Black Butler movie review

Synopsis: Live action adaptation of of the manga/anime adaptation of the same name. Set in the alternate future instead of the original setting, Kiyoharu and his demon butler Sebastian investigates the Devil's Curse deaths.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan

Review: As an anime fan, I am very selective now with the type of genre. I am not quite updated with the new ones except for the best ones that I like. But I heard fans are talking about the Black Butler. This movie made me a newbie fan for this reasons. I like dark stories.

Sebastian Michaelis is not the hero type. He is still a demon. But he does what Kiyoharu ask to do. But he is just as suave and cool as he appears. Especially when he said, "I am just a...devilish butler" as the English subtitle says. But my only minor concern was Sebastian was that he looks Asian in both manga and live action but he is still a demon in human form. But Hiro Mizushima did justice for the role. He was stone cold and you cannot read his face for any expression. I knew Mizushima as Kamen Rider Kabuto and already saw him in other Japanese movies and TV series like Beck, Gokusen 2, and Hana-Kimi.

As for Kiyuharu, she can be heroic but her traumatic experience changed her perspective about faith. Her relationship with Sebastian is not different from any shonen genre. Ayame Goukiri did well acting like a girl in disguise of an aristocratic boy. It is not unusual for to cross-dressed as a man in Japanese pop culture. It seems like she is doing well in live-action adaptation since she was also in Gatchaman movie. She also does voice dubbing in Japanese dialogue for Hollywood movies.  She was Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus and the younger Mystique in X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

The other actors I am familiar with was Yuu Shirota who played as Charles Bennet Sato. His features can make him look like Eurasian. I've seen him in some movies and he's also in Hana-Kimi with Mizushima. Masato Ibu plays Shinpei Kuzo and like Ayame, he is no stranger for the being live-action adaptations and  kaiju movies since he is a regular in Godzilla movies and Space Battleship Yamato. He is also in Stephen Spielberg's Empire of The Sun for the obvious role.

The setting is an alternate future where there is European monarchy in an Asian setting. It differed from the original manga story which was set in a Victorian era to make it new for the fans. The fight scenes are also kick-ass and can also compete with Hong Kong movie stunts. The story can be compared to a detective/suspense/mystery stories because of many twists and I hope there is a sequel for it.

Black Butler is distributed by Warner Bros. Japan but it is released here by Axinite Digicinema is now showing exclusively in SM Cinemas. Thanks to SM Cinema for screening anime and live-action adaptations since Rurouni Kenshin. I screened Black Butler at SM Director's Club in Megamall. For more anime adaptation reviews, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.