Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji Manga Canon VS. Anime Canon
Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji Manga Canon VS. Anime Canon
Warning Heavy Spoilers Ahead
I have been wanting to write about this for a while now. I will talk about the differences between the manga and the anime. I will say that they are separate storylines entirely, and will have different ending results. Book of Circus, Book of Murder, and Book of the Atlantic will not be with the anime canon because they are strictly directed to the manga. Anime will only be towards Season 1 and Season 2. The anime and manga plots will be highly explained in certain amount of details.
The manga and anime start differently.
Manga
Anime
As you can see, the manga starts at the Phantomhive Manor. Meanwhile, the anime starts off with Ciel about to be sacrificed and making his contract with Sebastian. The words that Ciel uses were. “Do you think, one that was among the faithful, would go as far as to summon someone like you?” After the anime moves over to the Manor, it has some differences but is overall the same as the manga.
Let’s skip to His Butler, Merrymaking, also known as episode 7. We see Ciel and his servants traveling to a village named Houndsworth. In the episode, they are sent to solve a case involving dog fights. When they arrive to Lord Berrymore’s castle, they meet a woman named Angela. She is the supposed “servant” to Lord Berrymore. Angela is not in the manga. However, she is important to the future of the anime’s storyline.
Ciel and Sebastian find out about a demonhound named Pluto. Angela has taken care of him, and asked Ciel to let him stay at the Phantomhive Manor. Pluto is also not in the manga. Pluto becomes a new character that is seen multiple times throughout the anime.
Pluto
Let’s skip ahead to His Butler, However You Please, also known as episode 11. The episode before this was His Butler, On Ice, where you will see a clip with a man named Drocell Keinz. Drocell lures young women to turn them into dolls by the orders of his master. They lure them with the hope diamond. This is the same type of diamond that is in Ciel’s ring. Elizabeth was given a hope diamond, but by accident which Drocell says. “I see that you have the ring. Yes, indeed you have it. Unfortunately, however, it appears that the stone has not chosen you to be it’s new master.” Drocell also turned out to be a deadman who was turned into a puppet. After Elizabeth was rescued and safe, Drocell tries to use the last of his threads to tell his master about what has happened. That’s where Ciel headed. There appears to be a man in the room. He ended up being another puppet.
Drocell
We all know who Prince Soma is, since he is in both manga and anime. Everything is the same except for the ending of the arc. In the anime, Angela interferes with the curry making contest by tricking one of the contestants into putting a “spice” in their dish. This causes the crowd that ate the “spiced” curry to go insane. While Angela is not in the manga, the outcome is different. The manga’s outcome leaves that the Queen announces the winners without anyone to interfere with the contest.
Let’s skip ahead to His Butler, Offering, also known as episode 17. This episode is where Ciel is assigned a new case. In this case, a man named Ashe (also known as the Queen’s Butler) is at the Phantomhive Manor to deliver the message. The message was “Outside of Preston there is a Catholic Abbey. It was burned down during the reformation and is no longer in use. A cult practicing the Eastno (don’t know how to spell it) religion has begun gathering there. We have received word that the cults leader is in possession of the doomsday book of all its many followers.” Ciel went to the Undertaker to help him inside. However, the cult somehow knew and let them inside the church anyways. When Ciel was inside, he saw the same symbol that was on his side. The symbol is on his side during the anime. The manga has the symbol on his back.
The Abbey
Ciel watches the “ceremony” involving humans that need to be cleansed. After the “ceremony” Ciel was chosen to join the priest. Ciel went to the priest and had no choice but to order Sebastian to kill him. The reason was that the priest was choking him to death. When Sebastian killed the man, Angela came out and revealed herself as an angel. She took hold of Ciel and took him off to the Grim Reaper library. Ciel sees a record of his past and ends up seeing his both of his parents as a corpse.
Vincent and Rachel Corpse
There you find out that Angela is partially at fault for the murder of Ciel’s parents. As for the manga, we don’t currently know who is responsible for the murders. Angela decides to do a cleansing on him. While Ciel is in a trance during his cleansing he sees his parents.
Vincent and Rachel
They tell Ciel that they have no hate towards anybody, and that he should put astray his hatred. He listens at first, until his father says unnecessary and unclean. That snaps him back to reality and he yells out that he won’t lose his hatred. This causes the record that Angela was playing to stop. The reapers and Sebastian were surprised at this. A human shouldn’t be able to do this on their own. They were all about to fight until Undertaker showed up out of no where. Grell makes a comment about what he was doing there. William hits Grell since it was disrespectful. Undertaker was known as a legend. In the manga, however, Undertaker’s reveal was different. After that, Angela went back to the Abbey to purify the people of the church. The Grim Reapers, Sebastian, and Ciel were locked in the library. However, there was one way out, that was the death bookmark. The death bookmark was not in the manga.
Death Bookmark
Once defeated, Angela seemed to be dead. Ciel was ready to have his soul taken by Sebastian. However, Sebastian didn’t because Angela wasn’t the only target for his revenge.
In the anime, the queen had a document. The words were. “It’s a diplomatic treatise proposing a military alliance with Germany and Italy. Yes, it would appear that your beloved queen is trying to plunge Europe, not to mention the rest of the world into full scale war.” In the manga, there is no such document. Maybe in the future, but this is only a possibility. We don’t know for sure what the manga will do.
The Document for War
Let’s skip over to His Butler, Dissolution, also known as episode 22. Ciel and Sebastian travel to Paris, which they were informed that the Queen would be there. After a turn of events where Ciel is left alone, he went to the Eiffel Tower. The Queen was there with him. She talked with Ciel, but not in a friendly tone. Her words were “As we face the next century, Europe is on the verge of change. However, we are stained, we are stagnating, we are unclean. The state must be wiped cleaned. No creation without destruction. The new century must be pure, and so I have cleansed the house that is seen fit to sullie our great country. The house of Phantomhive.” This proves through her words that she was the cause of the murder of Ciel’s parents. She hums the London Bridge song as they walk up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Once they were at the top, Ciel calls her out about how she didn’t just kill them, she made it into a slaughter. She replies that she cleansed them. He obviously would still be upset and nothing would change that. He talks about he would never consider that cleansing. She starts to cry and she was saying she was paying tribute to the Phantomhives. Her veil blows off from the wind and reveals she wasn’t what she seemed.
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria in the Manga
Once she was revealed, Ashe showed up and turned out to be the one that did this to the Queen. She had sewn her body with her late husband’s. That is why she looks the way she does. Ashe tries to strike Ciel, with Sebastian coming in to save him at the last minute. Ciel orders Sebastian to kill Ashe and the Queen. However, they were attracting too much attention and had to retreat. The next day, Ciel woke up to find Sebastian had left him. Ciel had to find a way to London on his own. He went to the port and in the manga Ciel had an allergy, but in the anime he doesn’t.
Doesn’t have an Allergy
He was on a ship to London. However, London was up in flames. Ciel wanted to make sure he could make it back to London. He used his ring in order to reside on a different ship that was still heading towards London.
The Ring
London In Flames
While London was in flames, the Queen was in a lot of pain and wanted Ashe to see. She showed her sewn up body that was rotting. Ashe told her to let him do a cleansing, but she begged him not to and to save the body instead. Ashe told her she was unclean and flew off.
Queen Victoria’s Sewn Body
Something else that happened, the Phantomhive manor was burnt again. Within the flames of London, it started at the manor itself. Of course it would be burnt down first.
Phantomhive Manor Burnt Again
Ciel went up to the Queen’s Castle to find her. When he arrived, it seemed that time stood still. He didn’t care and went on his way. When he arrived to the Queen’s room he found that she was dead.
Queen Victoria’s Corpse
Suddenly there was a scream and Ciel ran. He couldn’t convince anyone that he didn’t kill her and was shot. Ciel was able to compose his self by saying he won’t end here not like this. Sebastian heard this and came to save him. Ciel orders Sebastian to take him to this Angel of Massacre. When they reached to where Ashe was, Ciel asked him why did he kill the Queen. Ashe explains that her eyes were clouded and that they were dulled. He had no other choice, he had to purify her. Ciel orders Sebastian to kill the angel. Sebastian loses an arm during their fight. We have never seen Sebastian lose a limb in the manga as of yet. It was the same arm with the contract on it. Sebastian of course still won the fight against Ashe/Angela. (They were the same person as the anime makes it out to be) Sebastian took Ciel to have his soul taken. The end of season 1 shows Sebastian moving closer to Ciel and taking his soul. That’s what it seemed to be at least.
When season 2 came out we were introduced to some new characters. (I won’t be going through every detail of season 2 since the manga has all most no comparisons) In Clawed Butler, also known as episode 1, we follow the story of a new pair of servant and contractor. (Claude Faustus and Alois Trancy) As we thought, Sebastian took Ciel’s soul. However, this wasn’t true. The short of the summary is that Claude took his soul while Sebastian’s contract on his hand had been servered for the time being.
Ciel has lost his memories, and Sebastian wanted a soul that has known vengence. This lead to more conflict. Claude and Sebastian fought for his soul. At the very end of this season, Ciel was turned into a demon. This season lead to the end of the anime’s storyline.
Ciel as a Demon
Moving onto the manga. I will start off with Undertaker. Undertaker was revealed as a Reaper when they were trapped in library in the anime. However, in the manga he revealed his self in the Atlantic arc.
Undertaker’s Reveal
Undertaker has been important in the overrall storyline for the manga. He exchanges infomation for laugher. This has happened for the first time in the Jack the Ripper arc in both anime and manga. However, in a turn of events, he made beings called Bizarre Dolls. Bizare Dolls are a person who had died. He wanted to see what would happen if their records continue. However, the one thing they lack is a soul. They don’t operate like a human should. They attack a near by human that has a soul.
Bizarre Dolls
Now I will talk about Abberline. He will be imporant for this comparsion. If you watch the anime you know a difference with him. He doesn’t have a mustache and he has a twin.
Abberline
Abberline’s Twin
In the anime the real Abberline dies.
Abberline’s Death
As you see, he dies, but in the manga he still lives. He doesn’t have a twin in the manga that we know of. However, there is one thing that seems suspisous about Abberline having a twin.
In the manga, it was revealed that the Ciel we know has a twin. Is Abberline in the anime a reference to the Phantomhive twins? That I’m unsure of, but it doesn’t change the fact of it being different canons.
Phantomhive Twins
There were hints in the manga that there was a twin. When I talk about the twins, I will address them like this. RealCiel like “Ciel” Then OurCiel with Ciel.
For those who read the manga know that “Ciel” came back to life. However, it wasn’t that simple, he was a bizarre doll. He is not truly alive but not dead as well. He was just like any other bizarre doll at first. (From what has been seen) After those few years of working on “Ciel” he was able to move around as if nothing ever happened to him.
“Ciel"
The ring is seen throughout the series and it represents the Phantomhive family. In the manga, the ring is swallowed by "Ciel” and is taken out of his corpse by Sebastian. While in the anime, Ciel finds the ring when he went back to the manor. (After the fire)
The ring in the anime
In Book of the Atlantic, Ciel didn’t know that his twin told Elizabeth that he didn’t want a strong scary wife.
Book of the Atlantic
Hints of a Twin
If you read the manga, you know that Ciel just made a slight lie. This was the first egg that Elizabeth made. When Ciel says “Yes, as always.” it was a lie. He only says what he thinks he should say to draw out suspicion. Elizabeth notices this, but never shows it. She also notices that he had issues with breathing from an eariler chapter.
There was a huge hint in the Witch arc. There was a mustard gas that causes Ciel to be serverly hurt. This lead him to be bed ridden with only his nightmare. When Ciel woke up he says the name “Ciel” out loud.
Ciel says “Ciel”
Within Ciel’s nightmare he saw “Ciel”
Remember that this was in his head. That leads to talk about this. Sebastain is the next topic. If you read the manga you know well about Ciel’s past and the contact he shares with Sebastain. Sebastian is manipulative towards Ciel.
Sebastian is Manipulative
He didn’t sacrifice his twin. However, Sebastian made him believe that he did. Yes, the cultist sacrificed “Ciel.” However, Ciel didn’t ask for that. Ciel felt like he did it becasue of Sebastian’s words, and this made his soul more worthy to Sebastian.
Ciel already thought he was only a spare. Ciel was still his own person, but in his mind he wasn’t anything but a spare. Even Francis (Elizabeth’s Mother) called him a spare. Ciel had a lot of insecurities long before the murder’s happened. Sebastian used this as well. Sebastain, being the demon he was, would have already realized the thoughts in Ciel’s head.
Ciel saying he is a spare
Next is why Ciel didn’t truly have to take “Ciel’s” name. He would have become an Earl because “Ciel” was dead, at the time. He had the ring, and he was a noble. That was enough to become the new Earl. However, he thought of himself as weak and everyone would be upset that he came back instead of “Ciel.”
He can be an Earl
As you read what she was saying, Ciel would have been an Earl if something were to happen to “Ciel.” His insecurities caused him to take his twin’s name. He thought no one would be happy. He was the sickly and weak child to the adults. As you see currently though in the manga, he is a watchdog and has managed so far. Yes, Sebastian was there to help him along the way. However, he still powers through anything that comes his way. He is still only a child and is more capable than most adults are.
The current turn of events, “Ciel” is back and has everyone see that Ciel has lied all this time. This leaves everyone in surprise. Scottland Yard shows up and sees that there are twins. Abberline (manga only version) hears about the lies and now wants to take Ciel in for questioning and being a suspect in their current case. There is something similar that happened in the anime. Angela placed drugs into Funtom Candy and made it seem like Ciel did it. He was arrested for suspicion.
Ciel Called out for his Lies
Some might say that Ciel is still a liar in the anime, and that it’s still twins. That is wrong and here’s why. Take a look at this picture.
Ciel on the Sacrificial Table
At the start of the anime you see Sebastian making a deal with Ciel while on that same table. If there was a twin in the anime, Ciel wouldn’t be on that table and in a cage instead. This is one of the main things to prove that the anime doesn’t use a twin in the storyline.
The point I was trying to make through all of this was that the storylines are still canon but different. Yana herself was still working on the anime. That includes approval of the scripts to the anime. This is told through author’s notes. (in the manga)
Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji has been and always will be my favorite. I have always seen and thought that there is more than one canon. I was tired of seeing posts about the manga being the only canon and that made me want to write this.
