This is the Black Butler season that actually earned its darkness. After two seasons of fumbling, the circus arc strips away the fanservice and commits to what the story was always about: children being harvested, a butler's hunger, Ciel's willingness to burn anything down for answers. You watch a kid make deals with the devil and understand exactly why he does it, even when it costs him something real.

London's Noah's Ark Circus dazzles crowds with spectacular stunts and grand performances. But children keep vanishing, and the disappearances seem to follow the troupe's movements. The Queen dispatches her notorious Watchdog, young Ciel Phantomhive, and his demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, to find the missing children. Their mission is straightforward in theory, complicated in practice. They slip into the circus as performers themselves, blending in under the big top while searching for whatever the troupe is hiding. Keeping up their new acts while investigating in secret proves difficult, especially as the other performers grow suspicious and the circus's mysterious benefactor looms in the background. The mystery unfolds with supernatural elements and flashes of comedy.