History YMMV / BlackButler

** Episode seven of season 2 seems to have caused this for [[spoiler: Ciel]]. Fans are divided between those who approve of his murder of [[spoiler: Alois]], like him better for it, and feel it was perfectly in line with his character and those who feel he went past the MoralEventHorizon and either actively dislike him or can't decide how they feel.

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** The werewolf arc shows a lot of technology ahead of its time. It goes into DanBrowned territory at the end of the arc, the "Downstairs with Black Butler", they mention how much they researched. However, the [[spoiler: Tank they show is clearly World War 2 era, not the believable World War One cannons-with-motors, and while radar did exist in 1890, it was an experimental range finder. They showed it being used to track in a city, which was cutting edge technology when used on planes and ships on open water fifty years later. The technology shown as is wouldn't be possible until the 1960s at least. Finally, utilizing a tank in a dense pathless forest wouldn't even be possible with today's heaviest tanks. Tanks work best in open ground where they can use their speed and range to take out enemies. That tank wouldn't have been able to move, much less pose a threat in that terrain.]] Defenders of the manga argue that this is the entire point; [[spoiler: that the advanced technology is there to prove that Germany would CurbStomp England if they went to war, and/or foreshadowing for a future [[TheReveal reveal]] that Germany has been exploiting contracts with supernatural powers to gain next-century technology.]] Granted, the latter hasn't been proven yet...
** Twins get treated with the Asian tradition of the first-born one to be considered older and as the default heir. In all of recorded European history, twins were always treated the exact same way, where they would end up sharing all matters of inheritance, being land, titles, and other matters. Even in cases of royalty. [[spoiler:This makes the idea of the protagonist being more of a spare and deemed less worthy than the real Ciel very foreign for western readers.]]

*** Doesn't help that Claude goes out of his way to make this as uncomfortably intimate as possible.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: For the fans of the manga who had low opinions of the entire second season of the anime and the latter half of the first for not actually being an adaption of its source material - the third season "Book of Circus" is definitely this. It completely ignores all the anime original elements of the previous seasons [[{{Retcon}} (thus acting as though the second season never happened)]] and is a very faithful adaptation of the fan-favorite "Noah's Arc Circus" storyline. It was then followed by an adaptation of the Murder Mystery Arc called "Book of Murder" which was also well received by the fans.
** For those tired of the ArcFatigue, The Blue Cult arc zigzags it by making sure there's a WhamEpisode or other exciting event once every five chapters at minimum.

** Claude's obsession with Ciel takes the creep factor from the above two UpToEleven to the point that it is universally considered NoYay within the fandom.

** Chapter 135 takes the cake on this trope [[UpToEleven and makes most of everything mentioned above look tame in comparison.]] [[spoiler: Especially since children were ''explicitly'' involved in ''gang rape''.]]

** The author seems to have developed an obsession of shoving in lengthy flashbacks in the middle of an arc that puts the entire plot to a halt. Ciel and his allies are trying to cut off the possible [[HumanResources sources]] from which [[spoiler:his brother, the true Ciel,]] must gather bloody supply, and sends his servants to infiltrate various locations to investigate. As we follow how [[ADayInTheLimelight the household servants are faring]] at their assignments, the story dumps 5+ chapters on how they got into the Earl's services and why they are now [[UndyingLoyalty so loyal]] towards him. This has mostly nothing to do with their mission, and could be described in just a few panels, rather than spending half a year's worth of story-telling.

** With ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'' as well, no doubt since both works were created by Toboso with many of her themes and overall aesthetic are present in the game. With that said, overlaps with FandomRivalry above.

** With ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'' as well, no doubt since both works were created by Toboso with many of her themes and overall aesthetic present in the game. With that said, overlaps with FandomRivalry above.

*** Some have theorized that this tactic might have came about due to Toboso now working on both Black Butler and Twisted Wonderland, the Disney-based rhythm game in which she is a CopiouslyCreditedCreator on.
*** Another theory about the slow pacing is that the main story is nearing the end, and Toboso’s team and/or publisher wants to extend the manga’s lifespan as long as possible.

*** It's actually cute to see Ciel so shy and awkward around people, even if it is all an act sometimes.

** The author seems to have developed an obsession of shoving in lengthy flashbacks in the middle of an arc that puts the entire plot to a halt. Ciel and his allies are trying to cut off the possible [[HumanResources sources]] from which [[spoiler:his brother, the true Ciel]] must gather bloody supply, and sends his servants to infiltrate various locations to investigate. As we follow how [[ADayInTheLimelight the household servants are faring]] at their assignments, the story dumps 5+ chapters on how they got into the Earl's services and why they are now [[UndyingLoyalty so loyal]] towards him. This has mostly nothing to do with their mission, and could be described in just a few panels, rather than spending half a year's worth of story-telling.

** Madame Red often goes through this treatment. While she has a rather sad backstory, most fans tend to ignore her [[spoiler: brutal murders as Jack the Ripper]] and view her in an oddly positive light.

*** Madam Red [[spoiler: is a serial killer driven by envy,]] but the story attempts to soften it by [[spoiler: her sympathetic backstory, her motherly love of Ciel which led to her undoing, and the beautiful way Ciel said his goodbye to her,]] so she still ended up well liked.

* FoeYay:
** Grell attempts to have this with Sebastian in her first appearance in the anime and only (so far) appearance in the manga. Sebastian appears torn between being sick or requesting a restraining order.
** Also between Sebastian and [[spoiler:Angela/Ash, especially with Angela's lustfully-charged torture of Sebastian and even flashing her breasts as an attempt to seduce him]].
** And, as of Season 2, [[spoiler:Alois Trancy]] to Ciel. Ciel is not entirely sure how to react to the former. Episode 6 of Season 2 shows enough between [[spoiler:Claude]] and Sebastian to match up with the two.

** Ciel and Sieglinde also has it's fans due to the interactions between the two in the werewolf arc. It also helps that they are not related.
** Ciel and Alois counts too, especially of the FoeYay variety.

** [[AlphaBitch Maurice Cole]], and his storyline in the manga. On one side it's seen as a humorous little break from the story, especially because the previous arc was action-packed. People on this side tend to believe Maurice is an interesting, good looking character that you're meant to LoveToHate, who's unique and complex in his own right. On the other hand, people view his storyline as a complete waste of time that provided absolutely nothing to an already slow plot, view the whole "unmasking the beautiful, popular student as a hideous, make-up wearing bully" as trite, overdone WishFulfillment, consider the character an asshole for what seemed like the orchestration of an AttemptedRape, and would prefer to [[FanonDiscontinuity ignore his entire existence]].

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:Lady Hanae Wakatsuki is the EvilAunt of [[TheHero Shiori "Kiyoharu" Genpō]], who became an ImmortalitySeeker after being rejected by Shiori's father for being infertile. She ends up joining with pharmaceutical executive Shimpei Kujo to experiment on young women obtained via HumanTrafficking to develop various anti-aging drugs, eventually killing Shiori's parents when they get in her way. During one of these experiments, the two discover a drug called Necrosis which agonizingly mummifies people. Hanae decides to test this drug on random people, including a nightclub full of people, her murders soon being nicknamed the Devil's Curse. After [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killing Kujo for outliving his usefulness]], Hanae sets up a bunch of Necrosis pills to bomb a mass gathering of world leaders, intending to mummify everybody in a kilometer's radius.]]

*** Sebastian's is a demon and his end goal is basically to cannibalize Ciel, [[SoulEating only even worse]], but he's still liked by most of the fanbase.

*** Madam Red [[spoiler: is a serial killer driven by envy,]] but the story attempts to soften it by [[spoiler: her sympathetic backstory, her motherly love of Ciel which led to her undoing, and the beautiful way Ciel said his goodbye to her]] so she still ended up well liked.

** At the end of season II, even [[spoiler: ''Sebastian'']] can count as this. That look on his face when he realized that he'd have to [[spoiler: serve Ciel for all eternity and will never be able to eat his soul]] was absolutely ''disheartening'' for some fans.

*** Sebastian's end goal is basically to cannibalize Ciel, [[SoulEating only even worse]], but he's still liked by most of the fanbase.

*** Madam Red [[spoiler: is a serial killer driven by envy,]] but it's softened by [[spoiler: her sympathetic backstory, her motherly love of Ciel which led to her undoing, and the beautiful way Ciel said his goodbye to her]] so she is still well liked.

*** Sebastian's goal is basically to cannibalize Ciel, [[SoulEating only worse]], but he's still liked by most of the fanbase.

*** Madam Red [[spoiler: is a mass murderer driven by envy,]] but it's softened by [[spoiler: her sympathetic backstory, her love of Ciel which led to her undoing, and the beautiful way Ciel said his goodbye to her]] so she is still well liked.

* JerkassDissonance: Most fans seem to completely ignore Grell's ruthless and sadistic streak and tend to portray her as something ''completely'' different.

* FandomRivalry: Some of the Black Butler fans had beef with ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'' fans and the game, believing that Toboso working on the game contributed to the short chapters since the game's launch and the ArcFatigue of the recent chapters.

*** Some argue just how much of Ciel's darker tendencies are truly his own and how much they are a result of Sebastian's looming influence and his position as the Queen's Watchdog. On the one hand it's no secret that Sebastian is doing his best to "season" Ciel's soul and on ''two'' instances [[spoiler: tried to kill Ciel when he appeared to give up on his revenge or be too sick to go on]] and the position continuously exposes Ciel to the worst of human nature which leads to him making morally reprehensible decisions himself, especially when it triggers his DarkAndTroubledPast. On the other, WordOfGod ''has'' stated multiple times that Ciel is in fact naturally twisted, a trait that he picked up from his father Vincent, and Sebastian has alluded to Ciel's soul having certain properties that he rarely finds in others.

** Chapter 135 takes the cake on this trope [[UpToEleven makes most of everything mentioned above look tame in comparison.]] [[spoiler: Especially since children were ''explicitly'' involved in ''gang rape''.]]

** The main ship, Ciel and Sebastian, can be this for some fans. Sebastian seems to act a lot like a father to Ciel and some have even noticed how similarly he looks to Vincent, something that has actually been commented [[https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/akumadeenglish/117636791482 by Toboso herself.]] There is also the fact that Sebastian a demon who’s lived for hundreds of years old and takes the form of a grown man while Ciel is a still a prepubescent child. Not to mention it's been stated that the two are merely using one another and in the end Sebastian wants to eat the boy's soul. effectively killing him.