Black Butler: Public School Ark Review

Title: Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji): Public School Arc

Release Date: April 23, 2024

Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Dark Fantasy

Episodes: 11

Status: Complete

Synopsis: “Weston College is Great Britain’s most prestigious public school , and as such, so closed-off that it does not even tolerate government intervention. Thus, when some of the school’s students — one of which is Derrick Arden, the son of Queen Victoria’s cousin — refuse to come home, and cease correspondence with their families, Ciel Phantomhive has no choice but to enroll at Weston College to investigate. Sebastian Michaelis joins the staff as Sapphire Owl’s new housemaster. Ciel tries to get close to the P4 and uncover what happened to the missing students while navigating the horrors of school life and competitive sports” (from: Kuroshitsuji Wiki) 

It’s really nice to see another season of Black Butler. In fact, it was one of my favorite anime back in middle school (oh god…it’s been that long). Seeing all of the characters (both old and new) brought a strong sense of nostalgia and excitement over what’s going to happen next. To be honest, I haven’t read the manga in its entirety (weird I know) so I went into this completely blind. Disclaimer: I will try not to reveal anything too major in this; however, I will be talking about certain clues and details that may allude to the ending. 

If you have seen the other seasons of Black Butler, you get into the habit of not only taking in all of the chaos that happens in each episode, but you also tend to keep an eye open for anything that could reveal the major plot twist in the end. The fact that the P4 would act strangely at the mention of Derrick Arden’s name sends alarm bells immediately. Especially since Sebastian—being the demon butler that he is—can’t seem to locate him no matter how hard he tries. He also notices the vice headmaster somehow surviving and even shaking off his dramatic fall on the stairs.  How odd… Anyway, this season is an entire huge game of chess in the sense that Ciel and Sebastian would always make their move depending on how others (namely the other students at Weston College) responded. He does manage to get the P4’s trust after revealing a particular student’s shadiness and also gets his house the cricket tournament win. The ending, as it always is in Black Butler, is insanely dark. Of course, there are always the “what in the world” moments in this series, like the time that Sebastian put laxatives in the Red House’s meat pie. 

With that in mind, I give Black Butler: Public School Arc 4 out of 5 paws. 🐾🐾🐾🐾It might be biased of me since it is one of my favorites; however, the mystery aspect as well as the comedic moments from time to time are in excellent balance. The voice acting in both the Japanese and English dubs are absolutely stellar. I cannot recommend this series enough. Anyway, that’s all for me. Thank you all so much for reading and remember, keep your paws and bowls of ramen up everyone! Nya! 🐾