I think it'd be fair to say that I fervently dislike this series, as well as Kuroshitsuji II and Book of Circus (I couldn't bring myself to watch Book of Murder), both of which I won't do a review for. Now let's get to the actual review.
I went into this anime having really high hopes for it, as two people I trust recommended it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
Kuroshitsuji, first of all, is loaded with elements meant to attract young females. From the dreamy designs of the characters to the heavily hinted yaoi, it pretty much screams "FANGIRL BAIT".
The story is definitely not compelling, well-written or well-paced.
The plot is as goes. Ciel is a young nobleman whose parents were murdered in a fire that destroyed his mansion. He was also abused and humiliated by unknown individuals. He wanted to get revenge, so he formed a contract with a demon asking for help with his aim in exchange for his soul. Apart from that, he fulfills his duties as the Queen's watchdog by solving crimes.
Here is the formula of the plot most of the episodes follow:
1. Crime is commited
2. Ciel and Sebastian investigate
3. Ciel gets in trouble
4. Sebastian saves him
And there you have it.
The villains' motives make very little sense and are quite cliche, while the crime stories themselves fail to be engaging. The story jumps from arc to arc with no continuation, and it sort of goes downhill after a certain point. It isn't really memorable.
The characters are bland and lack depth.
The protagonist, Ciel, is basically just a brooding, whiny brat. His aim is to get revenge for his parents' murder. That's pretty much all there is to say about him. Everything that has to do with his personality is not shown - which would make him have more impact - but rather explained through words, and badly at that. He has no develpoment to speak of.
Sebastian is there for three reasons: To be a badass, to attract fangirls and to say his cringeworthy and overused catchphrase, "I am nothing but a hell of a butler". He is extremely strong, he is good at everything he does, he is sauve, he has no flaws and no personality whatsoever.
Grell... Oh, Grell. So unbelievably annoying. Seriously, his/her sole purpose is to be psychotic and to be attracted to Sebastian. It is my belief that he/she is the representation of all fangirls.
The three servants of Ciel's, Mey-Rin, Finny and Baldroy are there for comic relief. And sure, they can be considered funny. The first 10 billion times. But when you get to 10 billion and one, it starts to get annoying. We get it; Finny is a terrible gardener, Mey-Rin is a terrible maid, Baldroy is a terrible cook. Is that really the best humour they could come up with?
Elizabeth, Ciel's fiancee, is probably one of the most insufferable characters I have ever encountered. Her goal in life is to make everything kawaii to make Ciel happy. You know the type character who has that annoyingly high-pitched voice and is so sickeningly cheerful and upbeat that the moment they open their mouth, you just want them to shut up? Yeah, she's just that.
The fighting sequences are horrible. Sebastian just uses his vaguely defined physical skills and no strategy. I find battles that require thought to be won much more exciting, so the use of simple force put me off. In addition, the animation is quite sloppy.
The art style, at least, I really like. I find the settings beautiful and the characters designs very pretty (except for Elizabeth's). The time period in which the story takes place, the Victorian Era, really adds to that.
The sound effects, are okay, I guess. I never really notice them. The voice acting is decent in the Japanese dub, although I don't know about the English one. The OST, while not bad, is not particularly memorable except for the opening song.
Overall, I did not enjoy Kuroshitsuji. Although I suppose if I went into complete fangirl mode it could be considered entertaining.
