Formalist type of criticism is also known as New Criticism or Rhetorical Criticism. There is a lot of symbolism and irony in Black Butler 2 and all of it connects to the core idea of a alternate universe . Formalist observe works like a work of art. They look at the patterns in song/poetry, symbols and imagery to see how it connects to the work. All of the parts below connect together to form the basis of human relationships.
Spider &Butterfly Relatiosnhip
The spider and butterfly relationship is present throughout the whole season. (In episodes 1,5-12) is it more present and there is even an OVA (#6) about the Spider's Intention. So as seen in the picture there is always a blue butterfly caught in a web, whether it's Alois as the butterfly or an actual butterfly. In a way to me, its kind of ironic because you think Alois would be the butterfly but he's actually not. (Butterflies can also apply to Ciel's relationship with Sebastian but I'm not going to go in depth on Ciel).
Alois as Spider/Claude as Butterfly Alois is constantly represented as the butterfly and Claude is shown as the spider (just because he can transform into one doesn't mean he's the spider) but I believe it it the other way around. The Faustian contract between a demon and a master ends with the demon consuming his/her master's soul. But in Alois' case this did not happen, the show ends with Alois, Claude, Hannah and Luka in a whirlpool to Nirvana on a remote island,"Demon's Sanctuary." Alois caught Claude in his web and they will be together forever. "I should off his wings, then he'll remain by my side forever." -OVA 6 He refers to Claude a a butterfly and never wants him to leave, because he is attracted to him. This emphasizes how he is very much attached and dependent on Claude. (But even so, in a way they are both dependent on each other). Claude needed to be caught in a web to find out his true feelings:
Alois as butterfly/Claude as Spider
For the most part, people tend to follow this role because of all the scenes showing Alois caught in a spider's web. In OVA 6, Alois says "I dreamt for the first time in a long while. There was a butterfly caught in a spiders web, but it had no wings. And that butterfly... was me." He is referring to himself as the bait, his life is slowly coming to an end and therefore is foreshadowing the future. (OVA 6 is set a few months before season 2 begins). Once the contract exists he was caught in Claude's web , to be manipulated ,taken advantage of and exploited emotionally. |
OVA 6 - The first minute show a bit of this relationship. (but its in sub, so the quotes are different from dub). The OVA shows both way of their relationship.
*RANDOM FACT*
Black Butler are usually titled That Butler, ____ Butler and the blank is a word describing how Sebastian is during that episode (such as episode one of season two That Butler, Solo Butler) This is a way Toboso formats the episodes. |
Contract Seals
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Before I start to go in depth on contract seals, here's a little summary of what they are. Faustian Contract Seal's are links between a human and a demon. The Demon will grant the human their wish and do other services until the wish is fulfilled then they will consume the humans soul. "It is noted that the more visible the place where the seal is, the stronger its power [x]"
Lets start off with Alois' Contract: Alois (tongue) - Claude (hand) The marking on both of them is described as an encircled, gold and red pentagram-like shape. Alois' is hidden in his tongue so the power might not be as strong for it it not visible. This resembles their relationship with one another, Claude does not care for Alois as much. Alois' wish was a forced wish "to make Ciel Phantomhive his" so that he can make Sebastian suffer. Alois' call to summon him is: Hoheo Taralna Rondero Tarel Claude's answer to him is: Yes,... your highness Another Contract is: Luka - Hannah (unkown) Alois' brother formed a contract with Hannah. His wish was for his brother to be happy so Hannah burned everyone in the village. For the first few minutes Alois was happy but after losing his brother, and then finding him dead along with the villagers, he ended up being emotionally scared Alois did not know about this contract seal so he assumed that someone murdered his brother). There is also: Ciel (right eye) - Sebastian (hand) Ciel wish was to find out who killed his parents. His relationship with Sebastian is complicated. The marking is a a star inside a circle with spikes with a circle surrounding it. Ciel's call to summon him is: Sebastian, this is an order. Sebastian answer to him is: Yes, my lord. Then there's also the most important one: Alois in Ciel (right eye) - Hannah (unknown) The deal between them was to get Claude to acknowledge him and for Ciel to be alive forever so that Sebastian would never consume his soul. The seal look slike a combination of Alois's seal in a different color merged with a spider web. "If he made a ripple in the long, long lazy life of a demon, then Alois Trancy's soul also was worth cracking open..." (Episode 12) In the end Claude did acknowledge him and Ciel became a demon so Sebastian remains miserable forever. |
Flowers
There are other types of flowers in this anime but the two more significant are mentioned in OVA 6: Bluebells and Roses.
Bluebells- This is the flower that used to grow in Alois and Luka's old village before it was burned. They used to make crowns and pretend they were girls with this flower. According to Hannah, the bluebell has a greater meaning to Alois than roses, and it does.
Roses - Claude ordered the triplets to decorate Alois' room with roses to accommodate with the butterfly Alois found. We all know what roses mean. Love. Perhaps this is emphasizing that Claude actually care for Alois and care much more on the inside that the outside. Also people tend to believe that this image show Alois being surrounded by a pool of blood and the picture his blood formed was a rose, showing Claude's secret admiration for him.
Bluebells- This is the flower that used to grow in Alois and Luka's old village before it was burned. They used to make crowns and pretend they were girls with this flower. According to Hannah, the bluebell has a greater meaning to Alois than roses, and it does.
Roses - Claude ordered the triplets to decorate Alois' room with roses to accommodate with the butterfly Alois found. We all know what roses mean. Love. Perhaps this is emphasizing that Claude actually care for Alois and care much more on the inside that the outside. Also people tend to believe that this image show Alois being surrounded by a pool of blood and the picture his blood formed was a rose, showing Claude's secret admiration for him.
Songs/Openings/Endings
Even if...the endless sadness robs you away
Tell me that our hearts separating here is not possible No matter what would have happened tomorrow, My mind wouldn't have changed, So with your back turned to me, I ran after you because I do not want to doubt anymore. The habit of averting my eyes, ambiguous replies, and lies I can't laugh at- If you're not next to me, even the meanings will pass through me Even if...the endless sadness robs you away Tell me that our hearts separating here is not possible Words for filling the distance too far between us can't be found Within the passing seasons, I knew I wouldn't be able to catch up with you I said the days weren't recallable, but unforgettable Even if there will be no more than this, I accept them When in time I don't return, please don't let tears fall If you'll tell me that our hearts forgetting here is impossible Through loss we learned of a tomorrow where you're crying I could finally see your bare face, yet could no longer touch it Even if...the endless sadness robs you away Don't forget when you thought "Goodbye" was a lie in those days While we passed each other along, the sky you saw alone and your dreams- They remain as if still on that day, nothing changes Inside of you now and forever... [x] |
This intro represents Alois' and Claude relationship and foreshadows the future. This intro , "Shiver" by the Gazette only plays when a major change to Alois is coming. (so it only plays in Episode 1 and 8) Alois's Introduction and Death. I believe the song and video clips are in Alois' point of view cause they lyrics match to him in a way. There is also an intro with the same song and clip-pets of Alois and Ciel's life. That video emphasizes their character Foil. [Here] if you want to watch and compare. Now the analysis frame by frame.... 0:10 Alois and Claude are holding hands, Claude is trying to grabs Alois' ring. This can be seen in Episode 1, 5-8 ... Claude was playing with Alois' soul and emotions and by the end of episode 8 he manages to place the soul in the Trancy ring. And the lyrics say during that part "Tell me that our hearts separating here is not possible" So this could mean that Alois is trying to hold onto what's left (only Claude is left). 0:14 Alois is looking down averting his eyes as it says later on in the lyrics and Claude is looking upward as if he is searchign for a new soul to consume , it shows how their relationship is working. 0:18 This is a fruit that broke, it its most likely symbolizing Alois' heart. It shows the "heart separating". 0:19 The hand shake/grab is back again, now we get a better view of Claude only trying to grab alois's ring / soul. 0:21 The fruit is back again, but this time, we see the spiders around it. Its almost as if the fruit is being infested by spider. This is showing that Alois's heart is being played by spiders (Claude). 0.27-0.28 The transition from black to white (kuro to mono), afterall season two is called monshitsuji which means white butler so it changing to white, showing that this episode will be Alois-Claude centric. 0.29 Hannah is shown to be facing a window her back turned like the lyrics "No matter what would have happened tomorrow, My mind wouldn't have changed, So with your back turned to me.." This lyric relates to Hannah and Alois's relationship because she does not care how he treats her, whatever happens tomorrow no matter how many time he abuses and taunts her, that wont change the fact that she cares for him. 0.39 Alois triplet butlers they aren't really essential to the show but are shown mirroring each other's movements so that could mean that they're going to be always seen together. They are"Ill bred and foul tongued" as mentioned in OVA 6. 0.48-0.57 "If you're not next to me, even the meanings will pass through me Alois " 0.48 Alois is sitting alone on a staircase this shows how lonely he is 0.53 He's showed wearing a kimono, this probably represents his past life of being abused (the spider-butterfly kimono) 0.55 He is shown to be looking up with a mischievous look 0.56 credits to the gazette, and the Trancy manor is shown 1:00 Alois is licking chess pieces, shows his feminist qualities and plus he had a tongue fetish, in my opinion i think he likes to show his tongue off because the Seal's on there and its showing that He and Claude are one and since he admires Claude he embraces that contract. Basically all these things are a part of his life, the lyrics are referring to Claude and how without him Alois will be lonely and the ambiguous reply and lies relate to how Claude responds to him. He replies to him with lies. 1:03 Alois is stepping on the fruit and reaches for the distance "words for filling the distance too far between us cant be found" Slois is trying to grasp onto their relationship but Claude is already too far to reach. 1:09 Alois is shown with his back turned away from Claude. He realizes that he can't ever be beside him and seen as his lover but he can never forget those memories so he stays a distance. 1:20 Claude sees into the past , he sees through Alois' lie and he sees the "endless sadness" robing him away and he can see through all of Alois' flaws. but he cannot touch his face because he has killed him off in episode 8 and he probably regrets that because Alois did make a ripple in his boring life. 1:29 The grasps from their hands are release and the ring falls off. "goodbye is a lie" because Alois soul does come back and I guess you can saw Alois got his revenge. 1:32 If you look closely you see a spider, then it quickly transitions to Claude "yellow eyes", they are significant in one episode where a women says:"The man with the yellows eyes told me." She is was talking about her village burning, I don't exactly remember what happened but you can tell she was talking about Claude. 1:35 Spiders are consuming the tea with the ring in the center of the cup , most likely its Earl Grey tea , Claude's glove is thrown off to the side. The table cloth is purple, much like the Trancy Manors. "The sky you saw alone and your dreams, they remain as if still on that day, nothing changes inside of you now and forever..." Claude has not changed, his personality is still the same in both episode this intro is featured in. The tea and ring show that his soul was obtain and rather than in a box of tea leaves it is in tea, and tea is hot so maybe Alois' soul was more passionate than Ciel and because of that flame he is cast aside rather than Ciel who was wanted by both demons. |
Alois' Deathdeath song ▲
death scene ▼ if that link doesnt work then it'll be on the 15- 23 minute of Episode 8 lyric translation: [x]
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When you are overflown with cold tears,
and when the time is ripe, you'd probably have sought out light, and shattered darkness. The Persian-red singing voice slowly dyes your chest the same color, as if it's an eternally yearning and swiftly dispersing melody. In the stillness of the shining sky is my backyard garden. Some day you will finally reach the other side of the shore. The night's darkness, while guarding the moon, whispers along a lullaby, on and on, until the eyes of the children, who no longer cry, become soaked in dreams. Farewell... Since I will never see you a second time, it feels like my chest is being hollowed out by the night, dearly and madly. In the stillness of the shining sky is your home of return. Beyond the darkness where the moon sinks is a narrow path that leads you back to the beginning. |
The lyrics to this song (translated from romaji) foreshadows a new beginning.
During Alois' Death, "Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa" or "In the Stillness of the Shining Sky" plays as he reflects on his past. He is dying while the moon is showing and "Farewell... Since I will never see you a second time, it feels like my chest is being hollowed out" Alois actually died with his chest being hollowed out and the night is referring to Claude. He will never see Claude again in that form, in his original body.. but "In the stillness of the shining sky is your home of return. Beyond the darkness where the moon sinks is a narrow path that leads you back to the beginning." shows that Alois will be back and their life will begin a new in a life after they all die, in Nirvana. "The love amongst the four of them (Luka, Jim, Claude, and Hannah) will bring them to Nirvana."[x] But that is also mentioned in episode 12. |
Tarot Cards
Tarot Cards are used during intermission for most episodes in season two.
In episode 1 judgement cards are used. In episode 6 or 5?, strength cards are used and in episode 8 death cards are used. The hanged man,the sun , and the fool are some of the others used but I wont go over that. Episode 1: Judgement (Alois and Claude) Upright: Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution Reversed: Self-doubt, refusal of self-examination Basically what this card is doing is foreshadowing both of their paths. Alois is holding it faced up and Claude is doing it faced down. Alois is introduced in this episodes and is about finding an absolute , and finding the pieces of the puzzle to your life. His past life is being pushed behind and he is trying to judge his new life. Claude is displaying his personality through this card. Something obviously happened between him and Ciel or him and Sebastian, because why else would a demon steal another demon's food?.. I mean he has Alois. So now he is deciding to take action and do something (Steal Ciel). Episode 5 or 6: Strength (Ciel and Alois) Upright: Strength, courage, patience, control, compassion Reversed: Weakness, self-doubt, lack of self-discipline Ciel is holding the card face up while Alois is holding it faced down.This is the episode before or the episode that Alois gets stabbed in. Alois shows that he has to rely on Claude in both episodes for the weirdest decisions (clothes or just to be there). He is shown as weak without him and doubts his existence. Ciel' on the other hand is being portrayed as powerful and is show to be the leading master in their relationship (Sebastian-Ciel) , he tells Sebastian to leave him alone when he is about to stab Alois or when he tries to hunt him down...while its vice versa for Alois-Claude. The Butler(Claude) seems to be leading his life. Episode 8: Death (Claude and Alois) Upright: "The beginning of a new life. Major changes. The end of a phase in life which has served its purpose." face upReversed: "Resistance to change, unable to move on Alois is holding the card face up while Claude is holding it faced down. Its ironic in a way, most people would think since this is Alois' death episode the card represent his death but they actually mean the description above. He is done living a life unloved, and now he is going to start his life over and treat Hannah fairly, and start a life in Nirvana with the people he loves. Claude refuses to change his ways and is still a deceiving butler. The episode shows Claude not changing. Other Tarot Cards: Episode 2: The Sun (Ciel and Sebastian) Episode 3: The Hanged Man (Ciel and Sebastian) Episode 10: The Fool (Ciel and Claude) |
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