#rustblaster

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

It was rare to see Yana Toboso’s illustration Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler and RustBlaster, her first manga, side by side. This is the first time I’ve seen this.

[gothicappreciationsblog]

[unblinded-by-nostalgia-blog]

The Story

The story is about a young Victorian boy who has a demon butler. And that's pretty much it.

The story has a lot of opportunities to be great, but it falls flat with unfunny comedy that ruins the more emotional scenes, it is historically inaccurate (such as a wild bear being killed in an English forest, even though they became extinct in England in 1000AD, over 900 years before the events of Black Butler!) and they story goes nowhere!

The set up is very poorly explained, but the boy made a deal with the demon butler to avenge his parents, but they make no effort to find the killer and end up in comedic situations that aren't funny.

If it was trying to be a black comedy, it would be fine, but the comedy is too light hearted and takes itself to seriously (how does that happen?) for there to be any effective black comedy.

If you want a black comedy that is actually entertaining, go read the light novel series, 'Is it Wrong to Try to Pick-Up Girls in a dungeon?'*.

The Characters

None of the characters are interesting at all. The rich boy is a whiny brat who ends up damsel in distress, the butler is overpowered to have any good action scenes and is overall really boring, the side characters are all forgettable.

In fact, the only interesting character in this series is the grim reaper, who is actually a transgender women and the series handles it very well by giving us subtle hints without actually stating it out loud. The problem with I have with her is that she isn't in the manga very long (and she has a very anticlimactic end) and we don't see her again... LAME!

I know that some people don't like the grim reaper because she's a stereotype homosexual. I can see where they are coming from, but I don't think she is. She seems more like a crazy fangirl more than anything...

The Art

The art is alright, but sometimes it can really feel crowded and some of the comedic timing is off as well.

The character designs are not spectacular (though the clothing of that time is drawn well) and the backgrounds are sometimes none existent.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this manga is one of the biggest disappointments I have seen in a LONG time. The story goes nowhere, the characters are boring and the art is forgettable.

How this series became popular, I have no idea... And it was cheeky of Yen Press to raise the price of each volume from £7.99 to £9.99 (Even on the OLDER volumes!) Why do I have to spend more money on crap I'm not going to read again!?

The Story 1/5 The Characters 2/5 The Art 2.5/5

Overall 2/5

*A review of this series is also available.

[kuro-von-shitsuji]

We were born in Heisei, we go to new Era! Reiwa!

Yana Toboso’s new illustration celebrating the new imperial era that starts today (the date on the image is a mistake)

[kinbari14]

[coldfusion9797]

Aldred from Rustblaster, done with India ink 🩸

[diamond-star]

[diamond-star]