Providing another opportunity for them to bring together a group of English voice actors who can deliver some great 19th century British accents, Funimation Entertainment have recently released Black Butler: Book of Circus on DVD and Blu-ray in North America. As part of their June 2016 line-up, Australian anime publisher Madman Entertainment have also brought this series Down Under.
Technically serving as a third season of the Black Butler TV anime series, this adapts chapters 24 to 37 of Yana Toboso’s original manga, known as the “Circus” arc. While adapting 14 chapters into 10 episodes might sound like it leaves a lot of room for useless filler content, the end result was something dark yet very satisfying in terms of narrative. Having had to wait many years for a new season of Black Butler to arrive on store shelves… Book of Circus has made the wait worthwhile.
Storyline / Character Development
For those unfamiliar with the chronology of the manga and anime, you might find it weird that they are continuing on from the events following Black Butler II. This is because they aren’t. The anime and manga deviated following Episode 15 in Season 1 (The conclusion of the Indian Butler arc), with Book of Circus taking place in a timeline where the events involving an alternate Queen Victoria, Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus don’t occur.
Upon the orders of Queen Victoria, Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis are tasked with investigating the travelling Noah’s Ark Circus, whose appearance in various locations prior have correlated with the mysterious disappearance of children. While an initial observation of the circus may provide them with little to work off, Sebastian’s love of felines and innate skills manages to get the duo, much to Ciel’s chagrin, recruited into the circus’ ranks. Now known as Smile and Black, the two begin their investigation.
While the creative team behind Black Butler: Book of Circus‘ original release and English localisation haven’t completely lost their penchant for things like the one-liner “I’m just one hell of a butler” or flashy fight scenes involving Sebastian – they have ultimately provided a tale which is more focused on the plot at hand, rather than being sidetracked by lesser relevant content. In doing so, they have provided what in my opinion is the best written arc yet. Benefiting from the ten (or rather nine once you exclude the one-episode introduction) episodes assigned to it, events pass by at a satisfying pace, and the writers have clearly had time to explore the characters and construct the events which take place.
There may be plenty to entertain audiences during its 250 minute runtime, however the narrative itself, especially in the final few episodes, is incredibly dark and even disturbing at points. With less manservice opportunities to draw your attention away from the hard realities facing the cast, it is interesting to watch how Ciel and company face the events and moral dilemmas which lie before them. As in this chronology, Ciel hasn’t even come close to discovering the mysterious surrounding those responsible for his abuse, also expect to see some titbits regarding this overarching storyline appear as well.
Black Butler: Book of Circus features a sizable returning cast, alongside a range of new and interesting characters. Most of the attention is still put towards Ciel and Sebastian, who instigate the investigation into the Noah’s Ark Circus. Many characters from previous arcs also make small appearances, from the Phantomhive Estate servants to Soma Asman Kadar and his butler Agni. Outside of the reaper William T. Spears who appears across many episodes, none of these returning characters receive much in the way of development, despite most having some small role in the story.
Mostly comprising of leading members of the Noah’s Ark Circus, Book of Circus also introduces a range of new characters. The most prominent is Joker, who could be considered the head Pierrot of the circus. Despite potentially being responsible for a large number of kidnappings, he is liked by most due to his approachable, friendly personality. The other circus members weave in-and-out of the story, however surprisingly don’t receive that much development. This is most noticeable with trapeze artists Peter & Wendy, and fire-eater Jumbo – all of whom felt like they only occasionally appeared in the story to remind us they actually exist. That being said, the backstory of the entire circus and its founding members, presented as the series progressed, was well-constructed.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
While the storyline of Black Butler: Book of Circus may have improved compared to prior anime seasons, the design and music quality did drop slightly. That being said, the drop in quality was not significant enough to have much of an impact on the overall experience. The most noticeable difference is that the animation is more subdued, with the characters less animated in combat and general dialogue scenes than before. While there are an assortment of nice looking characters, their designs also come off a little rougher. Fortunately the environment designs didn’t take that much of a hit. All this in mind, I did like how they handled the circus setting, from the costumes to a few occasions where the animators got to shine when a performance took place.
One of the things I have always loved about the Black Butler anime adaptations is the English voice acting, with Funimation Entertainment taking full advantage of the 19th Century Britain setting to let their voice actors provide voices quite different from what they would usually offer. Brina Palencia once again provides an exquisite regal boyish voice for Ciel Phantomhive, while J Michael Tatum also drew me in with the charming voice of Sebastian. Highlights from the returning cast include Daniel Frederick as the over-the-top Grell and John Swasey as the mysterious Undertaker. The new cast do not disappoint either, with highlights including Matthew Mercer as Joker, Mikaela Krantz as Doll and Spike Spencer as Snake. Kudos must also go to Mike McFarland, who managed to effectively portray one of the most disturbed antagonists yet.
Extra Content
While lacking some of the basic on-disc extras such as Clean OP/ED sequences, Black Butler: Book of Circus does come with a few extra goodies to watch. The major additions in this collection is an audio commentary of Episode 4 and a video commentary for Episode 10. As usual, these are worth a listen to in my opinion, and provide not only cast member perspectives on the show, but some interesting insight into Black Butler’s ADR process. There is also a US Trailer for those who may not have seen it already.
Final Words on Black Butler: Book of Circus
Although the production quality may have slightly dropped for this 10-episode series, Black Butler: Book of Circus does ultimately offer once of the best experiences in the franchise to date. It is a dark and sometimes harrowing tale, which may turn some viewers off, but in return offers a well panned out story arc which took full advantage of its 250 minute runtime. While the next couple of arcs have been adapted into OVA films, here’s hoping a future fourth season will take a similar approach to Book of Circus.
