Black Butler

*INCLUDES SPOILERS. All media credits go to their owners.*

Well now, as promised, I will talk a bit about what I've been watching. I'm pretty sure most people out there know about Black Butler or Kuroshitsuji and have either watched it or refrained from watching it. That last part is just a wild guess of mine.
It's the story of a young boy, Ciel, the heir to house Phanthomhive whose family was murdered a while ago. He then forms a contract with the demon Sebastian who vows to fulfill the revenge Ciel Phantomhive wishes to take on the unknown culprits. Here they are now on a fan-art picture.

The general style is pretty goth-loli and to be fair, the bishounen style of it all instantly makes you think of harem-slash-yaoi topics. Which is the first point I really want to discuss. The ANN information rates the objectionable content as 'significant' and I really did not notice that beforehand. Sure, in the first couple of episodes there were some brutal images, but I didn't really think it would be quite as "significant".
First of all, the corset scene. You can view the original here:

Now... when I first saw it, my eyes were about to pop out. Out of the blue, suddenly a pure yaoi scene appears! But that was far from the only one, there were loads and loads of references to the fan-favourable option of Sebastian serving his master in many ways.

  
Anyway, since that (and by that I mean yaoi) seemed to be where the general direction was headed, I was almost hit with a brick when it happened that Sebastian decided to seduce a teenage nun in order to gain further information on a cult inhabiting an old church. Seriously, I thought I was imagining things until this scene appeared:

  
 Well that came as a surprise! I bet loads of female watchers out there either got a nosebleed or wished to heavens they were a part of that cult.
In any case, the mature topics aside, I was pretty surprised at the brutality of some of the scenes too. For example when it turned out that the angel working for the Queen of England had sewn Ciel's parents together so that they may be together for all eternity.

  
But fine, those two were dead anyway. She did the same with the Queen, on her own request, and sewed a part of Queen Victoria's late husband onto her chest. Which eventually went rotting...

Now I'm sorry, but I actually thought this was some kind of a classy anime, but the amount of goth-style gore is amazing! How do I feel about it... uhh... not sure, really. At least it left a strong impression, right?


But one thing about the show, which I have to say I really enjoyed, was the ending. Usually when a hero makes a pact with the devil or a demon, he finds a way to overcome it. But in this case, Ciel was elegantly taken to his death, every step of the way preparing him for the inevitable. And nothing stopped the situation. He accepted his fate and even though a part of him had hoped for a new life, he solemnly agreed to his contract and gave up his life. It was a breathtakingly beautiful scene, a perfect ending.

Ignore the credits.
Of course, then it turns out there is a second season -.- My sister keeps pestering me to watch it. But no! I don't want to. Iiya da! For once, the hero actually died in the end and I want to keep it that way. At least in my head. I watched the OVA since I knew it was only linked to the first season and it was funny. But to have a new story start after such a marvelous ending?? No thank you.
The only other viable option is to start reading the manga since my sister tells me the storyline is entirely different after like episode 12-13 from the anime. It may not be such a bad idea. But I would still have to read the entire beginning too - how can I just jump in from out of nowhere! There might be differences! Omg!

All in all, a decent anime. I rated it very good on ANN and even though some parts I enjoyed a lot, I can't still place it in contrast with other animes. I supposed it had a decent story at first but then at some point it felt like the depth of it was exaggerated and fake. Is it because of the manga differences? Perhaps. Maybe it's just me.
If you figure out what exactly was wrong with it, let me know.