Black Butler, Vol. 1

黒執事 [Kuroshitsuji] #1

by Yana Toboso

Na samo par koraka od Londona nalazi se dvorac čuvenih grofova Fantomhajv, čiji je gospodar mladi Sjel Fantomhajv. Na sreću, njegov odani batler, Sebastijan, uvek je uz njega, spreman da ispuni želje mladog gospodara. I bez obzira da li je Sebastijan pozvan da spase večeru koja je pošla po zlu ili da istraži mračne tajne londonskog podzemlja, praktično ne postoji ništa što Sebastijan ne može da uradi. U stvari, moglo bi se čak reći da je Sebastijan previše dobar da bi bio istinit. . . ili je barem previše dobar da bi bio čovek. . .

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fiction, Young Adult

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

Yana Toboso (枢 やな Toboso Yana) is a female Japanese manga artist born in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan and currently resides in Yokohama. She is best known for Black Butler (黒執事 Kuroshitsuji), a popular shonen manga series.

She has also written yaoi under the pen name Yanao Rock (簗緒ろく).

Appearance
Yana Toboso draws herself as a devil with a black body and horns, a white head, and a pointed tail. She has never uploaded a picture of herself, so her actual appearance is unknown.

Reviews

[Despair Speaking · Rating 5 out of 5]

I watched Kuroshitsuji first, that's why I'm so late in reading it. I liked it so much that's why I picked this out even though I finished both seasons. I thought the series was over.

How wrong I was.

Apparently, the anime industry has once again decided to end a series before the manga counterpart ended. I suppose I could understand WHY they'd do that but they should have stopped at a point where they could pick off again once the manga is far enough. Like Naruto! And Kuroshitsuji is surely popular enough that fans are willing to wait! Cheez. But enough of that.

Kurshitsuji introduces the young Earl Phantomhive, Ciel, who inherited his title and his job as the Queen's dog from his deceased father. Forced to grow up faster than he has to, he juggles many responsibilities as the head of a house and the prefect of the underworld. Thankfully, he has his amazing butler, Sebastian, by his side. Sebastian can do and WILL do everything Ciel tells him. From cleaning up spectacular messes to performing superhuman feats, this butler is perfect in almost every way. Too perfect. Apparently, Sebastian is a demon Ciel made a contract with. He will stand by Ciel's side until Ciel finds the people behind his torture and his parents' deaths and exact revenge. And then eat Ciel's soul of course.

I LOVE Kuroshitsuji. Not only is it set in the Victorian era (yep, Ciel is Queen Victoria's "dog"), it has a unique plot and such a loveable set of characters. I URGE you to read this awesome manga.

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was readable and nicely drawn, and that's pretty much all the nice things I have to say about Black Butler. Here are all the not-so-nice things instead.

Firstly, the content itself was shabby. The overarching plot seems to be that Ciel wants revenge for the death of his parents, and for help with this he has sold his soul to the demon Sebastian. This seems to be forgotten almost instantly, as all we see Ciel actually do is bicker with his demon servant, bully people and get kidnapped. And as if to overcompensate, Sebastian is the perfect Mary Sue: attractive, unflappable, invincible and deadly, single-handedly resolving all conflict. The clothing is detailed and consistent, but anachronisms are rife and at times even the setting is forgotten as aspects of Japanese culture, unheard of in Victorian England, make their way in.

Secondly, I tired very quickly of the characters. Ciel is a brat, no two ways about it. I know his parents are dead, so it's understandable that he's not the most loving of people, but literally all he does is lash out. There is no emotional vulnerability and very little dwelling on his actual parents. Instead we assume he must be dwelling on his parents, because he sold his soul to avenge them, which would be fine except for the fact that he doesn't really seem to be getting on with it...

Sebastian, as mentioned above, is perfect. Enough said. The other four household staff are at best two-dimensional (I'll refer to them as the maid, cook and gardener, since spelling varies) and at worst entirely flat: Tanaka is permanently an anachronically-green-tea-drinking chibi, and what is his job, anyway? They are completely incompetent and serve only as an excuse for Sebastian to show off how impossibly capable he is, whilst patronising them and gaining their undying respect, because that's how people feel when they're patronised. I understand that later they show their worth as guards of the Phantomhive mansion, but if this is the case, why do they even bother attempting other jobs when all the effect they have is counterproductive? Ciel doesn't strike me as the type to put up with wasting money just because it keeps his staff happy.

Thirdly, I have no interest in fanservice and so do not enjoy wasting my time flipping through pages and pages of Sebastial hitting on Ciel. There are sexual undertones between the ageless demon and the twelve-year-old child and nobody seems to find this disturbing. Sebastian on his own is bad enough. We get it: he's tall, hot, dangerous and damn, does he take his gloves off in a pointless way. He has a pointed tongue (sexy?) and does a lot of acrobatics and strange things with cultery. And that's when he's not rescuing his poor vulnerable master from being tied up with belts and beaten up by big burly men. This isn't even the volume with the paedophile. Or rather, with one of the paedophiles.

I'm going to stop now. I'm going to stop, and I'm going to put down the book. And then I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place, and read something else.

[Mehenaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have lost count how many times I've watched the anime of this volume and how many times I've read the manga as well. Also the drawings are exceptionally perfect.

[Mika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nein Goodreads warum löschst du jetzt auch noch meine Rezensionen 😭😭

Ich WEISS, dass ich das erst letztes Jahr zum dritten oder vierten Mal gelesen habe und nichtmal das hat er mehr gespeichert. Naja, positiv gesehen habe ich eine Ausrede es nochmal zu lesen, aber trotzdem 😮‍💨

(Und ja ich habe letztes Jahr Band 7 aufwärts erneut gelesen, aber selbst da fehlt das Lesedatum obwohl es original da war).

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, first, no surprise, Sebastian (the Black Butler) is a sexy, sexy bitch! So I was looking forward to reading this series!

It's pretty interesting! Mysterious with beautiful illustrations. The clothing, the people, they're all good looking and well dressed. And Sebastian is a stud. Nearly every picture of him made me swoon :-p


I'm excited to see what other secrets will be revealed as the series goes on!



(soooooo sexy!)

[Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m on BookTube now! =)

Is it just me or did this give anyone else serious Silas/Nathaniel vibes? *lol*
This was a short and fun read but I dunno if I want to continue with the series? I like my stories mysterious but we really didn't get a lot about both MCs. I guess we're supposed to be hooked enough to explore the rest of the story in the following volumes, but I dunno if this volume did that for me. Mhmm... I guess I'll think about it some more and make a decision later on!

This said: You gotta love Sebastian for being extremely thorough with everything he does. XD Serve a proper dinner? No problem. Cake and tea? No problem. Handling the entire household while saving his master from a horde of bad guys? You already guessed it: No problem. ;-P
I wonder if this will change in the future...

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[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW// murder

The Black Butler anime honestly feels like a fever dream to me. I remember nothing about it besides the characters and reading this manga, I’m not surprised that’s the case. The characters are the super well-crafted part of this series. Black Butler wouldn’t be as popular as it is without Sebastian and Ciel. They’re two super great characters with some morally gray tendencies.

That being said though, I think my tastes have changed with anime and manga as I’ve gotten older as I wasn’t too impressed with this volume. The main reason for that is the lack of a strong plot. I’m really confused about what the main plot is for this series as this volume seemed to contain three standalone stories without much hint of a main plot besides Sebastian being a powerful, mysterious butler and Ciel being a rich boy.

I will most likely go back at some point and rewatch the first three seasons of the anime so that I can watch season four of the anime when it comes out. (I have a problem where I have to finish every anime/TV series I ever start watching.) However, I don’t think I’m going to read more of the manga unless I fall in love with the anime on my rewatch. I only have so much money to afford new books and this just isn’t a manga series that I feel the need to finish.

[Misba Misba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A contract with a demon to reach your goal. Price? Your soul.
Oh my my ... Here is the demon that stole my sister's heart. So, as the elder-sister, I kept my hands off of the demon butler. Let me tell you what my younger sister did. She drew 50+ traditional sketches of Sebastian, also Ciel's, and every other character of this series--all with pen, not pencil--and she did them on cheap, white writing-paper, not handmade sketch-paper. And my ignorant, brat sister also lost all those paintings. When I asked "Where are those? You can scan them and put them on your blog," She said, "I don't know; I lost them." She even adds a 'maybe' at the end.

A confession: I draw, yes. Yet, I don't have a single traditional sketch with me. All of my art is now digital. And this girl had 50+ perfect sketches--traditional--and she doesn't know where they are! I'm losing my mind just thinking about that.

You see, this anime is unique for its premise, politics, and the games it has. It has well-developed characters, a strong goal. Though at times, things would go to low tension, daily-life scenes. But those tiny details made the characters more lovable. And I enjoyed those fun. Many people might not like these. But to be honest, when there are strongly built characters, and when the characters steal your heart, I think you'll want to go anywhere the characters go. So, with me, it was almost as if I'll watch anything Ciel and Sebastian do.

My sister used to read its manga in a Nokia phone with buttons; it had 2G internet back then, and she made me read them too. I went as far as the chapter where Ciel goes to a boarding school. Those parts weren't made into anime seasons. But it was going good.

And it has fantastic art. I'm still stunned by the level of background details this series has. The palaces, the street, the food, the balance of dark and void, shadow and lighting ... in a word, marvelous. This is my first recommendation if you want to study manga-sketch or comic poses.

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this first volume in the Black Butler series? I absolutely LOVED it! It manages to be cute, suspenseful, funny and chilling all the way through. Ciel is intriguingly deep for a child, and Sebastian is both wonderfully complex and extraordinarily simple in the end - and one hell of a butler! Finny, Meirin and Bard are great as comic relief, but surprisingly they also serve to offset the scenes in which Sebastian is slaughtering the criminals, making the bloodshed both borderline comical (with a slight edge of hysteria, I thought) and also more disturbing next to the relatively innocent misadventures and shenanigans of the trio. But my very favorite part was the last couple frames of the manga, in which Sebastian turns to exit, but then pauses, turns to make eye contact with the reader, and raises his finger to his lips in the 'shhh' gesture. It was hair-raising, because Sebastian is so perfect at everything he does - when you're drawn into the story, its easy to let yourself believe that he knows you've been watching. I have many favorite manga series, but can honestly say that I was more drawn into this one any other I've read. It was really great, I am so excited to read the next volume!

[Rodrigo · Rating 2 out of 5]

La verdad me ha parecido muy simple a la vez que muy introductorio solamente en la parte final mejora un poco. Espero más de los siguientes tomos.
5/10

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

My biggest gripe: The book is set up backwards and you have to read it right to left from the back to the front of the book. Why? Annoying.

This is my first Manga and I don't understand the fuss. The extra staff were stupid in the background and very cartoon-y. Why? The rest was so serious, why the stupid characters who are obviously incompetent.

The story - was good. I actually really loved Sebastian and of course, you are supposed too. I thought the serious characters were good. The last chapter where the action was, you could tell nothing of what was happening - useless.

I don't believe I will go on with this series unless I get bored. It looks like there is a cartoon of this. If you saw that first, I get why this could work for you, but as a stand alone, this has a lot to be desired. Sebastian does have me curious and wanting to know more and the book is such a mess I don't care to do so.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a feeling I'm going to love this series as a whole. I love Sebastian already as well as the overall premise

[Zala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Placeholder for volumes 1-24

Black Butler has a certain reputation, but a lot of it is simply the rabid fandom's and awful anime adaptation's fault. The manga series, however, is a dark mystery with fantastical elements (shinigami and demons) set in Victorian England. It doesn't take itself too seriously in the comedic parts and includes many silly side plots (best curry competition, Victorian boy band, etc.), but the storylines of the different arcs are usually pretty dark and compelling - I remember liking the circus, the zombie ship, and the murder mystery with the author.

[E.J. Stevens]

The anime is fabulous...I *need* to read the manga.

[n* · Rating 4 out of 5]

you see, sebastian is merely one hell of a butler.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My apologies, but I have no interest in manmade rubbish, coin or otherwise.

I hadn't dealt with Black Butler before now, whether as manga or anime, and I have to say that I was a little confused at first. It seemed kind of like a domestic comedy, with Sebastian the butler as the sole competent person among a staff of fools in young noble Ciel's household. How on earth do the staff keep their jobs when they destroy anything they touch? There were some delicious-looking baked goods, and backroom dealing of some sort, and a lot of references to mice... it was hectic, and seemed random, like it had no real direction or motive behind it.

The last half of the book solidified things a bit. Ciel is a twelve-year-old toy manufacturing magnate (?) and agent of the queen, and Sebastian is a demon or devil who is hanging around so he can take Ciel's soul someday. (I assume we'll learn how that situation came about eventually.) In this volume, they collar an international drug dealer by Ciel's being kidnapped, and Sebastian coming in to save him and effortlessly destroying the whole gun-wielding gang.

What time frame is this supposed to be set in, anyway? In the course of this volume we have a horse and carriage, electrical wires, a flip phone, a 1930s-looking vehicle, Gothic Lolita fashion. Just all over the place. It's whatever seems cool in any particular scene, I guess, nothing to get too wound up about.

I have the first four volumes of this, and I'll read those at least. There are hints that the other household staff members are superheroes just like Sebastian is (but maybe not devils, though?), and if nothing else I'm interested in seeing them in action again. More pastry porn wouldn't displease me, either. Two and a half stars, rounded up.

[Lauren Lanz]

My friends and I saw the most amazing Grell cosplayer at Comicon yesterday.... its definitely a sign I need to start Black Butler.

[Erin Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebas-chan!

Just recently I watched all of the Black Butler anime series and upon finishing the show I knew I had to read the manga. It ended up being perfect timing since I am participating in a genre challenge through my local library. This week is the last week of the challenge and the theme was "choose your own genre." What better genre challenge for me than a manga? I've never read one before and previously I was put off by the fact that you have to read a manga from right to left. I mean seriously, what? How confusing! I'm glad I watched all of the show first, because that really helped me to try harder to understand how to read the manga. Luckily I was able to adjust to the reading style more quickly than I thought I would and now I'm confident about reading mangas! Hooray! To anyone out there who is put off by having to read a manga from right to left like I was, it's not so bad! Try it. I'm so glad I gave it a shot.

In this first volume of Black Butler we meet Earl Ciel Phantomhive who is 12 years old and he is the last remaining member of his family. Being the only Phantomhive family member left Ciel is already the head of his household as well as a toy/candy making company that he inherited. We are also introduced to Sebastian Michaelis, a demon that Ciel has entered into a contract with and who acts as his butler. There isn't a whole lot of information on how the contract came to be in this volume, but I do know from the show that we get more information later. All of Ciel's other household servants are an entertaining group, especially with all their mishaps. Ho ho ho. This is an exciting, mysterious, and hilarious story set in Victorian London with lots of paranormal fun thrown in.

Here are a few things I like best about Black Butler:

1.) It's set in Victorian London. Oh how I love this era! It's so perfect for a darker setting too.
2.) Demons. Paranormal things! I just love all that.
3.) This may be THE most perfect Gothic thing ever.
4.) I love stories where a character has a tragic back story
5.) HUMOR!! How a story can be so dark and so comedic at the same time is a mystery to me, but I love it.
6.) Uniqueness. Let's face it in the world of paranormal books (movies, shows, etc.), anything different is a diamond in the rough. Black Butler certainly has that uniqueness.

Okay, so some of those may not be specifically about THIS volume but about the manga series/anime altogether. I've also read the second book in the series already. I was going to review that separately, but I decided not to. Pretty much that one adds in the Jack the Ripper case along with the introduction of Madam Red, Grell, and the Undertaker. Grell and the Undertaker are definitely two of my favorite characters, so if you liked this one then you definitely need to read that one! Black Butler Volume 2 was just as good, if not better, than the first volume. Black Butler is perfection for fans of the paranormal, horror, demons, historical fiction about Victorian London, dark stories, and gothic reads. I can't wait to read more of the books in the series.

http://angelerin.blogspot.com/

[Mara YA Mood Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Borderline pedophelia. I know this is an issue in Manga and Anime and it sickens me. I draw the line when it comes to children.

[Zuleeza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bite me, but I do have a maaaaaaaajor crush on Sebastian. Oh wait, he's a demon? But he can cook and he fights with silverware. Can we just forget that he is...ermmm...a demon? I always wondering, wouldn't it be better if Ciel is not a boy but is a 18 years old girl. That would save me some sanity. Honestly, somehow by watching this series, being a gay pedophile doesn't seem like a distant idea.

Anyway, back to the series, I can hardly believe my luck, stumbled across this manga. 19th century London setting? Check! Epic wardrobe collection? Check! Paranormal twist? Check! Flawed, revengeful yet cute Ciel? Check!

In short, it's hard not to be a fangirl when you constantly having nosebleed throughout the series. Beware of Grell Sutcliff, even he certainly not going to cause you a nosebleed, you'll adore him...or her? Nevermind!

And I started drinking the exotic Earl Grey tea because of the series! Now, it's my favorite flavour!

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this was really good. Very different from the anime but I’m really interested in learning more about this agreement between Sebastian and Ciel. I can’t figure out if it’s related to his family or if it’s something else. The first part was a little difficult to follow and I think that’s because I kept the anime in mind when reading this but when I let that go I was really about to enjoy it. I’m glad I have volume 2 on hand to pick it up when I’m ready.

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

rtc

[Scottsdale Public Library]

This excellent Manga series throws some fascinating twists to the well-known story of such villains as Jack the Ripper. Earl Ciel Phantomhive is just a boy, but that doesn't stop him from searching for evil-doers in Victorian London, ably assisted by Sebastian, his loyal butler who seemingly can fix any problem from creating delicious treats for teatime to saving a disastrous dinner party to protecting his young master from those who would do him harm. There's an unusual bond between the two main characters, which is slowly revealed as the series progresses. The author has a flair for creating a feeling of authenticity to the time and place of the story and even carefully ensures that some of the wealthy characters never appear in the same outfit twice. Well done! – Louisa A.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I think I have a crush on the Black Butler. . . how did that happen? He's not real!

This was weird and quirky and took awhile to get into, but I liked it.

It's about - well, a butler. A larger than life, kick-ass butler who surely can't be human, can he? He fought off gun-toting Italian gangsters with forks and table knives while hanging from the chandelier. . . . His young master is the head of the Phantomhive family and it takes place in an alternate Victorian England that seems to be mixing up the timeline a little bit.

The rest of the staff provides the comic relief but that was the only thing I found a bit distracting.

Definitely reading on in this series!

[Tayjah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Bassy…

A thing I realized is that this is set in Victorian London, yet they have cellphones and automatic cars 😭

[Helna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Butler (黒執事, Kuroshitsuji?) is a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. Since its debut on September 16, 2006, it has been serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy. The series follows Sebastian Michaelis, a demonic butler who is obligated to serve Ciel Phantomhive, the twelve-year-old head of the Phantomhive noble family, due to a contract he made with Ciel. It was announced in July 2008 that an anime adaption, directed by Shinohara Toshiya and produced by A-1 Pictures, was expected. It premiered in October 2008, and has since ended with 24 episodes. However, at the Sono Shitsuji, Shūshō: Saigo no Bansan o Anata to Tomo ni (黒執事『その執事、終章　～最後の晩餐を貴方と共に～?, "That Butler, Last Chapter ~a last supper with you~") event on June 14, 2009, it was announced that the anime will be returning for a second series. Seiyū Junichi Suwabe confirmed this news on his official blog later that day. The series has been licensed for an English release by Yen Press and will be published in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary.
Contents
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[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 4 out of 5]

biskup w swojej kuroshitsuji era

[asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok damn where should I even start?
This manga, THIS DAMN MANGA, will break your heart.

I don't care whether you like anime or manga or not but you must watch this anime or read the manga ( if you're new to anime /manga, I recommend watching the anime because I think you're going to enjoy it more. The soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous).

Must read this book

5 stars without even a second thought

[Moon ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a man who can not only cook 5 meals a day but keep a whole mansion spotless, take care of the three other servants, bakes amazing pies and cakes and is fiiiiiiine on the eyes?

Yeah, he ain't he man. He's a Demon Butler. :)

I really enjoyed the artwork and I had forgotten the thrill of seeing Sebastian in action, out to save his young-master. Also, I really love each and every one of their dynamics.

Looking forward to Vol 2.

[Julia Sapphire · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-read:
still 3.5 stars for me

-----------------------------------------------------

* 3.5 stars *

WHAT?! I feel like this was just so quick! Probably because it was super short so...

But one, at some points I was very confused. BUT am excited to see were this story goes.

I like Sebastian though so!(: