Yen Press, the American manga and light novel publisher, is celebrating the 30th reprinting of Black Butler, Volume 1. Obviously, this is a huge milestone for a cult series that has been going strong for over a decade now, despite falling under the radar somewhat in recent years. Additionally, the series is still marginally beating other more prominent titles in volume (tankōbon) sales, such as current shonen juggernaut, My Hero Academia. The mainstream love for Black Butler may have died down over the years, but clearly, it is still a much-loved manga that has gifted its franchise continuous success nearly 15 years after its initial release.
Created by Yana Toboso, Black Butler began publication in 2006 and is still ongoing. The story follows Ciel Phantomhive, a young Earl in Victorian Britian, who after a series of tragedies, signs a contract with Sebastian, a demon, promising his soul in exchange for the power to get his revenge on those who have wronged him. To unravel the mysteries surrounding these tragedies, Sebastian takes on the role of Ciel's butler, and together they face many supernatural oddities to achieve what they both want: Ciel's vengeance and Sebastian to one day consume the young boy's soul.
Since 2008, Black Butler has received a number of anime adaptations. While Season 1 gained a fairly positive response, Season 2 did not follow the source material, making its story completely anime-only. After this move was poorly-received, Season 3, Black Butler: Book of Circus, two OVAs, Black Butler: Book of Murder and the film, Black Butler: Book of Atlantic, faithfully adapted different arcs from the manga over the next several years.
The majority of Black Butler's mainstream hype occurred during the airing of the first three seasons, which fizzled out over time, even after being placed in a temporary spotlight for Book of Murder and Book of Atlantis. Though many of its original anime fans have moved on, the franchise has continued to quietly thrive in the manga community thanks to its loyal readers.
Black Butler's story is dark and unique, heightened by the period era setting and supernatural-mystery genre it sits in. The characters are fun to read and/or watch as they pull off their heinous schemes, but there are still plenty of comedic moments sprinkled throughout. The gothic nature of the series has a particular appeal and is still much-sought-after by its successors, proven by Moriarty the Patriot's recent anime adaptation and its increasing popularity. Over the years, Black Butler's story has only become more complex, raising the stakes for Ciel and Sebastian as their quest for vengeance proves to have many unforeseen consequences.
Currently, Black Butler's collected volumes have sold over 29 million copies and counting. Since the manga is still being published, it is likely that number will remain on a steady rise. My Hero Academia, meanwhile, has sold over 28 million copies, though it is fair to point out that Black Butler has been around for eight years longer -- My Hero Academia only began publishing in 2014. Still, to surpass a highly renowned shonen manga is no easy feat, even if it is by a small margin. Whether the series keeps this lead or not would be... one hell of a victory.
Whatever it is that has kept fans' fascination with Black Butler alive through the years, it's certainly still very much thriving where sales are concerned, and with this milestone reprinting from Yen Press, it's fair to say that it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.