Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana TobosoMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Black Butler is one of those anime and manga that did completely sweep the 'scene' during its release and that everyone seemed to incredibly fond of and have nothing but good things to say about it. I... somehow managed to miss all of this at the time, despite going to an Anime Club at my university and actually having friends who were very into it. Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how that happened. Fast forwarding to this year, I decided that since I like the live action movie - which is really an Elseworlds tale when compared to the rest of the franchise - it might be worth my while to actually check out the manga. Thanks to a good deal from Amazon's new-and-used section, I got the first two volume relatively cheap and gave it a read.
It's... okay.
Okay, so that's not really fair because it doesn't explain anything but to be fair the first volume doesn't explain anything in terms of the actual story. It's all just set up and repeated jokes that are kind of funny the first time, but the humor does not hold up for a second time, let alone a third. It's not that the pacing of this volume is bad; for what little conflict story there is, it proceeds well. It's just more that I found myself finishing it and going "...well I still don't really know what's actually going on here."
Is this a bad thing? Well, that really depends on your point of view. Personally? It's not something I'm fond of. At the end of the first volume of a manga, I at least want to have a rough idea of the overall plot, or at least be able to say the story is about x or y. In regards to Black Butler all I could say is it's about a rich brat who has a butler who is supernaturally good at his job. Said butler may also be of the supernatural, but I couldn't be certain. Of course, I do actually know what the story is about because it's been out for 7 years, I had friends who were really into it, it was everywhere at the beginning and I do really like the live-action movie. That's not the point.
I do want to say positives though despite how I sound above? I do actually like this manga, or at least, I was entertained by it enough that I am willing to wait for the plot to unfold, even though I am really glad I got it cheap. If I had to pay full price, I'd probably be a little less forgiving. ANYWAY. The art? Is amazing. It is one of those manga where the exterior and interior art are of equal quality, and you never feel like the cover has tricked you into picking up something by being too pretty.
The titular 'black butler' Sebastian is also a character I really like, thanks to his deadpan nature and rather done attitude with everything. He sort of reminds me of Blackadder the Third, though to be fair, Sebastian has a lot of powers on his side. Blackadder was working on his on intelligence and wit. They should meet though, that would be cool.
Long story short? The first volume is probably not the best one to check out of you want to know the story of these characters. It feels more like a deliberately set slice of life piece, than the action-adventure I know it to be. That being said? It's still quite fun, and on the merit of the art alone I would be recommending this to people, and I am still glad to have read it. I'm hoping more of the story comes up in the next few volumes. Worth a read, but try to get it cheap if you can, or borrow it.
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