Just a stone’s throw from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom and its master, one Ciel Phantomhive. Earl Phantomhive is a giant in the world of commerce, Queen Victoria’s faithful servant…and a slip of a twelve-year-old boy. Fortunately, his loyal butler, Sebastian, is ever at his side, ready to carry out the young master’s wishes. And whether Sebastian is called … called to save a dinner party gone awry or probe the dark secrets of London’s underbelly, there apparently is nothing Sebastian cannot do. In fact, one might even say Sebastian is too good to be true…or at least, too good to be human…
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To anyone thinking of reading “Black Butler”, please, don’t. I am a huge anime and manga fan, and I loved Black Butler. At least until I read Book Of Circus. After a while, the books get overly violent and inappropriate. The main characters kill for no reason, and the sexual references go way overboard. I regret reading this book series, which is not historically correct, or appropriate.
A contract with a demon to reach your goal. Price? Your soul.
Oh my my … Here is the demon that stole my sister’s heart. So, as the elder sister, I kept my hands off of the demon butler. Let me tell you what my younger sister did. She drew 50+ traditional sketches of Sebastian, also Ciel’s, and every other character of this series–all with pen, not pencil–and she did them on cheap, white writing paper, not handmade sketch-paper. And my ignorant, brat sister also lost all those paintings. When I asked “Where are those? You can scan them and put them on your blog,” She said, “I don’t know; I lost them.” She even adds a ‘maybe’ at the end.
A confession: I draw, yes. Yet, I don’t have a single traditional sketch with me. All of my art is now digital. And this girl had 50+ perfect sketches–traditional–and she doesn’t know where they are! I’m losing my mind just thinking about that.
You see, this anime is unique for its premise, politics, and the games it has. It has well-developed characters, a strong goal. Though at times, things would go to low tension, daily-life scenes. But those tiny details made the characters more lovable. And I enjoyed those fun. Many people might not like these. But to be honest, when there are strongly built characters, and when the characters steal your heart, I think you’ll want to go anywhere the characters go. So, with me, it was almost as if I’ll watch anything Ciel and Sebastian do.
My sister used to read its manga in a Nokia phone with buttons; it had 2G internet back then, and she made me read them too. I went as far as the chapter where Ciel goes to a boarding school. Those parts weren’t made into anime seasons. But it was going well.
And it has fantastic art. I’m still stunned by the level of background details this series has. The palaces, the street, the food, the balance of dark and void, shadow and lighting … in a word, marvelous. This is my first recommendation if you want to study manga-sketch or comic poses.
I absolutely love the Black Butler series. Great characters and unpredictable storylines.
I have a confession. I watched the anime first, and then decided to read the manga (so I was a little biased going in). Black Butler is about a 12-year-old boy (later 13) named Ciel Phantomhive whose parents are murdered and he decides to make a contract with a demon to avenge his parents’ death. The contract stipulates that the demon (Sebastian) will perform any command given to him by his master (Ciel) while working as the boy’s butler, and in return, once Ciel’s parents have been avenged, Sebastian gets to devour Ciel’s soul. Complicating things is the fact that Ciel is also an Earl, and as such, inherited his father’s obligation of being Queen Victoria’s Guard Dog―the one the queen calls on to solve more… delicate problems (like Jack the Ripper).
What I liked: the two main characters are amazing. Ciel is such a complex character, and Sebastian makes you want your own demon butler. The well-structured storylines are intricate and full of small details, essential to a good manga.
What I did not like: not much. Although, it does end on a cliffhanger, which I am not a super fan of, but I know it’s typical in series manga.
Warning: this is not for a young middle grade audience. I would put it in the young adult category (maybe older middle grade).
5 out of 5 stars
You must read people!!! It’s Lit!!!