Kuroshitsuji: The Most Beautiful Death in the World
(NOTE: This didn't start out as a pimp post. I really was just going to upload links for Simon and Trey... but well, here we are.)
This is mostly for Simon and Trey, but well, I figured I'd throw together a post with links for anyone who wanted them. The credits for the rips go to BlackButler.net/LJ's SpaceCat. Credit for the song translations goes to Nayama from the same. I'm including a link to a subtitle (.ass) file, but it is only the translation for the songs. (You'll want to watch the video in VLCPlayer. Either move the .ass into the same folder or right click the video, select "video", and open the subtitles file manually.) There are full subtitles incoming from Nayama and SpaceCat, but unfortunately, it's a long, laborious process. I don't at all blame them for the slow pace, because they have real lives, of course, and will make sure it is truly high quality when they do release the subs. In the meantime, the song-only subtitles are more than enough to make the show enjoyable.
These are my uploads; I'm not the kind of asshole who reposts other people's links. To the best of my knowledge, SpaceCat has never expressed a problem with re-uploads, just with link theft.
DVD Scans: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4QQ7LCH9
Honpen/Main Show: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B6K04P1N http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DQQ0EA8H http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6APN1RJI http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F5FZ0ET0 (SEE NOTES) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MCTL4Y0K
SUBTITLES: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LKBFXI40 "Soundtrack": http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1190XXLQ (Ripped from the DVD. No official soundtrack was ever released.)
DVD Extras "Shinigami" Full Stage View: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8V2P3MJ8 Backstage: (SEE NOTES) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LFMUI8TF Abberline Ad-libs: (SEE NOTES) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=777YWO74 Interviews: (SEE NOTES) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8QOZ6T5S
NOTES: Several parts are in RARs, because every time I tried to upload them, MU freaked out. I tested all the files. I uncompressed part five and then used HJ Split to re-join them, and everything worked fine. But please let me know if there are any problems with the files!
I've included a pretty thorough run down of the characters and story under the cut if you aren't familiar with the source material or don't have some basic grasp of Japanese.
The Story of Kuroshitsuji: (taken from TVTropes)
Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji in Japanese), is a shounen manga and companion anime series (although it's pretty obviously looking for a crossover shoujo audience). Originally created by Toboso Yana.
The Phantomhive family is a respected and distinguished house in Victorian London. Despite a mysterious fire killing off the previous lord and lady Phantomhive, their 12-year old son, Ciel Phantomhive, has managed to both build a massive toy and candy company within 3 years, as well as serve the Queen as a major contributor to England's black-ops.It really, really helps that Ciel made a literal Deal With The Devil to acquire a super butler: one Sebastian Michaelis, capable of dispatching The Mafia or other threats (including those of the supernatural variety) and then bake the perfect pastry. He has agreed to aid Ciel in all of his endeavors until Ciel "succeeds in all of his tasks". Then Ciel's soul belongs to him.So Ciel leads a double-life, his service to the Queen combined with his own dark supernatural dealings, and maintaining the peace of the Phantomhive Mansion and its less than serious staff.
Mix and stir Hellsing and Count Cain with Loveless, at least toward the beginning. No, seriously.
Characters:
Ciel sold his soul to a demon, who calls himself Sebastian. In exchange for becoming Ciel's butler/bodyguard and aiding him in his quest for revenge, Sebastian will be entitled to eat Ciel's soul. There is no hero in this story. Ciel is a dark, manipulative child-chessmaster, heavily damaged by the events of his past. He has no qualms about having sold his soul or what it means. In the anime, after completing his task, Sebastian goes to eat Ciel's soul and promises to make it as painless as possible. Ciel tells him not to, to make it as painful as he can. Yeah. This kid is fucked up.
Sebastian is sort of an unknown variable. There are some pretty obvious differences in the personalities of the original comic version (the cold, "I'm a fucking demon" Sebastian who gets a lot of joy out of teasing Ciel in extremely dangerous ways, he's evil and there's no question about that) and the more widely known cartoon version. (It's easier to interpret some actual human emotion in cartoon Sebastian. He's certainly a demon; he has no problem manipulating people. But he's nicer and genuinely seems to care about his "master".) The musical version seems to fall closer to the comic, in my opinion. At the end of the day, any perception of him caring about Ciel is superficial and part of the role he plays as The Perfect Phantomhive Butler. He is playing his part to get what he wants: a tasty, tasty soul.
Ciel's staff (a gardener, a chef, and a maid) are incompetents who happen to actually be bodyguards (respectively a biologically engineered super soldier, a ballistics expert, and a sniper), which is why they're terrible at their jobs within the household. They serve as comedic relief for the show.
The timeline for the musical is vaguely set sometime near the beginning of Ciel's contract with Sebastian. It opens with the contract being created (after Ciel is kidnapped by a cult, branded, and stuck in cage) but then skips forward to an unspecified point in the intervening years. (Because Sebastian is clearly already apart of the household, has hired the staff, and they've had interactions with the other characters before.)
The Shinigami (Grim Reapers/Death Gods) are sort of like supernatural bureaucrats. Especially Will. (Tallest with black hair, black glasses, tree-trimmer death scythe.) They reap souls and then file paperwork afterwards. The rookie member of the team is Ronald. (Shaggy blond hair, lawn mower death scythe.) In the musical, Will and Ronald serve as a sort of greek chorus. They don't really effect the outcome much; they just comment on things as they go along, presumably to help update the audience who might not be familiar with the original material.
Next we have Grell Sutcliffe. (The red one. Nuff said.) Grell is a transexual grim reaper who is, to say the least, unorthodox. She regularly hits on everyone around her, particularly Will and Sebastian. Despite her eccentricities, she's incredibly powerful. The original creator, Toboso Yana, has said that Grell is the second most powerful creature in the universe, after the Undertaker. Her bunking up of jobs tends to be because she gets distracted very, very easily.
The last two important Reapers are Alan and Eric. They are original characters created specifically for the musical. You don't need to know anything about them going in, because everything we know about them and their personalities is established in the show.
The Undertaker is a supernatural informant that helps Ciel. Usually, he does so in exchange for a "laugh", but since this is a musical, he gets a love song instead. It is thoroughly amusing. I don't think it's really necessary to break down the Undertaker here, because he's really incidental in the musical, clearly included as a nod to the source material.
The Viscount of Druitt is a nobleman who could best be described as lecherous. He is obsessed with beautiful women (and Ciel in drag). He's vein and more than a little foppish.
Japanese You Should Know: "Keiyaku" (Contract) comes up a lot and is, in fact, the title of the first song. The terms are fairly straightforward. Sebastian can't let Ciel die. He has to follow every order that Ciel gives him.
"Meirei da..." = "This is an order." Whenever Ciel gives him an order, Sebastian will answer by kneeling and saying, in English, "Yes, My Lord."
"Bocchan" = "Young Master". In Japanese, it is a term of endearment that you might use for a friend's child or something along those lines. (It is more endearing/sweet than the more formal "Ouji-sama".) Sebastian and the rest of the staff (as well as The Undertaker) use it for Ciel.
"Hakushaku"/"Hakusha-kun" = "Earl". Ciel's title.
"Shinigami" = Literally "Death God", used here as "Grim Reaper".
"Akuma" = Demon.
"Watashi wa akuma de shitsuji desu kara." "Watashi wa aku made shitsuji desu kara." Sebastian's catchphrase. It's a clever play on words, where one is pronounced exactly like the other. The first translates to "I am a demon and a butler." and the second to "I am a butler to the end." It is usually translated as "I am one hell of a butler." Although, the English dub of the cartoon uses "I am a devil of a butler", which just doesn't have the same ring to it imo. Still either would be apt.
The Story of KuroMyu2:
The story is very simple to follow. However, I recommend reading this summary from SpaceCat before you watch the show. It will make things immeasurably easier, and with it, I don't think you should have any issues without subtitles. I have shown this show to countless people without having them read a summary, familiarize themselves with the characters, or understand Japanese.