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Wow,
am I behind the times. For ages now in my travels to various anime
conventions, manga days and cosplay contests, I’ve watched people (usually
ladies) dress like a beautifully decorated Ace of Cakes winner, all
pink layers and ruffles. This particular costume was always seen with
either an abundance of dark fringe or a patch covering the wearer’s
right eye. When I asked who the costume was meant to portray, the words Ciel and Phantomhive just flew over my head. Boy, was I missing out.
Thanks to the good folks at Funimation, my eyes have been opened to the elegantly drawn, cleverly written fun and mystery of Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji). Creator Yana Toboso has cannily tapped into the current Japanese fascination for the Victorian age, aristocracy and exceedingly competent servants of the body. That, and throw in a bunch of bishounen characters with inferred flexible sexuality for good measure and you’ve got yourself a gigantic hit.
A huge
fire engulfs an estate in the English countryside. A family will perish
in the blaze leaving only one survivor, a small boy by the name of Ciel.
Funny thing is, no one saw him leave the burning mansion or carried him
out, but there he is, months after the inferno, now bearing a bandage
over one eye, but definitely alive. A new servant is now planted at the
Phantomhive heir’s side. This is Ciel’s butler, Sebastian, who, with
his preternaturally keen sense of anticipation of his master’s wishes
and exemplary housekeeping skills, is supernaturally efficient. Though
awfully young, Ciel not only rules the Phantomhive toy-making and
confection dynasty, but stands in the service of Her Majesty, Queen
Victoria, stealthily solving crimes and rooting out threats to the
Empire in ways no grown detective of Scotland Yard seems to be able to.
In cases like Ciel’s investigation of the murdered prostitutes, when the
new menace called Jack the Ripper gets too close to our mini-hero,
Sebastian is never far behind. Making use of the gracelessness of his
opponents, or if necessary, the Phantomhive cutlery for weapons,
Sebastian won’t let anyone do harm to his master until the day he
himself takes Ciel to Hell. I might have forgotten to mention that
Sebastian happens to be a demon bound by a bargain made with Ciel for
the child’s soul. Utterly subservient to the aristocratic boy, there’s
an underlying threat to Sebastian as this deal isn’t fully explained in
the two available discs released thus far, but it’s certainly repeated
enough to make one worry.
The
other underlying threat is to Ciel’s presumed chastity; when men aren’t
trying to kill him, they are trying to seduce the twelve year old.
There’s a definite emphasis on Sebastian’s solicitous care for Ciel, and
the manservant
isn’t afraid to be hands-on in his protection of his young ward. We are
also shown images of Ciel nude, battered and chained; being tortured by
a crowd of masked villains before his deal with Sebastian appears to
have freed him. Black Butler uses all sorts of visual entendres to put
across its yaoi leanings. The fact that Ciel is not even a teenager is
troubling and icky; one hopes the references certain characters make to
their lust for him will stay at bay at least until the age of consent.
However, there are perfectly non-paedobait personages to admire: When one character (- of extremely questionable gender) passionately pursues Sebastian, that’s much easier to take and entirely understandable. Sebastian is, simply put, the perfect man; considerate before a consideration is made, he cooks like a gourmet, cleans till the entire house squeaks, foresees Ciel’s every need, and is, in his terms, “merely one hell of a butler.” Each time he seemingly achieves the impossible, Sebastian modestly claims that “A Phantomhive butler that can’t do this isn’t worth his salt,” And he ain’t hard on the eyes, neither. Same for some of the other males on the show, including an Indian prince with his own super-efficient, handsome manservant and a strange, shape-shifting dog man with a serious aversion to clothing.
Ciel’s
sadness and mourning for his family hides behind his impatience and
seeming lack of any joy in life despite having obscene amounts of money
and power. Ciel’s outfits usually consist of the incongruous top hat or
derby over childlike short pants. Aside from his wardrobe oddities and
his tiny height there’s precious little to remind anyone that puberty
for Ciel is still an abstract notion. Even his board and card games are
played with a sinister edge. The young head of the Phantomhive empire
is all pouts, frosty glares and emo, though one can hardly blame him.
Ciel’s outward coldness is in direct opposition to the fact that the boy
loved his parents so much he gave up his soul to avenge them.
The
art of Black Butler is gorgeous. It’s a beautifully rendered series with
layered, luxurious backgrounds and lush, opaque colours everywhere. The
interiors of the Phantomhive manor are bedecked with the wood paneling
that was so abundant in Victorian architecture and are so richly shaded
here they’re nearly touchable. There’s time spent on details like the
gilt designs on the early telephones and gaslight sconces. The
attention the anime artists pay to Ciel’s and Sebastian’s wardrobe is
amazing, especially considering that Sebastian mostly wears only one
outfit. It’s just all prettiness. One of the cuter aspects of the show
are the desserts made every night by Sebastian for Ciel; they are such a
highlight that they’re usually given a placard frame and a brief
description. Sebastian can often tell Ciel exactly where his various
daily teas were purchased and the names of actual British stores
cleverly used. There is the odd anachronism which makes one wonder is
it’s really the Victorian era or does this household simply really love
host club goth lolita attire? In the second episode, Ciel is kidnapped
by some vengeful Italian bad guys who look less like characters from
1880 than from 1980, specifically Tubbs and Crockett from Miami Vice;
the mobsters all wear modern pastel suits, long, shaggy hair pulled back
and multiple earrings.
Funimation’s
main voice cast for Black Butler is on point. With Brina Palencia
sulky, low-toned and refined as Ciel Phantomhive and J. Michael Tatum
hitting the right dry, soft-spoken tones as Sebastian Michaelis, though
with considerably less of the seductive tones of his award-winning
Japanese counterpart, Daisuke Ono. I do wish there was a dubbing
cast that could get insane characters right; like Grell (Greil) Marcus,
the he/she with a thing for Sebastian sounds as nuts as he/she/it looks,
alternating between high-pitched screams and low, throaty growls. The other thing that seems
hard for dubs is for voice actors to play femme gender-benders; they
always sound entirely too male. I think they need to hire more tenors.
Black Butler is a sexy, seductive feast for the eyes that entertains on all levels. There are several engrossing mysteries happening at any given time, and the drama of Ciel’s loneliness and what may be his inevitable end is balanced with a very funny supporting cast of characters to take the weight off. I was instantly enchanted with Black Butler and can’t wait to see more.
~ The Lady Miz Diva
January 28th, 2011
The second set of Black Butler Season 1 will be released by Funimation on March 8, 2011, with the complete Second Season coming soon.
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