Kuroshitsuji/The Black Butler Mini Review (anime)
May 4th, 2009 by Lianne
PG-16/18 for sex, violence, gore, blasphemy, and sub-categories (like abortion and undertones of pedophilia); informational website (Wikipedia)
Well, this show ended up scaring the living shit out of me. After I saw the finale, I actually went into a corner and prayed. If you’re not the religious sort, maybe this story about making a pact with hell won’t bother you so much, but if you’re sensitive to the thought of temptation and hatred leading you into the abyss…be careful, because this show doesn’t pull any punches.
As is explained in the horribly unfunny and just generally terrible first few episodes, Ciel Phantomhive is a 12-year-old noble in 19th-century London who watches his parents get murdered in their burning estate right before he himself is whisked off to get tortured a lot by masked individuals. Desperate and consumed by hate, he sells his soul to a demon from hell in order to kill his captors, regain his social standing, and exact revenge on whoever destroyed his life. This demon takes the form of Sebastian, a handsome butler who takes on any and all tasks while calmly whispering in the boy’s ear that once his revenge is exacted, he’s going to hell.
In many ways, especially in the earlier episodes, Kuroshitsuji is supposed to be a dark comedy - Sebastian is One Hell Of a Butler, since he’ll dress you in the morning, prepare gourmet meals, and kill your enemies in an ironic fashion. Unfortunately, most of the comedic potential is wasted on a bevy of side characters who couldn’t be less funny if they were gassing kittens, and the homoeroticism between Sebastian and his pre-pubescent charge is definitely more disturbing than amusing. And on the note of sexuality, let me just say that the attempts to make the bitter, female-voiced Ciel sexy in his Gothic Aristocrat fashion in-between bath scenes makes we want to jump into a vat of bleach just for being exposed to it.
YOU KNOW WHAT’S NOT SEXY? LITTLE BOYS AND DEATH IMAGERY:
But once Kuroshitsuji eases up on the “wacky” and distasteful humor and moves more toward its incredibly dark premise, things get more interesting. The theme of sin and punishment is always at the forefront, and is reflected by the brutal nature of the comeuppance major characters suffer through. The sadism of the supernatural (and oftentimes evil) characters starts to feel natural and significant rather than, God forbid, “for kink and hilarity value.” The religious referencing is a mixed bag, but it mostly leans toward the Judeo-Christian tradition of good/evil with a heavy dose of mythology and blasphemy - including but not limited to oversexed Grim Reapers with steampunk chainsaws - and manages to be actually interesting at times, which is rare in anime and manga (where Western religious fantasy themes tend to just be distasteful, ala sexy crucifixions). The animation is also tremendously high budget for a show with, in my mind, a pretty niche audience, and the character designs, especially of the adult characters, are crazy and fantastic.
But more than anything, this show is unforgiving - pun intended. It manages to be alluring, what with Sebastian being incredibly attractive, his affection for Ciel being sometimes sweet, and Ciel himself learning about kindness after tragedy…but Kuroshitsuji never forgets that it’s a tale about evil temptation, and that nothing good can come out of a deal with dark forces. I was really surprised with this show - with the grim nature of it, with the huge budget, with the story choices that I’m certain were anime-original, with the risqué sex and sexuality thrown in, with the ending. I guarantee that, at the very least, this show is nothing like anything you’ve ever seen before.
…Unless you’ve seen Loveless. I guess it’s got a little in common with Loveless.
UPDATE: I just saw the first episode of the second season/series of Black Butler (with the inspired title “Black Butler II”). IN A SUITCASE?! A SUITCASE?! THANK YOU, BLACK BUTLER, FOR GIVING ME NIGHTMARES FOREVER. I THOUGHT THIS SERIES COULDN’T GET ANY MORE F*CKED UP, BUT YOU PROVED ME SUPER WRONG.
Educated impression: Despite its major flaws, particularly in the first 10 episodes or so, this show is ballsy and terrifying as time goes on. Try it if you want something different, but be warned that it’s a mixed bag - the first episode was so bad that it took me months to gain the strength to watch more. At least the ending theme was always awesome. (Lianne)
Oh, this is the show I saw and then promptly ignored! And the first episode, the only one I saw, was perfectly dreadful in a seen-it-already, this-is-stupid-J-goth way.
So, do I have to suffer through the other opening eps. or is there a point I can skip to where it gets good? It sounds like my cup of tea, especially if you’re comparing it to Loveless…
Haha, I wanted to ask exactly the same question. The story sounds interesting, but after I watched the first episode a while ago I couldn’t force myself to watch the rest.
Hm…where to begin watching in order to get the smallest percentage of crap…
That’s a tough one. Unlike Earl and the Fairy/Hakushaku to Yosei, there’s no clear line between when the crappiness ends and the good begins in Kuroshitsuji–it’s sorta like a shit-and-strawberries tossed salad, where getting a mouthful of strawberries and lettuce and other good things means you’re also eating shit.
I’d say that if you know the premise, you can safely start at episode 4 and not miss anything important (and episodes 1 and 3 are possibly the worst in the series). The better stuff mostly kicks in after the halfway point in the series, but the Jack the Ripper arc (eps 4-7, I think?) is both important to the plot and pretty good. That’s the best I can offer you…and I warn you that my roommates both hated this show when popping their heads into the living room at various points, so you may not be swayed even if you DO watch more. I may be being unusually kind to it because I like my anime creepy and risque and with WTF WTF WTF NO endings sometimes.
wtf im sorry but all these comments seem to be coming from somewhat closed minded judeo christian viewers who only have seen the first video and read clipnotes on the rest of the anime. This anime is dark and homoerotic I will give you all that and yes the humor is dark. But behind all that there is a since of truth behind it. Now in my perspective good and evil do not exist but yaweh and lucifer do..Well I’m not really going to go into my beliefs here but if you wish to talk more then email me at myspace.com/xmanureoccurethx for more aside from that instead of reading clipnotes or following on the bandwagon of other commentors please watch the anime and read the manga with an open mind or at least as open as you can make it and then decide trul what it is….SinfulScholar aka D
I am rather disappointed with the anime, especially when it is compared to the manga~~
I do expect the story to fill with dark humour when I read it (Yes, even though with a absolutely good-looking butler & his adorable young master XD)But when its popularity increases, the storyline seems to lose its focus & nearly all the plot points (& the existence of certain anime-only characters, sad to say) aren’t contributing to the theme (They are there for fanservice only?)
It has a nice concept but too bad, it is wasted by the bad comedy & over-the-top BL elements (I am a Fujoshi XD But the way the anime portray the relationship between Sebastian & Ciel… It doesn’t make me feel ‘OMGOSHAWWWWSQUEAL!!!’ =________+)
The music is very enjoyable, though~~^^ Lacrimosa is a great song (It’s even better to know that Kajiura Yuki is the composer!) & the BGMs are worth-hearing as well~~
Season 2 is going to be released~~ With Season 1’s ending, I wonder how will they continue the story… We shall see~~
Manga is much better, fortunately~~^^ Toboso Yana’s artwork is definitely a bonus!
PS, In which way does Kuroshitsuji has a little in common with Loveless? I would love to hear your opinion~~^^
The show is defiantly tailored to a certain audience, and really will only appeal to a handful of people. The manga is much better, but the show has its moments.
The main problems the show experiences are its complete disregard for historical accuracy (I cannot tell what year it is, it’s just vaguely Victorian/Gothic-Romantic) and the fact that much of the beginning of the series is fluff.
However, it does have its moments of really fantastic dark humour, and the high budget means that the quality of the animation is really very good. Plus, when you get to the actual story (which, admittedly, takes some time) its actually quite interesting.
Defiantly not the best show, but it has its merit, and is a great way to kill some time.
FridayJones:
Not to say Kuroshitsuji is particularly devoted to historical accuracy, but I was under the impression that it takes place about 1890, since the Jack the Ripper murders occur near the beginning of the show and Queen Victoria is an “elderly” character who is mourning the death of her husband, all things that could take place in 1890 or so. As for the fashions being reflective of that time…I have no clue, since I know fashion even less than I know history, which is really saying something.
But speaking of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert: http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=156
Do you see where I learn about history from? Maybe I shouldn’t have attempted to answer this reply.
Pfft. Kuroshitsuji is my third favorite anime. I’ll admit the first episode was kind of “…yeah, ok…?” But the rest of the series was way better than this review makes it sound. I am also a bit of a yaoi fangirl so don’t knock the CielxSebby thing that was going on.:P
And by the way, Loveless rocks too.
well………. i guess maybe it’s just not something you like. but maybe you should ask some of the fans. besides, its not that gory compared to SOME things these days. and also, it isn’t that bad compared to things i’ve read/watched. so seriously, if you watch the whole thing AND read the manga then you have something to complain about, since its basically two completely different story lines.
For those of you worried about the yaoi and BL aspect of the anime I would say fear not. Much of the banter between Ciel and Sebastian is childish (PG rated) fan service for the pervy girls watching. However the anime itself is fairly dark so be prepared for anything.
All in all you if you pay attention and don’t miss interpret what Sebastian says(ladies) their relationship makes perfect sense and every story plot follows the same basic structure:
1. Ciel takes command and tries to do things his way, ‘outwitting’ his butler.
2. Sebastian(usually) mindfucks Ciel.
As a whole the series was thoroughly entertaining, sufficiently dark, and hit a wide spectrum of good to great ideas. However the plot and character relationships are poorly executed preventing this anime from truly realizing greatness (The creators do a good job of distracting you from this fact though).
As a final note I found the Japanese interpretation of western culture to be fun and refreshing.
8/10
I am on about episode 8 of this series, and I think I’m in love. The plot and characters are great (except for Lizzy who annoys me to death), and the art is very nice too. I see what you mean about the “relationship” between Sebastian and Ciel if you really take time to read into stuff they say sometimes (mostly Sebastian), but for me it’s pretty easy to ignore once you get into the story. I find the characters very entertaining and unique, especially The Undertaker and Griel. Actually, I didn’t like Griel very much, because when he had his weapon he was all like, “Oh yeah I’m so bad-a*s and I’m going to kill you now.” But then when he lost his weapon and was at Sebastion’s mercy he was begging, “Please don’t kill me!” He looked very weak and pathetic and he lost all of his ‘awesome points.’ (Bad Jew should know what I mean by ‘awesome points’)
And yes, I think I see what it has in common with Loveless. LOL
Misa-Chan
contrariwise, i like Griel and Sebastion. i find their “love/hate” relationship (in the words of my friend) quite hilarious.
re: update
Ah Lianne, you make me laugh . . . I must see that now . . .