"I'm arrogant, but not so much that I'd irresponsibly save someone just to brag about it."
Adorably Precocious Child: Usually very solemn and composed, he is very committed to his jobs (running the Phantomhive family business, and fighting supernatural evil). Slightly different from the norm in that most people take him quite seriously, at least the ones who know him well.
Always Save the Girl: As of the most recent chapter, he's definitely this toward Elizabeth. He threw himself in front of a bear for her chapters ago, but most recently he's taken to doing whatever he has to do to make sure she's safe from a ship load of zombies. Her mother, who's normally overprotective, calmed down upon finding out that her daughter was with Ciel because she knew he'd protect her. That's a pretty high level of trust there!
Subverted something fierce in chapter 57, as it turns out Elizabeth was more badass than him all along and ends up saving him.
Pulled it again in chapter 58, even though Lizzie saved him. He doesn't want her trapped on a sinking ship rife with zombies and shinigami, even if Sebastian and him are staying on board, so he has Sebastian knock her out and give her over to her brother.
Authority Equals Asskicking: Subverted, as although he holds the highest rank in the Phantomhive Household (not to mention the fact that he works as the Queen's freaking watchdog), he's also a bit of a pansy, and likely the most physically incapable in the entire series.
Beautiful Dreamer: Subverted in that everyone seems to like watching him sleep, so it can be taken in a non-romantic way as well.
Because Destiny Says So: In the manga, Ciel's goal is to torture and kill the people who killed his parents, though once this goal is complete, it is almost certain and an inescapable fate that Sebastian will eat his soul. In the anime, this is averted, as Ciel becomes a demon and Sebastian is unable to take his soul.
Birthday Hater: His tenth birthday was the day his house burned down with both parents inside. And he was kidnapped, and taken off to be a slave to a cult. Really great birthday!
He certainly has all the workings of one, though. He just has to do something to prove it.
Definitely proved it during the murder mystery arc where Ciel planned out and orchestrated the entire event. To sum it up he basically allows the murder mystery to play out all while knowing who the true killer was, keeping everyone else from finding out, placing the blame on someone else in order to complete the mission given to him from the queen, all while not only keeping suspicion off of himself, but also making himself seem like a victim. Then very end where he only tells one character based off of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of his scheme because he wanted to motivate him to continue to write mystery novels.
He did with Snake. With a few well chosen words, Ciel turned a former enemy into another one of his devoted servants.
Cannot Tell a Joke: It takes him all night to make Undertaker even utter a simple "...hah."
Dark and Troubled Past: His parents were killed, his house was burnt down, he was kidnapped, sold, and used as a sacrifice for a cult. Then he met Sebastian and sold his soul to him.
Defrosting Iceking: He has become significantly nicer towards people, at times even swallowing his pride to make Lizzy happy or showing concern for Snake and even Sebastian.
Distressed Dude: For all of his vocal badassery Ciel is actually not that skilled in combat. He constantly has to be saved by Sebastian as their deal dictates. However, it is not only Sebastian. As it turns out he is this for his fiancéeElizabeth too.
The Dog Bites Back: After Ciel's parents were killed, his house was burnt down, he was kidnapped, and he was tortured, he decided that he would seek out the person/people who killed his parents and deliver to them the same pain that he went through. Along the way he also decided that he doesn't mind killing people who get in the way of his plans.
Escapist Character: An incredibly rich Teen Genius that nearly everyone loves and respects who has an almighty BishōnenBattle Butler that can grant his every wish and can be extremelyclose to him at times? Not to mention his Dark and Troubled Past (which he was 'rescued from' by the aforementioned butler), Even the Guys Want Him, he works for the queen, and he owns one of the largest toy companies in Britain.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Ciel deeply cares for Elizabeth and his (deceased) parents and aunt. At one point in the anime, he even stops Sebastian from hunting down Grell because he "doesn't want Lizzie to witness anymore bloodshed."
Hates Being Touched: He appears to not enjoy physical contact, though he tolerates Sebastian and does not complain when the demon picks him up or holds him. If he is stressed, he will slap someone touching him away, proclaiming, "Don't touch me so easily!" This is a negative influence of the trauma he underwent during his time as a slave.
Improbable Age: Ciel is the leader of a popular toys and candy company, is working for the queen as a black ops/assassin, owns a mansion, and is rich from the money he inherited when his parents died. He is also only 13 years old, and this whole situation likely started around three years ago.
He's also highly skilled at pool to the point that he can beat a bunch of adults, despite being so short he actually has to sit on the pool table to make a shot.
Informed Ability: The first few volumes have characters like Sebastian and Madame Red waxing poetic about Ciel's chessmaster skills before he does anything even remotely close to chessmaster status.
Innocent Prodigy: Sebastian outright says in the murder mystery arc that Ciel is still a child despite being the head of the Phantomhive manor.
In-Series Nickname: "The Queen's watchdog/guard dog," one of the "evil noblemen."
Laughing Mad: After all the crap he pulled during the circus arc, he ventures off to the workhouse they were told about only to find out that it's in ruins. Ciel finds this darkly amusing.
Mismatched Eyes: The eye that isn't blue is purple and has Sebastian's seal on it. By the rules of demon contracts, the more visible the spot you put the mark, the more power you get - and what's more visible than your eye?
Nice Hat: Ciel has many a fancy hat, particularly his top hat.
Non-Action Guy/Non-Action Snarker: A rare inversion, as he's the main character and he's far from being a Butt Monkey; he's simply physically weak. Ciel generally sits in the sidelines and watches Sebastian doing the fighting.
Perpetual Frowner: Moreso in the anime than in the manga. Especially in the second season, where you can count on one hand the number of times he smiles, even if it's just a smirk.
Please Don't Leave Me: His breakdown over Sebastian's "death" in the murder mystery arc can be considered this, although later on this is subverted, as they were just acting.
Power at a Price: He sells his soul in return for help from Sebastian in succeeding in all of his goals, including killing his parents' murderer[s]. After that last goal is finished, Sebastian will be able to take Ciel's soul.
Security Blanket: There is a specific pillow that he cannot sleep without. Subverted, as it is later revealed that it was just an excuse to hide the blood on Sebastian's chest.
Slouch of Villainy: He slouches when he's about to do something particularly nasty, and unless he is standing up, almost always gives orders to Sebastian exclusively in this pose. Also, he does it in almost all the official art.
The Stoic: Though he can get very angry, his default personality in the manga seems to be pretty stoic.
Supernatural is Purple: His Eyepatchof Power hides his cursed, mismatched eye that holds the symbol of his contract with Sebastian. It's purple, and glows with an eerie neon when he gives Sebastian an order.
Sympathetic Murderer: As if you didn't want to give him a big ol' hug when he Ordered Sebastian to kill Baron Kelvin and set a bunch of kids on fire.
Teen Genius: Although he's not a clichéd teen and appears to add up more with the Child Prodigy trope, he is in fact 13 and qualifies as a teenager.
Unable To Cry: He could cry when he was younger, but now he apparently can't. The closest he has come to since then was when his eyes got watery in chapter 34.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: In the manga, it's become apparent that Ciel is either afraid of his Dark and Troubled Past, knives/sharp objects (since he always seems to react particularly stronger emotionally if they are involved), or both.
Ambiguously Bi: To the fans he is either this, or Ambiguously Gay, but he did have sex with Matilda and it is heavily implied that he did the same with Beast.
Ambiguously Evil: Sure, he's a bad guy now, but who's to say that he's not bad simply because that's what Ciel needs?
Exhibit B. The way he stands and walks, particularly prominent in the first couple of volumes.
Exhibit C. Doesn't he say he finds Ash more attractive than Angela?
And, of course, fighting with Claude over Ciel, which leads to both Alois and Grell implying that he's in love with Ciel. Sebastian doesn't deny it, and, in fact, agrees while fighting Claude in episode 10 that he's not fighting for just Ciel's soul...
Most of these traits are especially apparent in the anime. It's far more ambiguous in the manga.
Let's not forget the episode where Sebastian tries to teach Ciel to dance...
Demi Human: In his human-like form, he still has Cute Little Fangs (at least in the manga), and his eyes are red or at least some rare shade of auburn.
The fangs aren't always apparent though. They usually only show up when he's being creepy. It's possible that he can "summon" them.
Fate Worse than Death/Ironic Hell: He looked pretty darn unhappy with the fact that he'd have to serve Ciel for the rest of eternity in the anime.
Game Face: He shows his true form very occasionally to his and Ciel's enemies, though the actual readers have still never seen the whole thing up to this point.
In-Series Nickname: "Sebas-chan" by Grell ("Bassy" in the dub, "Little Sebas" in the English manga). William never uses his name and usually simply calls him "demon" or something along the lines of "vile creature."
Irony: Loves cats and dislikes dogs. Named after Ciel's dog.
Though his discontent for dogs has only been stated in the anime.
Only Sane Man: Among the servants of Phantomhive, Sebastian is the only one that can actually get things done.
The Proud Elite: Suave but aloof, this demon turned butler is quite intelligent and there is very little he cannot do. Being a demon, he truly does care nothing for humans beyond their use as tools and food.
Sex God: Because he's a demon disguised in the form his master ordered him to (a polite butler), Sebastian interrogates a cult member......very convincingly.
Woman: I can see the Gates of Heaven! Sebastian: (unamused) Oh I highly doubt that.
Sexy Discretion Shot: At the end of the first anime when he leans into Ciel to devour his soul. It looks as though soul-devouring requires some mouth action, but the scene just fades before he gets too close.
Also, his sex scenes with Beast in the manga and Matilda in the anime.
Snark-to-Snark Combat/Volleying Insults: With Claude in the second season of the anime. Their interactions usually include backhanded "compliments" and snarking about the other's butler aesthetics.
Unwitting Pawn: In the final episode of Season 2, he kills Claude and escapes being bound to Alois for all of eternity only to be bound to a demonic Ciel for all of eternity.
"He finally returned to the mansion, but he wasn’t able to laugh anymore. I love Ciel. I love Ciel’s smile. Why is it as though we always seem to end up going in circles? How can I bring back his smile?"
Arranged Marriage: In one of the beginning chapters he says that he was forced to marry her and does not really want to. He does seem care for her, though.
Deliberately Distressed Damsel: In the manga, she's actually a Little Miss Badass. She thought Ciel wouldn't like her enough if she was too "brash and uncute", so she didn't use her swordmanship skills until there was no choice.
Could also be a deconstruction of the Deliberately Distressed Damsel trope. Unlike most girls that fit this trope, it's all for the sake of her beloved, and not because she simply likes being rescued. It also shows that Lizzie actually had to sacrifice a few things in order to maintain Ciel's pride, and it harmed her self-esteem badly.
Fridge Brilliance: Granted Elizabeth's mother Frances knows that Ciel will protect Elizabeth at all costs, but she is also aware that Ciel is not all that skilled in combat. Just why was she so sure of her daughter's survival? Because her daughter is just as skilled in swordsmanship as the rest of her family and thereby is perfectly capable of handling herself.
Also, the fact that Lizzie hid her Lady of War side due to fearing he'd see her as "uncute" or "brash"? Makes more sense when you recall this isVictorian Britain, thus a female who didn't behave like a Proper Lady would be more often than not ostrasized by others, if not thrown into an asylum. While it's unlikely that the Middlefords would let her be locked away, she would still be looked down something fierce by others.
Mega Twintails: That hairstyle can't possibly be achieved in real life without lots of curlers and hair gel. As Lizzie's hair seems to be naturally straight◊, looks like it's not possible without curlers for her, as well.
The Glomp: She never hesitates at a chance to glomp Ciel.
Kissing Cousins: She and Ciel are cousins. Not that this was unusual for this time period.
Lady of War / Little Miss Badass So badass that when Grell was about to make an entrance, sweet Lizzie pointed a sword at her and glared at the Shinigami.
Locked Out of the Loop: With most things regarding Ciel. Like what happened during the month he was kidnapped or even the fact that he has asthma. Ciel probably keeps these things from her in order to not worry her but now she's starting to get suspicious.
Love Martyr: For Ciel. Most of the stunts she pulls are only for Ciel's happiness.
No Guy Wants An Amazon: The reason she wasn't fighting was because when they were little, young Ciel was afraid of Lizzy's mother and her harsh personality, and was glad he was marrying Lizzy. This made Lizzy feel that if she were to show her sword-fighting side, Ciel wouldn't like her.
Skewed Priorities: Lizzie, honey, the cake is not that important, especially when your fiancé has a gun out and there are zombies running about.Really.
ImportantBob Haircut: She used to have longer hair before she started killing people.
It Got Worse: Wow. The love of her life marries her older sister, though Red still manages to marry a good and lovingNice Guy anyway. Then, after getting her medical license, her husband and unborn child are killed and she has to have a hysterectomy. She then loses both her sister and the love of her life in a fire. After all of this, she gives abortions to prostitutes. Jealous of the pregnancies they can't keep or don't want, she begins killing them, which is where Grell steps in. However, when faced with more or less getting away with her murders so long as Grell keeps Sebastian busy and she murders Ciel, poor Red can't bring herself to kill her nephew "who was like a son to her"... and is promptly chainsawed by Grell.
Which also involves a minor, but surprising, case of hopefully is what Did Not Do the Research. Abortions at the time were illegal in England, in large part because the procedure itself was highly unsafe for the mother—to the point where one textbook flat-out advises doctors to consider the procedure attempted murder of her. If she didn't want to perform them...
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She tried to convinced herself that she was happy as long as Vincent and Rachel were happy. Her husband might qualify too as he didn't mind her having feelings for someone else.
Voiced by Jun Fukuyama (JP) and Daniel Fredrick (ENG)
"Even if I'm like this, I'm still the butler of death!"
All Girls Want Bad Boys: All the guys she seems to like. She even says that Ronald, who follows the rules and listens to his superiors, is not her type.
Ambiguous Gender: There's still discussion among fans on whether or not she's a transsexual or just flamboyant gay, though this now counts as Fanon Dis Continuity as Word Of God has confirmed her to be a transsexual. Because both Grell herself and the creator use "she" and "her" when referring to the character, female pronouns will be used here.
For any doubts, check "Grell's◊ Confessional"◊. Made by Yana Toboso herself. She's a pre-op.
Cheshire Cat Grin: This seems to be a popular trope for the characters of this series, but now Grell can especially fit it, seeing as how she's portraying the Cheshire Cat in the Alice In Wonderland-inspired OVA.
Transsexual: Part of what attracted her to Madame Red was that she was taking out her frustrations at being barren - since Grell has a man's body, she can't give birth either, so they had a common cause.
Trans Equals Gay: Played straight; back when she identified as a man she had feelings for Madame Red, but after identifying as a women she became attracted to men (especially Sebastian) and adopted many mannerisms that would otherwise be considered Camp Gay. Of course, it isn't portrayed very offensively.
Weapon of Choice: The chainsaw she uses as her Death Scythe... even though it got taken away in the anime and replaced with scissors. As a result, she was mostly reduced to comic relief since. She got it back in season 2, though.
"Because you hold great power, you gradually fail to understand the importance of things that cannot be recovered. You will realize once it's too late."
In the manga, though, Grelle noticing his eyes causes her to realize immediately he's a rogue shinigami; apparently they all have the same kind of eyes, but he's not wearing any glasses!
Beautiful All Along: In chapter 59 of the manga he finally sweps his hair back and reveals himself as one hell of a Bishōnen. Cue the fangirls squee, of course.
For the Evulz: Morbid laughs are the only reason he does anything; in most settings, this would be classified as It Amused Me, but given the Black And Black Morality of the setting and the fact The Undertaker is responsible for the zombie outbreak going on just because he thought it'd be funny to see what happened if he helped an idiot scientist reanimate corpses, the Undertaker's amusement can be seen in a rather negative light.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Maybe not necessarily when he's dressed the way he usually does, but definitely when he's in shinigami form. So much so that when Grell saw what his face really looked like, she was completely enamored by his looks.
Interestingly, in the former, he's a retired and highly respected ex-shinigami, while in the latter, he's just been revealed to be a renegade shinigami; apparently the fact he alone of the Shinigami we've seen so far doesn't wear glasses is a very bad sign.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In the manga (chapter 60 onwards), he reveals himself to be much nastier than the slightly creepy Perky Goth everyone was used to, to the point in chapter 61 he stabs Sebastian in the gut with his scythe. His plan, which he explains in chapter 60, isn't a nice thing either.
Only Sane Man: Among the Shinigami, though he is quite quirky...
Perpetual Frowner: The only time we ever see him laugh (or even smile, at that) is in the Ciel in Wonderland OVA. Theoretically, you'd think it to be a charming moment, but...
Scary Shiny Glasses: Played for intimidation, mostly when Grell is involved.
Dynamic Entry: In the manga, she arrived at the curry cooking competition on horseback.
Friend To All Children: She has a particular soft spot towards children, calling them "the future".
Historical In-Joke: In the manga, Queen Victoria has the occasional fit of tears that can be only alleviated by a servant (John Brown) with a Prince Albert puppet.
Ambiguously Gay: The only thing keeping it ambiguous is... nothing, actually. He rivals Grell himself in terms of overall flirtatious camp. Much creepier, though.
Not very ambiguous at all anymore, after the scenes in episode 5 of season 2 when he licked Ciel's ear, then later on told him that he "wanted him". Or how in episode 8 he practically confessed his love to Claude and tells Claude in episode 11 "I wanted your love."
His overly-sexualized behavior could be a mirror to Ciel's own Hates Being Touched and, like Ciel, is a result of his abuse.
Cannot Spit It Out: By this point it is pretty obvious he is in love with Claude. However, even right before Claude kills him, he still never directly says that he loves him.
Dark and Troubled Past: His whole village was killed, including the only person he cared about at the time (Luca, who supposedly was his brother, although it is unknown whether they were blood-related or not). He was then taken and used as a sex slave for the head of the Trancy manor. Then he met Claude.
Dead Little Sister: Brother, actually, and the driving force behind Alois' autophobia.
Dying Alone: Even more of a Tear Jerker due to the fact that it was Claude, the only person he seemed to care about, who killed him.
Et Tu, Brute?: At the end of episode 8, Claude offs him before their contract was even complete. Then again, the fact that he didn't save him from getting stabbed by Ciel earlier could also fit this trope.
Forgiveness: It's implied that he was able to forgive Claude that the latter killed him, as Hannah mentioned that she, Claude, Alois and Luca can all be together in nirvana.
Freudian Excuse: His foster family died in front of him, from unknown supernatural means, including his adoptive brother and only friend. When he was delivered back to his father after a life of what could be equated to slavery, the man raped and beat him.
So it seems. However, in episode 8, his true backstory is revealed: he is really an orphan named Jim Macken. In his childhood, he and his younger brother Luca got by as thieves. After all the people in his village mysteriously died (including Luca), he was sent to the Trancy household to be a sex slave. This is where he formed a contract with Claude, and inherited the Trancy household fortune by using Claude to off old man Trancy and declaring himself heir.
I Just Want To Be Loved: An evil variation. It gets so bad that eventually he doesn't care whether it's Claude, and sells his soul to Hannah instead because she was pretty much the first person since Luca to earnestly say "I love you".
I Owe You My Life: Subverted. He would owe Claude his life, in a very literal sense (as with Ciel towards Sebastian), except that Claude killed him in episode 8. However, he came back to life in episode 10, but it is unclear if he still has a contract with Claude, and therefore it is also unclear if he still owes him his life.
Nouveau Riche: He flaunts his money and doesn't rally seem to care, as seen by the first episode when he tosses bills and bills of money down to his "uncle".
Mind Rape: After he killed Alois, Claude abducted Ciel, drugged him, practically drowned him, and overall completely screwed with his mental state to the point of semi-hypnotism to accomplish his goals.
Real Men Wear Pink: He's got a real talent for crocheting, as episode 9 of the season 2 shows. Though that may be playing with the fact that he's a spider demon.
Because You Were Nice to Me: one of the two reasons she becomes attached to Luka. Hannah notes that he was genuinely excited that she appeared to him to grant his wish and that, upon his death, he was the first soul to have ever expressed gratitude towards her for granting their wish.She was mournful in his death.
Benevolent Boss: It is revealed in "Crossroads Butler" that the triplets actually serve Hannah when we see them groom her and assist her burning down Luka's and Alois' village in a flashback. In "Spider's Intentions", she is shown treating them gently, placing flowers in their hair, with the triplets seeming quite fond of her preferring her over Claude.
Body Horror: In episode 10, she opens her mouth disgustingly wide to give Ciel a look at Alois' eye that she stole, which stares back at him from seemingly an abyss inside her.
Expy: Arguably, of Angela. Both have white hair, look vulnerable at first, are actually stronger than they look and very manipulative and have crossed the limits of their own species (one is a Fallen Angel and the other is a demon with feelings).
Not So Harmless Villain: While we were all busy feeling sorry for the poor girl with one eye, she went and OutGambitted everybody in the show by having Alois' soul take over Ciel's body. Then she took both Ciel's and Alois's souls, forcing Sebastian and Claude into a duel over the former's, before making Ciel into a demon so that they both lose anyway.
The Reveal: Hannah was the one who made the contract that took Luca's soul, and she came to serve him alongside Claude because she and Luca both wanted to be near Alois.
What Is This Thing You Call Love?: Hannah was a typical, uncaring demon until she was summoned by Luca. His naivety and selfless reason for selling his soul shook her immensely, to the point where she became Alois's servant just to be close to him for Luca's soul.
Ironic Nursery Tune: He changes the lyrics in My Fair Lady, more commonly known as London Bridge Is Falling Down, to whatever he plans to use in the creation of their doll. It also controls the dolls he's already made.
This is actually based on a longer version of the song, in which the bridge is rebuilt with the different materials he uses for dolls, but they all fail to stay up somehow
Perverse Puppet: He makes dolls based on real people and uses them to fight. He also happens to be one himself.
Undying Loyalty: Drocell's devotion to his master is absolute, even when Sebastian splits his head open and spills the straw filling his head. He still gets up to report on the intruders and his own failure before collapsing dead.
Sebastian: "Perhapse I judged him too hastily. He may well be, one hell of a butler."
Kill The Cutie: After she found out that Ciel and Sebastian had killed the rest of the circus crew, she tried to attack them. The attempt failed.
Love Makes You Evil: Love for her "father" and siblings causes her to follow his orders and kidnap children in order for their bones to be used for prosthetic limbs. Most of the other circus crew members do this as well.
Verbal Tic: Every time he speaks, whether it's for one sentence or a longer exposition, he always adds on "...says (fill in name of one of his snakes)". It's unclear whether he really is just a mouthpiece for the snakes, or whether he's so self-effacing that he disguises his own opinions and observations in this way.
