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Black Torch Anime Reveals Theme Songs by SiM and I Don't Like Mondays. in New Trailer

The theme song announcements and new trailer mark the final major promotional push before the July premiere, giving audiences their first extended look at how the studio adapts the short-lived but cult manga.

Key Facts

  • SiM performs the opening theme song 'Freeze Me Up' and I Don't Like Mondays. performs the ending theme song 'Groooovy' for the Black Torch anime.
  • The Black Torch anime premieres on July 4 on TOKYO MX and other stations, with a world premiere at Anime Expo 2026.
  • Crunchyroll will stream the series in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS.
  • Kei Umabiki directs the anime at 100Studio, with character designs by Gō Suzuki and series composition by Gigaemon Ichikawa.
  • Reprints of all five original manga volumes are scheduled for release starting June 8.

Reporting from 5 sources: Anime News Network, Comic Natalie, Anime Corner, Anime Anime, and 1 more.

Black Torch Anime Reveals Theme Songs by SiM and I Don't Like Mondays. in New Trailer

The staff for the television anime adaptation of Tsuyoshi Takaki's manga Black Torch revealed a second promotional video on Friday, June 5, along with the show's theme song information and a new key visual. SiM performs the opening theme song "Freeze Me Up," and I Don't Like Mondays. performs the ending theme song "Groooovy." The new video previews both songs and showcases battle scenes. The anime will debut on July 4 on TOKYO MX and other stations. Crunchyroll will stream the series in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS. The world premiere will screen at Anime Expo 2026. Kei Umabiki directs the series at 100Studio, with character designs by Gō Suzuki, series composition and scripts by Gigaemon Ichikawa, and music by Yutaka Yamada. The cast includes Ryōta Suzuki as Jiro Azuma, Yōji Ueda as Rago, Sayaka Senbongi as Ichika Kishimojin, and Junya Enoki as Reiji Kirihara. Viz Media publishes the original manga in English, which ran in Jump Square from 2016 to 2018 across five volumes.

The second key visual features protagonist Jiro Azuma and his partner Rago alongside members of the special oni concealment unit Black Torch: Ichika Kishimojin, Reiji Kirihara, Ryosuke Shiba, and Hana Usami. The visual also includes the antagonists Koga and Tenki.

The new promotional video previews both theme songs and shows battle scenes. The anime will premiere on July 4 at 22:00 on TOKYO MX and will also air on Sun TV, TV Aichi, RKB Mainichi Broadcasting, Hokkaido Television Broadcasting, and BS11.

Additional cast members not previously announced include Reina Ueda as Hana Usami, Junichi Suwabe as Ryosuke Shiba, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Koga, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Amagi, Shinpachi Tsuji as Toshimasa Azama, Yūko Kaida as Toko Kusumi, and Hōchū Ōtsuka as Banjuro Tokieda. Anime Anime also lists Tomokazu Seki as Tenki.

Additional staff include sub-character designers Yumi Nakamura, Masahiko Suzuki, and Mariko Kinoshita; design works by Shunya Kikuchi; art directors Sachi Takahashi and Shōko Imaizumi; color designer Haruko Nobori; CG director Hirotaka Naito; director of photography Satoshi Yamamoto; editor Masato Yoshitake; sound director Takeshi Takadera; and sound effects by Naoto Yamatani.

SiM commented: "Manga is the universe. There are as many galaxies as there are readers. This is what happens when I express the BLACK TORCH galaxy that spread in my brain with sound and words to the best of my ability." I Don't Like Mondays. said: "We wrote the song 'Groooovy' as the ending theme. Imagining the peaceful daily life scenes behind Jiro and the others' days of battle, we created this song with the feeling of enjoying life while overcoming adversity."

Reprints of all five original manga volumes are scheduled to arrive at bookstores starting June 8.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

BLACK TORCH Takaki Tsuyoshi

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