Mania:
Black Butler continues to be a confusing series in how it wants to be taken and its approach. There are a lot of things to like in this episode, as Claude takes advantage of the situation to good effect and puts an intriguing plan into motion. Yet the grim reapers that arrive, one of them using a seemingly gas powered engine, speaks of jumping the shark upon seeing it. The crazy nature of some of the characters is what does draw me back to it, especially as I wanted to see what nuttiness Alois would bring to the table and how Claude would participate in it, and we get some real flair from Claude this time around. But those couple of minutes with the grim reapers has left a bad taste in my mouth with the show. (Anime, Black Butler II) B/A+