.png) |
| Grell told me to tell you that he loved you. |
Scale: (1 Impure – 10 Pure)
 |
| The anime. |
There comes a time in my life that I have to facepalm and
facepalm ever so epically. This is one of those times, as I take upon myself
the arduous task of reviewing a manga-turned anime. It’s rather popular with
the yaoi fandoms (you people stay the hell
away from me; I have a fire poker and not afraid to use it) and the rabid
fangirls of certain demon butlers or shinigamis (ladies, you may have them, for
I don’t want them). Dear lord, I’m afraid to even touch this anime with a stick
without getting pounced on for slandering “the best anime of all time” (which,
in my book, is reserved for an anime that is completely awesome; I haven’t
found that one yet). However, I have decided to resign myself to such a task,
and I will do it; let’s just hope that the fandom doesn’t slaughter me for it.
Well, here goes. Cheers.
Kuroshitsuji, or rather, Black Butler in English, and I have to say this:
What. The. Fuck.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love anything Victorian Era
(I’m a sucker for British things, can’t you tell?), mysterious, or
supernatural. Mix in all three and you get a lovely blend of mindfuckery, murder
cases, demon butlers… What.
Yup, in Black Butler, there
are demons. Well, precisely, demon
butlers.
Even more precisely, demon butlers who fight with freaking silverware
Tell me you’re joking.
Nope, the anime does not lie, sadly. Let’s see what lovemyanime.net
has to say about the series:
“In Victorian-era Europe, a young boy
loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of
death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel
Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive Corporation, handling all
business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His
new partner is a demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whose powers as a butler is
only surpassed by his strength as a demon. The story follows the two along with
their other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel’s parents’
murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month directly
after.”
Granted, that’s not an accurate description (lovemyanime.net,
why must you fail me in my time of need?!), but pretty much, this review is
going to be hell…
… And that wasn’t supposed to be a pun.
Let’s put the cast under the spyglass, and see if any of them
are worthy to be “simply one hell of a character.”
The Cast:
Phantomhive
Household:
 |
| The "Cook" must be a code word for "Explosion" |
Score: 4.5 out of 10
 |
| Bitch, get out of here. I'm a Phantomhive. |
Ciel Phantomhive the head of the household. Oh,
guess, what, he’s freaking 12 and is
the Queen’s Watchdog to boot. “Why aren’t his parents doing that? Isn’t that
like, the father’s job?” Yeah, he has no
parents. They died in a fire when he was about eight…? (I’m too lazy to
look it up, and the wiki site isn’t being helpful. :T) so he’s the head of the
family. The reason why he’s still alive and not some sacrifice for a cult is
because he made a contract with a demon (look at Sebastian Michaelis for more information) and thus wears the eye
patch. No, he hasn’t lost an eye in a war or anything, that’s where the
contract of their agreement is placed. The closer the contract, the deeper the
bond. Or so I heard. For personal tastes, he’s a flat out jerk. He’s cruel to
everyone around him, and constantly attempts to pick fights; a little brat with
too much wealth and power. He’s way too serious for his age (don’t blame him,
with that bloody demon and such…), and could be knocked back down a peg or two.
Ciel is a brat with a top hat to boot. Nothing special about him from what I
gather, and apparently he isn’t really the smartest when it comes to following
orders from his demon butler to stay put
and not get himself in deeper shit than he already is in.
Score: 3.5 out of 10
 |
| "Sir yes sir!" |
Score: 10 out of 10
 |
| Forgot my glasses, brb. |
Mey-Rin is the “clumsy maid” of the
Phantomhive manor. She’s a red head who fantasizes a lot with the idea that
Sebastian is in love with her (the other way around) and goes all floaty when
Sebastian talks to her. However, don’t let that cute clumsiness fool you. She’s
a sniper who has very, very good
eyesight. Did you forget where Hyde Park is? Just ask Mey-Rin to take off her
glasses (if you can convince her) and she’d most likely be able to point it out
to you, without ever leaving the manor. Granted,
she’s ‘clumsy’ and that knocked her down a few points, but for a human,
Mey-Rin’s pretty bad-ass. I think it has to do with the fact that she’s
freaking sniper.
Score: 5.5 out of 10
 |
| "Snack time!" |
Sebastian Michaelis is the
demon butler for the Phantomhive family. Oh god, this guy. This guy alone scares the hell out of me from the entire
Phantomhive household. You fangirls can go gaga over him for all I care, just
leave me the hell out of it. Sebastian is the demon who shares the contract
with Ciel, with the mark placed on his left hand. This guy may have the dark
hair and red eyes, but he ain’t fooling me. I mean… who likes this guy? What is
so “cool looking” about him? Yeah, he can do everything and anything, but… but for Cripes’ sake he’s
a bloody demon you stupid fangirls! He wants to eat Ciel’s soul, so in a sense,
his master is his “snack,” “food,” or in looser terms, “dinner.” Just
pretend he’s a dog (he hates them, by the way, Bassie here prefers cats) and
shake a Ciel shaped bone at him and play “fetch”… only he wouldn’t give the
bone back. Bloody demon; I would trust him as far as I can throw him… which
isn’t far. So yeah, I don’t trust him at all. Oh, and his motto? “I am simply one hell of a butler.” You
can tell why I get annoyed easily by this character; he says it in nearly every
flipping episode. … And those who know the series, you’re gonna read the rest
of this review in Sebastian’s voice, because I am. Damn it.
Score: 2.5 out of 10
 |
| Ho, ho, ho. |
Tanaka, is just… well, he’s Taknaka!
Actually, to be more precise, he is the steward of the house, and apparently
even Sebastian of all people likes
him. He’s normally in chibi form, sipping tea and going “Ho, ho, ho,” but
whenever he is in ‘Life mode’ let’s just safely assume that shit is about to go
down. He keeps record of the Phantomhive Estates and is normally the ‘head’ of
the Funtom company (which in actuality, it’s Ciel who is the one in charge of
the company). Tanaka is the only one who survived the attack on the original
Phantomhive estate, and often lends advice to the ones (i.e. Baldroy, Mey-Rin,
and Finni) who are asking for it. He doesn’t serve any other purpose than that,
sadly. What a waste of a good character.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Overall Score: 6.6 out
of 10
Not bad for the Phantomhives, but then again, they are the Queen’s Guard dogs. :T
The Shinigamis:
 |
| I simply love you to Death! ♡ |
Score: 9.5 out of 10
 |
| Under that hair is a load of badassery. |
Undertaker is the kookiest of all Shinigamis out
there. Literally, his name is Undertaker, and he works in a little shop making
coffins. It’s shown in a bonus episode that he’s prone to laughter easily
(ticklish) and that the price for information is laughter (seen in Episode 4, His Butler, Capricious). The wiki even
states that the Undertaker seems to take joy in frightening others, as he seems
to act creepy intentionally to provoke a reaction. I’m not spoiling the manga
(as this review is for the anime, thank you), but let’s just say this: If you
were a fan of the Undertaker before the bangs went up (sadly, they never do in
the anime), then you just gained +5 awesome points from me. He’s an insane guy,
but he’s funny. I think that’s why he’s a favourite. However, they should’ve
shown the eyes in the anime, and that knocked him down a peg.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
 |
| Don't stare at me like that you... |
William T. Spears, aka Mr Overtime. Meet William T.
Spears, the strictest Shinigami you’d ever meet in your life. He may not seem
like much, but William sticks to the rules because he knows that Grell
wouldn’t. He’s mostly seen as a way to make Grell disappear, and nothing else.
He berates Grell for making him “work overtime” (numerous episodes), and shows
up in Episode 6, His Butler, At the
Funeral introducing himself. He has a hatred for demons (FINALLY, A
SHINIGAMI WITH A SENSE OF REALITY) and states that “Having to bow my head to
vermin like you... really does smear mud across the reaper name” (episode 6).
It’s also speculated that his name is referring to William Shakespeare (That’s
what I thought as well), but the author has not confirmed such rumour. For a
Shinigami who has enough sense, he’s actually quite interesting. Not bad.
Score: 9 out of 10
Overall Score: 9.3 out
of 10
Not bad Shinigamis, perhaps you could teach the Phantomhive
household a thing or two.
Minor Cast:
 |
| Angi, why are you so awesome? |
Score: 8.5 out of 10
 |
| Creeper No. 1 |
Angela/Ash, is like this for a reason. Why; you
readers are probably wondering. Well, let’s just say that Ash and Angela is the
same person… a hermaphrodite fallen angel, if you will. However, there are
distinct differences between “Angela” and “Ash”. For instance, “Angela” seems
to be more… out there. The wiki states that “Angela” “seems to enjoy the role
of dominatrix, as seen from her change in outfit and overzealous attitude when
she tortures Sebastian” (Kuroshitsuji wiki) where as “Ash” “finds fighting to
be exciting, becoming almost maniacal about it, and easily becomes angry when
any attention is diverted away from him during a fight” (Kuroshitsuji wiki).
This… he-she-it-thing is pretty much a wacko job well done, and I think it was
a good idea to throw them out of heaven. They’re a scary bunch.
 |
| Creeper No. 2. |
 |
| "It's... so... CUUUUUUTTTTEEEEE!!!!!" |
Elizabeth Midford is Ciel Phantomhive’s cousin and fiancée,
because back then, marrying into families was a common thing with nobles, since
they didn’t want their precious money to be wasted on an outsider. She’s the
typical noble girl, wanting cute things and colour and frills and ribbons. She’s
the sun to Ciel’s ever moody night, but it looks like he seems more annoyed
with her than anything. Gee, I wonder why. However, she’s known to be caring,
even though she ended up as a damsel in distress in one story arc. Yet, she
still holds a good spot in my standing.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
 |
| I am plotting something devious... and I just forgot it. |
Lau is an Chinese nobleman who deals with
opium (a famous drug back then and today, and still illegal for those who want
to get their hands on it), and head of the Kon Ron Chinese importing business
in Britain. He is often seen as a laidback, carefree character, always
pretending to know what’s going on, up until the point where he goes, “What’s
going on?” which ends up annoying everyone around him. He may seem laid back,
but Lau can be quite a vicious character when threatened, and isn’t above
sending Ran Mao after someone if he’s decided that it’s time to move. Lau is
also part of the Shanghai Mafia. Normally, his eyes are kept closed, but during
some tense moments (when Queen Victoria shows up at the curry contest, or if he
feels threatened) he opens his eyes; and when he opens his eyes, usually that
means that shit is going to go down.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
 |
| I bet you can guess her favourite colour. |
Madam Red, or known by her title as Baroness Angelina
Durless-Barnett, aunt to Ciel Phantomhive. She’s known as Madame Red for well…
she loves the colour red, something that she and a certain Shinigami
–coughGrellcough- have in common. She’s a loud, gossip doctor, but there’s a
reason why she does that. You see, Madame Red lost her first love, Ciel’s
Father, to her sister Rachel. She then lost her husband and unborn child in a
carriage accident. Then, to put the icing on the cake, on the day she was
released from the hospital, the Phantomhive family house went up in smoke, and
she lost both her sister and loved one. She also thought she lost Ciel too,
until he showed up with Sebastian in tow. Since then, she’s been trying to be
the motherly aunt and checks up on Ciel. However, the rage that she felt that
it was her sister who died, and the pain of losing everyone close to her, it
took its toll on her. Basically, when prostitutes went to her to get their womb
removed, she grew envious and started attacking them, thus attracting Grell,
and they became “Jack the Ripper.” Madame Red may be a killer, but she had a
compassionate heart in the end, which led to her downfall.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
 |
| If this is the 26th ruler, we're in trouble. |
Score: 7.5 out of 10
 |
| Is she even human...? |
Queen Victoria is downright scary. And this isn’t your normal Queen Victoria… oh no, that
fallen angel thing completely… eaaaah creepy; downright creepy. In the anime,
Queen Victoria is the reason for Ciel Phantomhive’s family being wiped out. She
felt that it was time to cleanse the world from impurity. In fact, this Queen
Victoria is a mere puppet for Ash/Angela’s goal: To have only the pure; but…
seriously. Why would you want to have your husband’s dead body attached to
yours? That’s just… ew.
Score: 1 out of 10
 |
| Every fanboy's dream... Ran Mao. |
Ran Mao is the personal assassin (read:
fanservice) for Lau. Considered to be his sister, Ran Mao never, if at all,
talks. I think the only time she ever talks is towards the arc where she and
Lau go poof due to the Lady Blanc
incident. Ran Mao is pretty much a badass, but she’s also mainly used for
fanservice. I like her as a character… but when the fanservice gets into the
way, she kinda plummets to the bottom of the barrel. There’s really nothing
else about her that I can particularly note.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
 |
| The ancestor of Tamaki Souh. |
Viscount of Druitt, or known to the High end of London
as Lord Aleister Chamber. I’ll call him Viscount, it’s easier. So, Viscount is
a nobleman, but is also comedic; if that’s possible. With his blonde hair,
purple eyes, and dramatic flair, I wondered if he’s related to Tamaki (stay in
tune for the Ouran High School Host Club review to learn about this character,
but if you already know him, that’s ok too. ;D). Viscount here tends to go
over-the-top and be over-exaggerated at times. Also, he used to be a criminal. What. Yup, in Episode 4, His Butler, Capricious, he auctions
young women off to the highest bidder, for the occult, I think. Not sure on
that. Anyways, he’s an interesting character, but it’s a shame that not many
people like this character. I think he’s quite funny, actually. The only
problem is that he reminds me too much of Tamaki Souh…
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Overall Score: 6.6 out
of 10
Huh, not bad minor cast of Black Butler. You did quite well, even though there was a 1.5 and a
1 amongst your rankings.
Animation:
For Black Butler, the animation is flawless.
With a mixture of watercolour, 2D animation, and 3D animation (mainly
background and CGI images) blends together to create an interesting series. Black Butler had been created as a
manga, and then turned into an anime. The studio, A-1 Pictures made a brilliant
show of it; and gave the Black Butler universe
a life of its own. It’s set in Victorian times, of course, and it reflects that
in the anime. There are some moderations, but they stick pretty close the
original setting of that time period. Unfortunately, it seemed to me that the
entire anime depended on CGI (Computer Generated Image) and that took it down a
notch. It’s good, but not simply one hell of an anime, in my opinion.
Overall Score: 9.5 out
of 10
Plot:
The plot is… well… it’s something. To reiterate
lovemyanime.net, it’s set in
“Victorian-era Europe, a young boy
loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of
death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel
Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive Corporation, handling all
business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His
new partner is a demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whose powers as a butler is
only surpassed by his strength as a demon. The story follows the two along with
their other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel’s parents’
murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month directly
after.”
Ooook, I think that pretty much sums up
the plot. There’s of course, an unexpected twist somewhere in the show, but
it’s not bad for a plot base. In fact, I think it’s the only kind I’ve ever
stumbled upon (haha, internet). AT first, I will be honest: I was completely
100% unsure of this anime. From the fanart and the fanfiction that was roaming
the internet, I was pretty sure that the entire thing was porn. But it’s not,
and for once, I was glad. Here was an anime that was a
mystery/supernatural/historical fiction that I could sink my teeth into (not…
like a vampire into a throat but… Jesus this is sounding worse by the minute)
and it didn’t have any of the sexual hints that many people claimed to be in
there. So, to clarify this for the people reading this:
1)
Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler is not yaoi. Don’t know what yaoi is?
Good. You don’t want too.
2)
The
only ‘official’ pairing that I actually see in the anime is Ciel and Lizzie,
and even then, they’re kinda stuck together. So there.
3)
It’s
worth spending the time to watch it. If you don’t want to watch it in Japanese
with nifty subtitles, wander over to Funimation.com and I’m pretty sure they’ll
have the episodes up for people to watch. Be warned: Implied fan-service.
Overall Score: 10 out
of 10
Setting:
It’s
Victorian Era, with supernatural beings in it; could’ve been better. That’s all
I have to say.
Overall Score: 5 out of
10
Sources:
lovemyanime.net
Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
Kuroshitsuji Wiki Wikipedia.org
FINALLY; I’M DONE WITH THIS SERIES NOW, ONTO… wait a minute…
There’s… there’s a second season?
And OVAs?!
(╯°□°）╯︵
┻━┻
-sigh- Damn it…
┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ)
