Review of Black Butler

6.5 Now, don't get me wrong. 6 is a rating that implies 'Fine' according to MAL standards - I don't dislike this anime, neither do I think it was a bad experience for me. It felt like something between a just fine and a pretty good anime for me, hence the 6.5. I'm really new to anime and this is my first review on MAL!. It's not going to be anything very serious or analytic, I'm a very casual anime watcher (and I'm also just a beginner) so I usually don't spend a lot of time researching the anime's background unless it's something that I really like. However,please do feel free to critique anything in the review, I always enjoy an anime discussion since I don't really have anyone around me who watches anime (sad life isn't it? haha)

Story: 6

It was better than okay but not very good still. The premise was great, and like many others I loved the Victorian-setting, and the mysterious setup for the story was pretty great. But I do think that setting up the story as eerie, dark and mysterious was one of the setbacks to how much I could enjoy the anime, even though the first episodes already showcased how there were going to be hilarious and foolish side characters. The setup of a demon butler and the boy who sold his soul and has a tragic backstory hyped me up for a big overarching storyline and much deeper concepts that I've seen in this first season, and it wasn't really anything like that, strictly. The main duo solve crimes, often supernatural ones and the cases are split into small story arcs. I've heard that episode 16 onwards the anime goes off track from the manga and I do feel like there was a significant downturn in terms of storytelling from that point, which is also one of the reasons I gave it a 6. The first 15 episodes consisted of multiple 2-3 episodes story arcs, some of which were rather enjoyable, and I especially liked the Jack Ripper one, and also the doll-puppet arc (forgive me for not learning their proper names). Others, however, I just did not really care for. They gave me some laughs, but there was a lack of 'wow' factors.

Character: 7

Hm, that rating was harder to give than it seems. Overall, the character designs are great, love the grim reapers and the side characters look very pleasant to the eyes. I really like Sebastian, but his repeating proses of being a Phantomhive butler can feel over repetitive sometimes, even though I do understand how it ties with the solidification of his character. That said, he is a really cool and badass character, which is always a plus for me. Grell is fantastic, and his and Undertaker's character designs are actually my favourite. I haven't seen enough of these two to say how much I like them but I definitely want to see more of them. The rest of the Phantomhive household is also adorable, and the antagonists of the story are interesting enough to keep me interested.

The problem here... is Ciel. I just simply can't bring myself to care for him and I'm really tempted to bring down the rating since he's the MC and I have to see him in all the episodes. I don't hate him, I just don't find myself caring for him, which is one of the first things I develop for every MC of the story. If I can't get myself emotionally attached to the MC in one way or another, maybe even just fangirling, then I can't cultivate the motivation to want to keep watching the series. All the while watching I get the feeling that this character setup is rather pretentious and too ambitious. I know that he has a tragic backstory, but the story fails to make me empathize with him. Personally, he feels a bit hollow as a character and simply lacks sufficient character development that should be there for the MC. Or maybe it's just supposed to be like that, I'm not sure. But that will just mean that I can't feel for him as a character. That said, Sebastian is pretty cool and keeps me interested in the story. I do look forward to see more character development in Ciel in the sequels though. (Yes, I'm definitely continuing because I need more Undertaker and Grell)

Sound: 7
Art: 8

I'm not a professional so I won't try to elaborate but the art looks good enough to me and the Victorian style buildings and settings are simply wonderful, especially when I'm living in London and I can actually relate to the architecture. Sound effects are also fitting to the story, even though I'm not a fan of the ED.

Enjoyment: 6

By no means is this a bad anime, I enjoyed the premise and it was entertaining enough, albeit a bit superficial at times. The main problem was that Ciel as the MC just takes away part of my enjoyment of the series because he's not engaging enough to me. I am very interested in the premise though so I will continue on the Book of Circus and hopefully the rest of the franchise.

Thank you for reading!