Black Butler

Set in Victorian England, Yana Toboso’s Black Butler (2006), a Japanese manga, follows fourteen-year-old Ciel Phantomhive, the last surviving member of an aristocratic family, as he sells his soul to his demon butler in exchange for the ability to take revenge on his parents' murderers. The manga, first serialized in the magazine Monthly GFantasy, also has been published in volumes by Square Enix. Still ongoing, the series has been translated and published in several countries around the world. A twenty-four-episode anime adaptation has also been released.

It is morning at the grand Phantomhive manor. Sebastian Michaelis, the handsome yet mysterious butler, is waking his young master for the day. Count Ciel Phantomhive, a fourteen-year-old boy with a gloomy expression and an eye patch over his right eye, is briefed on the schedule for the day. As his family's heir, Ciel is now the owner of the Phantom Company, England's fastest growing toy company. Sir Clause is coming from Italy with "the usual goods" (a difficult-to-obtain board game), and Sebastian oversees the preparations for their guest's visit.

Everything must be perfect to live up to the legendary hospitality of the Phantomhive name, but the manor's clumsy staff (Finni, the gardener; Maylene, the maid; and Bard, the chef) each bungle their respective areas. Thinking quickly, Sebastian rescues the evening by covering the dead garden with gravel and changing it into an elegant Japanese rock garden. He serves green tea in place of the ruined black tea, and the burned meat is shaved over rice to make a donburi, completing the Japanese-themed evening for Sir Clause. Sebastian excuses the praise he receives, slyly saying he is simply "one hell of a butler."

The next day, Ciel and Sebastian leave the manor to buy Ciel a new cane. When they return, the manor is decorated in hearts and ribbons, and the staff is awkwardly dressed in bunny ears. When Ciel asks what is going on, Elizabeth jumps out and hugs him. Sebastian explains to the confused staff that Elizabeth is Ciel's fiancée. Like many nobles, the heads of their families arranged their marriage long ago.

Elizabeth demands to hold a dance, but Ciel sulks. He insists that he must work and does not have time for little girl's games. Sebastian quickly ascertains the truth, however; Ciel does not know how to dance. Sebastian quickly instructs him in the waltz, but says the most important thing is for him to smile. He cannot be a proper noble if he sulks at the sidelines of every ball.

At the dance, Ciel wears the clothes that Elizabeth picked for him, but she becomes upset when she sees he is wearing an old ring that does not match the rest of the outfit. When he refuses to take it off, she snatches it from his hand and breaks it. Ciel flies into a rage and nearly strikes Elizabeth, but Sebastian interferes. The ring is a family heirloom, passed down through the generations to every head of the family. Having composed himself, Ciel smiles and invites Elizabeth to dance, giving her the ball of her dreams. That night, Sebastian presents Ciel with the ring, magically repaired.

The next day, the staff chases a rat around the manor while Ciel plays billiards with a mysterious group. Ciel offers to catch a "rat" for one of the men, Duke Randall, but demands that compensation be ready for him when the deed is done. Duke Randall reluctantly agrees, and the party disperses. Soon after, however, Ciel is kidnapped from his room.

Ciel finds himself the captive of Azzuro Vener of the Italian mafia. Azzuro, angry with Ciel for obstructing the mafia's ability to deal drugs in England, demands to know where the "goods" are. Ciel will not cooperate, so Azzuro says he will execute his staff. Just then, Azzuro receives a phone call: his goons were unable to capture the staff thanks to Sebastian, and now Sebastian is hunting them down. Finally, Sebastian captures them, and they reveal where Ciel is being held. He then throws them off a cliff.

Panicked, Azzuro fortifies the hideout, but despite all the guards, Sebastian seems to materialize out of thin air inside the hideout. Easily dodging hundreds of bullet, Sebastian defeats the kidnappers. In fact, his main concern is that Ciel is going to be late for dinner. Shocked, the kidnappers wonder who Sebastian is; he answers that he is merely "one who is worthy of being the Phantomhive house's butler."

Having reached the final room, Sebastian finds Azzuro with a gun to Ciel's head. Azzuro demands the "goods," and as Sebastian is just about to reveal where they are, more kidnappers appear in the doorway. They shoot him several times. Sebastian collapses and remains motionless. Azzuro says that if Ciel were to vanish, the Italian mafia would be free to take over England for their business. However, they will not simply kill Ciel. They are going to sell him back to "those perverts."

Just then, Sebastian rises, holding all the bullets he was shot within his hand. He flings them with superhuman speed at the kidnappers, and they all drop dead. Terrified, Azzuro again holds the gun to Ciel's head. Tired, Ciel demands to know whether Sebastian is going to hurry up and rescue him or whether he is going to "go against the contract."

To spur Sebastian to action, Ciel reveals the demonic mark on his right eye (normally covered by the eye patch), and Azzuro freaks out. He pulls the trigger, but Sebastian catches the bullet in mid-air before it can strike Ciel. As Sebastian leaves with Ciel, Azzuro offers him money to come work for him. Sebastian reveals that he is a demon bound by contract to serve Ciel "until the time when his soul becomes mine."