Our favorite Victorian-era pair, Earl Ciel Phantomhive and his “hell of a butler” Sebastian Michaelis, are not only coming back for a new season, but they are also going back to school. The next Black Butler arc to be animated will be the Public School Arc, which has recently gotten a teaser trailer that gives fans a first look into the main four new side characters and each of their respective houses, very reminiscent of the Hogwarts system.
The first season of Black Butler premiered more than a decade ago, in 2008, and although the first half followed the manga for the most part, the second half was anime original. The studio committed the same mistake by making a whole second season, in 2010, that also did not follow Yana Toboso’s original storyline.
Following the manga’s chronological order, “Book of Circus” was succeeded by “Book of Murder,” and the Titanic-inspired “Book of Atlantic” movie a few years thereafter. And now, after a 5-year-long wait, fans can eagerly expect the return of their favorite Victorian child aristocrat and demon butler pair to their TV screens.
When can we expect the next ‘Black Butler’ anime arc to be released?
This upcoming animated arc of Yana Toboso’s manga is directed by Kenjiro Okada, written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, with character designs by Yumi Shimizu and music by Ryo Kawasaki. Although there is yet no concrete release window, the new season is slated to premiere sometime next year, 2024.
Unlike the previous Black Butler Arcs, this forthcoming one will be produced by studio CloverWorks. This is certainly something to be excited about as the Japanese studio is known for making mesmerizingly vivid and crisp animation like in Horimiya, The Promised Neverland, Bocchi the Rock!, My Dress-up Darling, and Spy x Family.
The teaser trailer gives away nothing of the plot but the four new characters to be introduced and the Houses they are the prefects of. These four students are Edgar Redmond of the Scarlet Fox House, Lawrence Bluewer of the Sapphire Owl House, Herman Greenhill of the Green Lion House, and Gregory Violet of the Violet Wolf House. Like in the Harry Potter world, the members of each house are selected according to their main characteristics and what they excel at.