Book of Public School

*Sobs* Black Butler my beloved. Eventually, I plan to write reviews on all the seasons and OVAs and maybe even the manga—if I ever get around to reading it. This probably isn’t a ‘spoiler free’ review but I’ve tried to keep them to a minimum.

After a long break, Ciel and Sebastian have returned! Continuing his duties as the Queen’s Guard Dog, Ciel is investigating the disappearance of several students from Weston College. Disguising himself as a student, Ciel and Sebastian infiltrate Weston College to discover what has become of the students.

I was very excited to see my beloved characters on my screen again! However, the updated art style was a little jarring at first. I’m not a big fan of the modern anime style of highly saturated colours and harsh lighting. It hurts my eyes ;-; . It’s just so shiny... But the art style grew on me the more I watched. And, hey, as long as Sebastian looks hot while he’s throwing silverware at enemies, I’m not going to complain too much.

As much as 11 episodes were the perfect length for this arc, I wish it was longer! It has been so long since the last arc (Book of the Atlantic in 2017) and it was over so quickly. Regardless of my complaining, the length and pacing were perfect. I definitely think it's an arc that you either need to binge or watch week by week. Waiting for each episode helped build the suspense and gave you time to formulate you own theories before they revealed the next part. The plot was brilliant, and the twist was very cleverly executed. I can definitely say that even though I had suspected the twist, the extent of it wasn’t something I had anticipated. It built off of important reveals from Book of the Atlantic and you can see that the writers have begun the main plot of the story.

There were also so many fun characters this arc! Prince Soma and his butler, Agni, made a reappearance, as well as Undertaker and Edward Midford. Soma is one of my favourites and his exuberant energy balances out Ciel’s analytical nature. There were also many new characters, including the ‘P4’—Weston College’s prefects—and McMillan—Ciel’s classmate and almost-friend. McMillian was probably my favourite of the new characters but I did spend the whole time worried he would go the same way as Doll from Book of Circus. Tragically, Grell did not make an appearance, which I’m sure many people other than myself were a little sad about. But she was a main feature in Book of the Atlantic and, well, it would have been pretty hard for Sebastian to get anything done if she was there! But her presence was dearly missed.

One of the reasons I really love Black Butler is the use of humour to balance out the very heavy themes. This arc continued that, with plenty of funny scenes to balance out the investigation into the disappearances. The arc was mostly suspense with very little ‘dark’ scenes until near the end. It was a nice change of pace from the previous three arcs (Book of the Atlantic, Book of Murder, and Book of Circus), which were all considerably heavier and darker from earlier points. Instead, for most of Public School, we got to see Ciel experience a facet of ‘normal life’, something that had been unattainable to him previously. He went to class, made friends, played cricket...all activities that should have been a normal part of his life. I remember commenting to my housemate while watching it that it was tragic to see Ciel experiencing something that he should have been able to have, knowing that once the case is over, he will have to return to his lonely manor and isolating life.

Book of Public School continued on from previous arc’s strongly, despite the large break between seasons. Even with the change in art style, the series’ original charm shines through. I would definitely recommend watching Public School if you’re a Black Butler fan that’s been hesitant! If you haven’t seen Black Butler and this has intrigued you, see check out this reddit post for where to start with the show.
How do you watch Black Butler in Chronological Order—Reddit