Guys.

Have I mentioned I'm obsessed with this thing.

Because I'm obsessed with this thing.

I'll elaborate why in extensive detail when I'm done recovering from surgery. Consider yourselves warned.

Someone likes her happy-surviving-getting-your-teeth-yanked-out present.

I've seen the first season of this myself, and started reading the manga, but haven't had the time to get very far with that. But Seb, and the Victorian setting, and the other characters... Definitely an anime classic.

I know that was a pathetic summary, so we'll wait for Abi's elaboration.

*huggles Lietannt* tank'oooo.

Okayokayokay so first off the first season becomes noncanon after the curry arc with Agni and Soma. So before you watch Book of Circus, forget everything that happened after those two episodes.

Now. *cracks knuckles* I've decided to break my love of this manga/anime down into a lot of long posts instead of one humongous eyesore post. Here we go:

If you know me, you know I love strange things. I want quirky, upside-down stories. I like story tropes to be shaken up, stereotypes to be reversed. I like blond villains and good guys with villainous pasts.

Black Butler turns those stereotypes on their heads in a very delectable way. The demon and his food are the "good guys", and in several episodes, an angel is the villain.

Don't get me wrong, this show's theology is twisted. But it's twisted beautifully. XD Angela in some respects is still an angel, but--especially since we're seeing her from the POV of two villains in their own right--she's quite villainous.

Part 2: The humor.

Sure, you can give me violence and drama and feels, but I'm gonna stop watching after a while. TV shows have a hard enough time keeping my interest with that, and in the end, I'll stop watching them. Agents of SHIELD is a perfect example.

Why did I stick with Black Butler for Season 1, Book of Circus, and Book of Murder?

Because it's hilarious. It's just funny. It's so dark and sometimes frightening but then suddenly the most random thing will happen and it makes me laugh so hard.

3. HISTORICAL ACCURACY

Forget their hairstyles for this bit and hear me out. The research Yana did for this story is wild. Abberline of Scotland Yard was actually the leader in trying to solve the Jack the Ripper cases. Snake names his snakes after famous authors of the time. The Undertaker's "doggy biscuits" are actually Victorian funeral biscuits, which were served at funerals in the late 1800s as a remembrance of the dead. Even when Grell buries him in salt, it refers to another 1800s funeral custom. In one of the noncanon episodes they visit the World's Fair. In 1889, it was in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower being the main attraction. The show displays this.

Just...the longer you look, the more subtle little things you find. I like how the show is rooted in the reality of 1800s England, but there are still enough quirks to help you keep the two separated in your mind.

I'll talk about the characters in my next post.

*pours tea and sits back to watch* You're welcome, darling.

Yes, I love "alternate" and twisted history like she did with Black Butler. Using a historical setting for a fantastical or quirky story has such delicious results.

JUST A HEADS-UP THAT I'M STILL OBSESSED WITH THE THING

and will make another long rant post in the near future about said thing XD

Stay tuned.

I also love the fact that is showcases human desperation. If God is taken out of the equation, there is no hope, and I feel that that's a theme that--to be perfectly honest--more Christian shows could play off of. What happens when God isn't an option? We force him down people's throats half the time in our work... what if he was never an option to begin with?

I feel the show really just shows humans in a true light. We really will grab at any "spider's thread" that's offered to us for a way out. Revenge is a natural instinct. It sort of shows off how horrible humans could be if there were no consequences.

But the great thing is, there are consequences. Ciel will lose his soul. That is the price he pays. Is his wish worth it? A "foolish revenge"? No, and the show hints at that a bit. I like that too. It's like, "yes, humans are desperate and have the potential to be terrible human beings, but there is always a price for it. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

There are always consequences. Perhaps not immediate, but definitely there.