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Black Butler

Black Butler (Japanese: 黒執事, Hepburn: Kuroshitsuji) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. It has been serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy since September 2006. The series follows Ciel Phantomhive, the 12-year-old Earl of Phantomhive serving as the Queen's Watchdog. He is tasked with solving crimes in the underworld of Victorian-era London. Ciel has formed a contract with demon Sebastian Michaelis, who disguises himself as his butler, to seek revenge on those who tortured him and murdered his parents. In exchange for his services, Sebastian will be allowed to consume Ciel's soul.

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures, aired from October 2008 to March 2009. A second 12-episode season aired from July to September 2010; this season features two new main characters and has an anime-original storyline which does not feature manga content. Another series, titled Black Butler: Book of Circus, was broadcast between July and September 2014. A two-part theatrical original video animation (OVA), titled Black Butler: Book of Murder, screened in Japanese theaters in October and November 2014. A live-action film adaptation was released in Japan in January 2014. An animated film, titled Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, premiered in Japan in January 2017. A fourth 11-episode season produced by CloverWorks, titled Black Butler: Public School Arc, aired from April to June 2024. A fifth season, titled Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, aired from April to June 2025.

In North America, the series has been licensed by Yen Press. It was published in Yen Plus from August 2009 to July 2010. The anime series was licensed by Funimation. Funimation lost the rights to the first two seasons, and they were later acquired by Aniplex of America.

By August 2025, the Black Butler manga had over 36 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.

12-year-old earl Ciel Phantomhive lives in Victorian-era London. He acquired his title and position after the events of his tenth birthday on December 14, 1885, when the Phantomhive manor was attacked by unidentified perpetrators. Ciel's parents died along with the family dog, Sebastian, and he is taken and sold into slavery. He ends up in the hands of a sadistic, demon-worshipping cult and endures physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of his captors.

One night, during a sacrificial ceremony to summon a demon, the demon arrives but states that he came in response to Ciel's summoning, not the cult's. Ciel sells his soul to the demon and forms a contract to be saved; the demon kills all the cultist members and places the Faustian contract symbol on Ciel's right eye. As part of the contract, the demon will consume Ciel's soul as payment for helping him achieve his goal; revenge on those who brought down his family and the House of Phantomhive. Ciel names the demon Sebastian Michaelis, after his deceased dog. The duo returns to society as Ciel takes over his late father's position as the Queen's Watchdog: someone tasked with investigating cases that Queen Victoria herself deems threatening to England. To assist with this task, Sebastian recruits notable individuals such as the sniper Mey-Rin, the veteran soldier Baldroy and Finnian, a teenager with superhuman strength, who join the Phantomhive estate, disguised as Ciel's servants.

As Ciel and Sebastian resolve several incidents under the Queen's orders, some of them are related to the "Aurora Society", a secret organization performing experiments involving reanimated corpses, led by a grim reaper with ties to the Phantomhive family known as "Undertaker". Undertaker eventually reveals that his true objective was to reanimate the body of Ciel's older twin brother and the real Ciel Phantomhive, who was the original heir of the Phantomhive estate. It is also revealed that both twins were captured and used in the ritual to summon Sebastian, with the original Ciel being sacrificed in the process and Ciel's younger brother assuming his identity to take revenge for their family. The revived "Ciel" incriminates his brother for the crimes committed by the Aurora Society and assumes control of the Phantomhive estate, forcing Ciel and his subordinates to flee. Branded as fugitives, Ciel, Sebastian and their allies begin investigating the Aurora Society further in order to prove Ciel's innocence and stop Undertaker's plans.

Written and illustrated by Yana Toboso, Black Butler started in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on September 16, 2006. In June 2024, it was announced that the manga would enter on hiatus, and that Toboso would be conducting research and making preparations as the series heads toward its climax. The series is set to resume on April 18, 2025. Square Enix has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on February 27, 2007. As of April 26, 2024, thirty-four volumes have been released.

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