Kuroshitsuji
Black Butler

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This series is praised in its anime version, while the manga gets less recognition. But, why? Is the anime really better than the original series? Does it deserve all the hype it's got? Well, I plan to uncover this "mystery". Hell, what am I saying? Cutting this, let's get on to the review, shall we?

Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler, as it is known by most of the fans, is a shounen manga with seinen and shoujo elements. But well, what the hell is that? Well, I have to say that the genre of this series is hard to pin down. Not only on story model, but ... art as well. The manga presents lots of cliche elements, stupid comedy (that's actually funny sometimes) and constant action, that categorizes it mainly as shounen. However, the concept is dark, with cruel references, gothic symbolism, and of course the pessimist, melancholic feeling that the main character brings. All those are seinen elements. The design of some characters (specially the male's) looks pretty gothic, with mostly sadistic expressions and smirks, but well, let's leave this to later. However, the "female yaoi loving" origins of the author influence the work making it seem more shoujo-like with all the annoying tendencies. But remember, that isn't something bad, however, as I'm a heterossexual guy, I don't really appreciate the yaoi tendencies presented in the manga.

Well then, after the gigantic explanation about the genre, I shall begin with the story. Well, straight-on, the plot development in Kuroshitsuji disappoints a lot. It had the concept to be the best story I've ever read, however it was crushed by huge simple flaws which could easily be corrected. There are some incoherences in many points in many arcs, and they actually end up ruining big part of the story. The narrative follows on different arcs, which are mainly different crime cases investigated by the main character, Ciel Phantomhive, his butler Sebastian Michaelis and usually more supporting character that'll be mentioned later on. The cases are quite creative at their most, and one of them actually has historical reference. Well, it would be a shame if a manga based off of the Victorian Era with a crime-investigation theme didn't have its own version of the so-famous Jack The Ripper case. This is one of the best arcs on the manga, and the one with the absolute best "conclusion", with a deep message that made me shiver.
Oh, the messages. They are the best thing about the story. Kuroshitsuji is pessimist in every way. The way tragic happenings are treated is amazing, talking about a shounen manga series. The main character ends up being one of the most cruel protagonists I've ever seen in a manga series, and Sebastian only adds to this cruelty of Ciel's with his demonic personality. It's a shame I cannot discuss spoilers here. If I could, I would tell more about the messages and philosophical meanings behind some arcs, such as the Jack the Ripper's and the circus' ones, that are, by far, the best.
However, the messages seem apart of lots of aspects. The story is full of stupid and useless "comic relief" characters that suddenly turn serious and perverse from nothing. That's nuisance and annoyed me many times. And, of course, this a shounen manga. The power of friendship could not be absent. Luckily due to the protagonist's cold and cruel personality, the messages are easily forgotten and it's actually funny to see how people around Ciel seem to consider him as their friend, while the only thing he cares is using lots of them as chess pieces. Still, I don't think Ciel can have friends, and I always ponder if he feels anything for some of the characters.

And as we're getting more into the characters, let's talk about them. As I already commented some about the protagonist, Ciel Phantomhive, there's no reason on going through that all again. Sebastian, I didn't talk much about him. Well, in short, Sebastian is one of the best characters I've ever seen in any story. He's known a lot by fangirls for his looks, and usually fans in general forget just how he really is. We already know his true motives, his true personality, and that he is not playing around. Many people seem to forget just how Sebastian is cruel, but, well, he's a demon. He's pure evil. But... well, aren't humans evil creatures as well? Hey, what is good and evil anyway? This is one of the many questions the manga seems to want you to think about.
As the due Sebastian and Ciel are good, realistic and solid characters, the rest are not as good. Most of them are created only to make comic relief after their main function on an arc is over (main example Prince Soma and Agni, the indian prince and his servant). Some others aren't interesting at all, some are a little bit funny and charismatic, however do not seem to cause much effect on the story (like Grell Sutcliff, the gay/bi shinigami, and Meylin, Finny and Bard, the rest of Phantomhive's Manor's servants). But there are interesting and well developed characters that affect the story, like Ciel's aunt, Madam Red, a very solid and realistic character, and the Undertaker, one of the most interesting supporting ones, and that seems to have a greater role in the future, as the story is likely to, now, get bigger as lots of things are starting to happen.
And, also, there are actual funny characters such as Lau, the Chinese manager of a trading company, and weird ones that have a bizarre charisma, such as Mr. Tanaka, former butler of the Phantomhive family that knew Ciel from long time ago, and also Snake, a servant that appears later on, but that have a interesting personality and ways of facing things.
Kuroshitsuji has some supporting minor characters that appear with equally minor functions in many arcs, and there are the ones that don't do a thing since the beginning. Being, the main example, Ciel's fiancée Elizabeth Midford, or Lizzy. She is the most cliche character and also the most unrealistic one, for reasons that are actually spoilers. But well, Lizzy is completely unnecessary for the plot and storyline, being the most useless supporting major character out of all.

Since the series is currently ongoing, I hope there will be more background development for the servants from the Phantomhive Manor, that hasn't been made until yet. And, of course, I hope for the useless Lizzy to do something that changes the story.

Concluding with the story, it is good, really good. However, the narrative have flaws and the author is not that good at storytelling. She should if her manga is shounen or seinen-focused. And quit with the yaoi tendencies, so that it would please a larger male audience, that I believe should be her target by publishing at a shounen action magazine.
But, well, there are many mysteries to be unsolved on the plot.

The art on Kuroshitsuji isn't good. I don't know what the hell was going on when I saw so many people praising the art as perfect and beautiful. It is not nearly as that. Not in the actual story. I mean this: The covers and full-color illustrations are beautiful and really detailed. The technique she used for the coloring and composition on such covers and special pages are amazing, and I am stunned at every new colored page or double page she draws. However the pages on the actual comic are... Well... Blank. The manga is supposed to present the reader to the Victorian World, where architecture and fashion was everything. There is almost no scenario in the manga, and they are extremely poor and lack "dirt". In case you don't know, in drawing a scene, we call "dirt" the different tones used for different things, or even lesser details, like cracks on a wall, or wall stamps, etc. Kuroshitsuji has few use of gray tones, and even less in this regard. When I see a building, I want to cry to see such the ability of the artist being thrown away by poorly drawn structures. And then I come face-to-face to a double page spread. Beautiful drawings and beautiful use of perspective.
I don't know, but in a monthly manga, I would expect much more of a manga that sometimes has twenty pages. Specially from an artist that CAN draw beautifully.

Well, the scenario is bad, but what about the characters? Are they well-drawn? Yes. Yes, they are. The character design is really good and fits well most of them. Using some examples: we see Ciel, a cold kid. His appearance, often dark and with grey tones resembling the blue give emphasis to that aspect of his personality. Sebastian; an almost perfect butler. Always dressed well in fancy clothing. But he's also cruel and a demon. His usual smirk and grim eyes alongside with the "gothic-ish" hair adds to the feeling of darkness. There are many different character designs, however a lot of the male adult characters look the same. Sometimes you just feel like you're surrounded by Sebastians in the story. Luckily, the hairstyles are distinct and can identify the characters, since the clothing of lots of them are uniformed.
Though they are anatomically realistic, there are little mistakes that can annoy someone that strictly analyzes art like me. For example, hats that do not correspond the actual size of the head, and so forth. And, well, I don't complain much, since I like the character design, however they do not match the Victorian Era theme. As most men wear really long and gracious hair with long bangs, some of them going through their eyes and even reaching the bottom of the chin. However I like this kind of design, and I don't feel the need to complain. It's a stylized manga after all, not an historical movie.

All in all, Kuroshitsuji is a great manga with huge flaws in art and story. A review of it is a bit incomplete without spoilers, but I tried my best to cover it all. I liked the manga and read it through with not a single regret, as I enjoyed through most of it. Even though I'm anxious to know what shall happen next on the story, I'm always afraid the author can screw it over. I feel like the manga has still many arcs to arrive to an end, and I feel like the mystery of Ciel's parents death will be more interesting than I first expected, with revelations coming from many characters.

I recommend Kuroshitsuji to anyone that can stand yaoi tendencies (that DO NOT happen, if it did I wouldn't have kept reading it) and likes a bit of philosophy and darker themes. If you're extremely obsessed with story flaws and art, try it out, however I guarantee that it won't be a perfect work for you.
Oh! Please don't watch the anime. Don't torture yourself doing so.

__________________________
My score: 7.9

This review is extremely biased, as I just cannot give this manga an objective review. It is and has been my favourite for a lot of years now, since I first watched the anime, which now seems awful when compared to the manga.

The enjoyement I and the other fans get from reading Kuorshitsuji overshadows all the mediocre elements of it, making us see it through a pink lense. Still I'll try my best to show my view point properly.

The story is what gets the lowest score on this review. At the surface we have a typical revenge story, where the main character wants to avenge ... his parents death. Nothing new, right? But as the story unfolds it reveals a lot more at it's core. The 'main' plot as you will is very complex and interesting and would deserve a 9. The problem are more with the actual things happening. With almost every arc we get a set of new characters, mixed with already known ones, and some kind of mystery our main characters need to solve. And at the end we find out more about Ciel and Sebastian, or some other important character. That in itself isn't a bad concept, the problem lies within some of these plot lines.
Whilst some arcs, like the titanic arc and the circus arc, are very interesting some are just plain boring. Also the tone shift of the manga from funny to dark is sometimes very interesting, but the latest arc, which featured a boy band contest at it's centre, just seemed ridiculous.
Because the arcs are so inconsistent I have to give the story points, the core plot 9 and the subplots 6.

The art is a very interesting aspect of the manga. It changed and improved so much in these more than 10 years, that this is a reason alone to read at least a few of the chapters. Especially in the newest chapters (we're currently at 136) the direction the mangaka's art takes is really pleasing. We're at a very dramatic and important part of the story and this shows in the art very well.

Ciel and Sebastian are our two protagonists and their relationship is one of the core elements of this manga. Ciel is 12 at the beginning of the story, which you really couldn't've guessed from the way he acts. So already there is an obvious hidden backstory to this grim looking boy, living in a gigantic mansion with only a handful of servants around him. And the more we find out about him, the more interesting his personality seems. Ciel is an incredibly complicated character who walks in a moral grey zone. He does things hero don't do. But still the reader roots for him, not because he is a good guy, but because he is just so damn interesting to watch. And also because it's hard not to wish him the best, when considering his oh so happy life.
Sebastian is a thousand year old demon, who is such a veteran that he is bored of normal souls. So he waits for Ciel's soul, whilst trying to drag him deeper into the darkness as to better it's flavour. At times Ciel and Sebastian's relationship seems like a typical servant - master one, then sometimes a hunter - prey one and rarely it even shows facettes of friendship.
The two characters compliment each other perfectly and have an amazing dynamic together. It's hard to grow bored of them.
There are other important characters as well, which range from very unique to extremely clishee.
Some honourable mentions are the undertaker and the queen, both characters who influence the story in the backround very strongly. The female characters in this manga generally aren't very interesting though. Lizzy (Ciel's fiancee) shows some different colours as the story progresses, but the lack of chemistry between her and Ciel doesn't make reading about her very enjoyable. The same goes for the later introduced Sieglinde. Both seem to be excuses for Yana to draw cute dresses and show Ciel's more lovable side, which I don't mind that much, but lets just say that I'm quite happy that neither Lizzy nor Sieglinde appear very often.
Other than these we have a wide and very colourful cast, both in personality and nationality speaking.
If you do not enjoy one of the side characters this manga should still be enjoable, but if you strongly dislike Ciel or Sebastian (why would you though) it might be hard to read this.

As mentioned the enjoyement in this manga is at times very high. The main characters are very captivating and in the better arcs finding out about the mystery at hand is also very interesting. Eventhough the more psychoanalytic parts are what sells this manga for me, the action scenes are also often very entertaining- they range from very swishy and fun to very dark.
This manga handles a lot of dark themes, and eventhough it never really gets graphic, some scenes might be disturbing to some, so be cautious.

I highly recommend this manga, mostly because it is very dear to me and it might become very dear for you as well. It's an amazing character study with sometimes messy, but overall good plot lines, packaged in Yana's great art.

Anime Kuroshitsuji was first anime I ever seen. So you can easily predict that I had to read manga. And I found it somewhere.

Anyway. Art is outstanding and while reading you really feel that they like their job. Drawings are very detailed and even thoug the plot (to which I'll move later) is not at highest level, simple looking at every single page is a great joy.

As I mentioned there is a "little" problem with the plot. At first, maybe thoughout first half, it seems quite realistic, if you don't count mistakes connected with time period (Cell phone? Really?). You quickly learn how to ignore ... it.

Than, unfortunately, story goes in a very wrong direction. I don't want to spoil the fun of reading, so I'll just tell that you get a very strong feeling of reading a bad fanfiction. Art is still great, of course, but it seems to me that Yana Tobso is sometimes too excited about her own character, Sebastian, and she tries hard to show all his possibilities - ignoring realism and throwing characters into riddiculus situations not matching withe the atmosphere of manga. Also the author's knowlegde of the time period in which action takes place is something she should work on harder (she certainly tries as you can see progress clearly in further chapters. Stupid situation reamin stupid, but you won't see as many futuristic objects).

That's all for objective review, because the rest is strongly affected by my own taste.

The biggest adventage is for me idea of shinigami. Don't ask me why. I just love them. It's not a horror, but they are a great idea in form she presented them. Althoug it also goes with many plot holes, from wihich the biggest one is certainly demon's selective ability to recognise shinigami what results in one recognised immediately, and second one ignored through many chapters. Explanation that is given doesn't stand up.

I had a problem with enjoying charachters. At first author managed to keep banace in their behawior and appearence time, but now things get a little out of control. Main character, Ciel, is getting more childlish and delicate, what is propably a result of letting Sebastian do more thing for him to show his strenght and inteligence. Still they're extremely enjoyable. I'm not sure what to think of quality and complexity of characters, but reading about them can still give you a huge amount of fun. Also not all of them were spoiled - for example Undertaker (my favourite one), appearing more often recently, hasn't lost his ability to interest and his entrance and motive remain mystery.

All in all - I think I'd recommend it. It's not the greatest one but if you look for something ligh-horror manga with many handsome guys in it and art which makes you contemplate the drawing for many hours - that's the one. Just don't expect too much.

If you love mysteries, I would definitely recommend this to all. Though, it maybe hard to understand at some points in the chapters, it is well written and thought through. From all the novel books I've read, this is in fact one of the closest you will get to get the feeling as if you're reading a novel book, except with pictures.

There are only two downside that I could come up with this manga. One, it is not complete. Though I prefer completed manga, I will wait for this. Two, characters, such as Elizabeth, can be really obnoxious and irritating, but that's what makes ... the story a manga.

Overall, a rating of 9/10. I would make it into a 10 but, since it's still on-going I will wait for it to finish. Once done, I will see if I change my mind.

Until then, this is Usa-chan man (BunnyMafia) waving good-bye.

A really interesting deconstruction of Faust (a favorite story of mine), which essentially asks: yes, Faust sold his soul, but what if he sold it not because "uwu power" but because he was a traumatized child desperate to escape? Every arc deconstructs a well-known historical event, work of literature, or movie by putting a spin on it, usually to a greatly satisfying result. The story varies quite sharply sometimes in terms of lighthearted humor with a sweet and meaningful message to dark and not out of place in Game of Thrones level grittiness, and yet it doesn't feel uneven in terms of tone. The pacing ... can be uneven though, but the characters are fun and always deeper than they initially appear to be--it just requires patience to get there.

In the black butler manga's I have only read the first 3 books and i got to say there really good so far.
I wanna carry of reading the rest of them as it gets quite addicting, its not the best book to read but its something where you can take your mind of thing and just pop into some else life. The plot of it all and the adventures are something to look out for as for the art and how the story line goes is very thrilling.
There's is really nothing to dislike about it or love about it but it is one that you ... can just enjoy and that's from my point of view.
I suggest if you want something nice and not to violent or too boring I suggest to read the manga's of black butler.

Long time reader, volumes 1-31 review: 4/5
Black Butler has been a guilty pleasure of mine for many many years. The premise is of a kid in the victorian era, Ciel, who was kidnapped and tortured, his family murdered, his estate burned to the ground. And, when his kidnappers sacrifice him to summon a demon, said demon forms a lifelong contract with Ciel, where he'll do anything Ciel wants as long as he stays on the path of revenge. When Ciel gets revenge on his torturers, his soul will be eaten. Fairly interesting, right?

Throughout the years, the story has had many arcs, some more comedic, some ... more serious, some with... dubious content choices (a boy band arc? really? in victorian england???). But let's be fair, a lot of people got into this by sheer desire of wanting to see pretty people do cool things. And that we surely keep getting. Additionally, Toboso's art has only gotten better, less stylized, more detailed. Clothing and backgrounds are just as gorgeous as everyone's favourite demon butler.

Lately the story has kept a more serious tone and gotten more complicated (which I love!). There might even be an ending in sight.

I thought it was a shoujo.
It has lots of fan service, which made be believe this until now, but other than that it is a great manga. One that I have enjoyed a lot. Its multiple stories combine historical realism with amusing fantasy, making this manga a very special one. The atmosphere created by the mangaka fits just right.
The development of certain characters might seem weak at first, but every one has a special moment where the magaka devotes her soul in order to make them important, yet interesting according to the general story.

And the art... well, Toboso is one of my ... favorites mangakas, aside from the story she tells, her art is superb! Is one I enjoy a lot. Taken really good care of, and very attractive. Not filled with drawing details, instead with a lot of contrast that make action scenes seem very real.

[Tiny spoilers]

The entire plot is just so well thought out... But it doesn't really move Ciel forward in his revenge scheme.

One thing I enjoyed was: a huge plot twist occurs in later chapters, showing just how well planned this manga is, but there are some arcs seem random but are in some way still enjoyable..
(The Circus, to cruise ship with zombies, a college, then a boy band?)


The art style is refreshing - highly detailed and beautiful. I also love the Victorian clothing and styles...

Each character has their own unique story and background - that's what I love, but side characters have little ... to no development. Ciel doesn't have much character development, but further into the novel we begin to understand him and his actions better.

I liked the comedy routine between the other servants and Sebastian and how Sebastian saved the day as a butler and more in the end so far. But what really amazed me was the origin of Madam Red which was told in a chapter in the begining of the volume 3. It was brilliant, so sad... Poor woman suffered alot. This didn't make her actions ok in anyway though, nothing could make that. What she did over and over again was just so horrible... Those chapters and the all of the story involving Madam Red was really good. I really recommend this manga to every ... one.

The Circus adventure was very good as well. The Second time the manga really imperesed me.
These words from Ciel really made me think:

''You Fought to protect your own world, there is nothing wrong with that. After all, the justice in this world is a sham created by those in power for themselves. No one gives a damn about anyone else. If you are careless, you are sure to lose. To begin with only two kinds of humans existed in this world. Those who rob and those who are robbed. And today, i shall rob you and your allies of your futures. That's all there is to it.''
Ciel Phantomhive

Words of the aristocrat of evil. Not bad for a shouta, Pretty cool words, huh ? Not entierly true though, especially what the circus memebers did to protect their world... That was really wrong... But they were really desperate too... :/ But there is some partly truth to the Ciel's words... You shouldn't go down without a fight for sure. Human justice system is a joke, but universe has a justice system, Ciel doesn't know that, if you rob people from their futures, the universe will eventually punish you. May be not right away, but you are going to get it.

Ok, enough pholosophising. I hear some complains from some readers about the shouta fetish side of the manga, there was no shouta fanservice in the manga as far as i read, nothing lewd or anything and i am one volume away from the current stuff. There was just a beautiful 13 years old boy as one of the protogonists in the manga, just like any other beautiful character from any other age group or the other protogonist Sebastian who was an adult. The Shouta Fetish is only in your head, if you are a pedo and find Ciel attractive. Otherweise i wouldn't be reading this manga.

It is a really good read overall, only reason i broke 2 points and gave it 8 point was the characters setted up two boy bands... which competed with each other in the Blue Cult Arc. Victorian Era Boy bands... Seriously... As a middle aged adult man, i certainly didn't feel like the target auidiance at those chapters. Boy bands are one of the least appealing things for a middle aged man. HA HA

went into this manga not really hoping for much. i had seen the anime and had liked the characters but wasn't really impressed. at some points i found it rather boring but i wanted to see where the story was going, also i had seen some art panels from the manga on reddit that really impressed me.

the art is incredible, i'll start there. the commitment and dedication to the aesthetic of the manga and its clean art is visible and i really enjoyed that. however lately the story has been quite slow and unfortunately boring. the main plot is told over several story arcs in ... such a manner that by the end of each arc a bit more of the main plot is revealed. taking that in consideration plot twists are to be expected, and even welcomed by the reader but i found such plot twists to be stretched/cliche and at some times predictable in the sense that i had a pretty clear idea of what the plot twist would be and when it would happen.

what saves it all for me personally are the characters. they are just so lovable! and even if they aren't all that much relatable they are so well written and their stories are so captivating that it doesn't even matter all that much that i can't relate to a demon butler or a sniper maid all that matters is the characters themselves and how they interact not only with each other but also with world around them as the story goes on