Kuroshitsuji

Young Ciel Phantomhive is known as "the Queen's Guard Dog," taking care of the many unsettling events that occur in Victorian England for Her Majesty. Aided by Sebastian Michaelis, his loyal butler with seemingly inhuman abilities, Ciel uses whatever means necessary to get the job done. But is there more to this black-clad butler than meets the eye?

In Ciel's past lies a secret tragedy that enveloped him in perennial darkness—during one of his bleakest moments, he formed a contract with Sebastian, a demon, bargaining his soul in exchange for vengeance upon those who wronged him. Today, not only is Sebastian one hell of a butler, but he is also the perfect servant to carry out his master's orders—all the while anticipating the delicious meal he will eventually make of Ciel's soul. As the two work to unravel the mystery behind Ciel's chain of misfortunes, a bond forms between them that neither heaven nor hell can tear apart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Michaelis, Sebastian Main

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Phantomhive, Ciel Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Sutcliff, Grell Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Undertaker Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Finnian Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Mey-Rin Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Midford, Elizabeth Supporting

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Spears, William T. Supporting

Sugiyama, Noriaki Japanese

Cainz, Drocell Supporting

Katsu, Anri Japanese

Kadar, Soma Asman Supporting

Tachibana, Shinnosuke Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Shimizu, Hiroyuki Producer

Maeda, Toshihiro Assistant Producer

Reviews

Mar 28, 2009

duonoaikouka

Recommended

Holy flippin' A!!! Where to even begin with this anime?! There is so much here that I look for in an anime; I even added it to my favorites list before I was even done watching. It's got beautiful and THICK plot, hidden meanings, a GORGEOUS musical score, wonderful and zany characters, and enough emotional hitting power to make me keep a tissue box handy for those sad and happy tears. This would be my first review to be an absolute 10 in score if there weren't just a few unanswered questions and assumed understanding after everything was said and done. Even with ... those there, though, this anime is one of the best things I've seen in a while, even better than Hikaru no Go which had be so wrapped up spring break. I'm sad to see it end 'cause I want more of this world, but, on the other hand, I'm glad it's got a definitive ending and isn't really leaving us cliff-hanging.

STORY - 9

The story of this show is something else. There's just so much depth, and it's so cerebral. I'll definitely have to do some re-watching to get all the little nuances and plot points down. I wouldn't recommend this show if you're just looking for some simple anime that would kill an afternoon. This is a thinking anime that touches on a ton of dark and deep issues. You'll also need to be paying close attention to all the plot twists! These little suckers come out of NOWHERE and twist the story into a completely different direction that one would expect. I was left gasping like fish more than once here. For me, that's one of the best aspects of this story is those little plot twists. I never know what I'm going to see when watching something like this. Now that I've mentioned the good, let's talk about why I couldn't give this aspect a perfect 10. After watching the ending, I was left with some unanswered questions regarding some of the details here. While these details didn't sour the complete story for me (hence the 9), they might sour it for someone else. One detail that they didn't address did leave me a bit peeved, but my mind made a connection with another story aspect that I could guess was the answer. If everything had been addressed here, this would have been a DEFINITE perfect 10.

ART - 10

A simple word here. BEAUTIFUL!!!! The animation flows so gorgeously in this anime. From the fight scenes to humorous antics to zany parties to heart-wrenching death scenes, absolutely everything here is flows so smoothly and sweetly. An aspect I noticed a lot in this anime was lighting. I don't see that a lot in anime and found it very appropriate for this title. If the characters were experiencing a dark and horrific scene, shadows and reds played big parts. If they were experiencing light-hearted birthday parties or servant antics, colors were bright, vibrant, and day-filled. Besides just the lighting, the art conveyed the atmosphere so much. It almost seemed to reflect character emotions and fates/destinies as well as set the mood for the anime. You will not be disappointed here! Just a slight warning, though, this anime doesn't shirk from blood. Not that it's gratuitous, every scene with it almost requires it and the blood adds to the atmosphere. But do be warned; I wouldn't let kids watch this.

SOUND - 10

This is the crowning glory in my opinion. Every single piece of music adds to the atmosphere of this anime and leaves a person breathless. It's so haunting...... It's full of fast consistent beats for the fighting, chants and drones for the dark, plot-filled moments, sad female-filled melodies for the gut-wrenchingly sad parts, and a soft operatic finish for the final anime finale. There was use throughout the anime of a really fast beat chanting/droning thing used towards some combat and many plot-revealing scenes that I found particularly innovative and unusual. It added something really unique to an already beautiful track of music. The opening and ending themes fit the anime to a tee; the 2nd ending, Lacrimosa by Kalafina, especially fits the ominous ending the anime is barreling towards when this ending comes in. It's haunting, lyrical, and so emotion-filled. Just beautiful!! Besides the glorious musical score, this anime exhibits very good character voices. I especially loved Sebastian's dark and low voice. I could imagine my demon butler having that voice. *shiver* I can't think of any misplaced vocals at all. Everyone was distinct and complete unto themselves.

CHARACTERS - 9

There were so many hidden depths to most of these characters that absolutely no one seems two-dimensional. Everyone is fleshed out to some degree with emotional back stories and plot twists. Oh the plot twists!! There were a lot where it came to character development. I only wish that there had been equal attention to all characters. For some of them, the viewers were left wishing fervently for more. I personally wished the back stories of the servants at Phantomhive were fleshed out more. We are given some back hints in a few episodes and one episode almost completely devoted to the four of them, but not really a lot and I was curious! Oh well. The gradual building of Ciel's character and his relationship with Sebastian is more than enough to make up for it. There were some characters who I thought I had pegged when something radical happens and their intents and motivations turn in a completely different direction. Again, oh those plot twists!! Gotta love 'em!!

ENJOYMENT - 10

I thoroughly enjoyed this title, unanswered questions and all. My mind can find connections between points where there may be no connection and so I can answer those questions in my own little mind. It was a beautiful and haunting ride that took me on an emotional rollercoaster and through a thorough mind-wringing. There was so much content here, from plot to wacky humor. I loved every bit of it. And the music!! Ack!! I'm going to be haunting ebay and the net in general looking for this OST ASAP!!

OVERALL - 10

I think I pretty much summed it up in the enjoyment section. Everything just came together beautifully and created an anime that has made it to my favorites and re-watchable list. I absolutely adore it and wish there was more!!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Sep 30, 2009

-Naami-

Mixed Feelings

---The review contains spoilers---


So, Kuroshitsuji is an anime that is labelled “shounen” but I don’t really know why - it’s filled with bishounens, pretty clothes and the fancy Victorian age backdrop with massive shounen ai and shota undertones. Oh, and the obvious gay shinigami who keeps trying to kiss the butler.

The story starts off with an eerie atmosphere, showing a 10 year old child who exchanges his soul for a demon butler to help exact his revenge against the people who killed his parents and humiliated him. Two-three years later they are still together; Ciel Phantomhive the 12 (later 13) year old Earl also ... the head of his house and company and Sebastian Michaelis, the demon butler who could do anything and together working for the Queen to solve mysteries and at the same time learning about Ciel’s past.

It would have been a great story. If not for the amount of filler episodes that had been injected in due to the lack of material that had come out from the manga and the confusion in later episodes that still left me with many, many questions.

The first and second episodes were indeed spectacular. Instantly there is a dark and mysterious aura and it is well maintained throughout the entire series (except for the idiotic moments with the less than lovable extra staff at the Phantomhive household). Even up to episode 6 it was still good. However, after that it just started to get a little tiring with all the missions they have to carry out. Boring in fact. The second half of the series was entirely all filler; filler that wasn’t even interesting and to put it plainly – all over the place.

As mentioned before, the anime does not follow the manga series exactly but the first half of the series does to an extent. The second half was written exclusively for the anime. Now this is where it goes horribly wrong. Most of the second half’s story made absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. Take Sebastian’s sudden disappearance for example. For someone who has made an unbreakable contract and who has already done about two years work for Ciel it was a unrealistic that he would leave Ciel. Moreover it was uncharacteristic of him. His personality wouldn’t allow him to do such an act, even if it were to benefit Ciel in the end. Plot twists came from nowhere, justifications and character motivations did not add up and I would end up sitting there by the end of the episode wondering what on earth has just happened. Poor writing plagued the last three-quarters of the series, which is a real shame, considering how much I enjoyed the first six episodes.

When I first heard Sebastian’s and Ciel’s names I laughed. ‘Sebastian’ as the butler’s name, that was so cliché and Ciel ‘Phantomhive’ - now that didn’t sound conspicuous at all did it? Well it certainly did humour me with these obvious names, but the characters themselves aren’t ones that you can laugh at. Sebastian is seriously one badass butler, the anti hero of our story; he can do anything and I mean ANYTHING. After he SEDUCES A NUN to get information he certainly got my respect - the thought of him using such tactics was almost unthinkable (considering all the "sexual tension" between him and his master). And Ciel… well he is bratty. And he certainly does talk a lot of bull when it comes to why he is doing all this and such. What I liked about him though was how the producers practically used him as a doll to model fashion wear of the 19th century.

But these factors do not save them from being two dimensional characters. Sebastian can be thought as the anime parallel of Edward Cullen. Essentially a ‘perfect’ being with zero flaws, devilishly good looks (no pun intended) and abilities to do the impossible he contains no realism in him, more like a fantasy or ideal of ‘the perfect man’. But unlike the Twilight character mentioned there is an almost witty aspect to the butler, as each episode displays his tendency to be mischievous. In all honesty, though he is not much of a character for BEING the main character, he was still quite the fun person to watch as a viewer. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Ciel. As far as I’m concern, he was there for the fanservice – from cross-dressing to wearing scantily clad clothes for a teenage English boy – mass producing shota fans as we speak. His reason for working for the Queen is neither explained nor in line with his prideful personality and his burning desire for revenge towards the people who ‘humiliated’ him is not emphasized or profound enough to take him seriously that he is truly a bitter, angry boy.

The OP and ED were very well done, both musically and animated-wise. Most anime usually does this thing where in the middle of the series they change the opening song and have a whole new animation to it. With Kuroshitsuji they keep the same song but switch around the verses used but have a whole new animation to it. The first ED uses an American song "I'm Alive" by Becca which would catch some off guard. The rock/pop song contrasts greatly with all the other themes uses but is a song that can be easily sung along to. It also is one of the most amusing endings ever with the animation that employs a chibi-styled art showing the day to day activities of Sebastian as a butler. The second ED song is a lot more melancholic to fit the serious second half of the story. The background music is smoothly done and go fittingly well with the scene at hand. As an anime set in the high class 1800s, the production company rightfully uses dark gospel choruses to jazzy themes.

Art and animation was very beautiful and fluid. Grand manors and clothing were all intricately designed and even in the few action scenes A-1 Pictures still had animation kept up – never letting choppy animation to ruin the flow. Everything is very gothic usually with night-settings, religion being brought in and of course, the clothes. Although Ciel did look very adorable in his attire, I felt like the clothes he was wearing were almost asking for him to be molested, which just made the paedophilia and gay overtones a lot more strong.

The most enjoyable part of this anime was the London/Victorian age setting. I was actually quite impressed with how well they displayed and used London and its history, like how they made Bethnal Green the base where all the drug dealers were from or the fact that there used to be fairs on the Thames during the winter when the water turned to ice. The producers did use the London card to the max - playing with different versions of “London Bridge”, using the Jack the Ripper character and displaying the fashion of the time. And of course since it’s set in England there is some engrish, but the best one is Sebastian’s “Yes, My Lord” - makes me smile every time. The setting practically made this anime; I mean if you replaced the setting to a modern time, different place this anime would have immediately failed.

Although I wouldn’t necessarily say it put the ‘shit’ in ‘Kuroshitsuji’ neither would I say this is a spectacular watch. This series was just ‘okay’ to me, it wasn’t particularly special and it’s quite tedious. I have had many unanswered questions formed in my mind and quite a few qualms about it. For those of you who actually read manga I suggest doing so first or instead of watching this since it just contains the main story and does not sell itself short with fan-pandering nonsense.

Will I be watching the second series? Well, yes for numerous reasons. I liked the manga enough to want to see it animated. I want to see if my questions will finally be answered. And most of all I want to find out WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED after the end of the last episode.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Aug 11, 2010

Lindle

Not Recommended

As of late, Kuroshitsuji is essentially the poster-boy for thinly-veiled fangirl bait. Kuroshitsuji (or Black Butler, whatever floats your boat) has tons of yaoi tropes, and has the word bishie plastered all over it, so you may think that being somebody who does not like these things, that I hate it because of that. So let's make this clear now: No. That has nothing to do with it. There are plenty of legitimate reasons not to like Kuroshitsuji besides that, so before you reach for the Not Helpful button, please think for a second: are you doing that because my review is badly written, or ... just because you don't agree with my score? So, at the very least, just read the rest of the review first, OK?

With that sadly necessary disclaimer out of the way, let's discuss Kuroshitsuji. Kuroshitsuji is the story of a boy named Ciel Phantomhive, and his butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Ciel is the head of a toy company, and is also in the employment of the Queen, who enlists him to deal with various mysteries. Why this is the case isn't really explained, but nonetheless, most of the episodes play out as a Sherlock Holmes style detective series with him solving various supernatural mysteries.

Of course, Ciel is no ordinary boy... he has a contract with his butler for his soul. As you probably already knew, Sebastian is a demon of sorts. He is nigh invulnerable to everything, has amazing skill in pretty much every field, and is basically perfect in every way.

This, however, is the first problem with the series... Sebastian is a massive Gary Stu. He's simply too perfect. Not once do you feel for him as a character. He is completely overpowered, and is essentially an end all, fix all solution to more or less every single problem the series can throw at any of its characters.

Sadly, the rest of the cast isn't much better. Ciel Phantomhive is probably the most likeable character in the show, being something of a snarky, deadpan character with a chip on his shoulder the size of Africa. But he has his idiosyncrasies as well... most of which simply come down to him being a complete jerk to everyone. Ciel is generally single-minded, only caring about whatever mission the Queen has given him, or getting revenge on those who ruined his life. The reaper, Grell Sutcliffe, had potential to be a loveable psychopath in the vein of Ladd Russo or any given Hellsing villain, but they eschew the chainsaw wielding, slasher smile route laid out in front of them in favour of making him incredibly, incredibly gay, as though they were trying to make a psychotic badass Leeron. But unlike the aforementioned Gurren Lagann character, they don't manage to make him nearly entertaining or tongue-in-cheek enough... to be perfectly honest, Grell is just plain offensive.

Another problem with Kuroshitsuji is that it can't seem to decide what it wants to be. For half the series, it goes down the aforementioned Sherlock Holmes route, painting a great depiction of 1888 London, rolling through themes like Jack The Ripper and Scotland Yard, but for the other half it tries to blend a Tim Burton-esque supernatural demon theme to the mix, and the tone of the series becomes very inconsistent as a result. Both styles are well-executed, but they conflict with each other. If they had been more consistent, Kuroshitsuji would have been better as a result. The character designs also mirror this quite heavily; While we often get a good, 1800s design like Sebastian, we also get overblown, colourful and vibrant designs like those of Grell or the Undertaker that creates a very poor contrast.

Also, there's something that can occasionally be very jarring, and that would be the anachronisms. Despite the show being set in 1888, you will frequently see things that are very out of place in this time period, like advanced modern handguns, sophisticated chainsaws, and film. While all of these things did exist in some form at this point, none of them do in the form they are shown in. And even more jarring is that most of these are applied to the Reapers, ancient beings that would not realistically incorporate these sorts of things into their supernatural array of weapons.

And on that note, one of the things that annoys me most about Kuroshitsuji is that the demon lore is left completely unexplained, as though they were some sort of afterthought. The reapers hate demons, but why? It's never given any real mention. There are also Angels, only one of which we ever see, whose purpose and role in the demon lore is never even touched upon, let alone their motives. I think Kuroshitsuji would have actually been better if they had completely left out the angel/demon/reaper aspects of the show and solely focused on the detective angle instead.

The only aspect wherein Kuroshitsuji really shines is the production job. The animation is fluid, and the art style is thoroughly polished, using a blend of dark, rich tones. The 1800s environment is one of the strong points of the series, which makes it all the more of a shame that they so often opt for the Burton-shtick instead. The soundtrack is also very strong, featuring a variety of music fitted to the period, most notably the smooth jazz.

Now, before this reads like an invitation for all the yaoi fangirls to break down my door, let me just clarify this by saying that Kuroshitsuji is not bad. What it is is average. Ordinary. Run of the mill. The only exceptional thing about it being the insane level of fan-pandering it stoops to.

However, there is still one serious problem with Kuroshitsuji not accounted for... the ending. The last few episodes are an evermounting pile of contrived nonsense. Things happen, but no explanation as for why or how is ever really given. No character's motivations ever make sense. Plot twists come from absolutely nowhere with no foreshadowing or real explanation. It rivals Soul Eater in terms of ridiculous bullshit endings, but at least Soul Eater didn't leave us on an incredibly dodgy cliffhanger that leads to a second season of pure filler.

Final Words: It had potential, but it ignored it so it could pander to fans.

Animation/Graphics: 9/10
Story/Plot: 3/10
Music/Background: 9/10

Overall: 4/10

For Fans Of: Hellsing, Pandora Hearts.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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