To summarize, Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) takes place in Victorian-Era Great Britain and stars the young Ciel Phantomhive, whom through the tragic loss of his parents has literally "made a deal with the devil" to seek revenge on those at fault. He strikes a deal with a demon named Sebastien; in exchange for being his right hand man in his journey for revenge, he will give up his own soul for Sebastien to consume when all is said and done. They work together in investigating cases assigned to them by the Queen while maintaining their true revenge objectives, using anything and anyone to obtain their goals.
Story: 9/10
The setting made the story quite interesting, as the Victorian era was a time of lots of folklore, making the tales and antics of demons, ghosts and curses absurd but believable. What fascinated me was that the endings of each episode were pretty predictable, but there were many twists and turns along the way that were unexpected. One of my biggest complaints in the first half of the anime was the misplacement of humor or comedy in the middle of serious scenes. It happened very frequently and made those serious moments feel very anticlimactic. The ending is probably one of the best I have seen in any anime as it was something that was not really a surprise but was still filled with excitement, joy and sadness at the same time. This is definitely not a feel good anime and really doesn't show any redeeming qualities for most relationships, often showing betrayal, deception and resentment. But hey, life sometimes dishes that out so its nice to see everything isn't cherry blossoms and sunshine all the time.
Art/Animation: 10/10
This anime had beautiful art and animation. The character designs were very well done, especially with Sebastien. Maybe it was just me, but he stood out in EVERY scene he was in. Even though it was supposed to be a dark anime, there are times of beautiful bright colors; my favorite scenes actually being when there was snow and sunsets. They gave a particular feeling of warmth which was a nice addition and maybe even break from the dark themes :)
Characters: 9.5/10
Ciel and Sebastien are a great team and their relationship both confused and fascinated me. Ciel at times could be quiet annoying but he is a 12-year rich kid so it was to be expected :p. Sebastien is one of the most complex characters I have ever seen. He often made me forget what his true motives were as he seemed devote and loyal. But after episode 17 you truly see he will DO ANYTHING to obtain his goal and it was disturbing to see (which I think was the point). I can't help liking him despite his motives which probably is a reflection of his good looks but also his interactions with the servants in the home who act as the comedic relief. All of the servants were likable, my favorite being Tanaka :D Such a cute old man!! The only characters I disliked (whom we were supposed to actually like) was Lizzie, Ciel's fiancée, whom I thought was truly annoying in most cases.
Sound: 8/10
The opening and ending themes were great and the second half of the anime did have themes that stood out. But I think the story drew me in so much at times that I did not notice the music at all.
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall 8/10
I think it was a great anime with a great ending worth waiting for. For those who like darker anime or some yaoi, this is definitely an anime for you. This is definitely an anime more for women since there are so many yaoi moments and fan service but the action scenes I think would definitely appeal to fans of action as well. This is an anime I would definitely recommend as Sebastien truly is "one hell of a butler" ;) and really made it worth watching.
