Black Butler (黒執事 Kuroshitsuji)

Black Butler (黒執事 Kuroshitsuji) is a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. Since its debut on September 16, 2006, it has been serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy.
The series follows Sebastian Michaelis, a demonic butler who is bound by a supernatural contract to serve Ciel Phantomhive, the thirteen-year-old head of the Phantomhive noble family and the business-savvy owner of the Funtom company, a toy manufacturer. In return, when Sebastian has helped Ciel finish all of his tasks, including avenging his parents' deaths, Sebastian will be allowed to kill him and consume his soul. It was announced in July 2008 that an anime adaption, directed by Toshiya Shinohara and produced by A-1 Pictures, was expected. It premiered in October 2008, and has since ended with 24 episodes. The second season aired in 2010 spanning 12 episodes with two new main characters, Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus. The series has been licensed by Yen Press in North America and published in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary.

Plot

See also: List of Black Butler characters

Just a stone's throw away from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom and its young master, Ciel Phantomhive. On the night of Ciel Phantomhive's tenth birthday, a fire engulfed his manor. The boy was missing for a month before returning with a mysterious black clad butler, Sebastian. The servant is actually a demon that had entered into a contract with Ciel, promising the boy to help him achieve revenge on the arsonists in exchange for his soul. Sebastian Michaelis, an exceptionally loyal butler, is ever at Ciel's side, ready to carry out his young master's wishes. As the Queen's guard dog and standing at the top of the British underworld, the young boy must face many difficulties along the way. Black Butler is set in the Victorian era, and carries with it the typical eloquence of its time.

Media

Manga

 

Main article: List of Black Butler chapters

Written and drawn by Yana Toboso, the chapters of Black Butler have been serialized in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy since its debut in the October 2006 issue. The chapters are also published in collected volumes by Square Enix. The first volume was released on February 27, 2007 and as of December 27, 2011, thirteen volumes have been released so far. Yen Press licensed the series for an English language release and serialized the manga in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary. The publisher released the first volume in January 2010. The second volume was released in May 2010. French publisher Kana licensed the series in under the Dark Kana imprint as Black Butler. The publisher released the first volume in November 2009. Carlsen Comics has licensed the series in Germany as Black Butler, the same title used for the French and English releases. Black Butler have been also published in Italy by Panini Comics. In Poland, Waneko is publishing the manga as original Kuroshitsuji with subtitle Mroczny kamerdyner – as of February 2013, nine volumes have been released. The series has been published in Finland under the original Japanese name Kuroshitsuji by Punainen jättiläinen since July 2012. In Spain, Norma Editorial is publishing since November 2011 the manga as Black Butler.

Drama CD

On August 10, 2007 a drama CD was released by Frontier Works. It featured many of the characters appearing in volumes one and two^. A second drama CD was released on November 26, 2008 under the Aniplex label.

Anime

 

Main article: List of Black Butler episodes

In July 2008, it was announced that an anime adaption, directed by Toshiya Shinohara and produced by A-1 Pictures, was expected. It premiered in October 2008 and broadcasted on the Tokyo Broadcasting System as well as the Mainichi Broadcasting System On January 1, 2009, a limited edition DVD containing the first episode was released by Aniplex. The next three episodes were released on another DVD on February 25, 2009.
At the Sono Shitsuji, Shūshō ~Saigo no Bansan o Anata to Tomo ni~ (その執事、終章 〜最後の晩餐を貴方と共に〜, "That Butler, Last Chapter ~a last supper with you~") event, on June 14, 2009, it was announced that the anime will be returning for a second series. Japanese voice actor Junichi Suwabe confirmed this news on his official blog later that day. The second series, Kuroshitsuji II, premiered in July and follows a butler, Claude Faustus, and his master, Alois Trancy, as well as Sebastian and Ciel. Both new characters were designed by Toboso.
On March 29, 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced on their online FuniCon 3.0 panel that they have licensed Black Butler. At Anime Expo 2010, Funimation also announced that they will stream the simulcast series, Black Butler 2. Funimation announced on their Facebook page that they have fully licensed the second season. Funimation has released Black Butler Combo Pack Blu-ray/DVD first and second season on April 3, 2012.
On January 11, 2011, Animax Asia began airing the first season every Monday to Friday at 10:30 pm.
The series made its North American television debut on February 8, 2011 on the Funimation Channel.
Black Butler is currently airing on Australia's C31 and TVS station during Super Happy Anime Hour.

Musical

 

That Butler, Friendship (その執事、友好 Sono Shitsuji, Yūkō), a musical adaptation of the manga, had run at the Sunshine Theater in Ikebukuro between May 28, 2009 and June 7, 2009. Yuya Matsushita portrayed Sebastian Michaelis, Shougo Sakamoto played Ciel Phantomhive and Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliff.
Musical Black Butler: The Most Beautiful Death in The World – A Thousand Souls and The Fallen Grim Reaper (ミュージカル｢黒執事｣〜ザ・モースト・ビューティフル・デス・イン・ザ・ワールド〜千の魂と堕ちた死神 Miūjikaru Kuroshitsuji – Za Mōsuto Byūtifuru Desu in za Wārudo – Sen no Tamashii to Ochita Shinigami), the second musical adaptation of the manga, ran at Akasaka Act Theater (1300 seats) in Akasaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, between May 3, 2010 and May 23, 2010. Yuya Matsushita reprised his role as Sebastian Michaelis, Yukito Nishii played Ciel Phantomhive, and Uehara Takuya reprised his role as Grell Sutcliff. The other two main characters, Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries, were portrayed by Taisuke Saeki and Matsumoto Shinya, respectively. The musical was written by Mari Okada, directed by Sakurako Fukuyama, with music composed by Taku Iwasaki, and lyrics by Yukinojo Mori.
A second run of The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World was announced in December of 2012. It is scheduled to run between May 17th and June 9th, 2013 in the Akasaka ACT Theater (Akasaka, Tokyo) again, and the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka. It was announced in February of 2013 that Yuya Matsushita, Uehara Takuya, and Shuuhei Izumi will reprise their roles as Sebastian Michaelis, Grell Sutcliff, and the Undertaker, respectively. The rest of the roles have been re-cast, with Taketo Tanaka replacing Yukito Nishii as Ciel Phantomhive, and Shinji Rachi and Masataka Nakagauchi replacing Taisuke Saeki and Matsumoto Shinya in the roles of Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries.

Video game

A video game for Nintendo DS, called Black Butler: Phantom & Ghost was developed by Square Enix and was released on March 19, 2009. The game is sold in two versions, a limited first-press edition with a higher price and numerous extra goods, and a regular edition.

Book

On February 27, 2009, the Black Butler Character Guide "That Butler, Assembles" (黒執事 キャラクターガイド ｢その執事、集合｣ Kuroshitsuji Character Guide "Sono Shitsuji, Shūgō") was released. The TV Animation Black Butler Black Record (TVアニメーション｢黒執事｣ Black Record) was released on March 27, 2009. An official comics anthology Rainbow Butler (虹執事 Nijishitsuji) was also released on that date.

Amnesia

Gameplay

Amnesia is classified as an otome game and modified be anime, the player takes role of the main female character who can choose from a variety of male characters as her 'love interest'.
In Amnesia, the male characters that the female player character can interact with are based on the symbolic suit symbols from a cards deck with the following storylines (commonly known as 'routes') in the game: Heart, Spade, Club, Diamond and Joker. Depending on which route is chosen, the player's relationship with each character is different.

Plot

On one fateful day, August 1, the heroine lost all her memories. In order to gain them back and to ease her pain in remembering, she tries to interact with 'him' hoping to live each day as happily as she can, and to make a bright future with him...

Characters

Main Characters

Protagonist
Heroine (主人公 Shujinkō) (no set name, can be changed) 

 

Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (anime)

The heroine of the story who has lost her memories. Within the game, Orion the spirit follows and supports her throughout each story to reclaim her memories back. In the anime adaptation, she has no apparent name so far. She is 19 years old.

Shin (シン)

 

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

Shin is one of the main male characters the heroine can interact with. He is her and Toma's childhood friend. He is 18 years old, and a high school graduate studying hard to get into university. His father accidentally killed a man while being drunk. He was bad-talked and avoided because of this in his childhood. Shin is trying to make a successful future for people to stop comparing him with his father. He enjoys playing card games and is a member of the track-and-field club. His favourite animals are dogs. His symbolic route in the game is the 'Heart'. He is also a Tsundere character.

Ikki (イッキ)

 

Voiced by: Kishou Taniyama

Ikki is 22-years-old and a fourth year university student. He is best friends with Kent and has a 19-year-old younger sister. Ikki's hobbies include playing darts, billiards, and table tennis, as well as solving Kent's math puzzles. He is notably skilled at anything requiring him to use his hands. His favourite animals are apparently hamsters. When he was a kid he wished on a shooting star for girls to like him and was granted with eyes that make him irresistible to any woman. However now he thinks of it as a curse. Ikki is always surrounded by girls and has a fan club that would do literally anything for him to be theirs. He dates women for three months and then dumps them after that (at least, in his route). His symbolic route in the game is the 'Spade'.

Toma (トーマ)

 

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino

Toma is 20-years-old and a second year university student. He is a childhood friend of both the heroine and Shin, and acts as an older brother figure to both of them. In addition to being in a number of school clubs, including soccer, broadcasting, archery, and the newspaper, Toma enjoys playing basketball, cycling, surfing the internet, playing video games, cooking and reading. His favorite animals are humans. His symbolic route in the game is the 'Diamond'. Toma is a yandere character.

Kent (ケント Kento)

 

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

Kent is 23-years-old and a university graduate, as well as Ikki's best friend. His parents raised him with the belief that everything has some sort of logical conclusion, thus he believes anything can be solved using logic. His interest include devising math puzzles and observing things; as such, he likes every animal because he enjoys observing them. His symbolic route in the game is the 'Clover'.

Ukyō (ウキョウ)

 

Voiced by: Kouki Miyata

Ukyō is 24-years-old photographer with a split personality who seems to know the heroine, but remains distant. He is in a lot of different clubs: triathlon, cheerleading, hula dance, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, kabaddi, dance, art, riding, debate and about 15 more clubs. His symbolic route in the game is the 'Joker'.

Others

Orion (オリオン)

Voiced by: Hiromi Igarashi

A spirit which came from a completely different world. From the view of humans, he takes the appearance of a 10-year-old young boy. No one can see or hear him but the heroine.

Sawa (サワ)

 

Voiced by: Satomi Moriya

Female university student with a bright and sporty personality. She is the heroine's close friend. She speaks in a very lively way, but is someone one you can rely on. In Ikki's route, she does not work at the cafe, but she is still good friends with the heroine.

Mine (ミネ) 

Voiced by: Kana Akutsu

The heroine's kōhai at the place where she works part-time. She has a crush on Ikki.

Rika (リカ)

 

Voiced by: Yoshida Seiko

A mysterious woman who dresses in old fashioned clothes. She is the head of the Ikki Fan Club, a group of girls who have an agreement to have a romantic relationship with Ikki for three months.

Waka (ワカ)

 

Voiced by: Takahashi Hidenori

The manager at the place where the heroine works part-time. He is a wise businessman who holds a firm policy. It appears that he has a habit of being too devoted to the ideologies he believes in, and outwardly, he has a little bit of a blown-away behaviour. In the game Waka has a different personality depending on the player's choices.

Luka (ルカ Ruka)

 

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya

Luka is a new character and plays an important role in Amnesia Crowd.