How many seasons of ‘Black Butler’ are there, and will there be any more?

Black Butler is one of the most popular anime and manga series ever shown in America. Its gothic aesthetic and intriguing characters captured imaginations, and for many American anime and manga fans, Yana Toboso’s tale was their first taste of the medium. Fans are thus eager to know — when is the newest season finally hitting screens?

What is Black Butler about? 

Starting its life as a manga in the pages of monthly GFantasy, Black Butler follows a young boy named Ciel Phantomhive, who hasn’t had an easy life. For starters, on the night of his tenth birthday, his family home burned down under mysterious circumstances. In the chaos, Ciel finds that his entire family has been murdered. Before he can mourn, Ciel is kidnapped and ends up in the hands of a demon-worshipping cult. 

This cult marks Ciel with something they call the “mark of the beast” before abusing him for years. Eventually, the cult reveals that it plans to offer Ciel as a sacrifice to summon a demon. Ciel and the monster come to a deal. The demon will serve Ciel and help him exact revenge on those who attacked the Phantomhive family, all of which is granted in exchange for Ciel’s soul once the deed is done. The demon kills the cultists, freeing Ciel and allowing him to return to society. 

Once free, Ciel names the demon “Sebastian Michaelis” and takes up his father’s old position as Queen Victoria’s watchdog. He investigates those who may be plotting to harm the queen or the crown all the while hunting down those who have wronged him. 

How many seasons of Black Butler are there? 

Produced by A-1 Pictures, the Black Butler anime, including several OVAs, currently has three seasons. Season one landed in 2008 with 24 episodes, plus one OVA titled His Butler, On Stage. After a brief hiatus, season two launched in 2010. The season had 12 episodes and six OVAs. Notably, this anime heavily deviated from the manga after its sixth episode. Later episodes continued this shift, introducing a load of anime-exclusive plot points and dividing fans. 

Fans waited until 2014 for season three, Black Butler: Book of Circus, to launch. This season ignored the plot points introduced by the previous anime seasons and adapted the manga’s “Noah Ark Circus” arc. This was followed by two OVAs named Book of Murder, and in 2017 the anime film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic hit screens.  

Will there be a Black Butler season four? 

There are no announced plans for a fourth season of Black Butler at this time. However, it isn’t unheard of for an anime series to return after a long hiatus or for a show to get a complete reboot and readapt the manga from scratch. 

Fans will have to wait and see to find out if there will be more Black Butler, and we’ll be sure to update you when more information becomes available.