Black Butler

Black Butler (黒執事) is a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. Since its debut on September 16, 2006, it has been serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy. The series follows Sebastian Michaelis, a demonic butler who is bound by a supernatural contract to serve Ciel Phantomhive, the twelve-year-old head of the Phantomhive noble family because Sebastian will get Ciel's soul when Ciel dies. It was announced in July 2008 that an anime adaption, directed by Shinohara Toshiya and produced by A-1 Pictures, was expected. It premiered in October 2008, and has since ended with 24 episodes. However, at the Sono Shitsuji, Shūshō: Saigo no Bansan o Anata to Tomo ni (その執事、終章　～最後の晩餐を貴方と共に～) event on June 14, 2009, it was announced that the anime will be returning for a second series. Voice actor Junichi Suwabe confirmed this news on his official blog later that day. The series has been licensed by Yen Press in North America and published in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary.

Plot
In a manor house on the outskirts of Victorian era London, butler Sebastian Michaelis serves Ciel Phantomhive, the twelve-year-old head of an English noble family and a toy and candy empire, who serves directly under the Queen. Sebastian carries out any task required by his master while solving the problems plaguing England with ease and perfection, because of his demonic lineage and Faustian contract with his master.

Manga
Written and drawn by Yana Toboso, the chapters of Black Butler have been serialized in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy since its debut in the October 2006 issue. The chapters are also published in collected volumes by Square Enix. The first volume was released on February 27, 2007 and as of November 27, 2009, eight volumes have been released so far. Yen Press licensed the series for an English language release and will serialize the manga in Yen Plus' August 2009 issue for the magazine's first anniversary. The publisher released the first volume in January 2010. French publisher Kana licensed the series in under the Dark Kana imprint as Black Butler. The publisher released the first volume in November 2009. Carlsen Comics has licensed the series in Germany as Black Butler, the same title used for the French and English releases. The second volume was released in May 2010.

Drama CD
On August 10, 2007 a drama CD was released by Frontier Works. It featured many of the characters appearing in volumes one and two. A second drama CD was released on November 26, 2008 under the Aniplex label.

Anime
In July 2008, it was announced that an anime adaption, directed by Shinohara Toshiya and produced by A-1 Pictures, was expected. It premiered in October 2008 and broadcasted on the Tokyo Broadcasting System as well as the Mainichi Broadcasting System. On January 1, 2009, a limited edition DVD containing the first episode was released by Aniplex. The next three episodes were released on another DVD on February 25, 2009.

At the Sono Shitsuji, Shūshō ~Saigo no Bansan o Anata to Tomo ni~ (その執事、終章　～最後の晩餐を貴方と共に～) event, on June 14, 2009, it was announced that the anime will be returning for a second series. Seiyū Junichi Suwabe confirmed this news on his official blog later that day. The second series, Kuroshitsuji II, premiered in July and follows a butler, Claude Faustus, and his master, Alois Trancy, as well as Sebastian and Ciel. Both new characters were designed by Toboso.

On March 29, 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced on their online FuniCon 3.0 panel that they have licensed Black Butler. At Anime Expo 2010, Funimation also announed that they will stream the simulcast series, Black Butler 2.

Musical
That Butler, Friendship (その執事、友好), a musical adaptation of the manga, had run at the Sunshine Theater in Ikebukuro between May 28, 2009 and June 7, 2009. Yuya Matsushita portrayed Sebastian Michaels, Shougo Sakamoto played Ciel Phantomhive and Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliffe.

Musical Black Butler, The Most Beautiful Death in The World, A Thousand Soul and The Fallen Grim Reapers (ミュージカル『黒執事』〜ザ・モースト・ビューティフル・デス・イン・ザ・ワールド〜千の魂と堕ちた死神), the second musical adaptation of the manga, will run at Akasaka Act Theater (1300 seats) in Akasaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, between May 3, 2010 and May 23, 2010. Yuya Matsushita will reprise his role as Sebastian Michaels, Yukito Nishii will play Ciel Phantomhive, and Uehara Takuya will reprise his role as Grell Sutcliffe. Written by Mari Okada, Directed by Sakurako Fukuyama, Music by Taku Iwasaki, Lyric by Yukinojho Mori.

Video game
A video game for Nintendo DS, called Black Butler: Phantom & Ghost was developed by Square Enix and was released on March 19, 2009. The game is sold in two versions, a limited first-press edition with a higher price and numerous extra goods, and a regular edition.

Book
On February 27, 2008, the Black Butler Character Guide "That Butler, Assembles" (黒執事 キャラクターガイド 「その執事、集合」) was released. The TV Animation Black Butler Black Record (TVアニメーション「黒執事」 Black Record) is scheduled for release on March 27, 2009. An official comics anthology Rainbow Butler (虹執事) will also be released on that date.

Reception
During the week of December 18 to 24, 2007, the third volume ranked third in comic sales in Japan. The fourth volume also placed, ranked ninth during the week of June 3 to 9, 2008. The fifth volume placed second during the week of September 16 to 22, and fell to third place the following week of September 23 to 29. The volume remained on the chart for a third week, placing tenth during the September 30 to October 6 week. The sixth volume followed suit and placed first from January 27 to February 2, 2009, selling 359,703 copies. During its second week on the chart, the volume sold an additional 100,466 copies, ranking seventh for the week of February 3 to 9. The third week, the volume continued to fall, placing ninth and selling 45,653 copies during the week of February 10 to 16. During the week of June 22 to 28, the seventh volume ranked third selling 167,692 copies and remained third during the following week of June 29 to July 5, selling an additional 256,164 copies. The volume fell to eighth selling another 66,954 copies during the week of July 6 to July 12 and fell to twenty-first during the week of July 13 to July 19, selling an additional 29,951 copies. In addition to the volumes, the comics anthology Rainbow Butler ranked seventeenth during the week of March 31 to April 6 selling 41,083 copies after ranking thirty-third the previous week. The fourth and fifth volumes ranked thirty-third and thirty-ninth of the top-selling manga in Japan during 2008, selling 529,210 copies and 468,550 copies respectively. The sixth volume ranked thirteenth of the top-selling manga in Japan during the first half of 2009, selling 619,501 copies. The series itself was ranked tenth of the top-selling manga series in Japan during 2009, selling a total of 1,603,197 estimated copies.

The Japanese music distributor Recochoku has created an annual survey of which anime characters that people would like to marry. Sebastian Michaelis ranked ninth in the category "The Character I Want to Be My Groom".