General Discussion

Specifically I'm looking for people who read the manga because I haven't seen much of the anime personally. Pretty much when the anime diverged from the manga I stopped watching it, heh. But yeah! I've been following this manga for a long time now and I love it so much but I have no one to talk to or theorize with it! If you wish to talk about this awesome manga then please grab my attention :D also I am completely up to-date on the manga so no need to worry about spoilers ((Although I highly recommend staying out of the conversation if your afraid of spoilers as I'd hate to ruin it for anyone.)) And just because I can....I'm putting my [s]two[/s] THREE favorite boys here. (Teacher Sebby is my favorite :D) [img]https://31.media.tumblr.com/6ab1aa076b27d6172964c093f2ed716b/tumblr_inline_n6v4arD2U71qjqpou.png[/img] And mmmmm Undertaker! [img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/62df9b1a1716b510fa26c7f81b7e083d/tumblr_n5nv3qovLj1txspspo1_500.jpg[/img] EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET GRELL [s]what is wrong with me?![/s] [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JpnGA3bZBK0/UWXsgmSgYHI/AAAAAAAAAxY/cV12_ycant0/w800-h800/Awesome-Grell-D-grell-sutcliffe-15747436-1366-764.jpg[/img] (As you can see I am partial to the manga art [s]I'm sorry anime Kuroshitsuji!! [/s]) But yeah, so if your a fan what do you think of the current arc? What do you think is going on with Lizzy? Talk theories with me!

@CrazyRedFire [img]http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view1/3822946/hai-guise-o.gif[/img] YOU CALLED? Ahem, yes. I actually watched the dubbed anime first (seasons...1 and....2, but 2 doesn't really exist as far as I'm concerned :P) and then the subs of Circus and Murder. I just picked up from the manga right after Murder (at that point I knew that half of season 1 was made up, and season 2 was entirely made up to milk the cash cow). Campania/Luxury Liner is by far my FAVORITE arc~~ I liked Undertaker since he was introduced in episode 4, and I was like "WHOA MAN DEM EYES" towards the end of Circus and then Campania I just *fan boys all over the place* YASSSSS. KILL THE DEMON. [b][I]STAB HIM HARDER.[/b] I really thought Sebastian was OP and Mary-Sue as...hell (ba dum tss--) so it was so refreshing to have him have his butt handed to him. Grell and Ronald, while not as OP, are both conceited/cocky and so it was also nice to have them put in their place too. I [I]hated[/I] how long Weston dragged on for. The entire beginning chapters with that little brat was entirely unnecessary and if you cut out all of those chapters then you wouldn't be missing a thing, honestly. I really don't remember most of Weston, if I'm being honest. Something about making 'friends' with the P4 and a cricket game. The Midnight Tea Party stood out the most for obvious reasons~ Green Witch both makes my inner historian gleeful and pained. Tanks are about 30 years off their base (The first came about in 1915, and we're only at 1889 currently... [b]BUT[/b] Othello's reveal in 119 may have something to do with this, now.) I really hope we get to see more of Sascha and Rudgar! There's a lot of mystery around them and...gah... I have a love for all of the reapers, honestly, and dearly pray and wish that they'll get their own arc someday - there's still so much we don't know about them as a species... Wolf and Siegliende are [I]adorable[/I]. I love how Sieg gets all hype and enthusiastic about learning new things, and her crudeness is a lovely contrast to Lizzy's propriety. I think it's funny though...we have a manga that has demons and reapers (to an extent also ghosts and angels) but goodness forbid we have real werewolves xP CURRENT ARC TIME. Bravat...is a mystery to me. I have a lot to say about this arc. You know how Undertaker used Rian in the Campania Arc? He made Rian believe one thing but it was really just a cover for something UT himself was doing. I feel as if that may be the case with Bravat as well, if UT is involved. Undertaker is shown to be a manipulative arse and he has no issues doing so and doesn't care about using others to accomplish his own goals, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he were also using Bravat. Othello. Gosh. I just. *squishes his face* A tiny sinnamon roll who is up to no good. [I]But he's so cute[/I]. I solemnly swear that this little pipsqueak of a reaper is bad news. He's hiding something for sure. What WOULD surprise me is if he WASN'T allied with Undertaker in any way. As of 119 he seems to have in mind exactly who is behind this, and the cover of 116(?) he warned someone/the readers not to get in his way. Of..? Othello, small child, what are you hiding? (Please also pause and take a moment to consider that if it IS Undertaker he's suspecting...tiny Othello spanking a legendary reaper~) I honestly think Bravat is some kind of supernatural being. His eyes throw me off though. They're blue, and at times they're dual ringed like a reaper's. He may be part reaper, which could also explain how he knew about Sebastian right off the bat. As stated in the manga, there's most likely brainwashing or deep psychological roots running through Lizzy and the others affected. I half-joked with a couple friends that Bravat and/or the Lords were some sort of land-bound siren. I'm sorry this is so long I just. I hardly ever find people who read the manga as well so it's really nice to be able to geek out with someone else who has ;u;

Ah...and I am not sure if you folks can contribute/would like to contribute to the conversation, but I figured it'd be worth a ping~ Our community is so small on FR...

@sinha27 @PoisonedTea @BeingOfNature

OMG @Silverdeath XD CrazyRedFire, you've just found your new best friend right there. As much as I'd love to join in, sadly my knowledge is restricted to the anime. The only manga I read regularly is Akatsuki no Yona, and I've read a bit of Blue Exorcist. But anyway! Black Butler is definitely on my list since the anime is so amazing.
And I love the choice of art for Undertaker!

@CrazyRedFire

YUP YUP YUP!!
I love Undertaker!! C: He is seriously one of my favs!! I do love Grell though~
And I'm just waiting for the newest chapter to come out! I want to read more about the boy band. XD It'll be hilarious!

@Silverdeath

Thanks for the ping! :D

@CrazyRedFire *zips into the thread at speed of light* I was first introduced to Black Butler when my friend recommended it to me, and I watched the entire first season (Japanese dub with subtitles) on Netflix. I was hooked from the first couple episodes. I later got around to watching the English dub, and I have to say that there are some voices that I prefer more than others - for example, Sebastian's VA, J Michael Tatum, is on point, but why is Undertaker cockney? I liked Undertaker's creepier voice in the Japanese version. A working-class accent doesn't exactly fit with an ancient and powerful ex-grim reaper. I later got interested in reading the manga and was able to find it online and read it all up to the current arc with the music hall/blood transfusion thing. As for favorite arcs, I really don't have a particular "favorite" since I have a different view of each one and a different experience of how I read it. Sometimes I powered through an arc in a couple days (see Book of Circus manga arc, of which I remember the anime series better because I did not binge watch the entire anime in about a day and a half) and sometimes I'll take a week or more. I read comics faster than I read novels since it's 90% pictures, so I'm more prone to skimming through something that's more picture than text, since I can take a quick look at the giant speech balloon and know exactly what's going on in about five seconds. I appreciate the anime and the manga for different reasons. The anime did a good job as its own "arc" of sorts, with bits and pieces from the manga, even though around the Houndsworth episodes it was clear that this wasn't going to be wholly inspired by the manga. Heck, I didn't even realize that the manga and anime were so different until about four months after I finished season one. My birthday, which was this weekend (October 2nd) was my unofficial "Black Butler birthday", since 80% of my presents were Black Butler themed. I was vending my artwork at a comic convention in Modesto that weekend, and I had wanted my mom to get me the Sebastian and Ciel Funko Pops for my birthday. (I had some other items on my wishlist, but the Pops were the easiest and the biggest priority.) Eventually a couple of vendors who were friends of mine learned of my love for the show, and one of them gave me a sketchbook that she made that was covered with recycled manga pages from the Book of Circus arc. In the center was a big color picture of Sebastian from I want to say one of the older arcs judging by his hair part? The other vendor gave me a large pinback button with artwork of Sebastian and Ciel on it, which I think was from some type of postcard judging by the art style. My mom was able to get the Ciel Funko Pop on Saturday, and the vendor who sold it to her was happy to bring the Sebastian, which he had at his shop, on Sunday, so then I had both. Though when I tried to display them on my shelf, Ciel kept falling over because of his giant head and his badly balanced body (probably because he has tiny high-heeled shoes and is thus inclined to lean over) so I keep him upright with a little strip of double sided sticky tape under his feet. Necessity breeds creativity. [img]http://i.imgur.com/NnR4uK4.jpg[/img] Here's a picture of my birthday gifts that I took yesterday, including the aforementioned Pops (top center), the manga sketchbook (center left), and the button (center, next to the Pearl sticker). If any of you remember which issue/volume/whatever the giant color Sebastian on the sketchbook is from, that'd be great, because I swear it had to be during the time that the artist didn't part his hair down the middle, and I can't remember when she started doing that.

@SilverDeath ((Wrote this post in reply to SilverDeath's first reply and it took forever but I'm pinging you all too in case you want in on the theory action @PoisonedTea @lamarqueisdead Glad to see you both are fans of the series too!)) FRIEND!! [img]http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/1664798/bromance-o.gif[/img] Yaaaass I knew there had to be someone out there to talk too :D :D I loved the Campania arc too! It was so twisted and amazing (Titanic with zombies hah!) One of my favorite panels in that arc (aside from the kick*** scene with Seb and UT fighting) was this part right here [img]http://67.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6au8dC9VA1rtq5hvo10_250.png[/img] Seb just finished killing all the zombies for ceil and just.....that look of "okie I'm done now master!" It just cracked me up! Also the Phoenix poses....hahaha good times right there. Sebastian is OP and Mary sue a lot of the time but he makes for it in other ways but it was refreshing to see him get his butt whooped I agree. And whooped by UT no less. Seriously one of the best fights since Sebby vs Grell! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who disliked the Weston arc... It was not my favorite arc in the least. I hated the P4 and pretty much thought Ciel was way too old, cruel, and experienced for all those naive little jokers (despite him being only 13 at the time XD---really though Ciel's only a child when its convenient for him.) I'm honestly surprised he didn't completely burn down the school and kill all the students [s]like he did the in the circus arc[/s]. Although I guess he did burn down one of the dormitories... Really the only thing I liked about the Weston arc was Sebastian in a teachers costume mmmm he looked pretty hot yep. Also Soma was pretty cute in the short time he came in. But yeah.... the Weston arc was :P The Green Witch arc was great! Yeah there were those few historical discrepancies but overall the arc really added to the overall story. Plus we got a few more lovely tidbits into Ciel's past (fufufu that time when Sebastian has to "pretend" to start to eat him to snap Ciel out of that dreamland he was in). And yes I love the Reapers too! I feel like there's a ton of background stuff we are missing about them. Although Yana could be purposefully holding that info back because she's trying not to reveal all of UT secrets (because let's face it; he's definitely hiding something big.) Wolf and Siegliende are the cutest XD and I do hope they come in more in the coming chapters! I am unsure of Bravat as well. I'm not sure if he's supernatural or not. I mean if he [i]was [/i] part reaper then Sebastian would know about it too since Bravat didn't cover his eyes from him either. Although Sebastian could just be hiding that information from Ciel because he's a brat and likes to play games when Ciel doesn't ask exactly the right questions. Sebastian did do this before when we first met Grell but I'm not sure if that's what's happening now. Bravat must certainly have some sort of supernatural knowledge since he recognized Sebastian right away. I am pretty sure Undertaker is behind the events of this arc as well. Yes like you said he has no problem using people.....but at the same time I believe he's trying to accomplish something. I actually don't think he's a bad guy at heart. I think there's a lot we don't know about him. I love Othello too although I'm unsure what to make of his investigations with Grell. It would be interesting to see him ally with UT but then again he has Grell hanging around so I don't know how he'd hide it from him/her (gah Grell your gender is both hilarious and confusing). I suppose Grell isn't the most cunning of reapers tho so maybe a smarty pants like Othello could keep him out of it. He's already hiding something. For Lizzy....I actually suspect there's something much deeper going on then just brainwashing. I mean she's not stupid; perhaps hyper and girly in front of Ceil yes but really she just a bad*** underneath all that so I am hard put to say she was so easily brainwashed. We know she's a fantastic actor because she hid her bad*** sword skillz from Ceil for [i]years[/i]. Plus she was smart enough to put Ciel through a test (there was an Easter chapter where she told Ciel of the old tradition where he used to be first to find the Easter egg that she painted on an Easter egg hunt. Ciel and the other's agreed to play and that was a funny chapter but at the end you see Lizzy off on her own with this troubled look on her face and she mentions that this was the first year she had ever painted an Easter egg. Hence she lied to Ciel about the tradition for some reason.... I think it was to test to see whether Ciel would "remember" it or not). So, and here's were we get into murky waters here, my theory is that Ciel has a twin (yes I completely subscribe to the Twin theory---I don't know if you do or not but I figured I throw it out there). And that twin was the real Ciel Phantomhive and our Ciel is the brother (who was shy and sick as a child) who took on his brother's identity after coming back from whatever happened to them during the demon summoning ritual. I think the real Ciel was sacrificed to summon Sebastian. But those idiots didn't know what they were doing when trying to summon a demon. They kept killing the kids for "blood sacrifices" but that's not the type of sacrifice needed to summon a creature like Sebastian. I think the sacrifice needed to be personal to whoever was summoning the demon. And so, more speculation on my part here, the real Ciel was always protecting and cheering up our Ciel as a child and offered to protect him when they were caged together (this scene is in one of the arcs---maybe the Green Witch arc? Its there or in the Circus arc somewhere). Our Ciel knowing it would probably get his brother killed but still too afraid to care accepted his brother's protection. Then when he died, Sebastian came and walked right over to our Ciel because [i]he[/i] was the one who made the sacrifice technically. Then Sebastian offered him the deal and our Ciel took it to get revenge for himself. (He keeps saying throughout the series that he didn't make the deal to avenge his family but to avenge [i]himself[/i]. And really that philosophy only make sense to someone who was always shunted aside and hidden behind somebody with a bigger and brighter personality. Someone who people [i]didn't[/i] see, someone who didn't have the big fancy name or the connections. Someone like a twin brother who was always shy and sickly and hidden from the public due to his condition but who always enjoyed the company of his brother...) Anyway there's lots of other things I could add on as evidence to that theory but the point I'm trying to make is that Lizzy was enganged to the real Ciel and I think she was starting to figure out that our Ciel wasn't [i]her[/i] Ciel and so she ran off to Bravat and his crowd because UT (again speculating that he's behind it all again) probably had answers and she learned something that changed everything for her. That's the theory I have about Lizzy and why she refuses to come home to anyone. Also I think Undertaker is trying to bring back the real Ciel Phantomhive from death and I also think that he's Ceil's grandfather. huff huff..... well there you have it. My theories! Please don't be afraid to throw your own back at me. I don't mind if you think I'm nuts! I've been waiting to bounce my theories off of other people for years!!

@SilverDeath

*SLAMS FIST DOWN*

BLACK BUTLER IS LITERALLY THE FIRST MANGA IV'E EVER PICKED UP, I JUST READ THE TWO BOOKS I GOT RECENTLY, 21 AND 22 AND HOOOOLLLLYYY HECK.

What is Undertaker doing??? Yes Woof guy is still alive heck yessss need moar snek and thE SERPENT SPECIAL AT THE EHND OF 22 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA need moar of it. yus.

@CrazyRedFire
*peeks in*
Did somebody say Black Butler?

My all time favorite manga, please come discuss headcanons with me.

Alright: I was introduced to this lovely series via Hetalia, watched the anime first forgive me and started reading the manga.
Current favorite arcs are the Campania (because Undertaker those eyes om my god), and the Blue Sect arc (beacause Bravat piqued my interest and the theme is hella cool).

@WindChimes

The carpania arc was pretty great and I like Bravat and the current arc but the pop music vibe is weird but funny and there is deffiently something big going on. Who is your favorite character?