Fans of the Black Summoner light novel and manga are in for a treat. According to Black Summoner’s official Japanese Twitter page, the anime will be released in 2022. As far as a more definitive date, nothing has currently been announced.
It has been confirmed, however, that the studio Satelight — known for their work on Log Horizon and Fairy Tail in collaboration with A-1 Pictures — will produce the series.
Three voice actors have been announced so far. Starring as main protagonist Kelvin will be Kouki Uchiyama, best known as the voice of Tomura Shigaraki in My Hero Academia and Toge Inumaki in Jujutsu Kaisen. Manaka Iwami — known for her work as Tohru Honda in the 2019 reboot of Fruits Basket — will take on the role of the half-elf Efil. And Kanao Tsuyuri of Demon Slayer’s voice actress, Reina Ueda will play Melfina, the mysterious god who guides Kelvin through an unknown world.
What is Black Summoner about?
Isekai fans will recognize a familiar scene: Kelvin wakes up in an unknown place with only a menu screen to provide a hint or two about his surroundings. A voice from the menu explains to him that after winning a mysterious raffle, he has been transported to ‘Another World’ and his memories have been erased. What’s more dismaying to him, however, is that he agreed to all of this according to the ominous menu.
Before the protagonist lost his memories, he was given the choice to pick his name and skills. Kelvin learns that he is S rank in both summoning and appraisal along with having a doubled growth rate and skill points, and upon looking more into the summoning skill, he learns that he can make a pact with a familiar.
Kelvin inquires further, hoping the menu he’s speaking to will offer further guidance. What he learns, however, is that the voice he hears is Melfina, a thousand-year-old god and his own familiar. As a level 1 player, Kelvin doesn’t have the MP required to summon the deity so he sets out on a mission to level up and summon the god who speaks to him.
What is the Black Summoner anime based on?
In 2014, Doufu Mayoi released Black Summoner on Shousetsuka ni Narou — a Japanese user-generated site for web novels. Following the series’ success, it was picked up by Overlap who previously published Arifureta and Occultic: Nine. With both a light novel and a manga by Gin Ammo, Black Summoner has amassed a core fan base.
Both the light novel and manga of Black Summoner follow the same story arc. Changes between the two are minor which perhaps supports the assumption that the anime will be faithful to previous adaptations. Nothing has been confirmed thus far save for an announcement of three key voice actors and artwork of the protagonist, Kelvin, but we’re bound to get a release date within the next few months.