Black Butler, Vol. 16
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/8/2014
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/8/2014 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I've been enjoying the manga Black Butler (aka Kuroshitsuji) - not to mention the anime, of which I have Season 1 on DVD. I ordered this volume from Amazon.
The series is set in a slightly alternate-reality Victorian London (cell phones, magic), and features the adventures of a 12-year-old boy trying to run his family business while catching criminals for the queen - all with the help of his demonic butler.
In this volume, the cover-art gag stars Prince Soma, who's his usual handsome self on the outside cover, and appears as a bored (or puzzled) quiz-show contestant on the inside cover.
The story picks up from the events of Volume 15, with Ciel on the job as a student at an exclusive boarding school (with many similarities to Hogwarts re the four competing houses, each with color- and animal-themes) in search of the fate of the queen's missing cousin. Ciel's settled in now and is finding his range, making contacts - and is also rather taken aback by the lengths to which each house will go to outgame the other. (The artwork is delicious here; the author is having fun using the school theme to justify different art-styles on the chapter headings, and to have full-page extravaganzas when each house is really showing off.)
To my vast delight, the story leads to an epic battle - a cricket match in which the winning house gets all the glory! Ciel's house (sapphire, owls, studious - remind anyone of Ravenclaw?) hasn't won since a miraculous game in which Ciel's late father turned the tide; nobody believes the current team has a chance, but with Ciel and Sebastian on the job... Adding to the fun: friends and family of the students turn up to watch the matches, and while Lizzie is cheering Ciel on (of course), her brother Edward is also at the school - and in a different house, the favored one to win and a major rival of Ciel!
The book actually goes into some detail to explain the rules of cricket, which may interest some readers and bore others; I appreciated it, and also loved the sports-action scenes, which are way beyond the usual scope of this series!
[For more about the manga and the anime adaptation, see the TV Tropes page - but beware of spoilers! Also, note that the plot of the anime departs rather drastically from that of the manga.]
The series is set in a slightly alternate-reality Victorian London (cell phones, magic), and features the adventures of a 12-year-old boy trying to run his family business while catching criminals for the queen - all with the help of his demonic butler.
In this volume, the cover-art gag stars Prince Soma, who's his usual handsome self on the outside cover, and appears as a bored (or puzzled) quiz-show contestant on the inside cover.
The story picks up from the events of Volume 15, with Ciel on the job as a student at an exclusive boarding school (with many similarities to Hogwarts re the four competing houses, each with color- and animal-themes) in search of the fate of the queen's missing cousin. Ciel's settled in now and is finding his range, making contacts - and is also rather taken aback by the lengths to which each house will go to outgame the other. (The artwork is delicious here; the author is having fun using the school theme to justify different art-styles on the chapter headings, and to have full-page extravaganzas when each house is really showing off.)
To my vast delight, the story leads to an epic battle - a cricket match in which the winning house gets all the glory! Ciel's house (sapphire, owls, studious - remind anyone of Ravenclaw?) hasn't won since a miraculous game in which Ciel's late father turned the tide; nobody believes the current team has a chance, but with Ciel and Sebastian on the job... Adding to the fun: friends and family of the students turn up to watch the matches, and while Lizzie is cheering Ciel on (of course), her brother Edward is also at the school - and in a different house, the favored one to win and a major rival of Ciel!
The book actually goes into some detail to explain the rules of cricket, which may interest some readers and bore others; I appreciated it, and also loved the sports-action scenes, which are way beyond the usual scope of this series!
[For more about the manga and the anime adaptation, see the TV Tropes page - but beware of spoilers! Also, note that the plot of the anime departs rather drastically from that of the manga.]
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at LFL - Roby Park, Spit Brook Rd #126 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, November 20, 2018
GoryDetails at LFL - Roby Park, Spit Brook Rd #126 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Released 5 yrs ago (11/20/2018 UTC) at LFL - Roby Park, Spit Brook Rd #126 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library on this snowy day; hope someone enjoys it![See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2018 TV Series release challenge. ***
