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「その執事、奉公」 (Sono Shitsuji, Hōkō)
“His Butler, Serving”
With Kuroshitsuji, there is no limit to how dark it goes, and it always lurks there, side by side with the lighter moments. This week, we get a peek into Finny’s chilling past. Raised as a lab rat, meant to be disposed of when things became inconvenient, and witness the cold murder of his fellow rats- wow. It can be hard to believe that the sunny Finny was once an emotionless lab specimen, so different are the two. For as cold as Ciel tries to be, I think that Finny’s development from someone who only killed to someone who grows life is a testament to Ciel and the kind of master he is. Emotions aren’t necessarily something you get automatically, it comes from learning, from imitation, and from having one’s needs met.
It stuck out to me that there are a lot of parallels between Ciel and Finny. Both locked up for the whims of the adults, then driven to murder/less savory deeds in order to escape from certain death. In this sense, I think Finny is the only one who can help Ciel out of this dark place, because he understands more than anyone else will.
Ciel’s illness deepens the mystery around the boy, with things he slips out. Take, for example, how he persistently talks in the third person about “Ciel” and not “me”. Then, we have his “Sebastian, he, Ciel…”, as if Sebastian harmed him, even though he called on Sebastian and formed the contract with him to get out. There’s a lot more to the story here, but I will say no more, having already read ahead in the manga.
Another mystery, namely Sullivan’s magic, might not be so magical after all, unless you live in a world without “modern” medicine. Sullivan undertakes learning English from a home remedy handbook to be able to communicate with Ciel during treatments. Interestingly, she refers to the tincture as a “magic potion”, and immediately recognizes the contents. Which one can take to mean that her potions are nothing more than regular medicine. If that’s the case- what are those spells she chants? A German version of “boo boo go away don’t come back another day”?
Sullivan is a very open-minded girl. She doesn’t gasp or even blink an eye when she removes the bandages to find Ciel’s marked eye. She’s very perceptive, immediately understanding what it means, and questioning Sebastian about it afterwards, without any judgement. Which, I mean, as a witch, she’s really in no position to be casting stones at demons. She’s also surprisingly understanding and empathetic and doesn’t let her curiosity run away with her when it comes to people’s traumas.
Her curiosity is having a heck of a field day, with Sebastian on hand to satisfy it. The first thing on her to do list is to dress in the outsider’s fashion, much to the horror of her servants. I find her excitement at everything new and her insatiable curiosity to be quite charming. I feel bad that she’s been pent up in that gloomy village her whole life- the worst place for a child like her (or any child, really). I suspect that tensions will come to a head sooner rather than later- Wolfram makes not effort to hide his irritation at Sebastian’s constant presence. Not only is he outshining Wolfram as a butler, his very existence there poses a threat to whatever secret lies within the village.
The more I look at Wolfram’s style of cooking, the odder it appears. Like, I don’t know any chefs who weigh their ingredients out so anally on a scale- using counterbalances no less. It actually reminds me of a scientist in the lab more than a bona fide cook.
I never get tired of Sebastian’s “the devil is in the detail attitude”- he uses the excuse of replenishing wine to go to the cellar, explaining to Snake that he merely pointed out the lack of wine, but said nothing about getting some. Also, a shout out to Snake’s seiyuu, Terashima Takuma, for the stellar job voicing all the different snake personas. I feel like it’s only natural for any castle worth it’s salt to have a hidden dungeon. Sebastian makes short work of finding this castle’s dungeon or whatever the secret room is. What on earth will he find….?
End Card
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