(L) Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus

[PreSage]

Despite being a demon and carrying put his duty merely because of the contract, Sebastian sure takes his butler duty seriously.

Looks like one of the first stringers is a nobleman's son who will die soon, according to the Reaper's book that we got a sneak peek of.

I feel sorry for Doll and Beast,and others of the circus; they've been used badly. But, still, the atrocious crimes they committed is unforgivable despite what their reasons may be.

I am so intrigue about Ciel's past; poor kid had suffered so much. And Sebastian's real identity is always an intriguing mystery.

Augh, cliffhanger...anxious to see the next ep.

[Guardian Enzo]

Another stellar episode. If Circus isn't the best new series of the season, it's certainly the most consistent.

A couple of thoughts strike me. First, it seems as if Kuroshitsuji is a tale of two groups of characters, victims and those who exploit them - and the struggle of those in the first group to join the second. Ciel is the most obvious case, but the Circus arc fits neatly in with this overall theme, which is one reason why it works so well.

Also, the more I consider it, the more parallels I see between Sebastian and Hisoka. And like Hisoka, it's easy to let the charm and wit blind you to just what the character really is.

[MgMaster]

Originally Posted by PreSage

Despite being a demon and carrying put his duty merely because of the contract, Sebastian sure takes his butler duty seriously.

Well,he certainly makes sure to enjoy himself It's a means to an end where he enjoy's the means themselves,even if the end is the his ultimate reward.

Here I thought that he was gonna duke it out with William but he does better than that - deciding to back off and acquire his info from elsewhere,in a way that was surely more enjoyable than fighting William. And while at it,he gave Beast some seduction lessons & helped her relieve some stress

[Guido]

I really want to know what's going to happen in the next episode, because they built-up so much suspense with Ciel ordering Sebastian to leave for the heraldic records in order to narrow down the identity of the ring's bearer, and yet William doesn't allow Sebastian to leave without his master closing the episode on a cliffhanger note.


Now, as for Snake disclosing to the other circus members on what both Black and Smile have been doing sneaking around and inside their tents, I guess Sebastian as a demon knows perfectly the snakes's language. However, Ciel only ordered Sebastian to hold down the snakes and later to release them after been done with the encore act.

Recall the scene once Ciel reaches inside Sebastian's tent right after his close shave with Doll. Sebastian mentions to Ciel that if the master issues the wrong orders then the lad may encounter unpleasurable, non-fatal encounters. Of course, that's Sebastian's aesthetics to make things unpredictable so as to enjoy his game to the fullest.

What I want to say is that since Ciel obviously thinks nothing of snakes as being animals, and, therefore not a threat to his plans, he fatally overlooked that Snake can both understand and talk to snakes. Hence, the snakes alerted to him on what the duo were doing frisking the tents, and he consequently told to the rest of the circus members.

And, BTW, who would've guessed that Freckles turned out to be Doll?, and how anyone would've guessed that Freckles as well turned out to be a reversed trap?

[MCAL]

What an episode to have a one day delay... Yep. Welcome to the messed up world of Kuroshitsuji.

[Stark700]

I need to take a moment of silence for those kids that died during their performance. Damn it, Father...

[ookamigirl]

That "Father" is one creepy guy.
Circus is packing up..
Things got too hot for them to hang around longer.
Sebastian trying to spoil Ciel kinda backfired ROFL
Ciel & Sebastian went straight into the lion's den, dangerous!
That mansion was as creepy as its lord.
All those missing kids... damn!
That lord has one weird, creepy and deranged fetish.
Ciel instantly got flashbacks to his torture...
Trauma from the past rose to the surface once more.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Stark700

I need to take a moment of silence for those kids that died during their performance. Damn it, Father...

Yes indeed...rather disturbing to say the least.

The adaptation is doing a very good and faithful adaptation of the manga source material to be sure. ^^

[Guido]

Episode 07.

The last closing minutes of the episode can be taken as the calm before the storm, but those little symbolic things displayed on screen felt like foreshadowing and sound not promising for the Circus members.

1. Sebastian throwing the Lollipop, that Freckles gave to Ciel previously three episodes ago, is a reminder that Phantomhive is on this mission to tackle down the Circus by any means necessary; frienship as such holds no meaning to Ciel and is a trivial mean to achieve his ends.

2. Whatever event William T. Spears is waiting patiently for only means that a number of meaningful characters are going to meet their untimely demise in short notice.

3. Whatever mission the Circus members, with the exception of Joker, Doll, and Snake, are readying themselves for then I do not feel like expecting them to return from alive.

[PreSage]

Kelvin is such a disturbing psychopath. I can't believe the circus group would obey such a foul man. How is it that they can't rebel against him?

And, seriously, Ciel could have at least saved the second kid from the lion after seeing the first one fall to her death...he took too long to get in action.

Can't imagine what Ciel had gone through in the past for these insane people's amusement. I'm not surprise that he would rather choose to sell his soul to Sebastian in order to get these freaks back...seriously, disturbing.

But the most disturbing scene of all in this episode...was watching Sebby being a doting butler...*brrrrr*

[mistress_kisara]

Grell is back!

RIP Jumbo, Peter, Wendy that's why you do not mess with Ciel. There were some censored scenes but overall pretty good episode too bad there are only 2 episodes left. At least there's still Book of Murder OVA to look forward to.

[Flower]

Ep 8

Such a sad story ... really when it gets down to brass tacks it takes a pretty cynical angle on things. Thing is it is not as if the entire world as presented in this ep - perhaps as what has become the default world of Ciel (and definitely already was for Sebastian) after his horrible experience as a child.

I guess the thing is that one cannot deny that objectively there are plenty of people who operate from that perspective to varying degrees in general or at specific times in specific instances, but the thing is it is not the only parameter people act from or perhaps even the most powerful on an individual level ... and sometimes even on a larger, social level.

This entire story, let's face it, is about the damnation of a soul, and one who consciously, willingly chooses to damn himself later to pursue goals in the "now". And damnation is shown not just being thrown in a corner where one is miserable. Damnation as shown in the series involves being ... eaten somehow. (That is, Sebastian is patiently waiting for the chance to devour a fully ripened, choice soul - a delicacy for his kind.) *shivers*

The series is able to show the whole inner world of Ciel and Sebastian so powerfully and in ways that hit so hard ... but I wonder whether it is meant to evoke self reflection at the same time about our own behavior, choices, etc. not only in ourselves but what we either see around us and perhaps can even effect some small change in?

Just plain great and thought provoking ... and a superb adaptation! Why is this series not getting the attention it deserves?

[Guardian Enzo]

Flower, I really see this as a story about those who are victims and those who victimize (Ciel this week cast it as those who steal and those who are stolen from, but it's materially the same). Is it possible to jump from the first group to the second? Circus-hen is its own story built on this theme, but ultimately everything in Kuroshitsuji comes down to Ciel's attempt to make that jump.

Superficially, Ciel has gone from the ultimate victim (an 8 year-old child whose family is killed, is tortured and effectively murdered himself) to someone who "steals futures". But if one has to sell one's soul into eternal damnation in order to jump groups, can that really be called a victory? This series always comes back to that reality, what's waiting for Ciel when the time comes - and what he'll do when it does. He seems like the type to go down fighting, so I wouldn't expect him to gracefully hand Sebastian the knife and fork. I also wouldn't expect Sebastian to offer any compassion - easy as it is to forget, he's no one's friend, Ciel included. Any "fondness" he feels for Ciel really manifests only in making him that much more desperate to consume him.

That's where the tension lies, really - that elephant in the room. As stylish and as broadly entertaining as it is, this is a rather deep and very smart series, and this is a fantastic adaptation. It really does deserve more discussion.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Flower, I really see this as a story about those who are victims and those who victimize (Ciel this week cast it as those who steal and those who are stolen from, but it's materially the same).

Is it possible to jump from the first group to the second?

I wonder if "jumping" is the correct question here, simply because to me it implies a black and white dichotomy.

As far as I can tell the only character in the story who are solely supposed to be one or the other is Sebastian. But even his being otherwise is teased at by the author in the context of his possibly having something approaching glimmers of human-like affection for Ciel.

For me the crux is the objective inner degrees in each character (I hesitate to only say person here, because of the shinigami and other beings that pop up that are not human) - a sort of where they are at at a given state of time; and then the decisions they make in relation to what shades or degrees of this victim/victimizer dichotomy. Sometimes the individual choices can effect change - and in either direction.

In the middle of all that sometimes death comes unexpectedly, and the shinigami review (this is the filmstrip sequence and image) the entirety of an individual's words, deeds and perhaps even thoughts or inclinations/feelings and direct the soul to the appropriate next place in the afterlife.

The main human character of the story (Ciel) is definitely a tragic one in so many ways, but partly because the series is showing the steady, near-unfaltering plodding directly into Sebastian's stomach. The small instances of kindness either shown to Ciel or even that he shows to others now and again is both beautiful and even more tragic precisely because of the horrible backdrop that is hovering behind the entire story.

To be able to pull this off so effectively in the adaptation the way they have thus far is just plain excellent work overall as far as I am concerned.

[Guardian Enzo]

Interesting take, but my view is that in terms of Kuroshitsuji at least, Toboso is quite emphatically espousing a black-and-white distinction. And in Victorian England, she could hardly have chosen a better setting in which to illustrate it.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Interesting take, but my view is that in terms of Kuroshitsuji at least, Toboso is quite emphatically espousing a black-and-white distinction. And in Victorian England, she could hardly have chosen a better setting in which to illustrate it.

I agree that the end result that the story presents reflecting Ciel and Sebastian is definitely black and white No question there. That is the very reason it is a tragedy. The end is presented as unalterable and set in stone.

I guess I kind of see it as a series of concentric circles. In the innermost circle we have Ciel and Sebastian.

The next immediate level of influence on the inner circle is his "family" in the sense of those allied to and/or part of the Phantomhive household. It is primarily from this circle that the movement or fluctuation I described above is most often seen, I think. And therefore from there that it periodically splashes over onto the innermost circle proper.

Next comes the "outside world", and for the most part the societies Ciel and Sebastian frequent are extremely dark. Often they interact with those they have been directed to "take care of" by the Queen or those whose help they enlist to better facilitate fulfilling the Queen's orders. (But even out here Ciel and Sebastian encounter people or events that move what parts in Ciel's heart remain of "normal humanity" ... or even goodness. It is rare, but Ciel and Sebastian do encounter them from time to time.)

When Ciel and Sebastian actual encounter and directly deal with something directly from the Queen's orders they are very often already presented as being "lost", and consigned to a very similar fate as Ciel's will be, bringing back into focus the black and white over-riding elements of the story.

What makes this arc so interesting for me is that the targets the Queen sends Ciel and Sebastian after to investigate are shown to have a bit more backdrop and detail to them, drawing similarities to the viewers/readers/etc. to Ciel himself.

Annddd ... I cannot go farther from there because it will lead into spoiler territory for those who have not read the source material, but hopefully those who have also read the source material can generally guess where the train of thought is going.

[ookamigirl]

Grell is baaack!!
Sure has been a while since we've seen him.
Lord Kelvin is a very twisted man.
Vincent looks similar to Sebastian.
They finally showed us how things progressed.
Ciel snapped with good reason.
Shame some parts were censored..
Joker was obviously suffering from delusions & misplaced loyalty.
Those Phantomhive servants sure a re a dangerous bunch.
Damn, the action parts were awesome!

[MCAL]

The message is clear. Don't mess with Phantomhive servants.

And once again, Mamoru Miyano is perfect.

[PreSage]

This adaptation is beautiful (tragically so).

To me, all the characters appear to be victims of their own pursuits. From Kelvin, the Circus group, to Ciel, and even to Grell. They all create their own tragedies when they began to pursue their greedy obsessions. Sebastian may be the only one who is truly outside of this tragic circle of victims - and perhaps may be the only one who truly victimizes - by manipulating Ciel's lust for vengeance that intertwines so many other souls.

The series certainly gives a darker view of choice and consequences that afflict our lives.

...on another note...am I the only one who thinks Ciel's father looks almost exactly like Sebastian? Given that Sebby is a demon, the image he took before Ciel may not be a coincidence. (...and, dang, Ciel's father is hot! Sorry, inner fangirl got loose. ).

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by PreSage

...on another note...am I the only one who thinks Ciel's father looks almost exactly like Sebastian? Given that Sebby is a demon, the image he took before Ciel may not be a coincidence. (...and, dang, Ciel's father is hot! Sorry, inner fangirl got loose. ).

No, I also felt the exact same thing. Perhaps it's just a consequence of the mangaka's style, and I don't remember thinking so when reading the manga, but after seeing Ciel's dad animated I do have to wonder. Perhaps, it was always there and I just missed it in the manga.