It hasn’t been the same ever since.
Manga spoilers ahead!
Summary:
- Black Butler has always been dark, but earlier chapters didn’t have a lot of stakes.
- Everything changed when the manga revealed there were two Ciels.
- Our Ciel might have a horrifying ending now.
Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) is a dark fantasy series, and the word “dark” is not there just because there are demons and death in the series. Some of its contents might be highly disturbing for a number of readers, that’s why the series is rated R (not recommended for audiences under the age of 17).
It Didn’t Use to Be THAT Dark
Still, the earlier chapters of the series weren’t as dark as you could expect. Yes, there were unsettling scenes and twists, but we can’t say that someone treated the series too seriously. The humor made a lot of things seem less dangerous.
Moreover, although Black Butler always had a lot of deaths, we could always be sure that Ciel and Sebastian as well as a big number of side characters would be okay. There were stakes in the series indeed, but they were never that high. Until the moment that changed everything.
Two Ciels Plot Twist Changed a Lot
Chapter 129 introduced a plot twist that proved a lot of fan theories: Ciel used to have a twin brother. Moreover, it turned out that our Ciel wasn’t even the real one. He took his brother’s identity and has been pretending to be him ever since.
This plot twist was already shocking by itself, but the most important thing is its meaning for the entire series. It split Black Butler into two parts: the one before the reveal and the one after it, and the manga has never been the same ever since.
There are still a lot of mysteries about the R!Ciel (real Ciel) and fans aren’t sure whether he might become an ally to O!Ciel (our Ciel) in the future or if he’ll have the honor to be the “final boss” of the manga. Right now it looks like there’s strong opposition between the brothers, but we know how fast things can change in Black Butler.
The reveal of R!Ciel means a lot of things for the series. Its vibe became even more sinister and frightening, new stakes were introduced. We’re not so confident anymore that O!Ciel will make it out alive.
It was obvious that there was hardly a happy ending for O!Ciel. He made a deal with a demon, and had to pay for it with his soul. So fans imagined Black Butler ending with Ciel and Sebastian dealing with that. But now we have more possibilities.
O!Ciel might suffer the most gruesome death and defeat at the hands of R!Ciel, and everyone is afraid of that. No matter who the real Phantomhive Earl is, we’ve spent years with O!Ciel and are naturally on his side. But his chances of having a peaceful ending started fading when his brother joined the story.