One Hell Of A Blog Post – Black Butler On Netflix!

Happy Halloween October everyone and as Mindy has been carrying along the BAYOG posts, I figured her favorite time of the year was a great time to get into writing again. Its been almost a year since I last posted something here and got motivated to do so when I realized that as of two weeks ago, Netflix added the Season 2 and OVA of Black Butler back to their catalog. Now, for those of you that have no idea what this show is about, its a grand old time with legitimate BL/Shota undertones so be warned there’s lots of innuendo and the vibe that made mid-2000’s weebets swoon.

That being said, the story was actually pretty good and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I really enjoy the characters. The show revolves around the dynamic of Earl Ciel Phantomhive, an orphaned lord in late 19th century England and his butler, the demon Sebastian Michaelis. Ciel was to be sacrificed and made a pact with Sebastian to acquire vengeance for the ones who killed his parents in exchange for his soul. A few years later, Ciel serves Queen Victoria in investigating and resolving issues both foreign and domestic, much like a Victorian Era MI5. Along with his seemingly incompetent but highly dangerous servant staff, Ciel spends the first season of 25 episodes largely uncovering the conspiracy that led to his suffering. The subsequent season and OVA are largely expansions on the existing character dynamics in different case scenarios.

I had stumbled upon this show in the same way I found most stuff like this, randomly in a convention. In the same slew of previews when I first saw Highschool of the Dead, I followed a random couple of female weebs to this preview for season 2, and I was lost and confused as they cheered when one man’s face was revealed after a butler in black threw some golden silverware at him. Realizing this would make more sense with context, I went out and found season 1 with fan subs and enjoyed watching the interactions, especially some of the puns, such as one character referring to Sebastian as “Sebas-Chan” which I still think of as one of the best Japanese puns I’ve ever heard. The English VAs are also full of puns, but don’t hit home quite the same. Additionally, while the male VAs are fantastic, especially Sebastian, the female VAs in English are just not good. The shrill voices and overtly high-pitched screams aside, I still am able to watch both the Subbed and Dubbed versions with no trouble, although with a bias for Subbed.

Overall, if you haven’t watched Black Butler, I highly advise you to give it a shot and enjoy it on Netflix. The characters are unique and pretty entertaining, and some of the reveals are out of left field and surprising, without being too much of a shark jump. Again, this show can be a little…extra, with Sebastian 100% grooming Ciel and the season 2 antagonist being…more than a little extra. However if you can look past that, the show is a fun time alternating between monster of the week style mysteries to the overarching plot of supernatural conspiracy, and a show that’s definitely worth its salt.