In Victorian England, the young Earl Ciel Phantomhive runs his family's company by day and hunts criminals for Queen Victoria as her Watchdog. At his side is Sebastian Michaelis, a butler who can do anything, because he is a demon. Their contract is simple: Sebastian serves until Ciel has his revenge, and then takes his soul.
Plus 2 optional extras and 1 more title.
6 titles · 60 episodes + 1 movie · ~27 hours
Watch the first season up to episode 15, then move to Book of Circus and follow the manga's story through Book of Murder, Book of the Atlantic, the Public School Arc and the Emerald Witch Arc. The rest of season one, Black Butler II and the OVAs are an anime-original route with its own ending, kept below the line as optional extras.
Start here. Episodes 2 to 6 and 13 to 15 adapt the first five volumes of the manga; episodes 1 and 7 to 12 are standalone anime-original stories.
⚠ Stop after episode 15 and go to Book of Circus. Episodes 16 to 24 are an anime-original ending that the later series does not follow.
Returns to the manga with the Noah's Ark Circus arc. Ten episodes that follow on from episode 15 of the first season, not from its finale or from Black Butler II.
A murder mystery at the Phantomhive manor, told in two parts of about an hour each. It continues from Book of Circus and leads straight into the film.
⚠ Released in 2014 as a two-part theatrical OVA, so some services list it separately from the TV seasons.
A feature film adapting the Luxury Liner arc. It is a full story arc and not a side movie: the Public School Arc continues from it.
⚠ A theatrical film (101 minutes), not a TV season.
Eleven episodes adapting manga chapters 67 to 86, the boarding-school investigation. The first Black Butler anime since the 2017 film.
Thirteen episodes adapting chapters 86 to 108, set in a German forest said to be cursed. This is the most recent anime, and no follow-up has been announced.
A single OVA episode in which the Phantomhive household stages Hamlet. A comedy one-off tied to the first season.
⚠ Listed as episode 25 of Season 1 on some services.
Twelve anime-original episodes built around a new master and butler, Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus, continuing from the first season's anime-original ending.
⚠ Follows episodes 16 to 24 of the first season and has no manga content. Its ending contradicts Book of Circus and everything after it.
Six standalone OVA episodes released with the Black Butler II home video volumes.
Black Butler has two continuities, and the order only makes sense once you know where they split. The 2008 series starts with Yana Toboso's manga, then invents its own plot and its own ending in its back half, and Black Butler II (2010) continues from that invented ending. When the anime returned in 2014 with Book of Circus, it went back to the manga and ignored all of that: it follows on from episodes 13 to 15 of the first season.
So the main line is the first season through episode 15, then Book of Circus (10 episodes), Book of Murder (two feature-length parts), Book of the Atlantic (a film), the Public School Arc (11 episodes) and the Emerald Witch Arc (13 episodes). That path adapts the manga in sequence from volume 1 to volume 22. Episodes 7 to 12 of the first season are standalone anime-original stories inside that stretch, harmless to keep.
Episodes 16 to 24, Black Butler II and the seven OVA episodes belong to the anime-original route. They end in a way the later series contradicts, so they sit below the line: watch them afterwards as an alternate take, or skip them.
Black Butler has 4 seasons, 1 film, and 1 other entry in the main run — 60 episodes altogether.
| Title | Type | Episodes | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Butler | TV Series | 24 episodes | October 2008 |
| Black Butler: Book of Circus | TV Series | 10 episodes | July 2014 |
| Black Butler: Book of Murder | OVA | 2 episodes | October 2014 |
| Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic | Movie | — | January 2017 |
| Black Butler: Public School Arc | TV Series | 11 episodes | April 2024 |
| Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc | TV Series | 13 episodes | April 2025 |
| Title | Type | Episodes | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Butler: His Butler, Performer | Special | 1 episode | September 2009 |
| Black Butler II | TV Series | 12 episodes | July 2010 |
| Black Butler II OVA | OVA | 6 episodes | October 2010 |
6 titles · 60 episodes + 1 movie · ~27 hours
Where each part of the anime lines up with the source, so you know where to pick up reading.
The anime adapts Yana Toboso's manga, serialised in Square Enix's Monthly GFantasy since September 2006 and still running, with 35 volumes in Japan as of November 2025. Yen Press publishes the English edition. The Emerald Witch Arc ends at chapter 108, the last chapter of volume 22, so reading continues from chapter 109 in volume 23. Anime-original material: episodes 1, 7 to 12 and 16 to 24 of the first season, all of Black Butler II, and the OVA episodes. Book of Circus onward adapts the manga without filler.
Black Butler season one up to episode 15, then Book of Circus, Book of Murder, Book of the Atlantic, Public School Arc and Emerald Witch Arc. That follows the manga through everything that has been animated. Black Butler II and the OVAs are optional and sit outside that story.
Yes. Black Butler II is entirely anime-original, continues from the first season's anime-original ending, and is ignored by every later series. Skipping it loses nothing from the main story.
Episodes 1 to 15. Episodes 2 to 6 and 13 to 15 adapt the manga, and 7 to 12 are standalone originals that do no harm. Episodes 16 to 24 form an anime-original ending; if you watch them, treat them as an alternate version, because Book of Circus picks up from episode 15.
It is the third TV series and is often listed as Season 3, but in story terms it follows episode 15 of the first season. Streaming services number the 2024 Public School Arc as Season 4 and the Emerald Witch Arc as Season 5.
Yes. They are not side stories: each adapts a full manga arc, and the Public School Arc continues from the film. Book of Murder is a two-part OVA of about two hours in total, and Book of the Atlantic is a 101-minute film.
The main line is about 27 hours if you watch all 24 episodes of the first season, or about 23 hours if you stop at episode 15 as recommended. Black Butler II and the seven OVA episodes add roughly 8 more.
In the first season, episodes 1, 7 to 12 and 16 to 24 are anime-original, and Black Butler II is anime-original from start to finish. From Book of Circus onward there is no filler: every entry adapts the manga.
Yes, for every entry in the main line. J. Michael Tatum (Sebastian) and Brina Palencia (Ciel) returned for the Public School Arc dub on Crunchyroll in 2024, so the two leads sound the same from the first season onward, and the Emerald Witch Arc is dubbed as well.
Crunchyroll carries the TV series and the Book of the Atlantic film, and in the United States Hulu has the series as well. Availability of the older entries varies by region.
No. The manga by Yana Toboso has run in Monthly GFantasy since September 2006 and is still ongoing, with 35 volumes as of November 2025. The latest anime, the Emerald Witch Arc, ended on June 28, 2025, and no further season has been announced.
At chapter 109 in volume 23, the start of the Blue Cult arc. The Emerald Witch Arc anime ends at chapter 108 and shows a single page of chapter 109. Yen Press publishes the English edition.
No. The 2014 live-action film is a separate adaptation, and so are the stage musicals. Neither connects to the anime.
