If you had told me last year that one of my favorite Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler story arcs would have involved Ciel infiltrating an elite boarding school and playing cricket, I probably would not have believed you. Several volumes of prefects and fags and Unexpected Soma! later, and the Weston College arc has become a personal favorite of mine, up there with Ripper arc, Soma's introduction, and the Circus arc. Not only does it do a good job switching between school hijinks and drama, but it expands upon the existing background of the Phantomhive clan, something I've been waiting for for a while.

You can read my complete review of BLACK BUTLER volume sixteen here at my blog. ( )

I'm shocked but so ready for more of this. ( )

This is the 16th volume in the Black Butler series. It was well done but not my favorite of the series.

Ciel and Sebastian have infiltrated Westen College and are trying to figure out the cause behind the mysterious disappearance of some of the students there. However the Headmaster seems to be key in these disappearances and the only way for Ciel to get a meeting with him is to attend the mysterious Midnight Tea Party. Only the most prestigious of students are allowed to attend the Midnight Tea Party, so Ciel contrives a plan to have his house win the annual Cricket match...by whatever means necessary.

While this wasn’t my favorite book of the series, I did enjoy it. I just don’t like the boarding school setting and plot as much as some of the previous ones. That being said there are still a number of things I enjoyed here.

We have a whole new cast of interesting (and handsome) characters which I enjoyed. I also found everyone’s blind obedience to the Headmaster to be intriguing. The mystery surrounding the missing students also remains engaging and interesting.

As with previous books there are some funny bits in there too. For example how Ciel’s house deals with the cricket match is funny and so is the scene where Elizabeth’s mother realizes that Sebastian is present at the boarding school.

The illustration remains absolutely beautiful and top-notch. I really love it.

Overall a great addition to this series. I enjoyed the new characters and the main mystery here. I am not as fond of the boarding school setting and was a bit disappointed we don’t see as much as Sebastian's demonic abilities. However, it was an interesting read and overall I continue to enjoy the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy historical fantasy type graphic novels. ( )

Ciel continues to try to find Derrick and the other students that were supposedly transferred from Red to Purple House, going so far as to start a fire at Purple House. However,Derrick turns out not to be there, leaving Ciel with the Headmaster as his last hope. He learns that he has a chance to meet the Headmaster if he distinguishes himself at the big cricket tournament. Under Ciel's direction, Blue House uses both tricks and outright cheating (a bad meat pie) to beat Red House. Meanwhile, Green beats Purple (that combo gives me B5 flashbacks).This volume's bonus: Black Quiz (basically, a Slumdog Millionaire/Black Butler crossover).

I do not understand cricket. And not even Toboso's diagrams were able to help me. But I did enjoy Toboso's attempts to capture the drama of sports manga in her cricket segments.

This arc has definitely snagged my interest. So far, it seems as though Derrick and the others may have been used for something nefarious.

One thing I loved about this volume was the flashback to Ciel's father, who used to be the prefect of Blue House. He looked like what I imagine Ciel will look like if he manages to live long enough to make it past puberty, and I'm sure he was just as devious as Ciel now is, considering that he used his cricket win to make Diederich his slave.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

The Weston College arc continues, culminating in a cricket match and the arrival of the mysterious headmaster.