I loved the anime, and I went crazy when I brought the manga! It was really good! The three guy aren't that bad, besides they are there for a reason, well in the anime they were anyway...maybe, probably. lol
I iz jeelous. I really enjoyed the anime and have been waiting for the manga to be released in book form. Black Butler isn't necessarily a misnomer...the obvious reason is Sebastian's black hair and clothes :P; more than likely refers to Sebastian's true identity.
I always found the three idiot servants hilarious and <3 Tanaka (old butler/head of the servants guy). Although I know the anime differs a lot from the manga, I would hope that the purpose of the servants being there is still the same. Believe me, there is PLENTY of slash fic and fanart out there.
It's difficult to describe why I love this series so much. But a translation note: even though they explained why in the back of the book, the "I'm a devil of a butler" thing just didn't sit right with me. That may be a more accurate translation, but when I was watching the anime, someone translated it as "one hell of a butler," which...sounds better and makes more sense, in my opinion.
I don't know what the exact translation of Kuroshitsuji is, but as someone said... Black Butler because he's a dark character and wears black...I guess.
And obviously those who have seen the anime (or read ahead in the manga) know that the three (four) servants are there for good reason. Though of course, without that knowledge, they do indeed appear rather worthless.
For a first volume, it probably is a little weak. The servants appear to be useless comedic fluff, the nature of Ciel and Sebastian's relationship is not actually explained (in regards to WHY they have a contract), and there's no sign of the central plot line to be found. I imagine a lot of the sales are from people who are already fans (like me), though I admit I am rather surprised there are so many fans. There is a lot to love there, though. There's an element of effortless humor that colors the story quite nicely.
@Kris: That's fair, and I'm with you on the "hell of a butler" translation. I had other notes that I could have made-- there were a couple of random moments where they went with a sort of old-fashioned speech. It was Mey Rin (an odd romanization since it reads like fakey Chinese-- Mei Lin?), talking to Elizabeth in the second chapter. She says "I can see nary a thing without my glasses," while Elizabeth is running around squealing "CUUUUTE!" about things. It was a little odd.
Kuroshitsuji does translate directly to "Black Butler," I just continue to have this mental image of someone seeing ONLY the title on the side of the book while it's on a shelf and being confused ;)
@gia I was thinking, and I do have this to say about the servants: There's no way a character like Sebastian, who is all about appearance and perfection, would ever let truly useless people like that work in the manor. That should be enough for someone to pick up that there must be something about them, even if we don't know what it is yet. Just a thought.
I did think the old fashioned speech slipping in there was a little odd, but it came across (to me) as being done on purpose to seem silly or comedic. As if she was trying to sound more elegant on purpose, as a character, while talking to Elizabeth...maybe. Maybe I'm stretching that a bit. :)
But then, this is Victorian England...and there's a character basically carting around a cell phone, and it appears that Ciel enjoys playing video games. So there are several strange things.
@gia: Well I was talking more about my interest in reading it based on what I now know, which isn't much.
I checked to see if I could import it which was no problem, but as of now I'm thinking of holding off for awhile and then getting a few volumes at the same time to try it out :)
Perhaps I'll check it out... I don't know.
The three guy aren't that bad, besides they are there for a reason, well in the anime they were anyway...maybe, probably. lol
@kippy666: We'll see!
I always found the three idiot servants hilarious and <3 Tanaka (old butler/head of the servants guy). Although I know the anime differs a lot from the manga, I would hope that the purpose of the servants being there is still the same. Believe me, there is PLENTY of slash fic and fanart out there.
Bard looks like his specific character trait is being forgettable.
In any case my interest for this is a solid 3/5 atm, maybe I'll check it out. Later.
But a translation note: even though they explained why in the back of the book, the "I'm a devil of a butler" thing just didn't sit right with me. That may be a more accurate translation, but when I was watching the anime, someone translated it as "one hell of a butler," which...sounds better and makes more sense, in my opinion.
I don't know what the exact translation of Kuroshitsuji is, but as someone said... Black Butler because he's a dark character and wears black...I guess.
And obviously those who have seen the anime (or read ahead in the manga) know that the three (four) servants are there for good reason. Though of course, without that knowledge, they do indeed appear rather worthless.
For a first volume, it probably is a little weak. The servants appear to be useless comedic fluff, the nature of Ciel and Sebastian's relationship is not actually explained (in regards to WHY they have a contract), and there's no sign of the central plot line to be found. I imagine a lot of the sales are from people who are already fans (like me), though I admit I am rather surprised there are so many fans. There is a lot to love there, though. There's an element of effortless humor that colors the story quite nicely.
Kuroshitsuji does translate directly to "Black Butler," I just continue to have this mental image of someone seeing ONLY the title on the side of the book while it's on a shelf and being confused ;)
I was thinking, and I do have this to say about the servants:
There's no way a character like Sebastian, who is all about appearance and perfection, would ever let truly useless people like that work in the manor. That should be enough for someone to pick up that there must be something about them, even if we don't know what it is yet. Just a thought.
I did think the old fashioned speech slipping in there was a little odd, but it came across (to me) as being done on purpose to seem silly or comedic. As if she was trying to sound more elegant on purpose, as a character, while talking to Elizabeth...maybe. Maybe I'm stretching that a bit. :)
But then, this is Victorian England...and there's a character basically carting around a cell phone, and it appears that Ciel enjoys playing video games. So there are several strange things.
I checked to see if I could import it which was no problem, but as of now I'm thinking of holding off for awhile and then getting a few volumes at the same time to try it out :)
Kuroshitsuji !!!!!
I LOVE IT!!!!
The maid, chef, and gardner actually have a inportant role in the next few books
just leting you knw
I was about to say that the butler from Saki needed a spin off... but then again, that butler very well could have been the black butler.
Now, I'm just imaging that stuck up blonde getting the butler from a pact with satan.