“No Better Than Devils”: The Dark Reflection of Humanity in Black Butler (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

    

    The anime Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) presents a dark and stylized tale set in Victorian England, where demons walk among humans, contracts bind souls, and morality is perpetually in question. At its surface, the narrative follows a noble boy, Ciel Phantomhive, and his demonic butler, Sebastian Michaelis, as they solve crimes and enact revenge. However, beneath its elegant, gothic aesthetic lies a deeper philosophical theme: the idea that the boundary between human and devil is perilously thin. In Black Butler, humans are not portrayed as inherently more virtuous or righteous than devils. Rather, the series suggests that human beings—through their capacity for cruelty, hypocrisy, and moral compromise—are often indistinguishable from the very demons they fear.

    At the center of this blurred moral landscape stands Sebastian Michaelis, a demon who serves Ciel after the boy enters into a Faustian contract. Though Sebastian is explicitly inhuman, he often appears more composed, principled, and even civilized than the humans he interacts with. His actions are guided by a clear, unwavering purpose: he will serve Ciel until his revenge is complete, at which point he will consume the boy’s soul. There is no pretense of virtue in Sebastian’s nature; his evil is straightforward and unapologetic. Ironically, it is the humans—cloaked in social status, religion, or duty—who commit the most heinous acts under the guise of righteousness. Throughout the series, members of the aristocracy exploit children, clergy participate in cover-ups, and nobles use charity as a front for corruption. These individuals, unlike Sebastian, claim moral superiority while perpetuating evil. In this way, the anime asks a provocative question: is it worse to be a devil by nature or a human by choice?

    Ciel Phantomhive himself embodies this moral ambiguity. As a traumatized orphan and the Queen’s Watchdog, Ciel is charged with maintaining order by any means necessary. His pursuit of vengeance against those who destroyed his family drives him to manipulate, threaten, and even kill. Though he is a child, his emotional detachment and calculated cruelty mirror Sebastian’s demonic disposition. The contract he forms with Sebastian is not only a pact with a devil—it is a rejection of conventional morality. Ciel does not strive to be good or kind; he seeks power and justice, regardless of the cost. In doing so, he begins to resemble the very being he commands. Ciel’s transformation reveals the central irony of Black Butler: the human protagonist grows increasingly devil-like, while the demon appears, at times, more stable and loyal than any human character.    

    Furthermore, the anime deconstructs traditional notions of evil by presenting devils and humans as products of the same impulses. Devils in Black Butler are not simply supernatural entities—they are reflections of human desires. They exist to make deals, to fulfill wishes born from grief, anger, and ambition. But humans themselves often act on these very motivations, with or without a contract. Characters in the series pursue wealth, revenge, and control in ways that cost others their lives. Sebastian may feed on souls, but the humans in the story often destroy souls metaphorically—through exploitation, betrayal, and violence. The only difference is that devils are honest about what they are.

    By portraying devils as straightforward and humans as morally ambiguous, Black Butler undermines the binary distinction between good and evil. It suggests that evil is not a supernatural force but a human condition. The true horror in the series does not lie in demonic powers or hellish creatures, but in what humans are willing to do when pushed by trauma, power, or desperation. Even Ciel, the ostensible victim, becomes a vessel of vengeance and manipulation. His actions, while understandable, demonstrate how suffering can turn innocence into something far darker.


Now that I talked in general about this anime, I'd like to focus on one of its arcs. The Book of Circus, to be more precise. Nowhere is the moral ambiguity of Black Butler more devastatingly portrayed than the Book of Circus, in my opinion.

    This storyline brings the philosophical tension between humanity and demonic nature into sharp focus. As Ciel and Sebastian infiltrate a traveling circus suspected of abducting children, the audience is drawn into a world of illusion, pain, and tragic complicity. What begins as a charming spectacle unravels into a harrowing portrait of exploitation—one orchestrated not by demons, but by humans.   

    The performers of the Noah’s Ark Circus, many of whom suffer from physical deformities and childhood trauma, initially seem like victims. Taken in by a charismatic "father figure" known as the Doctor, they are promised a better life and a sense of belonging. However, this promise is laced with manipulation. The performers kidnap children on behalf of Baron Kelvin, a human nobleman whose obsession with creating the “perfect” circus stems from twisted altruism. His motivations—nostalgia, guilt, and a desire for atonement—are all deeply human, and yet his actions are monstrously cruel. This duality underscores one of the series’ core assertions: the most horrifying acts are often driven by sentimental, even sympathetic, emotions.    

    Ciel’s role in the Book of Circus arc further illustrates how vengeance erodes the moral high ground. He poses as a member of the circus to uncover the truth but ultimately becomes its judge, jury, and executioner. When the performers' crimes are confirmed, Ciel orders their deaths without hesitation. This calculated decision reveals a chilling truth: while the circus troupe abducted children under misguided loyalty, Ciel destroys them with full knowledge and emotional detachment. Sebastian carries out the slaughter with his usual elegance, but the command itself comes from a human boy. Once again, the demon does not corrupt the human—it is the human who wields the devil as a weapon of his own dark will.

    Book of Circus also challenges the romanticized image of innocence. The children who are abducted represent purity, but their captors—once innocent children themselves—have been twisted by the cruelty of the adult world. In this way, the arc paints a cyclical portrait of suffering: the abused become abusers, the exploited become exploiters. The demons, including Sebastian, are constants—unchanging forces who act according to their nature. Humans, however, mutate under pain and trauma, often becoming more monstrous than the demons they fear. What truly separates Sebastian from the members of the circus? He kills because it is his nature and contract. They kill because of loss, manipulation, and a desperate need for belonging. In both cases, innocence is lost, but only the demon is honest about it.

(A bit off-topic here, but Sebastian was my crush back in my childhood. I got 'em issues lol XD)

You can watch the opening for Book of Circus here 👀