For the manga fans who have been growing tired of the fillers, the anime finally returned to the roots of the manga series. It’s the Indian Arc! Prince Soma and Agni has finally arrived at the small screen, and will the transition be smooth?

Oh yes, it will. Might I add this as well: It’s even better.

Summary

A new case of British citizens getting hung upside meant that Ciel was involved again. It turned out that all these victims came back from India, and they decided to explore the East End where a congregation of Indian immigrants live. Ciel accidentally bumped into a thug, and they tried to exhort money. However, they are interrupted by a prince and his butler. The prince initially ordered Agni, his butler to attack Ciel because they thought that the British elite was bullying his countrymen. Agni was able to rival Sebastian in solo combat, surprising Ciel. However, when Ciel asked whether Indians are brutes to assault people who are merely passing by, he asked Agni to turn on those thugs. As long as they appeared, they disappeared while mumbling about a girl.

Back at home, Lau suddenly appeared at the house followed by the two Indians. The Two Indians happily came to stay at his house, saying that it was common sense to invite a savior home. They then took a room, while Ciel asked who he was. The man introduced himself as Prince Soma and explained where he came from. The next day, Ciel was woken up by Agni and Soma. Agni happily called Ciel a small kid, and asked him to guide them around. However, they were interrupted by Sebastian who explained that Ciel had lessons to undergo. It was violin lessons, and Ciel was asked to play a piece of Bach.

While he played, the two Indians were praying to their god, Kali. Agni explained that Kali was a war god that killed a demon. However, she succumbed to the lust of bloodshed, only to recover after stepping on her husband. After that, her unclean feet made her realize her mistake. Sebastian remarked that she was a powerful god. Soma continued to pester Ciel, only for Ciel to challenge him at fencing. Soma clearly did not know fencing, and Ciel was at an advantage. Ciel was about to strike, but Agni blocked Ciel’s acupuncture point. Agni apologized for his actions, stating that he did it just to protect his master. Sebastian said that he could not allow that as a butler of Phantomhive and challenged Agni to a duel.

The two of them fought to a draw after their foils broke after a hard contact. Ciel asked Sebastian whether Agni was another freak but Sebastian said he was human. However, Sebastian said that Agni should not be regarded as a normal human due to his immense powers. Later that day, Bard wanted to cook for the guests, but was told to do nothing by Sebastian. Sebastian asked Agni to prepare a fruit salad. When Bard asked why he was ignored, Sebastian totally overlooked him. Agni managed to make the three idiots of Phantomhive useful, surprising Sebastian.

Agni explained that everyone has a talent, and it is just learning how to use them. Agni continued that God has provided a path of everyone, and only need to listen to God to follow this path. Sebastian said that Agni was a great person. Agni said he was someone who was about to be hung for his violent crimes, only for Soma to save him. For a person who has forsaken God, he found a god. He said seriously that he found the light of Saintliness on Agni. Sebastian mumbled that the real gods were useless, and dismissed it when Agni asked what he said. At the dinner table, Soma presented a terrible drawing, and they wanted to find this slave girl called Meena. She took care of him since young, and she was kidnapped by a British citizen to Britain.

Ciel asked whether it was necessary to do so much for a slave. Soma shouted that Ciel would not understand the despair of losing her. Ciel retorted that he could not understand how someone can be in despair over something so trivial. Ciel said that he did not care, and told Soma that there were things that you could not do anything even if you wished to get it back. Later that night, Ciel decided to accompany Soma, and explained that it was not for Soma. Soma said that he had to leave though, and said that he was not free like Ciel. Lau entered the room, and they wondered about the two suspicious Indians.

Thoughts

All right, I admit. As much as the fillers are decent, the manga fans do have some logical reasoning to dislike the fillers because the manga chapters are really much better. Soma and Agni are really interesting characters to start off. Soma is that arrogant prince that thinks that everyone should consider him as the center of attention. Agni is extremely devoted to his prince, but his serious demeanor can somehow be funny. I personally find his zealous adoration to Soma to be funny, whenever he goes into a speech about how great Soma was.

Anyway, it is definitely going to be an interesting conflict for Sebastian and Agni. They are like parallels of each other, each capable in their own means. Sebastian is malicious, stoops to absolutely everything to get his task done and only believes in himself. On the other hand, Agni is one that uses kindness and borrows power and strength from everyone. Obviously, he is the type of person who believes in people. That makes it really discomforting for Sebastian because he already concluded that the three idiots were completely useless, only for Agni to use them effectively for a task. That really shows the disparity of the two butlers in their attitude toward things. Sebastian is just a devil butler, after all.

I also like how they discussed about the relationship between India and Britain during the colonial period. There is a long history of abuse and white politics in India, and there is a reason with the number of rebellions that has caused a simultaneous time in the history of British India. A little bit of history can be read in Wikipedia about the conflict between India and Britain during the years of colonialism in the mid 19th century.

Also amazing is how they managed to make Prince Soma less obnoxious than the character in the manga. Who is the seiyuu for him anyway? I am not familiar with the works of Shinnosuke Tachibana, the seiyuu for Soma but he is doing a good job to make Soma an arrogant punk but yet not an obnoxious idiot. Maybe that view will change after a few more episodes since this is a very long arc, but I got a feeling that the anime version will be better than the manga version for one. Of course, you can always complain about the minor details (no Lau and female fanservice!) but it is probably done to squeeze enough episodes within their requirements.

I also feel that Lau is acting stupid just to make fun of Ciel. His character is definitely way more sinister than he lets up to be. No one can be the Mafia Lord and a major businessman of a country without unscrupulous and vicious means to keep his power. That makes his random funny appearances even more interesting because you are waiting for the time where he turns all sinister and creepy. Oh my, I just cannot wait to have such a moment very soon!

On the arc itself, it seems to unravel very slowly. An obvious link got to be with that girl that Soma is trying to find: Meena. We know little of her, and she might be one of the suspects that are causing trouble. Soma and Agni feels like the type of people who would not bother with such petty crimes, but that is what I said about Grell beforehand. See how crazy that shinigami turned into. I think that it will be a pity if Soma and Agni turned out to be the perpetrators but I think it is highly unlikely if it will be a long arc. The real suspect is probably still hidden in the plot.

So, are you glad that they went back to the manga material or EXTREMELY GLAD that it is back?

See title above. Elizabeth, you so poor thing!

P/s: Hahah, wrong screenshots! Will reply the comments when I get home!

Summary

The episode started with a flashback. After that incident, Ciel came back and lost his smile. Elizabeth hoped to see Ciel smile for once. We return to the present plot. Sebastian was taunting Ciel about the loss of Elizabeth, and Ciel told him to save Elizabeth immediately. Just then, the dolls broke through the door with the “London Bridge” tune sang at the background. Sebastian said that they were controlled by the tune, and started singing while twisting the neck of one doll. Sebastian continued to sing, and managed to cause all the dolls to fall. The main puppet came in and told Ciel that he belonged to his master. Ciel would be made into a special puppet. Sebastian mocked the puppet by singing that Ciel would be stolen, and they escaped through the window.

Ciel slapped Sebastian angrily after their escape. Ciel asked why Elizabeth was not saved, and it was his order to save the kidnapped girls. Sebastian said that an order was different from his oath, and his oath was to protect Ciel above all. Ciel realized the meaning of Sebastian’s words, and told Sebastian to take care of him properly. A howl resounded in the air (Pluto). They rushed to the tower, the only place unchecked, only to find Grell and Pluto. As Pluto rushed happily to Sebastian, Grell realized Pluto was a magical devil dog. He started swooning about how excited he was to find such a cute dog. Pluto’s ring on his neck started shining, as the door to “hell” opened. Pluto transformed into his dog form, and rushed in as the door of the tower opened. Ciel was worried that Pluto rushed ahead, but Sebastian said that Pluto would guide the way.

As they reached the top of the spiraling staircase, they found an unconscious Elizabeth sitting on a chair. Ciel rushed over and kept calling out to her without any response. Grell said they were too late, and Elizabeth suddenly opened her eyes. Elizabeth weakly said that he got her present. Suddenly, Elizabeth’s limbs were controlled by threads and she assaulted the gang with a halberd. Grell stayed out of action, until Sebastian begged him for help. Grell got excited, and said that it would be good if he used his tongue when they kissed. Sebastian said he had no idea what Grell was talking about, but he could twist his tongue into a butterfly knot. Of course, Grell was so turned on by the remark that he cut the strings binding Elizabeth immediately and knocked out Elizabeth on the process.

By then, they suddenly found themselves bound by those same threads. Sebastian simply asked what kind of material the puppet was made. The puppet wondered, and said that he should be human. However, there were termites coming out of his ear. With the distraction, Sebastian managed to use Grell as a platform and destroyed the puppet made of Hay. Sebastian said that he could not lose to someone without any expression (and Grell called him bishounen!). Sebastian said that the puppet used a stolen soul to survive. Elizabeth woke up, and said that she wanted to set up a birthday party. Ciel agreed, and told Elizabeth that everything was over. Sebastian said it was not, and the puppet woke up to go to his master. Grell did not understand the puppet since it was injured so badly, but Sebastian said that he could understand the puppet because he was a butler.

They found Pluto in a room, with a “man” talking to them. He told them that he made those dolls to preserve the beauty of those girls. Ciel asked why he was targeted, and the man told him that Ciel was very impure because he had the sign of death since birth. Ciel remembered his torture in his past, and wondered how this man knew about it. The man kept shouting, “Cleanse it!” and Ciel rushed over only to see a giant puppet and a small puppet. The small puppet started laughing creepily, and rushed off. Ciel told Sebastian to give chase, but Sebastian told Ciel that the master was far. As they left, Grell wanted his kiss and was easily evaded by Sebastian. Sebastian asked whether Ciel wanted to take revenge for Madam Red. Grell realized the danger and escaped. Ciel also told Sebastian to let it go today.

The detectives randomly discussed about Ciel, and the chief called Ciel a dog of the Queen. Aberlin said that no matter how dangerous Ciel is, it was sad that a child cannot enjoy his birthday. The group celebrated Ciel’s birthday with a Christmas pudding. Ciel took a bite and found the ring. Sebastian explained that finding a ring within a pudding would give a person good fortune. Elizabeth got happy, and they had a fun party. On the horse carriage, Elizabeth said she just wants Ciel to smile. In the end, it turned out that no one lived in the tower for a long time. Ciel was concerned about the insignia on the floor in the castle, but waved it off. In another part of town, we see Angela crushing that small doll, mouthing out “Cleanse the unclean…”

Thoughts

Hahahah! Did I confuse you guys by misleading you guys/gals into thinking that Elizabeth is dead? I am just glad she did not because it will be way too sad for the ending of an arc. I mean, most of us were happily predicting the death of Elizabeth, even me. The starting of this episode did not help too when we hear the ominous snap of a puppet’s head when Elizabeth was shown. That is what I call dramatic shock, and I totally enjoyed it because I thought it is a foregone conclusion that all Ciel is going to find is a broken body puppet of Elizabeth. Moreover, Sebastian’s words of gloomy death did not help to alleviate the very heavy feeling in the episode.

I do want to add that Elizabeth looked very much like a doll when they first found her. She seems to have some strange reflection on her face that makes her feel like a doll. I am not sure if I am the only one who felt that way, and her actions seemed to be like a doll when she just woke up from her slumber. It was downright creepy for me. I also like how the story climaxes with Elizabeth going to assault the gang with a halberd because it is perhaps the worst torture for Elizabeth. If Elizabeth actually was killed/hurt Ciel, I think she will never forgive herself forever. It was the biggest irony.

Some might be unhappy with the somewhat inconclusive ending to this arc. I personally find it nice because we learn more about Ciel. He was on the verge of panic and was willing to forsake his life in order to save Elizabeth. We can tell that he tries to be emotionless in all situations. Ciel even told himself that he only wanted to deal with a small distraction, but his severe reaction against Sebastian clearly shows that he is only speaking and not walking the talk. His distraught tone and fear at the loss of Elizabeth is an indication that Ciel is only human. This is why Kuroshitsuji is so good. If Ciel lacks complete emotions, he will just be an empty shell and a very boring shell.

The puppets are just so queer. Sebastian’s rendition of “London Bridge” is hilarious to say the very least and I went into total laughter listening to him singing it to stop the dolls from functioning. I also find the small puppet that made that creepy smiling face very freaky. Please be reminded that Impz does not like horror movies too much. Please also note that Impz watched Kuroshitsuji Episode 11 at 1215 am, so it did not help that it was so sudden. I think I am just generally timid when it comes to things like this.

Lastly, those who hate fillers (despite the filler arc being quite good actually) should be happy that next week is the return of the manga chapters. They are clearly starting on the Indian arc, and I cannot wait to hate on Prince Soma because he is so irritating. Nonetheless, this arc ended on a rather inconclusive note. Yet, it does have some foreboding on the future with Angela probably a central figure in this possible future arc. I am biting my lips in anticipation.

Hypothesis: This episode is likely to suck because the last episode is so awesome that they have to blow it up.

Result: The hypothesis is not supported. Episode rocks.

Nuff said. On another note, Hinano moved to this place. Thanks to Pat for informing me about this.

Episode summary

Elizabeth came to give Ciel a gift she bought for her birthday. However, she saw the ring that she broke totally untarnished, and Ciel told Elizabeth Sebastian fixed it. When she realized that, she made an excuse that ladies should not give presents freely and ran off without giving the present. Sebastian suggested that it is probably for his birthday, and asked whether to make a party. A flashback showed the happy past of Ciel and his parents, only for the burning flame to kill everything off. The end of the flashback was with a cult who left a deep scar on Ciel. Back to the present, Ciel said it was a worth of time.

On her way back to the house, Elizabeth asked Paula how she can be so cheerful. Paula apologized for that, but Elizabeth said that she was just admiring her. Paula started muttering to herself, only for Elizabeth’s ring of hope to shine. The puppet then appeared with the tune of “London Bridge is falling down.” She chased the puppeteer to a doll store in a back alley. The puppet said that she was not the rightful owner of the ring, but she had beautiful eyes. However, he said those eyes were filled with sadness. She told the puppeteer about Ciel’s incident. The puppeteer said Elizabeth can choose anything in the room as a gift. However, he corrected himself by stating that a gift to someone important had to be special. He then told Elizabeth, “How about giving yourself to him?”

Ciel was informed of Elizabeth’s disappearance. It seemed that the case of the missing girls was linked to the Ring of Hope because they were given that ring of misfortune. The puppeteer asked his master what he should do to the “latest doll”, and that man simply sang, “Follow what the master wants, do it now, do it now. My fair lady” in that creepy London Bridge tune. Ciel told Sebastian to accomplish everything in three hours, while he had something “unimportant” to do. As they reached the place where Elizabeth was reported to be missing, Ciel was somewhat slighted over bringing Pluto. Sebastian told Ciel to bring Pluto, so he could escape.

Ciel asked Pluto to sniff Elizabeth’s gift to track her. Amusingly, Pluto ignored Ciel’s commands and was having horny rushes toward a female dog. A voice then resounded out about Pluto’s behavior and his love for redness. It was Grell. Grell mentioned how he no longer had a master, and he was restricted due to the Madam Red incident. Grell described how William was a total bastard, but he loved his cold and sadistic look. Grell asked if Ciel wanted revenge, but there was only a dog and a child. Pluto charged forward and growled. Grell thought that he was going to be attacked by the hot “man” and was ready, only for Pluto to run ahead of him. They have found that doll place, and a doll strongly resembling Elizabeth was on the display counter. At the back door of the doll house, a creepy looking castle loomed. Ciel realized that Elizabeth must be in the house.

Ciel asked Grell to protect him, and he would accept any request. Grell said he was not a filthy woman that could be bribed with money. However, Grell readily agreed when Ciel promised to give Sebastian to him for a day. Grell asked if he can do anything like a kiss, even below the waist (Impz: I wasn’t in time to cover my ears), and Ciel agreed. Obviously, Grell accepted the proposal. The puppeteer was hymning with an unconscious body of Elizabeth. Entering the castle, Ciel was assaulted by a “doll” resembling one of the missing girls. He was strangled, and he tried to seek help from Pluto. However, Grell said that Ciel was looking for the wrong person to protect him, as he broke the doll’s hold. He explained that his chainsaw was confiscated, as he only had scissors. Grell happily cut through the doll with his scissors, despite Ciel’s warnings that it might be human. It was really a doll of clay.

The puppeteer said that it was a failed product, and sang that it would be better to make dolls of steel. Ciel gave Grell and Pluto orders to play with the steel dolls, while he moved on ahead. Grell said that Ciel was heartless, but Ciel said he did not want to hear that from a death god. Ciel was worried because he feared that Elizabeth would become a doll like those beings. The puppeteer said a special person like Ciel deserved a special doll. Ciel asked about Elizabeth’s whereabouts, but he was ignored. The puppeteer continued and said that he would use a gold alloy for the doll. Ciel rushed to find Elizabeth, only entering a room with speaking masks. At the end of this room, he opened a door just to see Sebastian at the window, with the symbol of the cult on the floor. Sebastian said that Ciel’s birthdays always reminded of death… Elizabeth was going to die in his birthday.

Thoughts

Ok, for all the dark feel in this episode, I strangely only remember the comedy sections of this episode. For the first thing I will mention, it is the welcome return of Grell, the disturbing and disgusting piece of crap that generally illuminates the show with his appearance. I mean, who can tolerate the fact that he explicitly mentions what he wants to do with Sebastian.

My eyes and my ears were too slow to react as I absorbed the full impact of his sexual profligacy. I laughed so hard when he describes whether he had the approval to go down there too. I nearly died of laughter due to the obvious yaoi vibes that were made to sound so damn stupid.

Also, who in the living hell managed to make Pluto stupid enough to be funny? I applaud you for doing that because I am totally amazed how the dog’s natural behavior is funny enough to make me laugh. Maybe it is because it managed to tick off Ciel so much, and the chibi scene with Sebastian just ups the factor in why I loved Kuroshitsuji so darn much. It is the nice mix of humor and rather dark gothic themes that make it brilliant. I am glad that the series is returning to its very roots to fix the shit they gave us in the middle episodes.

I personally think that the three servants are a detriment to the series, and I mean it that way because they do not even contribute to make Sebastian awesome. Since Sebastian is already awesome, there is almost little need for them to be there. Other than Takada who really provides decent comical relief, the other three just grates on annoyance to outright useless paper-thin characters that offers nothing to the Kuroshitsuji plate. It is of little surprise that the better “filler” episodes of the series did not involve them at all. I hope to hear some arguments for them, so I might understand the situation better.

On the issue itself, it sounds like Ciel’s parents were killed by a cult that hated them. I do not really understand it since it is mentioned so rarely and in an arbitrary way. I do hope that they give some happy ending for Ciel at least because it will be a really haunting thought for Ciel to suffer another painful loss. He already lost so many loved ones, and I really do not wish that Elizabeth will become a doll.

The problem is that the show has proven that it has the ruthlessness to kill off main characters if they wish to. I cannot assume that Elizabeth has the main character protection. If the doll appearance is any indication, we might speculate that Elizabeth is already dead by now. I hope not, because I love a happy ending for Ciel. I know that his eventual ending is one of eternal hell, but I wish for him to be happy at least once in his birthday.

To end off, what do you think about my comment of the three servants of Phantomhive? Is it justified or mere petulance on my part? ^_^

Before you go, here comes the fillers again, let me assure you that this is worth watching because of the amount of hilarity, and “foreboding” at the end of the episode. I will not spoil you too much but this is an episode I feel that “fillers can be done decently well if they know what they are doing.” The episode is obviously yet another attempt to make people go into seizures over the quirky characters of the series.

Yes, my lessened anger is due to the non-existence of the four retards. BANZAI TO IMPZ!

Summary

A man was running away with a sapphire ring from some Irish Mafia, when he was hunted down and hurled down the bridge on a cold silent night. Due to the thick ice forming, there was a market bazaar. The usual crew (minus the idiot four) visited this ice sculpture fair. Elizabeth and her butler Paula were here too secretly to buy Ciel a gift for his birthday. The Irish Mafia was also here for the festival, looking for the ring. In the bazaar, they saw a limited edition of Phantomhive’s handmade toys but it was just an imitation. Ciel explained that the prototypes were burned after the arson killing. Sebastian said that these rare toys were like the country, where only a very small group of people could survive.

In the Bazaar, they met up with a Scotland Yard officer. Ciel was taunting him for being idle, but he said he was here for a job. The man actually wanted to ask Ciel for help and reached out for him. However, Sebastian flicked his hand away, saying that Ciel is frail to touches. Aberlin brought Ciel to a chinese restaurant and said that they found a male corpse under the ice. He was a criminal, and the Yard were trying to find a sapphire ring he stole. Lau then appeared, saying that the sapphire ring has such an allure despite the deathly fate that will await anyone that owns it. Aberlin was surprised that Lau knew about the ring of hope, only for Ciel to dispel that myth. Lau is bullshitting as usual.

Ciel asked why Lau was here. It turned out that they were in his restaurant. Ciel asked Lau if he knew about Henry Hope’s sapphire ring. After the death of his mistress, the jewel was split into two fragments. It seemed that the ring was stolen after a raid during transporting the vehicle. Ciel then replied that he was interested in the case. Elizabeth was also having trouble finding her gift, and rejected Paula’s gift suggestion. Aberlin said that they can find clues by going to the Undertaker (as people die from frost). It turned out it was the same Undertaker they knew. Aberlin entered, and Ciel told Sebastian to prepare for the Undertaker. Strangely enough, a fury of laughter resonated.

Undertaker told Aberlin that he should change his job. Everyone was surprised at the outcome, and Ciel realized that Aberlin is surprisingly amazing. Aberlin asked for Undertaker’s advice and he agreed while showing them the ring. It was on a statue, and it would be awarded to the winner of an ice sculpture competition. The man who spoke of it was Viscount Druitt, the man who admired Ciel’s trap beauty. Aberlin tried to take the sculpture by force, but was told to join the competition in order to get her. Aberlin was worried and slipped off the fact that the Yard wanted to get the ring due to its connection with various kidnapping cases. Ciel now realized why they wanted the ring. Aberlin continued that the disappearance of those owning the ring was true too. Ciel was getting more interested in this case now.

Ciel ordered Sebastian to win this contest. Elizabeth was sad that she broke Ciel’s ring, and wanted to buy something to appease him. In the contest, the Yard’s sculpture was an old officer (sucks with 5 points), Lau’s sculpture was too erotic (X for everyone except Druitt who gave a 10) and Sebastian’s sculpture was clearly superior in every single way. The judges praised him for his well-thought plan. The Irish mafia knew that they could not beat Sebastian, and shouted that they would be taking the ring by force. Aberlin realized them as the bomb-blasting arsonists in the recent London cases. Aberlin told Ciel to escape. Ciel told him to leave if he wished, but Aberlin said that he could not leave any innocent citizens behind.

The Irish man asked why Ciel is not fleeing, and he said there was no reason. They then have an obviously fanservice of Sebastian ice skating around and easily dispatching the enemies. The man threw bombs at Sebastian, but he did not realize that Sebastian was skating in a circle. That caused the ice that they were standing on to collapse, and the prize (and the ring) sunk to the sea. Ciel said that Sebastian used to say that Aberlin’s naive attitude to solve everyone is stupid. However, Ciel said that such an idiot might be useful at times. Back at Elizabeth’s home, she realized it was a fake and started crying. At the end, a puppet reports to his master and told him that the fragment would go to a great owner.

Thoughts

I was definitely enjoying myself in this episode with all the hilarity that was present in the scenes. I actually did not realize that the idiot four were not in the episode at all until my girlfriend pointed out that none of the Phantomhive workers was in this episode. I am not sure if this is the main reason that explains why I enjoyed this episode much more than the previous one, but it is definitely a contributing reason to explain the feel-good factor in this episode. I really hope to hear what you guys think of this episode, because I might be extremely biased. As usual.

I personally loved the sustained appearances of Lau and the Undertaker, both quirky characters that are definitely hard to find in a series. I might not mention it that often, but these two characters are my two favorite characters in the series. Lau is just very hard to read because he can be downright ruthless even though he is usually used in comedy relief. I mean, who can resist someone who spoke like a pure genius before going, “So what are you guys talking about?”

On the story itself, it really tells little except as a setup for something seemingly more sinister. We still have no clue about the missing girls in the kidnapping case, and I do not think that it is mentioned just for the sake of it. It’s a nice quick fact that is thrown into the picture without elaborating too much. My belief is that they will be expanding on that, as well as the mystery puppet/master in the next episode. I could be wrong, but it seems like it will link to Elizabeth too.

One thing that I must praise the animators here is the continued animation quality. Of course, this is no Madhouse animation quality but it is done in a consistent way so that even filler material has the feel of being authentic. The story is also done nicely, playing on the strengths of the characters that are portrayed in this episode. Of course, any attempt to bring the Undertaker into the story is a job well done. He’s such a freak, even if the reason for his appearance is rather flimsy.

I also wonder if the ring is truly the second fragment of Henry Hope. I might be totally wrong on this but it seems that the first fragment of the ring is the ring of Phantomhive. If so, who is this Henry Hope and why does the ring end up as the inheritance of Phantomhive? I do not think that I will get the answer anywhere, but it’s interesting to take note of it. I also like the straight character Aberlin. His entrance to the story is very critical to show the difference between Ciel/Sebastian and the naive, even glorified belief to protect everyone. In a life where Ciel learned that protecting oneself is the key thing in the world, it is a nice contrast.

That is why I believe Ciel said something about Aberlin’s existence in the end. Without Aberlin, Ciel will be completely consumed by the devilish fire that would one day eat him whole. Nonetheless, everyone will be agreeable that Ciel showed a lot of surprise when Aberlin did not want to escape without him. I guess that is why despite being absolutely boring as a character, it enhances the quality of Ciel and Sebastian.

Oh, last thing, Viscount Druitt did a deus ex machina. True or False?

As the title says it, there’s filler… and there’s filler. The previous two episodes, despite the rather letdown conclusion, was decent filler that would not hurt any series at all. This week’s filler was something rather unexpected. Oh, if it helps, next week seems to be YET another filler.

Summary

Ciel got an ancient camera through an auction, with the reputation of capturing the image of a dead person you cared the most in it. It was the camera of Henry Fox, a famous scientist. In order to test it, he took a picture of Finny, and a bird appeared. It turned out that the bird was Finny’s precious pet until he accidentally killed it with his strength. One flaw in the camera is that it required the target to stand still for ten seconds before the shot was effective. Ciel asked the three useless servants to help in a plot to capture Sebastian in the camera.

After that, the three ineffectual servants tried various ways to make Sebastian keep still with zero success. Even Ciel got into the act of luring Sebastian to his room, but Sebastian was able to evade it. Just when the servants were complaining, Sebastian told the three of them to take care of Pluto as a visitor was coming over. Sebastian mumbled that he could finally watch in peace, clearly showing that he knew what was going on.

Finny was playing with Pluto, and it’s clear that they were unable to take care of Pluto. Sebastian finally finished his work, and was playing with a cat. However, Sebastian was interrupted by Pluto as Pluto was jealous that Sebastian was giving too much attention to the cat. The three reported their failure, and they were thinking of a plan. Just then, Liu came in saying that he has a plan, and he would definitely succeed. Then, he asked, “So, what are we dealing with.” The guest, a financial reporter, came. Liu tried to use one of his girls for a lust effect, but Sebastian was completely unshaken. Ciel felt stupid to trust Liu on this.

In the meeting room, Tanaka was simply trying to keep his adult form while Sebastian explained Phantomhive’s vision in the future. They were intending to expand their influence in Europe and America, as well as improving the quality and customer service to propel Phantomhive to the top. Sebastian reported that the interview was well, and it was clear Ciel was keen to avoid any pictures (for security). At night, their final plan was at place. Finny was told to throw a marble statue at Ciel. Finny was worried about it, but Ciel told him to do it.

Just when the statue was about to fall, Sebastian came to save him. With the sparkles, it was conducive for the photo to be taken. However, Sebastian simply said that Ciel could ask for a photograph if he wanted his photo that much. Ciel tried to deny the allegations. Later that day, the three were developing the negatives when Pluto interrupted with a burst of flames. It turned out that Sebastian was the one ordering the destruction, and awarded Pluto with a bone.

As Sebastian entered the study room, he found Ciel sleeping soundly. He took a picture of Ciel, and the image showed Sebastian, Pluto and Ciel. The three started wondering about how the three actually related to each other. Sebastian was teasing Ciel about the picture. He said that the image was merely an illusion, but humans were dumb enough to accept this. Finny started wondering that the image should show a picture of the dead, and found it strange that Sebastian was in the picture. However, due to his carefree behavior, he did not bother about it too much.

Thoughts

What in the holy crap! You know, I am generally lenient to fillers, as long as they advance the plot or develop the characters in a meaningful manner. However, when fillers became as blatant, it makes it almost impossible for me to review anything with an objective manner. How should I start? It feels like a totally stupid episode right from the start because Ciel suddenly wanted to test a spirit-capturing camera. The fact that the three have proven themselves to be humans who are unable to do anything to save their life makes it silly for Ciel to request any work from them. In fact, they should never exist in this anime, but we need them to make them awesome. Sigh.

Oh yes, tell me about it. I am actually slight because they wasted more than 18 minutes of the series for absolutely fluff that no one except those who likes fanservice of idiots (those three), shotas (Ciel’s sleeping), yaoi innuendo (one scene at the end) and naked dog men (Pluto) will actually have something positive to say of this episode. If you are wondering, I am not interested in silly things. It was downright bad, even if the animation did not go into Naruto-level fillers or Bleach-level fillers. Now, that one was just a blatant attempt to milk the franchise. This is intolerable too, but it obviously will never reach the epic levels of those crap stuff.

Now, if you allow me to say something, I find the entrance of Pluto to be pretty much annoying in general. The gag of Pluto hating the three and loving Sebastian was not even half funny when it came the first time. By the second time it came, it was boring and dry. Maybe my lack of humor glands was the problem, but I think that I do laugh easily when it’s funny. I actually found myself cutting my nails from boredom, and hence had to watch the episode again when I did the summary.

So, since I have almost nothing good to say about this, what do you think of this episode. Just as a warning, next week seems to be yet another filler.

I still wonder why Sebastian hates dogs so much. Maybe he hates licking?

Anyway, a quick recap of last episode. Ciel and company were tasked by the Queen to solve the mystery of a devil dog haunting a small isolated town. The townspeople believed that if anyone sinned, they would be killed by the devil dog. This turned out to be a ploy by the governor of the town, Henry, in order to maintain power. However, when Henry was killed by the “devil dog”, it was clear that the case was not over yet.

Summary

The corpse of Henry was on public display as the townspeople proclaimed it a work of the devil dog. Ciel was dismayed that the case was not over. Meirin speculated that the devil dog probably killed Henry since he sinned against it. In a private talk with Ciel, Sebastian said that Henry was not killed by a human. Ciel was worried that it might be another shinigami. Sebastian said that Meirin’s speculation might not be that far off the mark, and Henry should be the only victim. Ciel said he was interested to see how the dog-hater Sebastian would deal with this, and Sebastian praised Ciel for his perverse delight. Sebastian was cynically glad that Ciel was learning the traits of a scheming lord.

At night, Finny was walking to check on Angela’s condition when he heard strange sounds. It turned out to be some sex calls made by Angela when she was teased by another “guy.” Finny was depressed because of his broken heart, and ran off to the woods late at night. The next day, Finny was avoiding Angela due to the Angela event yesterday. When Angela asked why Finny looked a little unwell, Finny started to panic and ran off immediately into the woods again. Sebastian was preparing Cabinet pudding for Ciel, only for Meilin and Finny to interrupt them. Angela was missing, and she was going to the wastelands where the devil dog was said to roam. Angela actually went to hunt for some herbs for the seemingly unwell Finny. Finny felt guilty and the servant group mobilized to search for Angela.

The servants urged Ciel to go, but Ciel seemed nonchalant. After the servants left, Ciel told Sebastian to give him a wonderful show later. Finny and company reached the wastelands to look for Angela, but they only found rotting limbs strewn around the floor. That included the hand of Henry, and the howling of the devil dog was heard. The group hid behind a boulder, and a silver-haired man appeared. Just then, the villagers came over to wait for the “water cleansing festival.” They heard the screams of the devil dog shouting “Ang”, which was actually Finny’s screams yesterday. They then ran ahead to find Angela, only to see the devil dog. The devil dog was holding a piece of Angela’s shredded clothing.

Finny ran ahead to confront the dog, but was clearly over matched by the strength of the devil dog. The gun that Tanaka brought was a dud, and Finny was going to be stomped by the dog. Sebastian immediately appeared in a flash to save Finny. He then displayed his “Carrot and Stick” strategy by showing the devil dog Inukko, a dog’s favorite food before bashing the dog. He then did it alternatively until the dog collapsed from his attacks. With the last blow, Sebastian crashed the dog into the floor, creating a crater in the ground. All was silent for a moment.

As they wondered what happened to Sebastian, a geyser burst through the ground. At the top of the geyser, Sebastian appeared carrying the silver haired man. Sebastian mumbled something about the refreshing spring water, and said that a member of the Phantomhive was clearly great enough to find a hidden hot spring at the very least. Angela then appeared, calling the dog Pluto. Angela explained that Pluto was a dog she found last month. She said that he was a little strange because he was able to turn into human when he was excited, but still found it cute.

Angela told the others that Henry was probably the person most fearful of the devil dog and feared what would happen if Henry knew of Pluto’s existence. However, Angela did not expect Pluto to kill Henry. Angela begged the group not to expose him, but instead train Pluto up. Angela believes that Sebastian would be able to train Pluto to become an useful servant of Phantomhive. Sebastian was resistant toward the idea, but Ciel found it rather interesting. The villagers also reached gleefully. Angela explained that the appeasement of the dog would be accompanied by the appearance of a fresh spring. Later that day, Ciel was enjoying the hot spring and everyone was working to construct the hot spring. Ciel mentioned that the Queen’s worries were over.

When the group was about to leave, Finny was kissed by Angela. Angela said that she hoped to visit Pluto one day. Sebastian said that he would wish to decline her wish, since a normal person would not be able to train a devil dog. Sebastian said that Angela seemed to have great talent in training such creatures. Angela’s face clearly changed to a more malicious look as the carriage left the town.

Thoughts

Ok, for all the ominous signs at the last episode, the final battle turned out to be one of the most “WTF” scenes in my anime viewing history. I am not even sure whether this is a good or bad WTF because it was just so ludicrously ridiculous that I cannot even express it properly. One thing for sure is that it definitely was not as good as the previous arc. Even that was an understatement, but I guess it is understandable since it is an anime original. However, it is probably hard for all arcs to meet the heights of the previous arc. The previous arc had the advantage in the death of Madam Red, a character that we have time to empathize with.

Nonetheless, I must say that the set up for the episode is still top notch, and it is perhaps a good way to lead to the conclusion. However, the conclusion, as I mention earlier, felt like a quick patch up that did not make much sense. I guess it is mainly for comedic effect, which is rather funny in an awkward way. The running joke about Sebastian hating dogs is a huge irony considering the knowledge he has of dogs in general. I am seriously wondering if Sebastian is a closet dog lover or something. Maybe he is a tsundere?

Of course, Finny’s antics continued to border on the annoyance/whatever line. I don’t know if the servant’s antics are meant to induce laughter, but I cannot find myself laughing at incompetency. This is probably an episode trying to develop Finny, but it became Finny the useless to Finny the useless whining boy. I was rather unhappy that they did not try to make the series darker because it would have been more of an impact. People watch a series to feel something, but this conclusion felt empty because there was emptiness after the conclusion. There was little emotion to feel about anyone.

Now, let me rant a little about the other servants. They either verge on stupidity (that cook), silliness (Meirin) or downright retard (Finny) behavior. It is perhaps my personal judgment toward characters that are implicitly useless. I know their uselessness is meant to amplify the omnipotent strength of Sebastian, but Sebastian would still be awesome if they are not that stupid. Actually, hash that. Sebastian’s greatness would probably be weakened by the lack of such hated but “useful” characters in the plot train. I guess it is a necessary evil.

Something that genuinely disturbs me particularly in this arc is the lack of detail in the animation. I already mentioned that the animation has been getting lazier, but there were some scenes in Episode 8 where it was rather glaring. Some of the face proportions were way off but I guess they do not have the budget to keep the animation consistent. If there is any consolation, most of the close up/medium shots are still well animated. It’s just a worry that such glaring errors might be more common as the season bores on.

One of the most funniest scenes in this episode must be the crazy battle scene using Inukko as bait. I found myself laughing very dumbly in that scene. It is just very queer, queer enough to make you go “HA HA HA” even though a second re-watch (I do that to do the summary) was not exactly making me laugh more. Another potent scene must be how Ciel gleefully wanted to keep Pluto just to annoy the shit out of Sebastian. That was serious mischief there by Ciel. I bet Sebastian was surprised to be backstabbed by Ciel, of all people.

I also wonder a lot about Angela. I really cannot tell whether she will be a nemesis for Ciel or not. What do you think?

If someone told me that during the fall anime preview that Kuroshitsuji will be an anime filled with moral issues and hard decisions, I would probably scorned at your naivete and stupidity. Yes, I have to eat my words because Kuroshitsuji has proven to mix comedy, action and heavy themes into a very eclectic mix. This episode ends the “Jack the Ripper” arc with a beautiful dirge of sorrow, agony and pain.

Summary

Grell continued to flirt with Sebastian, asking to have Sebastian’s babies. He also remonstrated his love for their possible forbidden romance of a shinigami and devil (like Romeo and Juliet). Sebastian was irritated by Grell’s disgusting antics, and tried to assault him. Sebastian explained how he swore his name by the moon. Grell said that promises like that were just a show since Sebastian’s eyes spoke of only destruction and chaos. Grell wished that they could love each other forever, but he said that he had to end it as Grell cut through Sebastian for a dramatic roll. It turned out that the history of Sebastian were redundant scenes of the mansion since that was all Sebastian experienced for the past year.

Grell demanded more interesting flashbacks but Sebastian added that there would be a huge price to pay for it. Sebastian said that he did not want to resort to “this method”, while Grell said that he would end his life this time. It turned out that Sebastian used the sheepskin coat to jam up Grell’s chainsaw. It was clear now that Sebastian had the upper hand. Grell told Sebastian not to hit his face. Obviously, Grell is powerless to the abuse of Sebastian as Sebastian only bashed on Grell’s face. Even after the beating delivered by Sebastian, Grell was still alive. Sebastian was going to use the chainsaw to kill Grell. Sebastian warned Ciel that he would be committing the sin of killing a god (despite being a disgusting god), but Ciel told Sebastian that he hates to repeat himself. Grell begged incessantly for his life, but Sebastian happily denied his plea. Grell also screamed out whether Ciel wanted to know who killed his parents, eliciting a shock gasp from Ciel.

Sebastian was about to land the finishing blow when William T Spears appeared to stop him. Grell appeared relieved, only for William to stomp him repetitively and describing Grell as that thing. William (a high ranked shinigami) came to bring back Grell for punishment in their world after his various crimes. William found it demeaning to ask for grace from a devil, but he was surprised how a “domesticated” devil was more restrained than those wild low beings. Sebastian also tried to reply the insult with a finishing salvo by throwing the chainsaw as a projectile, but William easily stopped the thrown weapon with two fingers. Sebastian apologized to Ciel for his inability to capture the other suspect. Ciel clearly looked drained from the episode. He faltered for a second as Sebastian rushed to support him. However, Ciel flicked Sebastian’s hand away, saying that he was just a little tired and did not need Sebastian’s help.

The next day, Ciel arrived at Madam Red’s church funeral with a red gown. He spoke to her body, saying that her elegance did not fit the pale white dress she was wearing. While he spoke, rose petals flew in from the entrance of the church. We also see scenes of the Phantomhive residents and the dialog between two Scotland Yard officers that this case was something that was beyond their scope of work. Lau talked to Ciel about his opium trade, with Ciel advising him to return to his country before he got caught. Lau said that he still has some business in England, and will be looking forward to meeting Ciel again.

Ciel visited Mary Jane Kelly’s grave, the last victim of the case. She was an immigrant and no one came to pick her corpse. The Undertaker stated that Ciel was kind enough to build a grave for her. Ciel explained that he had many chances to save the woman, but sacrificed her in order to capture “Jack the Ripper.” He knew what was going to happen, but did nothing to save her. The Undertaker asked if Ciel regretted it. Ciel said that he followed the will of Queen Victoria and it was his burden to do such things since he bore the skeleton ring of Phantomhive. The Undertaker grabbed Ciel strongly and wished that Ciel would not be killed by the burden he bore. He did not want Ciel to die so boringly, and he left laughing.

Sebastian asked Ciel why he hesitated to shoot Madam Red when he had a chance to do so. It felt like Ciel was unable to attack Madam Red since she was his relative. Ciel said that he knew that Sebastian would rush over no matter what happens. Sebastian continued to ask why Ciel told him to stop when Madam Red was about to attack him, but Ciel explained that Madam Red hesitated to kill him because she was unable to kill Ciel. Ciel proclaimed he would never hesitate in his actions. Sebastian told him that it was what he wanted to hear, and he would be Ciel’s chess piece to kill everything Ciel ordered. Sebastian stated that he would follow Ciel everywhere he would go, even when the “king” has collapsed.

Thoughts

The episode was very heavy in emotions compared to the more lighthearted banter of the first few episodes. I would never have imagined Kuroshitsuji to have a substantial plot that allows for a very deep character development for the characters. Ciel, for example, is a particularly complex character in this episode. It is clear that he is affected by the death of his aunt, since Madam Red was perhaps the only relative that truly cared for him. Despite his constant annoyance of her appearance, he truly welcomed her in his life.

That is why I wondered whether Ciel truly meant what he said at the end of the episode. I believe that he actually hesitated because his heart knew that the bond of their relationship was too strong for him to overcome his duty as a Phantomhive. This builds on the comment that I made earlier in Episode 5 about the complexity of Ciel as a character. He is cold because he forced himself to be a cold-blooded Earl when he still had the innocence and naivete to believe the people closest to him. If anything, I am pretty sure that he would allow Madam Red to somehow escape if she would survive the encounter. It was perhaps going to be troubling for the author if Madam Red did not actually die.

Yet, I also believe that Ciel’s suffering in this world has made him mentally strong. I did say that he was a child in terms of emotional strength which made me sound like I am contradicting myself. However, being touched by emotions does not mean that you are not mentally strong. You might waver in emotions but will not budge to the will of fate. If he was frail or fearful of his life, he would have shot Madam Red immediately. It’s because he knew that he will not die (due to Sebastian being with him) that he was able to do what he did. Any person who did not have a strong will and had the chance to kill someone to protect oneself would have done so without hesitating. Some say that courage is about killing someone. Here, courage is about believing in your own beliefs so strongly that it changes reality.

Grell’s character is clearly etched as one of the most downright disgusting characters of the anime season. I have hardly found any other character that is more detesting and hated other than that Dicktaro of Skip Beat fame. Yet, Dicktaro is more of annoying while Grell is the type of character that you vomit all your morning food out when he flirts so awfully toward Sebastian. That is why it is a triumph for mankind and Kuroshitsuji fans when he was beaten the shit out of his guts by Sebastian and William.

Might I also ask if William’s seiyuu is Noriaki Sugiyama (Ishida of Bleach)? He seems to be the one voicing William and he captures the haughty yet strong feel of William in the short period of time that William appeared on the screen. If not, please leave a message to tell me who the voice actor is. Anyway, I am a little disappointed that William did not stomp on that retard that much. He was worthy of stomping Grell until the cows come home. That was a scene that I was looking forward from the manga, but the disappointment is mild compared to the impact of the episode.

That said, I applaud A1-pictures for making a very nice adaptation to this point. I have grown to love this series a lot, and I am very sure that it will definitely go from strength to strength. In addition, I would like to part with a few questions that you might choose to discuss.

Do you think that Ciel meant what he said at the end of the episode about never “hesitating”?
Who is your favorite side character introduced in this arc? (Undertaker, Grell, William)
If you are given a choice to punch Grell, would you do it and where will the punch be?

Cheers and have fun!

Biggest shock of the episode: Ciel loses to a bunch of stray cats.

Summary

An unknown woman was trembling in fear, as she was going to be the next Jack the Ripper victim. Jack the Ripper was not caught yet. During a chess game, Ciel told Madam Red that he would do anything to take revenge against those who caused the death of his parents despite Red’s insistence for Ciel to rest his grievances. Later that night, Ciel wondered at his bed who the suspect could be. It turned out that Sebastian deliberately followed Ciel’s instructions strictly, and did not mention that there could be other suspects that were “not human.”

They finally established a link between all victims and rushed over to the remaining possible victim. As expected, the victim’s screams were heard and a man appeared from the door. It was Grell, the butler for Madam Red. Grell was in fact a shinigami in cohort with Madam Red and Grell’s personality completely changed. From a “docile man”, Grell turned to a narcissistic love female shinigami fiend. That transformation disgusted Sebastian as she continuously tried to flirt with Sebastian. Being an outsider, Sebastian was surprised that Grell actually worked with a human.

Actually, Ciel had considered Madam Red to be a suspect but her alibi was perfect. However, since Grell was a shinigami, it was possible to kill the victims beyond human capabilities. The victims were all patients who had undergo an abortion in her clinic. Ciel said he was going to capture them, but Madam Red was ready to silence our heroes before that happened. Grell, with his death scythe modified into a chainsaw of doom, was clearly having the upper hand in the battle against Sebastian. On the other hand, Ciel was struggling against Madam Red as he was cornered. Ciel asked why Madam Red would do such a thing despite being a doctor who was supposed to save lives. Madam Red said that he would not understand, and should not be in this world.

When Madam Red was about to stab Ciel, Sebastian ignored the strike by Grell to charge to Ciel. Only a scream from Ciel prevented Sebastian from killing Madam Red. It was clear that Red was unable to kill her nephew, and her reluctance was deadly as Grell stabbed her chainsaw into Red’s body. Grell cruelly said that she did not want to work with a normal woman like Red anymore. The finishing blow resulted in a dramatic flashback of Red’s life to surface.

We see the flashback of Madam Red with her sister. It was clear that she hated her red hair, but she was praised by Ciel’s father for that. She loved her sister and fell in love with Ciel’s father. However, Ciel’s father fell in love with her sister. She was jealous but she never hated her sister for taking her love. She eventually found someone to love and marry, but was robbed of her happiness when her husband died in a tragic accident. In order to save her own life in the accident, she was unable to give birth anymore. In addition, the image of the crimson flames burning Phantomhive’s house etched in her mind. Hence, she hated those prostitutes who were willing to kill their little lives when she could not reproduce anymore.

She then killed one of them, only to be spotted by a crimson red shinigami (Grell). A few months later, she met up with Ciel but she personally lamented that Ciel’s father could not come back like Ciel did. With that, she fell and died. Ciel then ordered Sebastian to eliminate “Jack the Ripper.” Grell asked if a devil can beat the gods, but Sebastian simply said that he was ordered to beat him.

Thoughts

Warned by the readers to get a shock in my previous entry, I still did not expect the plot twist to go into total chaos with everything thrown out of the window, ceiling and stratosphere. I will never be able to imagine Madam Red and Grell being the perpetrators of the crime since they seemed to be clear cut allies. In addition, nothing has prepared me for the sudden serious and rather “emo” scenes in this episode. That said, I applaud the anime for making such an amazing plot twist.

The transformation of Grell from a totally incompetent butler to batshit crazy disgusting psychopath is another top draw from the Kuroshitsuji staff. Grell’s disgusting digs at Sebastian just feels totally hideous and her attempts to seduce (albeit in a malicious manner) is done in such a detesting manner that you hope that Sebastian will really disfigure that transvestite’s face. The character portrayal of a totally sadistic personality is done in an extreme manner that leaves nothing to chance, and it is good to surprise the audience after a rather mellow four episodes.

Madam Red’s fate is sad to be honest, and I can understand why the many tragedies in her life might have pushed her to the state of oblivion. You can always ride the high horse by saying that she is just making excuses to kill people (and murdering people is always a sin), but there is only so much that a woman can take in her life. Madam Red’s life is so tragic that her deviant behavior is just a total blob of hatred to those prostitutes who treat abortion like nothing happened.

I must really add that this is an episode where we did see the limitations of Sebastian. He is powerful as a demon, but he seems rather over matched by the prowess of Grell. He was literally struggling against the sheer strength of Grell’s attacks and I actually like the fact that Sebastian’s powers have a limit compared to other similar series (Neuro being one) where they just deus ex machina out of battles. I know that I am not supposed to take Kuroshitsuji too seriously, but it is the limits of the characters that make Sebastian’s nonchalant and confident attitude in stark contrast.

Episode 5 also showed that Ciel is still a child in terms of emotional strength. For all his bravado, he is still a dependent because it is clear that he is unable to attack a woman that is his relative. Even though Madam Red never truly had the resolution to kill Ciel, Ciel looks like he is in total shock from the revelation that his enemy is his aunt. Ciel really fits on the “All bark and no bite” type of character. However, without Ciel’s strong exterior and weak interior personality, Sebastian’s charm in the show will be much lessened.

Lastly, anyone found the scene in the motivational poster to be hilarious? I know I did because it is so out-of-character for Sebastian to be so engrossed over a bunch of cats. As a parting question, do you feel any sympathy for Madam Red?

Really! Fanservice galore for trap fans ahead!

(Yes, I am addicted to demotivational posters)

Summary

Under the orders of the queen, Ciel and Sebastian are commissioned to investigate a serial killer dubbed “Jack the Ripper” as most of his victims (hookers) were totally dismembered into small body parts. With little assistance given by the Scotland Yard, Ciel acquired help from an eccentric man called the “Undertaker”. He seemed to be an undertaker on the surface, but is an informant for the queen. However, he demanded that they make him laugh before he released any information. Lau and Red were unable to make him laugh with their lame attempts. Sebastian, on the other hand, easily accomplished the feat with some rather suspect methods.

The Undertaker tells them that the killer definitely has surgical skills, as all the victims had their organs removed clinically. The killer probably cut off the neck, then under the waist before digging out the organs neatly. Lau wondered how they will solve this mystery since the change of seasons would mean that the doctors in the vicinity will leave the town. Sebastian said he would collect all possible suspects, and they eventually pinpointed the only person that fulfilled all their criteria to be a possible suspect.

Sebastian found that this man is a doctor who is not in practice. However, he has been having private parties lately, and tonight was the last. Ciel and company decided to disguise themselves to infiltrate and find out more details. Ciel was dressed as an appealing loli that would turn the suspect on. In the party, they spotted Elizabeth who started chasing Ciel because she was naturally attracted to cute things. They had a few close shaves because they would be in trouble if they were exposed by Elizabeth

At the announcement of the dance, the suspect was surrounded by many girls. Sebastian realized the only way to get close was dancing at his close proximity. Ciel objected to this insubordination, but Sebastian added that their disguise means that they can actually dance legally. At the end of the dance, they manage to get the suspect’s attention. The suspect started to flirt with Ciel. Ciel coyly mentioned that s/he was getting bored of the proceedings and wanted to do something fun with him. With such flirty words, the suspect held Ciel’s waist and caressed his waist lecherously.

Ciel realized he had to tolerate this lecherous behavior after his many efforts to become a “fine lady.” After noticing that he had Elizabeth’s attention at the other side of the hall, he knew that he had to tempt the suspect fast before the dance is over. When the dance was over, Elizabeth came over and Ciel braced himself to be exposed. Sebastian saved Ciel once again with a magic show with Lau as a distraction. With Sebastian’s help, Ciel manages to lure the suspect away to have some quiet time alone together.

As Ciel entered the suspect’s room, he lost unconsciously after sniffing a sweet scent in the air. When he woke up, he realized he was locked in a cage. The suspect was conducting a black market auction of his eyes and body parts. Ciel called out Sebastian and Sebastian easily dispatched the crook. Sebastian sarcastically said that Ciel really gets kidnapped often. Sebastian stated matter of fact that their contract meant that Sebastian would come to save him, but Ciel could never run away from the devil. At the end, it turned out that the “Jack the Ripper” case was not concluded.

Thoughts

I did say that I am going to write an entry right now about Kuroshitsuji, and I did so. This episode is just made of total win that it’s impossible not to blog an entry about it at the very least. Of course, this episode is hardly anything serious. It’s fluff, but it’s the type of fluff that makes comedy series just downright great. This is how comedy series should be like, and I laughed heartily for the twenty minutes of viewing. There are just so many funny scenes that it is hard to pinpoint the most funny ones.

If I have to choose my favorite scene, it is how the two freaked out after seeing Elizabeth. I cannot imagine the reaction of Elizabeth if she ever finds out that the cute “girl” she saw in this ball is in fact Ciel. I can also be very sure that Ciel’s pain will be eternal since Elizabeth will probably cross dress Ciel every single day after realizing his interest in wearing sweet cute gothic dresses. Ciel’s comment that “he will be infamous as the most embarrassing leader in Phantomhive” was so sharp yet comedic.

This episode hits the spot with so many different quirky characters like the Underwater and the trappy Ciel. Trappy Ciel is clearly one of the most effective traps ever in history. I dare to find any trap that is prettier than him other than the exception of a certain Jun in Happiness. I was literally laughing at his many eternal thoughts about wanting to slaughter the suspect. Maybe it is just me, but I was going to die in a severe burst of laughter when the suspect molested Ciel. It is just so wrong, yet so ticklishly funny at the same time.

It’s good that this episode had a twist at the end. I was thinking that the quest was a bit too easy despite Sebastian’s excellent physical and mental abilities. There was a bit of disappointment until the newspaper article at the end, so I applaud Kuroshitsuji for making this twist. The episode, despite its romp trap scenes, required a nice climax that was missing until the eventual last few seconds of the episode.

Lastly, there is a scene that has a little bit of yaoi vibes that turned me off of sorts. Nonetheless, the yaoi scene seemed to mock yaoi rather than promoting it. Hence, I am pretty fine with it. Anyway, everyone has to watch this episode because you will drop dead from the amount of laughter. Have fun laughing!