Kuroshitsuji: Book of Murder

There is a truth that not needed to discover for our own good

Bringing the old tradition of the classical detective story theme, Book of Murder covers right after Book of Circus arc. The story starts in Phantomhive manor, the queen order Ciel Phantomhive to held a banquet in his manor. The banquet was poisoned by a homicide that quickly turned the banquet into a death zone. Ciel must unravel the truth within the homicide.

This OVA actually did their job well. Although there is no "mystery" in the genres, Book of Murder offers the genres. The mystery have both predictable & unpredictable things, but despite of that, the anime still managed to allure the audience with its excitement. The characters do their roles pretty well, there is a historical character that can be found here (Arthur Conan Doyle)

The animation and the sound settings still the same with previous seasons, it's well matched & nice.

Overall, it's just another Kuroshitsuji OVA that does their job well in bringing the intense excitement to the story ranks.

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In a match made in heaven, the Japanese interpretation of English aristocracy finally meets one of the most English of inventions, the mighty Sherlock Holmes! This is Black Butler’s most serious and mature arc yet. Fear not though, because it’s also one of its best. Book of Murder’s two hour long episodes are a very worthy addition the Black Butler universe.

Book of Murder places a stronger focus than is Black Butler’s norm on the details of the storyline, so I am happy to say that story-wise this is one of the strongest entries to the series yet. Chronologically, Murder sits right after the Book of Circus arc, so you’ll definitely want to watch that first. For people who have watched Circus, Book of Murder nicely references events of the Circus storyline, while tying up a few loose ends to the Circus arc.

The story of Murder is unabashedly well trodden, as a cast of characters are invited to a Phantomhive banquet, but find themselves being murdered one by one. The events that unfold though are anything but clichéd however, maintaining suspense and introducing some very nice twists. Unlike previous arcs, Murder’s not action-packed, so whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you though. Don’t mistake this lack of action for being boring though, as Murder’s tense and exciting mystery provide more than enough excitement by way of compensation. It’s a classic Sherlock Holmes-esque scenario, so the cute Sherlock references here and there were more than welcome, and the story definitely takes a very Sherlock-style logical approach to solving its own mystery (although I do think there were a few lapses in logic here and there).

A strong logical progression is not really why I came to watch Murder though. I came to see the more of Black Butler fantastical setting and Sebastian’s awesome powers put to full effect. Book of Murder certainly delivers here, in an intensely satisfying way. Sebastian is still ridiculously powerful, of course, but as the mystery unravels I found myself thinking not ‘Oh that was how Seb did it, that’s cheating!’ but ‘Ah, so that’s how it was done! Well that was neat’. They’re fine lines, but I’m glad to say Book of Murder stays on the proper side. With regards to pacing, Murder wraps its murder mystery up a bit quickly in my opinion, but there’s more to this story than meets the eye! Keep watching Murder, and you’ll find yourself surprised I’m sure at its unexpected ending!

I’ve talked about Sebastian already since he is no doubt the main focus of your attention (he was mine!). You may be surprised to learn that Sebastian is this arc’s main focus though. No, that honour goes to our narrator Arthur. Arthur’s a struggling doctor and writer, unexpectedly receiving an invitation to the banquet because Ciel is fond of his stories. He’s smart and able to keep a cool head, so naturally becomes heavily involved in identifying the murderer, helping Ciel with some well executed displays of deduction.

Arthur’s not just a super sleuth, he’s also a wonderful father figure. Arthur’s paternal instincts bring out a newer side of Ciel that I promise you’ve never seen before. With all Ciel’s confidence and meticulous planning, I sometimes forget how he is, at heart, still a 12 year old boy. Murder’s story is a mystery first and foremost, but if mystery isn’t normally your thing, you might be interested in seeing Ciel’s more vulnerable side exposed during his brief relationship with Arthur. In and of itself, this was a huge leap for Ciel’s character, so Arthur is pretty much a godsend!

Apart from Arthur, there’s a mix of old and new faces at Murder’s deadly banquet. Familiar favourite like the Phantomhive staff, Lao and Ran Mao are joined by newer faces, like Grey Charles, the queen’s personal bodyguard – watch this guy, he’s an interesting one. Apart from him though, the newer additions are pretty weak in general if I’m honest. I guess when there’s a murder mystery, someone has to be the victim right? (I’m sorry, that was morbid I know…). Overall though, the focal point of this story is definitely Ciel, Arthur and Sebastian, which is good because in Book of Murder they’re all fantastic.

Regarding the animation and sound, there’s not much to say about Murder other than it’s business as usual. It’s not anywhere near as action-packed as other arcs have been, so the animation isn’t quite as extravagant, but I didn’t mind at all. In addition, there’s no OP and EP to talk about, which I haven’t experienced in a while, but it drives the point home that Black Butler isn’t taking any prisoners here: it’s out to show you what it can do when it’s at its most serious and best. So to wrap up, Murder is in a way more of the same, with a familiar cast for the most part and the Ciel and Sebastian still occupying much of the attention. On the other hand Murder offers a new, more mature, sort of Black Butler. Ciel and Sebastian are still kicking underworld ass, and I for one really enjoyed the Black Butler’s take on England’s greatest detective stories. Book of Murder is a definite recommendation to fans of the franchise.

Pros:
Great mystery story
Black Butler + Sherlock-Holmes = Win!
More Sebastian! But perhaps not in a way you were expecting…

Cons:
Uneven pacing with quite a slow start
Not very interesting cast of new side characters
Not much action (could be a plus though)

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As I am a adept of mystery anime and gore stuff I was looking forward a lot to this OVA, especially after this delicious book of Circus. If I gotta say something now, it would be UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT storywise.

I like to predict plots and event in anime before they happen and see of things will go how I planned it or they will be innovative. This OVA went perfectly as I planned, nothing too mysterious nor threatening, I predicted the whole thing since I saw the picture on MAL and it happened what did happen. Too many clichés but it was still Kuroshitsuji-style. There was quite some fanservice for both genders but don't worry, it's not abused like in *hum* FT *hum*

Otherwise everything else was good, don't expect anything too fancy from this than from a normal Kuroshitsuji episode. In the end it didn't leave me a bad taste in my mind, but I gotta say this OVA does do its job of "concluding" the Book of Circus Arc in a way.

Ladies and Gentlemen, go and see it now if you haven't.

-From an 18 y/o detective

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What do you think of being invited to a party and then find yourself trying to solve a murder case?
A-1 Pictures bring to us now "Book of Murder", this two-part OVA, after the so commented "Book of Circus", both, the true sequels for the first Kuroshitsuji anime.
Book of Murder have a very simple plot: solve a mysterious assassination case in a mansion, in which all the suspects are trapped inside it on a rainy day. Everyone can be the murderer, you can't trust anyone.
Strongly inspired in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Book of Murder have everything the fans of policial mystery can ask: suspense, supernatural, awesome tricks and to add a little more, a bit of comedy.

STORY
After the events of Book of Circus, Ciel is now asked by the Queen to give a party and receive some guests. A succession of events lead to a case of murder in his mansion, and then, him, the remain guests and the servants, will have to solve this case in a stormy night.
The story is very interesting and you might even caught yourself trying to solve the mysteries they show in the anime, seems like everything was well planned by the murderer and you keep trying want to know exactly what happened.
The way the whole story starts to develop is simply very smart, at the point that when we come to the conclusion, you just feel completely tricked by all the characters and by the own author.

CHARACTERS
The characters are very interesting itself, of course, we have Ciel and Sebastian, enigmatic as always, as well as the known servants and some other faces we already know; there's new characters introduced then, the "Double Charles", which are the servants of the Queen; they will make part of our story, to be specific, Charles Grey, who might look as a random character but will take an important role in the story; there's Arthur, who is kinda like our "main" character in this arc, since is him who's telling us the story (which can be noted in the beginning of the OVA), and well, other minor characters that go to the party, they don't really have a huge role in the story but are somehow enjoyable.
What I liked the most is that you can't read some characters at all, a characteristic of those mystery stories of course, and well, they totally fit for the atmosphere of the story, I personally liked Grey's character the most, he's so funny but at the same time such an enigmatic guy.
Arthur is also very smart and he acts like our detective (he's actually a very nice mix of Conan Doyle and his own creation, Sherlock Holmes, and honestly, I think this made the character much more original and enjoyable); well, he's definitely my favorite character of this arc and of course, someone who take an important role in the conclusion of the story.

ANIMATION
Not really my cup of tea, but I have to say this OVA have a great animation. There's not even comparison between the 2009 Kuroshitsuji and the 2014 Book of Murder. Yet, A1 is not the best when it comes to animate long distance scenes, the characters always seems weird somehow, but they make up when it comes to the rest, especially sceneries, the whole mansion scenery and the outdoor scenery, the details of the tableware, everything is perfectly done. And well, of course, the characters eyes and hair are something, everything is so shining, it's actually stunning and I absolutely loved the new design of them.

SOUND
The OST's are good, mostly recycled from Book of Circus, but they're actually appropriate to the scenes. We don't have an opening or ending song, but the theme present in the credits is nice, it actually fit the atmosphere of the whole story of the OVA.

Overall, Kuroshitsuji Book of Murder was a great sequel for Book of Circus, and definitely the cup of tea of all the Kuroshitsuji fans. It's definitely a must watch if you're already a fan of the series, but I also would recommend to everyone who likes mysteries, murder cases and puzzles. Book of Murder might look very different from the other Kuroshitsuji stuff you have seen so far, or what you already know of the series, but that's what makes it interesting and awesome.
Then, what are you waiting to know who the culprit is?

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