With Aniplex USA having previously acquired the rights to the Black Butler first season, the anime has moved about a bit in the last few years with streaming and the like. It’s been a while since we’ve had any TV material for the property but at Anime Expo last summer it was revealed that a new season is coming in 2024 with Crunchyroll picking it up. They have the rights to it in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS.
Aniplex Japan is handling the home video releases there for the Black Butler: Public School Arc and they’ve scheduled the show for a four-volume release there. The eleven-episode series is getting done as limited editions for both formats where the DVDs are priced at 5,700 yen for the first and 6,500 yen for the rest while the blu-rays are at 6,700 and 7,500 yen respectively. Check out the full schedule and known details below.
Kenjiro Okada is directing with Hiroyuki Yoshino as the head writer. Yumi Shimizu is handling the character designs with CloverWorks on the animation production.
The Japanese cast includes Daisuke Ono as Sebastian, Maaya Sakamoto as Ciel, Toshiki Watanabe as Edgar Redmond, Junya Enoki as Lawrence Bluewer, Shunsuke Takeuchi as Herman Greenhill, and Tatsumaru Tachibana as Gregory Violet.
The property comes from the manga Kuroshitsuji which began back in 2006 by Yana Toboso. The series is still ongoing with thirty-two volumes out so far. Yen Press releases the series domestically while Funimation originally handled the anime localizations.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: Just a stone’s throw from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom, its master one Ciel Phantomhive. Earl Phantomhive is a giant in the world of commerce, Queen Victoria’s faithful servant . . . and a slip of a twelve-year-old boy. Fortunately, his loyal butler, Sebastian, is ever at his side, ready to carry out the young master’s wishes. And whether Sebastian is called to save a dinner party gone awry or probe the dark secrets of London’s underbelly, there is practically nothing Sebastian cannot do. In fact, one might even say Sebastian is too good to be true . . . or at least, he is too good to be human…
| Volume | Date | Extras |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06/26/24 | Booklet, Original Soundtrack CD 1 |
| 2 | 07/31/24 | Booklet, Setting Materials Collection 1 |
| 3 | 08/28/24 | Booklet, Original Soundtrack CD 2 |
| 4 | 09/25/24 | Booklet, Setting Materials Collection 2 |
[Source: Black Butler]
