Review of Black Butler

O-M-G…. starting this I never ever expected that I was about to watch my most favorite anime of all times! Where to even begin reviewing this show? Prepare yourselves for a LONG review, it can’t be helped! I don’t know what made me fall so utterly and madly in love with it. It might have been the Victorian-era London scenery, the gloomy, melancholic, weeping like atmosphere that prevailed. The eerie, mystifying, wicked characters, the extremely and utterly beautiful musical score, the exquisite art. What I know is that it was love at first sight. Story: (10/10) In a nutshell the story is about a young boy who suddenlyloses everything and everyone he loves without knowing why. He then makes a contract with a demon in order to search for the people responsible for his disasters. Sounds pretty cool and interesting eh? It surely is!
Now I will be honest and admit that this was the only part of show that just lacked a small bit. Like a few parts in the first arcs felt a little out of place at first. Lots of times I also felt like precious time was wasted in some irrelevant things. BUT… what comes in the second half of the show definitely covers up for every little misstep on the first half. And truth is that in the end it manages to cover all theholes and connect everything together, even things that at first looked off. In any case, better watch the anime before reading the manga, because the comparison between the two will not let you enjoy the anime as much as you can.
All in all though, it had everything I wanted to see, from intense action scenes to very touching and painful to watch ones. It brought out all kinds of emotions and managed to create an interesting complexity. As this takes part in England, I loved how they mixed things from the English myths and traditions. It gave a note of proficiency.

Characters: ( 10/10)
The characters are one of the strongest weapons of this show!
First the battler… on the outside a gentle and sophisticated figure, as the most exquisite English battlers used to be. He seeks perfection in every work he does for his master. His true nature though is that of a demon and that allows him to achieve the most perfect results in everything he does.
Demon…a figure carved in religion as the absolute form of evil, yet this time you get to question the fact. And it is brilliant when you realize you can’t label anything you see as good or bad, right or wrong etc. Such meanings mingle and blend together so much, that you can’t distinguish the borders anymore. The battler’s loyalty to the master will make you question if he might have started to really care about him, or if it’s just pretence. You can never really tell or be at ease knowing about his double nature.
Then it’s the figure of the young master, Ciel. Close your eyes once and only hear his words. Could you ever imagine that in front of you stands a 12 year old boy? What would a normal 12 year old have experienced in this short period of his life? Games, friends, family, love? Ciel’s path doesn’t allow him to live normally, it’s only carved in darkness, pain, anger, and loss. His life forced him to grow mature in contrast to his age. And the fact that he is a noble coming from a rich family makes his fate even more ironic and tragic, in the sense that they couldn't buy him the things he misses the most.
The supporting characters are equally great, wicked, twisted; they highlight the eeriness of the show. And the other house servants are a happy note being very contradictory to the figure of the battler. But that allows to the viewer one or two relief breaths while watching before diving again to the darkness of the show.

Music: (10/10)

The music was one of the parts that I enjoyed the most. From the very beginning I fell in love with the opening song, both for its music and for its lyrical part which both are so fitting and involve all the essence of Kuroshitsuji. As an addition the animation in th eopening is really profound and it was giving me the chills each time. I never skipped it, not even once. The first ending theme was okay, though it mostly highlighted the funny parts of the show, which was not bad for the first half. As for the second ending theme a simple WOW is all I can think of. Nothing could have fitted better; Kalafina are always making top quality things. As for the background music.. captivating and mystifying are the words that come to my mind. It enhances the whole picture and brings it to a totally new level, conveying every feeling, every situation or underlying hidden meaning. All in all this anime has one of the best, if not the very best, music scores of all times.

Art (10/10)

Ah! This was surely an eye candy! Every character was drawn in detail with every feeling conveyed sometimes just by their eyes, which I found extremely captivating. And I will think of all praise possible for the drawing of the backgrounds. Now not only did they convey the misty atmosphere and dark feeling with some pale, cold and gloomy shades, but also they did study every little detail, from the cutlery, crockery to the inside and outside of that era’s buildings. Being an architect student, what impressed me the most was around the middle of the series, when they drew the building of Crystal Palace. I was totally impressed seeing it in perfect design, which showed me that the creators had searched so thoroughly before making anything and now that says a lot.

Enjoyment (infinite…+∞)

What can I say that I haven’t said already? For all the reasons I have stated this was a pure delight that filled my free time with great moments!
All the characters’ interactions, the deep and thick plot, the superb art and music, blended together and made a true masterpiece.

I honestly think that a light or uncaring approach for Kuroshitsuji might just be a failed attempt to keep in track with the underlying levels it possesses. And that’s just the beauty that it holds, which will make you feel so content if you are able to decipher it. In any case it’s filled with greatness!