Audience reviews
17 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
colelouch
I was surprised to see some Black Butler fans describe Book of Murder as boring, because I was genuinely curious to see how the series would follow up after Book of Circus, especially with the shift to a movie-style format, and in my view, they absolutely delivered. I approached it with some skepticism and cautious optimism, especially since I’ve read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories and had a general sense of where certain mystery elements might lead. However, it was clear that Yana Toboso anticipated this familiarity from her audience and crafted a plot full of unexpected twists and intricately layered developments.
What impressed me most was how the story subverted the typical detective trope of having just "one genius in the room." Instead, Book of Murder kept shifting expectations,…
Read at the sourceNerdodivergent
Black Butler is truly the Forrest Gump of anime. If you're watching this I'm going to assume you've watched all the previous arcs. The idea that this 12 year old and his chaotic group of servants are directly involved with all these historical events is incredible. Every time I see it grow more I lose it laughing.
Two episodes. Each an hour long. Fantastic. My jaw was dropping all the time. There's a ton of new characters introduced just for this arc alongside the classics. It's great. I think I felt every single emotion in the 2 hours I spent watching. My heart shattered and was put back together. All the twists and turns got me so good.
It's got the classic gore of all the previous arcs, along with phenomenal humor and heartwarming moments (Finny is and will forever be best boy). If yo…
Read at the sourcePanda_Roll
The book of murder follows the Cirus arc in the manga (and the finale of the OVA)
This one is a simple murder mystery that follows quite a few tropes from Sherlock Holmes down to having Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a dinner guest taking notes and a figure that "inspires" the fictional Sherlock Holmes.
The OVA is two episodes each an hour long, sadly it offers nothing new BUT if you watch it after the book of circus you'll notice further character development from Ciel, the kid reaches new levels of low that makes him far more enjoyable than what we got in S1 (aka a spoiled brat).
Overall a fun OVA but predictable.
Read at the sourceBabyGirl06301
Well, this was different. But, like... in a good way. For a hot minute, I thought this would be another piece of Black Butler that made zero sense, but it turned out to be a fun little mystery.
It didn't really forward the overall plot of Black Butler that much, but it was still quite entertaining to watch. It reminded me a lot of a dinner party where the guests will play a whodunit game as the entertainment.
It's hard to review two episodes, but basically, if you love Black Butler, you'll love Book of Murder. Tanaka is surprisingly badass, plus Ciel's quite the little actor. So is Sebastian, I suppose. I don't know, if you want a rainy day anime, watch this. It's cool, it's fun, that's all I got. Adios.
Read at the sourcesaeid_2k
I finished Kuroshitsuji aka Black Butler in April, and it was a great show,but I never really got around to book of murder because of high school and forgot about it for a while. Then yesterday my 10Am college class was cancelled so I decide to watch it.
Book of murder follows Ciel Phantomhive after the events of book of circus. He is asked to host a party attended by several of the finest members of polite society—as well as struggling author, Arthur. But as the party reaches its high, a terrible murder takes place. As a violent storm rages on outside, the death count continues to climb. The Phantomhive household and their eminent guests find they must cooperate in order to solve this mystery before they too fall prey to the mysterious murderer. However, it seems that not even the perfe…
Read at the sourceSpringball64
I absolutely love the mystery theme, especially ones that fit the mystery train genre type (there's a killer we are all trapped with and we need to find them before we all die) and Book of Murder delivered this, along with all of my fun favourite characters (except Grell ;-;).
Story: This story is very well done. Bringing back characters that fans haven't seen for a while, and it's pacing was done fairly well. Mystery genres are almost always slow, as was this, but they have to be to keep it interesting and make the audience continually guess what's going to happen next. This was definitely a great storyline of Kuroshitsuji and among one of my favourite adaptations, 8/10.
Art: The art once again, did not disappoint in this series/OVA of Kuroshitsuji. It did not dip in quality and was alw…
Read at the sourceKatrov
I'll start by saying I read this story in the manga before watching this, yet I was not disappointed in the adaptation. (also some spoilers will be mentioned)
TL;DR: Worth a watch if you like Black Butler at all.
I also like to start ratings at 5/10 and go up or down from there.
Story: 8/10
All in all, this mystery was fun, engaging and I didn't not feel like it dragged on despite my initial thinking two one-hour episodes might be a bit long, particularly when the story seemed to be wrapping up halfway through the second episode. However, it still kept me interested but I could see how the ending might be a bit confusing for people who haven't seen Book of Circus.
There were a few scenes that made specific references to Book of Circus, particularly the main villain's "motive" (althou…
Read at the sourcebluecoke_
Well, that was a pleasant surprise! This was much better than I thought it'd be, and I enjoyed it far more than I enjoyed the first season, and the Book of Circus.
Story: 7
I expected the plot twist with Sebastian but there were still a few things that caught me off guard, which made the plot even more enjoyable. The story kicked in rather strong, and grabbed my attention from the start, which was something I must say the other seasons that I'd watched didn't really succeed in doing. Pacing was a bit slow in some parts but settled well into a faster pace halfway. Loved the ending, from how they dealt with the case to the last minute of the episode. Overall solid plot, albeit a bit predictable in some places.
Art: 8 Sound: 8.5
No problems with these either and the sound effects were act…
Read at the sourcechiapet-IRL
I watched this directly after Book of Circus, and it didn't disappoint.
Based on the Murder arc in the manga, these OVAs seem to follow the story very strictly.
As with the Book of Circus, the animation is wonderful and the art is beautiful as always. If you were disappointed by the first and second seasons of Kuroshitsuji, I think you'll be pleased with these new seasons. It is still a good blend of humor and friendship as well as darkness and suffering, and shouldn't be taken lightly.
That being said, if you like murder mysteries (which Kuroshitsuji is full of) then you will definitely enjoy this one. Even having previously known how this would end, some of the twists are still quite cool and entertaining, not boring in the slightest.
Read at the sourceAtticusIzayoi
'' I devote my entire being to you. Until the day ... that lies become truth ! ''
After two seasons of mostly non-canon, original material, the Kuroshitsuji series returned to Yana Toboso's manga canon with the famous Book of Circus. After its success, the story of a demon and his young master continued with a next chapter : Book of Murder !
Book of Murder adapts its plot from the Phantomhive Manor Murders arc from the manga. It is a nicely done arc, with an intriguing story, which evolves like a detective story, so that the viewer can participate to its solution. As every good mystery, it has many nice twists and it also uses the famous pattern of the closed room murders (something that gave me some Umineko no naku koro ni vibes). Except from that, another thing that serves as a homage t…
Read at the sourcePilar_S
[English and Spanish review]
[English]
Why you may want to watch this OVA?
If you love Sebastian, and you probably do, you will feel the need to watch him every time as possible.
But, in my opinion, this is not a really interesting story. A "riddle" quite predictible, with the same structure of an ordinary mistery novel, trying to pay tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle... a little bit boring (and I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes)
And the worst part is that Sebastian does not appear that much, so, it's not really worth it, even though he is as charming as always.
Sorry! but I would not mind not to have watched this. In one word: expendable.
[Spanish]
Por qué podrías querer ver este OVA?
Si te encanta Sebastian, y probablemente así es, sentirás la necesidad de verlo cuantas veces sea posibl…
Read at the sourceNameWithheld
I think I can say with full conviction that I hate Black Butler now. The first season was repetitive and monotonous, but was at least funny enough to keep me going. The second season was a mess, but was surprisingly much better because it shook things up. The third season was more like season one, but at least was really short, more creative, and had pretty art.
Book of Murder was the last straw. Black Butler can officially go fuck itself. Not since Demon King Daimao has an anime pissed me off so much.
I think my biggest problem with Black Butler is the Black Butler himself. With him, all suspense or concept of telling a story is thrown out the window. I know how everything is going to go. Book of Murder's ending was absolute crap. I was shocked by how stupid it was, and was mad at myse…
Read at the sourceren6
What do you think of being invited to a party and then find yourself trying to solve a murder case?
A-1 Pictures bring to us now "Book of Murder", this two-part OVA, after the so commented "Book of Circus", both, the true sequels for the first Kuroshitsuji anime.
Book of Murder have a very simple plot: solve a mysterious assassination case in a mansion, in which all the suspects are trapped inside it on a rainy day. Everyone can be the murderer, you can't trust anyone.
Strongly inspired in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Book of Murder have everything the fans of policial mystery can ask: suspense, supernatural, awesome tricks and to add a little more, a bit of comedy.
STORY
After the events of Book of Circus, Ciel is now asked by the Queen to give a party and receive some guests. A succe…
Read at the sourceHeartRIF
My thoughts:
As a person who is a huge fan of kuroshitsuji franchise I can say I fangirled the living hell out of me while watching this series Kuroshitsuji: Book of Murder. If you are watched all of the Kuroshitsuji from the start to the end you will be pleased with this story. I love how they connected Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus and Kuroshitsuji: Book of Murder together and did not forget what happend in the last series. I love the mysteriousness and the Detective-Like Censorious which kind of reminded me of the stereo typical Detective novels we all read somewhere in our lives.
what bothers me the most is that you could sometimes foresee what will happen but still you would find it interesting enough to continue watching until the end. the story was kinda ok but i think it was a bit…
Read at the sourceeskimoseb
In a match made in heaven, the Japanese interpretation of English aristocracy finally meets one of the most English of inventions, the mighty Sherlock Holmes! This is Black Butler’s most serious and mature arc yet. Fear not though, because it’s also one of its best. Book of Murder’s two hour long episodes are a very worthy addition the Black Butler universe.
Book of Murder places a stronger focus than is Black Butler’s norm on the details of the storyline, so I am happy to say that story-wise this is one of the strongest entries to the series yet. Chronologically, Murder sits right after the Book of Circus arc, so you’ll definitely want to watch that first. For people who have watched Circus, Book of Murder nicely references events of the Circus storyline, while tying up a few loose ends…
Read at the sourceSmugdear
There is a truth that not needed to discover for our own good
Bringing the old tradition of the classical detective story theme, Book of Murder covers right after Book of Circus arc. The story starts in Phantomhive manor, the queen order Ciel Phantomhive to held a banquet in his manor. The banquet was poisoned by a homicide that quickly turned the banquet into a death zone. Ciel must unravel the truth within the homicide.
This OVA actually did their job well. Although there is no "mystery" in the genres, Book of Murder offers the genres. The mystery have both predictable & unpredictable things, but despite of that, the anime still managed to allure the audience with its excitement. The characters do their roles pretty well, there is a historical character that can be found here (Arthur C…
Read at the sourcedjfred8
As I am a adept of mystery anime and gore stuff I was looking forward a lot to this OVA, especially after this delicious book of Circus. If I gotta say something now, it would be UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT storywise.
I like to predict plots and event in anime before they happen and see of things will go how I planned it or they will be innovative. This OVA went perfectly as I planned, nothing too mysterious nor threatening, I predicted the whole thing since I saw the picture on MAL and it happened what did happen. Too many clichés but it was still Kuroshitsuji-style. There was quite some fanservice for both genders but don't worry, it's not abused like in *hum* FT *hum*
Otherwise everything else was good, don't expect anything too fancy from this than from a normal Kuroshitsuji episode. In the…
Read at the source
