Anime Expo 2026: Kadokawa Anime 10th Anniversary Panel & Black Torch

 By Jonathan Bilski

AX was busy with panel after panel and multiple premieres. One of the top ones we attended was the Kadokawa Anime 10th Anniversary Panel. Followed by the Black Torch Panel & Premiere.

Producers from three big series came out for the Kadokawa Anime 10th Anniversary Panel. They were Konosuba producer Rie Ogura, Bungo Stray Dogs producer Chiaki Kurakane and Re: Zero producer Sho Tanaka. They gave little tidbits about the shows. One of the silliest was adding panties to the opening theme of Konosuba alongside the much tamer feathers. They basically took us into some insight into random facts we might not know like assigning animator parents to the children being bombed episode of Bungo Stray Dogs to make the emotions run high.

After the producers spilled the beans about what it's like to work on their franchises we got treated to The trailer for the new season of The Saga of Tanya the Evil to which the crowd was in awe. Then we got the world premiere of Re:Zero Season 4, Cour 2, Episode 1 and it's gonna be painful having to wait for it to return in August on Crunchyroll. It looks so good, but at least it's not a year to have to wait and see how the story unfolds.

You had me at a talking cat. Black Torch is like Chainsawman-Lite. Similar story, but at least from the first episode and panel it's way, way, more light-hearted. Black Torch is currently airing weekly on Crunchyroll.

Synopsis: When the reluctant shinobi and soft-hearted teenage animal whisperer Jiro meets the mononoke cat Rago, the worlds of humans and spectral beings collide! Japan’s undercover spy agency is eager to contain the damage but Rago’s power isn’t easily contained.

*Got to slide into this panel as there was some overlap from the previous one. There's just too many great things all going at once at AX. Try to space more of it out! 

Oddly, showing us the premiere episode in Japanese, because the dub cast of AJ Beckles (Jiro) and Keith Silverstein (Rago) were there for the panel, we got to enjoy a new supernatural action show get its start. After listening to the dubbers talk about the show vs the sub, gotta go with the dub crew on this one. They even acted a scene or two and seemed superior, but that might be bias as they were right in front of me.

AJ Beckles (Jiro) and Keith Silverstein (Rago) with Rago cat masks

Cute cat masks of Rago were given out at the panel for some group cat pics. 

Check out the theme song below and start getting addicted to a new series with Black Torch.