The popular manga “Kuroshitsuji” by Yana Cardinal, serialized since the October 2006 issue of “Monthly G-Fantasy,” celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2021.
The manga was adapted into a drama CD in 2007 and a TV anime in 2008. It was adapted into a drama CD in 2007, a TV anime in 2008, and a 2.5D musical in 2009, with the boarding school version currently in its final year of production in the spring of 2021. In addition, the “Black Butler Exhibition” will be held nationwide starting in August 2021. Tickets with pre-sale goods for the “Black Butler Exhibition” that are being held by lottery are so popular that they are difficult to obtain.
There are probably some of you who knew of the popularity of the series and watched the anime in the past, but have dropped out due to the 30 volume long series.
For those of you, we will briefly look back at the synopsis of volumes 1 through 30 so that you can enjoy the story with some shocking revelations.
Let’s take a look back at the story for the past 15 years!
*This article contains spoilers.
Black Butler” tells the story of Ciel, the head of the prestigious aristocratic Phantomhive family, and Sebastian, who is perfectly capable of everything from household chores to combat, and who receives orders from Her Majesty the Queen of England to uncover the truth behind various unsolved cases and strange phenomena.
There are nine major stories: the first, “The Jack the Ripper Case”; the second, “The Upside Down Incident and Encounter”; the third, “Noah’s Ark Circus Troupe”; the fourth, “The Phantomhive Mansion Serial Murders”; the fifth, “Luxury Cruise Ship”; the sixth, “Boarding School”; the seventh, “The Green Witch”; the eighth, “The Blue Order”; the ninth, “The Real Ciel and the Escape”.
Volume 1 is an introductory story that gives the reader an insight into the world of “Black Butler. It describes the characters’ personalities, relationships, and jobs.
The main character, Sebastian, is a super talented butler who serves a selfish master. In fact, Sebastian’s true form is a demon. Therefore, he works as a butler at a speed that is impossible for humans. He spends his days taking care of his master who makes unreasonable demands and cleaning up the mess of three useless servants. …… He always says humbly, “I am only a butler,” but he is a black-hearted person who sometimes uses sarcastic words toward his master and servants.
His master, Count Ciel Phantomhive, is a clever child who, at the age of 12, is the head of a vast estate and the president of a toy and confectionery company. This is his outward appearance; behind the scenes, he holds the title of “Queen’s Watchdog. He receives requests by letter from Her Majesty the Queen of England to solve cases and strange phenomena. He sometimes covers up the wrongdoings of the British royal family and will choose any means to eliminate those who are harmful. He considers everyone but himself a pawn, and tries to be a solitary figure, not opening his heart to anyone but Sebastian, his butler.
1. “The Jack the Ripper Incident” (Comics vol. 2, no. 6 – vol. 3, no. 13)
A series of prostitutes were slaughtered in Whitechapel, London. One after another, bodies were found so mutilated by a special blade that their original forms were unrecognizable. It was a truly bizarre crime, and everyone called the murderer “Jack the Ripper.
The Queen asks Ciel to investigate the cause of the murders, so Ciel goes to the Undertaker, an undertaker in a London townhouse, to find out what happened to the bodies. He was told that the bodies of prostitutes were all found with their wombs removed, which narrowed down the list to those who were familiar with medicine and anatomy and had no alibi.
Ciel struggles to get to the bottom of the case by dressing up as a woman and going to a ball, but the case remains unsolved. On the day the case is about to be solved, Sebastian and Ciel try to catch the culprit red-handed in the back of the White Chapel.
To their surprise, the culprit appears to be Ciel’s aunt, Madame Red, and her butler, Grelle. The motive for the crime lies in Madame’s past. A series of unfortunate events, including a broken heart and an accident, had rendered her incapable of bearing children. Her job was as an obstetrician and gynecologist, and she felt uncomfortable dropping off the children of prostitutes and was disgusted by those prostitutes who took for granted the happiness she wanted.
Grelle liked the madame who kills out of jealousy, but he hates the fact that she was sentimental when she saw Ciel, so he kills her. In fact, Grelle, not the butler, was the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper’s job is to collect people’s running lights and make sure they are dead. Sebastian and Grelle are enemies because the one thing that interferes with that job is a demon that eats souls. Sebastian wins, but Grell escapes. The case was then solved with the madam’s funeral.
2. “Upside Down Incident and Encounter” (Comics vol. 4, no. 15 – vol. 5, no. 22)
An incident occurs in which an Englishman on his way back from India is attacked and hung upside down in front of a curry pub. There is always a sign posted, but because the sign contains a statement mocking the British, Ciel is ordered by Her Majesty the Queen to go to the oriental district.
However, she gets tangled up with a ruffian Indian who is prejudiced against the British. Two more Indians help her out of this situation. They are Prince Soma of the Kingdom of Bengal and his steward Agni. In return for their help, the two men began to stay at Ciel’s mansion.
Agni would often disappear from the house and go to a man named West who dealt in imported goods. Ciel and Sebastian are curious and try to infiltrate the house, only to discover that Agni has been working for West on the condition that he keeps his “secret” because of his skills as a butler. West’s goal was to have his restaurant’s curries bear the seal of the British Royal Warrant. For this purpose, he hired Agni, who was a divine curry maker. In addition to this, the hanging incident was also planned to discredit West’s other restaurants. Ciel suggested that the Phantomhive Company also participate in the fair. Sebastian’s elaborate idea of curry bread won the competition with its extraordinary conception.
Prince Soma is delighted to finally meet Meena, the woman he had come to England to find, but Meena shuts him down in a depressing tone. Meena had married West and lived in England to escape the status quo in India. Agni had kept it a “secret” because she knew that Prince Soma would be shocked to hear about it. Prince Soma became a little more mature mentally after understanding the feelings and thoughts of different people.
