Initially released in October 2008, Black Butler is a highly popular historical supernatural anime series. Since its release, the series quickly became popular for its unique and dark storyline, eventually garnering a massive fanbase. The anime became so popular that it was adapted for three seasons, two OVAs, three musicals, one movie, and even a video game for the Nintendo DS.
Even though the anime adaptation’s popularity seems to be slowing down, the manga’s sales continue to do exceptionally well. Because of this, Black Butler still continues to have a solid fanbase, and the series has remained strong ever since its initial publication.
The Black Butler anime adaption doesn’t have a linear timeline, unlike other series. As such, it can get quite confusing, but we can’t deny the numbers, which clearly show that the series has an avid and loyal fanbase. Until today, fans remain curious as to whether Black Butler will be getting a fourth installment.
The Premise of Black Butler
So, what exactly is Black Butler all about? Here’s a quick refresher for those who need it: created by Tana Toboso, published by Monthly GFantasy, and then later adapted into an anime series by A-1 Pictures Studios, Black Butler follows the life and story of Ciel Phantomhive, a 13-year-old earl from London set during the Victorian era.
On his tenth birthday, the Phantomhive manner is attacked and set on fire, ultimately killing Ciel’s parents. On the other hand, Ciel is kidnapped and later sold to a cult that worshipped demons. Ciel is badly mistreated and abused in the hands of the cult’s members, leading him to form a contract with a demon he meets.
Ciel names this particular demon as Sebastian Michaelis, and their contract states that Sebastian will help Ciel take revenge on everyone who ever did him wrong in exchange for his soul. To help Ciel take revenge, Sebastian poses as his butler so that they can stay by each other’s side at all times.
As for Ciel, he decides to be the Earl of the Phantomhive manor, replacing his father as the watchdog of Queen Victoria. As the Queen’s watchdog, Ciel is tasked to investigate various cases and strange happenings within London that have the potential to cause chaos in the country and disrupt the crown.
In Season 2, we are introduced to a brand-new character named Alois Trancy, the Trancy Earldom’s heir. At first, he seems to be a character who lives a privileged life, but as we get to know him more, it’s revealed that his past tells a completely different narrative. Just like Ciel, Alois was kidnapped at a very young age and was eventually sold into slavery.
Alois was rescued eventually, but his father passed away soon after he returned home. Not everyone believes his story and what he has been through, however, so they distrust him and view him with a critical eye. What makes Alois even more interesting is his butler, Claud Faustus, who also appears to be a supernatural being.
Will We Ever See a Season 4?
Given Black Butler’s undeniable success, it makes sense why fans continue to hope for a fifth season, even though the anime adaptation was treated poorly. What do we mean by this? If you’re a fan of the source material, you know that only a third was canon in the 24 episodes that were aired in Season 1. In other words, about two-thirds of the entire first season contained only fillers, along with an ending that didn’t follow the manga.
It’s highly likely that the production company didn’t expect the show’s booming popularity and wanted to make the most of it as much as possible. However, the manga series was adapted into an anime series early on into the manga’s publication. In other words, there simply wasn’t enough source material for the show.
While fans did get a Black Butler Season 2, it’s infamous for being lackluster and terrible. Many fans were disappointed with the outcome of the second installment, as it delivered only original anime-only content and main characters that the fans simply didn’t like. Unsurprisingly, Season 2 was not received well.
Nevertheless, the show remained popular. Instead of starting over from scratch like what Studio Bones did with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Black Butler’s production company decided to give fans Black Butler: Book of Circus as the third installment. Now, even though this was considered as the third season, Book of Circus is a 10-episode anime adaption of the manga’s Circus arc, which supposedly takes place after episode 15 of the first season.
Fortunately, Book of Circus appeased the fans and it received a positive response, allowing the show to keep on going. From there, Black Butler: Book of Murder was released, OVAs that went on for two hours. These OVAs followed the Phantomhive Manor Murders arc. Lastly, a movie was released following the Luxury Liner arc entitled Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic.
Even though the last three entries in the animated franchise are faithful to the source material, this has caused the anime’s timeline to become quite confusing. This is because all the entries technically take place in Season 1, but they are just presented via different mediums.
Not only that, both Book of Murder and Book of the Atlantic aren’t considered as Seasons 4 and 5 of the show, respectively, which could cause even more confusion among fans. This is because most of the time, anime OVAs are almost never canon to the source material. OVAs are typically where writers allowed a bit more room for creativity.
Given how convoluted everything has become at this point, we highly doubt that Black Butler will be getting an official Season 4.
Conclusion
It’s a shame that fans of the Black Butler anime series probably won’t be seeing another season of the show. On the bright side, you could always pick up the manga series and start investing your time there instead. That being said, if you wish to remain hopeful, feel free to do so seeing as A-1 Pictures Studios still hasn’t made an official announcement yet anyway.
