Black Butler

Black Butler (黒執事) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. It has been serialized in Square Enix's manga magazine Monthly GFantasy since September 2006. The series follows Ciel Phantomhive, the 12-year-old Earl of Phantomhive serving as the Queen's Watchdog. He is tasked with solving crimes in the underworld of Victorian-era London. Ciel has formed a contract with demon Sebastian Michaelis, who disguises himself as his butler, to seek revenge on those who tortured him and murdered his parents. In exchange for his services, Sebastian will be allowed to consume Ciel's soul.

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures, aired from October 2008 to March 2009. A second 12-episode season aired from July to September 2010; this season features two new main characters and has an anime-original storyline which does not feature manga content. Another series, titled Black Butler: Book of Circus, was broadcast between July and September 2014. A two-part theatrical original video animation (OVA), titled Black Butler: Book of Murder, screened in Japanese theaters in October and November 2014. A live-action film adaptation was released in Japan in January 2014. An animated film, titled Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, premiered in Japan in January 2017. A fourth 11-episode season produced by CloverWorks, titled Black Butler: Public School Arc, aired from April to June 2024. A fifth season, titled Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, is set to premiere in 2025.

In North America, the series has been licensed by Yen Press. It was published in Yen Plus from August 2009 to July 2010. The anime series was licensed by Funimation. Funimation lost the rights to the first two seasons, and they were later acquired by Aniplex of America.

By March 2024, the Black Butler manga had over 35 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.

Plot
12-year-old earl Ciel Phantomhive lives in Victorian-era London. He acquired his title and position after the events of his tenth birthday on December 14, 1885, when the Phantomhive manor was attacked by unidentified perpetrators. Ciel's parents died along with the family dog, Sebastian, and he is taken and sold into slavery. He ends up in the hands of a sadistic, demon-worshipping cult and endures physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of his captors.

One night, during a sacrificial ceremony to summon a demon, the demon arrives but states that he came in response to Ciel's summoning, not the cult's. Ciel sells his soul to the demon and forms a contract to be saved; the demon kills all the cultist members and places the Faustian contract symbol on Ciel's right eye. As part of the contract, the demon will consume Ciel's soul as payment for helping him achieve his goal; revenge on those who brought down his family and the House of Phantomhive. Ciel names the demon Sebastian Michaelis, after his deceased dog. The duo return to society as Ciel takes over his late father's position as the Queen's Watchdog: someone tasked with investigating cases that Queen Victoria herself deems threatening to England. To assist with this task, Sebastian recruits notable individuals such as the sniper Mey-Rin, the veteran soldier Baldroy and Finnian, a teenager with superhuman strength, who join the Phantomhive estate, disguised as Ciel's servants.

As Ciel and Sebastian resolve several incidents under the Queen's orders, some of them are related to the "Aurora Society", a secret organization performing experiments involving reanimated corpses, led by a grim reaper with ties to the Phantomhive family known as "Undertaker". Undertaker eventually reveals that his true objective was to reanimate the body of Ciel's older twin brother and the real Ciel Phantomhive, who was the original heir of the Phantomhive estate. It is also revealed that both twins were captured and used in the ritual to summon Sebastian, with the original Ciel being sacrificed in the process and Ciel's younger brother assuming his identity to take revenge for their family. The revived "Ciel" incriminates his brother for the crimes commited by the Aurora Society and assumes control of the Phantomhive estate, forcing Ciel and his subordinates to flee. Branded as fugitives, Ciel, Sebastian and their allies begin investigating the Aurora Society further in order to prove Ciel's innocence and stop Undertaker's plans.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Yana Toboso, Black Butler started in Square Enix's manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on September 16, 2006. In June 2024, it was announced that the manga would enter on hiatus, and that Toboso will be conducting research and making preparations as the series heads toward its climax. Square Enix has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on February 27, 2007. As of April 26, 2024, thirty-four volumes have been released.

Yen Press licensed the series for an English language release and serialized the manga in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary. The publisher released the first volume on January 26, 2010. As of August 24, 2021, thirty volumes have been released.

The series has been licensed in France by Kana; in Germany by Carlsen Comics; in Italy by Panini Comics; in Poland by Waneko; in Finland by Punainen jättiläinen; in Spain by Norma Editorial; and in Turkey by Gerekli Şeyler.

Drama CDs
On August 10, 2007, a drama CD was released by Frontier Works. It featured many of the characters appearing in volumes one and two. A second drama CD was released on November 26, 2008, under the Aniplex label.

Anime
In July 2008, it was announced that an anime adaptation of Black Butler, directed by Toshiya Shinohara and produced by A-1 Pictures. It premiered in October 2008 and broadcast on MBS as well as the TBS. On an event on June 14, 2009, it was announced that the anime would be returning for a second series. Japanese voice actor Junichi Suwabe confirmed this news on his official blog later that day. The second series, Black Butler II (黒執事 II), premiered in July and follows a butler, Claude Faustus, and his master, Alois Trancy, as well as Sebastian and Ciel. Both new characters were designed by Toboso. Aniplex released the complete Blu-ray and DVD set of both seasons and their extra OVAs on May 7, 2014.

On March 29, 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation announced on their online FuniCon 3.0 panel that they had licensed Black Butler. At Anime Expo 2010, Funimation also announced that they would stream the simulcast series, Black Butler II. Funimation announced on their Facebook page that they had fully licensed the second season. Funimation released Black Butler Combo Pack Blu-ray/DVD first and second season on April 3, 2012. The series made its North American television debut on February 8, 2011, on the Funimation Channel. Funimation lost the rights to the series' first season in 2017, and the rights to the second season in 2018. The first season is currently licensed by Aniplex of America and it was released on a Blu-ray Disc box set on January 29, 2019. In November 2019, Funimation re-licensed the first two seasons for its streaming service.

On January 16, 2014, it was announced that a third Black Butler anime series was in production. Titled Black Butler: Book of Circus (黒執事 Book of Circus), the series was a close adaptation of the manga, unlike the previous seasons, adapting the "Noah's Ark Circus" arc. The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe at A-1 Pictures, with Hiroyuki Yoshino in charge of scripts, along with Ichiro Okuchi and Yuka Miyata as scriptwriters. The main cast from the previous anime series returned, along with new cast members, and the series aired from July 10, 2014, to September 12, 2014. In addition, a two-part original video animation (OVA) titled the Book of Murder, an adaptation of the "Phantomhive Manor Murders" arc, was screened in Japanese theatres on October 25, and November 15, 2014. The OVAs featured returning staff from the previous season.

On August 7, 2014, Funimation announced that they have licensed Black Butler: Book of Circus, and have streamed it on their simulcast. Funimation released the series on Blu-ray and DVD on April 19, 2016. Additionally, Funimation has licensed the two-part OVA Black Butler: Book of Murder and released it on May 17, 2016.

At Anime Expo 2023, Crunchyroll announced that a fourth season was in production. Titled Black Butler: Public School Arc (黒執事 -寄宿学校編-), it was directed by Kenjirou Okada and produced by CloverWorks, with Hiroyuki Yoshino handling series composition, Yumi Shimizu designing the characters, and Ryo Kawasaki composing the music. The series was broadcast for eleven episodes from April 13 to June 22, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. Muse Communication licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.

At Anime Expo 2024, it was announced that a fifth season, titled Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc (黒執事 -緑の魔女編-), is set to premiere in 2025. Licensed by Crunchyroll, it will be again directed by Kenjirou Okada and produced by CloverWorks.

Musical
That Butler, Friendship (その執事、友好), a musical adaptation of the manga, had run at the Sunshine Theater in Ikebukuro between May 28, 2009, and June 7, 2009. Yuya Matsushita portrayed Sebastian Michaelis, Shougo Sakamoto played Ciel Phantomhive and Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliff.

Musical Black Butler: The Most Beautiful Death in The World – A Thousand Souls and The Fallen Grim Reaper (ミュージカル｢黒執事｣〜ザ・モースト・ビューティフル・デス・イン・ザ・ワールド〜千の魂と堕ちた死神), the second musical adaptation of the manga, ran at Akasaka Act Theater (1300 seats) in Akasaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, between May 3 and May 23, 2010. Yuya Matsushita reprised his role as Sebastian Michaelis, Yukito Nishii played Ciel Phantomhive, and Uehara Takuya reprised his role as Grell Sutcliff. The other two main characters, Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries, were portrayed by Taisuke Saeki and Shinya Matsumoto, respectively. The musical was written by Mari Okada, directed by Sakurako Fukuyama, with music composed by Taku Iwasaki, and lyrics by Yukinojo Mori. A second run of The Most Beautiful Death in the World was announced in December 2012. It ran between May 17 and June 9, 2013, in the Akasaka ACT Theater (Akasaka, Tokyo) again, and the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka. It was announced in February 2013 that Yuya Matsushita, Uehara Takuya, and Shuhei Izumi would reprise their roles as Sebastian Michaelis, Grell Sutcliff, and the Undertaker, respectively. The rest of the roles were re-cast, with Taketo Tanaka replacing Yukito Nishii as Ciel Phantomhive, and Shinji Rachi and Masataka Nakagauchi replacing Taisuke Saeki and Matsumoto Shinya in the roles of Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries.

A third musical Lycoris that Blazes the Earth (地に燃えるリコリス) was performed in September 2014. Most of the cast reprised their roles from the re-run of The Most Beautiful Death in the World although Fukuzaki Nayuta replaced Taketo Tanaka as Ciel Phantomhive and Yuka Terasaki replaced Saki Matsuda as Mey-Rin. Akane Liv was introduced as Madam Red, Yuusuke Hirose as Charles Phipps, Oota Motohiro as Charles Grey and Araki Hirofumi as Lau. A re-run of the third Black Butler musical "Lycoris that Blazes the Earth" was scheduled to perform in November–December 2015. It started in Osaka on November 7 then travel to Miyagi, Tokyo and Fukuoka. The new run of the third musical was the first oversea tour in China (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen) in December 2015. Yuta Furukawa replaced Matsushita as Sebastian Michaelis. Meanwhile, most of the cast from the third musical reprised their roles.

A fourth Black Butler musical, based on the Noah's Ark Circus arc of the manga, ran between November–December 2016. Yuta Furukawa reprised his role as Sebastian Michaelis, with Reo Uchikawa replacing Nayuta Fukuzaki as Ciel. Miura Ryosuke was introduced as Joker, Tano Asami as Beast and Tamaki Yuki as Snake, among others. Notably, Izumi Shuuhei reprised his role as the Undertaker again, making him the only original cast member still performing.

A fifth Black Butler musical, Tango on the Campania, which was based on the Luxury Liner arc in the manga, ran between December 2017 to February 2018. Yuta Furukawa reprised his role as Sebastian Michaelis, with Reo Uchikawa also reprising his role as Ciel Phantomhive. Mikata Ryosuke was introduced as Ronald Knox, Momoko Okazaki as Elizabeth Midford, and others. Other actors from previous performers also reprised their roles, such as Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliff, Izumi Shuuhei as the Undertaker, and Sasaki Yoshihide as Viscount Druitt.

Video game
A video game for Nintendo DS, called Kuroshitsuji Phantom & Ghost was developed by Square Enix and was released on March 19, 2009. The game is sold in two versions, a limited first-press edition with a higher price and numerous extra goods, and a regular edition.

Print
The Black Butler Character Book "That Butler, Assembles" (黒執事 キャラクターガイド ｢その執事、集合｣) was released on February 27, 2009. The book TV Animation Black Butler Black Record (TVアニメーション｢黒執事｣ Black Record) was released on March 27, 2009. An official comics anthology, titled Rainbow Butler (虹執事), was also released on that date; a second Rainbow Butler volume was released on August 27, 2010.

Films
It was announced on January 18, 2013, that the manga would be made into a live-action film starring Ayame Goriki as Genpou Shiori, Hiro Mizushima as Sebastian Michaelis. Filming began in April 2013 and the film was released on January 18, 2014.

On October 10, 2015, it was announced an animated film for the series has been green-lit, and the original anime cast returned to reprise their roles. On February 17, 2016, the film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, was confirmed to be an animated adaptation of the "Luxury Liner" (豪華客船) arc from the original manga. It was released in Japan on January 21, 2017. On April 1, 2017, Funimation announced that they have licensed the animated film and would screen it in a limited theatrical release in North America later in the year. Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, premiered in Japan on January 21, 2017, and in North America on the selected dates of June 12 and 14, 2017.

Reception
By January 2021, the Black Butler manga had over 30 million copies in circulation worldwide. By July 2022, the manga had over 32 million copies in circulation. By July 2023, it had over 34 million copies in circulation. By March 2024, it had over 35 million copies in circulation. Individual volumes have appeared in Oricon's weekly chart of best-selling manga, taking several high spots. In addition to the volumes, the comics anthology Rainbow Butler ranked seventeenth during the week of March 31 to April 6 2009, selling 41,083 copies after ranking thirty-third the previous week. The fourth and fifth volumes ranked thirty-third and thirty-ninth of the top-selling manga in Japan during 2008, selling 529,210 copies and 468,550 copies respectively. The sixth volume ranked thirteenth of the top-selling manga in Japan during the first half of 2009, selling 619,501 copies. The series itself was ranked tenth of the top-selling manga series in Japan during 2009, selling a total of 1,603,197 estimated copies.

The Japanese music distributor Recochoku has created an annual survey of which anime characters that people would like to marry. Sebastian Michaelis ranked ninth in the category "The Character I Want to Be My Groom".