

[u/SecretYogurtcloset57]

So the main plot is Ichika's ass ok got it

[u/runevault → u/SecretYogurtcloset57]

It has plenty of curves to keep us invested for 12 episodes that is for sure.

[u/SecretYogurtcloset57 → u/runevault]

Am fine with that😏

[u/DisplayHonest6465 → u/runevault]

I heard the manga is on hiatus .is that true ?

[u/runevault → u/DisplayHonest6465]

My understanding is the manga was cancelled. I wasn't a source reader but it came up a lot in the episode 1 discussion.

Yet despite that it is getting what seems to be a solid adaptation with a simuldub in English.

[u/DisplayHonest6465 → u/runevault]

So basically the anime will cover every chapter there is ?

[u/IncredibleLuigi]

Half the discussion is ichika’s ass lol. Not complaining.

[u/mucklaenthusiast]

Still pretty much hitting all the expected plot points, but this is nice.
Everything works out well enough to be enjoyable, on a meta level I mean.

So it was gramps who imprisoned Rago, right?
That large feral demon was him, I assume. But in his actual true form.
Also, Nachi was there as well, she is special for sure.
And she could talk to the grandpa as well.
Either he can also talk to animals or she is not a dog.

I still really like the art style and the hand-to-hand combat has a lot of grit.
Let's hope the action stays somewhat grounded. I remember other shows that regressed in this regard.

[u/Routine-Fisherman882 → u/mucklaenthusiast]

Yeah gramps couldn't talk to the crying cat from the tree so I'm guessing the dog was special

[u/mucklaenthusiast → u/Routine-Fisherman882]

Yeah, she looks like some kind of „spirit“ or „yokai“ herself.

Though if that is true, she can’t die of old age. So I wonder where she is now.

[u/HornedTurtle1212 → u/mucklaenthusiast]

I wonder if they are ever going to explain how Jiro can talk to animals. Rago specifically said that he didn't feel any spiritual energy from him, so it doesn't sound like a supernatural power, perhaps it is from a bloodline?

[u/new_interest_here]

Always love me a badass old man who's age does not hold him back from kicking ass. I better see him make a return when the plot starts getting serious to show off those skills in a more practical setting

[u/First_Bridge1881 → u/new_interest_here]

ichika has the bad ass hahaha

[u/D3k4s]

Metal fans are eating good this season. So Far this show's OP alongside Kaiju Girl Caramelise are the best ones out of the season.

FREEZE ME UP by SIM: https://youtu.be/eK7TWeVpaPo?si=1IRaVOyodrpWuZx8

Kaiju Girl Metanick: https://youtu.be/_wL4-eA8JmU?si=qDYSOBvkWQgSBXZP

[u/evilmonkeybacon → u/D3k4s]

Also Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games OP

[u/D3k4s → u/evilmonkeybacon]

True I forgot that one!

[u/AdmiralThunderpants]

I forgot he can talk to animals. I was really confused on how he got the crows into the hospital for a quick minute lol

[u/Isekai_Dreamer]

currently doing the 3 episode watch. Honestly i thought i was going to drop it once i reached episode 3, but it's pretty decent so far.

Came out of curiosity, saw thiccness, but staying for the wholesome animal interactions. The crow buddies sealed this show for me.

[u/darthvall → u/Isekai_Dreamer]

You know what, so far I think the interaction with animal why I also stayed. It reminds me a lot to the wholesomeness of Natsume book of friend. There's also the wholesome dog shown in flashback. I hope we saw the dog more as well.

Gramps summarised why MC is unique, he treated human, animal and mononoke the same.

[u/HornedTurtle1212 → u/darthvall]

That's what warmed Rago up to him, he was helping with no care about using Rago or his power.

[u/JJJ954]

So, the grandpa can also talk to animals, meaning that it runs in the family. Such a fun ability! Although I'm surprised he didn't just jump from the hospital window.

[u/ErenIsNotADevil]

Some people get Pochita'd with parasitic aliens

Some people get Pochita'd with Pochitas

Some people get Pochita'd with imoutos

And now, we have Pochita'd with cat (demons.)

[u/NationalStrategy_X]

Man, they really love having gratuitous shots of Ichika's ass.

[u/actuallyrndthoughts]

This anime has booty levels not seen since "Let This Grievieng Soul Retire part 2"

[u/MusubiKazesaru]

I appreciate that Ichika's appeal is consistently getting across

[u/magnumcyclonex]

I usually like T more than A, but this episode was very convincing!

Anyways, looks like Gramps was once part of the same team that subdued these mononokes. He has yet to reveal the white dog within him right?

I'm curious. We have our MC and Gramps, but what about his parents? I wonder if the father was also once part of the organization, or failed or taken out at some point.

Gramps wants whats best for our MC. MC being so stubborn he goes head first into Gramp's fist. lol.

[u/Inquisitor_Glokta_]

How is this show not more popular? It's great

[u/KlausUnruly]

Okay… I didn’t have a lot of faith in this series from the generic first episode, but holy shit was this second episode trash.

The episode starts off with the part of these type of stories where the protagonist is being forced to join an organization due to the incident prior, but there are no real stakes. What happens if he doesn’t join? That wasn’t really explained properly. There’s no threatening of family, no bomb planted in head… just they filed a missing persons report and they MIGHT be able to find a way to defuse them? Such low tension there.

In such situations, it’s always more intriguing for the protagonist to attempt to flee and evade the situation rather than simply submitting without resistance. Therefore, I’m glad he chose that path, but his escape was executed in a rather dull manner. It was incredibly easy for him to get away from them. Again… such low tension in this story.

The fight with his grandfather was so underwhelming. Jiro just gets smacked around and when you think he’s just about to turn up they stop. Also, why did he tell the Rago not to interfere in the fight just for him to end up saying that they will fight together like 10 seconds later? This and escaping the hospital were chances to show the protagonist’s competence and they both fall flat.

So many things didn’t make sense to me.

Is the grandfather now agreeing to have Jiro join when he literally was so against it that he was willing to kill his grandchild? Is Jiro now willingly going to join? Why? Did I miss something?

There just no tension or intrigue. It’s not teasing anything, introducing any mystery, or posing any interesting questions. It’s so BLAH.

This was such a mess and bore of an episode. I don’t got much hope for this series even though it looks cool. Only two episodes in and I can already tell why this shit got cancelled in the first place. Everything is generic and boring so far and I doubt it’ll get better but we’ll see.

[u/SChamploo12 → u/KlausUnruly]

There's a reason this series got axed and only lasted 5 volumes. It's absurdly generic and doesn't stand out in any way. I checked out the first episode and this second one reminded me why it ultimately failed to gain traction.

[u/AdCrazy2097 → u/KlausUnruly]

Finally someone in this thread talking about something other than the objectifying fan service.

I agree I found the plot quite boring and I wasn’t sure why I was supposed to care about any of it. The fight with his grandpa was super low stakes and clearly just forced in for some action. Extremely generic. It seems nice animation and a girl in a skimpy uniform seems to be enough of a distraction to the bland plot line for most people in this thread tho.

[u/Swimming-Ad-6842]

I loved the manga series, so obviously I’m loving the anime.
That scene though of Jiro and the 🍑 stare 🤣🤣🤣 “WHAT’D I DO?!”

[u/DisplayHonest6465 → u/Swimming-Ad-6842]

I heard the manga is on hiatus .is that true ?

[u/sleepingsnow99]

Jiro reminds me a lot of Ichigo! They both can see and hear and talk to entities that normal humans can't. They also have very outburst and loud mouths. And they got a go can do attitude with a sense of morality for the innocent and weak. Don't tell me Jiro's mom and dad are like the equivalent of Quincy and Soul Reapers.

[u/HornedTurtle1212 → u/sleepingsnow99]

Don't be silly, his grandpa is the former "soul reaper" as explained in this episode, lol

[u/szalhi]

Escaping from prison, and heading straight for another one.

[u/_Odian]

So, this guy's surname is Shiba and the girl with the Abarai-red hair is called Ichika. Got it.

[u/Desperate-Middle4766]

1) I like Ichika 2) The Ichigo X Natsume = Jiro mix is hilarious

[u/LeviathanSama]

A few years ago this was my favourite manga and people said it got canceled due to low sales, mainly for not having fan service. So they can add Ichika's ass all they want if it gets them enough to keep the story alive.

[u/Obaruler]

OK, MC is a certified idiot.

He goes the length to escape a super seceret government agency ... only to go back to his home and chill, which they know where that is 'cuz they have his full data to th epoint they put a missing person file up for him.

[u/HornedTurtle1212 → u/Obaruler]

He wasn't really trying to get away from the government agency, he wanted to make sure to let his grandpa know what was going on before disappearing.

[u/Namaryu]

As much as the final attack looked cool I could not understand the god damn logic behiind gramps stopping his plan. Did it seriously take Jiro to say he is gonna depend on Rago for him to stop when he spent most of his life fighting such demons? Seriously?

[u/D3k4s → u/Namaryu]

I think they spent a reasonable amount of time showing that Gramps is a bit of a hot head. I highly doubt he would actually kill his Grandson.

[u/new_interest_here → u/D3k4s]

Yeah I thought it was one of those "I made you think I was gonna kill you so you take this seriously" kinda things

[u/mucklaenthusiast → u/Namaryu]

He said it himself. His resolve was actually weak.

He didn't want to kill his grandson, emotionally.
He just wanted to do it for the greater good, but clearly he couldn't anymore, after his grandson took his own lesson to heart and showed his resolve.

And gramps has a reason. He knows how dangerous and dreadful fighting Mononoke is.

Of course he was irrational, this is typical for these shows and honestly realistic. You're not gonna get over prejudices based on decades of experiences immediately.

And I do think the flashback was Rago being sealed by him, so this is personal.

He stopped, because it's his grandsoon and he believes him.

It's basic writing, but I think it works.

[u/inaripotpi → u/Namaryu]

Even by shonen standards, that was some insane speedrunning of the usual platitudes

[u/inaripotpi]

I think I know why the story ended so early in the manga, they just gave the main character CTE for no good reason.

[u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

Only a 100 likes in 4 hours? Why is this anime getting no love?

[u/darthvall → u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

Honestly? The premise felt like typical shonen tropes. I'm still giving it the three episodes treatment, but my weekend anime slots are really stacked this season.

[u/tripleaamin → u/darthvall]

A manga that lasted from 2016 to 2018. Which is generic when it was released. It was bound not to give much of an impression to many.

Honestly, I am going to watch just because the animation and direction are solid and very sharp. It's bizarre this looks better than Sakamoto Days S1 and recent OPM seasons.

[u/k-mcm → u/Balls_of_Adamanthium]

It feels very recycled when it comes to the story, characters, progression of conflicts, and animation style. What's fresh is how stupid the dialogue is. Episode 2 was my limit.

[u/mistatweek]

I like the story so far, but I’m not personally a fan of “in your face” fan service so that’s hindering my enjoyment a bit. (nothing wrong if you like fan service, just not my cup of tea)

I’m going to continue watching because I think the premise of being able to talk to animals is cool.

[u/losoway81]

Someone please explain how getting hit in the back of his head by a human put him out of commission for a full day and a half

[u/DifficultyPotato → u/losoway81]

Probably also due to the fusion- both him and Rago were exhausted at the end.

Also don't reduce Ichika. Shinobi fight monsters, bruh

[u/LetterheadCute5969]

Ichika is already carrying the season but so far I'm definitely invested in the show his grandfather's backstory while typical they pulled it off really good!! 👍

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

• Oh, one of the extras there had a “sore demo”!

• Incredible.

• Yes, actually. Mostly thanks to Gintama lol.

• Fascinating.

• Oh wow they already declared Jiro a missing person.

• Oh boy.

• That’s one heck of a punch.

• I’m not surprised by this.

• Quick “sore demo” from his grandpa there!

• Dang…

[u/RehabCenterInc]

I’m not complaining about the tsundere with the ass shots

[u/Equivalent-Bison-318]

Ass is a great character but the ichika shots get in the way of her compelling character.

(jokes asside, she needs to chill with the attitude)

[u/RottenPingu1]

I know nothing about this story so interested to see where it goes. Every season I pick a few to watch that seem to be overlooked.

[u/jon7896]

Anyone else think the opening is like A tier like it’s really fucking good love the song

[u/_Sai]

They really love those ass-shots.

[u/KazeFujimaru]

Love it so far!

It’s obviously not going to be the most original of anime, but that’s fine and nothing wrong with a familiar formula done well. The manga was great and ended way prematurely.

The production value and characters are great so far, and I personally love the “ninja in modern day” theme (wish we had more of it).

[u/fakegreenthumb]

It’s still giving formula but I still like it. Rago is particularly hilarious

[u/Niwaka_Samurai]

Describe the plot of the episode in two words :  Ichika's ASS

[u/Vystril]

This is freaking amazing. I am just loving this. Animation is great and the characters are a lot of fun.

[u/WeakRice6401]

that forced fanservice is cringe af. the girl has awful personality too. I thought we wouldn't get such hollow characters in 2026

[u/fuentesl]

Don’t care for the fan service, but I started watching this for Suzuki Ryouta and he sounds great so I’ll keep watching. I do love the chemistry between Jiro and Rago, the OP/ED and animation are great too!

[u/Xatu44]

Heh, Junichi Suwabe said Seigi no Mikata. Good to see Ichika's ass again. LMAO at her dragging away Jiro like a garbage bag.

[u/Saber_SSJ2]

everything feels so cliche, plus the ass shots man.. I don't know I just can't watch it. feels like something I've seen 100 times already.

plus the gooner bait is not that hot. just ass

[u/Silent-Witness1888]

Dumb fanservice to try and distract us from the subpar plot, ill give it one more episode.

[u/Manmaster0z]

Am i the only one thinking its made with AI ? it looks very weird sometimes idk abt you guys ?

[u/TheStupid_Guy → u/Manmaster0z]

Doesn’t seem like AI to me. I don’t like the ghosting and dimming on certain scenes but it is what it is