Ciel has formed a contract with demon Sebastian Michaelis, who disguises himself as his butler, to seek revenge on those who tortured him and murdered his parents.

A two-part theatrical original video animation (OVA), titled Black Butler: Book of Murder, screened in Japanese theaters in October and November 2014.

A fourth 11-episode season produced by CloverWorks, titled Black Butler: Public School Arc, aired from April to June 2024.

He acquired his title and position after the events of his tenth birthday on December 14, 1885, when the Phantomhive manor was attacked by unidentified perpetrators.

As part of the contract, the demon will consume Ciel's soul as payment for helping him achieve his goal; revenge on those who brought down his family and the House of Phantomhive.

To assist with this task, Sebastian recruits notable individuals such as the sniper Mey-Rin, the veteran soldier Baldroy and Finnian, a teenager with superhuman strength, who join the Phantomhive estate, disguised as Ciel's servants.

As Ciel and Sebastian resolve several incidents under the Queen's orders, some of them are related to the "Aurora Society", a secret organization performing experiments involving reanimated corpses, led by a grim reaper with ties to the Phantomhive family known as "Undertaker".

Written and illustrated by Yana Toboso, Black Butler started in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on September 16, 2006.

[5][6] In June 2024, it was announced that the manga would enter on hiatus, and that Toboso will be conducting research and making preparations as the series heads toward its climax.

[20] On March 29, 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation announced on their online FuniCon 3.0 panel that they had licensed Black Butler.

[31] The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe at A-1 Pictures, with Hiroyuki Yoshino in charge of scripts, along with Ichiro Okuchi and Yuka Miyata as scriptwriters.

Titled Black Butler: Public School Arc (黒執事 -寄宿学校編-, Kuroshitsuji Kishuku Gakkō-hen), it was directed by Kenjirou Okada and produced by CloverWorks, with Hiroyuki Yoshino handling series composition, Yumi Shimizu designing the characters, and Ryo Kawasaki composing the music.

[42] At Anime Expo 2024, it was announced that a fifth season, titled Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc (黒執事 -緑の魔女編-, Kuroshitsuji Midori no Majo-hen), is set to premiere in April 2025.

[43][44] That Butler, Friendship (その執事、友好, Sono Shitsuji, Yūkō), a musical adaptation of the manga, had run at the Sunshine Theater in Ikebukuro between May 28, 2009, and June 7, 2009.

[45] Yuya Matsushita portrayed Sebastian Michaelis, Shougo Sakamoto played Ciel Phantomhive and Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliff.

[46] Musical Black Butler: The Most Beautiful Death in The World – A Thousand Souls and The Fallen Grim Reaper (ミュージカル｢黒執事｣〜ザ・モースト・ビューティフル・デス・イン・ザ・ワールド〜千の魂と堕ちた死神, Miūjikaru Kuroshitsuji – Za Mōsuto Byūtifuru Desu in za Wārudo – Sen no Tamashii to Ochita Shinigami),[47] the second musical adaptation of the manga, ran at Akasaka Act Theater (1300 seats) in Akasaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, between May 3 and May 23, 2010.

It was announced in February 2013 that Yuya Matsushita, Uehara Takuya, and Shuhei Izumi would reprise their roles as Sebastian Michaelis, Grell Sutcliff, and the Undertaker, respectively.

Yuta Furukawa reprised his role as Sebastian Michaelis, with Reo Uchikawa replacing Nayuta Fukuzaki as Ciel.

[52] A fifth Black Butler musical, Tango on the Campania, which was based on the Luxury Liner arc in the manga, ran between December 2017 to February 2018.

Other actors from previous performers also reprised their roles, such as Uehara Takuya as Grell Sutcliff, Izumi Shuuhei as the Undertaker, and Sasaki Yoshihide as Viscount Druitt.

[53][54] A video game for Nintendo DS, called Kuroshitsuji Phantom & Ghost was developed by Square Enix and was released on March 19, 2009.

[59] It was announced on January 18, 2013, that the manga would be made into a live-action film starring Ayame Goriki as Genpou Shiori, Hiro Mizushima as Sebastian Michaelis.

[62] On February 17, 2016, the film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, was confirmed to be an animated adaptation of the "Luxury Liner" (豪華客船, Gōka Kyakusen) arc from the original manga.

[62][63] On April 1, 2017, Funimation announced that they have licensed the animated film and would screen it in a limited theatrical release in North America later in the year.

[64] Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, premiered in Japan on January 21, 2017, and in North America on the selected dates of June 12 and 14, 2017.