Why do I keep coming back to Black Butler?
It's not because it's perfect.
It's because this story is one of the very few that makes me think about masks, identity, power, grief, and the roles people choose to survive.
Almost every character is playing a version of themselves: Sebastian, who plays “the perfect butler” to hide his monstrosity, Ciel, the child who claims he's “an adult”, Undertaker, a grim reaper who chose to hide behind the identity of a “A cheerful undertaker” to escape his grief; Elizabeth, who decides to take the role of a "perfect wife" to adhere to her society's expectations, Agni, who in order to atone for the sins he committed, took the role of a “devoted worshiper”. Lau, who literally takes the role of the “fool” to diffuse attention away from himself.
Some characters wear these masks to fool others. Others wear them because they have forgotten who they are without them. For some, the mask is not just a disguise, but a survival mechanism.
Perhaps this is why this story sticks with me.
Beneath the demons and murder mysteries and Victorian aesthetics, Black Butler is a story about identity made through trauma, about what grief can turn people into, and if the mask you wear to survive becomes your real face over time.
