News Reporting

Funimation Acquires Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic Film, Plans Theatrical Release In 2017


You know, seeing as this is an Aniplex property, this is very interesting indeed.

Yesterday, Funimation announced that they acquired the domestic rights to Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (Kuroshitsuji: Book of the Atlantic). Funimation will give the film a limited theatrical release later this year, though specific details have yet to be announced.

Funimation describes the film as:

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?

Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic hit Japanese theaters on January 21.

Noriyuki Abe (Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files) directed the film at A-1 Pictures, while Minako Shiba (Madlax, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE) filled the dual role of character designer and chief animation director. Hiroyuki Yoshino (Accel World, Guilty Crown) wrote the script. Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda was tapped to compose the soundtrack.

The movie’s voice cast includes:

  • Sebastian Michaelis: Daisuke Ono
  • Ciel Phantomhive: Maaya Sakamoto
  • Elizabeth Midford: Yukari Tamura
  • Undertaker: Junichi Suwabe
  • Grelle Sutcliff: Jun Fukuyama
  • Ronald Knox: Kenn
  • William T. Spears: Noriaki Sugiyama
  • Snake: Takuma Terashima
  • Baldroy: Hiroki Touchi
  • Finnian: Yuuki Kaji
  • Mey-Rin: Emiri Kato
  • Charles Grey: Ryohei Kimura
  • Charles Phipps: Tomoaki Maeno
  • Viscount of Druitt: Tatsuhisa Suzuki
  • Edward Midford: Seiichiro Yamashita
  • Ryan Stoker: Kaito Ishikawa
  • Francis Midford: Atsuko Tanaka
  • Alexis Midford: Jouji Nakata

The Black Butler manga spawned six anime adaptations, three of which were OVAs while the remaining projects were TV series. Funimation currently holds the domestic rights to the Black Butler anime.

Source: Funimation (Industry Panel)

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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