A-1 Pictures bring to us now "Book of Murder", this two-part OVA, after the so commented "Book of Circus", both, the true sequels for the first Kuroshitsuji anime.
Book of Murder have a very simple plot: solve a mysterious assassination case in a mansion, in which all the suspects are trapped inside it on a rainy day. Everyone can be the murderer, you can't trust anyone.
Strongly inspired in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Book of Murder have everything the fans of policial mystery can ask: suspense, supernatural, awesome tricks and to add a little more, a bit of comedy.
STORY
After the events of Book of Circus, Ciel is now asked by the Queen to give a party and receive some guests. A succession of events lead to a case of murder in his mansion, and then, him, the remain guests and the servants, will have to solve this case in a stormy night.
The story is very interesting and you might even caught yourself trying to solve the mysteries they show in the anime, seems like everything was well planned by the murderer and you keep trying want to know exactly what happened.
The way the whole story starts to develop is simply very smart, at the point that when we come to the conclusion, you just feel completely tricked by all the characters and by the own author.
CHARACTERS
The characters are very interesting itself, of course, we have Ciel and Sebastian, enigmatic as always, as well as the known servants and some other faces we already know; there's new characters introduced then, the "Double Charles", which are the servants of the Queen; they will make part of our story, to be specific, Charles Grey, who might look as a random character but will take an important role in the story; there's Arthur, who is kinda like our "main" character in this arc, since is him who's telling us the story (which can be noted in the beginning of the OVA), and well, other minor characters that go to the party, they don't really have a huge role in the story but are somehow enjoyable.
What I liked the most is that you can't read some characters at all, a characteristic of those mystery stories of course, and well, they totally fit for the atmosphere of the story, I personally liked Grey's character the most, he's so funny but at the same time such an enigmatic guy.
Arthur is also very smart and he acts like our detective (he's actually a very nice mix of Conan Doyle and his own creation, Sherlock Holmes, and honestly, I think this made the character much more original and enjoyable); well, he's definitely my favorite character of this arc and of course, someone who take an important role in the conclusion of the story.
ANIMATION
Not really my cup of tea, but I have to say this OVA have a great animation. There's not even comparison between the 2009 Kuroshitsuji and the 2014 Book of Murder. Yet, A1 is not the best when it comes to animate long distance scenes, the characters always seems weird somehow, but they make up when it comes to the rest, especially sceneries, the whole mansion scenery and the outdoor scenery, the details of the tableware, everything is perfectly done. And well, of course, the characters eyes and hair are something, everything is so shining, it's actually stunning and I absolutely loved the new design of them.
SOUND
The OST's are good, mostly recycled from Book of Circus, but they're actually appropriate to the scenes. We don't have an opening or ending song, but the theme present in the credits is nice, it actually fit the atmosphere of the whole story of the OVA.
Overall, Kuroshitsuji Book of Murder was a great sequel for Book of Circus, and definitely the cup of tea of all the Kuroshitsuji fans. It's definitely a must watch if you're already a fan of the series, but I also would recommend to everyone who likes mysteries, murder cases and puzzles. Book of Murder might look very different from the other Kuroshitsuji stuff you have seen so far, or what you already know of the series, but that's what makes it interesting and awesome.
Then, what are you waiting to know who the culprit is?
