Black Butler, Vol. 1

"One of my favorite Manga series! I love the dark fantasy creatures and characters. Besides that all, Sebastian is one Handsome Devil of a Butler! ✌😉 Volume 1 does an excellent job of introducing the main characters and their usual behaviors, as well as their purpose(s) within this world. Ciel is Lord Phantomhive, his parents are dead by at this point unknown causes; though the fact that he has made a deal with a devil (Sebastian) hints that they were murdered and perhaps he wants revenge. Ciel himself is an absolute brat, seemingly only interested in games and the success of his company and the Queen's commands (more on this later). Sebastian is the devil who has accepted Ciel's contract, and thus is his loyal servant until the contract is completed. He is shown again and again to be the only capable servant of the household, taking care of the other staffs' jobs repeatedly and serving to prove how incapable they are. In any other instance, I would wonder why the others are still around, but it is because they are so incapable that they work so well here. Where they stand in awe of Sebastian's skill in every situation, any normal person would question where he came from, how he is so skilled, and get offended at him showing off constantly. These staff members however, are not the sharpest, and thus they have no second thoughts beyond, "Sebastian is so impressive!" As for the staff themselves, let's begin with Mey-Rin, the housemaid. She has a huge crush on Sebastian, she is drastically clumsy yet insists on always running (which always ends in catastrophe), and has her head always in the clouds. As with the rest of the staff, she has the ability to follow orders but has very little autonomy with her job. Next, let's discuss the chef, Baldroy. Like the others, he is easily excitable. He seems to be the leader between the three main staff members, as any time Sebastian is elsewhere, Baldo is the one getting them all into trouble. He has a ... unique idea of cooking, as we see him try to cook beef using a blowtorch, resulting in the meat being burnt and unfit for the upcoming meal. He is usually the one coming up with the troublesome schemes and horrible ideas concerning the jobs of all three of the main staff, and he somehow always has a cigarette hanging from his mouth and goggles hanging from his neck, perhaps hinting at his pyromaniac tendencies. Finally, there is the gardener, Finnian. He is a sweet, soft-hearted boy with the worst luck in the world. Finny, as they call him, is always sporting his gardening hat and gloves, yet we see him indoors far more often than we ever see him outdoors. He accidentally killed all the trees and grass when trying to spray herbicide after weeding the lawn, so perhaps it is for the best. And of course, the introductions wouldn't be finished without Tanaka, the always-chibi elderly man who nobody seems to completely understand the purpose of. His introduction itself is even questioning why he is here: "House Steward(?) Tanaka". He is almost always seen in chibi form drinking tea and chuckling to himself. He doesn't ever DO much, but he is a sweet relief from the constant surrounding chaos. All in all, it is the character flaws that make this household work the way it does. They really work together to make a story that is part slice-of-life with very mundane disasters, high society slice-of-life with the occasional underworld-busting action (as the Phantomhive family is the "Watchdog of the Queen" and does her bidding wiping out the filth of the societal underbelly), and part exciting supernatural adventure. I. Am. Here. For. It. All."

"Trust me, you'll like the manga better than you liked the anime"