Don't be fooled by the official synopsis. A good chunk of this volume—about half of it, really—is dedicated to the end of the cricket tourney. It's a ridiculous, farcical take on the English sport but it's so darn Kuroshitsuji I can forgive it. The whole book is very Yana Toboso, from the elaborate outfits to the unexpected plot twists and the cameos from favorite characters, and it pushes us through into the final act of the Weston College mystery arc.

My complete review of BLACK BUTLER volume 17 is at my blog. ( )

I was a little shocked with this volume. I wasn't expecting this at all. ( )

This was a good volume in the Black Butler series. This book continues the storyline started a few books ago where Ciel and Sebastian are under cover at a Boys School where students have been disappearing. While this hasn’t been my favorite storyline it has been well done and I am still enjoying it.

As with previous volumes the illustration is top notch and I am really enjoying it.

The first half of the manga deals with the cricket match. I honestly found this to be a bit boring, but some of it was funny. The rest of the book builds to the unveiling of who the Headmaster is and it is quite the unveiling.

Overall this was a decent continuation of the Black Butler series. Most of this book deals with the cricket match, which wasn’t all that entertaining to me. However, the Midnight Tea Party and the unveiling of the Headmaster was quite good. I would recommend this manga series to those who enjoy paranormal manga with a good dash of mystery. ( )

Ciel and Blue House manage to win by using some dirty tactics (including one that was just plain cheating, but only Ciel and Sebastian knew the specifics). Sebastian tries to confront the Headmaster, but the man keeps escaping, indicating that he must have some sort of supernatural skills. Ciel gets an invite to the “Midnight Tea Party” andfinally sees Derrick Arden – Derrick has become a flesh-eating zombie like the ones in volume 12. And the Headmaster has been replaced by the Undertaker (who I had actually completely forgotten about).This volume's bonus: Black Dispatch.

This volume was incredibly sports manga-ish, complete with over-the-top imagery, including two Excalibur references. I was surprised that Ciel cheated so little during the game. Bravo, I guess?

The author's note comic at the end was nice. Toboso discussed researching cricket, including asking the CEO of the Japan Cricket Association for a list of dirty cricket tactics. I'm sure that was a fun convo.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )