Spoilers of season 1 are going to appear as we discuss Black Butler 2.
I previously reviewed the first season of this and to be honest I really should have stopped there. Back when I originally watched this anime, I remember how excited I was to learn there was a sequel, and how bitterly, bitterly disappointed I was when I finally saw that sequel. Since then, whenever the occasion to rewatch Black Butler has come up, I have chosen to ignore the existence of a season 2. The anime ends with Ciel getting his revenge and Sebastian devouring his soul. That’s it. Game over.
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However, for the sake of reviewing it fairly, I had to watch this series again. Plus, AnimeLab runs the two seasons together and leaving half of it unwatched just didn’t feel right. Besides, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought I remembered it being. You know, how you build up all the negative points over time and forget the good things.
No. My memory wasn’t failing me. (That said, if you want some good reasons to try season 2, you should check out the debate Irina and I had about it.)
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Black Butler 2 is everything that is wrong with sequels.
Characters who should be dead aren’t. The perfect resolution from the first season is undone and then utterly lost. New motives and rules are forced upon the characters for narrative convenience. Characters who have outlived their purpose in the series reappear regardless of how pointless and out-of-place their appearance might be. Or worse, the brother of a character who died in the first season intrudes on several episodes and then disappears without any purpose what-so-ever.
And don’t even get me started on the opening theme and how badly it matches the tone of the show. Seriously, Black Butler 2 could have at least had a decent opening theme.
I know some people really like the second season (for example: Irina) but I just can’t bring myself to enjoy it.
And the absolute worst thing is the addition of a new master and his butler. Alois has had a tragic childhood and has made a contract with a demon. Very similar to Ciel. Right. Uh-huh. Let’s have one more character tell us how they are similar. That’s right. They both had fires in their past. Really, really similar.
Alois is a horrible human being with no redeeming qualities. Not even his obsessive love for his younger brother can make you genuinely want anything nice to happen to this violent, unstable thug of a human. And his butler, Claude, is a cheap imitation of Sebastian at best and a vile mockery at worst.
What it comes down to is that the sequel attempts to duplicate the events of season 1 in the early stages of the series, but fails completely at capturing the atmosphere and tone that made it dark and playful and sheer delight even when it kind of crossed lines it shouldn’t have and when the narrative wasn’t holding its weight.
What it comes down to is that the sequel attempts to duplicate the events of season 1 in the early stages of the series, but fails completely at capturing the atmosphere and tone that made it dark and playful and sheer delight even when it kind of crossed lines it shouldn’t have and when the narrative wasn’t holding its weight.
The second half of Black Butler 2 just decides to over write all the rules you thought you knew about demon contracts and throw twist after twist into the mythology of the entire piece until you genuinely believe anything could happen and you really don’t care what happens.
All and all, it’s a mess.
The only moment in the entire 2nd series worth watching comes at the very, very end. While the journey to get to that point was horrendous, it was a really clever way to finally have the show beat Sebastian, the overly perfect butler. Poetic justice was served and it was very satisfying, if only the road there had made any sense and it didn’t feel like the ending came from throwing all the possibilities in a box and shaking it real hard.
What are your thoughts on this second season?
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Karandi James
I just checked my reviews and I found season 2 to be far superior to season 1. Then again, I didn’t rate season 1 much, sot 4 stars for S2 vs 3 stars for S1 says a lot.
Anyway, horses for courses, etc…. 😉
Irina liked this one as well. But I loved season one so this just felt wrong.
I loved it, to be honest. It’s completely original from the original manga series, but season 1 already changed a lot from the manga anyway. I absolutely hated Alois, but I loved the rivalry between Sebastian & Claude. The ending was also shocking but I love it! I feel bad for Sebastian but it’s an interesting idea.
Seems like there is a lot of hate out there for Claude and Alois.
I have to agree with your opinion. Season 1 is way better than the sequel. Actually I felt pity for Alois, but yeah nobody can resist Ciel’s charm.
The ending was the only enjoyable part of the show, I agree. What a twist! I wonder if the mangaka gave the studio the idea.
I believe the knock-off can be more interesting than the original at times given that the copy is done right. However, this is far from the case here. Instead of snagging a bargain copy that’s indistinguishable from the original, I just feel like I bought a cheap imitation watch from a pawn shop when it comes to watching the second season with this new master and butler. Perhaps they were meant as a hate sink, but the studio was perhaps too successful in making them unlikeable.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this spot-on review.
I agree with you! The ending was a huge surprise to me since none of what had happened in the 2nd season happened in the manga. And then the third season seemed to totally ignore everything that happened in the second!