Black Butler, Volume 1 (2007) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters edit see section history

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• Sebastian Michaelis: Sebastian Michaelis is the butler of the Phantomhive household and acts as Ciel's bodyguard. Sebastian often describes himself through the phrase "I am one hell of a butler" The phrase plays on the word "demon" and the phrase "to the end". It can also translate to "I am a demon and a butler". Being a butler and a bodyguard are two jobs he is completely devoted to. He follows Ciel's orders faithfully, however, he is not overly concerned about Ciel's well-being as he insults and even harms Ciel to see his reaction. Sebastian is also shown to be a bit obsessed with cats. He is highly skilled in any area, and handles every task, no matter how impossible it is, as well as any problem that arises from the errors of the other staff with ease, stating it is only natural as the butler to the Phantomhive family.
• Ciel Phantomhive: Earl Ciel Phantomhive is the business-savvy, twelve-year-old head of the English Phantomhive noble family, taking over after the deaths of his parents, Lord Vincent and Lady Rachel Phantomhive. He runs Funtom Company, which manufactures toys and sweets. His right eye, which is usually covered with a black eyepatch. He appears to not enjoy physical contact (possibly aphephobic), though he tolerates Sebastian and does not complain when the demon picks him up or holds him. If stressed, he will slap someone touching him away, proclaiming "Don't touch me so easily!" He is portrayed as emotionless, though he occasionally expresses concern for the well-being of the few close to him. He sometimes portrays himself as a happy person, mostly when undercover, but soon turns to his true self. He worries for Sebastian's well-being; but ultimately looks at Sebastian as a pawn. There have been times when he wishes for Sebastian to fail a task or request, for humor's sake. He is close to his cousin and fiancée Elizabeth, seeing her as an important friend and someone he needs to protect. Before the loss of his parents, Ciel seemed to be a happy child. Ciel seems to be highly reliant on Sebastian and does not appear to interact with other staff members as often, though they are all devoted to him.
• Bardroy: Bardroy, usually referred to as Bard, is the household cook of American descent. He rarely produces anything edible as he uses weaponry such as flamethrowers to cook and believes cooking is an art requiring explosions. Sebastian believes anything he creates is made up of charcoal and carcinogens. Bardroy pursues cooking to learn how to slow down, as he states cooking takes patience to master. While terrible at cooking, he is shown to be capable of taking advantage of his surroundings, such as using fine quality flour to create a dust explosion. Like Finnian and Maylene he provides much of the comic relief.
• Finnian: Finnian, often called Finny, is a gardener. However, it seems every time he tends to the garden it is destroyed through an accident caused by his clumsiness. He is portrayed as an innocent, child-like character who loves his work, but is dubbed an idiot by Sebastian. Finnian displays feats of superhuman strength, which he tries to suppress from fear of hurting others and risk of sabotaging his work. Like Baldroy and Maylene, he provides much of the comic relief.
• Maylene: Maylene is a clumsy maid whose cracked glasses do nothing to improve her clumsiness. However, she refuses to purchase a new pair as they are the first thing Ciel bought for her. Sebastian believes her main problem is her intelligence and not her poor eyesight. She has a crush on Sebastian as she blushes when ever she is in his presence and is even clumsier when Sebastian is watching. She is rather superstitious but admits to having a soft spot for scary stories. Like Bardroy and Finnian she provices much of the comic relief.
• Tanaka: Tanaka is the house steward who has served under the former Master Phantomhive. Rarely does any work or even talking. Sebastian seems to respect him the most out of all the staff. He is usually seen drinking from a Japanese tea cup. Prior to Sebastian's appointment as Ciel's butler, Tanaka served as the head butler of the Phantomhive household, for both Ciel's father and Ciel.
• Elizabeth Middleford: Elizabeth Middleford is the daughter of Marchioness Frances Middleford and is both Ciel's cousin and fiancée. She is a very happy and upbeat girl. She has known Ciel for a long time and cares deeply for him, trying her best to see him smile again. Elizabeth would always tell Ciel to call her "Lizzy". She also loves cute things. Ciel sees her as an important friend and a girl that he needs to protect because he says that he does not want to lose anything important again.
• Madame Red: Madame Red, born Angelina Durless, is Ciel's aunt. As her title suggests, she is known for her red appearance and clothing. Initially she hated her red hair, which she inherited from her father, until Ciel's father stated he liked it. She obtained a medical license against the wishes of her parents and practices at the Royal London Hospital.
• Lau: Lau is a Chinese noble, President of the British Branch of a Chinese trading company, and friend to the Phantomhive family. He is always smiling and his eyes are always closed except for brief moments. Lau often agrees to things before learning what is happening and jumps into conversations with helpful information only to later state he has no idea. He is also unaware his antics appear strange to others. He is often seen with his personal assassin Ran-Mao, a Chinese, doll-like girl referred to as his sister, although not by blood. Although she very rarely speaks and is portrayed as emotionless, she is very loyal to him.
• Prince Soma: Prince Soma Asman Kadar is a seventeen-year-old Indian prince. Unlike Ciel, he is spoiled and uses his parent's fortune for his personal needs and blames all of his problems on others. He bestowed his affections on Meena , a beautiful maidservant who had served at his palace in India since his birth. He saw her as an older sister. During the course of his time in England, Soma begins to see things in a different perspective, realizing that he is blaming problems he caused on others. After learning Meena hated him for his ignorance, Prince Soma decided to stay with Ciel and learn how to act as a gentleman and even proclaims to be Ciel's best friend.
• Agni: Agni is the servant of Prince Soma, whom he sees and worships as a god. The source of his martial prowess comes from his devotion to Prince Soma. Unlike Sebastian, however, he is able to see the good in the Phantomhive manor staff and assign them tasks where their skills will be of use. He is known as the "Right Hand of God" for his god-like skill at making curry. He is staying in the Phantomhive manor to learn to become a better servant from Sebastian's example, and even calls Sebastian his friend, something that surprises Sebastian as no one has ever referred to him as such before. Sebastian also takes Agni's advice on taking care of Ciel, much to the younger boy's annoyance.
• Undertaker: Undertaker is, as his name suggests, a funeral director. He often works with corpses resulting from movements in the underworld of the United Kingdom and acts as Ciel's informant. He seems to have known Ciel's father, Vincent, as he appears as one of the "Evil Nobles". He is a rather eccentric man, almost always wearing a smile, and wishes to hear a funny joke for his services instead of receiving any of the "Queen's money". He shows a strong disdain for the Queen.

Quotes edit see section history

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• “No. I won’t abandon hate. If I do, nothing would be left of me.”

  Ciel Phantomhive

• “If it's your wish, I will follow you everywhereeven if your throne crumbles, and your shiny crown truns to rusteven if the bodies pile up endlessly, above the bottomless pile corpsesBeside you as you lie softly down, I will beuntil i hear the words "check Mate" !"”

  Sebastian Michaelis

• “Only two kinds of people exist in this world. Those who steal and those who are stolen from. Today I just stole your future, that's all.”

  Ciel

• “There are some things you can never get back,no matter how much effort you put in.And there are some feelings of despair,that you can never ever shake off.”

  Ciel

• “Unsheathe the pride of my sword, wisdom and point it at your beastly body. Let me be the one to push you towards hell.”

  Ash

• “Become one without filth, one without heart, and one without life.”

  Ash

• “At this moment, my body and soul, to the last hair, belong to my master.”

  Sebastian

• “I am simply...a hell of a butler.”

  Sebastian

• “Yes, My Lord.”

  Sebastian

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London, England: Ciel Phantomhive's manor is on the outskirts of London, England and most of the story takes place in the city.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Black Butler (Volume 2).

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Yana Toboso (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 741

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Can be slightly gory at times

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Comics & Graphic Novels › Manga › Science Fiction
• Books › Comics & Graphic Novels › Manga › Shonen (Boys)

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Kuroshitsuji (IMDb): anime based on this