Book of Circus is the shortest of the seasons so far, but by far, I'd consider it the best. It's ten episodes and I knocked it out in a day, something I don't do often. It took me about a month to finish the first season, and even longer to finish the second one, but this, my lord.
Book of Circus introduces the Noah's Ark Circus, an entertaining group of circus performers who captured my attention right away. They're interesting characters, and though you know they're the villains, you can't help but love them!
Sebastian and Ciel remain the same duo, maybe even slightly more entertaining than the last season. They're sent to the Noah's Ark Circus to investigate a string of missing children. Each town the circus goes too, children go missing.
While remaining with the same personalities, Ciel does finally receive some incredibly well-done development. We see more into his character this season, his motivations, his fears, his past, etc.
As for Sebastian, he remains the same for me. He's still the same, powerful demon, his personality doesn't change much, over than that he does show some surprise this season, which was nice to see. He's never really been my favorite, but I don't hate him.
With the exception of Ciel and Sebastian, I found myself entirely entranced in the storylines of Joker, the leader of the Circus, and Doll, a member. For me, these characters quickly became some of my favorite in the manga/anime together.
As each episode goes on, the storyline only continues to get darker, but it's done in such a way that you can't help but continue. It pulls you in. I wasn't bored for a minute.
The ending was perfectly done, and I can't go too into without spoilers, but the animation and writing teams both did such an amazing job, I was blown out of the water.
The art style remains absolutely beautiful. It's vibrant, it's bright, it's clear.
The music fits so well, and I actually enjoyed the opening theme. It wasn't like the previous two seasons, and I didn't skip it like I normally would with an opening. It's different and it works.
As for the dubbing, the original cast remains great, but I found that many of the Noah's Ark Circus members fit incredibly well with the exception of Dagger. As much as I love his character, his VA wasn't my favorite.
After the let down of the second season, Book of Circus made me love the series again. It's definitely on my 'rewatch' list in the near future.
