Fans of the Black Summoner light novel and manga are in for a treat. According to Black Summoners official Japanese Twitter pagethe anime will be released in 2022. As for a more definitive date, nothing has been announced at this time.

However, it has been confirmed that the studio Satelight – known for their work on Log Horizon and Fairy Tail in association with A-1 Pictures – will produce the series.

So far, three voice actors have been announced. Kelvin’s protagonist is 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, plays Melfina, the mysterious god who leads Kelvin through an unknown world.

What is Black Summoner about?

Isekai fans will recognize a familiar scene: Kelvin wakes up in an unfamiliar place with only a menu screen to give a hint or two about his surroundings. A voice from the menu explains to him that after winning a mysterious lottery, he was transported to ‘Another World’ and his memories were erased. What baffles him more, however, is that he agreed to all this according to the ominous menu.

Before the main character lost his memory, he was given the choice to choose his name and skills. Kelvin learns that he has S rank in both summoning and rating, along with a doubled growth rate and skill points, and looking more into the summoning skill learns that he can make a pact with an acquaintance.

Kelvin inquires further, hoping the menu he speaks to will offer more advice. What he learns, however, is that the voice he hears is Melfina, a thousand-year-old god and his own acquaintance. As a level 1 player, Kelvin doesn’t have the MP needed to summon the deity, so he goes on a mission to level up and summon the god that 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. After the success of the series, it was picked up by Overlap, who previously published Arifureta and Occultic: Nine. With both a light novel and a Gin Ammo manga, Black Summoner has amassed a large fan base.

Both Black Summoner’s light novel and manga follow the same storyline. Changes between the two are minor, perhaps supporting the assumption that the anime will be faithful to previous adaptations. Nothing has been confirmed so far other than an announcement of three key voice actors and artwork from the lead actor, Kelvin, but we’ll definitely get a release date in a few months.