Kuroshitsuji
Black Butler

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At first this series annoyed me to hell. Not because I'd read it, mind you. But because every time I'm go to check for some freaking updates there would be Kuroshitsuji at the top of the list, taunting me and singing "na-na-na-na you don't read me!". The obvious solution would be to read it but I was stubborn and the title looked like a shounen which i was not in the mood for.

Finally I gave in and clicked the link on onemanga, which gave me the most misleading synopsis I'd ever read. It went:

"To what extent must a housekeeper do things to be acceptable? One ... of the noble families of England: Phantomhive's butler: Sebastian Michaels has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts, et cetera: but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a grey tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea, please read on to see how such a perfect butler copes with such a master..." (directly copy and pasted from onemanga, btw)

I thought "Oh! That sounds funny! A really happy manga!" HAHAHAHA! Yeah RIGHT! This thing ended up being one of the darkest, horrific, deep, and twisted mangas I've ever read! And I STILL loved it!

Even though my initial idea of the manga was totally misconceived I still found enjoyment of the highest degree.

What the story is really about is the pair, Sebastian (the perfect butler) and Ciel (the cold, calculating 12-year-old), living in the underworld of high society. Ciel is an orphan with a fortune, an eyepatch, and a deal with the demon Sebastian. In the manga we don't know the details of this deal (and you do in the anime but I don't trust animes) jut that Sebastian has to protect Ciel at all cost until a certain time at which point Sebastian gets Ciel's soul.

Of course, this is all rather heavy for a twelve-year-old (heck, at the time they made the deal, Ciel was 10!) but Ciel never appears to waver. He is strong, smart, cold, and far from merciful.
At least that's what he tries to be. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that Ciel is desperate to hide all emotion so as to protect himself from the world. His experiences hardened him and much of the series seems to be about him facing his own innocence and realizing his weaknesses.

But where Ciel is an open book, ready to read by anxious readers, Sebastian is closed off and a mystery. His constant smile and dark manor is menacing and you can't help but suspect he's only caring for Ciel for his tasty, tasty soul. But in the anime there are moments that suggest he may actually care for Ciel.

I would like to note at his time that this series is NOT a shounen ai/yaoi. Since the two main characters are a bishi and a shouta and they have a "unique relationship" it is assumed they are taking part in "inappropriate conduct" (aka they're joining NMBLA). I think this is disgusting. I can't believe people wish to think that. Why must all wholesome reltionships be ruined by people and their filthy minds

The relationship between these two is like a forced trust. Sebastian knows Ciel can't hurt him and Ciel knows Sebastian is bound by a sacred contract that can't be broken. Sebastian is the only person Ciel can trust unconditionally and since Sebastien is so strong he knows that if anyone even tries to cross him, they're dead. It's not love, just a partnership.Now that I'm done with that, I'd like to make note of the story. As opposed to most shoujos this series is divided into lots of mini arcs and stories which usually teach you something knew about these characters. They usually start with Ciel being told by the Queen to go do something for her. Then Ciel has to run off with Sebastian and do her bidding. These stories will usually start of with lots of funny, clever comments partnered with new characters to further the story. Then it plunges into some deep, dark plot line from whence are heroes may never return (they always do anyway).

In a lot of ways this manga reminds me of GodChild. Very dark and set in the same period. The only difference is I actually like the art in Kuroshitsuji. The detail is through the roof with high style, delicious sweets, lovely London town, and wonderful style to boot.

I hope you read this series and enjoy it as much as I do! ^_^

...I wish I liked this series better than I do. Aspects of it, and a few entire arcs, are great enough that I want the whole thing to be a masterpiece. But as it stands, there's just too many things I dislike about the series for me to pursue it any further. This is long, so if you want a short version of this review, there's a TL;DR at the bottom.

Viewed holistically, it isn't bad by any means; I can understand why it has so many fans. I don't care much for fanservice (as much as I like bishonens), but for those who do, or ... at least don't mind it, this series would certainly appeal to you. Beyond that, there are aspects of astounding quality here. For one, I can't praise Toboso's art enough. The art style is my favorite of any manga I've seen or read. The costume and character designs are incredible; most impressive to me is that she never falls into the trap of giving every bishounen the same design with a different hairstyle, but rather, they all look like individuals, and you can discern each character's personality and role from their appearance alone. Many of the characters- my favorites being Sebastian, the Noah's Ark Circus crew, and Sieglinde Sullivan- are legitimately unique and interesting. The series also raises interesting moral dilemmas, and by showing characters that are willing to do the worst of the worst, Toboso also manages to showcase the best of the best. That's a difficult balance to strike.

Frankly, the Noah's Ark Circus Arc is the best I've read in any manga (and I read Fullmetal Alchemist). Were I able to rank arcs on their own, I'd rank that one a perfect 10 in every category... and not even just because I love circuses. What I mentioned above about the worst and the best acts and traits of humanity is never pulled off with more pensive elegance than it is in this arc. It's tragic, it's somber, but it definitely makes you think. And Joker, for the record, is one of the most fascinating I've ever come across. He's a firm moral grey zone, but you come to understand exactly what makes him tick. I'd love to see HIM as the main character in something. And, for the record, I'd rank the next two arcs- the murder mystery and the cruise with Elizabeth- an 8 or 9; the former for its mystery, the latter for how well it develops Elizabeth and the Undertaker's characters.

Then why do I only rank the series a 6 out of 10 if I have so many good things to say about it? Well... for me, the things that DON'T work about this series massively hold it back. For one thing, I don't care for many of the characters, or any of the arcs aside from the three I mentioned. In the former respect, the two worst offenders for me are Grell and Ciel. I love Grell's design, but her personality has always *greatly* annoyed me. After her first few appearances, the most interesting aspects of her character (mostly her struggles with gender identity) are underexplored at best and played for cheap gags at worst. Even so, Grell's combat skills are still something to behold; I do like watching her fights, and she's not a major enough presence to ruin the story for me as a whole. Ciel, however, certainly is.

Let me say this. Usually, a tragic backstory- especially one as brutal as Ciel's- will get me pretty far with a character; if I feel for you, I want to watch you, support you, see you overcome and see you succeed. And I'm not against revenge plots; in fact, I rather like them, especially when they play up the vengeance-seeker's emotions. But there's something about Ciel I just can't have any pity for. It's not purely his willingness to do awful things- despite his actions, I thought he was at his best in the Circus arc - but moreso a matter of personality. Sure, *at best* he's cold, impersonal, and entitled, but most of that's understandable given his backstory... it just doesn't create a character I feel compelled to support in any way. The reason I like Ciel in the Circus arc is because you see him struggle with the weight of his actions; he shows a sort of emotional vulnerability that isn't really seen again. But if he doesn't seem to care about anything, why should I?

Ciel aside, it's hard enough to care about some of these plotlines. Aside from the three arcs I mentioned, the stories range from boring to outright annoying. The Red Butler arc has some serious pacing issues; the Indian Butler arc feels pointless (and gives us Agni and Soma who, while I think they're fun, add almost nothing of value to the overall story); the Public School arc feels like straight-up wish fulfillment and rips off the best points of the Circus and Luxury Liner arcs without adding anything new to the table, making it just feel stale; and the Emerald Witch Arc, aside from giving us Sieglinde (who is legitimately great) and some much-needed moments exploring Sebastian's motivation, quickly becomes tedious and overstays its welcome. None of these arcs made me drop the manga, however. That dubious honor goes to the Blue Cult, which gave us the cringe-inducing Victorian 1D equivalent comprised of four characters from the Public School arc. I didn't think anything from the School Arc provided enough story potential to be brought back into things. It just contributed to my feeling that things had gotten stale which, combined with the pacing (yet again), made me abandon ship altogether.

I've heard about some of the major story developments since I dropped the series, but none of it piques my interest enough to return to it. That's not to say I won't ever do so; I simply don't care enough to bother right now.

TL;DR: Great characters and art can't outweigh an unlikable protagonist, weak plotlines, and stale formulas. In my opinion, you can (and should) read the Circus, Murders, and Liner arcs, but nothing else is all that worthwhile. Factoring everything together, I'd have to weigh the average to a 6.

Anyone who bothered to read this review, keep in mind: these are all just my opinions. If you like the series, don't let what I say ruin it for you. I more write this for anyone who's considering picking this up as a newcomer; if any of the details I mentioned would be deal-breakers for you, it's good to keep that in mind.

It’s no surprise that Black Butler is popular. It’s a story full of mystery, cool Victorian-era fashion, death and destruction, and a sexy, sexy butler.

Well, not just a sexy, sexy, butler. Also a sexy, sexy 12 year old boy.

Ah shit, I just acknowledged the elephant in the room.

Okay, so…

I’m not usually one to complain about fanservice in animanga. I’m not a fan, but complaining about fanservice is like talking to a brick wall. It’s just part of the story, so if you don’t like it, either ignore it or don’t read it. At the end of the day, it’s not real nor ... worth throwing a fit over. Even if the fanservice goes beyond panty shots and bouncing boobs and wanders into the more…uncomfortable variety.

However, with Black Butler I just…can’t ignore it. Not only is the fanservice of a more outwardly uncomfortable fetish (the shotacon audience is eating it up), but it seems to eclipse the story.

Have whatever fetishes you want. It’s not real and as long as you’re not hurting anyone, I don’t care. However I do think it lowers the quality of the story if the fetish content is so present it distracts me from what’s actually going on.

Actually, considering the homoerotic relationship between a young boy and his devoted demon butler is the very premise of the story, it oftentimes feels like the story exists just to be a vessel for the author’s fetish.

And because it’s just a manga, I don’t personally care that I find this fetish uncomfortable or weird (again, do whatever you want so long as no one’s getting hurt) I just find it…distracting and awkward. It feels like it takes over the story.

And this isn’t just because of all of the shots of a young boy being leered at by the camera. It’s also because of the usage of sexual violence in the story.

I’m not against using sexual violence in stories. Rape happens and no topic should be taboo to write about. But in Black Butler, the sexual violence feels egregious.

The young male protagonist is constantly groped and ogled, and has rape written into his backstory. Half the time it’s played for comedy (which is already in very poor taste) and the other half of the time it’s taken seriously. I find it very hard to take sexual violence seriously if you treat it like a joke half of the time. Moreover, when it is taken seriously, it feels…cheap.

Every time this young boy faces serious sexual violence, it feels almost lazy. Ignoring that the rate at which it happens feels very contrived, it often feels like sexual violence just did not need to be here, and was only put here as a quick way to up the drama and the angst factor. Either that or the author just likes to watch little boys be hurt sexually.

And no matter how personally uncomfortable I am aside, it just bogs down the story by being really awkward, forced, and lazy.

I love the idea of Black Butler, but the egregious fanservice and frequent cheap usage of sexual violence really pulls me out of it. It’s not just uncomfortable, it makes the story itself clunky and weird. These pages could be better spent advancing the plot (because oh yeah, the arcs have a bit of a pacing problem as well. No wonder it’s been running for so long).

And that’s without mentioning other common complaints about the series, such as the insensitivity with which a transgender female character is handled.

I’m not here to tell you what you are and aren’t allowed to like, nor am I here with a torch and a pitchfork claiming Black Butler is immoral and should be burned/banned/censored/etc. it’s just a manga. What I am here to say is that these factors spoil the story for me, which I think is quite a shame.