For the past few weeks, Funimation has been releasing the dubbed episodes of Black Butler: Book of Circus, and this girl could not be happier. As a fan of the manga and show for quite a few years now, I was initially apprehensive when the third season was announced--given the nature of the second season, wherein the writers openly pandered to fans instead of sticking to the original source material--but the arrival of this third season restored my faith in the franchise. The tone of the show was significantly darker, the teasing manner had been eliminated, and most importantly, all evidence of the atrocious, second season ending seemed to have vanished completely. The fact that the studio chose to utilize the "Noah's Arc" segment of the manga was an incredibly intelligent decision, as well, given its popularity amongst fans. Essentially, every aspect of Book of Circus was destined for global success.
With Black Butler returning to the forefront of anime with this release, this meant the inevitable rise in fandom attention and Tumblr circulation, and while I generally find the fans of this franchise to be relatively tolerable, there was something that continued to eat away at me as I scrolled through the tag. There is a particular scene during the forty third episode--"His Butler, Liason"--wherein the most popular character from the series, Sebastian Michaelis, "interrogates" Beast, a female member of the circus, in order to retrieve information in regards to the identity of the patron of the circus. There is a similar scene during the very first season, involving Sebastian's seduction of a very willing nun as a means of obtaining information, but this moment in the third season depicts something much darker, and the fan response to it has been sickening.
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The interaction between Beast and Sebastian is actually quite brief, but it leaves a startlingly awful takes in the mouths of the viewers. Sebastian appears just after Beast has been denied by Joker, the subject of her affection. Playing on her vulnerability, Sebastian materialized behind Beast and--after verbally accosting her--proceeded to grab her without permission and haul her body against his own. Cue the fan girls' swoons, right?
No, not even a little.
Does that look like the face of a woman that is consenting? And more importantly, is this the kind of image that women should believe to be acceptable when it comes to the way that they're treated?
While this scene definitely made my skin crawl, I understand why it's in the show. Given Sebastian's status as a demon, it is perfectly reasonable to believe that he wouldn't care about consent, and that works for his character. I don't begrudge Yana Toboso for creating this scene because it makes sense, and it maintains the tone of the show and original creation of Sebastian's character. In fact, I would go as far as to praise the inclusion of this scene because it isn't making an attempt to promote Sebastian in a positive manner.
What I do find fault with are the ways fans have responded to the show. I cannot believe the drastically high amount of female fans that are falling over themselves because of this scene, claiming it to be one of the sexiest in anime. I liken these women to that of the "Diabolik Lovers" fanbase (yes, that is, unfortunately, how the studio spells "diabolic"), in that they seem to want to defend characters that are sexually assaulting women due to the fact that the fictional men are aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, attitudes like this are often coupled with hatred towards female characters, such as Beast, who are the literal victims of the abuse. This is an example of early onset support of victim shaming, and it's becoming harder and harder to tolerate.
Briefly, let's take a look at the aforementioned nun scene from the first season.
I love this scene; in fact, this is one of my absolute favorite scenes in the first season. The dialogue is hilarious, Grell's reaction is priceless, and the nun--who actually isn't technically a nun--does not provide any means of objection. In fact, her dialogue and tone imply the exact opposite, which makes the scene ever more entertaining, knowing Ciel and Grell can hear the entire exchange outside. The important aspect of the scene, though, is that we do not see Sebastian openly harassing the female into this form of sexual interrogation, unlike Sebastian's interaction with Beast, wherein he utilizes force to meet a sexual end. We see him sidle up to her while she leans against a door frame, and after seeing her blush fervently, it is very evident where the scene is headed, given the nature of this show and Sebastian's character. However, she never wrenches away from him or openly cries in anger, like Beast.
I'm not saying that it is impossible to enjoy the show because of the sexual assault in the third season. As explained earlier, I think the third season is brilliant and a fantastic return to the original content, but when it comes to these newer scenes, I would ask that these female fans be more vigilant and aware of the man about which they're fantasizing. Please don't attempt to wish a Sebastian Michaelis into your life; you deserve much more than a demon that doesn't respect your personal space and decisions regarding your sexual activity.
