Funimation Is About To Part Ways With Black Butler

Black Butler fans, brace yourself for impact. If you are one of the many anime lovers who rely on Funimation to bring you all thing Sebastian, you may have to find a new binging outlet soon enough. Thanks to a report by ANN, the anime fandom has learned that Funimation is about to lose out on an important chunk of Black Butler canon - and it could signal something worse to come in the near future.

Not long ago, Funimation Entertainment confirmed that Black Butler's first season is leaving its line-up "for good." The company did say fans could still purchase the show on Blu-ray or DVD before it leaves towards the end of this month. The press release made no mention of whether the removal was reserved for home-video sales or if online streaming would feel the loss as well. When Funimation was asked to clarify Black Butler's upcoming shift by ANN, the studio would not say whether the entire series or its films were also in jeopardy.

For Black Butler fans, the update is a concerning one; After all, Funimation did recently acquire rights to bring the franchise's live-action film to the U.S. along with its new anime feature. Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic premiered in Japan back in January, and Funimation plans to screen the feature in the U.S. this June. The recent move does give fans hope that Funimation still have a solid work relationship with A-1 Pictures over the franchise, but the loss of season one has rattled the confidence of many.

Funimation is not the only site which has had one of its most popular anime titles removed. Earlier this year, Hulu announced its partnership with Toei Animation had come to an end, forcing shows like One Piece and Dragon Ball to be taken off the streaming platform.

You can check out the synopsis for Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic below:

Ciel Phantomhive and his demonic butler, Sebastian, are back! And this next case has Ciel and Sebastian treading some rough waters. Aboard the luxury liner Campania, the two investigate an illegal human experiment that involves resurrecting the dead. But the closer they get to the truth, the closer they are to their own deaths! Will this be their final case or will one hell of a butler keep them afloat?

If you are not familiar with Black Butler, then you should know the popular series ws created back in September 2006 by Toboso. The manga was then adapted into an anime in 2008 and has continued to produce spin-out series over the year. The last Black Butler project debuted in 2014 when a two-part OVA hit Japanese theaters.

As for its story, Black Butler is set in Victorian London and focuses on a young boy named Ciel Phantomhive. When the heir turns ten, his parents are brutally murdered and he is kidnapped by a cult. Desperate to live, Ciel escapes the brutes and returns home with a mysterious man named Sebastian at his side. The strange butler turns out to be a demon who Ciel made a contract with during his captivity. In return for Ciel's soul, Sebastian has sworn to help the boy get revenge against those who destroyed his life, and Ciel learns more about his parents' murder as he solves crimes around London.