Black Butler: Public School Arc

Shin18★ 9

After 7 whole years, Black Butler has finally gotten an anime sequel that a lot of fans, including myself, have been waiting for. Ever since Book of Atlantic came out, we've asked ourselves about what's next in store for us, anticipating what's coming next. And now that the continuation is here, one question remains: Was the wait worth it? In my opinion, it is, in fact, worth the wait. Not only being an amazing adaptation of the manga, but also being a very solid arc overall. As we know, this season's Black Butler was adapted by a different studio, and while some people were excited, somewere worried too. But now that it has finished, I can definitely say that there wasn't anything to be concerned about. It is without a doubt as great as previous seasons, specifically Book of Circus, Murder, and Atlantic. There were, however, some dislikes among people about the anime's new artstyle in particular. Saying that the Public School arc's art is not only more colorful and about how Sebastian's design is worse, but also that the overall tone and vibe are not darker than previous seasons. For the latter, it is clearly not the case. While there were more comedic scenes and less tension at the beginning, slowly but surely, it builds up as it usually goes with Black Butler, reminding us that it is overall a dark fantasy and mystery. As for the former, there's not much to say other than the fact that, at the end, it all comes down to preference. Personally, both are good in their own perspective ways. However, regarding Sebastian, some people have judged too quickly, I won't go into too many details, but all that needs to be said is that it didn't need to be a concern after all. All in all, CloverWorks has done an overall good job with this adaptation. Now, as for the plot itself, after the whole event at Book of the Atlantic, Ciel and Sebastian entering a public school to investigate the disappearances of students may seem underwhelming at first, but the start's similar for the majority of the arcs adapted already. This arc itself could simply be considered a build-up for the series' overarching story, or, in other words, the calm before the storm. Even taking into account the subtle foreshadowings and mysteries revealed. This has always been one of Black Butler's biggest charms. To sum it up, even with A-1 Pictures being out of the picture, this season has managed to retain the qualities of the previous seasons, even with a studio and art style change. and overall, worth waiting for a long time. As of writing this, there hasn't been any announcement of a sequel, aside from a post-credit scene indicating of Emerald Witch, Black Butler's next arc. But again, even if it takes weeks, months, or even years, it wouldn't be a problem as long as it remains to receive good treatments.

Chanoyu★ 9

So, it's finished. After some years and after getting a new studio to adapt school arc, those results are really promising. First of all I have to point to graphics probably. Those arts and animations are just amazing. From the overall graphic of characters to really well-made details as Ciel's eyes or reflection and movement of the water in cup of the tea. It's really something what will catch your eye in the first seconds. Of course some art and animations are not the most important here. Despite many people being worried about story adaptation and design of characters, I would say it ended up pretty well.School arc was interesting one, with a lot of twists and details as much as funny situations. My personal issue lies simply in ending, it feels kinda "meh". Some longer conversation with main antagonist here or a bit better final episode would make just an honor to this piece. Also it's amazing even after years we have same voice actors for the main characters. It definitely brings some nostalgia after years. I don't agree with some opinions that the entire feeling or aura around Ciel and/or Sebastian has been changed. I am pretty sure some people have been watching previous seasons much younger and simply created some fake reasons for themselves to like it or to hate it. While I would agree that Sebastian's aura couldn't be seen that much in this arc as there have been some plot-wise limitations, I still seriously think he maintained his picture, behavior and feeling. And this applies to Ciel as well. I especially love how they maintained through years and different studios his small facial expressions and his overall mood and thus they basically kept his aura as well. In the end it has been a great season and I hope we will get another one, as we could see in post-credit scene some hint for the next arc. Good quality stuff for Kuroshitsuji fans as this season brought good things from previous ones and discarded the bad ones.