Season aired: Spring 2024
Number of episodes: 12
Watched on: Crunchyroll
Translated by: ?
Genres: Mystery, Supernatural
Thoughts: It is impossible to explain my foray into anime without the inclusion of Black Butler. As one of the first anime I ever watched, Sebastian and his manipulative and damaged master Ciel quickly consumed my thoughts by the first few episodes, and the show has since been a classic for many in the anime community. However, the anime adaptation ended ten years ago with a few seasons and OVAs, but no continuation in sight. Season 4’s announcement of the Public School Arc came as a big surprise, but none was more excited than me as this was going to be the adaptation of my favorite arc.
Black Butler takes place in the Victorian era. Ciel Phantomhive is a young boy whose family was tragically and mysteriously murdered years ago. When he returns to claim his position as the Earl of Phantomhive, he is accompanied by an enigmatic butler named Sebastian. As it turns out, Sebastian isn’t just a butler — he’s a demon from hell that Ciel signed a contract with. Together, they commit to all sorts of unsavory acts to solve mysteries for Queen Victoria and to ultimately find out who killed Ciel’s family. These mysteries have sent Ciel hunting down serial killers, secret organizations, and mad scientists. This season, Ciel is ordered to a boarding school where some of Queen Victoria’s own relatives have gone missing.
It’s hard for the season to go wrong with such a strong story and recognizable characters — rather, it’s up to the production to ensure that it brings out the best of the source material. Thankfully, the team at Cloverworks commits to it successfully. Black Butler’s unique story structure includes arcs that shift genres, resulting in the Public School Arc being a more down-to-earth mystery within a sporting event at a boarding school. Compared to previous seasons that featured other demon butlers or mindless zombies, Cloverworks opens Public School Arc with Ciel conveniently running late to school with a piece of bread in his mouth and surrounded by bright background sparkles, the same way that many school romance or slice-of-life anime start.
With the more realistic setting, the production team can fit more humor. That’s not to say Black Butler doesn’t have humor – one of the most iconic scenes that solidified Black Butler’s fame was Sebastian using normal cutlery to murder some thugs. However, even in the example, most of Black Butler’s humor is dark humor. In this season, however, the anime is given chances for lighter humor befitting the setting of a boarding school with many younger students. For example, Cheslock constantly draws things other than the student he forced to model for him, becoming an effective running gag to the eccentricities of some students. During the big cricket match, hormonal boys constantly mess up because of their inability to turn away from women showing legs, a humor that is layered into an actual secret strategy to win the game. It makes for a lighter arc in an otherwise heavy story, and the adaptation takes full advantage of these moments with bouncing, clown-like soundtrack scores to accompany the ridiculousness of school life.
One thing I was worried about was the character design. Sadly, the original character designer for Black Butler, Minako Shiba, passed three years prior. Her design was so iconic that it felt impossible to have someone replace her work. When the new character art of Sebastian was released with the design credited to Yumi Shimizu, many fans decried the changes. However, having seen the actual series now, I think her character designs work perfectly with the story. Yes, we will never see the famous characters that appeared ten years ago the same way again. However, Shimizu’s design featuring a softer, rounder feel to the characters’ faces lends wonders to the story. The older design that purposefully gave Sebastian an air of danger and mystery wouldn’t sell this season’s kindly patient teacher persona as well. On the other hand, the new design makes Sebastian feel like someone you can genuinely trust through his delicate face. Yumi Shimizu had big shoes to fill, and I am happy to say she has filled them successfully.
Her designs also pair excellently with the voice actors’ performances. While Sebastian’s and Ciel’s more innocent faces can trick people into believing their performances, their voices hide the underlying venom. Daisuke Ono’s career would not be the same without his performance as Sebastian, and he returns to fulfill promise with his sexually enticing yet terrifying voice. Maaya Sakamoto continues to make Ciel riveting, complex, and tragic — a character so capable of lying to others and himself that it makes the audience question when Ciel is acting and when he’s being genuine. Her knowing performance of Ciel’s complexity feels so genuine that I oftentimes I find myself questioning when Ciel is purposefully lying or lying to himself.
All in all, I am incredibly pleased to see Black Butler return. Like many other fans, I also thought the series ended ten years ago. However, nothing shows more hope and potential than a triumphant production team who, through their acute direction, proves that they, too, are longtime fans of the series.
Rating
Plot: 8 (Multiplier 3)
Characters: 8 (Multiplier 3)
Art/Animation: 8 (Multiplier 2)
Voice acting: 9
Soundtrack: 8
FINAL SCORE: 81
