Black Butler (manga)

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Sebastian and Ciel.
You see, I am simply one hell of a butler.
—Sebastian Michaelis

Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji in Japanese) is a Shounen manga and companion Anime series (although it's pretty obviously looking for a crossover Shoujo audience). Originally created by Toboso Yana.

The Phantomhive family is a respected and distinguished house in Victorian London. Despite a mysterious fire killing off the previous Lord and Lady Phantomhive, their 12-year old son, Ciel Phantomhive, has managed to both build a massive toy and candy company within 3 years, and serve the Queen as a major contributor to England's black-ops.

It really, really helps that Ciel made a literal Deal With the Devil to acquire a super butler: one Sebastian Michaelis, capable of dispatching The Mafia or other threats (including those of the supernatural variety) and then baking the perfect pastry. He has agreed to aid Ciel in all of his endeavors until Ciel "succeeds in all of his tasks". Then Ciel's soul belongs to him.

So Ciel leads a double-life, his service to the Queen combined with his own dark supernatural dealings, and maintaining the peace of the Phantomhive Mansion and its less than serious staff.

Mix and stir Hellsing and Count Cain with Loveless, at least toward the beginning. No, seriously.

Character sheet is here.

This series contains examples of:

  • Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: The Dolls from the anime.
  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: The table knives Sebastian uses as weapons.
    • Claude's knives in the second season apply as well.
  • Actor Allusion: Claude: "Yes, my lord."
  • Adaptation Distillation
  • Adorably Precocious Child: Ciel. A very bitter, very driven one. But before his bitterness, he was just so damn cute! Differs slightly from the norm in that the only people who treat him as adorable don't know him well enough.
  • Adorkable: Arthur from the murder mystery arc.
    • Grell in butler form counts as well.
    • Finnian.
    • And for a rare female example, Maylene.
  • Aerith and Bob: People with names like "Grell Sutcliffe," "Alistair Chambers," and "Ciel Phantomhive" are sharing screentime with names like "Jim Macken," "Charles Grey," and "William Spears."
  • Affably Evil: It's easy to forget that Sebastian is, in fact, a soul devouring demon.
  • Agent Peacock: Sebastian wears Combat Stilettos in his demon form and Ciel is quite the dandy, both are badasses of the first order.
  • Alternate Continuity: Starting at episode 7, the anime no longer follows the manga.
    • Several of the cast's anime renditions are also quite different in character from their manga counterparts.
  • Anachronism Stew: Quite a few examples, the intentionality or not of their occurrence unclear.
    • What are The Mafia, dressed in modern clothing doing in Victorian England? Not to mention cell phones. (The anime at least attempted to retrograde their tech somewhat.)
    • There's also the television and video games. In Victorian England.
    • Sebastian appears to wear latex gloves when he works in the kitchen.
    • Let's not forget about a certain shinigami using a chainsaw, the cook using flame throwers or the modern washing machine in the Phantomhive Manor. Recently in the manga, only shinigami have out-of-place artifacts (for instance, this guy's "strange watch" and odd glasses).
    • Ciel's pierced ears were extremely uncommon for the nobility back then. And his father had them as well.
    • The clothing isn't modest enough. Both Victorian and Edwardian fashions were very modest; exposed legs and cleavage would have been obscene. Maylene's bathing suit would have been scandalous and Yana Toboso gave up even trying with the ladies' costume party and Ciel in Wonderland costumes. Also, Elizabeth's fashion sense sometimes sinks into 18th century territory.
  • Anti Hero: Ciel and Sebastian are Type V.
  • Arranged Marriage: Ciel is only 12 years old, yet he is already engaged to his cousin Elizabeth.
  • Art Evolution
  • Artificial Human: Drocell. It's painfully obvious even before straw starts spilling out of his head.
  • Author Appeal: Understandable, considering the author was once a Yaoi Hentai mangaka, but:
    • Nearly every single male character being an outright Bishounen.
    • Yana Toboso also has a thing for suave, gentlemanly characters, as seen by Sebastian, Claude (sort of), Aleister Chambers, and various other characters in this and Toboso's other works.
  • Back From the Dead: The goal of the Phoenix Society, a group of medical professionals. Their debut attempt... isn't going very well.
  • Backup Twin: Edward Abberline in season 2 is the twin brother of Fred Abberline in season 1.
  • Badass: Sebastian. Ciel too, in a different way.
    • The entirety of the household staff, in spades.
    • And now Ciel's fiancée, Elizabeth.
    • Undertaker has proved himself to be this in the most recent manga chapters.
  • Badass Adorable/ Cute Bruiser: Elizabeth Middleford. This sweet, adorable and harmless Damsel in Distress reveals herself as such in Chapter 57 and confesses that she desperately wanted for her fiancé Ciel to not see her "uncute" side and thus deliberately hid her badass side up until then. Even nearly at the cost of her own life. Only shortly after Ciel berates her for such behavior (Prioritizing lady-manners over survival) when she is about to die while Ciel who, despite his best efforts, ends up injured and unable to save her and is in danger, Elizabeth spontaneously leaps into action and stabs down the zombies using swords in both hands, while tearfully declaring that she'll protect him.
  • Badass Family: The entire Middleford family. Including Elizabeth.
  • Bandaged Face: Baron Kelvin in the manga. Also Hannah in the second season of the anime.
  • Barehanded Blade Block: Sebastian does this against a chainsaw. He's one hell of a butler, all right.
    • Hannah pulls it off as well.
    • Ciel also performs one against Alois.
  • Battle Butler: Sebastian, of course. Also Grell the Shinigami. And Agni. Also:
    • Maylene the Ninja Maid who is able to use sniper rifles as PISTOLS while leaping from rooftop to rooftop
    • Finnian, who is strong enough to throw statues across the room.
    • Tanaka, who is an excellent practitioner of the martial art baritsu.
    • And Bard, who, in addition to having a gatling gun in his kitchen, effectively blew up a building by igniting a large, highly concentrated cloud of very fine flour, which, amusingly enough, is actually Truth in Television. Flour explosions completely destroyed one of the largest mills in the USA at one point.
    • And in the anime's second season, Claude Faustus of the Trancy Manor. And the Triplets. And even Hannah.
    • There's also the Queen's butler, Charles Grey, who was the true murderer in the murder mystery arc of the manga. The rest of her butlers probably also apply, though they haven't actually been seen in action yet.
  • Beautiful Dreamer: Ciel, though subverted in that everyone seems to like watching him sleep, so this trope can be taken in a non-romantic way.
  • The Beautiful Elite: Lampshaded with the Phantomhive family. To quote Ciel's Stalker With a Crush, Baron Kelvin:

  "White porcelain skin like a bisque doll, beautiful hair, big eyes like diamonds, a youthful body. I will become something else. It doesn't matter if my ugly wife leaves me. I will be beautiful with a beautiful life. I will be suitable for him."

  • Because Destiny Says So: In the manga, Ciel's goal is to torture and kill the people who killed his parents, though once this goal is complete, it is almost certain and an inescapable fate that Sebastian will eat his soul. In the anime, this is averted, as Ciel becomes a demon and Sebastian is unable to take his soul.
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Ciel, depending on how much you consider him "evil".
  • Big Fancy House: The Phantomhive manor definitely qualifies, as well as Alois's mansion in the second season.
  • Bishie Sparkle: Sebastian has this as a superpower.
    • As does Finny.
  • Bishonen: Ciel and Sebastian are the most obvious. There's also... pretty much a good majority of the male cast, save for Baron Kelvin, Georg von Siemens, Jumbo, Lord Arthur Randall, Azzurro Vanel, Fred Abberline, Tanaka, Damian, and Doctor. Basically, any male character under the age of 45.
  • Black and Gray Morality: The protagonist is a 12/13 year-old boy who, at the age of 10, saw both parents murdered; he was subsequently abducted, tortured, and then almost used as a sacrifice in a Satanic ritual. The next most sympathetic group of characters are a circus troupe who abduct children to either serve as playthings for their master or kill them to make prostheses out of their bodies. While there are a number of "white" characters in the series, they are largely unaware of the kind of work that Phantomhive is involved with.
    • This moral ambiguity is somewhat subverted in the anime, wherein Ciel is much more cynical and less sympathetic as a character than his manga counterpart.
  • Black Comedy
  • Blind Without Em:
    • Maylene has a particularly bad case of farsightedness. While this makes her an excellent sniper, to the point where a previous employer said her "amazing eyes" made it the only thing she was good for, she is clumsy and generally incompetent as a maid.
    • All of the Shinigami are stated to be Blind Without Em.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: Alois.
  • Blue Eyes: Ciel (well, one of them, anyway) and Alois.
  • A Boy and His X: A boy and his demon butler.
  • Boy In A Box: Ciel in season 2.
  • Brains and Brawn: Subverted with Sebastian and Ciel. Although Sebastian is also smart like Ciel, he is the one who fights against their enemies while Ciel is usually played as The Chessmaster.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Kuroshitsuji II, Grell addresses the audience directly, saying that he looks forward to letters of encouragement.
    • The 3rd OVA from Kuroshitsuji II breaks it down completely. It's a documentary style episode where the characters are treated as actors in 2010 and talk about everything from their roles and behind the scenes to the filming process (complete with a green screen when they were practicing the Sebastian/Claude fight).
    • Yet another is the end of the 4th chapter in the manga. As Sebastian goes to answer Ciel's call, he opens the door, then looks back at the reader, putting a finger to his lips and goes 'Shh-'
  • Break the Cutie: Ciel, and in the anime's second season, Alois.
    • There's a few other characters too, such as Freckles/Doll from the circus arc.
  • Breather Episode
  • British Accents: What else did you expect the dub to do?
  • Broken Ace: Ciel.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Bard, Maylene, & Finnian, because of their OTHER jobs. Grell as well, in the case of the shinigami.
  • Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: All over the place in episode 20. Fitting, considering Lau's story and the fatal blow to both the Phantomhive company, which may or may not recover, and the deaths of Lau and Abberline.
  • Butterfly of Doom: Chaos Theory is mentioned when Ciel and Sebastian explain to Wordsmith why Siemens was killed and another guy was framed (basically they would've helped their respective countries become so powerful they'd overwhelm England).
  • Butt Monkey: Abberline in season 2 episode 4.
    • Grell (anime only) & Viscount Druitt.
  • Came Back Wrong / Our Zombies Are Different: Maggy, courtesy of Dr. Stoker.
  • Cannot Tell a Joke: Madame Red. We never get to hear the joke but the cast's reactions range from blank stares to confusion. Lau as well in the same scene.
  • Cast of Snowflakes: Characters are easily distinguishable because no one looks exactly alike and ages can become extremely varied (especially in the circus and murder mystery arcs). And, what's more is that most of the characters have very detailed clothes (save the queen's three right-hand servants who all wear the same uniform); most notably Ciel who changes clothing every chapter.
  • Catch Phrase: Sebastian's favorite phrase, "I am a butler through and through" is a play on words in Japanese and can also mean "I am a butler and a demon". This is rendered as "I am one hell of a butler" in the subtitles and the dub. Also "Yes, my lord."
    • The Yen Press manga translation turns Sebastian's twin phrases into "I am merely a butler" and "I am a devil of a butler respectively.
    • Also "It is only natural that a servant of Phantomhive would be able to (do whatever impossible thing he just did)." Frequently overlooked because the subtitles translate it differently every damn time, but repeated often enough that Ciel eventually cuts him off when tries to say it.
      • Changed even further in the FU Nimation subs for the second season. It's now "A Phantomhive butler who can't (do whatever impossible thing he just did) isn't worth his salt."
      • "It is only natural that a servant of Phantomhive would be able to (do X)", appears to be a catchphrase for Ciel's servants as a whole.
      • "I am the butler of the Phantomhive family. It goes without saying that such minor feats are within my repetoire/that I can handle something like this/etc."
      • "If I couldn't do this much at LEAST, well then what kind of butler would I be?"
    • Ciel seems to yell "Listen when others are talking/to what others are saying!!" Quite often. Usually to Lizzy or Lau.
  • Chainsaw Good: Wielded by Grelle. Yes, in Victorian England.
  • Chef of Iron
  • Cheshire Cat Grin: Ciel, and in some cases, Sebastian.
  • The Chessmaster: Ciel is definitely the main chess-master, but there are so many others in the series, especially Sebastian, Madame Red, and Angela/Ash.
  • Chess Motifs: Chess imagery is used frequently, especially in the last few episodes.
  • Chick Magnet: Sebastian -- in the anime, at least. Sebastian has been shown to be attractive to Ciel's aunt, three nuns (one of which he has sex with for information ON SCREEN no less), and an angel. Wow.
  • Child Prodigy: Elizabeth has The Gift for swordplay, being regarded as a fencing genius by her peers in a flashback. She's kept this from Ciel due to a fear when they were much younger that Ciel wouldn't like her anymore if he knew about her talent.
  • Children Are a Waste: A prostitute goes to a doctor to get an abortion with this as her excuse. That doctor had lost her ability to have children thanks to an accident that killed her husband and nearly her as well. This was the last straw before she snapped and became Jack the Ripper.
  • Chinese People: Lau, who as of manga chapter 16, doubles as a Pretty Freeloader.
  • Circus of Fear: An entire arc.
  • Co Dragons: The queen's butlers from the manga seem to apply at certain times.
  • Collector of the Strange: Ciel sure hangs around some interesting folks. Let's see, there's the demon Battle Butler, a Cordon Bleugh Chef who makes exploding food and gatling guns, a far-sighted sharp shooting housemaid, a bumbling gardener with super strength, a Cool Old Guy who seems to know judo, a Chinese man who owns an Opium Den and regularly hangs around a scantily-clad assassin, a curry-loving Indian prince, his Supreme Chef manservant and his Spoiled Sweet Genki Girl fiancée. Oh, and the snakeman. Don't forget the snakeman.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: The Weston prefects: Redmond of Scarlet Fox House, Greenhill of Green Lion House, Bluer of Sapphire Owl House, and Violet of Violet Wolf House.
  • Combat Commentator: Viscount Druitt in Episode 7 of the second season. Because he would be a walking BLAM otherwise.
  • Combat Stilettos: Manlied up by Sebastian. It's not often you see a grown man murdering people in these.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: Ciel, of the Villain Protagonist variety. From the anime, Alois may also apply.
  • Cooking Duel: The curry contest in the Indian arc of the manga. Queen Victoria has the final word on it.
  • Crazy Prepared: Charles Phipps.
  • Creepy Child: Ciel seems to fit this trope. He's a cynical, jaded, and very driven 12-year-old (or 13, depending on how far you are in the series) who is a Chess Master and wise beyond his years. He has no qualms about getting involved in dangerous missions and will command his badass butler Sebastian to kill someone without a second thought. Then again, there's a reason why he is the way he is now.
    • Alois as well. And Luca.
  • The Creepy Undertaker: The Undertaker. Need we say more?
  • Cross Dresser: Ciel wasn't pleased with this plan.
    • In the OVA the Undertaker is very enthusiastic about wearing dresses for the Phantomhive production of Hamlet.
    • Alois also crossdresses in episode 5 of season 2.
    • Alan and Aberline also wear dresses for a scene in the second musical. Of course, Aberline didn't shave first, so it ends up looking especially creepy.
  • Cross Dressing Voices: You may know Ciel's seiyuu to be that of Haruhi Fujioka. Happens in the English dub as well.
    • Alois may sound a little like Fate Testarossa when he's putting on his "sweet, innocent child" act.
  • Crouching Moron Hidden Badass: The Undertaker, an eccentric gray-haired man who trades murder details for jokes and has some...odd turn-ons, is really the most legendary of the Shinigami in the anime.
    • In the manga, Undertaker is also a badass shinigami, but of a crueler variety.
    • It's easy to forget that Grell started off as a highly incompetent butler to Madam Red who could not do anything right... before revealing the shinigami and Ax Crazy/Chainsaw Good sides hidden beneath the butler act.
    • Also, the clumsy maid is actually quite the sharpshooter.
    • All the incompetent household staff, really. No wonder he keeps them around.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: In chapter 61 Undertaker manages to easily do this to Grell, Ronald, and Sebastian without breaking a sweat. Wow.
  • Cute and Psycho: Alois. Throughout the first episode of the new season he flips from sweet and innocent to Ax Crazy so many times, it could make someone dizzy.
  • Dancesand Balls: Ciel, being an aristocrat, attends these. One of the more memorable ones was when he had to crossdress while doing it.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: A good portion of the entire cast; most notably Ciel, Alois, and the circus crew.
  • The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Happened to Ciel.
  • Dark Skinned Blond: Agni.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Ciel in the anime.
  • Deal With the Devil: While Sebastian has a morbid sense of humor that he only shows to his enemies and Ciel, he has been rather honorable and faithful to even the spirit of his side of the bargain.
  • Death By Origin Story: Ciel's parents.
  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: Ciel's parents, of course.
  • Deliberately Distressed Damsel: Elizabeth Middleford. She wanted to remain cute in front of Ciel even at the risk of her own life. Only shortly after their conversation about her prioritizing of ladyship before survival does Elizabeth reveal this, as she defends Ciel no less.
  • Demoted to Extra: Tanaka pretty much vanishes after episode 2 of season 2. He finally reappears for about 2 seconds during the finale, and gets no spoken lines.
  • Did We Just Have Tea With Cthulhu: The dinner scene with Baron Kelvin. At first it looks like No Mr. Bond I Expect You to Dine, but as it goes on, we find out that Baron Kelvin is pretty much treating it as a date and is being genuinely nice in his own, sick way.
  • Disguised in Drag: They've managed to get Ciel into a dress in the manga, the anime, and the musical.
    • In the second musical, this gets taken Up to Eleven with at least half the male characters running around an opera "disguised" in dresses. Including Abberline, mustache and all.
  • Dish Dash: Sebastian frequently ends up catching falling dishware, food, and other items due to the clumsiness of Maylene and the other household staff. He never drops anything -- by accident, anyway -- because he's just that good of a Battle Butler.
  • Dissonant Serenity: Sebastian on occasion.
  • Distressed Damsel: Elizabeth. Subverted in chapter 57.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything: The infamous corset scene. Which has popped up in pretty much every version! The manga, the anime, and the (second) musical, of all places.
    • Chapter 34 pulled a bit of this too.
  • Doppelganger: Sebastian bears a striking resemblance to Ciel's father. Coincidence?
  • Double Entendre: So many. Especially in the second season. Especially when Claude is having a conversation or talking to himself about Ciel.
  • Downer Ending: Both seasons of the anime end with this for at least one of the protagonists:
    • In season one, Sebastian devours Ciel's soul.
    • In season two, Ciel turns into a demon, forcing Sebastian to be his slave for eternity.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ciel, apparently, as Joker had to ask if Ciel was a boy.
    • Grell, in either form. Justified in that Grell does this on purpose because of her Transsexual status.
  • Dynamic Entry: Ronald pulls this off in 53. Boom, headshot.
  • Dysfunction Junction
  • Eldritch Abomination: Sebastian's true form, at least in the anime. He takes his true form to combat Angela/Ash at the end of season 1. We never see the true form (except for what appear to be cloven hooves stuffed into thigh or knee high leather high-heeled boots) but from Angela/Ash's BSOD reaction, and Sebastian not wanting to see Ciel see it (to not go insane?) it seems Sebastian's true form is beyond our capacity to handle.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: The show has renewed an interest in this style in Japan and there's a line of clothing directly based on what the characters wear.
  • Every Boy Is Cuter With Hair Decs: Finnian the gardener.
  • Evil Versus Evil
  • Evolving Credits: In season 1, the opening "Monochrome Kiss" switches to its second stanza halfway through. A few episodes later, the animation completely changes for the final arc.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Ciel's eyepatch hides the pentagram that represents his contract with Sebastian.
  • Eyes Always Shut: Lau sports a variation of this. His closed eyes are not upturned in a foxlike manner; rather, they're more U-shaped, giving him an air of calm.
  • Eye Scream: In the second season of the anime, Alois stabs one of his maidservants in the eye. With his finger. Why? "A maid should never look directly at her master!" The other servants understandably have an Oh Crap moment, but are then commanded to clean up the bloody mess. It's revealed later that Hannah the maid is a demon. We see in a later flashback of somewhere around that time Alois saying how he's sick of demons and of people looking at him like that.
    • Ciel getting the seal in his eye seemed to have been very painful. Blood is seen dripping from it afterwards.
  • Face Palm: Ciel in season 2 episode 3, when Sebastian has a moment of adoration over stray kitties and ignores the task at hand to do so. Really, every time Sebastian and cats are in the same frame/panel and Ciel is around.
  • Fake Brit: In the English dub, Elizabeth has a loud and rough accent when a lady of her high status would have a posh accent and be taught to speak more quietly, especially when in a party surrounded by strangers. In fact almost all of the Brits have accents vaguely reminiscent of a certain mischievous chimney-sweep.
  • Fallen Hero: Subverted. Ciel was never really a hero per se, but he did used to be just a normal little kid; then his parents were killed, his house was burnt down, he was kidnapped and tortured by a cult, and he became a villain.
  • Fan Service: So, so much.
  • Fate Worse Than Death: At the end of season 2 of the anime, Ciel becomes a demon. The problem with this is that Sebastian is bound to Ciel until he devours his soul, but demons apparently cannot consume each others' souls. Sebastian, for the first time, does not seem enthused with the prospect of serving Ciel "until the very end."
  • Flip Personality: Alois' soul ends up in Ciel's body and both souls dispute its control. You can see Alois is in charge because of the (not subtle) change in attitude and because the eye seal disappears.
  • Food Porn: Oh yes.
  • Foreign Language Theme: "I'm Alive!", the English ending theme.
  • Foreign Looking Font: Just look at the title in the page image.
  • Foreshadowing: In chapter 5 of the manga, Finny is throwing statues at mice that have attacked the mansion. Then cut to chapter 32 and we see him throwing statues at Beast and Joker exclaiming "Found the Mice!"
    • In Chapter 54, we were given this cover art. Cue chapter 60: Undertaker dancing with one of the zombies in the exact same pose, making a speech about the beauty of his creations.
  • Fork Fencing: Sebastian carries around a few forks and knives wherever he goes. He's pretty damn effective with them too. Killed an entire room of men with a handful of thrown dinner knives.
  • Frame Up: In the "Wordsmith" whodunnit arc, Ciel and Sebastian frame a blood diamond/arms smuggler for the death of a German ship builder who would've made his country's navy more powerful then it should've been at the time. Sebastian's death was just a "joke" by Victoria, who didn't like Ciel's "prank" of completely burning the last Big Bad and his unsuspecting henchmen and victims.
  • Funny Foreigner: Indian prince Soma, and his ass-whooping manservant Agni.
  • Gender Bender: Very deliberately and very frequently with Angela.
  • Genius Bruiser: Sebastian.
  • Gentleman Snarker: Sebastian.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: The series' penchant for double entendres, especially in the second series.
  • Ghost Amnesia: The ghost of King Edward has this in the anime.
  • Girlish Pigtails: Elizabeth.
  • The Glomp: Four person flying-tackle variety at the end of the Murder Arc, when Sebastian reveals to the rest of mansion that he is not dead.
  • Good Cop Bad Cop: Abberline and his boss seem to fulfill this trope. The former pities Ciel after reading his background file and, in the anime, eventually dies for him in a Heroic Sacrifice. On the other hand, his boss was very disappointed that the Queen wouldn't let him torture Ciel after they arrested him for the Lady Blanc incident.
  • Grade School CEO: Ciel, 12-year-old head of a massive toy and candy company.
  • Gratuitous English: Sebastian's "Yes, my lord," and Claude's "Yes, your highness".
    • Also present in some of the background music. The phrase "excuse me for interrupting" is heard in the first episode when Sebastian opens the viewer to the oven.
  • Gray Eyes: Charles Grey.
  • Hair of Gold: Lizzie. Very much so.
  • Happiness in Slavery: Agni towards Soma.
    • Ciel's household staff seem to be pretty happy living with him, even though they aren't good at their designated job.
  • Hair Color Spoiler: Ash Ash has purple eyes and white hair. Who else has white hair and purple eyes? Angela. Angela is an angel. Therefore, when The Reveal happened, it wasn't much of a surprise.
  • Hellish Pupils: Sebastian, occasionally.
  • Heroic BSOD: While Ciel's intentions for the circus children back at the workhouse might not be described as "heroic" so much as "self-serving with a side of philanthropy", Ciel's reaction in chapter 36 upon realizing that the entire workhouse was empty and abandoned, and had been for what looked like years, meaning the circus children had fought--and died--in vain can be aptly described as a BSOD. A very, very frightening one.
    • Ciel has one in chapter 41, after finding Sebastian's body. It was an act, but he did seem genuinely pleased about being able to smack Sebastian around a little.
    • Ciel has another one earlier in chapter 34, when Baron Kelvin made an exact replica of where he was held when imprisoned, complete with an altar for sacrificing and even two cages full of children. This leads him to burn down the entire building...including the children.
  • Hidden Agenda Villain: Just what WAS Ash/Angela's plan anyhow? How was turning girls into dolls, serving a crowd of innocent bystanders the Hate Plague in curry form, leading an evil cult s/he was planning on killing anyway, or BURNING LONDON supposed to help with said plan? What was the soul-infused London Bridge supposed to do? Was s/he just Ax Crazy, or was there some rhyme or reason? Alas, we shall never know...
  • Historical in Joke: In the manga, Queen Victoria has the occasional fit of tears that can be only alleviated by a servant (John Brown) with a Prince Albert puppet.
  • Hollywood Atheist: Ciel.
  • Horror Hunger: Maggy.
  • Hot Amazon / Hot Chick With a Sword: The Marchioness of Middleford (Elizabeth's mother) met her husband by beating him in a fencing duel. Ranmao may also count.
  • Hot Shoujo Dad: Ciel's dad, Vincent Phantomhive.
  • Human Sacrifice: Ciel was used for this, but ended up making a deal with Sebastian instead.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: Hannah, apparently.
  • I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Undertaker in the anime loves the feeling of the moisture leaving his body. Unbeknownst to Grell, who tosses him in salt and keeps him buried neck-down.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: "The/That Butler, ______."
    • Changed in the second season to just "_______ Butler".
  • Ignorance Is Bliss: Ciel tells Snake that his missing friends' whereabouts were unknown, that he is looking for them and that staying with Ciel will be the fastest way to see them again. The reader knows that they were all killed by Ciel's staff when they tried to ambush Ciel's mansion.
  • I Kiss Your Foot: Claude does this to Ciel in Episode 10 of Season 2...and gets kicked in the face for it.
  • Image Song: Several characters get them for season 2, including Ronald Knox (who only appears once).
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Subverted. In the first episode, Sebastian borrows a page from Sweeney Todd in dealing with a Corrupt Corporate Executive. However, he is later seen alive, though injured.
  • Immune to Bullets: Sebastian can just spit them out.
  • Important Haircut: Soma gives one of these to Agni in the flashback in chapter 17.
    • Madam Red had one, too.
  • Improbable Age: Ciel, considering his ownership of the Phantomhive company and service to the Queen.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Angela. The angel. Wow. Really should have seen that coming.
    • Also, Ash. The angel with the plot to burn down London. Really should have seen that coming.
  • In Name Only: The anime diverged from the manga at episode 7, making it essentially a completely different series. Besides just the setting and characters, there are many major plot points, such as the terms of the contract between Ciel and Sebastian, that are also changed.
    • The characters are markedly different in personality between the two mediums. In the manga, Sebastian has a much wider range of emotions while he's always "cool" & rarely stressed in the anime. Ciel is darker, Soma is more childish. Grell is more competent, violent, serious, & less romantic in the manga. In the anime, Elizabeth has no dark side. Finally the anime has far more ecchi humor & significantly larger bustlines than in the manga.
  • Innocent Innuendo: The corset scene.
  • I Owe You My Life: Ciel towards Sebastian, in a very literal sense.
    • Subverted in the anime, when Ciel becomes a demon and makes Sebastian serve him for eternity.
    • The servant trio towards Ciel and Sebastian.
    • Agni towards Soma.
  • It Got Worse: And the ending theme illustrates it, from Super Deformed Sebastian performing chores, to normal Sebastian rowing a prone Ciel in a bed of white roses on a boat on the river Styx.
    • There's also when Ciel's parents had been killed. Afterward, his house was burnt down, and he was sold to a religious cult who tried to use him as a sacrifice until Ciel accidentally summoned Sebastian, and then chose to give up his soul in return for Sebastian's help at getting revenge.
  • Jack the Ripper: The villain of one of the early arcs.
  • Jade Colored Glasses: Ciel.
  • The Jeeves: Just as supernaturally competent, but whereas he was "heaven sent", Sebastian is "one hell of a butler".
  • Jigsaw Puzzle Plot
  • Kick the Dog: In the first episode of the second season, Alois stabs his maid in the eye with his hand. For daring to look her master in the eye while serving him. The nerve of her.
  • Kid With the Leash: Ciel's relationship towards Sebastian. While largely true to the trope, it lacks the usual element of contrast in that with few exceptions, Ciel is just as amoral and ruthless as his servant.
  • Kill the Cutie: All of the main circus crew (except for Snake) and the kidnapped children from the circus arc, and Phelps from the murder mystery arc. Also, Alois.
  • Kissing Cousins: Ciel is engaged to Elizabeth, who is his cousin. This was rather common in the Victorian Era.
  • Knife Nut (and Fork Nut): Sebastian throws the Phantomhive household's silver cutlery around with abnormal speed and precision.
    • Claude uses the Trancy's gold silverware as weapons as well.
  • Knight Templar: Angela.
  • Kudzu Plot
  • Lady in Red: Madame Red.
  • Lady of War:
    • Elizabeth Middleford. "Wife of the Queen's watchdog" indeed.
    • Frances Middleford as well.
  • Large Ham: The Viscount, good god.
  • Lecherous Licking: In episode 5 of season 2, a disguised Alois licks Ciel's ear.
  • Light Is Not Good: You know something's wrong when the demon butler is easier to see as heroic than the angel in the series.
  • Little Miss Badass: Elizabeth.
  • Little Mister Snarker: Ciel.
  • Little Professor Dialog: Ciel.
  • Locked Room Mystery: The recent Murder Mystery arc.
  • Lost Him in A Card Game: In season 1, Ciel loses a game of chess, and Sebastian, to the ghost of King Edward and his little brother Richard. Their contract isn't broken over a silly game of chess, and Sebastian soon returns when it's most beneficial.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Under any other circumstances, Ciel would not go anywhere near the big, creepy castle without Sebastian. Unless, of course, Elizabeth has gone missing and he has every belief that she is in there and in trouble. Then he'll do anything. Including giving Grell pretty much permission to rape Sebastian in exchange for backup. Not crazy enough for you? How about after he realizes all the girls in the castle are living dolls, he ditches Grell in order to run deeper? And still keeps looking for Elizabeth after being told he was next to be turned into a doll?
    • In the manga, Ciel throws himself in front of a bear without a second thought to protect Elizabeth. This act also shows Elizabeth's mother, Frances Middleford, that Ciel is more worthy of being her daughter's future husband than she had originally given him credit for. Still, that could be considered more heroic than crazy, since Ciel knows that if he is in danger of getting hurt, Sebastian can easily save him.
  • Lucky Translation: See above under Catch Phrase.
  • Madness Mantra: "Snuff out the unclean, Snuff out the useless, Snuff out the barren."
  • The Masquerade: Subverted in that Ciel and Sebastian reveal everything-- including the fact that they and Earl Grey work for the Queen, framed another man for Siemen's murder, and Sebastian being a demon to Wordsmith and let him live, memory intact, since the mere thought of their power was enough to stop him from revealing the truth even after he became a famous writer of mysteries-- just because Ciel liked his writing style.
  • Meaningful Name: Phantomhive. Explicitly pointed out by the plot.
    • Dr. Stoker and the Karnstein Hospital.
  • Medium Awareness: Season 2, Episode 6. Hannah plays this weird instrument that causes intense physical pain in anyone who hears it. So, Agni tries to free Maylene, Finny, and Bard from the effects by way of Pressure Point attacks. It works...but now their voices are out of sync with their lip movements. And it actually is too, if you watch closely.
  • Mexican Standoff: Between Ciel, Joker, Sebastian and Baron Kelvin.
  • Morality Pet: Sebastian has his cat friends (and possibly Ciel himself depending on character interpretation--whether he genuinely cares about Ciel or if he wants nothing more than to eat his soul), Ciel has his household staff and Elizabeth.
  • Moral Myopia: It seems that, to Ash/Angela, everyone but him/herself is impure. When s/he kills indiscriminately, alters memories and bangs pretty much anything (including Pluto), it's all good. But little girls who might someday become impure adults? Make 'em into dolls. Does an undyingly loyal Battle Butler Mannequinn dare break? Dump it. Cultists who followed your every word? All useless. The otherwise loyal queen who dares cling to her husband's body? Leave her to die. That kid that wants revenge because you personally ruined his life? SNUFF HIM OUT!
  • Ms. Fanservice:
    • Hannah, in the second season, appears half-naked in several occasions, with Clothing Damage to the point of improbability. Due the female fanbase, and possibly her role as a servile abuse victim, considered to be by many people Fan Disservice.
    • Ran Mao from the manga and the first season of the anime is also an example, bearing cat ear-like Odango, showing off a lot of leg, being extremely flexible, and generally being very touchy-feely.
  • Multiple Demographic Appeal: Boy howdy. It has a number of Seinen themes (villain protagonists, child abuse, violence and gore, etc.), an art style not unlike that of a Shoujo series and a lot of subtext, but is published in a Shonen magazine - though the themes of a Deal With the Devil, as well as the style of action, are not foreign to the Shonen genre.
  • My Sister Is Off Limits: Edward seems to feel this way about Ciel and Lizzie's relationship.
    • Dagger towards Beast as well.
  • Mystery Arc: Specifically the Mansion Murder Mystery arc, though the entire series could be considered one of these.
  • Mythology Gag: Chapter 39 is pretty much a running one, mix and stir Shout Out:
  • Never Trust a Trailer: Parodied Up to Eleven in the fourth Black Butler II OVA, featuring the characters as actors. The last portion of the episode features a mock trailer for the season...consisting almost entirely of events that never happened. It gets just a little ridiculous when we see Lau and Ran-Mao show up in a UFO, and it pretty much snowballs from there.
  • Nice Guy: Arthur Conan Doyle.
  • Nice to The Waiter: While Ciel's house staff are usually more trouble than their worth, he always treats them kindly (or as kind as Ciel can be). Lampshaded several times by the staff themselves. Alois Trancy on the other hand... not so much.
  • No Badass to His Valet: Sebastian towards Ciel and vice-versa.
    • In the anime's 2nd season, Claude towards Alois.
  • No Guy Wants an Amazon: What Elizabeth believes of Ciel and the reason she hid her badass side all along.
    • She's also very self-conscious about the fact that she's taller than Ciel, and has noticed Ciel's efforts to be seen as grown-up despite his young age. This has resulted in Lizzy behaving more childishly than she actually feels, much for the same reason she didn't let Ciel know she's a brilliant swordswoman.
  • No Hero to His Valet: Sebastian towards Ciel, as he actually knows the full details in that Ciel will do anything for the queen, as well as Ciel's goal of revenge, along with his willingness to kill innocent people if he deems it necessary. Most people who don't know him personally treat Ciel as either a "hero" or someone to look up to because of how successful he is as a 13-year-old who runs a well-known company. There are some others besides Sebastian that know he is "the queen's dog", though they do not seem to know all of the details.
  • Non Human Sidekick: Sebastian and Claude.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: In the anime, Lau. No really, he'll stop faking it in episode 20. Strongly hinted in the manga as well.
  • Obnoxious in Laws: In the manga, Lizzie's brother Edward really doesn't like Ciel taking his sister's attention away from him.
  • Obviously Evil: Episode 2 is a great example. Who could be the bad guy? Ciel? Madame Red? The two dignified looking British guys? Or the Italian with the facial scars, who dresses like Tony Montana?
  • Of Corsets Sexy: The corset scene, combined with Innocent Innuendo. Later on, Beast wears some sexy outfits for the circus performances.
  • Old Timey Bathing Suit: In episode 7.
  • One Winged Angel
  • Our Angels Are Different
  • Overtook the Manga
  • Paper Thin Disguise: Everyone who watched the first episode of season 2 probably noticed pretty quickly that the stranger visiting Alois and Claude in the middle of the night is Sebastian Michaelis. In addition, Claude's disguise on the train. One wonders if the butlers are aware of what the word "disguise" actually means.
  • Parental Abandonment: The whole first tier circus crew had been abandoned by their parents due to their various disabilities.
  • Parental Incest: Subverted. The very first scene of Season 2 gives us the blink-you'll-miss-it visual of Alois getting out of a bed in which an old man is sleeping before the much more noticeable bruised-butt shot. Alois only mentions his father during his clearly false innocent moments, otherwise freaking out at the mention of him, stating hysterically that he "got rid of all the old man's things". The numbers of when he was "saved" from his kidnapping experience, when his father is stated to have died, and when he contracted Claude all match up. The sexual abuse is confirmed in episode 8-- along with the fact that it wasn't Parental Incest, because the Earl Trancy wasn't actually Alois's father.
  • Perky Goth: Is there nothing in the series that DOESN'T fit this aesthetic style?
  • Pet the Dog: Sebastian will kill without mercy and betrays very little emotion, but he adores and has a huge soft spot for cats. In fact, he keeps a closet full of kitties hidden from Ciel (who is allergic), but they (the cats) seem pretty happy. Also it's not a case of Cats Are Mean, but a case of cats-are-too-nice-not-to-love-even-for-a-demon.
    • Ciel lets Snake become one of his staff as a way of making up for killing his nakama, not that Snake knows this -- he thinks he's only staying until they locate the rest of the circus troupe.
  • Pillow Pistol: Ciel almost shoots Sebastian with one of these.
  • Pimped Out Dress: Lots.
  • Playground Song: During an arc in the anime, Drocell the puppet-working-for-a-serial-killer keeps playing and singing London Bridge is Falling Down. His prey is young, beautiful girls that he turns into living dolls; the song is used to control said dolls and determine what materials to construct them from. Despite being male, he's kind enough to make an exception for Ciel.
    • The anime seems to love the song "London Bridge is Falling Down". The tune shows up all over the place.
    • Also, the Noah's Ark Circus arc of the manga has Joker singing Tom, the Piper's Son as he makes his way to his "father's" office. In fact, most of that family references the song.
  • Please Wake Up: Ciel when Sebastian died, and he kept repeating things like, "Sleeping on the floor doesn't look that comfortable to me," and "Get up". Subverted because it ended up being a fake death, which Ciel was aware of the entire time.
    • Alois to Luca in season 2.
  • Plot Tailored to The Party: Subverted in episode 4 of season 2. It turns out that every passenger on the train had a Chekhov's Skill that when combined can avert the disaster at hand...but Sebastian can do everything by himself.
  • Powered By a Forsaken Child: Those wonderful prosthetic limbs that the Noah's Ark Circus kids have? Made from the bones of children murdered by Baron Kelvin and the doctor.
  • Precocious Crush: When Madame Red was around Ciel's age, she fell in love with a slightly older man. That man was Lord Phantomhive... who would marry Madame's older sister and become Ciel's father.
  • Princess Curls: Elizabeth.
  • Protectorate: Ciel's bumbling normal servants. A chef, apparently imported from America, who likes using heavy artillery on food, a Dojikko maid, a napping steward, and a gardener who mixes up "weed killer" and "fertilizer". It takes all of the powers of Hell for Sebastian to prevent them from daily blowing the mansion up. Also, Elizabeth.
    • Only bumbling when it comes to the servant part. As one of the manga chapters demonstrated, they weren't hired for their ability to take care of the house under normal circumstances. But during an attack...
    • Elizabeth is actually quite capable of taking care of herself. She just didn't want Ciel to see that side of her.
  • Psychotic Smirk: Not a Big Bad (though quite the Villain Protagonist), but Sebastian does this a lot. And Lau nearly every time he opens his eyes, though Arthur seems to be the only one to notice this.
    • In season 2 episode 10, Cielois gives off a rather disturbing smirk when climbing up the giant thorny clock tower thing.
    • Ciel gives off a slight psychotic smirk in chapter 49 the manga after he slaps Sebastian as part of the act used to trick everyone into thinking Sebastian was dead.
  • Purely Aesthetic Era: Despite all the painstaking historical research, the creators sometimes just throw accuracy to the wind. Mobile phone? Check. Modern motorized chainsaw? Check. To be fair, the modern motorized chainsaw is a supernatural weapon wielded by a death god who may or may not be constrained to series-current technology.
  • Ravens and Crows: Sebastian is shown as either a raven or a crow in the anime's prelude, and is often shown with the black Corvid feathers around him, even in the manga.
  • Red Eyes Take Warning: Sebastian, with added Hellish Pupils when required.
  • Red Oni Blue Oni: Anyone notice what colour rings Ciel and Alois have?
  • Royal Brat: Ciel and Alois apply, though they are both partially subverted as they actually do know what life is like for those less fortunate than them, due to their Dark And Troubled Pasts.
  • Running Gag: Sebastian and his obsession with cats. And then, Ciel's (both hateful and allergic) reactions to said cats.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: Sebastian.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Grell, of all people, pulls this one off in the newest OVA.
  • Screw the Rules I Have Connections: Ciel is the queen's watchdog, basically allowing him to kill almost anyone.
  • Screw the Rules I Have Supernatural Powers: Sebastian is a demon, and will kill anyone Ciel tells him to, or anyone who tries to hurt either of them, in most cases. Justified, because he's a demon.
  • Security Blanket: There is a specific pillow that Ciel cannot sleep without. Subverted, as it is later revealed to just be for Sebastian to hide the blood on his chest.
  • Serial Killer: Grelle and Madame Red.
  • Servile Snarker: Sebastian.
  • Shallow Love Interest: Elizabeth. Subverted in chapter 57, where it's shown that it's because Ciel exists that Elizabeth suppressed her personality into a cookie-cutter Damsel in Distress.
  • Shinigami: Interestingly, most are of the Psychopomp variety, but evil ones kill for pleasure. There's even a Celestial Bureaucracy of them.
  • Shotacon: Baron Kelvin is revealed to have fallen in love and become a Stalker With a Crush towards Ciel when Ciel was seven. Not to mention how he kidnapped all those children for his amusement...
    • Also, Nina Hopkins. She is the one behind the designs and clothes Ciel always wears and has said that she only has interest in girls... and boys under 15.
    • The most famous example has to be all the interest Ciel gets not just from Sebastian, but various other adult men.
    • It bears mentioning that the manga and anime themselves features a few too many loving pans of Ciel's prepubescent body for the comfort of some viewers,
    • In the second series of the anime, the former Earl Trancy abducted young boys, (including Alois), as sex slaves.
  • Shout Out: Episode 7 has a few nods to the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
    • Father Jeremy Rathbone who shows up in chapter 45. Share the first name of Jeremy Brett who played the detective in the Granada TV series (as well being an almost dead - no pun intended - ringer for said actor), and surname of Basil Rathbone, another Holmes actor from the 1940s. And then he proceeds to pull the deduction technique on Arthur, who mentions the father resembling Professor Bell, whom the real Sir Arthur based Holmes off of.
    • Phelps's killer in Chapter 47 could be a reference to another Sherlock Holmes story, The Speckled Band.
    • In the manga Sebastian sends a secret note via snowy owl.
    • According to one of the early manga chapters, apparently the pets in Hell are Xenomorphs.
    • Grelle Sutcliffe seems to be named after another English serial killer, the Yorkshire Ripper.
    • Sebastian's line to Claude as he's hanging on to the trap door in Cielois's maze "We meet again, Claude" is the polite, as one would expect of a butler, form of "We meet again, Cloud" uttered by Sephiroth in Advent Children. Even better as Claude and Cloud share a VA. Square-Enix self-shout.
    • The dress that Ciel uses at the opening image of chapter 8 is exactly the same that Katrina uses in the last scenes of Sleepy Hollow.
    • Chapter 52 has Dr. Stoker, his subject Maggy whose body was covered in stitches, and after being knifed by Sebastian she bends into a backwards crabwalk. The whole thing takes place on a big ship from the White Star Line.
    • The anime has the famous painting The Isle of the Dead, by Arnold Böcklin.
    • The story after the totally-not-Titanic arc takes place in an exclusive academy that has four houses with a color/animal/personality theme: Red Fox/highborn; Sapphire Owl/academic; Purple Wolf/artistic; Green Lion/athletic.
  • Shown Their Work: There are a lot of accurate references to areas in London as well as references to things like Fortnum and Mason.
  • Show Within a Show: Hamlet, in one of the extras. At least that is what they were originally trying to perform.
  • Sidekick Ex Machina
  • Sissy Villain: Grelle, Grelle, Grelle.
    • Charles Grey and Alois may also qualify.
  • Slasher Smile: Grelle.
  • Slouch of Villainy: Ciel. He slouches when he's about to do something particularly nasty, and unless he is standing up, almost gives orders to Sebastian exclusively in this pose. Also, he does it in almost all the official art (note the image at the top of the page).
  • Sociopathic Hero: Sebastian, being a demon, shows no mercy towards his master's enemies.
  • Spell My Name With an S: Grell(e) Sutcliff(e).
    • Ran Mao vs. Lan Mao.
    • Maylene, May-Rin, Mey-Rin, Mei-Rin...
  • Spoiler Opening: Season 1's opening can be considered a variation of this. It does show what will happen, but in somewhat of a metaphorical way that you usually won't understand until you finish the season.
  • Spot of Tea: Lots. This is Victorian London, after all.
  • Staying Alive: Sebastian, Ciel and even Lau and Ran Mao at the start of season 2.
  • Stealth Pun: In one episode in the first season the rest of the staff are trying (and failing hard) to get a photograph of Sebastian. They plan ways to set up the shot and distract Sebastian on a scale model of the house marking Sebastian's position with the figure of a black sheep, which is Kuro Hitsuji in Japanese.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Ciel and Sebastian.
  • Stupid Sacrifice: Abberline's death was definitely a Tear Jerker, but there was no reason he had to jump in front of Ciel instead of just pushing him out of the way, therefore keeping them both alive.
  • Super Deformed: The first ending has the characters portrayed in this style.
  • Super Strength: Finnian has Super Strength as a side-effect of going through human experiments.
  • Take a Third Option: In the anime, Ciel becomes a demon to avoid having his soul devoured. However, Alois unwittingly made the choice for him.
  • Teen Genius: Ciel. Though his character adds up with the Child Prodigy trope more, he's 13, so technically a teen.
  • Ten Little Murder Victims: The premise of the Murder Mystery arc.
  • Theme Naming plus Named After Somebody Famous: Snake's snakes are named Bronte, Oscar, Wilde, Keats, Wordsworth, and Webster.
  • There Are Two Kinds of People in The World
  • The Thing That Goes Doink: This Japanese mainstay is an item in the Phantomhive garden, despite its being in Victorian England.
  • Those Two Bad Guys: Alois and Claude from the anime's second season.
  • Those Two Guys: Soma and Agni.
  • Three Amigos: Finnian, Bard, and Maylene.
  • Took a Level In Badass: In the anime's second season, thanks to Alois's wish that neither Claude nor Sebastian would be able to eat Ciel's soul, Ciel is now a demon, red eyes, black fingernails and all, with an even more powerful demon (Sebastian) as his servant.
    • Elizabeth during the Titanic arc.
  • Too Kinky to Torture: Sebastian (in episode 20, anyway), Grell, and The Undertaker.
  • Transsexual: Grell is a Newhalf.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Ciel may count as type B, though we are first introduced to him as an already cynical, messed up kid, rather than having him shown slowly developing into a villain.
  • Troll: While the promotions and the first half of the first episode of season 2 of the anime featured a new set of main characters, the second half of the episode featured Sebastian beating up the new butler and reviving Ciel. The next episode preview showed only characters from the first season, with Sebastian claiming that the new butler was an illusion caused by the summer heat, and the second episode even changes the opening. The new characters stick around as villains, though. This is one of the rare cases where a troll nearly universally resulted in a positive reaction.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Ciel.
    • Alois as well. For the whole first episode, he goes from acting completely innocent to downright crazy within a few seconds, and switches back and forth between the two personas. Not to mention how he acts as if he is trying to seduce any male character within five feet of him. Which is, sadly, Truth in Television. Many childhood sexual abuse victims end up acting like this, because their trauma never allowed them to develop healthy ways of interacting with adults.
  • True Companions: Ciel's house staff trio, and also the circus crew.
  • Twelve Episode Anime: Season 2 is half the length of season 1.
  • Unflinching Walk: Sebastian in episode 2 of the first season.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: Lots. This series takes place in Victorian era Britain. What did you expect?
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Burning down London for purification? Okaaay.
  • Verbal Tic: Drocell's "I reasoned" in the anime.
  • Villain Protagonist: In most stories, the amoral demon and his bitter, driven master would be undeniable antagonists, especially given how little they hesitate about killing people who get in their way, seducing people for information, etc., etc.... Given how sympathetically they're portrayed, the beginning of chapter 34 comes as a bit of a shock.
    • Alois and Claude are much worse than Ciel and Sebastian.
  • Villain Decay:
    • In the anime, while he was never exactly a menacing character, Grell the Shinigami went from being one half of Jack the Ripper and the murderer of Ciel's Aunt Red to a non-threatening goofball with safety scissors and a crush on Sebastian.
    • The same could also be said about the residents of the town in episode 7 of season 1. At first, they're chaining people to walls to be mauled by dogs and following all sorts of weird, creepy rituals. Later, Sebastian and Ciel come across them...in swimsuits, doing some kind of organized exercise routine
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 is one way to interpret Ciel and Sebastian's relationship.
  • Waif Fu: Again, Elizabeth.
  • What Do You Mean Its Not Awesome: Curry, candy, getting fitted for outfits, Easter, egg hunts...
  • What Happened to The Mouse: So whatever did happen to the real Alois Trancy?
  • When He Smiles: Ciel.
  • Whip It Good: In Episode 20 of the first season, Angela pleases all the fangirls by whipping Sebastian.
  • White Haired Pretty Boy: Charles Grey, one of the queen's butlers. Although some may argue that it appears to be light grey.
    • Ash as well.
    • Agni is a rare non-evil example.
  • Whole Costume Reference: The dress Ciel wears to the party is the famous dress from My Fair Lady.
  • Wicked Cultured: Ciel and Sebastian.
  • Yandere: In the anime, the Queen, surprisingly. Of the worst sort.
    • Also: Grell. The anime seems to play it as (attempted) Black Comedy Rape, but in the manga, Grell comes off as just plain demented for Madame Red and then Sebastian.
    • Baron Kelvin for Ciel.
    • Undertaker possibly for Ciel. He already had considerable subtext towards Ciel and in chapter 64 he tries to kill Sebastian because he thinks he is making Ciel miserable.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Maylene.
  • You Didn't Ask: Ciel's reply to Sebastian in volume 8 of the Manga, when Sebastian asked Ciel why he never brought up that he had asthma.
  • Young Future Famous People: Arthur the Wordsmith, a supporting character in the murder arc, is really Arthur Conan Doyle at the very beginning of his writing career.
  • Your Soul Is Mine
  • Zettai Ryouiki: The new earl in Kuroshitsuji II, Alois Trancy, has some Grade A Zettai Ryouiki in the first episode. Mind you, he's wearing knickerbockers, not a skirt.
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