How to Watch Black Butler in Order (With & Without Filler)

Black Butler is one of the most popular anime out there, and with new releases in 2024 and 2025, it’s recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Because there are a lot of episodes that don’t follow the manga, however, it can be tricky to figure out what’s worth watching. That’s where we come in! In this article, we’ll explore the best Black Butler watch orders, including release, canonical, and chronological order. We’ll also cover the plots of each arc and explain where to watch the show. Warning: Slight spoilers ahead.

How should you watch Black Butler in order?

The easiest way to watch Black Butler is in release order, starting with season 1 (2008) and ending with the Emerald Witch Arc (2025). This order includes all seasons, arcs, OVAs, and movies. If you only want to watch episodes that are canon to the manga, skip season 2 and continue to watch in release order.

Section 1 of 7:

How to Watch Black Butler in Release Order

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If you’re new to anime, it’s often easiest to watch everything in the order it was released. Be aware that the Black Butler timeline skips around a bit, and many arcs and episodes aren’t necessary for understanding the plot. Here’s every season, OVA (original video animation), and movie in release order:^{[1]
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- Black Butler season 1 (2008)
- Black Butler II, season 2 (2010)
- Black Butler II OVAs (2010-2011)
  - Ciel in Wonderland (Part 1)
  - Welcome to the Phantomhives’
  - Making of Black Butler II
  - Ciel in Wonderland (Part 2)
  - The Threads of the Spider’s Story
  - The Story of Will the Reaper
- Black Butler: Book of Circus, season 3 (2014)
- Black Butler: Book of Murder (OVA, 2014)
- Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (movie, 2017)
- Black Butler: Public School Arc, season 4 (2024)
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, season 5 (2025)
- Note: Season 1 also includes Black Butler OVA: His Butler, On Stage

Section 2 of 7:

How to Watch Black Butler Without Filler

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Filler episodes are any episodes that didn’t happen in the manga, and Black Butler has a lot of them, including the entirety of season 2. If you’re only interested in watching events that happened in the manga, try out the canonical watch order:^{[2]
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- Black Butler season 1 (episodes 1-6)
- Black Butler season 1 (episodes 13-15)
- Black Butler: Book of Circus, season 3
- Black Butler: Book of Murders (OVA)
- Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (movie)
- Black Butler: Public School Arc, season 4
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, season 5

Section 3 of 7:

How to Watch Black Butler in Chronological Order

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Black Butler features a lot of flashbacks and jumps around a lot, so it’s tricky to nail down an exact chronological order. However, if you want to watch both canon and non-canon arcs, here’s a watch order that makes the most sense timeline-wise:^{[3]
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- Black Butler season 1
- Black Butler: Book of Circus, season 3
- Black Butler: Book of Murders (OVA)
- Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (Movie)
- Black Butler season 2
- Black Butler II OVAs
  - Ciel in Wonderland (Part 1)
  - Welcome to the Phantomhives’
  - Making of Black Butler 2
  - Ciel in Wonderland (Part 2)
  - The Threads of the Spider’s Story
  - The Story of Will the Reaper
- Black Butler: Public School Arc, season 4
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, season 4
- Note: An alternate way to watch in chronological order is to watch episodes 1-15 of season 1, followed by Book of Circus, Book of Murder, and Book of the Atlantic. Then, finish the rest of season 1.^{[4]
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Section 4 of 7:

Black Butler Arcs Explained

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The first few episodes of Black Butler introduce the characters, most notably Ciel Phantomhive and his butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Three years prior, the Phantomhive estate was burned down, killing Ciel’s parents. Ciel was kidnapped by a cult and ended up making a deal with a demon—Sebastian. Once Ciel gets revenge, Sebastian will be allowed to devour his soul.^{[5]
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Red Butler Arc (season 1, episodes 4-6) Jack the Ripper is on the loose in London, and Ciel and Sebastian are trying to hunt him down. They consult the Undertaker, a funeral director who gives them information on the murders. The identity of Jack the Ripper takes them off guard and leads to the discovery of Grell, Ciel’s aunt’s butler, being a shinigami, or grim reaper.^{[6]
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Filler Arcs (season 1, episodes 7-12) The next few episodes are non-canonical, meaning they didn’t happen in the manga. They vary in tone, including plots like Ciel ordering the servants to get a photo of Sebastian and his fiancée, Lizzie, getting kidnapped and controlled by the puppeteer Drossel Keinz. These episodes also introduce new characters, including Angela Blanc and Pluto, the demon hound, who are anime-only characters.
4
Indian Butler Arc (season 1, episodes 13-15) These episodes return to canon and introduce Prince Soma and his servant, Agni, who goes toe-to-toe with Sebastian. Prince Soma is searching for his nursemaid, Mina, who he believes has been kidnapped.^{[7]
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Filler Arcs (season 1, episodes 16-24) Season 1 ends with an anime-only plot in which Ciel discovers a cult working to “cleanse” its members of their past. They use the same symbol as the cult that killed his family. Ciel is then kidnapped by an angel who wants to kidnap him, and the episode spirals into shocking betrayals.
6
Black Butler OVA: His Butler, On Stage This OVA follows season 1 and features the Funtom Company performing Hamlet for charity. When none of the performers can make it, Sebastian must put on the best version of the play that he can.^{[8]
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7
Black Butler Season 2 Season 2 is entirely non-canonical. It introduces new characters, Alois Trancy and his butler, Claude Faustus. Sebastian sneaks into their estate to steal a box that contains Ciel’s family ring, which we soon discover contains the boy’s soul. Season 2 heavily focuses on Alois and Claude’s relationship and how it connects to Sebastian and Ciel.^{[9]
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- Anime expert Eunice Ibama says she recommends watching season 2, even though it’s technically non-canon and a little messy. “I know people have love-hate relationships when it comes to [season 2], but I think if you're going to be a part of the Black Butler fanbase, you have to watch it. It's just a rite of passage,” she explains.
8
Black Butler OVA: Ciel in Wonderland Part 1 All of the OVAs in season 2 are also non-canon. In Ciel in Wonderland, Ciel follows Sebastian (who is running late for a very important date) and ends up in the world of Alice in Wonderland. The entire cast appears as different Alice in Wonderland characters.^{[10]
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9
Black Butler OVA: Welcome to the Phantomhives This OVA takes place in a first-person perspective, as the viewer is welcomed into the Phantomhive estate. The viewer’s character is secretly an assassin sent to kill Sebastian and kidnap Ciel.^{[11]
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10
Black Butler OVA: Making of Black Butler II This OVA breaks the fourth wall and presents all of the characters as actors playing the characters from the series. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at season 2 being filmed.^{[12]
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11
Black Butler OVA: Ciel in Wonderland Part 2 Part 2 takes viewers back to the Alice in Wonderland alternate universe, in which Ciel is sentenced to death for the pain his actions throughout the series have caused. The story is implied to occur before the start of Black Butler season 2.^{[13]
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12
Black Butler OVA: The Threads of the Spider’s Story This OVA centers on Alois Trancy, who frees a butterfly from a spider’s web. Before it can fly away, however, Alois breaks its wings so it can’t leave him. The plot is full of metaphors about how Alois sees himself and his situation, especially since Claude is a spider demon.^{[14]
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Black Butler OVA: The Story of Will the Reaper This arc follows William T. Spears, the administrator of the reapers from the Reaper’s Association, as he thinks back to his days as a reaper-in-training. He and his rookie partner, Grell, are tasked with tracking down the novelist Thomas Wallace and must decide whether or not he should die.^{[15]
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14
Black Butler: Book of Circus Canonically, season 3 takes place right after the Indian Butler Arc from season 1. Ciel receives orders from the Queen to investigate a circus that is suspected of being connected to a string of missing children. He and Sebastian take on different roles in the circus so they can find out the truth, and more details about Ciel’s past are revealed.^{[16]
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15
Black Butler: Book of Murder This canon OVA follows Ciel as he hosts a banquet at the Phantomhive estate. This is an order from the Queen, who suspects Ciel has not been completely honest about what took place during Black Butler: Book of Circus. The banquet’s guests all suspect that Ciel is behind the murder of Lord Georg von Siemens, who was found dead in the Phantomhive Estate.^{[17]
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Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic Black Butler’s first theatrical film follows Ciel and Sebastian as they take a voyage on a ship, the Campania, with Lizzie and her family. While aboard, they discover the Aurora Society and Doctor Rian Stoker, who uses a machine to bring a woman back from the dead. As a result, Ciel and Sebastian are soon faced with a ship full of zombies.^{[18]
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Public School Arc (season 4) Season 4 follows the events of Book of the Atlantic. Ciel is sent to the prestigious Weston College, where the students are refusing to come home (including the son of the Queen’s cousin). Ciel poses as a student in an attempt to uncover the mystery of the college.^{[19]
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Emerald Witch Arc (season 5) Taking place after the Public School Arc, Ciel and Sebastian investigate a string of murders in Germany that may involve werewolves. They must discover the truth behind Werewolves’ Forest and whether there are actually werewolves targeting people.

Section 5 of 7:

Where to Watch Black Butler

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Watch Black Butler on Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Disney+. While streaming services are always subject to change, in the United States, Black Butler is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Disney+. If you have Crunchyroll, you can also watch it on the Roku Channel by connecting your subscriptions.
- The entire series (including OVAs and the movie) is available on Crunchyroll, while currently only seasons 1 and 2 are available on Hulu and Disney+.

Section 6 of 7:

What is Black Butler about?

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Black Butler follows orphan Ciel Phantomhive and his demon butler Sebastian. Set in Victorian London, 12-year-old Ciel Phantomhive was orphaned after his parents were killed in a fire and he was kidnapped by a cult. Intended to be a sacrifice to a demon, Ciel instead makes a deal with that demon, Sebastian. Sebastian then becomes Ciel’s butler as Ciel searches for his parents’ killers.^{[20]
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- Black Butler was adapted from a manga of the same name. Ibama says you don’t have to read the manga first–you can jump right in with the anime.^{[21]
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- Curious which Black Butler character you’re most like? Take our “Which Black Butler Character Am I?” quiz to find out!

Section 7 of 7:

Other Anime Watch Orders

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Whether you’re just getting into anime or looking to start a new series, it can be tricky to figure out where to start! That’s where we come in. Check out these other wikiHow articles to learn the best watch orders for other popular anime series:

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