Welcome to my tribute to this dark and beautiful anime series. I don't believe I've ever seen anything quite like it.

Kuroshitsuji is the story of a 12-year-old Victorian aristocrat named Ciel Phantomhive, the heir to the noble House of Phantomhive and to the family business, Funtom Toys. He was a happy child once, we're told, but that was before an unknown enemy torched the estate, orphaning Ciel and destroying his home. When he returned to rebuild the house and the Funtom Toy empire, he had changed profoundly. It's rare now to ever see him smile: cold, impatient, bitterly angry, he has no time for anything but business matters and his consuming need for revenge. And toward that end, before returning to Phantomhive, he made a bargain, and traded his immortal soul for some very special help. Ciel's handsome and elegant butler, Sebastian Michaelis, is a perfect valet, bodyguard, major-domo and companion, but he's not all he seems to be...

This series draws you in by presenting itself as a simple supernatural adventure with touches of comedy-mystery and lots of eye candy, but once it has you off guard it runs a dagger straight into your heart. It's an exploration of evil and crimes going back centuries, a queen's madness, the terror of angels and the gentle heart of one denizen of Hell. There's no victory, no happy ending, just a finale of exhaustion and despair and yet such deep tenderness. Touching, heartbreaking, dark as a lost soul but capable of the clearest beauty, it is something special.

The background data:

Based on the best-selling manga by Yana Toboso

First series,Kuroshitsuji: 24 episodes
Original TV run on Japan: October 2008 to March 2009
Opening theme: "Monochrome Kiss" by SID
Ending theme: #1: "I'm ALIVE!" by BECCA; #2: "Lacrimosa" by Kalafina

Second series, Kuroshitsuji II:
First episode aired in Japan on July 1, 2010; scheduled for 13 episodes
Opening theme: "SHIVER" by the GazettE
Ending Theme: #1: "Bird" by Yuya Matsushita; #2: "Kagayaku Sora no Sijima ni wa" by Kalafina

Official Japanese website: http://www.kuroshitsuji.tv/

A brief guide to the episodes.

NOW IN PROGRESS: an extended guide to the second series.

"Will you lend yourself to beauty that will horrify?
Let me hide within your black, the still inside your eyes...
So who will follow? Who is the lead?
I know I'll leave a stain, because I'll bleed
as we dance
We all dance
We all--
have no chance in this horrid romance...
Swept off our feet by misery
we're swept into the shadows"

Dancing Through Sunday, afi

---

--much more to come.

Shop for stereos