To cut it short: you can, but…
Summary:
- Black Butler: Public School Arc is not a reboot, it’s a sequel.
- There are three anime seasons, a movie and several OVAs.
- You don’t have to watch them all to start the new season.
Black Butler: Public School Arc (Kuroshitsuji: Kishuku Gakkou-hen) started airing a couple of days ago, and a lot of anime veterans are on cloud nine because one of their favorite duos is back.
But what if you’re an anime newbie and don’t really understand all the hype surrounding Black Butler? We know, it seems interesting enough to give it a try, but there’s a lot of anime content already. Do you really need to watch all of that?
Public School Arc Is a Sequel
The new season is not a remake or a reboot of the series, it’s a direct continuation of it, so we’d suggest you at least watch something before jumping into the Public School Arc.
The beauty of Black Butler is that many story arcs revolve around a single case that Sebastian and Ciel are trying to solve.
The Public School Arc is also like that, it can be experienced as a stand-alone project as well. But it won’t be as interesting for you, since it will take some time to get attached to these characters and understand who they are.
There are three anime seasons of Black Butler (1, 2 and Book of Circus), there is also the Book of the Atlantic movie and a couple of Book of Murder OVAs, but the good news is that you don’t have to watch them all to experience the new season.
You Can Watch Only the Canon Content
The thing is, a lot of Black Butler episodes are non-canon because there weren’t enough manga chapters back when the anime was airing.
So if you want to follow just the canon content, you should watch Season 1 Episodes 1-6 and Episodes 13-15, then move on to Season 3, aka Book of Circus, and watch the Book of the Atlantic movie.
The Book of Murder OVAs are also canon, but it’s up to you to decide whether you want to watch them or not.
As you can see, it’s not that much content, but it’ll give you a perfect idea of what Black Butler really is and what character dynamic there is between Ciel and Sebastian. So you’re safe to go right into the Public School Arc after all of that.
Still, the rest of Season 1 episodes and the entire Season 2 are also great. Just keep in mind that these parts of the story weren’t in the manga, and don’t let the finale of Season 2 confuse you, it’s just not canon.
But if you find yourself in love with Ciel, Sebastian and their story, then you might want to watch even the non-canon parts of the anime as well, since there are great moments and characters there, too. You just don’t necessarily need them before experiencing the new season.