AKA: Kuroshitsuji, 黒執事

Genre: Supernatural, Dark Comedy, Fantasy, Psychological

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Episodes: 36 (+ 7 OVAs)

Seasons: 2

This show has to be one of the most confusing I’ve ever watched. Even finding it online in full seems like a task, due to Hulu having the first and second season, Funimation having the first two seasons and the OVA Book of Circus, and then Crunchyroll only having the Book of the Atlantic. It’s just spread all over the internet and I’ll have to try to find them all. But, it was entertaining to say the least. I still have a ton of questions since the anime, or at least the first season just left me confused all the way through.

I did only notate where you can watch the first season and currently that is only on Hulu or Funimation. The others either have the second season only or just the OVAs.

Summary

Black Butler follows the adventures of Sebastian Michaelis, a demon butler, who is obligated to serve Ciel Phantomhive. After his parents died during a fire, Ciel was kidnapped and enslaved in a cult. During this time, he made a pact with Sebastian, pretty much along the lines of ‘Protect me and when I die, you get my soul’. Fun times. Anyway, the show follows them in different scenarios. We also get to meet and know a little about the other occupants living with Ciel. The main goal of Ciel is to find out what really happened to his parents and the parties responsible.

Production

We’ve talked about A-1 Pictures previously. They have a lot of big names under their belts such as; Blue Exorcist, Sword Art Online, Your Lie in April, Ace Attorney, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, and the upcoming Solo Leveling. Truly cannot

Main Characters

Sebastian Michaelis

The demon Butler who looks after Ciel. Oftentimes, he can seem cold and uncaring but he who else would be so devoted to someone just to wait for them to die and get their soul? He can make women and men alike starstruck and you don’t want to get on his bad side. He is also one hell of a butler!

Ciel Phantomhive

The only remaining member of the Phanomhive family, Ciel is a 10 year old boy who has an old soul. Most of his appeal comes from wanting revenge against those who hurt him and his family. At first glance he seems abrasive but considering what all he went through at such a young age, I wouldn’t expect him to be all smiles and glitter.

My Thoughts

Immediately, I was drawn to Sebastian and Ciel. Their relationship intrigued me and they stood above the rest. The supporting characters had their own appeal as well, such as; Baldroy(the Cook), Finnian(the Gardener), and Mey-Rin(the Maid). They gave off the ‘ride or die’ household members and provided a lot of comedic relief when things were getting too dark and heavy. The show did leave a lot of questions for me so I would suggest picking up the manga to have a piece of mind. Overall, the show did serve it’s purpose; to be dark and entertaining.

Conclusion

I slightly enjoyed Black Butler. Yes it was funny yet dark and I fully love Sebastian. However, I’ve never really been a big fan of Victorian inspired literature or shows. If it was something more modern, 10’s across the board. To be fair, that might be missing the point of the series but, well, I don’t care. My other grievance is I was confused halfway through with the storyline. I know it was mainly about Ciel getting revenge for what he endured in the past but there seemed to be so many other side quests happening. Again, I could be missing the point and I’d love someone to explain but for now that’s just how I feel.

It was a nice watch but didn’t really live up to the ‘hype’ presented by social media. Maybe season 2 is better and expands more? Or maybe I should do a rewatch in the future but for now the show sits at a 3/5 onigiri for me.

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