When young Ciel Phantomhive lost his parents and was kidnapped, he made a deal with a devil to escape his tormentors. Now he works with his supernatural servant in service to the queen, solving grotesque and mysterious crimes. Black Butler is written and drawn by Yana Toboso. The manga is originally published as Kuroshitsuji in Japan, with the English publication by Yen Press.
Black Butler Volume 8
The circus's attack on the Phantomhive mansion proves instantly fruitless, as we discover the hidden talents of Ciel's otherwise inept staff. At the same time Sebastian and Ciel end their stand off with the kidnapper, but even after their enemies have been beaten Ciel gives an order that brings about more tragedy.
The sudden revelation in this volume, that the Phantomhive staff of incompetents are actually a trio of soldiers, left me with a mix of emotions. Despite the massacre left in their wake, it was nothing short of delightful to see Mey-Rin and the other servants utterly destroy what should have been a formidable foe. Of course, this revelation is coming 8 volumes in, so that even if Toboso had this planned from the start the gap is such that their abilities in fighting and firepower feels tacked on.
The turn of events in Ciel's side of the story is less surprising, though more gruesome. The true source of the circus-folks' prosthetics is revealed, and when the following acts throws Ciel into a flashback he orders Sebastian to a series of violent acts. Though the images, or implied images, are disturbing, this is the highest point of emotion in the entire book, and thus one of the most engrossing parts of the manga to date.
The volume ends with a very lighthearted chapter, with Ciel's fiance Elizabeth convincing him to get new clothes made for Easter. This brings in a new characater, Nina, a seamstress who serves as a vehicle for fan service as she feels up Mey-Rin and imagines Ciel in pretty clothes. This chapter is probably meant to lighten the mood after the heaviness of the circus story line. However, put up against the end of that arc, which included so many brutal deaths, this goofy chapter is jarring, and leaves a few of the cast feeling out of character.
Black Butler Volume 8: Final Thoughts
This volume gives us the conclusion of the most exciting story arcs in Black Butler, right up there with the grim reaper arc from the earlier volumes. More substantial hints about what happened to Ciel on the night he met Sebastian are offered up than ever before, and as the manga emphasizes darker, more painful human emotions it becomes intrinsically more interesting. It hits an immediate slump with the goofy side story, but as other characters are shown watching Ciel and Sebastian's final, horrible action - white-coated men who work for the queen and a mysterious top-hatted man who seems to know Sebastian - I feel safe assuming that the dark, supernatural story will soon get back on track.
Black Butler volume 8 gets 4/5.
- ISBN: 9780316189651
- MSRP: $11.99 US $12.99 CAN
- 192 pages
- Yen Press
- Released January 24, 2012
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