Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler, is a beloved name within the anime industry. Set in Victoria-era London, 12-year-old protagonist Ciel Phantomhive – a boy who has experienced little happiness and a boatload of hardships – makes a contract with demon butler Sebastian Michaelis.
Ciel seeks revenge. Sebastian seeks his soul. As they each uphold their end of the contract, this unlikely pair spend their days solving mysteries for the Queen and finding clues to resolve Ciel's dark past. With a wide cast of characters with outrageous personalities, a demon who is all too pure, and a too mature adolescent, only true Black Butler fans will understand the following memes.
10 An Ode To Childhood
This meme strikes right at the heart of not only the show but its many viewers. Ciel Phantomhive loses his parents in a house fire and later has to witness a true nightmare of his father and mother stitched together as if they were a doll.
It's even worse because Ciel, in his apathetic nature, would laugh at such a circumstance. A cynical laugh at that, but when it comes to his own situation, no such behavior is acceptable. A child that would laugh without a care in the world was destroyed by the fire that claimed his parents and robbed Ciel of his youth.
9 Sebastian's Reality
It's all about perspective when it comes to this butler. For all intents and purposes, the first block is a representation of how first-time viewers interpret Black Butler, but little do they know that it only scratches the surface of the dynamic between Sebastian and his charge, Ciel.
True fans know that Ciel and Sebastian never cross the line into yaoi territory, but the anime community is saturated with this pairing and other favorites throughout the show. Never underestimate the powers of a true fan!
8 Demon Priorities
Sebastian is everything fans want in a butler, and the show lived up to those expectations. This meme is the definition of Sebastion and his main duties. And, what would Sebastian be if he didn't dress all in black?
Sebastian's contract binds him to Ciel in such a way that his existence is solely to keep Ciel alive and protected until he exacts his revenge on those who wronged him and his family. It's not too often that a demon stumbles upon a soul as delicious as Ciel's.
7 A Butler's Pride
At face value, Sebastian's famous catchphrase, "I'm one hell of a butler," is amusing and outrageous all at once. However, it is worth digging a little deeper to investigate the pun this phrase originates from. It's all about the homonym, or two words spelled and pronounced similarly but with different meanings.
The Japanese phrases in question are "akumade" and "akuma de," both similar yet different. "Akumade" is similar to "simply" so the phrase reads, "I'm simply a butler," while "akuma de" points to the word "demon" and reads, "I'm a demon and a butler." So, in English and viewer terms, Sebastion is certainly one hell of a butler.
6 Mafia? Pfft, I'm A Demon
When's the last time a demon experienced worry? In Sebastian's case, as long as it's not another supernatural being, then there's nothing to fret over. Well, that's not entirely true, as he does need to retrieve Ciel in time for dinner. A butler would never dream of slacking off, even more so if it's a demon bound by a contract.
True fans know that Ciel has no sympathy for a demon who is late to rescue him. However, Sebastian will gladly grin and bear it if the end game is Ciel's soul. Some prices are worth paying when you are a demon.
5 Licensed To Carry
Move aside guns, there is a new weapon in town. That's right, freshly polished silverware never proved so deadly as when Sebastian uses it against his opponents. A bullet amounts to nothing in the face of Sebastian, and silverware becomes as deadly as a bullet in his hands.
Not only that, but using silverware as a weapon fits Sebastian's aesthetic perfectly. He's a proper butler and has no need to stoop to such base tactics as using modern weaponry when he has the fine instruments of a household at his disposal. True fans know the real value of this tool when in the hands of a demon.
4 Reap What You Sow
Sebastian's relationship with Grell becomes a game in itself within the anime. Sebastian simply wishes Grell to disappear from his life so that he can carry on with his duties, but Grell is determined to rid the world of another demon.
Love is war becomes the phrase to think of when it comes to this pair. A grim reaper and a demon have their own prescribed roles, but Grell's desire to vanquish Sebastian transforms into admiration as the former observes the latter in his full butler glory.
3 An Undertaker's Obsession
The Undertaker is a grim reaper who retired and found his place as a mortician. This moody ex-reaper has a bit of a fetish with the dead, but one that is easy to overlook in lieu of information that may prove vital to Ciel's investigations.
And no, Undertaker is not suggesting that he will end Ciel's life and place him in a coffin, but that when the time comes (and it will), that he is well prepared to take care of Ciel's body. Of course, it's a bit creepy, but that's just one of the many charms of the Undertaker.
2 We Have A Contract
Sebastian could care less about actual material items in the world, and that includes wine. And Ciel is only 12, but after various hardships, he's reminiscent of a man in his older years. And Ciel is locked in a basement, although that is not what it seems.
When Alois Trancy and his contracted butler, Claude, appear in the picture, Ciel ends up stuffed in a suitcase and locked in a basement. To put it simply, it is complicated. But, when it comes to demons, when is it ever easy?
1 You're No Angel, You Devil
Black Butler is not a yaoi anime but this meme may suggest otherwise. Sebastian is on the hunt for his meal – Ciel's soul. As shown by this meme, the true culprit for all of Ciel's pain and suffering has the gull to accuse Ciel and Sebastian of impurity. An angel proves more of a devil than an actual demon.
It's a role reversal between angels and demons which sheds light on the few – extremely few – admirable traits that dwell within a demon. On the other hand, it highlights the improbability of an angel committing atrocities throughout the world. A mind-bender in every sense of the word.