Weeb Weekly #1: Black Butler
Hello BUNow! Welcome to a new weekly series called Weeb Weekly! My name is Carly Busfield and I am currently the Managing Editior of BUNow. Yet, one thing you don’t know about me that I am a huge anime fan. I have gotten into watching a series of Animes and their manga. For this series, I plan to discuss my current watchings/readings and any exciting news coming along.
I also am producing this series to minimize the negative stigma people have against watching anime and reading manga. I had this general idea that all anime/manga was just Hentai, which is something I am not definitely not interested in.
The anime that I am currently watching is Black Butler. It is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Funimation. However, Netflix does not have all the episodes. I am almost finished watching the first season.
Funimation streaming service logo.
The manga series of the same name by Yana Toboso was turned into the anime series Black Butler. Black Butler, an anime by Toshiya Shinohara and A-1 Pictures, centers on Sebastian Michaelis, a demon butler who is bound by a bargain he made to serve Ciel Phantomhive, the youthful head of the Phantomhive noble family.
Ciel Phantomhive (left) and Sebastian Michaelis (right).
The anime starts to depart from the manga’s plot after the sixth episode. This initial plotline is continued in the second season. Book of Circus’ third season acts as a soft reboot of the anime by adapting the “Noah Ark Circus” manga arc while ignoring the anime-only events of the first two seasons. Black Butler: Book of Murder, a two-episode OVA that adapts the “Phantomhive Manor Murders” storyline, came after the popular series.
One of my favorite things about Black Butler is the art-style and iconic audio intermissions. Yana Toboso Artworks: Black Butler 1 is the first book that showcases their artwork. Yana is a unique artist who implements multiple styles and techniques together within her work. One of the most important aspects of her art is seeing her personal growth as the manga itself grows. The connotation of Black Butler is very somber and depressing, while the characters are so innocent.
It’s fascinating to note that Yana Toboso depicts herself as a devil with a pointed tail, a circular, white head, and a black torso with horns. It is uncertain how she really looks because she has never shared a true photo of herself.
Yana Toboso’s self insert character, Yana Toboso.
