The mansions, the little decorative things on the set and the costumes. This all is already luring you in this movie. The actor's were nice, but they could have been better I think. I did like the expressions Sebastian made and he always kept his cool. On the other hand Kiyoharu not, sometimes I was a litte confused about this character. But overall they acted well and they sucked me into the story.
If you've seen the anime or manga this movie might dissapoint you but if you didn't you'll sure to like this movie.
They portreyed the story good and I felt there was never a dull moment in this movie. I loved the action parts; they were very well executed and didn't look too fake at all. Also they managed to keep a mysterious vibe in the movie and there were some plot twists.
The music is the best part in this movie. It was perfect. They fitted every scene and when you'll see it in combination with the music you will get in that mysterious vibe.
So you should watch this if you like a fighting scenes, plot twists and a good story.
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Basic plot: There are a series of mysterious deaths in Tokyo. Rich people are found having "turned into mummies." Enter the Genpo/Phantomhive (I'm using a slash to indicate the film/manga name difference) Kiyoharu/Ciel. She (he, as she must masquerade as a boy in order to succeed the family company) must uncover the truth behind the murders. (I only saw the movie once, so I sort of forget how we found out that Genpo/Phantomhive got the case by order of the English Queen/or if he was snooping...) A high class, criminal club, drugs and hints to a larger crime organization make this futuristic Tokyo crime/supernatural movie quite interesting.
Mizushima Hiro's Sebastian, Goriki Ayame's Kiyoharu/Shiori were good. Rather dramatic, but good. I wonder what other options Mizushima could have considered for Sebastian? He came off as darkly amused to me... He MOVES like a dancer, and I liked the action. His smiling Sebastian was creepy, hahaha. He seemed more creepy than handsome/lady killer to me, but probably that was what he was going for. Shiori/Ciel was pretty good. :) I didn't fall in love with the character rewrite, and nor did I hate her.
It's a dark, mystery/action movie. It also requires suspension of disbelief (I mean, Sebastian IS a demon). If you like Steam Punk, I'm sure you'll enjoy the costume and filmography. The symbolism and back story??tragic past) are also there, and I think fairly well explained. (MUCH faster and in a bit more obvious ways than the manga, in some ways)
Also, Kenshin (movie) viewers-- there are some interesting parallels, but I won't go into them for fear of spoiling someone. ;)
Most fan-people seem to have bones to pick because of the setting change (in the future. In Japan) and the gender change for Ciel, but I think it was all part of marketing. I mean, we can't expect them to go to England and hire only English people (except for Tanaka, Mei-Rin of course, etc). Also, those movie people probably thought they could market to a wider audience with a girl Ciel/Shiori. And I didn't dislike Shiori/Ciel! I thought it worked ok. The setting too-- much easier for them to film. Also, Shiori liking gothic/Edwardian style clothing is not really a problem for me. Gorgeous outfits, yay.
Manga characters were left out. Mei-Rin, Tanaka, Madam Red, (name changed to....sorry, forgot), and Undertaker are the only manga characters. Remember, it is set in the future. Many manga lines are referenced.
Liked the movie. Looking forward to hearing other people's ideas about the movie.
NOTE: I saw the film in theaters in Japan, and will see the DVD...sometime soon.
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The story and the implementation I found a tad boring compared to the anime, which is darker than the movie. But I liked how they used the details (and lines) from the anime and manga.
My biggest complaint is Gouriki Ayame. I can live with the fact that they changed Ceil's sex since techically this isn't a direct adaptation of the manga, but set in the future and Ciel is her ancestor. HOWEVER the movie and especially her interpretation of Kiyoharu Genpo lacked the coldness and indifference of Ciel which I absolutely loved in the anime. She simply is just too human.
I would've rated the movie 10 and acting as 10 too, but her perfomance simply doesn't allow me to.
Then the butler himself. Mizushima Hiro shines as Sebastian Michaelis. He stole the show: his character is beautifully written (and acted). When Kiyoharu is just a ridiculous wannabe Ciel, Sebastian is still Sebastian. I actually believed he was a devil: Mizushima Hiro's lines, body language and facial expressions are so perfect he is the embodiment of how I see Sebastian.
Through the anime and movie I always wondered about just what kind of relationship Ciel/Kiyoharu and Sebastian had. At one moment Sebastian can act lovingly toward Ciel/Kiyoharu and the next talk about how pathetic she/he is or try to get her to kill herself. After seeing the movie I am still wondering, but I think it's good that I am. The writer didin't label their relationship as a demon and prey or as a twisted love but leaves it to the audience to decide.
I decided that Sebastian does love her/him (especially his soul, yam yam) to a certain point, but would still devour her/his soul without a second thought or remorse.
I would love to hear your thoughts about the movie and Ciels and Sebastians relationship, so please comment below :)
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The first time I've read there was going to be a Kuroshitsuji movie, I was apprehensive. It could be either awesome or entirely wrong. Then I read the plot and I was all "wait, what???" and I knew it; I knew it was going to be a disaster.
Being a huge fan of the manga, I am very strict when it comes to adaptations. The anime was OK, but just OK, in my opinion. Why the need to change so many things? I cannot understand it, the plot and characters are perfect. The first season was... fine, I enjoyed it, but S2... it was a mess. Who the hell were Alois and his butler!? And that end.. **cringes** OMG, total disaster.
So back to the live-action. There are so many things so wrong in this movie, but I have to give credit to some good stuff. I will start to point out the ONLY good point of the movie, and then all the sins the director and staff of the movie made ti this wonderful manga.
GOOD:
- The fights-scenes: True, Sebastian has 2 fights only (and with only 1 knife! instead of several) but the one with Rin was AMAZING. I love to watch tiny Japanese girls kicking asses of several guys (and if they are in a costume, like a MAID costume, even better!) . It was very well done.
BAD... BAD:
- Sebastian: I like Hiro Mizushima, I honestly do. I loved him in HanaKimi, he was perfect as Nanba-sempai (weren't they all perfect in their respective roles in this dorama?). But he is a BIG NO as Sebastian. First of all, his hair. Sebastian with a messy hairstyle? Secondly, his dark skin. Wait, what? Sebastian, who has the palest of skins? Add to that the problem the actor had with this eyes (he looked ridiculous, why did he have to squint his eyes like that?) + the way he spoke (was that supposed to be Sebastian's manner of speaking?) and he looked like he was trying waaaay too hard.
- Setting: it is supposed to take place in a near future, but several actors wearing a Victorian costume? The character who replaces Ciel, Shiori, wears the same clothes and eye-patch that Ciel wears. But instead, she looks kind of misplaced, like she is cosplaying. Why the need to change the period of time if it is going to be Victorian-ish?
- Characters: oh my, the Shiori girl is supposed to be a descendant of the Phantomhive (she is in control of the Funtom company) and her story is almost exactly as Ciel's: her parents were murdered, she was marked with a sign, and when everything seemed like it was done for her, BOOM! Sebastian to the rescue. She disguises herself as a boy, but her nails are long and shiny as a girl's. Tanaka the butler is there (wait, what?), **cough*Mei-Rin*cough* Rin is there (wait, what?), and Undertaker?? Like, uh-huh, is that supposed to be Undertaker? He looked like an otaku dressing up for some event. Totally ridiculous...
- Plot: it was based in the first 3 volumes of the manga: Madame Red (Ciel/Shiori's aunt, with exactly the same story with the father), her... err, butler?, also kind of invincible. And no, it is not Grell (wait, what?) but some experiment she makes in a human guy. Can we say LAME? The awesomeness of that arc was, besides Grell, that it was a reference to Jack the Ripper. Which is missed in the movie.
- No "Yes, my lord": that's right, the popular expression Sebastian uses everytime Ciel commands him something does not exist in the movie (how could it? his "bocchan" is a girl). Instead, he says "as you command" **eyeroll**.
- That end: totally OoC. Like Sebastian would do that. Yeah, right.
If it weren't any cool fight scenes in the movie, it would have been a real torture. Not recommended AT ALL to the fans of the manga.
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* PROs of the movie
Overall I would say that the movie as a stand-alone movie is enjoyable and well made. There was a certain darkness to it, the setting in the movie was nice. Editing, colouring and choice of music were all well done. Probably the most superior part of the movie were the action scenes - one of the best I've seen in a long while.
* CONs when comparing to the original work
Now than, if we were to compare the manga/anime to the movie adaptation - that's where the disappointment for the fans of the original work starts. Although there were similarities between the anime and the movie, there were a lot of things that could have been done a bit better. There was a lack of comedy, compared to the anime. Another thing would be the actors' acting - although Mizushima Hiro did a decent job, portraying the character of Sebastian Michaelis (no human being can actually portray that character perfectly, I believe), the same can't be said for his counterpart - Kiyoharu Genpo. I understand why the Japanese had to change the gender of the character but they should have made her role a bit more intriguing.
Overall I would say that it was an enjoyable movie but the plotline was a bit boring for me, personally.
Nevertheless I RECOMMEND YOU TO CHECK THIS MOVIE, as I'm sure a lot of people will find it to their liking. :)
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The story is dark, very "gothic lolita". Basic plot- Rich girls family get murdered, she sells her soul in order to get revenge on her parents death to Sebastian, and he becomes her butler. A bunch of strange murders keep happening and they are trying to find out who is behind them. I found the plot and dialogue a tad corny but that didn't stop me from loving this movie.
The acting was good in my opinion, but its no secret I love Hiro- he needs to stay out of retirement to play attractive butlers. Some moments where very cheesey due to the acting, what is it with evil peoples manic laughs in dramas? So cringy. My favorite character had to be Lin the maid. She was totally bad-ass.
The costumes, sets, cinematography are all beautifully done and Its very easy to immerse yourself in the world. I thought the action and fighting scenes were very, very well choreographed. So many Japanese action films have been ruined for me because of the fake 90s sound effects, this film had none of that. I have actually never seen the anime, so maybe that's why I enjoyed the film so much. Most negative views are in comparison to said anime.
I will be re-watching this soon!
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The action scenes were shot brilliantly and were very fluid. The acting was wonderful with brilliant casting and the music came in at just the right places to add suspense and excitement to the film.
The only thing I would change would be some of the dialogue used. The conversations between the characters was extremely similar to the dialogue used in the anime. I would have liked to have seen less similarities seeing as it's set in a different time period and with different characters, but I still got extremely involved with the film and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be re-watching it again soon!
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The concept of the film was very interesting. I like how they didn't just go with the manga/anime storyline, but it was still pretty predictable. My biggest problem, however, was how each character was introduced, which felt pretty lazy. If you haven't read the manga or watched the anime, I don't think you would get a full appreciation for each character and the full extent of their personalities, which I don't think is fair.
I ended up watching this film for a second time with my friend, who's not really into Japanese pop culture, and through him, that's when I noticed that character traits weren't that focused on or elaborate enough, so some jokes fell short for him - for instance, Sebastian and his cat obsession. For someone like me, who has watched the anime, I was able to enjoy and find moments like that amusing, but not so much for my friend. However, I might be able to excuse this if they elaborate more on the characters in the squeal (because yeah, I do have a feeling that there will be a squeal - or at least there should be).
Overall, from the looks of it, it was mainly just the writing that overall lacked a bit for this film. It's definitely targeted more so at the Black Butler fandom than general viewers, but I did enjoy it... regardless of the doubts I had before watching it.
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10 minutes into the movie, and I found myself being immersed. The action scenes were seriously spectacular. The story was very interesting as well. I really did like that plot twist at the end.
My favorite parts of this movie were definitely the action scenes, and I also liked the characters. Sebastian is just plain awesome. He's sexy, strong, smart, and dependent. What more do you want in a butler?
I really liked Shiori as well. Her character development was great! She puts other people before herself, and she isn't greedy about her life.
The actors that were chosen for their roles fit it perfectly! Mizushima Hiro is awesome as always. He fit Sebastian so well! I didn't really like Ayame before this, but I really like her now. Her acting in here was actually really good.
The ending was really sweet. That's all I'm going to say about that.
So YES, this is worth watching! You will not regret watching it. I'm saying this as a fan of the anime!
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ANYWAY.
I thought that maybe a live action will be horrible for this type of anime or for any anime in all honesty. It's 50/50 (amazing or a total flop) when it comes to live actions because sometimes they can't produce all the things in an anime. For this movie, I was surprised by how nicely the props, costumes and effects were put together.
I loved Hiro as a butler back when he starred in Mei-chan no Shitsuji and couldn't wait for him to act in this one because I loved the character of Sebastian in the anime. In my opinion, Hiro portrayed Sebastian amazingly like heck the guy lost more weight just to take the role! The other people that stared in this movie was a first for me so they didn't leave me a big impression, but the actress who portrayed the maid was spot on! I found that the actress who acted as Ciel was a bit awkward in some parts though.
I think the plot could of been a little more exciting, but the action/fight scenes certainly made up for any of the boring bits.
I would definitely re watch this by myself or with a friend in the future!
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As the movie start, a brief explanation was told regarding the England that there is the East and West England, and the matter about the “Watchdogs”. We all know that they are under the Queen’s orders, they will solve mysterious cases lurking England.
The whole movie was very solemn and dark, staying true to the theme from the anime. There was no obvious comic relief aside from Kiyoharu’s smile scene but I found Tanaka, the old, faithful butler a very adorable character. The only character I found unfitting was Undertaker, he looked so ooc.
In the ned, will they find out who’s really behind the serial mummification deaths? Will Kiyoharu finally find out who killed his parents?
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If you want to watch this movie, I suggest you bring two things with you. First of all, you should NOT think about the manga while doing so. And secondly, you should like Hiro Mizushima. I did both things and to be honest, I was able to enjoy the movie pretty well! What people will be most interested in is probably, how much the movie differs from the manga... Well, it starts with the originally tiny boy being a girl. And then there are many characters missing. Of course they couldn't fit in a long storyline, so for the most part there are no other devils (Grell) and some other side characters are missing (the cook).
If you look at it as just a movie, that by chance has similar characters like the manga, the result is actually decent! Most of the time, it's there to show how awesome Sebastian is and to be honest, I love that because Sebastian is the reason I watched it. The rest of the movie is a tiny, obvious detective story. There are only two or three things I couldn't see directly, but most of the time I got the hint immediately and with that, I wondered what the movie wants to show us, beside Sebastian.
So, in the end, I can say I enjoyed the movie. Though there were some scenes that I thought were ridiculous, I still can give this movie 4* because it showed me exactly what I wanted. A warning to those who watch it for the sake of the manga: don't. And a clear recommendation to watch it, if you love Mizushima Hiro.
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