You can have anime that refuse to faithfully follow the manga. You can have anime that faithfully follows their manga source material. However, Black Butler remains part of the sparse few series where the anime both does and DOES NOT follow the manga very well.
Alternative Titles:
- Kuroshitsuji
- 黒執事
Year Anime Premiered: 2008
Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures; Cloverworks
Number of Seasons: 5 + 3 OVAs + 1 Movie
Source Material Country of Origin: Japan
Source Material Available: Manga
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: July 6th, 2024 – Updated for Season 5 announcement
Where To Start The Black Butler Manga After The Anime?
Where to start the Black Butler manga depends of how much of the Black Butler anime you have watched.
- If you watched Black Butler Season 1 and Season 2 – You can read the manga at Volume 5, Chapter 23
- If you watched Black Butler: Book of Circus (also known as Season 3)- You can read the manga at Volume 8, Chapter 38
- If you watched the Black Butler: Book of Murder OVAs – You can read the manga at Volume 11, Chapter 52
- If you watched the Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic movie – You can read the manga at Volume 14, Chapter 67
- If you have watched Black Butler: Public School Arc (also know as Season 4) – You can read the manga at Volume 18, Chapter 86
- If you have watched the Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc (also known as Season 5) – You can read the manga at Volume 22, Chapter 108
Any OVAs outside the Book of Murder OVAs are not canon, thus you don’t need to watch them unless you want to.
What to Expect From The Black Butler Manga?
Due to its addition of anime-original content in Season 1 and all of Season 2 being anime-original, it makes the continuity of Black Butler hard to grasp in the anime.
It would honestly be easier to read the manga from the beginning rather than trying to jump into the manga after the anime.
That said, you to were to read the first 20 chapters covered in Black Butler Season 1 (Most of Season 2 was widely anime-original), starting after Season 2 and the anime does get a lot more diligent to the manga story. Book of Atlantic and beyond were great adaptations.
Is The Black Butler Manga Over?
The Black Butler manga is still ongoing. Since launching in 2006, it releases about one volume per year.
The manga went on indefinite hiatus in June 2024 while the author does research and prep for the upcoming climax.
Will There Be A Black Butler Season 6?
There has been no official announcement of a Black Butler Season 6 anime.
They’ve come this far, seems like they might do more.
