staresan
♥Stare-san♥
Kuroshitsuji fangirl rambling~~
97 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
shepscapades
Might as well make it a good one
christofher81
Best Pic
rainingjustiice-blog
Clear Skies
grahhams
thomas harris’ arch nemesis
Text
It’s ok to think a character is gay or bi. It’s not ok to call the writers homophobic for not making your ship canon. It’s not ok to call other fans homophobic just because they think a character isn’t gay or bi and they don’t ship your ship.
253 notes
·
View notes
Photo
My short comic NIGHTMARE
First of all god lord, I finished it! I had so much fun and it was a good practice. The comic is actually a redraw. I had that idea, I think, two years ago. First, it was just the thought, what kind of a nightmare did O!Ciel had in Sebastian’s Cinematic Record. And then, all that with R!Ciel happened so yeah, here we are. The first page of the comic is different from the other pages because I had no idea what I was doing! ( Yes gurl go) The comic is a quiet one. Not much is said or happens. But the pictures/drawing speak for themselves ( I hope they do möööööööööö)
Enjoy! DAM DAM
5K notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi chibi, may I ask you a question about Ch151? I saw many theories conclude that Francis and Undertaker knew each other since Claudia's time. I wonder in japanese version if these two already say something canonically about it? I mean Undertaker may has been around Francis earlier, but Francis did she meet Undertaker at Vincent's time or when Claudia was still alive? Since many fans said that Francis knew Undertaker as her father, this made me so confused. Thank you!
Dear anon,
There is no explicit information whatsoever in the original manga, but there is some indication judging from the language Frances uses to the Undertaker.
Frances’ use of language in Japanese
In chapter 151 when Frances addresses the Undertaker, she says the following:
“葬儀屋、お前はお兄様がご存命の頃から変わらないな”
“Undertaker, omae wa oniisama ga gozonmei no koro kara kawaranai na”
“Undertaker, you haven’t changed since the time when my (honourable) brother was alive.”
The most noteworthy elements in her language are indicated in bold, and I shall expand on why these are important underneath. (It will be lengthy, but please bear with me.)
‘Oniisama’ and ‘Gozonmei’
Frances is a noble lady, and in the manga she uses formal language to people she considers her peer or above. Despite her clear dislike for her brother, she never fails to address him properly as ‘oniisama’, or ‘honourable brother’, even when she is yelling at him, or after his death.
“大体お兄様は昔からそうやって…”
“Daitai oniisama wa mukashi kara souyatte…”
“(Honourable) brother, have always been like this from the past…”
The ‘o’ and the ‘sama’ in ‘oniisama’ are honorifics in Japanese death trap, uh I mean polite language, ‘keigo’. Siblings normally don’t go beyond the expected politeness level of ‘oniichan/oneechan or niisan/neesan’. Frances however, uses both of the highest honorifics ‘o’ and ‘sama’.
I do not think Frances uses this formality for Vincent because she really looks up to him. Rather, I think Frances uses this formal language because she is a respectable lady, and not using formal language when referring to her older brother would be considered ‘unrefined’ and be held against her. In the same way, the ‘go’ in ‘gozonmei’ (ご存命・alive) is also a hyper formality, and a marker of her grace as a lady.
In Japanese, language is an exceptionally telling method with which speakers express their identity. Among other things, a speaker’s formality or informality is considered a strong language marker with which they can present themselves. The infinitely varied language quirks and markers don’t all have a perfect equivalent in English, and therefore translation is very tricky. As such, a one-on-one translation from ‘oniisama’ to ‘honourable brother’ every time is just very unnatural, hence it is omitted in English.
“葬儀屋、お前はお兄様がご存命の頃から変わらないな”
“Undertaker, omae wa oniisama ga gozonmei no koro kara kawaranai na”
“Undertaker, you haven’t changed since the time when my (honourable) brother was alive.”
In contrast to Frances’ hyper formality when speaking about her ‘honourable brother’, she uses informal language when talking about and to the Undertaker.
‘Kawaranai na’ (haven’t changed) is informal speech. (Formal speech would have been ‘変わりませんね’ (Kawarimasen ne・have not changed).)
To me, this is an indication that Frances sees the Undertaker as below her rank. Frances using formal language for Vincent, while informal for Undertaker in the same sentence, is her implicitly differentiating the social hierarchy between Vincent and Undertaker. Consequently, I would say that Frances probably does NOT think that Undertaker is related to Claudia Phantomhive, because if she did believe so, Frances would most probably not have used this type of informal language.
Undertaker’s Language
Undertaker replies to Frances as follows:
“そうかい？小生にとってみれば君も生まれた頃がさっきのようだよ”
“Sou kai? Shousei ni totte mireba kimi mo umareta koro ga sakki no you da yo”
“Is that so? To me as well, it is as though you were born not very long ago.”
This line in Japanese is fairly standard and straighforward, and does not contain a lot linguistic hints. Undertaker merely seems to state that Frances did not change much either in his very, very old eyes. Rather than him dropping hints that he had met Frances at birth, I think it is more likely that he is playing it safe and not give Alexis Midford more reason to suspect the supernatural is involved. For more about R!Ciel hiding the involvement of the supernatural, click here.
There is no explicit information, but it is not impossible that Undertaker already met Frances during Claudia’s time when Frances was VERY young. But there is no information on whether Frances is actively aware of Undertaker’s presence during Claudia’s time. Frances’ and Undertaker’s interaction so far only indicates that there is no deep bond between them.
No indication of ulterior meaning
Japanese manga has a universal way to indicate when a spoken line contains an ulterior meaning.
In Sebas’ text he says: “… Yes, I shall serve the young master well as his butler,” after Tanaka refers to O!Ciel by this title for the first time. The dots next to the word “bocchan/young master” mean to indicate that the word pronounced by Sebas contains an ulterior meaning. Now in retrospect we know “Ciel” is in fact not O!Ciel’s name, and that therefore Sebas is using the title to refer to his master to dodge his real name because he cannot lie.
In Undertaker’s text, he says: “Both ‘body’ and ‘memory’ hosted by the brain remain in this world.” These dots again tells the reader the speaker refers to not just any world, but specifically the human world (as opposed to the Reaper’s world.)
These dots however, do NOT appear in Undertaker’s speech bubble in chapter 151.
Theory within the Japanese fandom
As I mentioned in another post, language shapes thought. As such, different theories may have emerged in the Japanese fandom. In the Japanese fandom, most people do not believe Undertaker is Frances’ and Vincent’s father, or Cedric K Ros.
Some arguments against Undertaker being the father as discussed in the Japanese fandom:
During the Boarding School Arc, Undertaker remained as fixated on O!Ciel as always, whereas he didn’t even bother batting an eye at Edward. Most of the Japanese fandom believe that Undertaker is only interested in the direct line of the Phantomhive family. Undertaker deliberately addressed Frances as ‘Lady Frances Phantomhive’, and this is considered a hint that his interest probably ends with her as a side-branch, and that this interest does not extend to her children. If Undertaker were Frances’ father, then this striking favouritism towards Vincent’s line would require some other explanation which is not in the manga canon (yet). As Yana has confirmed that Vincent and Frances are born of the same parents, this favouritism cannot be explained with “only Vincent is Undertaker’s child.”
Undertaker is a person who does not hide his emotions towards the Phantomhive tragedy very well. If just thinking about Vincent is enough to make him cry, then meeting Frances after such a long time would probably have stirred some emotions. This reunion would not necessarily be enough to make him cry, but the interaction with Frances would probably not have been as cheerful and aloof as in chapter 151.
During the Luxury Liner Arc too, Undertaker did not seem to care about the Midford family at all, despite clearly having had a lot of chance to reach out to them. Judging by Undertaker’s dodging skills as attested in the Boarding School Arc, he could easily have avoided O!Ciel and Sebastian during the first demonstration of the Aurora Society if he wanted to, but instead he chose to engage O!Ciel - ‘a main Phantomhive’. Yet again, we see a clear contrast between Undertaker’s interest in O!Ciel and the lack hereof for the Midfords.
Side-argument. Undertaker CAN’T be Cedric K. Ros: Undertaker is confirmed to have been a reaper for at least 70 years. 1889 - 70 = 1819. Claudia Phantomhive was born in 1830, which means that by the time she was born, Undertaker was already a reaper. In the family tree, Cedric K Ros was officially registered as her legal spouse. Had Claudia been a commoner, than marrying some random person that does not exist in the civilian personnel archive might have been possible. But considering how she was the Countess of Phantomhive, it would have been very troublesome to marry a man who does not officially exist.
Arguments supporting Undertaker being the father in the Japanese fandom come in far lesser quantities, but a few popular ones are as follows:
Frances’ platinum blond-grey-ish hair resembling Undertaker’s silver hair.
Elisabeth and Edward both having green eyes. But as all reapers get green eyes the moment they become one, this theory does not hold water.
The lack of information about Undertaker and Cedric K Ros allowing for intersection between them. So far - whatever little canon information there is about Undertaker and Cedric respectively do not exclude each other.
Undertaker’s obsession with Claudia clearly being the strongest, and leaves enough room for people to ship them romantically, and therefore having produced children. Most fans who do believe Undertaker and Claudia were romantically involved however, tend to believe Undertaker was the lover of Claudia, and not her spouse.
In short, so far in the Japanese fandom, there are more arguments against Undertaker being Vincent and Frances’ father than for.
369 notes
·
View notes
Photo
That butler, devoted cat lover
Bonus: That cat lover, rejected
4K notes
·
View notes
Text
Yana’s comments on comicbook vol.27
Twitter posts from 2018/07/27:
“Kuroshitsuji comicbook vol.27. It seems I have the bad habit of making flashback scenes too fast-paced. Every month I was like “Next month, I will eventually conclude the flashback and we’ll get back to the present timeline”. The reason for my impatience is that I believe that ‘one’s present is more important than one’s past’. However, my editor told me “If you want to draw [OC’s] past, it’s now or never,” so in the end I was able to sit down and draw the flashback [to my heart’s content].” (X)
“I had originally planned to conclude the flashback with 3 chapters lol. But my editor said “There’s no way you can do that!!”, so I drew both the happy times as well as the tough times [of OC’s past] elaborately. […]” (X)
“My favourite scene [in vol.27] is the “What should I do” scene [*ch137, see above]. It’s a monologue that only the readers will ever know. The biggest challenges for me in terms of art were… the moths and also the moon phases in the background. I kept scratching my head as I had to calculate the moon phases by counting the days passing until the day of Sebastian’s summoning. (I slightly corrected them in the comicbook.)” (X)
“This means, that you can calculate the day and time of [Sebastian’s] summoning from [the progression of] the moon phase starting from the day the twins got kidnapped. But please think of it as a very rough estimation lol. People sometimes ask me [about the exact day of Sebastian’s summoning] - maybe because he doesn’t have an [official] birthday?” (X)
Bonus:
It seems Yana really was *very* confused about the moon phases xD She pretty much redrew them all in the comicbook (especially ch135) and she also corrected these lines accordingly:
So the night of Sebastian’s summoning was a full moon, that means we can roughly estimate his “birthday” as OC’s butler and also RC’s death date as January 20 or 21.
My Kuroshitsuji Translations (MASTERPOST)
764 notes
·
View notes
Text
Othello the ‘Reliable’ Narrator
In chapter 149, we get a little background about Undertaker and even a little more information about the reaper realm - all courtesy of Othello. While he is telling Grell all about reaper 136649, we, the reading audience, learn quite a bit. Through Othello, we learn that Undertaker had never used his name, as most reapers do, that he was this legendary fugitive that had nearly destroyed headquarters 70 years ago in an escape attempt. We now know more about Undertaker than we have had before.
But can we completely trust Othello?
There’s no one to really question his story after all. Grell would know about reaper numbers, despite having obviously forgotten about them, but apparently has no knowledge of Undertaker. Othello could say that Undertaker was basically anything, and Grell wouldn’t be the wiser.
This isn’t to say that Othello’s story doesn’t make sense. Personally, I think it is mostly the truth, but there’s a strong chance that Othello is leaving out certain details.
Othello’s story just makes it sound as if he and Undertaker became grim reapers at the same time with little to no interaction as they were in different branches. He had given Undertaker a nickname (take your pick on that one since the translation is…interesting), but Othello gives no indication that they even spoke to one another. Undertaker was a top reaper in recovery, while Othello was a slacker in forensics.
Yet, when you look at their earlier interaction, it’s clear they know one another.
This isn’t the interactions of two individuals who simply know about each other and may have said hello as they passed each other in the hallway. The KNOW each other. They could have been friends or enemies, but they are certainly more than passing acquaintances.
Yet Othello’s story doesn’t mention this at all. He spoke as if they were, at best, acquaintances.
So, why did Othello leave out? What didn’t he tell Grell?
And how important are the details that Othello failed to mention?
301 notes
·
View notes
Photo
I thought it was weird how R!Ciel promised to never leave his brother alone again and then in the same chapter framed him and got him arrested. But then I remembered this scene. R!Ciel was upset that O!Ciel was going to leave him and the way his parents calmed him down was to tell him that by becoming Earl he would have the ability to save his brother even if they are apart. I believe that this is what R!Ciel is doing now. He is putting O!Ciel in a “tight spot” so he can look heroic by rescuing him and then spend the rest of his time with his grateful brother by his side.
It’s a twisted way of thinking, but with all the editing the Undertaker has done to R!Ciel I think he’s trying to work with the memories he has to make sense of the future the Undertaker most likely put in his reel - a future together with his brother.
139 notes
·
View notes
Text
Transporting style variations
(Yana’s blog posts from April 25, 2014)
Anime style
English translation
It seems like each media has its own style as to how Sebastian carries (transports) Ciel.
In anime I often see him holding Ciel in his arms. He carries him very naturally. [*The way Sebastian carries Ciel in the above sketch is called ‘Ohimesama dakko’ in Japan, which literally means ‘princess holding’.]
I guess I should follow the anime staffs’ example and draw this style more often.
sketch:
Sebastian→somehow he’s gentleman-like
Ciel→He is used to be carried [like this]
Musical style
I think this is cute because Ciel really seems like a child that way. There’s rarely an occasion to draw this style [in the manga] though.
Manga style
This robot-like style pretty much defys physical laws. It developed naturally, as there are always enemies around them, thus Sebastian’s right hand needs to be free.
sketch:
Ciel → he often looks away.
Sebastian → This vehicle has a seating capacity of 2.
Emergency style
I haven’t drawn this style for a while now because I was told “The way Ciel is treated is so rough! He’s not a straw bag [*buggage] after all!”
I personally like this style though, because it shows that Sebastian treats human beings as objects. A burden called “Master”.
sketch:
Sebastian: This is the most comfortable way [for me to carry him].
Finny and Ciel
This is the stealing-snacks-from-Phantomhive-manor-style. […]
.
.
My Kuroshitsuji Translations (MASTERPOST)
3K notes
·
View notes
Text
Sebastian’s view of humans
From Yana and editor K’s interview in “Kuroshitsuji Official Character Guide”:
Q: What does Sebastian think of the servants?
Toboso: Nothing. Sebastian sees all human beings as kind of grasshoppers. He might differentiate the individuals like grasshopper A, grasshopper B, grasshopper C, but in the end he sees them all as just grasshoppers.
Editor K: He was surprised by Agni’s ability to motivate other people, but he was actually just impressed in the sense of ”He’s quite good for a grasshopper”.
Bonus:
he was actually just impressed in the sense of ”He’s quite good for a grasshopper”.
It’s interesting that this interview was from 2009 and 7 years later, in 2016, Sebastian said almost exactly the same thing to Lizzie (ch117).
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Fact: Yana has never once taken a hiatus in the past 148 months.
Yana’s comment on Kuroshitsuji’s 12th anniversary:
“It is all thanks to my editor, staff’s and your support that I was able to reach this milestone, 12 years [of serialization] and 144 chapters, without even once having to take a hiatus. I’m so grateful for the luck and the connections I was blessed with. I will keep doing my best so you can enjoy Kuroshitsuji in its 13th year, too!” (X)
“Considering I never was sick in bed for a long period or had to be hospitalized in the past 12 years, I think I am very strongly built, both physically and mentally. I think taking a planned hiatus is not a bad thing at all, but as for me, I was just lucky. I was very lucky. I’m so grateful.“ (X) - Yana Toboso, 17. Sep. 2018, on twitter
Fact:
Yana has never once taken a hiatus in the past 12 years. Not even when her beloved mother died back in 2010 or when she went on a 2 weeks trip to UK in 2015.
However, there was one incident where a new Kuroshitsuji chapter was not published in the GFantasy magazine and that was in April 2011, a month after the 3.11 earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan. Yana stated on her blog that the “hiatus” was not due to her being sick/injured or missing the deadline, but a last-minute decision made by her and the magazine’s editorial department due to “circumstances” (X). Although she didn’t further specify, it is assumed that they came to this decision because they deemed the depiction of the sinking ship (Campania) and the drowning passengers in the new chapter as inappropriate/insensitive in light of the real, catastrophic occurrences in Japan at that time. Chapter 56 was then published one month later in May together with chapter 57.
937 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tenko
Here’s something cool I found! In 2007, Kohei Horikoshi, current mangaka of My Hero Academia, had his first published work published in Akamaru Jump. It was a oneshot titled “Tenko”, starring the eponymous boy during war time in feudal Japan.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s cuz this Tenko shares the same first name as the main villain in My Hero Academia - Shimura Tenko, or better known as Shigaraki Tomura.
In fact, 2007 Tenko is a sort of proto-type Shigaraki. Tenko isn’t a villain or evil - more like an anti-hero protagonist of the oneshot, but there’s lots of similarity. Besides the name, he shares Shigaraki’s unique power: Decay. In the story, it’s called “Battlefield Vandalism” (戦荒らし); anything he touches with his hands breaks apart.
Breaking blades with just touch.
Both are orphans, having accidentally used their power on a loved one (though implied, in Shigaraki’s case).
(Possibly what happened to Shigaraki’s father?)
And both are also driven by a deep hate for the world and a very intense goal to destroy something in it. For Shigaraki, it’s All Might and Heroes, and for Tenko, he wants to destroy all the swords in the world.
Here’s another familiar scene:
Pretty much the same words, even! “I hate you!”「おまえ…嫌いだ！」
(Man, Horikoshi’s art has improved so, so much over the decade!)
It’s cool seeing how Horikoshi recycled his character, and kept a few core themes. Even appearance-wise - white hair and only one eye showing - lots of things remain.
Poor kid though; tragedy’s written into the DNA of the character. I only hope it means Shigaraki’s got a special spot in Horikoshi’s heart and he’s got big things planned for the villain!
(I have the oneshot! But my Japanese is atrocious, so sorry if I explained anything incorrectly here, but it should all be correct… If anyone wants the story, just send me a message. If anyone wants to translate it, even better!)
2K notes
·
View notes
Note
Okay, so I'm /actually/ about to write a porn fic to AO3, and I'm interested in knowing what the difference is between the M rating and E rating. Able to enlighten me?
Mature is ‘and then they made love.’ Explicit is ‘and here’s how they did it exactly.’
To wit: mature.
He looked at the envelope, spread out before him.
God, he’d never been this hungry.
Could he be gentle enough? Slow enough? He didn’t want to damage it, didn’t want to do anything he’d regret… but no, no, it seemed the envelope wanted this as much as he did. It slipped into his hands, it folded as he asked. When it was time for more, the card was waiting, and he somehow knew exactly what to do. He moved with his correspondence in a dance as old as the mail system, and when it was over, he was smiling and the envelope was completely, thoroughly sealed.
Explicit:
The envelope waved its flap in the air slowly, gently, and he could see the faint shimmer of the adhesive traced along its fold. It was like a taunt, a dare: won’t you? And he would, oh, God, he would, lifting the envelope firmly to his lips, licking slowly at first, then faster, more firmly, tasting the envelope’s essence, the faint bitterness, the sweetness to follow–
Oh, he couldn’t help but smile at how it felt in his hands. It was so perfectly folded. Its paper was rough against his fingers, and its crossed folds shifted slightly as it opened for his eager tongue. Yes, yes…
Now the card, and his hand trembled as he lifted it, as he held the envelope, stretching it wide. Would it fit? Oh… oh, yes, it would fit, it slid in smooth and quick and filled the envelope to bursting, oh, made for each other, and he smiled in delight at how perfect it was.
He was ready. Now, now, now: with one swift movement he folded the flap over and he pressed, yes, he pressed the flap down and it stuck, God, it stuck perfectly, and he closed his eyes in bliss.
Afterwards, he stroked the envelope, and thought about addresses.
65K notes
·
View notes
