Short Takes: Black Butler and Crown of Love
This week’s column examines two recent releases: Yana Taboso’s cosplay-friendly, fan-favorite Black Butler (Yen Press), currently the bestselling manga in the US, and Yun Kouga’s pop soap opera Crown of Love (VIZ). Though I can’t say either were high on my “most anticipated of 2010″ list, I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how entertaining both were — two examples of genre fiction done right.
BLACK BUTLER, VOL. 1
BY YANA TABOSO • YEN PRESS • 192 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)
Behind every great man is a great butler, the kind of servant who not only presses suits and polishes silver, but provides etiquette lessons and dance instruction, selects just the right tea to accompany a delicate breakfast of poached salmon, and handles rude guests and intruders with equal panache. Sebastian Michaelis, butler to the Phantomhive clan, is just such a man. In addition to running the household’s day-to-day affairs, he also serves as the de facto parent and advisor of twelve-year-old Ciel Phantomhive, the family “patriarch” and owner of an enormous manufacturing business specializing in — what else? — candy and toys. When Ciel is kidnapped by a mafioso in a pinstripe suit, Sebastian’s skills are put to the ultimate test: can he rescue his master before dinner and still get a decent meal on the table?
If you’re thinking, “Gee, Black Butler sounds a lot like Godchild and Hayate the Combat Butler,” you’re right — Yana Taboso borrows shamelessly from both series. Yet for all its borrowings — the Gothic fashions, the Victorian setting, the slapstick violence — Black Butler proves enjoyable in its own right. Taboso’s character designs aren’t as sensually beautiful as Kaori Yuki’s, nor is Taboso’s imagination as fertile (or, frankly, strange), but Taboso is a far more disciplined storyteller than Yuki. Even when Black Butler takes a turn for the supernatural, the plot makes sense, at least within the parameters that Taboso establishes in the opening pages. (Historians may cavil with her depiction of Victorian London as populated by eye-patch fetishists and hit men in stovepipe pants. Then again, I doubt Eric Hobsbawm was the intended audience.) Another plus are Taboso’s action scenes, which are surprisingly coherent and fun; the book closes with a shoot-out that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Woo movie, given Sebastian’s acrobatic moves and lethal deployment of cutlery.
The bottom line: I’m not sure I want to see this premise stretched out over twenty volumes, but Black Butler seems like a genuine guilty pleasure.
CROWN OF LOVE, VOL. 1
BY YUN KOUGA • VIZ • 192 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)
Most of us go through a phase of celebrity-worship in which we plaster our bedroom walls with pictures of favorite singers, memorize their songs, and become experts on their personal lives: who they’ve dated, where they like to hang out. High school student Hisayoshi Tajima initially seems like the type who wouldn’t deign to read Tiger Beat. A chance encounter with popular performer Rima Fujio awakens his inner fanboy, however, prompting him to follow her career with keen interest. When Hiyayoshi’s good looks and natural singing talent bring him to the attention of Rima’s former manager, Hiyayoshi views Ikeshiba’s promise of stardom as a unique opportunity to get to know Rima as a peer, not a fan. There’s just one catch: Rima is jealous of Hisayoshi, whom she views as competition for Ikeshiba’s attention.
Trite as Crown of Love sounds, Yun Kouga spins a surprisingly good yarn, filled with complex characters and emotionally resonant scenes that rise well above the usual idol-fantasy fare. Both Hisayoshi and Rima come from troubled households: Hisayoshi’s father, a world-renown opera singer, is a petty tyrant, while Rima’s mother is a blowsy ne’er-do-well who’s all-too-eager to spend her daughter’s earnings. In less experienced hands, these backstories might seem like melodramatic diversions, but Kouga handles them skillfully, using these scenes to enrich the story’s texture and reveal hidden facets of her leads’ personalities. Kouga employs a simple, direct style that’s reminiscent of Keiko Nishi’s; stripped clean of the fussy costumes and distracting screentone patterns that are a hallmark of the idol genre, Kouga’s artwork focuses primarily on the characters’ faces, allowing us a glimpse into their turbulent inner lives. It’s this kind of attention to emotional detail that makes Crown of Love so engaging, even when the plot capitulates to genre convention.
The bottom line: Crown of Love is much, much better than it has any right to be, given its “OMG! idols” premise. Recommended.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC.
Then again, I doubt Eric Hobsbawm was the intended audience.)
*snickers* This made me laugh. I’m totally in agreement with you on “Butler” (I love your point about her being a much more disciplined storyteller than Yuki) and I’m relieved both you and Melinda have signed off on “Crown of Love” (I’ve ordered a copy through Rightstuf so who knows when I’ll see it but at least I’m looking forward to it!).
Grad student humor — I can’t help myself sometimes. Glad *someone* appreciated the shout-out to old Hobsbawm. I’m amazed how many times I’ve encountered The Invention of Tradition in my travels!
Hope you like Crown of Love — I look forward to your review!
You want to see the premise of Black Butler stretched out across 20 volumes, I guarantee it. It’s fantastic, and it was certainly on MY most anticipated list.
And it will get pretty strange later on.
But it seems like everyone is getting their reviews out before mine. I’m a little slow on this one, I guess, though mine will be coming soon. I imagine no one will have a reason to read it by then. Ah well.
There’s always room for more good reviews — I look forward to reading your take on it, Kris, as it sounds like you know your stuff. I admit to coming into the series with almost no prior awareness of it, then being pleasantly surprised that it was so entertaining. If it gets darker and more twisted in later volumes, and it still makes sense (yup, Kaori Yuki, I still haven’t forgiven you for that WTF?! conclusion to Godchild), then I’m on board for more volumes.
Well, there’s a delightfully twisted storyline later on about a tragic group of circus performers, if that interests you. The fans usually claim that as their favorite storyline of the series, so far (but it unfortunately did not make it into the anime).
Personally I enjoy the wonderfully dark humor, and I find the relationship between Ciel and Sebastian really interesting.
I’ve seen the anime, and I’m caught up on the manga, so I have more foresight. Though I’m trying to keep that out of my review as much as I can. But it does mean that I’ll see it a little differently than someone going in blind, so I might be able to highlight some missed elements which would make it look more appealing…I guess. We’ll see. It’s basically finished, but I have a couple other reviews scheduled ahead of it. It’ll pop up in about 2-3 weeks.
[...] of manga, Kate Dacey has a review of Black Butler - a manga I’ve been wanting to check [...]
Aright, here’s mine, week’s later than everyone else
:
http://comicattack.net/2010/02/bbwblackbutler1/
Thanks for the link, Kris — I really enjoyed reading a more detailed and thorough review of the volume (and admire you for your restraint vis-a-vis spoilers!).
I have to say I wasn’t so taken with “Black Butler.” I agree with you on “cosplay-friendly,” at that seems to be the main point for the comic.
Here’s my review for it:
http://japanreviewed.com/2010/02/10/black-butler-vol-1/
Thanks for the link, Zack — I enjoyed your review and had fun exploring your site. Your rating of 3 out of 5 stars seems about right to me. (Well, maybe I would have given it an extra half-star just for the sheer ridiculousness of the final showdown.)
[...] woman enough to handle an avalanche of A-list shojo, the offerings are good: new volumes of Crown of Love (VIZ), Kaze Hikaru (VIZ), Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (VIZ), Otomen (VIZ), Sand Chronicles [...]
[...] I said about volume one: “If you’re thinking, ‘Gee, Black Butler sounds a lot like Godchild and Hayate the [...]
[...] I said about volume one: “Yun Kouga spins a surprisingly good yarn, filled with complex characters and emotionally [...]
[...] Del Rey, Tokyopop, and VIZ, it’s time to add Yen Press to your list as well; titles like Black Butler, Kobato, Maximum Ride, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Nabari no Ou, Nightschool, and Soul Eater [...]
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