Black Butler

TITLE: Black Butler I
AUTHOR: Yana Toboso
RELEASE DATE: January 2010
PUBLISHER: Yen Press
PAGES: 184 pages
GENRE: Graphic Novel
OVERALL RATING: 2/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 9-12 (language)

SUMMARY: Sebastian Michaelis is the faithful servant to twelve-year-old, Ciel Phantomhive, earl to the Phantomhive empire. On his own, after his family was taken from him by a fire, Sebastian does everything for the boy, from bringing him tea, trimming the edges, to killing all his captors when the boy is kidnapped. How does he do it all? It is truly more than any human can handle, but it makes you wonder if Sebastian is truly human at all. 

FAVORITE QUOTE: "...I am a devil... of a butler." 
   

WHAT I LIKED: My favorite part was when Sebastian has gone to save Ciel and all the servants are sitting around useless because they don't know what to do without Sebastian. When Finn goes to the drawer to retrieve the silverware for dinner and notices everything is gone, except the spoons. Then the next panel shows Sebastian throwing knives and forks like daggers, killing all of the people shooting at him. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The story was a little cheesy. The spoiled brat, Ciel, and the clueless servants, Baldroy, Mey-Rin, and Finnian, that ruin everything. Sebastian, the butler that does EVERYTHING in the house, then the servants completely screw it up. I'm sure it is at the same standards of other manga-style stories, but it all seemed superficial to me. It seemed to be lacking a storyline, I understand it is only book one in a series with over twenty books. So I'm sure the story plays out over time, but I really don't see myself picking up book two. 

READALIKES: Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: The Black Butler series is one of the most popular series in the Graphic Novel section of my library. When I came in, we had the first five, during my time here I have ordered another ten. They are always checked out. However, due to the extreme violence and offensive language, I question if they are appropriate for my 7-8 grade school. However, I haven't had anyone challenge them yet. 

SERIES UPDATE: Book XXII is to be released on May 24, 2016. 

BOOK TRAILER: This isn't a book trailer as much as a preview for the manga, posted on YouTube by a fan