I've been interested in this manga (also known as Kuroshitsuji) since I first stumbled across it on TV Tropes, and finally picked up a copy at the local Borders. It's a series about a demonic butler who's assigned to the young scion of a wealthy and powerful family - but as the scion is all of about 12, the dynamic in the household seems more than a little bizarre...

Later: Very bizarre indeed! I should probably note first that my favorite part of the series is Sebastian himself; his image on the cover would have sold me on the book even if I had heard nothing else about it! [A fun touch: in each volume, the cover illustration of Sebastian doing butler-type things is replicated on the inside front cover, with the identical pose but a different costume and accessories. Here he switches from pouring out tea to pouring a martini, and his butler suit is replaced with an open-shirted lounge-lizard/host-club outfit. He's yummy either way!]

The series opens with life-as-usual in the mansion, as Sebastian awakens his young master. We also meet the other servants, ditzy maid Meyrin, ditzier (but cute) gardener Finny, and unshaven, chain-smoking cook Baldo. At this point they seem to be there for comic relief, as they each seem to be utterly incompetent at their duties, making increasingly disastrous mistakes that Sebastian has to fix (which he does with style, flair, and an ease that would be suspicious if we hadn't figured out that he's a demon).

By the second story we've picked up more comedy, but also some family secrets; and by the third, things get suddenly grim, as Ciel is kidnapped and beaten by gangsters. Will Sebastian rescue him in time? [Spoilers; select whitespace to see: Well, duh... but it is played out more suspensefully than I would have expected, with Sebastian remaining very, very casual about it and apparently unaware or unconcerned about the battering his charge is taking. But he does show up in impressive form, taking out the bad guys with fistfuls of silverware - and when the guy who's holding Ciel puts a clip full of bullets into Sebastian he demonstrates more of his powers. We also see glimpses of the moment when Ciel made his covenant with Sebastian in the first place... {shudder!} And then after they return home, Sebastian apologizes to his master - not for taking so long to find him, not for fiddling around during the rescue, but for failing to have dinner ready; what a series! End of spoilers.]

The artwork is very much costume-and-scenery porn, and I adore it. And the mix of humor, snarkiness, suspense, and angst in the back stories of young Ciel and other characters pleases me too, though it could seem like a bouncy ride as the mood shifts wildly. Scenes of violence and menace alternate with wacky domestic slapstick, a mix that may not appeal to everyone, but I'm enjoying it.

[There's an anime series as well, and while it inserts a very dramatic ending that isn't in the manga (yet; the series is still going), I liked it very much. There have been live-action films and even stage productions based - increasingly loosely - on the manga.]

Continued in Volume Two.

I'm adding this book to k00kaburra's Manga bookbox, which should be on its way to the next in line, BCer emmejo in New York, some time tomorrow. [I'll post the delivery-confirmation number in the forum thread after I've mailed the box.] Enjoy!

I have read many great reviews of this series and have wanted to give it a go for a while. I tried the anime series and was considerable less than impressed by it. However perhaps the comic is better. I'll give it a go.

The head of the Phantomhive household is a successful businessman, does information gathering for the Queen and is only 12 years old. The secret of Ciel's success? A contract with a demon: the demon will work for him in exchange for Ciel's soul somewhere down the line. Most of the time Sebastian's work involves more mundane tasks of running a household to the whims of an owner who is still a child. But when the situation gets messy, Sebastian's weapons and unnatural powers come out, and nearly anyone who defies him or his master ends up 6 feet under in an unpleasant way.

I still don't really get the attraction of this series. I found this book quite bland. None of the characters really interested me, what little plot there is often seems overdramatic, the artwork is rather overly-smooth and neat and the design (while lavish) is very commonplace and standard-looking. There wasn't a sense of an author telling a story with their own flair and style, so much as an author with a huge marketing scheme behind them waving over-used fanservice-y scenarios at otaku who are determined to always be reading the popular series, and who fell for the idea that because it has as many anime/manga tropes crammed into it as it can hold (and some extra that really didn't fit) it must be the most anime-ish anime around.

There's really nothing that is easily pointed at as "this is what makes it a frustrating read" so much as a general sense that this could have potential, but is too busy running the characters around in drag, creating crazy (but commonly seen) hijinks that only the Super Awesome Guy can solve, and attempting scenes that seem to simply be there to fuel fanfiction rather than providing anything useful to the series itself.

This is definitely better than the anime, which I found so exasperating I could barely force myself to watch the half-dozen or so episodes I felt I had to watch in order to give it a fair try. There are hints of character depth and interesting backstory. It is interesting to look at. Characters have personalities and emotions. Useful stuff like that.

The art is mediocre for the most part, but now and then I found some really good panels. I really didn't care for the look of a cast of generic bishies, but in the better panels the artwork conveyed enough emotion, movement and planning on the artist's part that one could ignore the weak points for a bit. I found it interesting that Sebastian's face in this manga is slightly mask-like, his expressions, poses and movement seeming subtly non-human. In the anime they seemed to try and convey this idea of his being non-human by removing all but the slightest trace of personality, resulting in a cardboard-standup type of character. (This idea is tried in so many animes/mangas, and it almost never works. Why do they keep doing it?)

This series has possibilities, and may improve in the later volumes if the author can focus on a plot rather than frippery that's meant to... I have no clue what the point of it is. I don't know how much effort I would be willing to put into tracking them down, though, as I don't know what the likelihood is that such changes will happen considering how popular this has been in its current form.

Left at the stop on Seneca Street, across from the Commons.