During this weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington, VIZ Media revealed more information on three of their latest acquisitions: an anime adaptation of Black Torch, the English-translated manga Kingdom, and streaming release for Yaiba: Samurai Legend.
Black Torch
Tsuyoshi Takaki’s hit manga Black Torch is getting the anime treatment by director Kei Umabiki and studio 100studio. Production is already underway, transforming the story from the pages into on-screen action. Additional production staff include character designs by Gou Suzuki, series composition and screenplay by Gigaemon Ichikawa, music composition by Yutaka Yamada.
VIZ Media provided a synopsis of Black Torch:
A New Era of Ninja Battles Begins!
Jiro Azuma is not your average high schooler. Hailing from a long line of ninja, Jiro has been brought up by his grandfather in the ancient warrior art of the shinobi. Jiro also happens to be a particularly skilled communicator able to converse with the animal world. But life takes an abrupt turn thanks to a mysterious encounter in the forest with an injured black cat named Rago. Only, Rago’s feline appearance is deceiving…
It turns out the “ordinary” cat is the stuff of mononoke legend–the Black Star of Doom! Swarming in the shadows are more mononoke, eager to exploit Rago’s uniquely immense powers. To fight back against the tide of dark spirits, the undercover Bureau of Espionage is poised to seek and destroy.
Of course, everyone has their motives when it comes to Rago’s powers. But Jiro and Rago are ready.
A shinobi clash between boy and mononoke is about to ignite!
“I’ve been supervising the settings and storyboards, and I feel it’s been recreated into something even better, while still fully respecting the original story. A new BLACK TORCH has been brought to life, now with voices, sounds, movement and color.”
-Tsuyoshi Takaki, creator
Details on when the Black Torch anime would premiere were not made available.
©Tsuyoshi Takaki/Shueisha, Project BLACK TORCH
Kingdom
The first English-translated edition of Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara is slated for a North American release on Tuesday, November 11th, 2025. A beloved series, Kingdom has sold over 110 million copies worldwide, spurring an anime, live-action films, and video games.
Orphaned in a time of turmoil, Xin and Piao envisions themselves as the top generals to unify a fragmented China. The death of his best friend does not dash Xin’s dreams, but emboldens him to forge ahead. His journey is intertwined with that of Ying Zheng, a young king of Qin. Zheng, whose appearance resembles that of Piao, enlists Xin to help secure his throne and kingdom.
A global favourite, Kingdom has sold over 110 million copies since serialization began in 2006 in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine. Its popularity has enjoyed an anime series from animation studio Pierrot that ran for five seasons between June 4th, 2012, and March 30th, 2024; as well as multiple live-action films, the most recent of which, Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General, opened in Japanese theatres on July 12th, 2024.
KINGDOM © 2006 by Yasuhisa Hara/SHUEISHA Inc
Yaiba: Samurai Legend
Yaiba Kurogane is an aspiring samurai. Follow his journey when Yaiba: Samurai Legend premieres on Netflix for North America, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand and Hulu for the United States, starting Saturday, April 5th, 2025.
Prior to this premiere, VIZ Media has announced they will digitally publish on VIZ Manga the first 23 chapters of the manga by Gosho Aoyama on Thursday, March 20th, 2025. A printed edition will hit store shelves on Tuesday, July 8th, 2025.
VIZ Media provided a synopsis of Yaiba: Samurai Legend:
Yaiba Kurogane has spent his days training in the jungle in order to attain his goal of becoming a real samurai. By a twist of fate, he returns to Japan and starts living with the Mine family, who are connected to his father, Kenjuro. Yaiba constantly baffles the Mines’ daughter Sayaka as she witnesses his wild and reckless ways.
One day, Yaiba tags along with Sayaka to school and has a fateful encounter with Takeshi Onimaru, a kendo expert. Yaiba and Onimaru repeatedly clash, and as if in response to their search for strength, two ancient powers are unleashed: the Fujinken, the Wind God’s Sword, and the Raijinken, the Thunder God’s Sword. Both supernatural blades that have jolted the world since ancient days have reawakened… and the truth behind them is revealed!
Yaiba: Samurai Legend, written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine between September 1988 and December 1993, comprising 24 published volumes that have since sold 17 million copies worldwide. This was followed by an anime from Pastel which aired for 52 episodes from April 1993 to April 1994.
©Gosho Aoyama/Shogakukan/YAIBA Samurai Legend Project
Source: VIZ Media press release
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