Kuroshitsuji, the first season, is an anime that I always felt, while good, was over-hyped and overrated. Overall it was a good series, but nothing really stuck with me after seeing the last episode. The sequel, Kuroshitsuji II, on the other hand, is a completely different story.
The sequel to the borderline BL anime is both different and similar to the first season; it still follows the contract between Ciel, a 12 year old boy who lost his parents at a young age, and Sebastian, a demon. The characters from the first season are all there, hell even Soma and Agni makes a few appearances. The thing that makes it so different though, is the new pair: Alois and Claude. These two characters are as different as can be; Alois is a sadistic 14 year old boy with a terrible past, Claude is a composed demon who appears to have no feelings at all. Claude is a lot more demon-ish than Sebastian, a lot more evil and plotting. The atmosphere this season is a lot more darker; the rating here on MAL even went up from PG-13 to R-17+.
I won't say much about the plot as I feel it might spoil the series too much but I think it's a really good story although they should have given the season more episodes as it feels a little rushed towards the end.
Story: 8/10
The characters might just be my favorite part of the entire "franchise". It's easy to like them, it's easy to hate them. They're not all two dimensional characters with nothing but fancy hair or huge boobs (although the girls seem to be a little two dimensional). Alois, for one, is one of the most complex characters I've ever seen. Some are in there only for comical relief as the season turn darker and darker (see: Grell and the Phantomhive servants). Still the characters are great. I can't tell you how many of them I have had on my "favorite characters" list since I watched the first season.
Characters: 9/10
The music is outstanding. Even if you don't like the anime, saying that the OST for this is horrible is just plain ignorance. You have The GazettE, Yuya Matsushita (a personal favorite of mine), and Kalafina. Taku Iwasaki, the guy in charge for the music, really did a good job.
The voice actors are great too.
Music: 10/10
Ah, the animation.. What can I say? It's (I'm getting tired of repeating this word now) great. It's not outstanding nor excellent, but it gets the job done and more.
Art: 8/10
My enjoyment for this series was amazing. True, it might be because it aired during the summer season and there wasn't really much good airing back then, but I still found myself counting down the days till the raws were out. And then cursing myself for watching the raws without understanding what was going on. Here's a tip: If you don't know a lot of Japanese, don't be an idiot like me and watch the raws before the subs. It could really ruin the experience. Still, I found myself watching the raws as the subs didn't come out for days. And as opposed to some other airing stuff I've watched, it didn't ruin my enjoyment.
Enjoyment: 10/10
So, then, what do we have? A flop or a masterpiece? It's defiantly not a flop, anything with the name Kuroshitsuji could not be considered flop (at least for me). It's not a masterpiece either, though. The plot is rushed, characters seems to be brought back as fanserivce rather than for a real reason, it's terribly depressing if you find yourself loving some of the characters, and the season in general seems to be to either please fans (though it seemed to have the opposite effect for some) or milk the cash cow for all it's worth. But.. even so, I can't bring myself to hate it.
Overall: 9/10
Kuroshitsuji II is a big hit or miss. A lot of fans curse it for using no plot elements from the manga at all, other praise it for being original. And some just want nothing to do with it. For me this is one of the best animes of 2010, and I really wished more people would see past the cons and watch it as what it's supposed to be; entertainment.
