I think your take on queen victoria being like a grandma for ciel very interesting. Because I always read her interactions as very superficial and not sincere. Like she writes super sweet and caring, but it’s more like a facade. At least that is my interpretation
That's very fair! And could also be the truth! I think after the reveal that the Queen may be a bit suspicious of Ciel at the end of this arc, it's very fair to read her actions as a facade. She's a fake grandma. afsdadfad I honestly am not sure if I think there's any bit of genuineness to her actions. I'd like to think there is, but that doesn't mean anything adfasd.
yeah, it always came off as disingenuous to me, especially because it's so at odds with the fact that she is asking this child to do extremely dangerous work for her own benefit.
@@PocketLeaves she tried to frame him for murder as punishment for the end of this saga so. Yeah, definitely fake grandma. She is also the most likely candidate to be behind the attack to the phantomhives in the first place, since i don't see the villain being some rando introduced at the last minute and so far she is one of the only characters we know that could have had a reason and the power to pull that.
It's SO much more obvious in the manga about the twins, it's actually amazing. And absolutely agree with you. Power doesn't make people evil, it just reveals what has been inside of them all along. It just helps them achieve their twisted fantasies and do whatever they think of doing. It's not some magic that corrupts you, it's just a walking stick that will help you get to your twisted goals.
8:25 As someone who is really into folklore, I thought I would mention that a neat thing about the pied (pied has the hard I like the pastry) piper visually ties into Joker. Pied means two colored, or covered in colored patches. It’s why most images of him have the patchy coat, or a coat like Jokers with many colors. And two colors could also lead into having two faces, or many faces, a strong theme with the troupe and the cast as a whole. It is also interesting to note in some versions, the piper takes the children after he is not paid or thanked properly for his job. Another fun poke at the themes in the story. It’s why we have the expression that you should “pay the piper”.
@@PocketLeaves You’re welcome! :) I have been really enjoying these, and need lots of long form content to get me through my work at home, so I am sure I will have plenty of useless fun facts to share later. Thank you for the videos, it’s great to catch see the series get some love.
(spoliers) I can't wait for you to cover all the arcs. You're one of the few TH-camrs who's taking this manga seriously. I see millions of essays and analysis about Attack on Titan, but no analytical content on Black Butler. The most of the fandom are all about fangirling about Sebastian and Ciel being a weird romantic couple which wouldn't be so gross, if it wasn't the 90% of the fan content. I don't see anyone talking about how Yana's artwork became so much more esthetic by the school arc, so many mysteries to discuss about the twins etc. Sebastian's 'I wouldn't be here if you haven't been sacrificed' line to the 'evil' twin is still hauting me, I want to find out the answer for it, like how is it possible?... Anyways, I'm excited about your potential content. I hope the other followers are as well.
Thank you!! I'm also excited to getting back to covering more of the manga! I've been waiting to get the next arcs in the physical manga releases, so I could refer to the official translation for these deep dives. You're so right though! There's a few good videos about Black Butler here and there, but most of what's out there just isn't on the same level as more popular series get. Which makes sense because a good vide essay on something like Attack on Titan was bound to get a lot of views versus a series hardly anyone seems to care about. I think I spent a couple months looking for Black Butler related video essays before I decided to just make my own afasdfasd
asdfasd I'm glad it came off as a joke! I was thinking of bdubs from Double Life planting seeds of doubt amongst the other soul mate groups, which ended up turning into a joke adfasdf (this is a minecraft series, so I probably am not making any sense)
To comment on the small psych thing you said at 2:13:55 , psychology as a whole is a relatively new field as in around ~160 years old at most with therapy at its more baser form being even newer at around 100 years old. It wasn't until the late 19th century that therapy in the way we see today aka talk therapy started coming out. Psychology didn't really become known or super talked about until the earlier 1900s, and It was only in 1886 that Freud started taking clients in Vienna for his therapy. While it is three years later, it is likely psych still hadn't found a footing in England at this time, so the children from Kelvin's estate probably would've been taken to a doctor and had their treatments based off what said doctor recommended (likely heavy medication or a stay in the nearest asylum). If they went to an asylum, those poor kids would likely only get worse due to the "treatments" available at that time not only being terrible but also unintentionally doing more harm to the bodies than good. In a tragic way, Ciel is right. Most of the kids who were taken weren't from very wealthy homes who could afford them to be medicated or assure they had someone to care for them 1 on 1 (which has a low chance of working from the get go). Because of that, these kids didn't have a chance of ever getting better especially with how mind-breaking it was to stay with the Baron for that long and survive and how under prepared the world was for that kind of treatment. He shouldn't have burned them alive though. That's a terrible way to go.
Thank you for this insight! It's incredibly sad that it took humanity so long to start learning how best to help each other mentally, and develop a better understanding of what trauma is. It's so hard to judge Ciel for what he did, but with the added context of the state of psychology at the time, it really makes this whole thing just more sad. You're right though, I've heard that burning alive is one of the most painful ways to die.
You did an amazing cosplay and I really loved the change when stuff became pretty dramatic. I think this Arc is the first truly gruesome and dark in the way it affects Ciel (me ahahha). Human nature and its desperate illusions are shown at their worst, and of course Sebastian thrives on them. You have maybe confused circus with corrida, this is the one that got rightly (and finally!) banned in Spain, now it's just a traditional show with no deaths involved. A lot has been done to improve animals' conditions in circus, but it's not nearly enough. The most interesting part of the Arc is in my opinion the way in which Sebastian helps Ciel recover from his PTSD attack, acting as his protetctor and saviour, the only "person" who can touch him safely, while he's in fact manipulating him. As for Ciel, I think the Undertaker's warning got lost on him, not because he killed the children - they were indeed beyond salvation, as in Victorian Age mental institues were appalling places in which you were, at best, bound to lose your mind! - but because he killed Doll. When Ciel accepts the lollypop and then sleeps with her it's like he, too, considers her a friend, but then he lies, betrays and kills her without a second thought. It was no mere self-defence as he could order Sebastian just to disarm her. I really hope we'll see more of this in the manga, because Ciel should feel really guilty about it (and that's probably why he recruits Snake). The twin's revelation is pretty obvious when you rewatch the Kelvin party scene - and yes, I was so glad when Kelvin died, as it was clear he wanted to do the worst possibile things to him (which the cult already did). Arthur is one of my fave character, so can't wait for the next one! And sorry for the sooo long comment 😅
I love reading your long comment! Arthur is honestly such a fun character, and he's a good guy! Something that's rare of these one off side characters asdfasdf. I do think Ciel wasn't in a state of mind to think about Doll and ways to get out of that situation. I always read it as Sebastian killed her because she attempted to do harm, and it wasn't a big deal, because the rest of them were dead or dying as well. That always felt more like Sebastian's choice than Ciel's to me. As for circuses, I know in America (and American media), circuses are always treated as a thing of the past. I was actually shocked to see that there were still a couple in operation here. I've never seen the circus "come to town", so I had always assumed they just didn't exist anymore. More so becoming obsolete as a form of entertainment than being outlawed. I've never heard of the corrida before! That's wild.
@@PocketLeaves yes, that was very wild! I really don't think Sebastian can kill anyone without Ciel's approval, otherwise he would have fed himself as it's mentioned he's hungry. For this reason William says Sebastian is "collared" and he must only act when Ciel is with him. I'm referring to the manga here: I think the way Ciel says "Sebastian" while the lollipop falls and then Undertaker recalls his warning to Ciel is a clear implication that Ciel ordered Sebastian to kill Doll, but it is not showed. Anyway I believe Ciel regrets his actions and that it may be the worst thing he has done so far. It is also true he was deeply shocked and not entirely himself. I'm curious about Doll's *bizzarre Doll* (no pun intended) in the manga and what she will tell him about Ciel.
I just remembered something about Beast: I think she tells Doll "You've done nothing wrong" because SHE feels shame and guilt for betraying "father" to Sebastian, while Doll was just supporting a friend.
Loving these recaps! You're making me want to reread the manga or rewatch the show! I fell off reading the manga after the Twin Ciel reveal, not because I hated the reveal, but because I had to wait for the next volume and I forgot about the series while waiting.
2:14:45 It’s only occurred to me the parallel between Joker’s relationship with Kelvin and Ciel’s with Sebastian. They are being deceived by a ‘paternal’ care figure in pursuit of - I daresay - a meaningless goal. Yes… this is me speculating a future emptiness in Ciel’s revenge. Whether Ciel himself is aware of this is unclear. He may be laughing in realisation of his own naivety but for sure, I agree that he’s laughing at humans being more demonic than demons too.
I don’t think Ciel was in the right for “mercy killing” the kids. If he managed to come back then there was a chance that some of the kids could too. And even if they couldn’t, burning to death is a HORRIBLE way to go. I understand that Ciel was very much not in this right mind when he made the decision- he almost certainly was still in a horrible PTSD episode where he thought he was watching his brother die and him wanting everyone dead and to burn it all was what he wanted then. As for Sebastian, I love him a lot not because I agree with what he does or anything but because the way he thinks and operates is fascinating to me. I especially love the instances where he clearly is struggling to take care of a child ie him being too rough with Ciel early on, him pulling Ciel’s tooth against his will, him not knowing what to do when Ciel is sick, him deferring to letting Finny take care of Ciel when Ciel is having his extended episode in the Green Witch arc, etc. It is interesting to me because I don’t think Sebastian has ever had a contract like this- certainly not one that had him caring for a child the way a parent would- and his fascination with Ciel comes from the fact that despite everything Ciel has been through and the things he continues to do, Ciel cannot completely kill the part of him that CARES about others. I think Sebastian views Ciel as a masterpiece in contradiction and finds joy in watching it all unfold and to me that is so interesting. You cannot really judge Sebastian by human standards because he isn’t human and while they say demons are incapable of love (whatever one defines such a nebulous topic as “love” anyway) all we know about Sebastian in reference to other demons is that he is fucking INSANE and is literally starving himself into madness because he is bored to death of everything. He doesn’t act like other demons so we can only assume he doesn’t think like other demons either. I don’t know man, it’s late and I’m rambling because you’re essays are very good. Keep up the good work!
Yes, that's the interesting thing about Ciel's character! He's not an inherently bad guy, but at the end of the day, he does do bad things. But also, he makes some of his worst decisions when he's suffering from things like PTSD attacks, so it's hard to really look at it like a judgment of his character. I'm not entirely sure if he's trying to justify his actions to himself when he explains that it was a mercy killing of the kids. I do like your thoughts on Ciel being a masterpiece of contradictions, and that's what Sebastian finds interesting. Sebastian really is built different, even from other demons adsfasdfa I do think him being bored to death of everything is a really interesting character tidbit. And one I think says a lot about his true personality, and possibly point to him being ANCIENT. It makes him feel really old in demon terms what ever that means, since it sounds like he's done it all before, to the point that nothing gave him purpose or joy.
I absolutely agree with you but Im pretty sure that the implication is that the children were lobotomized and unable to be rehabilitated. There is a panel with one of the children has a shaved part in his hair and scars that might be from a lobotomy. Not saying in the slightest that Ceil had the right to make that choice or that being burned alive was a mercy.
He was not literally lobotomized though. And most of those kids were from very poor families who would be uneable to provide proper care and would suffer seeing them in that state or would just abandon them on the street for being a burden.
I know some people don’t like that fact that Ciel killed the children, claiming it was for better because they were basically already dead, but like she said, he was having a PTSD episode from being reminded of that horrible day and what he went through.
He may not have done the best choice, but kids from poor families lobotomized in victorian england? They didn't stand a chance anyway, they would have ended starving in the streets or being prostituted. It was a lose lose situation for those kids.
I’m so happy you’re making videos about this!! As someone who’d like to know the story of black butler but doesn’t feel like reading the manga and knows the anime isn’t the best to work off of I REALLY appreciate you for doing this!! Keep it up❤!
Thank you for these deep dives! Black butler is my special interest and I have trouble finding all the information (my autism and adhd clash so much) and listening to these help so much! I restocked my entire dresser lol! Thanks once again , super excited for more ❤️
I haven’t read this manga/ watched the anime in literally 10 years. Thank you for giving me a funny, nostalgic series to binge….. also I learned I REALLY need to catch up lmaoo >w
i binged these videos the past two days and god it makes me so happy :DD black butler was my first intentional anime watch through as well as the first manga i started collecting, it means a lot to me and now that the new anime was announced i'm scavenging the internet for content. Your deep dives were a gold mine to fall into and makes me want to reread the entire manga again to look for details and foreshadowing of later events, or simply to to relive what i've read through also, your bracelets
Ayo!! Enby aroace people unite!! I'm glad you've been enjoying these deep dives! Rereading the manga to make these is actually the first time I've reread anything past volume 3 (when I was in high school I frequently reread the few volumes I had) and it's for sure my first time rereadong everything with as much hindsight as I have now! It's really changed the experience
we are back boys on the deep dive and man book of circus is always a mood killer. fun story, i made my boyfriend watch the animated adaption with me, i warned him, but still at the end he was devastated. it's just that kind of arc 😢 the circus crew are some the most sympathetic characters in the series. joker was trapped in an impossible choice, with the fate of other children floating above his head. (which he will never know were already gone). They all were wrong in what they did, but we really do understand and sympathize with all of them. They were family and found happiness together but that came at a cost. i think this parallels nicely with the phantomhive servants, who also have become family. and in the end it was us vs them. those who steal and those who are stolen from. it's tragic. the ending gets me teary everytime.
I really enjoy hearing your thoughts on every bit of the manga. I like to get back to it from time to time (and now with the anime adaptation of college arc announced it's a perfect time to do it again!) and it is a pleasure to see a deep dive in the series considering the lack of content in the fandom. Thank you for it, gotta wait for the next arcs!♥
***when your watching this so you know what your friends are talking about, when you started, you thought it was silly, but now you are a die hard fan just from the series***
I absolutely love how this arc shows just how you shouldn't underestimate is being a Phantomhive servant. The way the story shows the servants' strengths! Absolutely love the wholesome moment at he end too! Everytime Lizzy and Soma comes in the picture, it's just full of warmth and sunshine for Ciel.
@@PocketLeaves I also left a comment talking about Victorian Era self-deletion and Victorian Era average age of de*th. TH-cam seems to have deleted this, so I'll leave a shorter version of it. The average lifespan in Victoria is about 40-50 and self-deletion in 1800's Britian was very low, so there being so few British Grim Reapers makes a lot of sense.
Oh wait that makes so much sense. I thought it was a hormone thing. Like they never really went through puberty or something because Joker says they stay child like. But a type of dwarfism makes a lot of sense as well.
Yeah, we see Peter drinking in the Black Butler spin-off 'That Butler, Friendly' in it he also tells Dagger not to give Ciel any alcohol because he is too young. It could still be a hormone thing since Peter and Wendy look young despite Joker calling Wendy 'Big Sister' when she hurts her leg.
Yana created Doll for the express purpose of us to love her and hate Ciel for what he did. AND IT WORKED. I HONESTLY SUPPORT CIEL ON MOST OF WHAT HE DOEs, cuz life just dealt a painful hand to him, a really bad fate........ But that doesn't excuse you from killing people who're nicer than a butterfly (specially Doll, who didn't wanna kidnap the children nor kill the police officers).
1:14:06 There is a science to this! It’s the uncanny valley effect! When something appears “mostly” human, but isn’t quite human enough, it creates a very uncomfortable feeling for the reader. It’s similar to the effect of people wearing somewhat human looking masks or the feeling we get when looking at mannequins that look very real. This effect illicit a fear response in many because of the uncertainty and confusion that comes with it.
I think this would also applies to why there is always something eerie about sebastian, even when he is playing the perfect guy. He is way too perfect to be a normal human.
I feel you on that! I'm prone to forgetting a lot of things when I watch or read something, and it's fandom discussion that really helps me learn and remember things!
I think he did as well. But I don't think it was like a normal crush?? I think it was something akin to that "I can't decide if I want to BE him or be WITH him" type of crushes. And I think his crush grew into an obsession as he realized just how out of reach Vincent was.
Desy from tumblr and twitch here! Haven't finished the video yet (I'm still watching it) but I wanted to say: Your make up??? POP OFF MONARCH!!! Also i already said this but really, thank you so much for your effort and work on these videos! ❤️
hi i just wanna thank you for the black butler content. even tho it has its flaws, i’ve loved the anime and manga for over 10 years now and it’s so cool to see someone who appreciates it the same way, especially in 2023. and i wanna know, are you excited for the new season!!!???
I've also been a long time fan of the series! It's really had me in a chokehold for a good chunk of my life ahsgagsgs I'm SO HYPE for the new season! The Weston arc is my favorite!
As per usual I must make a comment, my two favorite things about this arc is Doll and the servants being badasses. The only thing that saddens me is that their skills had to be shown taking out the circus members- in my own little universe I like to live in a reality where they were all able to live on full lives 😔Kelvin really did just end up ruining their lives by keeping them indebted to a lie ...
I mean, they might not be aware of the full extent of what was done to the kids, yet they still kidnapped them knowing it was nothing good what would happen to them and killed people. Even if they believed it was for the sake of the others at the orphanage , there were other ways they could have tried to help the orphanage kids without harming other innocent kids.
I think why teeth are given more detail to villains and more dark figures is to give a more predatory look. We tend to think of dangerous creatures with detailed, sharp, shiny, and/or many rows of teeth. Think about the xenomorph from Alien or even the main animals in natural horror movies, like Jaws. It’s a handy tool for tapping into our primal fear of natural predators.
2:00:56 I distinctly remember Ciel screaming, "IT'S AN OORRDEEERRR!" (yes, the emphasis is not a joke) to Sebastian here when I first read this in English. Why is it different now?
Honestly, it may have been a different translation. I know a lot of the scans online are fan translations, while what's pictured here is what was published by Yen Press. There's a lot of little differences in wording across different translations.
It is stated demons do need to eat human souls for sustenance. While he may not die from starvation, he can definitely become weaker from it ( take longer to heal injuries, etc) and he can feel the sensation of starving. He himself says he can handle the intense hunger only because that wilk make the meak taste better and because he is not a pathetic wild demon that has no self restraint. Which implies less powerful demons may not be able to control their hunger for so long. Sebastian also implies he used to be quite a glutton before himself. Mayne younger demons can't hold the sensation of starving as much as older demons.
Love these videos! Just my personal thoughts, just if you wanted to keep your comments section spoiler free going forward. Even tho you addressed revealing the twins in this video as something that is interesting and being heavily foreshadowed in this arc, I feel it would make a lot more sense to break down the arc as it is presented to a first time reader and then maybe have a spoiler heavy part at the end of the video, or as a seperate video entirely talking about all the times where the twin reveal is foreshadowed. It would just make it easier to open your video to both new readers and old ones. But that's just my opinion. Otherwise this is a great video! Love your enthusiasm and energy! Makes me feel happy to know that there are still people out there who enjoy and are following the series!
I’m not gonna excuse killing the children or make a case for them dying because Ciel was not in his right mind when he made the decision ☝️ He tried making an excuse, but the truth is that he made an incredibly hasty decision out of witnessing incredible Trauma
It's less so of an excuse and more so an explanation. His decision was a trauma response though, and I believe that shouldn't be held against his character.
Ppl usually assume that Grelle was excited to see Sebastian so she could flirt with him but im like 80% sure she was just excited for another chance to kill him and I love her for that ♡
About circus costumes. I would say compared to American comics of the same age as Ciel, he's pretty covered up. Cause look at Robin from Batman. He was a 10 year old in a thong basically. The costume was so revealing, that when they did the 60s live action show they made the actor take "shrinking" pills. I know circus outfits are revealing in the sense of aerodynamics, that bare skin sticks and grips. It's safer to grab a bare ankle than someone with socks on cause they can slip. There's a reason for it, but it goes with saying children in general shouldn't be performing. But compared to Robin a major known icon, Ciel is dressed like nun.
Honestly if anything the complain is why are sebastian and william's circus outfits so toned down and covered? Missed opportunity to make sebas an outfit similar to his real form outfit and have william be even more disgusted by him XD
Dick was used to wearing revealing and fitted clothes for his circus routines and while Robin he enjoyed the cape and shorts cause it was easy for him to move around in. Though it's funny when he becomes Nightwing that he admits he hated the cape and didn't use one for his costume. Even when he was taking over the batman mantle he hated the cape cause it was getting in the way and was heavy and he wasn't used to it anymore. 😭
asdfasdf thank you! As the story arcs get bigger and have more ground to cover, the videos will get bigger. I'm actually afraid of the videos that'll come out of the Blue Memory and Blue Revenge arcs (the two most current story arcs)
@@PocketLeaves Hey, I am going to add another unnecessary 5 cents, just like last time (and I am not even through the video, so, I may add something in a few days). 1) Yes, circuses with and without animals still exist in the world at large, North America included. I am not sure, how many of there are that use exotic animals, but a superficial Google search gives me at least a couple of names, like Carson and Barnes, for example. There are also supposedly quite a few smaller circuses that are too tiny to catch and fine who also use exotic animals. This are, however, the limits of my knowledge, so I will shut up. 2) There is a weird almost double standard in the Black Butler community that I have not seen many people adress before, and it concernes Beast/Molly. While we have collectively decided that Grell is a natural woman (this is a Trixie Mattel's joke about herself and her work partner Katya) and shouldn't be made the butt of the jokes because of that, have we started allowing Beast the same freedom? While I have still been in the fandom around 2015, she was widely hated for supposedly stealing Sebastian (the same reason people hated on Lizzy untill she has been given her badass makeover) and being a "whore." Moreover, her spending some "quality time" with Sebastian was seen as romantic as opposed to the borderline sexual assault that it is. Sebastian humiliated her, forces himself onto her, refused to understand "no," and held her down until she was gaslit enough into taking him. Is that really romantic? Being sexually attracted to someone (and I think Beast was sexually attracted to Sebastian, who wouldn't be?) doesn't mean that the person is willing to sleep with that someone. So, why the fandom has decided to collectively look over it and instead slutshame Beast for being coerced into bed with a demon is beyond me. Add to that the fact that in some medieval writings such hanky-panky with demons was supposedly extreamly painful for women, and you have a criminal case here (although, granted, from what we have seen, Sebastian is very skilled in bed and his partners greatly enjoy themselves). Of course, Yana didn't help the case either here. Just like Grell, Beast was shamed for her sexuality and reduced to a shallow trope that was very pervalent in anime at that time, thus, giving the fans the ammo to hate on her. I have no idea whether the viewes on Beast have moved in a more positive direction, like those on Grell's, but I would lile to see that change. And I would love Yana giving Beast a similar arc she gave to LIzzy, but, I am not sure it will ever happen.
@@TheGamer2001 Thank you dor your input!! I didn't know that about the demon sex thing in older writings. I've always been in spaces of the fandom that have liked Beast, so I didn't realize people were angry with her for what Sebastian did. That's actually disgusting of the fandom. Most of my friends were actually angry with Sebastian for doing that. Idk why I didn't see this scene as assault until your comment, but you're so right. He really does force himself on to her and keeps talking sweet until she agrees. Damn.
@@PocketLeaves Hey, thank you for your reply! Maybe you have had such a different experience with the fandom's attitude towards Beast because you have been to a different fandom space than I? Even the English-speaking side of the fandom in Europe can be different from the North American one, not to mention English-speaking spaces that are international, they are definitely a different breed. Not to mention fandom spaces in other languages. If Beast has been treated better in your experience, I can only be glad for that! I haven't been involved in the fandom for a long time, so, I honestly can't tell. There were quite a lot of ideas floating around in the medieval demonology/witchology (?) about hanky-panky with demons and the potential offspring of such a "union." In one case (and I am sorry, I cannot give you any concrete sources or time frames, it is just what I can recall off the top of my head), a woman who supposedly did the deed with a demon complained that "his seed was so cald that I would never get pregnant from it." The other one talked about how women had to offer their virginity to Satan in order to get magical powers and become witches and how immoral sexual acts were a great part of the whole shebang. And then there was that writing that I described above. So, there was no consensus on this topic, and you can pretty much pick and choose whatever at this point. Speaking about -that- scene between Ciel and Sebastian, I have always understood it as a power play with an erotic subtext. As in, Sebastian knew that Ciel was so distraught that he could have him right then and there, and he would not even protest. I think the demon was getting off of this display of his total power over Ciel here. However, this is just my headcanon, and I think that you are right and that it is just a weird fanservice. As much as I understand, power play was and still is to some extent considered erotic in Japan and South Korea (that is why there were and are so many dramas with a super wealthy guy and a poor girl), so that may be it and nothing more. Thank you for your video! I hope you haven't exhausted yourself by recording it and I am looking forward to the next one!
@@TheGamer2001 Ooh I didn't realize that power plays were seen as erotic to some extent! That explains some context for a lot of fan service in Black Butler adfasdf. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
very nice deep dive as aslways. BUT i will not stand by this Earl Ciel Phantomhive slander. He is a great kid, possibly smartest human of the verse and he has the right genes to become like his old man with a bit of physical training. His squad already easily outscales Vincents. He may be weak, a crybaby, grumpy, mentaly scarred, and a fraud (this is all alleged) but he isnt a quitter. Earl Ciel Phantomhive is my messiah and my G.O.A.T. (Snake is the best thing about this arc) Great video, looking forward to the next one👍🦅
The only other anime cousins I know besides Ciel and Elizabeth are Suguha Kirigaya and Kazuto Kirigaya I know everyone's going to shun me now for even mentioning that I own 34 Sword Art Online light novels at home and also for the fact that I'm a fan of One of the most hated animes out there. I've just recently finished Unital Ring books 1-5 here aswell as also finishing again 2 Phantom Bullet and 3 aincrad and early and late Sword Art Online light novels. I still look forward to this school arc of black butler whenever it gets adapted in 2024 and I have no idea when Reki Kawahara plans to write about that inter intelligence war saga that I just read the title of after finishing 10 Alicization books many years ago.
THERE ARE 34+ SAO BOOKS?????? I had no idea the series was still on going, let alone lasted that long. Honestly, I think a lot of the SAO hate came from bandwagoning and memes. I remember shortly after it came out, it was the joke to hate on it, and now people dislike it for popularizing the isekai genre, which has resulted in some less than quality works trying to milk that boom. SAO was fine, I've only seen the first season, and while I don't like what it did, I can still see why other people may enjoy the series. It just made me want to go play runescape or someother mmorpg instead.
@@PocketLeaves Sao Volume 26 Unital Ring 6 I'll be getting for Christmas later this year from family. I know I've also read Fairy Dance, Moon Cradle, Kiss and Fly, Mother's Rosario and Progressive several many years ago. I'll soon be owning 35 here Sao Light novel books here and I still have no idea why the inner monologues are omitted from the adaptations and are only kept in the books. I grew up playing more regular RPG on PlayStation and Nintendo and very little MMO here. Sorry about the edits and repeats of comments there I'm done I just had to pull out other book saga names in the series from my memories.
I disliked that this was the arc the anime ended on… because it was so good! (from my past knowledge only to find out that there where more arcs animated). Only to find out about the new season announcement 4 months later. I really liked the intro to the anime on how it started as a doll house/makeshift reality. Additionally, I’m excited for the next episode of this TH-cam series.
I wish Lord Kelvin wasn't a pedophile. His sudden realization that he's not as good looking as Ciel's father becomes a character defining moment for him. If he wasn't a pedophile his desire to look better would have made him more sympathetic, even at the cost of children's lifes. What is questionable is that was he always a pedophile? There's no answers for it, but it's clear that he's married and he seems like a good hearted philantropist. It's so weird that his body dismorphia also awakens his dormant pedophilia after he meets the Phantomhives. It's one of the main criticisms I have, his backstory is handled in a lazy fashion. I wish his delusions were more justifiable, but he's simply portrayed as phsyco who's obssesed with Ciel. I still love the idea of him recreating the sacrificial room. Not a bad villan, but could've been better.
Since we don't know much about him before he met the Phantomhives, it's really hard to tell what he was like before. His body issues and infatuation with the beauty he perceived in the Phantomhives, and the people around them though could have been so interesting to explore if it wasn't framed with a pedophile lens. But since he's also the villain for the arc, it wouldn't make sense to spend so much time on him. So we're left with what we've got. The recreation was a WILD idea, and honestly worked so well in it's emotional impact on the story, and in showing just how deranged he became!
Angelic Days I think is the Eva spin off! It'd be so silly! I think Attack on Titan has a silly spin off as well where they're all in high school or something?
@PocketCon Sounds right! I never peaked at it though! I know Naruto did something similar too with Rock Lee though that was more just zany comedy than slice of life. Regardless I'm all for comedy or slice of life Phantomhive spin off! 😂
26:57 ( first clue to ourCiel's real name being Finnian! Let's go! What should we call this theory? ) 1:11:39 actually he is one. It's so obvious. This dude aggressively said how he wished he was there in the cult, where Ciel got brutally SA-ed, like twice. Also the fact that he was so infatuated with Vincent was reminiscent of Madam Red's crazy obsession. That is an indication of his infatuation being that of attraction. And he made the same eyes for Ciel as well. Not to mention how he always surrounded himself with kids. He really didn't need kids around him like that. But he does. That is clear insinuation at this point. I don't understand how u missed the point that he's a pedo. He clearly was friends with some. 2:21:57 in light of the recent events in the latest arc, this stings even more. I wonder if Lizzy knew..I wonder if Soma hates her now too?
I think your take on queen victoria being like a grandma for ciel very interesting. Because I always read her interactions as very superficial and not sincere. Like she writes super sweet and caring, but it’s more like a facade. At least that is my interpretation
That's very fair! And could also be the truth! I think after the reveal that the Queen may be a bit suspicious of Ciel at the end of this arc, it's very fair to read her actions as a facade. She's a fake grandma. afsdadfad I honestly am not sure if I think there's any bit of genuineness to her actions. I'd like to think there is, but that doesn't mean anything adfasd.
yeah, it always came off as disingenuous to me, especially because it's so at odds with the fact that she is asking this child to do extremely dangerous work for her own benefit.
She's the preformtive grandma that acts nice for cookies and honestly I love that
@@swaggydragoncrazy stuff there
@@PocketLeaves she tried to frame him for murder as punishment for the end of this saga so. Yeah, definitely fake grandma. She is also the most likely candidate to be behind the attack to the phantomhives in the first place, since i don't see the villain being some rando introduced at the last minute and so far she is one of the only characters we know that could have had a reason and the power to pull that.
It's SO much more obvious in the manga about the twins, it's actually amazing.
And absolutely agree with you. Power doesn't make people evil, it just reveals what has been inside of them all along. It just helps them achieve their twisted fantasies and do whatever they think of doing. It's not some magic that corrupts you, it's just a walking stick that will help you get to your twisted goals.
8:25 As someone who is really into folklore, I thought I would mention that a neat thing about the pied (pied has the hard I like the pastry) piper visually ties into Joker. Pied means two colored, or covered in colored patches. It’s why most images of him have the patchy coat, or a coat like Jokers with many colors. And two colors could also lead into having two faces, or many faces, a strong theme with the troupe and the cast as a whole. It is also interesting to note in some versions, the piper takes the children after he is not paid or thanked properly for his job. Another fun poke at the themes in the story. It’s why we have the expression that you should “pay the piper”.
That is so cool! Thank you for sharing!!
@@PocketLeaves You’re welcome! :) I have been really enjoying these, and need lots of long form content to get me through my work at home, so I am sure I will have plenty of useless fun facts to share later. Thank you for the videos, it’s great to catch see the series get some love.
(spoliers) I can't wait for you to cover all the arcs. You're one of the few TH-camrs who's taking this manga seriously. I see millions of essays and analysis about Attack on Titan, but no analytical content on Black Butler. The most of the fandom are all about fangirling about Sebastian and Ciel being a weird romantic couple which wouldn't be so gross, if it wasn't the 90% of the fan content. I don't see anyone talking about how Yana's artwork became so much more esthetic by the school arc, so many mysteries to discuss about the twins etc. Sebastian's 'I wouldn't be here if you haven't been sacrificed' line to the 'evil' twin is still hauting me, I want to find out the answer for it, like how is it possible?... Anyways, I'm excited about your potential content. I hope the other followers are as well.
Thank you!! I'm also excited to getting back to covering more of the manga! I've been waiting to get the next arcs in the physical manga releases, so I could refer to the official translation for these deep dives. You're so right though! There's a few good videos about Black Butler here and there, but most of what's out there just isn't on the same level as more popular series get. Which makes sense because a good vide essay on something like Attack on Titan was bound to get a lot of views versus a series hardly anyone seems to care about. I think I spent a couple months looking for Black Butler related video essays before I decided to just make my own afasdfasd
When you said "planting seeds of doubt" during the Sebastian and Beast scene, I couldn't help but laugh🤣🤣🤣
asdfasd I'm glad it came off as a joke! I was thinking of bdubs from Double Life planting seeds of doubt amongst the other soul mate groups, which ended up turning into a joke adfasdf (this is a minecraft series, so I probably am not making any sense)
a wild traffic life series watcher! 💚💛❤️
"cringefail boy loser ronald knox" nearly made me choke lmao
akdhsgsgs it was really the best way yo describe him
To comment on the small psych thing you said at 2:13:55 , psychology as a whole is a relatively new field as in around ~160 years old at most with therapy at its more baser form being even newer at around 100 years old. It wasn't until the late 19th century that therapy in the way we see today aka talk therapy started coming out. Psychology didn't really become known or super talked about until the earlier 1900s, and It was only in 1886 that Freud started taking clients in Vienna for his therapy.
While it is three years later, it is likely psych still hadn't found a footing in England at this time, so the children from Kelvin's estate probably would've been taken to a doctor and had their treatments based off what said doctor recommended (likely heavy medication or a stay in the nearest asylum). If they went to an asylum, those poor kids would likely only get worse due to the "treatments" available at that time not only being terrible but also unintentionally doing more harm to the bodies than good. In a tragic way, Ciel is right. Most of the kids who were taken weren't from very wealthy homes who could afford them to be medicated or assure they had someone to care for them 1 on 1 (which has a low chance of working from the get go). Because of that, these kids didn't have a chance of ever getting better especially with how mind-breaking it was to stay with the Baron for that long and survive and how under prepared the world was for that kind of treatment. He shouldn't have burned them alive though. That's a terrible way to go.
Thank you for this insight! It's incredibly sad that it took humanity so long to start learning how best to help each other mentally, and develop a better understanding of what trauma is. It's so hard to judge Ciel for what he did, but with the added context of the state of psychology at the time, it really makes this whole thing just more sad. You're right though, I've heard that burning alive is one of the most painful ways to die.
You did an amazing cosplay and I really loved the change when stuff became pretty dramatic. I think this Arc is the first truly gruesome and dark in the way it affects Ciel (me ahahha). Human nature and its desperate illusions are shown at their worst, and of course Sebastian thrives on them.
You have maybe confused circus with corrida, this is the one that got rightly (and finally!) banned in Spain, now it's just a traditional show with no deaths involved.
A lot has been done to improve animals' conditions in circus, but it's not nearly enough.
The most interesting part of the Arc is in my opinion the way in which Sebastian helps Ciel recover from his PTSD attack, acting as his protetctor and saviour, the only "person" who can touch him safely, while he's in fact manipulating him.
As for Ciel, I think the Undertaker's warning got lost on him, not because he killed the children - they were indeed beyond salvation, as in Victorian Age mental institues were appalling places in which you were, at best, bound to lose your mind! - but because he killed Doll. When Ciel accepts the lollypop and then sleeps with her it's like he, too, considers her a friend, but then he lies, betrays and kills her without a second thought. It was no mere self-defence as he could order Sebastian just to disarm her. I really hope we'll see more of this in the manga, because Ciel should feel really guilty about it (and that's probably why he recruits Snake).
The twin's revelation is pretty obvious when you rewatch the Kelvin party scene - and yes, I was so glad when Kelvin died, as it was clear he wanted to do the worst possibile things to him (which the cult already did).
Arthur is one of my fave character, so can't wait for the next one!
And sorry for the sooo long comment 😅
I love reading your long comment! Arthur is honestly such a fun character, and he's a good guy! Something that's rare of these one off side characters asdfasdf.
I do think Ciel wasn't in a state of mind to think about Doll and ways to get out of that situation. I always read it as Sebastian killed her because she attempted to do harm, and it wasn't a big deal, because the rest of them were dead or dying as well. That always felt more like Sebastian's choice than Ciel's to me.
As for circuses, I know in America (and American media), circuses are always treated as a thing of the past. I was actually shocked to see that there were still a couple in operation here. I've never seen the circus "come to town", so I had always assumed they just didn't exist anymore. More so becoming obsolete as a form of entertainment than being outlawed. I've never heard of the corrida before! That's wild.
@@PocketLeaves yes, that was very wild! I really don't think Sebastian can kill anyone without Ciel's approval, otherwise he would have fed himself as it's mentioned he's hungry. For this reason William says Sebastian is "collared" and he must only act when Ciel is with him.
I'm referring to the manga here: I think the way Ciel says "Sebastian" while the lollipop falls and then Undertaker recalls his warning to Ciel is a clear implication that Ciel ordered Sebastian to kill Doll, but it is not showed. Anyway I believe Ciel regrets his actions and that it may be the worst thing he has done so far. It is also true he was deeply shocked and not entirely himself. I'm curious about Doll's *bizzarre Doll* (no pun intended) in the manga and what she will tell him about Ciel.
I just remembered something about Beast: I think she tells Doll "You've done nothing wrong" because SHE feels shame and guilt for betraying "father" to Sebastian, while Doll was just supporting a friend.
Loving these recaps! You're making me want to reread the manga or rewatch the show!
I fell off reading the manga after the Twin Ciel reveal, not because I hated the reveal, but because I had to wait for the next volume and I forgot about the series while waiting.
Glad you're enjoying the deep dives!! It's definitely worth the reread/rewatch now that we have one of the biggest plot reveals (the twin).
2:14:45 It’s only occurred to me the parallel between Joker’s relationship with Kelvin and Ciel’s with Sebastian.
They are being deceived by a ‘paternal’ care figure in pursuit of - I daresay - a meaningless goal.
Yes… this is me speculating a future emptiness in Ciel’s revenge.
Whether Ciel himself is aware of this is unclear. He may be laughing in realisation of his own naivety but for sure, I agree that he’s laughing at humans being more demonic than demons too.
I don’t think Ciel was in the right for “mercy killing” the kids. If he managed to come back then there was a chance that some of the kids could too. And even if they couldn’t, burning to death is a HORRIBLE way to go. I understand that Ciel was very much not in this right mind when he made the decision- he almost certainly was still in a horrible PTSD episode where he thought he was watching his brother die and him wanting everyone dead and to burn it all was what he wanted then.
As for Sebastian, I love him a lot not because I agree with what he does or anything but because the way he thinks and operates is fascinating to me. I especially love the instances where he clearly is struggling to take care of a child ie him being too rough with Ciel early on, him pulling Ciel’s tooth against his will, him not knowing what to do when Ciel is sick, him deferring to letting Finny take care of Ciel when Ciel is having his extended episode in the Green Witch arc, etc. It is interesting to me because I don’t think Sebastian has ever had a contract like this- certainly not one that had him caring for a child the way a parent would- and his fascination with Ciel comes from the fact that despite everything Ciel has been through and the things he continues to do, Ciel cannot completely kill the part of him that CARES about others. I think Sebastian views Ciel as a masterpiece in contradiction and finds joy in watching it all unfold and to me that is so interesting. You cannot really judge Sebastian by human standards because he isn’t human and while they say demons are incapable of love (whatever one defines such a nebulous topic as “love” anyway) all we know about Sebastian in reference to other demons is that he is fucking INSANE and is literally starving himself into madness because he is bored to death of everything. He doesn’t act like other demons so we can only assume he doesn’t think like other demons either.
I don’t know man, it’s late and I’m rambling because you’re essays are very good. Keep up the good work!
Yes, that's the interesting thing about Ciel's character! He's not an inherently bad guy, but at the end of the day, he does do bad things. But also, he makes some of his worst decisions when he's suffering from things like PTSD attacks, so it's hard to really look at it like a judgment of his character. I'm not entirely sure if he's trying to justify his actions to himself when he explains that it was a mercy killing of the kids.
I do like your thoughts on Ciel being a masterpiece of contradictions, and that's what Sebastian finds interesting. Sebastian really is built different, even from other demons adsfasdfa I do think him being bored to death of everything is a really interesting character tidbit. And one I think says a lot about his true personality, and possibly point to him being ANCIENT. It makes him feel really old in demon terms what ever that means, since it sounds like he's done it all before, to the point that nothing gave him purpose or joy.
I loved this and almost agree with this at all. Well said !
I absolutely agree with you but Im pretty sure that the implication is that the children were lobotomized and unable to be rehabilitated. There is a panel with one of the children has a shaved part in his hair and scars that might be from a lobotomy. Not saying in the slightest that Ceil had the right to make that choice or that being burned alive was a mercy.
He was not literally lobotomized though. And most of those kids were from very poor families who would be uneable to provide proper care and would suffer seeing them in that state or would just abandon them on the street for being a burden.
@@nessyness5447yeah, killing those kids was dark but not entirely a bad decision all things considered
I know some people don’t like that fact that Ciel killed the children, claiming it was for better because they were basically already dead, but like she said, he was having a PTSD episode from being reminded of that horrible day and what he went through.
He may not have done the best choice, but kids from poor families lobotomized in victorian england? They didn't stand a chance anyway, they would have ended starving in the streets or being prostituted. It was a lose lose situation for those kids.
I was waiting for another deep dive!! Your deep dives are amazing
tysm!! I'm glad you're enjoying them! I'm having a lot of fun making them!
I’m so happy you’re making videos about this!!
As someone who’d like to know the story of black butler but doesn’t feel like reading the manga and knows the anime isn’t the best to work off of I REALLY appreciate you for doing this!!
Keep it up❤!
Thank you so much! I'm really enjoying making these recaps/deep dives! Yeah, the anime is kind of a mess asdfasdf
Well, if the new animations pick up their pace that won't be too much of a problem as the differences between the comic and show are mostly minor.
Thank you for these deep dives! Black butler is my special interest and I have trouble finding all the information (my autism and adhd clash so much) and listening to these help so much! I restocked my entire dresser lol! Thanks once again , super excited for more ❤️
Ooh, I'm glad these videos have been helpful!!
I haven’t read this manga/ watched the anime in literally 10 years. Thank you for giving me a funny, nostalgic series to binge….. also I learned I REALLY need to catch up lmaoo >w
Ooh, yeah a lot has happened in the manga over the past 10 years!
i binged these videos the past two days and god it makes me so happy :DD black butler was my first intentional anime watch through as well as the first manga i started collecting, it means a lot to me and now that the new anime was announced i'm scavenging the internet for content. Your deep dives were a gold mine to fall into and makes me want to reread the entire manga again to look for details and foreshadowing of later events, or simply to to relive what i've read through
also, your bracelets
Ayo!! Enby aroace people unite!!
I'm glad you've been enjoying these deep dives! Rereading the manga to make these is actually the first time I've reread anything past volume 3 (when I was in high school I frequently reread the few volumes I had) and it's for sure my first time rereadong everything with as much hindsight as I have now! It's really changed the experience
we are back boys on the deep dive and man book of circus is always a mood killer. fun story, i made my boyfriend watch the animated adaption with me, i warned him, but still at the end he was devastated. it's just that kind of arc 😢
the circus crew are some the most sympathetic characters in the series. joker was trapped in an impossible choice, with the fate of other children floating above his head. (which he will never know were already gone). They all were wrong in what they did, but we really do understand and sympathize with all of them. They were family and found happiness together but that came at a cost.
i think this parallels nicely with the phantomhive servants, who also have become family. and in the end it was us vs them. those who steal and those who are stolen from. it's tragic.
the ending gets me teary everytime.
Yeah, this arc gets really serious, and has such a pessimistic outlook on life. The circus troop are very sympathetic, you're right about that!
I really enjoy hearing your thoughts on every bit of the manga. I like to get back to it from time to time (and now with the anime adaptation of college arc announced it's a perfect time to do it again!) and it is a pleasure to see a deep dive in the series considering the lack of content in the fandom. Thank you for it, gotta wait for the next arcs!♥
Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying the deep dive!
I've been watching your deep dives recently so this is perfect timing😂
Ah, I'm glad you've been watching and I hope enjoying these deep dives!
***when your watching this so you know what your friends are talking about, when you started, you thought it was silly, but now you are a die hard fan just from the series***
I absolutely love how this arc shows just how you shouldn't underestimate is being a Phantomhive servant. The way the story shows the servants' strengths!
Absolutely love the wholesome moment at he end too! Everytime Lizzy and Soma comes in the picture, it's just full of warmth and sunshine for Ciel.
im SUPER excited for the weston college arc deep dive AND the anime adaption thats coming!!
OMG ME TOO!!!!! Weston arc is my favorite arc!
I'm loving the consistent uploads.
Thank you! I'm trying my best with them!
@@PocketLeaves I also left a comment talking about Victorian Era self-deletion and Victorian Era average age of de*th. TH-cam seems to have deleted this, so I'll leave a shorter version of it. The average lifespan in Victoria is about 40-50 and self-deletion in 1800's Britian was very low, so there being so few British Grim Reapers makes a lot of sense.
Peter and Windy have some type of dwarfism. I think they're twins.
Oh wait that makes so much sense. I thought it was a hormone thing. Like they never really went through puberty or something because Joker says they stay child like. But a type of dwarfism makes a lot of sense as well.
Yeah, we see Peter drinking in the Black Butler spin-off 'That Butler, Friendly' in it he also tells Dagger not to give Ciel any alcohol because he is too young. It could still be a hormone thing since Peter and Wendy look young despite Joker calling Wendy 'Big Sister' when she hurts her leg.
@@Mailed-KnightI personally think they have some type of dwarfism.
Yana created Doll for the express purpose of us to love her and hate Ciel for what he did. AND IT WORKED. I HONESTLY SUPPORT CIEL ON MOST OF WHAT HE DOEs, cuz life just dealt a painful hand to him, a really bad fate........ But that doesn't excuse you from killing people who're nicer than a butterfly (specially Doll, who didn't wanna kidnap the children nor kill the police officers).
1:14:06 There is a science to this! It’s the uncanny valley effect! When something appears “mostly” human, but isn’t quite human enough, it creates a very uncomfortable feeling for the reader. It’s similar to the effect of people wearing somewhat human looking masks or the feeling we get when looking at mannequins that look very real. This effect illicit a fear response in many because of the uncertainty and confusion that comes with it.
I think this would also applies to why there is always something eerie about sebastian, even when he is playing the perfect guy. He is way too perfect to be a normal human.
Thanks for your amazing videos! Can't wait for Book of Murder!
Thank you for watching them! I'm making my way through the reread and scripting phase for Book of Murder! Very excited to get it done!
Soooooo glad that this series of yours exists ❤
Thank you!! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
These videos are always so good to watch/listen
Thank you!
Tysm for this!! I've been getting back into black butler but forgot most of it so these videos are helping a lot lol, can't wait for the next one!
What does Tysm mean?
It's means thank you so much!
I feel you on that! I'm prone to forgetting a lot of things when I watch or read something, and it's fandom discussion that really helps me learn and remember things!
@@PocketLeaves Tysm.
I personally think Kelvin had a crush on Vincent, why couldn't he just be normal and only have a crush on him?
I think he did as well. But I don't think it was like a normal crush?? I think it was something akin to that "I can't decide if I want to BE him or be WITH him" type of crushes. And I think his crush grew into an obsession as he realized just how out of reach Vincent was.
@@PocketLeaves Yea, it was the same as Madam Red's crush on him. This man makes people go insane for him, Jesus Christ. lol
Desy from tumblr and twitch here! Haven't finished the video yet (I'm still watching it) but I wanted to say: Your make up??? POP OFF MONARCH!!!
Also i already said this but really, thank you so much for your effort and work on these videos! ❤️
asdfasd tysm!!! I wanted to have a fun circus vibe for my outfit. Thank you for watching and enjoying these videos!
hi i just wanna thank you for the black butler content. even tho it has its flaws, i’ve loved the anime and manga for over 10 years now and it’s so cool to see someone who appreciates it the same way, especially in 2023. and i wanna know, are you excited for the new season!!!???
I've also been a long time fan of the series! It's really had me in a chokehold for a good chunk of my life ahsgagsgs
I'm SO HYPE for the new season! The Weston arc is my favorite!
YAYYY A NEW DEEP DIVE!! love ur stuff keep it up
tysm!!! I'm glad you're enjoying them!
That's not Morse code, that's Protactile
Where you tap their hand and it's actually really quick and easy one you learn
You should look into it, !!
As someone who doesn’t know how the story continues I’m so happy you made these!!
I enjoy these so much omg
thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying them!
YESSS A NEW VIDEO
so excited for part 5
23:32 - I'm thankful that, in the English dub at least, Dagger doesn't refer to his crush as his sister like he does in the manga.
As per usual I must make a comment, my two favorite things about this arc is Doll and the servants being badasses. The only thing that saddens me is that their skills had to be shown taking out the circus members- in my own little universe I like to live in a reality where they were all able to live on full lives 😔Kelvin really did just end up ruining their lives by keeping them indebted to a lie ...
I mean, they might not be aware of the full extent of what was done to the kids, yet they still kidnapped them knowing it was nothing good what would happen to them and killed people. Even if they believed it was for the sake of the others at the orphanage , there were other ways they could have tried to help the orphanage kids without harming other innocent kids.
@@nessyness5447 well yeah, obviously- doesn't stop me from wishing there was another future for them ...
Has anyone made a meme of "hang on spider monkey" with seb and ciel? Asking for a friend
I'm not sure???? I feel like someone HAS to have made one by now
I think why teeth are given more detail to villains and more dark figures is to give a more predatory look.
We tend to think of dangerous creatures with detailed, sharp, shiny, and/or many rows of teeth. Think about the xenomorph from Alien or even the main animals in natural horror movies, like Jaws.
It’s a handy tool for tapping into our primal fear of natural predators.
2:00:56 I distinctly remember Ciel screaming, "IT'S AN OORRDEEERRR!" (yes, the emphasis is not a joke) to Sebastian here when I first read this in English. Why is it different now?
Honestly, it may have been a different translation. I know a lot of the scans online are fan translations, while what's pictured here is what was published by Yen Press. There's a lot of little differences in wording across different translations.
@@PocketLeaves Ah. That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. 👍
i love your content! keep up the good work 🙌🏽
Yay the new deep dive is here!
Yess finally
2:11:57 those kids were all lobotomized. Idk if anyone recovers from that.
It don't think Sebastian is literally starving since he is a demon. Maybe he's starving from boredom.
That's fair. I'm not sure if demons could literally starve to death like other creatures. But the manga does say he's extremely hungry.
It is stated demons do need to eat human souls for sustenance. While he may not die from starvation, he can definitely become weaker from it ( take longer to heal injuries, etc) and he can feel the sensation of starving. He himself says he can handle the intense hunger only because that wilk make the meak taste better and because he is not a pathetic wild demon that has no self restraint. Which implies less powerful demons may not be able to control their hunger for so long. Sebastian also implies he used to be quite a glutton before himself. Mayne younger demons can't hold the sensation of starving as much as older demons.
i love how you call some characters cringe fail loser boys because its such an accurate description
Keep em coming!
Love these videos! Just my personal thoughts, just if you wanted to keep your comments section spoiler free going forward. Even tho you addressed revealing the twins in this video as something that is interesting and being heavily foreshadowed in this arc, I feel it would make a lot more sense to break down the arc as it is presented to a first time reader and then maybe have a spoiler heavy part at the end of the video, or as a seperate video entirely talking about all the times where the twin reveal is foreshadowed. It would just make it easier to open your video to both new readers and old ones. But that's just my opinion. Otherwise this is a great video! Love your enthusiasm and energy! Makes me feel happy to know that there are still people out there who enjoy and are following the series!
I still need to get Book of Circus and Book of the Atlantic.
I’m not gonna excuse killing the children or make a case for them dying because Ciel was not in his right mind when he made the decision ☝️ He tried making an excuse, but the truth is that he made an incredibly hasty decision out of witnessing incredible Trauma
It's less so of an excuse and more so an explanation. His decision was a trauma response though, and I believe that shouldn't be held against his character.
This reminds of the penguin Skippper's codename for Mort which is "Sad Eyes"
Love your cosplay!
Thank you!! 😊
I love these videos so much 🩷
Ppl usually assume that Grelle was excited to see Sebastian so she could flirt with him but im like 80% sure she was just excited for another chance to kill him and I love her for that ♡
Another amazing deep dive I love black butler I am a bit of a black butler fanfic writer
Ooh that's awesome!!
HOW DID I FORGET WILLIAM IN THE CIRCUS ARC
I love your boots!
tysm!!
I'm 32 here and I've only seen the 3 seasons of Black Butler and those 2 films book of Atlantic and book of murder. Anyways well done on the video.
About circus costumes. I would say compared to American comics of the same age as Ciel, he's pretty covered up. Cause look at Robin from Batman. He was a 10 year old in a thong basically. The costume was so revealing, that when they did the 60s live action show they made the actor take "shrinking" pills.
I know circus outfits are revealing in the sense of aerodynamics, that bare skin sticks and grips. It's safer to grab a bare ankle than someone with socks on cause they can slip.
There's a reason for it, but it goes with saying children in general shouldn't be performing. But compared to Robin a major known icon, Ciel is dressed like nun.
ROBIN WAS 10?! That's really wild to find out
Honestly if anything the complain is why are sebastian and william's circus outfits so toned down and covered? Missed opportunity to make sebas an outfit similar to his real form outfit and have william be even more disgusted by him XD
Dick was used to wearing revealing and fitted clothes for his circus routines and while Robin he enjoyed the cape and shorts cause it was easy for him to move around in. Though it's funny when he becomes Nightwing that he admits he hated the cape and didn't use one for his costume. Even when he was taking over the batman mantle he hated the cape cause it was getting in the way and was heavy and he wasn't used to it anymore. 😭
Wow, that is a HUGE video! I haven't even watched it yet, but I am already exited!
asdfasdf thank you! As the story arcs get bigger and have more ground to cover, the videos will get bigger. I'm actually afraid of the videos that'll come out of the Blue Memory and Blue Revenge arcs (the two most current story arcs)
@@PocketLeaves Hey, I am going to add another unnecessary 5 cents, just like last time (and I am not even through the video, so, I may add something in a few days).
1) Yes, circuses with and without animals still exist in the world at large, North America included. I am not sure, how many of there are that use exotic animals, but a superficial Google search gives me at least a couple of names, like Carson and Barnes, for example. There are also supposedly quite a few smaller circuses that are too tiny to catch and fine who also use exotic animals. This are, however, the limits of my knowledge, so I will shut up.
2) There is a weird almost double standard in the Black Butler community that I have not seen many people adress before, and it concernes Beast/Molly. While we have collectively decided that Grell is a natural woman (this is a Trixie Mattel's joke about herself and her work partner Katya) and shouldn't be made the butt of the jokes because of that, have we started allowing Beast the same freedom? While I have still been in the fandom around 2015, she was widely hated for supposedly stealing Sebastian (the same reason people hated on Lizzy untill she has been given her badass makeover) and being a "whore."
Moreover, her spending some "quality time" with Sebastian was seen as romantic as opposed to the borderline sexual assault that it is. Sebastian humiliated her, forces himself onto her, refused to understand "no," and held her down until she was gaslit enough into taking him. Is that really romantic? Being sexually attracted to someone (and I think Beast was sexually attracted to Sebastian, who wouldn't be?) doesn't mean that the person is willing to sleep with that someone. So, why the fandom has decided to collectively look over it and instead slutshame Beast for being coerced into bed with a demon is beyond me. Add to that the fact that in some medieval writings such hanky-panky with demons was supposedly extreamly painful for women, and you have a criminal case here (although, granted, from what we have seen, Sebastian is very skilled in bed and his partners greatly enjoy themselves).
Of course, Yana didn't help the case either here. Just like Grell, Beast was shamed for her sexuality and reduced to a shallow trope that was very pervalent in anime at that time, thus, giving the fans the ammo to hate on her. I have no idea whether the viewes on Beast have moved in a more positive direction, like those on Grell's, but I would lile to see that change. And I would love Yana giving Beast a similar arc she gave to LIzzy, but, I am not sure it will ever happen.
@@TheGamer2001 Thank you dor your input!! I didn't know that about the demon sex thing in older writings. I've always been in spaces of the fandom that have liked Beast, so I didn't realize people were angry with her for what Sebastian did. That's actually disgusting of the fandom. Most of my friends were actually angry with Sebastian for doing that.
Idk why I didn't see this scene as assault until your comment, but you're so right. He really does force himself on to her and keeps talking sweet until she agrees. Damn.
@@PocketLeaves Hey, thank you for your reply! Maybe you have had such a different experience with the fandom's attitude towards Beast because you have been to a different fandom space than I? Even the English-speaking side of the fandom in Europe can be different from the North American one, not to mention English-speaking spaces that are international, they are definitely a different breed. Not to mention fandom spaces in other languages. If Beast has been treated better in your experience, I can only be glad for that! I haven't been involved in the fandom for a long time, so, I honestly can't tell.
There were quite a lot of ideas floating around in the medieval demonology/witchology (?) about hanky-panky with demons and the potential offspring of such a "union." In one case (and I am sorry, I cannot give you any concrete sources or time frames, it is just what I can recall off the top of my head), a woman who supposedly did the deed with a demon complained that "his seed was so cald that I would never get pregnant from it." The other one talked about how women had to offer their virginity to Satan in order to get magical powers and become witches and how immoral sexual acts were a great part of the whole shebang. And then there was that writing that I described above. So, there was no consensus on this topic, and you can pretty much pick and choose whatever at this point.
Speaking about -that- scene between Ciel and Sebastian, I have always understood it as a power play with an erotic subtext. As in, Sebastian knew that Ciel was so distraught that he could have him right then and there, and he would not even protest. I think the demon was getting off of this display of his total power over Ciel here. However, this is just my headcanon, and I think that you are right and that it is just a weird fanservice. As much as I understand, power play was and still is to some extent considered erotic in Japan and South Korea (that is why there were and are so many dramas with a super wealthy guy and a poor girl), so that may be it and nothing more.
Thank you for your video! I hope you haven't exhausted yourself by recording it and I am looking forward to the next one!
@@TheGamer2001 Ooh I didn't realize that power plays were seen as erotic to some extent! That explains some context for a lot of fan service in Black Butler adfasdf. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Who’s hyped for the next season next year.
To my knowledge, circuses still exist.
very nice deep dive as aslways. BUT i will not stand by this Earl Ciel Phantomhive slander. He is a great kid, possibly smartest human of the verse and he has the right genes to become like his old man with a bit of physical training. His squad already easily outscales Vincents. He may be weak, a crybaby, grumpy, mentaly scarred, and a fraud (this is all alleged) but he isnt a quitter. Earl Ciel Phantomhive is my messiah and my G.O.A.T.
(Snake is the best thing about this arc)
Great video, looking forward to the next one👍🦅
I love Ciel! Any slander I spew towards him is said with love. asdfsadf I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
He is also a little sadist. But then again the one who has been raising and parenting him for the last almost 4 years is a demon so, it tracks.
23:20 I'm sorry okay? 😭
J didn't mean to slut-shame _Beast_
It just came out that way
The only other anime cousins I know besides Ciel and Elizabeth are Suguha Kirigaya and Kazuto Kirigaya I know everyone's going to shun me now for even mentioning that I own 34 Sword Art Online light novels at home and also for the fact that I'm a fan of One of the most hated animes out there. I've just recently finished Unital Ring books 1-5 here aswell as also finishing again 2 Phantom Bullet and 3 aincrad and early and late Sword Art Online light novels. I still look forward to this school arc of black butler whenever it gets adapted in 2024 and I have no idea when Reki Kawahara plans to write about that inter intelligence war saga that I just read the title of after finishing 10 Alicization books many years ago.
THERE ARE 34+ SAO BOOKS?????? I had no idea the series was still on going, let alone lasted that long. Honestly, I think a lot of the SAO hate came from bandwagoning and memes. I remember shortly after it came out, it was the joke to hate on it, and now people dislike it for popularizing the isekai genre, which has resulted in some less than quality works trying to milk that boom. SAO was fine, I've only seen the first season, and while I don't like what it did, I can still see why other people may enjoy the series. It just made me want to go play runescape or someother mmorpg instead.
@@PocketLeaves Sao Volume 26 Unital Ring 6 I'll be getting for Christmas later this year from family. I know I've also read Fairy Dance, Moon Cradle, Kiss and Fly, Mother's Rosario and Progressive several many years ago. I'll soon be owning 35 here Sao Light novel books here and I still have no idea why the inner monologues are omitted from the adaptations and are only kept in the books. I grew up playing more regular RPG on PlayStation and Nintendo and very little MMO here. Sorry about the edits and repeats of comments there I'm done I just had to pull out other book saga names in the series from my memories.
32:27 can you send me a link to the post?
I saw it while scrolling through the black butler tag, and I can't seem to able to track it back down. I should have reblogged it or something.
Can you cover more of the manga please?🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I totally will! It'll just take some time adfasdfasd I'm going to be covering every story arc in this format until the manga is DONE!
If the views on this video spike rapidly its just me being obsessed
asdfasdfasdf I appreciate you sm. I'm glad you're enjoying the video!
DUDE YESSSSSSSS
I disliked that this was the arc the anime ended on… because it was so good! (from my past knowledge only to find out that there where more arcs animated). Only to find out about the new season announcement 4 months later. I really liked the intro to the anime on how it started as a doll house/makeshift reality. Additionally, I’m excited for the next episode of this TH-cam series.
What? We had the next two arcs to this one for years. Book of murder and book of atlantic are there too.
I wish Lord Kelvin wasn't a pedophile. His sudden realization that he's not as good looking as Ciel's father becomes a character defining moment for him. If he wasn't a pedophile his desire to look better would have made him more sympathetic, even at the cost of children's lifes. What is questionable is that was he always a pedophile? There's no answers for it, but it's clear that he's married and he seems like a good hearted philantropist. It's so weird that his body dismorphia also awakens his dormant pedophilia after he meets the Phantomhives. It's one of the main criticisms I have, his backstory is handled in a lazy fashion. I wish his delusions were more justifiable, but he's simply portrayed as phsyco who's obssesed with Ciel. I still love the idea of him recreating the sacrificial room. Not a bad villan, but could've been better.
Since we don't know much about him before he met the Phantomhives, it's really hard to tell what he was like before. His body issues and infatuation with the beauty he perceived in the Phantomhives, and the people around them though could have been so interesting to explore if it wasn't framed with a pedophile lens. But since he's also the villain for the arc, it wouldn't make sense to spend so much time on him. So we're left with what we've got. The recreation was a WILD idea, and honestly worked so well in it's emotional impact on the story, and in showing just how deranged he became!
Low stakes black butler slice of life msnga would be fun 😂 I think Evangelion manga did something like that.
Angelic Days I think is the Eva spin off! It'd be so silly! I think Attack on Titan has a silly spin off as well where they're all in high school or something?
@PocketCon Sounds right! I never peaked at it though! I know Naruto did something similar too with Rock Lee though that was more just zany comedy than slice of life. Regardless I'm all for comedy or slice of life Phantomhive spin off! 😂
I'm enjoying binging this series of yours but please, please get a pop filter.
26:57 ( first clue to ourCiel's real name being Finnian! Let's go! What should we call this theory? )
1:11:39 actually he is one. It's so obvious. This dude aggressively said how he wished he was there in the cult, where Ciel got brutally SA-ed, like twice. Also the fact that he was so infatuated with Vincent was reminiscent of Madam Red's crazy obsession. That is an indication of his infatuation being that of attraction. And he made the same eyes for Ciel as well. Not to mention how he always surrounded himself with kids. He really didn't need kids around him like that. But he does. That is clear insinuation at this point. I don't understand how u missed the point that he's a pedo. He clearly was friends with some.
2:21:57 in light of the recent events in the latest arc, this stings even more. I wonder if Lizzy knew..I wonder if Soma hates her now too?
Hey and yes I ship sebaciel I have for many years but hmm love your videos
That’s disgusting…ciel is a child
Okay its fine@@ChloeRaeRichmond
Am I the only one who considered Doll Ciel’s biggest “what if”? Or am I just a sad little shipper? 😅