Anime fans have always had morally grey characters they’ve love for their complexity, which is fantastic. Well-written and complex characters deserve love too, not for their acts, but for how well their actions are explained by their mangaka.
On that note, The Undertaker is one such character from the immensely popular thriller-horror series Black Butler. Voted as the third most popular character from the series, fans often turn a blind eye (or are simply unaware) of all the horrible things he’s committed. Maybe it has something to do with how he's written, or it's because of his sweet white hair. This list will explore exactly that, but be warned: there are both anime and manga spoilers ahead!
10 He Turned His Back On His Own Kind
Initially, the Undertaker was shown as nothing more than a kooky character who mysteriously had contacts everywhere he went. This is why it came as a shock to many fans when it was revealed in the Black Butler movie Book of Atlantic that the reason he’s so resourceful is partly because he’s a Grim Reaper. Or more specifically, an ex-Grim Reaper.
He was forced to leave his duties as a Reaper once it was discovered he had been bending the laws of nature for his own personal gains. Grell even went so far as to call him a traitor, which explains his current excommunicated status.
9 He’s Responsible For The Bizarre Dolls
As mentioned above, viewers and fans both got to see more of Undertaker (as well as his motivations) in the Book of Atlantic. Fans received a horrible jolt when Undertaker himself admitted that he was the one who was behind the zombies let loose aboard the Luxury Liner that Ciel and his gang were on.
Not only did he reanimate corpses, but those zombies attacked humans and bit off chunks of their flesh in order to satiate their hunger. And all of it was nothing but one of the many experiments of his, taking place partly out of nothing but mere curiosity.
8 He Constantly Puts Ciel In Danger
Despite claiming to care a lot for the Phantomhives, all of his actions prove otherwise. The Undertaker is always shown to be one (and sometimes two) steps ahead of Ciel and Sebastian’s plans. Yet, whenever Ciel involves Sebastian in one of his convulated and dangerous plans, the Undertaker is nowhere in sight, despite knowing what the duo is up to.
This theory is proved in the Book of Atlantic, where he tells Sebastian he knew he’d (Sebastian) put Ciel’s life above his own, which is why he (Undertaker) does whatever he pleases.
7 He Keeps His Relationship With Ciel’s Family A Secret
Undertaker clearly has a connection with the Phantomhives – this has been established time and again in flashbacks as well as the current anime/manga storyline. However, despite knowing that Ciel is an orphan who has turned his life upside down in order to find more about his family, the Reaper chooses silence.
Fans have long theorized that the Undertaker was probably in love with Ciel’s grandmother Claudia, because of the chain of lockets he carries (which has her name and inscription on them).
6 He Messed With People’s Cinematic Records
In one of the anime's flashback scenes, it is shown that when the Undertaker was a Reaper, he would often remove chunks of people’s cinematic records and replace them with random clips of comedic videos/memories.
While fans thought nothing of it, it was later revealed he did this in order to perfect removing people’s memories and turning them into completely new people. What seemed like a goofy and harmless experiment turned out to be a rather disturbing exercise in brainwashing and manipulation.
5 He Allowed Agni’s Death To Occur
This happened in the manga, and manga fans will recall the complete betrayal and loss of a beloved character they went through. Specifically, we're talking about the time when Agni was found murdered because he was trying to protect his master Soma.
Ciel and Sebastian return to their mansion to find his dead body, and several chapters later it is heavily implied that the Undertaker was involved in Agni’s death, in his pursuit to not lose “another” Phantomhive. How exactly is left up in the air, but it's not hard to conclude that Undertaker is an accomplice in a beloved character's untimely demise.
4 He’s Okay With Murdering School Children
In the Public School Arc, Undertaker appears as a clear antagonist. Ciel enrolls in a school in order to look into suspicious incidents occurring there, including the disappearance of school boys.
At the end of the arc, it is shown that the Reaper was the principal of the school (it’s not explained how he pulled that one off, though) and it was under his directives that young boys were being abducted (and killed) in order to be experimented upon. When he’s found out, he doesn’t hesitate to unleash incomplete Bizzare Dolls on Ciel and by default, the demon butler Sebastian.
3 He Experiments On Ciel’s twin
Seems like Yana Toboso (the mangaka of Black Butler) is in love with shocking her fans. This was no more evident in the buildup of the Public School arc and the Book of Atlantic arc, which had fans shaken to their core when the harrowing truths were finally unearthed.
The moment it was revealed Ciel had a long lost twin, all hell broke loose. However, the worst was yet to come – it was soon revealed that it was the Undertaker who took it upon himself to reanimate the twin’s dead corpse, most likely because he had already lost too many Phantomhives to death.
2 He Chose To Hide Ciel's Twin From Him
What kind of a cruel man (who claims to love and protect your family) hides news of your dead twin? The Undertaker, of course.
When he did decide to reveal the twin’s presence to Ciel, it was in the worst possible manner – in public, which was a deliberate attempt to malign Ciel’s public image and force him to be on the run with his loyal servants by his side. The Undertaker isn't a nice guy, to say the least.
1 He Has No Regard For Human Lives
As has been made clear from the very beginning, humans are nothing but entertainment for the Undertaker. He takes (and apparently, gives) lives as he pleases, and no one is above his whimsical behavior - including Ciel Phantomhive himself.
Many of the series' darker moments can be attributed to Undertaker, and what makes it all disturbing is how much fun he's having. From creating flesh-eating zombies to experimenting on human beings, Undertaker did these and more for nothing but a laugh or two. If that doesn't count as evil, then we don't know what does.