Review of Kuroshitsuji II (Black Butler II)

Some of you may remember a series known as Kuroshitsuji a.k.a. Black Butler that aired in 2008. Funimation also acquired the same series for US distribution in March 2010. The original Kuroshitsuji that aired in 2008 was directed by Toshiya Shinohara while the sequel is directed by Hirofumi Ogura. Shinohara did not have any affiliation with the sequel. Kuroshitsuji II requires prior knowledge of the prequel. In addition to the two TV adaptations, the franchise has also spun off a theatrical play and a theatrical musical.

By the way, it's essentially impossible not to spoil this show as their is quite the big one at the end of the first episode. However, I will try to be brief and minimize the spoilers.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!

Summary
Kuroshitsuji II takes place immediately after the end of Kuroshitsuji. If you're reading this I presume you have watched the prequel. Therefore, as we all know, Sebastian was to eat Ciel Phantomhive's soul since the contract between the two had been completed. However, it turns out Sebastian was unable to and now he is off to regain what he had stolen. As shown in the announcement of the sequel, two new members are introduced: Alois Trancy, who is voiced by Nana Mizuki, and his butler Claude Faustus, who is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. Sebastian suspects these two are behind the kidnapping of Ciel's soul. That's as simple as you're going to get.

Review
What Kuroshitsuji II does well is the amount of plot twists in this show. Since I will avoid spoilers, I'll simply say that you should be prepared to expect the unexpected in this show. Before you come to a conclusion as to what will happen, think twice. Scene after scene and event after event, a plot twist is basically thrown at the audience. However, what Kuroshitsuji II lacked was proper pacing and "GOOD" character development that the prequel succeeded in. After the first episode, episodes 2 through about 5 was spent on reintroducing characters from the prequel, all of whom did not play any role in the main story. In fact, most were not seen again until the final few minutes of the finale.

The latter half of the series was quite good, but not great. The show really falls short of what it accomplished in the prequel. Not enough development on Alois's character and a lack of reasoning behind some of the actions that Claude and Alois's maid, Hannah undertake. While most details were explained in the final couple episodes of the series, it only made the series feel more filler-ish or to some extent even fan fiction like. Turns out that this is the case though as apparently none of this happens in the manga. In fact about half of the prequel doesn't even happen in the manga.

Nothing has changed animation wise, but art wise and for a bishounen show, Claude's and Hannah's designs felt rather cheap-looking and definitely filler-like content. They did not come even close to the designs of Ciel and Sebastian and thus felt rather out of context. Alois on the other hand is very well done. Unfortunately, even he did not get much screen time in the end despite all the hype about him being "the star of the sequel."

On another note, music has greatly improved from the first season. Yuki Kajiura is back with a musical score better than ever for this show. It was definitely great to see how both the opening and ending themes also fit properly with the various tones of the show along with the BGMs, which of course most shows nowadays are seemingly incapable of doing.

Overall, for all the hype that Kuroshitsuji was getting, I'm not sorely disappointed with the result of the second season, but am disappointed that it was unable to live up to expectations. It's possible that the result of the first episode caused me to set my bar too high for this show, but even then, considering what else was airing this past summer, there wasn't much to look forward to. Excluding shows that continued from the Spring 2010 season, Highschool of the Dead, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, and Shiki were really the only good shows among the list to look forward to in addition to Kuroshitsuji II. Of course, in the end only one, or at best two, of these shows were meant to really shine and Kuroshitsuji II is surely not one of them. In the end, Kuroshitsuji II was purely a fanservice/fan fiction show.


Recommendations
The one great aspect about Kuroshitsuji and Kuroshitsuji II is that they are unique. There are very few shows out there right now that have a similar plot, let alone setting to the Kuroshitsuji franchise. The closest would likely be Pandora Hearts, which was one of my favorites last year. Vampire Knight is likely the next closest, but even then that's a distant second but by no means a bad show. As for the Fall 2010 season, Otome Youkai Zakuro is probably the closest one will get to a good bishounen show.
While I would recommend the two Hakuoki series, it's not very useful to watch unless you understand the Shinsengumi history. But if you're just watching for the bishounen aspect, that's probably a different thought then. Again, not many shows are similar to Kuroshitsuji besides the bishounen factor.
If you really want to watch more Kuroshitsuji though, there is the theatrical play and musical I stated earlier, but it would seem that this is as far as Kuroshitsuji will get seeing that the sequel's conclusion leaves no other room for development. The only possibility left is a remake of the series once the manga is complete, similar to how Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was done.

Likelihood of US License?
It already has been licensed in the US by Funimation Entertainment. In fact, the show was simulcasted by Funimation a week after it began airing in Japan. Funimation has not yet announced when Kuroshitsuji II will be released on DVD, but it is likely to be in mid to late 2011. The first half of Kuroshitsuji will be released on DVD in the US on January 11, 2011