Kuroshitsuji

---SPOILER---

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... That chapter and the all of the story involving Madam Red really made me feel like i got the worth of my money. I really recommend this manga to every one.

The Circus adventure was very good. 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...

And we finally learned the true origin of Sebastian and his master (false) Ciel's first meeting and making a covenant in vol.27. The (false) Ciel sacrificed the (real) Ciel, his brother to the devil so how the real ciel returned was big mystry, especialy since we learned that even the devil sebastion was not able to bring the (real) Ciel back to life. This brings the question of Is the returned (real) Ciel, really (REAL) Ciel... lol I liked the volume but there was nothing really imperesed me in this volume.

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.

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.

Black Butler follows the story of a young earl named Ciel Phantomhive and his demonic butler Sebastian Michaelis on a quest for revenge.

Story (9/10)
The story is fairly unique and well executed, with each arc revealing information.

Black Butler arc: Serves as an introduction to the characters, setting and basic plot of the series. (7/10)

Red Butler arc: Ciel and Sebastian set out to find Jack the Ripper, Shinigami's are introduced. (8/10)

Curry/Indian Butler arc: 2 new characters are introduced, prince Soma and his butler Agni. (7/10)

Circus arc: This is where the story starts getting REALLY good, Ciel and Sebastian are sent to infiltrate the Noah's Ark Circus, as children go missing in every town they visit. This arc has one of best and creepiest antagonist I've seen in anime. (10/10)

Book of Murder/Phantomhive Manor Murders arc: Ciel hosts a banquet at the Phantomhive manor on the queens request and guests mysteriously start dying, 2 new characters are introduced, the queens butlers Charles Grey and Charles Phipps, also known as the Double Charles, this was an overall fantastic and enjoyable arc. (9/10)

Book of the Atlantic/Luxury Liner arc: Ciel and Sebastian have to infiltrate a meeting of the Aurora Society due to them being suspected of illegal human experimentation, this arc provides amazing development to a previously annoying character whom I disliked and made me like and respect her, the action scenes in this arc are one of the best in Black Butler. The Undertaker is revealed as the culprit behind everything and as a grim reaper. (10/10)

Book of Book/Public School arc: Ciel and Sebastian set out to investigate Weston College in disguise as teacher and student under the queens request as Derrick Ardern and other students refuse to return home, Undertaker reappears, it was overall a good arc. (9/10)

Greenwitch arc: Many strange deaths start occurring in southern Germany, with victims that were healthy but suddenly became grotesquely deformed and died afterwards, the queen sends Sebastian and Ciel to investigate, 2 new characters are introduced, Wolfram and Sieglinde Sullivan, one of my favorite arcs in the series. (10/10)

Art: (10/10) Some of the best art I've seen in manga, the art goes perfectly with Victorian and Gothic setting of the manga, the art starts out pretty good becomes better and better as the series goes on.

Characters: (10/10) The main characters, Ciel and Sebastian have a likable charm to them, Ciel is cold, calculating, merciless and morally grey, but is very protective and caring towards his loved ones, Sebastian comes off as a charming, perfect butler, but underneath that facade is a manipulative, bloodthirsty and hungry demon, Sebastian and Ciel have a perfect dynamic and make eachothers characters even more interesting, I love these characters!

Enjoyment: (10/10) I very much enjoyed this series, it's in my top 5 favorite manga.

Overall: (10/10)

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

Story: The idea and concept of Kuroshitsuji is very good and you really don't know what will happen next. The story is a little confusing because we, the readers, do not know quite yet what the whole point of goal of the plot is. However the little arcs are fascinatig and historical and very well made as well telling us important morals.

Art: The art is simply BRILLIANT. Everything and I mean everything is amazing. The backgrounds are detailed and the flowers, tea sets, clothes, and the characters are intricately detailed and drawn very well as well.

Characters: I love the characters. I cannot help it. 83. Ciel Phantomhive is the 12 year old successor to Phantomhive household and is a selfish adorable brat whom is absolutely loveable. Sebastian is a demon and the butler who serves Ciel. He can do virtually anything and both are characters you wish the author would quickly hurry up and tell more about.

Enjoyment: I thoroughly enjoy this manga. ^^ I look forward to reading it every day when I have time.

So I first saw the anime and was left bitter since I believed the story had more to offer than the show itself and then I picked the manga up.
They both get a seven but I honestly believe the manga to 100 times better than the anime or it's lousy sequel which by the way was too horrible to even watch till the end. Though I like the manga better it still lacks and so here I will try to explain why.

STORY: quite good, very good actually. The story doesn't have much consistency; the only consistent thing about it is that Ciel sold his soul and is now Sebastian's master and they try to find the right people so Ciel can unleash his hateful revenge on. While that is promising and good as an idea for a plot and could perhaps unravel in a sort of mysterious,detective kind of story with the boy being led from one clue to the other so he can find what he's looking for but it actually doesn't do so. Instead it relies on cliches and stories told so many times and in the same ridiculous shonen fashion that I have gotten very sick of.We have different arcs that, while some are enjoyable, eventually lead no where, sure the bad guys are done for and the mystery is solved but what does it have to do with Ciel and the people who killed his parents? Now since this hasn't finished yet and well...as painful as it may be we're not really sure when it's going to be, it may be never, these unrelated arcs might lead to something in the end but by the time we reach the end we've gotten so tired of the constant fillers that you just give up. The last few chapters are just fillers with stuff so unrelated that the story becomes stiff and boring, this plot could be carried out in a much wittier way and I suppose with less chapters but it just drags and tries too much to sell. 7 only for the concept

ART:ok the art is PERFECT! If you like Victorian fashion and generally the whole atmosphere of those times( and the gothic theme of course) then you'll probably enjoy the art very much. Beautiful castles are drawn in much detail and so are the interiors, in general we have a lot of great background( well maybe not as good as Kaori Yukis but close) and it captures the feel of the era perfectly. the clothes are all magnificent, I especially like all of Ciels outfits,they're imaginative and completely stylish. This series is great for the fashion, no let downs here. 9

CHARACTER: ugh, so I felt the characters were flat in the anime, the manga is no different.We have our mains here; Ciel and Sebastian. While I find Ciel's character to be promising and often comes off very interesting even though he is a spoiled son of a bitch. Sebastian is flat, I can't put my head around him, he has no character what so ever, even though he's polished to the bone with all the cool guy traits, with his wits and sharp moves and chilly attitude but still he's really forgettable at the end of the day.He COULD be interesting I mean he's a devil blah blah blah, I've come across interesting creatures of his kind but he fails completely. The servants of Ciels mansion are forgettable while funny but that's all they got,then there's some key characters that come and go like Lau who are enjoyable while they're there. The gay shinigami is awful and it's NOT because he's gay but he's just so...I dunno, he just doesn't fit. Elizabeth, Ciels fiancee, is terrible and annoying and oh my god so familiar! Ciel is promising and so are some others that appear for a little while but eventually he has no growth or in general he really just isn't well written. Boring, boring, boring and most of them just don't fit the script. They're too far fetched! 5

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL: So this manga IS enjoyable even though the characters are a major turn off for me that likes well written characters but it still is fun to read. You really can see that the author did her homework on England 1800s and that you can see very clearly, Kuroshitsuji is an enjoyable manga if you like to look at pretty art. You can get lost in it's era very easily and enjoy the story. Some arcs like I said are very good like the one about the Circus which is really really good. Nothing too heavy, an easy read definitely and it's kind of fun. The tackiness can get to you but it's still worth a look. If you like nice art then take a look at it, if you expect any kind of development aside form one or two hints every 20 chapters than forget it.7

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.

A fair notice to those of you who've completed the anime before ever giving the manga a read: A-1 Pictures hasn't done the best job adapting the manga. If you found the anime rather lacklustre and consider the manga to be more of the same, I encourage you to read through this review first before making any judgements. This review will also be periodically updated every few chapters.

Kuroshitsuji is published in North America by Yen Press. Both seasons of the anime, the Book of Circus TV series, and the upcoming Book of Murder OVAs are licensed by Funimation Entertainment in North America, Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom, and Madman Entertainment in Australia.

Feedback is always welcome so without further hesitation, let's get on with this review!

***

It isn't often that I catch up with a manga that's still publishing and find myself eagerly waiting for chapters to come out every month. I'm the kind of guy who sticks with mangas that finished publishing or mangas that are still publishing with absurdly high chapter counts. What's more is that I find myself rather surprised that of all the mangas I caught up with, it had to be Kuroshitsuji. I started reading the manga when I was still waiting for episodes of Book of Circus to come out and the next thing I knew, I spent the next few days clearing through manga chapters because I was THAT enamoured with what was going on.

Despite Kuroshitsuji's initial appearance of being some bishonen-ridden, supernatural slice-of-life comedy taking place in Victorian England, Yana Toboso proves herself to be an able writer who's more than capable of bringing well-written stories to the table which are incredibly addictive and will be more than enough to have you despairing over having to wait until the third week of every month to get the next chapter so you can get more of your fix. Well... that's assuming that you can take the bad with the good but let's get into that can of worms a bit later.

The biggest strength that Kuroshitsuji has is the fact that it's for the most part, a supernatural mystery drama with a dark and serious tone throughout much of the narrative. Do you have *ANY* idea how hard it is to find a supernatural story that ISN'T action-oriented? Now hear me out: yes, Kuroshitsuji has a fair deal of action and comedy in it but that's not the primary focus of the story. The focus stays on Ciel Phantomhive and his omnipotent butler, Sebastian investigating the various mysteries that the Queen assigns him to solve. These mysteries he's assigned start off simple enough but then turn into something much darker and more complex than one would've initially thought.

With that said, Yana Toboso is prone to her dry spells much like any mangaka. Over the course of 99 chapters (at the time of writing), there have only been *2* lacklustre arcs out of eight: the Curry Contest arc and the Public School arc. The Curry Contest arc itself was rather boring from the get-go, all things considered and it never really went into anything darker or deeper. The Public School arc however did start off interestingly enough but suffered from being dragged out WAY more than was necessary and genuinely DID feel like shameless fangirl pandering that would make the authors of Hetalia fan fiction blush half the time.

Now keeping that in mind, what makes the arcs of Kuroshitsuji stand out is the fact that Yana Toboso is experimenting with her style. While that might seem like an overall detriment to the story because there's no consistency, it should be noted that Kuroshitsuji's arcs aren't predictable nor do they feel formulaic in the slightest (thus far) BECAUSE Yana Toboso is experimenting with the style of storytelling she uses for every arc. Furthermore, Yana Toboso has yet to repeat any of the mistakes she's made over the course of 99 chapters when it comes down to the story and I highly doubt she will.

There is one thing about Kuroshitsuji that might keep potential readers at bay, and that is the fact that Yana Toboso is a former yaoi mangaka. Why is this relevant? Well... if you didn't know by now, Kuroshitsuji has a reputation for being shameless yaoi fangirl pandering. I'll say this right now: the first season of the anime dials up all of that shit to 11 and Kuroshitsuji II may very well have been adapted from somebody's slash fiction on FanFiction.net or deviantART. The manga BARELY has any of that shit in it. I say barely because the Public School arc was probably just Yana Toboso's way of giving the fangirls what they want... despite the fact that Kuroshitsuji is a shonen series. Thankfully, there's none of that in the other arcs so no need to panic if you've got a deep distaste for that kind of shit.

When it comes down to the characters, I can safely say that they are MUCH more developed in the manga than they EVER were in the anime. For one thing, certain characters end up being much more fleshed out than one would imagine. Look no further than Lizzie, Ciel's betrothed whom many fans of the anime found rather... annoying. The Ship's Voyage arc was more than enough to prove that there was far more to her character than we initially thought was present. Honestly, I can't wait to see more of her in the upcoming arcs because Toboso handled her characterisation THAT well. Other side characters like Mey-Rin, Finni, Baldroy, and Tanaka were handled in a similar fashion, and I'm REALLY glad that the current arc the manga's on (the Green Witch arc) gave us a chance to see these guys shine.

Ciel is also a VERY capable lead. While the anime basically painted him out to be a punk kid who can't do shit without his daemonic butler by his side, the manga actually shows that he's able to handle himself quite well and is more than able to do shit on his own. With that said, Ciel is ultimately a 13-year-old boy who's gone through a rather nasty series of VERY unfortunate events. There are moments where we get to see that traumatised inner child that his haughty exterior masks which is more than enough to make us question what Ciel has become. If you don't get what I mean, hear me out.

Ciel was once an innocent child, but then had his house burned down and his parents murdered. He got abducted and was forced to endure unspeakably brutal torture at the hands of depraved psychopaths. Out of sheer desperation, he pays a VERY hefty price (aka his own soul) just to live. Whenever an arc takes a look at his psyche, you can't help but see a victim of circumstance despite what he's done over the course of the series. He's no longer an innocent child, and yet the fact that we don't know what exactly Ciel is now is the question that haunts much of Kuroshitsuji.

Ciel himself states that the world consists of victims and those who exploit them (and most of the time, it's easy to tell who's who). But when we see Ciel's vulnerability, it's more than enough to remind us that he may very well be the biggest victim of them all. Remember that by the end of it all, Sebastian is only in it for Ciel's soul and doesn't really care about HIM in the slightest (despite what slash fic writers want to believe). With no family and a traumatic past which forced him into the circumstances he's in now and knowledge that his soul will be devoured by a daemon once the contract has been fulfilled, it's hard NOT to see Ciel as a victim from time to time.

As for Sebastian (affectionately referred to as Sebas-chan/Sebby by the fans), well... he's simply one hell of a butler. Okay, that was lame. I like to imagine that Sebastian is related to Alucard from Hellsing in some way, shape, or form because in many ways, Sebastian simply has that aura about him where he's impossible to hate because he's just... awesome! A lot of people rag on Sebastian for being overpowered, but then they forget to realise that he is a DAEMON, not a human and isn't bound to the same rules because of that. He must do everything he can to protect Ciel, lest he lose that soul he's hungering for.

Furthermore, Sebas-chan has a certain charm to him. He's a character who you might think is obligated to be nothing more than a grumbling servant, but he actually likes to toy around with his master to keep things fresh, so-to-speak. The contract remains in effect so long as Ciel lives, and given that he wants to devour Ciel's soul, of course he'll make sure Ciel is alive (but just barely). Furthermore, Ciel must be very careful about what he orders Sebastian to do, otherwise Sebastian will just literally interpret the order and get off on a technicality since Ciel explicitly said from Day 1 that his orders are absolute. When you look at him like that, he's way more than an overpowered servant.

In regards to artwork, Kuroshitsuji has some of the best artwork I've ever seen from a shonen manga. Yana Toboso manages to depict Victorian England almost to a T, anachronisms aside. Settings are beautifully detailed, the clothes everyone wears are befitting of people living in Victorian England with their social standing, etc. One complaint that some people might have when it comes down to the artwork is the fact that Yana Toboso has a penchant for drawing most of the male characters as bishonens, and Sebastian is the most obvious example. Honestly, bishies are part of the course and if you have some sort of deep-seated hatred of bishonens, don't fucking read it. That's the way I see it, anyway.

Would I say that I enjoy Kuroshitsuji? Well if the fact that I'm in despair because Kuroshitsuji is a monthly manga that I've caught up to isn't proof that I enjoyed the series, I have no fucking idea what is. Aside from a few dull spots here and there, I can safely say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the manga. This is bar none, one of the best shonen series I've had the pleasure of reading and despite its reputation, I'm certainly not ashamed to admit that I like it. Hell, I'm more inclined to buy volumes of Kuroshitsuji than I am of One Piece. What does that say about me? That I have shit taste? Eh, possibly but that's beside the point. I guess my point is that if you can put aside your preconceived notions of the franchise as a whole, you're definitely going to love the manga.

Tl;dr version? My lord, my lady, I highly recommend reading this manga. I assure you it's one hell of a good read.

When I initially started the Kuroshitsuji manga at age fourteen, pretty much the only thing that inspired me to read was my massive and probably unhealthy obsession with Sebastian. As you can probably guess, I wasn't very concerned about the plot.

Now that I'm older, I'm able to admit that the first couple of arcs were pure agony and completely monotonous to read.

Kuroshitsuji is a great example of how an author can improve over time. The art at the beginning of the series was quite frankly rough and ugly(think Junjou Romantica), the story was boring and pointless for the most part, and the characters super annoying in a failed attempt to be funny.

However, as the manga progresses, the art significantly improves. Significantly, as in sometimes you have to stop reading and stare because the art is just that gorgeous. The story is so good that every time I buy the newest volume I can't put it down, though plot holes are commonplace and super easy to pick out. A majority of the characters are super loveable, Ciel and Sebastian being the Holden Caulfield's of the story (love to hate them).

The one warning I must give if you're thinking of starting the series is: Kuroshitsuji is hard to get into. At first, it's uninteresting and bad to look at, however suffering through it is totally worth it because of how fantastic it becomes later on. New readers, don't give up, because though I absolutely hated reading at the beginning, it became one of my favorite mangas.

Story-The story gets 9.
The story gets clearly little by little and the reader can slowly understand about Ciel's past and who is Sebastian.
Although it's a bit boring in the start it gets more and more action and becomes to great manga!

Art-The art gets 10.
What can I say about the art?
It's simply amazing!
The food, the mansions and the roses... all of these stuff drawn just great!
Also the tea sets drawn wonderful.

Character-The character gets 9.
I like very much the design of the characters.
Especially: Ciel-The selfish little master, Sebastian-The "one hell of a butler" and Grell because of his real personality.

Enjoyment-My enjoyment gets 9.
I like all the characters, and art and the story is great.
The manga got great bloody parts and has a lot of mysterious parts.
I really like mangas with geners like that and cool characters so I started to read it and guess what?-
I don't have any regrets!

Overall-9.

Story (8/10):
“Aku made shitsuji desu / I am a butler to the core”

Kuroshitsuji takes place in Victorian era London and starts us off in the manor house of Ciel Phantomhive, the twelve year old head of the prominent noble English family. Assisting this young capitalist is Sebastian Michaelis, everyone’s ideal butler, who wishes for nothing more than to fulfill his young master’s every need. Now you may ask – what kind of reader am I, to be so easily marveled by an aristocrat and a merely simple butler? Well, I am obliged to highlight the fact that Sebastian is merely no ordinary butler, and as the story progresses, we soon come to realize that there is more to young Ciel and cunning Sebastian’s relationship. This fine butler is not simply serving Ciel out of the goodness of his heart or for any wealth, but instead is bound to the Phantomhive head by a rather dark contract – all of which is gradually being unraveled as each chapter passes. The story is fantastic and although at times it may seem that some chapters were a little slow and did not create as much emphasis as the last – each is important and ultimately fun to read. Consequently, the story itself is quite unique and definitely an interesting read. Moreover, albeit it may at times seem devoid of something, it will surely not displease in making you laugh and enjoying it enthusiastically.

Art (10/10):
The artwork in Kuroshitsuji is in my opinion extremely beautiful. Almost right off the top, I’m sure you will be impressed. The backgrounds when shown are marvelous and portray an excellent image. The artwork in Kuroshitsuji is magnificent in how well it depicts the Victorian era. By this, I draw attention to the intricate clothing designs that are worn by our characters, the nineteenth century tea and china sets, as well as the interior of the Phantomhive manor. Furthermore moving onto the character designs themselves – I must conclude that they are one of the best I have seen. Sebastian’s look floods sophistication, complexity and style; whereas upon taking a glance at Ciel’s character you immediately recognize an air of superiority, cleverness, and class. The art I believe is one of the best aspects of this manga.

Character (10/10):
The characters are a definite plus for Kuroshitsuji. Ciel Phantomhive is a twelve year old business savvy prodigy who is now the head of the noble English Phantomhive family. He prides on being a well-mannered, mature and calm young man and takes pleasure in winning, whether it be in a deal to gain material objects or to gain something of more value – hence forth proving his interest and hard to believe proficiency in playing games. Additionally, Ciel is the master of Sebastian whom he sees as his pawn and someone who is meant to endure anything in the name of Phantomhive.

Thus bringing us to the sly yet remarkable character of Sebastian Michaelis as the butler of young master Ciel. Sebastian is without a doubt, the best butler to ever serve nobility as he shows his ability to cook as a professional chef, clean so well that he leaves not a speck of dust, maintain the garden and indubitably perform many other tasks while still finding the time to make his master some tea and cake. Sebastian’s awesomeness is further proven as he is the first butler to be able to fight and fend off his masters’ adversaries with simple eating utensils. Yes, Sebastian is the true embodiment of perfection. However, as the story progresses – Sebastian’s true character becomes more and more clear.

One thing I must accurately say about the two main characters and of all the other supporting characters as well, is that each person has a unique story to tell. Although backgrounds are being revealed gradually – it’s quite understandable each character has quite a lot to offer. What is more is that although the story is often times meant to be dark; there are many characters that are ready to provide comical relief at any moment. As stated once before, each character has quite a lot to present from their personality to the overall story.

Enjoyment (9/10):
I am undeniably enjoying Kuroshitsuji to its fullest potential. Although many questions have been provoked, that is to be expected of a manga that is still publishing and continuing with high hopes. Additionally, as each chapter is being released, questions are being answered yet more questions are being put forth – therefore peaking my curiosity to a greater extent. Kuroshitsuji is a perfect balance of supernatural action, mystery and comedy that is makes an amazing manga. Furthermore – this is especially appealing to the females as it contains many “hot bishes/shotas” ^_^;;

Overall (9/10):
All in all, I would recommend Kuroshitsuji to anyone who is interested in reading a manga with a unique and twisting plot, great characters all whom differ in their personalities and abilities and with awe-inspiring art. I am thoroughly enjoying it and I hope others will come to love it as well :)

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I hope my first review on MAL was helpful to you and if you have any advice, I would be glad to hear it. Thanks for reading my review and I look forward to many more Kuroshitsuji fans ^__^

...I wish I liked this series better than I do. Aspects of it, and a few entire arcs, are great enough that I want the whole thing to be a masterpiece. But as it stands, there's just too many things I dislike about the series for me to pursue it any further. This is long, so if you want a short version of this review, there's a TL;DR at the bottom.

Viewed holistically, it isn't bad by any means; I can understand why it has so many fans. I don't care much for fanservice (as much as I like bishonens), but for those who do, or at least don't mind it, this series would certainly appeal to you. Beyond that, there are aspects of astounding quality here. For one, I can't praise Toboso's art enough. The art style is my favorite of any manga I've seen or read. The costume and character designs are incredible; most impressive to me is that she never falls into the trap of giving every bishounen the same design with a different hairstyle, but rather, they all look like individuals, and you can discern each character's personality and role from their appearance alone. Many of the characters- my favorites being Sebastian, the Noah's Ark Circus crew, and Sieglinde Sullivan- are legitimately unique and interesting. The series also raises interesting moral dilemmas, and by showing characters that are willing to do the worst of the worst, Toboso also manages to showcase the best of the best. That's a difficult balance to strike.

Frankly, the Noah's Ark Circus Arc is the best I've read in any manga (and I read Fullmetal Alchemist). Were I able to rank arcs on their own, I'd rank that one a perfect 10 in every category... and not even just because I love circuses. What I mentioned above about the worst and the best acts and traits of humanity is never pulled off with more pensive elegance than it is in this arc. It's tragic, it's somber, but it definitely makes you think. And Joker, for the record, is one of the most fascinating I've ever come across. He's a firm moral grey zone, but you come to understand exactly what makes him tick. I'd love to see HIM as the main character in something. And, for the record, I'd rank the next two arcs- the murder mystery and the cruise with Elizabeth- an 8 or 9; the former for its mystery, the latter for how well it develops Elizabeth and the Undertaker's characters.

Then why do I only rank the series a 6 out of 10 if I have so many good things to say about it? Well... for me, the things that DON'T work about this series massively hold it back. For one thing, I don't care for many of the characters, or any of the arcs aside from the three I mentioned. In the former respect, the two worst offenders for me are Grell and Ciel. I love Grell's design, but her personality has always *greatly* annoyed me. After her first few appearances, the most interesting aspects of her character (mostly her struggles with gender identity) are underexplored at best and played for cheap gags at worst. Even so, Grell's combat skills are still something to behold; I do like watching her fights, and she's not a major enough presence to ruin the story for me as a whole. Ciel, however, certainly is.

Let me say this. Usually, a tragic backstory- especially one as brutal as Ciel's- will get me pretty far with a character; if I feel for you, I want to watch you, support you, see you overcome and see you succeed. And I'm not against revenge plots; in fact, I rather like them, especially when they play up the vengeance-seeker's emotions. But there's something about Ciel I just can't have any pity for. It's not purely his willingness to do awful things- despite his actions, I thought he was at his best in the Circus arc - but moreso a matter of personality. Sure, *at best* he's cold, impersonal, and entitled, but most of that's understandable given his backstory... it just doesn't create a character I feel compelled to support in any way. The reason I like Ciel in the Circus arc is because you see him struggle with the weight of his actions; he shows a sort of emotional vulnerability that isn't really seen again. But if he doesn't seem to care about anything, why should I?

Ciel aside, it's hard enough to care about some of these plotlines. Aside from the three arcs I mentioned, the stories range from boring to outright annoying. The Red Butler arc has some serious pacing issues; the Indian Butler arc feels pointless (and gives us Agni and Soma who, while I think they're fun, add almost nothing of value to the overall story); the Public School arc feels like straight-up wish fulfillment and rips off the best points of the Circus and Luxury Liner arcs without adding anything new to the table, making it just feel stale; and the Emerald Witch Arc, aside from giving us Sieglinde (who is legitimately great) and some much-needed moments exploring Sebastian's motivation, quickly becomes tedious and overstays its welcome. None of these arcs made me drop the manga, however. That dubious honor goes to the Blue Cult, which gave us the cringe-inducing Victorian 1D equivalent comprised of four characters from the Public School arc. I didn't think anything from the School Arc provided enough story potential to be brought back into things. It just contributed to my feeling that things had gotten stale which, combined with the pacing (yet again), made me abandon ship altogether.

I've heard about some of the major story developments since I dropped the series, but none of it piques my interest enough to return to it. That's not to say I won't ever do so; I simply don't care enough to bother right now.

TL;DR: Great characters and art can't outweigh an unlikable protagonist, weak plotlines, and stale formulas. In my opinion, you can (and should) read the Circus, Murders, and Liner arcs, but nothing else is all that worthwhile. Factoring everything together, I'd have to weigh the average to a 6.

Anyone who bothered to read this review, keep in mind: these are all just my opinions. If you like the series, don't let what I say ruin it for you. I more write this for anyone who's considering picking this up as a newcomer; if any of the details I mentioned would be deal-breakers for you, it's good to keep that in mind.

As a boy, I didn't really have a good impression of Black Butler. As I saw fangirls going wild about Sebastian or whoever it was, I though it was one of those boring and tedious pretty-looking mangas with perfect guys that made the fangirls squeal.

I was right. It was a pretty-looking manga with perfect guys, but it wasn't boring nor tedious, it's probably one of the most exciting things I've read in years!

Story: 9
The description does a good job describing the story, so I won't say it again. I knew it was during the Victorian Era and I also knew it made references to famous things like Jack the Ripper, Titanic etc. I just didn't know it was so well done! The story is built in arcs, when one ends another begins, and so on. It may sound like random adventures after another one, but it's a lot more than that. Every arc has some connection with Ciel's past, and each one gives us a little hint to what really happened and to what's going to happen next. There are always amazing twists, all unexpected but planned through the whole way, sometimes I look some pages back to make sure I didn't miss anything. It draws you in like it has its own gravity.

Art: 10/10
PERFECT. There is no other word to describe the art of this manga. Everything has astonishing details, the teacups, the clothing, the furniture, the characters, everything! All those fancy ornaments are drawn flawlessly, the expressions on the character's faces are always clear and show exactly what they mean, all those dresses and hats and stockings look absolutely perfect, not a single mistake in proportions, no mistakes whatsoever! I would offer my soul to a demon to have the skills to draw like this.

Character: 10/10
Such a classy environment requires finesse, class, dignity, nobleness... NOT! The crazy cast of Black Butler extends itself to all the possible boundaries of personality. From the pit of seriousness that is Ciel, to the effeminate queen of divas that is Grell. Sebastian the handsome perfect butler is always confident and nothing will stop him from doing his master's will, except maybe some kitties. The very creepy Undertaker is always a good source of information, as long as you give him a first-rate laugh of course! It is almost impossible to not laugh at the very awkward qualities and fetishes this lovely group has. I could write a book with all the fantastic qualities of all these characters, but that is just a big waste of my time.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Classy, gory, sad, hilarious, addictive, packed with actions, jokes, amazing twists, traumatic situations... Everything a good manga needs is here. Not a single chapter bothered me, interesting from one end to another, that's a very rare quality in my opinion. The only problem is that you have to wait a whole month for a new chapter to come out, which can be slightly annoying, interrupting fights and then pick them up one moth later... but it's all worth it.

Overall: 10
I said all I wanted to say. Despite being more popular among girls, I think any boy would enjoy this manga to it's fullest... I did ;)

I admit, before I began reading it. I was a little curious about it after seeing it at anime-plant. So I read a few fanfictions and I was hooked on the characters slight.. Until finally I went to onemanga..and imagine my delight at finding it there instead of having to go on a search for it on yahoo.

The Story diserves a 9/10.
The plot is a quite interesting one. I had to say it really had me hooked on the second chapter. The first was a little boring but with some good humor blended into it. It was the second chapter when things begin to get interesting. I couldn't stop reading it, and when I had to the next time I was on I picked up where I left off. This manga's story is really good, a gothic blend, with a historical feel, and side trips of humor blended in.

The Art Diserves a 10/10.
I love Toboso Yana's work.. and quite honestly after seeing such great art.. I really wish I could draw like her. The art was fantastic it really showed great detailings of how and what the victorians wore, and what it was like back then. I really enjoyed seeing it. I always liked the Victorian era but never found a manga that shows it well quite like this. Yana really worked hard in this I can tell. Especially with the food.

The Characters: 10/10.
Again.. I say I really wish I could draw like her. The character like the art were great. Ciel especially as Sebastian. A butler to the core that serves his master to the fullest. Sebastian really shows off as a butler a bit in my opinion but that's another thing that I love about him. He's strict, and micheavous and if your not carefull he can play you like a harpsy cord, yet with a love for cats. Ciel a cold, genius, spoilt child earl that is just to adorable. I really love his icy stare.

Enjoyment...
Unlike most manga.. I really enjoy reading this. It brings a nice refreshing story style to my taste..

Overall.
This story diserves a 10 out of 10 rate. I do recommend it for those who love a good plot, a refreshing new style of plot, as well as for those looking for a few recipes to try.

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.

I have to admit, as someone who's only read shonen manga, I was sceptical about this series at the start. When I saw the volumes at my local bookstore, I couldn't help myself but judge this manga by the cover. By seeing Sebastian repeatedly on the covers of the volumes I thought that this was going to be another shallow pretty-boy manga.
Boy, was I wrong.

For anybody who likes dark gothic victorian fantasy, this book is the one for you. It is a unique manga in its own way, with well developed characters and a thought-out plot. Now, some people might call Ciel a 'brat' and Sebastian a 'cliche', but further on in the plot you find that this is not the case at all. Each character has their own unique personality that distinguishes them from other series.

The plot may seem vague or non-existent at the start, but once the introduction of the characters is over, there will be a quickening of pace in the events, and that's where this series is successful. It manages to fit in original characters (like Grell) to the historical context of the era.

I can name a handful of mangas that are suposedly set in England, but Kuro grasps the Zeltergeist of the Victorian era nicely. While I read it, I could feel the British pride, the ingenuity, the etiquette that made the British Empire renowned. There are many literary references which I enjoyed, including Edgar Alan Poe and Oscar Wilde. You can see that through the details that Toboso puts in, that the author has made great research on British culture.

Some people like to compare Kuro to Count Cain/Godchild. Both series have some similarities, but don't be put off by them, because they are overall very different. Kuro focuses more on the lack of human morals and the alienation from all that is good, but also focuses on the habits of human nature, and how we, as humans, are not too far away from animals. The concept of love is also ignored: the characters that often feel attached to another characters are often seen as the 'fools' and the 'losers' of the series.

Overall, this series is a great one to read, both for the fantastic art and the plot twists. Hats off to you Toboso!

To start off, this manga is definelty worth reading. No matter whether you watch the anime or not. Infact, the anime doesn't even begin to compare with the manga.

Story- This story is amazing and unique. Mainly focusing around mystery and the supernatural, with a touch of romance and humour, this story is put together brilliantly. You won't want to put the book down.

Art- The art in the manga is unbeileveable. The characters are drawn beautifully, and the backgrounds magnificient. Yana Toboso captures the look of 19th century London with every page. Also, the action scenes look as though they are popping off the page.

Characters- The characters are amazing. From they're gorgeous looks to they're incredible personalties. They truly are a master piece. You'll fall in love with Ciel, his handsome butler, wacky servants, and adorable fiance as soon as you meet them.

Enjoyment- This anime certainly is enjoyable. You'll want to be re-reading the books again and again. The story is excellent,and the humour hilarious. You're eyes will be glued to the page.