Black Butler: Book of Circus

Can you imagine how frustrating it is to be a heterosexual male who HATES paedophilia who also happens to like Kuroshitsuji? Damn it, A-1 Pictures why did it take you guys THIS long to do Kuroshitsuji right, especially after all the shit you guys did to sour everyone else's view of the series? The first season had a lot of problems behind it that could've easily been fixed with a little more foresight and Kuroshitsuji II was a pointless cash-grab that just REEKED of corporate greed and yaoi-fangirl pandering that would make even make Hetalia fan fiction look like Dr. Seuss. With all of thisdamage done to Kuroshitsuji's reputation, why did it take you THIS long to finally get it right? If you're one of the many people who've been hesitating to give Kuroshitsuji a try because of its reputation as shameless fangirl pandering, I HIGHLY urge you to watch Book of Circus before coming to any conclusions. Before I begin, I just want to get one thing out of the way: yes, this is technically a continuation of the first season which picks up the manga's story where the first season left off (which is around Episode 16-onward). HOWEVER, Book of Circus is inexplicably formatted as if it was geared toward newcomers to the franchise. This is of course both good and bad. The good is the fact that you don't have to sit through the first 15 episodes of the first season to actually familiarise yourself with the characters and the like since any events that happened within the first season are quickly recapped for your convenience. The bad news is that if you are in fact, a complete newcomer to the franchise... chances are that you might get a bit lost somewhere down the road. Keep in mind that this is only 10 episodes long though, so you should just kind of roll with it if you're watching and look it up later if you really are that curious. Aside from the stuff I mentioned before, another reason why people don't give Kuroshitsuji a chance is because well... the concept sounds kind of boring in hindsight and that's something I really can't defend because truth be told, it DOES get boring. HOWEVER, that's not entirely the case with Book of Circus. Book of Circus adapts the much-lauded Noah's Ark Circus portion of the manga's story which is where Toboso actually cut all of the superfluous bullshit and actually focused on giving us involving plot that sucks us in. Here's the deal: a travelling circus comes to London, but the problem is that children keep getting abducted in every city that the circus has been in. Considering Ciel's reputation as the Queen's guard dog, it was only a matter of time before he's ordered by Her Majesty to conduct an investigation. Right off the bat, we have an awesome set-up. People unfamiliar with Black Butler tend to dismiss this show as a slice-of-life supernatural comedy taking place in Victorian England, which couldn't be farther from the truth. The biggest reason that I can think of as to why people tend to have this misconception is because the first half of Kuroshitsuji's first season REALLY dialled up the comedy which really affected the overall tone of the story. The manga does retain a similar style of humour which mostly consists of visual gags and slapstick, but it's far less prevalent. Considering the fact that the vast majority of this show takes place in a circus, it's no surprise that there would be some hint of a light-hearted tone with a little bit of comedy present. However, that's mostly evident within the first four episodes where the Noah's Ark Circus is being introduced and the mystery was being touched upon. As the show progresses, the mystery surrounding the Noah's Ark Circus is gradually explored and good GOD does it get morbid. I'm not even joking when I tell you that there's actually a point in the penultimate episodes where there actually was censorship put into effect for a good 20-30 seconds (parts of the screen end up being blacked out). For people who come into Kuroshitsuji expecting some kind of bishie festival full of yaoi subtext and shota undertones full of over-the-top comedy akin to something like say... Ouran HSHC, this will be a MAJOR shock to the system. Whenever Yana Toboso actually gets to work on an arc with a serious story that has the potential to suck you in, she more or less drops most of the bullshit and actually focuses on developing the story with minimal interruptions whatsoever. Speaking of which, there's actually not a lot of shota/yaoi subtext throughout the entirety of the Noah's Ark Circus. I mean... there's bits and pieces of it here and there, but it's a hell of a lot more bearable than that fucking corset scene from Episode 4. As for the pacing, the actual mystery surrounding the Noah's Ark Circus is handled quite well, which you might think is rather surprising given that this is a 10-episode season. HOWEVER, the entirety of the Noah's Ark Circus portion of the manga was only 13 chapters long to begin with which means that it's adapted at a ratio of about 1 chapter:1 episode ratio. Keep in mind that's also roughly 468 pages of material to adapt, where each chapter was around 35-40 pages long. I'd say that 10 episodes was enough to work with to give this part of the manga a fair adaptation. It's not a perfect adaptation though, given that the first episode is more or less an introduction to Ciel, Sebas-chan, and everyone else and has next-to-nothing to do with the Noah's Ark Circus until the end of the episode. I still found it pretty entertaining though, although that mostly stems from my fondness of Sebas-chan (and of course, the amazing visuals/OST that A-1 Pictures provides). Moving over to the character side of things, let's take a look at Ciel and Sebas-chan first. Ciel is for lack of better words, a 13-year-old Bruce Wayne but with an eye patch. The thing is that he suffers from a REALLY traumatic past (which actually DOES get explored in Book of Circus), but it's that traumatic past that causes him to constantly brood and never know when to lighten up... you know, unless he's faking it for the sake of Her Majesty. He will lie and cheat if it means that whatever he's doing for the sake of the Queen will go further which is clearly evident whenever he has to weasel his way out of some less-than-ideal situations. For the most part, Ciel doesn't really change throughout Book of Circus but that's kind of understandable given that he BARELY changed throughout the entirety of the manga (I'm 97 chapters in, and I can safely say that he hasn't had all that much character growth). Now we get to Sebastian Michaelis, affectionately referred to as "Sebby" by the fans and "Sebas-chan" or "Bassy" by Grell (depends on whether or not you watch sub/dub). He's one hell of a bishie demon butler who made a contract with Ciel to help him exact revenge on those who wronged him in exchange for being able to consume his soul once the deed is done. In all honesty, I love Sebas-chan as a character. In many ways, Ciel and Sebas-chan have a relationship similar to that of Integra and Alucard from Hellsing. At the same time, Sebastian likes to toy around with his master and keep things fresh and entertaining for him. A lot of people don't like Sebastian because of the fact that he's overpowered, but that's like hating on the Gundam franchise because it involves giant robots. The biggest draw to Sebastian is his personality and his approach to the various situations that he gets put into. The terms of the contract that he has with Ciel are only effective if he's alive... but just barely. Ciel also has to be very careful about what he orders Sebastian to do, otherwise he'll just do whatever and get off on a technicality. So in that sense, it keeps the relationship between the two of them fresh and is just a joy to watch on-screen... whenever there isn't any shota subtext. Much like Ciel, Sebas-chan really doesn't change throughout Book of Circus and that's kind of the way he is throughout the vast majority of the manga. Well, then again this manga's been going on for like eight years via monthly serialisation. It's no surprise that Toboso hasn't quite fleshed out the characters yet. As for the new characters introduced in Book of Circus like Joker, Beast, Doll, and Snake... they're all pretty interesting to say the least. With the exception of Joker, Beast, and Doll, the vast majority of the Noah's Ark Circus characters aren't really developed all that much (with the possible exception of Snake, but he shows up later in the manga's run WAY past the end of the Noah's Ark Circus). Well... then again, this is a 10-episode long series that adapts a relatively short part of the manga. I guess it's only natural for character development to not exactly be up-to-snuff. I will say this though: Episodes 7-9 which feature this show's main antagonist will DEFINITELY catch you off-guard. On another note, Episode 8 features the Phantomhive servants kicking ass like they did in the episode "His Butler, Engaging Servants" from the first season and I have to say... I NEVER get tired of Mey-Rin without her glasses on. I can't wait to hear Monica Rial voicing her in the English dub. On the technical side of things, the art/animation for Book of Circus is absolutely GORGEOUS and is quite possibly some of A-1 Pictures' best work to date. This season alone makes the other two pretty damn hard to watch. I guess it's similar to The Boondocks where the art/animation quality continuously improves throughout each season. I honestly can't wait for the Book of Murder OVAs to come out so that I can see how A-1 Pictures is going to top themselves. What I really love about the art/animation is how A-1 Pictures actually implemented stuff like shading and lighting to quite a realistic degree in a vein similar to Death Note. Now if only A-1 Pictures' adaptations were as good as Madhouse's. Whatever, that's none of my business *drinks a cup of Earl Grey tea* As for the art/animation for the OP and ED, I quite like the OP but the ED felt a bit too... fangirl-pandering for my liking. Whatever, this is Black Butler... fangirl pandering is something that's part of the course and it's something I've made peace with a long time ago. On the sound side of things... I REALLY wish that the Book of Circus OST was released by now because there were a LOT of BGM tracks that I happened to pick up on and thoroughly enjoy. Now if only they retained the song "Si Deus Me Relinquit" from the first season. Speaking of which, they actually got SID back to do the opening for Book of Circus (these are also the guys that did the first ED and fifth OP of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood). "Enamel" has to be the catchiest OP theme I've heard yet, and this is coming from a guy who couldn't get the fifth OP for Naruto PT1 out of his head for a good six years (and I REALLY wish that was hyperbole). I also quite like the ED track, "Aoki Tsuki Michite" by AKIRA... although to be brutally honest, it's the visuals I don't quite care much for and is the main reason why I skipped over the ED altogether. If it were just you know... just a black screen with text in the foreground, I'd stay around and listen to the song because it really is that good. There is no English dub to speak of at the time of writing, but on the subtitled side of things, we've got familiar faces like Maaya Sakamoto and Daisuke Ono voicing Ciel and Sebas-chan respectively. In other words: REALLY good performances from these two. Considering the fact that Funimation licensed Book of Circus for simulcasting, I'm guessing that the dub will be the same as the first two seasons. In other words: Brina Palencia and J. Michael Tatum voicing Ciel and Sebastian with fake British accents. I'm game for that. Would I say that I enjoyed Book of Circus? Absolutely. This was actually the show that got me to pick up a Kuroshitsuji volume because I couldn't stand waiting for episodes every week while watching the show when it was still airing. If a show manages to get me to read something, it gets a pass from me. As for how much you'd enjoy it? I'd say that you'd probabl enjoy it quite a bit, maybe not as much as I do, but chances are that it'll probably exceed your expectations. Like, if you have some REALLY low expectations for the Kuroshitsuji franchise, I can't think of a better series to watch than Book of Circus. If you had a sour taste in your mouth because of the first two seasons, I heartily recommend watching this one as it will more than likely change your preconceptions about this series.

In the year of 2008, appear an anime that draws all the female audience into the front of the screen. Yes, it's Kuroshitsuji. The Book of Circus is a sequel from the middle of the 1st season. Basically, at the early episode, the story doesn't have an orientation on its way, but after that episode, the story continues with a well-organized plot, it is successfully done well in a short periodic of time (10 episodes), although there are some points that lack in source. As for the animation, the Book of Circus have the same animation like the other previous season, the characters have unique designsindeed. The opening song really matched with the entire season, as well as the ending song. The seiyuu did a good job in bringing such character to the scene. Book of Circus have a decent character development, all characters seems to have their own role to play, the only problem is the story is just 10 episodes, is hard to create an excellent and precise development in that short time. So the characters have a development, but not described perfectly within the series. The Book of Circus major success is located in the enjoyment of the season. The season practically different from the other season, it fills all the excitement into the screen. Well, Kuroshitsuji mainly aim to the female audience, SOME male viewers may not found this interesting, it is fully recommended for those who seeks exciting action movies

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus is nothing like its prequels. Why so? It takes the brimming potential set by the first season of the franchise and invents an arc. What kind of an arc, you say? Well, come closer, and let me tell you. Ciel Phantomhive, a boy who had undergone all sorts of hell, makes a contract at his desperate moments with a demon. This demons vows to never betray him, to forever stay by his side as he lives, a demon that does his everything bidding to the fullest. A demon: named Sebastian, who shall forever be his loyal butler and carry on hisplan to avenge the ones who done him wrong while serving under the Queen of England- until the moment that goal is achieved, that revenge sated, and his soul... eaten. But we already know that. Story: The Queen of England has ordered Ciel Phantomhive to investigate in a case. In this case, children are suddenly mysteriously disappearing every time a certain circus comes by, and Ciel must catch the culprit and bring down justice. That's basically the story. But, wait, isn't there more? Yes, there is. It's basically another plot that technically takes place after the Curry arc back in the first season, but it, once again, is like no other. However, as you watch the first episode, it's nothing but the same thing that basically happened in the first episode of the first season. It's so... simple, awfully bland, not off to a great start. We all know that the formula is going to be along the lines of: Ciel investigates, tells Sebastian to do everything for him, finds culprit, Ciel is about to die, Sebastian saves his butt, "Yes, my Lord.", and Sebastian kills everyone. But as we delve deeper into the plot, perhaps this circus isn't so much laughs and fun as it claims to be. And perhaps... things will be different this time. Oh, what am I saying? We all know clowns are scary. Art: The art... it's the same as the previous seasons. It is by all means not bad at all. In fact, I love it. It's beautiful. But, I want to stop here for a moment, and just comment on the opening for a bit. It's... astounding. Amazing. Like I said before, this opening is incomparable to the previous seasons. When you watch this opening, you have this feeling of suspense and it carries the dark tonality that Kuroshitsuji had all along. The animation is extremely fluid, the colors and desaturated and faded, giving off that eerie dissonance, while at the same time, still has that excitement contained within. Oh, what can I say? It's fabulous. Characters: There isn't much character development. But, does this mean that they aren't interesting to watch? No, not at all. Though Sebastian is still the perfect demon he is, and Ciel the ruthless prickly brat he is, we have to remind ourselves that this is a supernatural show, a show about suspense, AHA! moments, blood, gore, horror. And wow, does this seriously do a good job on those aspects. The horrors Ciel gone through, the horrors the side characters gone through. And speaking of side characters, you do get a new cast of colorful side characters. You have Joker, Beast, Snake, Doll, Dagger. They first appear as quite a mix of rainbows, but not before too long will these rainbows wilt and drop dead to the ground. And you will feel with them, you will cry with them, you will pity them. For this is a story of tragedy. A story of suffering. A truly sadistic story. Sound: The soundtrack is pretty nice. Though not too memorable, but the opening, the sound is equivalent in praise as the animation. Enjoyment: How could you not enjoy this beautiful third season of Kuroshitsuji? Simply put, it was an absolute shock to me on how good it was. It takes the brilliant potential the show had all along, expanded upon it, built upon it, explored upon it, made it colorful and brilliant, exactly how the first and second seasons should had been all long. My final verdict: You will watch this. You will like this. The suspense, horror, blood, tragedy, sorrow, pity and fast paced story will keep you interested until the show is over. Don't be fooled by the slightly giddy first episodes. The ending ties everything you've seen into a nice little bow on a nice little Halloween present. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus. His Butler, recommends thee.

as a person who hated the first two seasons of kuroshitsuji you would think i would hate book of circus (especially after that disaster of a second season) but i was happy for 2 reasons. 1 the new director and write of this was faithful to the manga and made it genuinely good; and 2 this has become my trump card to the fan girls of the franchise who would jump down my throat when i said i hated the first two seasons. Story: the story is that children have been disappearing and it is linked to a circus traveling around so Ciel and Sebastian gounder cover as performs to see the link. as opposed to the first two seasons the story here felt more complete and a genuine mystery throwing in red herrings and a twist that works (unlike seasons 2 twist which was insulting to everyone) character: for the first two seasons i never saw why girls liked Sebastian he was a boring kiss ass but in book of circus he went from my most overrated to one of my favorites. Sebastian is snarky, he's sneaky, he will use any chance to mess with ciel and twist his words against him and insult him; I LOVE IT! Ciel is honestly more of the same from the first season but here it works because no body treats him like he's special; he get's made fun of more, has to handle things himself and FINALLY admits he's no better then any other human. the circus members feel genuinely like a family which dose make the ending sad. they use William as the reaper instead of Grell which is a good choice because he plays a great rival for Sebastian. finally the servants of the Phantomhive manor actually get there moment to shine and show why there actually there (something they never really did in the first 2 seasons. Sound: the music in this anime is memorable and stands out. it wins be default; since it adds in more style of music besides generic Gothic music and it fits way better in the situation then the other two seasons. Art: face it whether you like Kuroshitsuji or not the art is good. so naturally this looks great. that being said what kept bugging me was the cgi on the horses or other live beings it feels unnatural; but the designs are still good and stand out. Enjoyment: again as a man who hated the first two seasons i really enjoyed this as a stand alone anime. it still surprised me that i actually enjoyed it; it dosen't do that yaoi overtones that turned many people away and felt like it's own anime to enjoy. overall i like this anime; will it be anime of the year sorry but no; but did i like this anime yes. take my words for what you think but i enjoyed it alot and did not regret watching it.