Kuroshitsuji Chapter 98 Review - That Butler, Response

Written by: Shiggins

*happy sigh of relief*

I was so worried that this month's chapter would be another stupid breakdown into insanity. Thankfully, the series did manage to pick itself up a little bit and started to recover from the idiocy of the previous chapter. The series' running theme of "conspiracy" has always been prominent and as you should remember, it has never been as silly as this one. Anyway, enough build-up. It's time to begin the review.

"I have to pee!"

We see Wolfram waking up to the sound of an alarm. He runs down the stairs and sees Sullivan is gone. Sullivan, meanwhile, has broken down in tears at the realisation of what she has done throughout the years. The old woman seems confused, saying Sullivan's work is legendary and that she should be proud. The old woman also reveals herself as Sullivan's true mother and explains her backstory.

"What a twist!"

13 years ago, there was a research lab for the military that were working on poisonous gases. One of the scientists was a genius who was starting to figure everything out, but after an accident occurred, the genius died and Sullivan's mother was pregnant with Sullivan and her face was disfigured by the accident. And this is where I started laughing... Sullivan was born a genius like her father. So smart that by the age of 3, she understood the synthesis of mustard gas!

"Damn it, Rick! You had one job! One job, Rick!"

Sullivan's mother decided to create an entire government project. They gave her an entire town to focus on her research, made her believe she was a witch, isolated her from "impure" things such as entertainment, the werewolf legend... All so she could concentrate her genius brain and make this gas weapon.

Apparently, being a genius is hereditary now... Sure.

As Sullivan screams from this realisation, Wolfram enters but is blocked by Sebastian and called a liar by the angry Sullivan. With Ciel pissed off at how Sullivan's mother used her child like this, he fires the gun into the air as a distraction and starts running. Ciel and Sullivan escape, and Sebastian is ordered to take care of the "werewolves".

Kidnappers, zombies and now werewolves. I love a good massacre.

Wolfram takes another exit to chase after Sullivan, and he meets the maid Hilde along the way. After telling Hilde that Sullivan knows everything, Hilde commands "Lieutenant Wolfram Geltzer" to track her down and dispose of her. This is when we get a glimpse of the Phantomhive servants going serious as a huge flare goes off. Realising that this means Ciel is calling them, the servants run off.

"Come, men! The plot must be around here somewhere!"

This is when we get our last surprise of the chapter. Ciel tells Sullivan that if she leaves the village, people will try to use her one day and that she'll probably see even worse sights than she did today. And Ciel gives Sullivan a dark, shocking choice: Go to the outside world or take a bullet to the head.

Opinion: I have to be honest here, I was laughing for the first half of this chapter. Kuroshitsuji has always been somewhat over-the-top but this was just hilarious. A three year old girl was able to figure out mustard gas? The government created an entire town, pretended it was magic and left a lieutenant there to guard a tiny girl for 10 years? There must have been a million other ways they could have gotten their bomb, but this was what they saw as logical?!

I saw the new Ninja Turtles movie last week and I still consider this the most over-the-top thing I've seen this month.

The rest of the chapter was fairly standard and forgettable, as well as predictable. Except for that last moment where Ciel puts a gun to Sullivan's head. This was easily the most interesting part of the arc and a great callback to what Sebastian did earlier when Ciel was losing his mind in the dreamworld. He's testing Sullivan's resolve, making her more determined and making her find her own reason to want to live and go outside. Although, Ciel is a dick about it, he's still technically doing the right thing.

To be honest, I wish I had gotten this option during certain manga arcs I've read this year. (I'm looking at you, SNK)

Manga Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Month: Ciel for testing Sullivan's resolve and leaving us on an interesting cliffhanger.

Predictions: Sullivan will give a reason about why she wants to live. The Phantomhive servants will appear but so will Wolfram. Wolfram will try his best but he'll be unable to kill Sullivan because of how much he cares about her now. Sebastian is going to have fun massacring every werewolf there is. 

Best Part: Sullivan needs to decide.

Worst Part: That hilarious backstory.

You know what I'd love to see? A manga chapter cover that actually relates to the damn chapter!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/.