Kuroshitsuji

To be honest, I wasn't planning to read to manga at all of this series, after hardly being able to sit through most of the anime past episode eight. Surprisingly though, I enjoyed the manga quite a bit more (may have something to do with being able to flip through at your own pace), though it still does have its share of problems.

Starting off, we have the plot (that you can read for yourself elsewhere), which is a good idea overall, but fails to provide too much in terms of developing the storyline. The story itself is seperated in different "arcs", none of which properly explores the main characters (or feel like they are part of the "plot"), but instead focuses on different supporting characters, many of whom don't get much focus onwards. Still, each arc does provide you with some scattered clues about the main characters, and manage to be enjoyable as well (opinions may vary). They usually have powerful endings that are not to be missed, no matter how tedious parts of them can become.

As mentioned before, the main characters aren't exactly what I would call well-developed; characterization is pretty weak in this series. Ciel is alright; he seems to be the self-proclaimed chessmaster of this series, though the reader can see that it's more of his ego than actual ability, per-say. He's a spoiled brat with a cruel past, and you can see how much it made him develop as a character. Sebastian, on the other hand, I absolutely despise. He is the very definition of perfection, and is definitely a God Mode Sue in my eyes. Maybe it's justified, on account of him being a demon, but the way the story plays out makes him more of a Deus ex Machina then anything else, and has not developed his character properly yet; even over sixty chapters in, after a couple of years, we still do not have any backstory on him nor many hints as to his true motivation. Maybe this will change later (and let it CHANGE), maybe it won't. But until it does, I refuse to give him much credit.

With that being said, the supporting characters get a little more development, and all have their unique quirks. Something to remember in this series is that morality here is very dark, and characters usually should not be given a proper alliance (good, evil, neutral) just because of causing harm to a major character, who aren't exactly that nice either.

The art makes up for a lot of the series' faults, though. It's very delicate and attentive to detail, truly making the setting come to life. Only problem here is that it's a bit too delicate, giving little flow to fight sequences (unfortunately for the viewer).

Will you enjoy this manga? It's a bit hard to say. If you are a fangirl, then you might become enamoured with the endless stream of pretty-boys here (That's what most of the fan-discussion seems to consist of, anyways). Otherwise, most people may be turned-off by the slow pace that the author works with a lot of the time, espicially considering the wait for each chapter (a month for around 30 pages).

Overall, this series gets a 7/10 for me.

Being the manga for Black Butler, or Kuroshitsuji (if your cool), it is just enough to quench your thirst for more Sebastian. No but seriously, this is just to go through the story for me, as I wanted a little more. It is almost exactly the same (so far) as the anime, with more shenanigans with the servants and such added on, which is exactly what I wanted. If you've seen Black Butler, you'll enjoy the manga.

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE ANIME, WATCH THAT FIRST. The anime has this sense of immersion that the manga can't accomplish. In the second episode of the anime there is this thing called a field telephone, this is questionable for the atomsphere (supposted to be 18th century Britian), but since there are demons and stuff, I let it slide. In the manga HE PULLS OUT A FLIP PHONE. This would have really broke the immersion for me, if I hadn't already seen the anime. Anywho, just watch, before you read.

Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yana Toboso.The series follows Ciel Phantomhive, a thirteen-year-old boy head of the Phantomhive household, an aristocratic family known as the Queen's Watchdog. He is tasked with solving crimes in London's underworld. Ciel has formed a contract with Sebastian Michaelis to seek revenge against those who tortured him and murdered his parents. Sebastian is a demon who has taken on the disguise of a butler, and in exchange for his services, he will be allowed to consume Ciel's soul.

I personally think that the manga is way better than anime. from around chapter 61, i think?? everything is getting so ineresting like fr. i recommend you to read this manga... it's rlly good. btw in chapter 1, the art style is really old, but trust me, the art is getting better and better in every chapter:)

After seeing how many 10 and 9 ratings this manga is getting I decided to write my own review. Don't get me wrong, I love Kuroshitsuji, but I think this manga needs more objective and honest reviews, because let's face it, just because you enjoy something doesn't necessarily mean it's fantastic.

Story: 5
Kusoshitsuji has a pretty interesting concept: A young boy (10 at the time) makes a deal with a demon in order to get revenge on the people who destroyed his family. I love dark, twisted plotlines alot, so this manga instantly stood out to me for that reason. However, the way it lays out the story is detrimental to the overall value. Toboso is not a good storyteller. The main story is told in bits and pieces through individual arcs whose subplots have little to do with the main characters and their objective. And lately it seems that these sub plots are getting more and more cliched. It honestly seems like the author is running out of inspiration. For someone like me, who is dying to find out more about Ciel and Sebastian, it's fairly frustrating to be fed only tidbits each arc. So while I love the main story, it's presentation weighs the score down.

Art: 10
The art in Kuroshitsuji is simply gorgeous. It's very detailed and the artist is good at blending beauty with the macabre. The style is very gothic and suits the setting and atmosphere of the story well. The character designs are all rather interesting and with the amount of bishies to be found, it's every fangirl's dream.

Character: 7
I love morally ambiguous characters. And this series is full of them, Ciel being the prime example. He's a horrible person. He's cold, uncaring, manipulative, and does some pretty despicable things. However, you can't help but sympathize with him, since it's not really his fault. His current personality was shaped by the cruel events that led him to make a contract with a demon. At the age of 12, he took up the duty of leader of the Phantomhive family, and struggles to appear as an adult despite his young age and small stature. And throughout the story, he seems to struggle between his humanity and his objective. Sebastian is a rather flat character, but we don't know much about him and his motivations. Lizzy, whom I initially hated with a passion and still rather dislike, is revealed to have a lot more depth than previously suspected. And many of the side characters have a lot of depth to them as well, although there are those that are flat, such as the servants, which seems to exist for the sole purpose of comic relief and to showcase the extent of Ciel's ability to manipulate people.

Enjoyment: 8
I really love reading this series. Even though the slow pace can be incredibly frustrating, the individual arcs are interesting for the most part. And there are plenty of bishies, so that's an added bonus for the fangirls. Kuroshitsuji is a pretty entertaining read.

Overall, this gets a 7 from me.

At first this series annoyed me to hell. Not because I'd read it, mind you. But because every time I'm go to check for some freaking updates there would be Kuroshitsuji at the top of the list, taunting me and singing "na-na-na-na you don't read me!". The obvious solution would be to read it but I was stubborn and the title looked like a shounen which i was not in the mood for.

Finally I gave in and clicked the link on onemanga, which gave me the most misleading synopsis I'd ever read. It went:

"To what extent must a housekeeper do things to be acceptable? One of the noble families of England: Phantomhive's butler: Sebastian Michaels has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts, et cetera: but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a grey tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea, please read on to see how such a perfect butler copes with such a master..." (directly copy and pasted from onemanga, btw)

I thought "Oh! That sounds funny! A really happy manga!" HAHAHAHA! Yeah RIGHT! This thing ended up being one of the darkest, horrific, deep, and twisted mangas I've ever read! And I STILL loved it!

Even though my initial idea of the manga was totally misconceived I still found enjoyment of the highest degree.

What the story is really about is the pair, Sebastian (the perfect butler) and Ciel (the cold, calculating 12-year-old), living in the underworld of high society. Ciel is an orphan with a fortune, an eyepatch, and a deal with the demon Sebastian. In the manga we don't know the details of this deal (and you do in the anime but I don't trust animes) jut that Sebastian has to protect Ciel at all cost until a certain time at which point Sebastian gets Ciel's soul.

Of course, this is all rather heavy for a twelve-year-old (heck, at the time they made the deal, Ciel was 10!) but Ciel never appears to waver. He is strong, smart, cold, and far from merciful.
At least that's what he tries to be. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that Ciel is desperate to hide all emotion so as to protect himself from the world. His experiences hardened him and much of the series seems to be about him facing his own innocence and realizing his weaknesses.

But where Ciel is an open book, ready to read by anxious readers, Sebastian is closed off and a mystery. His constant smile and dark manor is menacing and you can't help but suspect he's only caring for Ciel for his tasty, tasty soul. But in the anime there are moments that suggest he may actually care for Ciel.

I would like to note at his time that this series is NOT a shounen ai/yaoi. Since the two main characters are a bishi and a shouta and they have a "unique relationship" it is assumed they are taking part in "inappropriate conduct" (aka they're joining NMBLA). I think this is disgusting. I can't believe people wish to think that. Why must all wholesome reltionships be ruined by people and their filthy minds

The relationship between these two is like a forced trust. Sebastian knows Ciel can't hurt him and Ciel knows Sebastian is bound by a sacred contract that can't be broken. Sebastian is the only person Ciel can trust unconditionally and since Sebastien is so strong he knows that if anyone even tries to cross him, they're dead. It's not love, just a partnership.Now that I'm done with that, I'd like to make note of the story. As opposed to most shoujos this series is divided into lots of mini arcs and stories which usually teach you something knew about these characters. They usually start with Ciel being told by the Queen to go do something for her. Then Ciel has to run off with Sebastian and do her bidding. These stories will usually start of with lots of funny, clever comments partnered with new characters to further the story. Then it plunges into some deep, dark plot line from whence are heroes may never return (they always do anyway).

In a lot of ways this manga reminds me of GodChild. Very dark and set in the same period. The only difference is I actually like the art in Kuroshitsuji. The detail is through the roof with high style, delicious sweets, lovely London town, and wonderful style to boot.

I hope you read this series and enjoy it as much as I do! ^_^