In early October, I stumbled across a new series called Kuroshitsuji, which featured the story of the young master of the Phantomhive family and his ever-faithful butler. Shooting a swift arrow into the part of my heart that holds all things gothic dear, the show became an instant favorite, due in no small part to a rather unforgettable gentleman ... or, as he calls himself, "one hell of a butler".

Anime is heavy on the fanservice when it comes to figures of the beautiful girls that populate its episodes, but as I've mentioned before, male figures are few and far between (although there are more now than there used to be). Imagine my delight, then, when I saw that Square-Enix had produced figures from the series, the first being of Sebastian. I salivated when I first saw it in October, but it seemed that it would be a near-impossible item to obtain, having been an Animate exclusive and already sold out through the Square-Enix website.

Thanks to the excellent proxy service that Tokyo Hunter provides, the seemingly-impossible dream of owning this deliciously sexy slice of PVC became a reality. Hit the jump to hear my impressions and breathy sighs.

I'll start off frank so you don't have to be silently thinking it in your head while you read this review: I have a terrible, terrible crush on this character. Not only is he the essence of dashing and debonair, but he accomplishes seemingly imposible tasks with ease, and never seems to tire of protecting the young master Ciel (who can sometimes be a bit of a handful). So yes, I'd like to do romantic (and possibly illegal) things with him, were he real.

Since is he not, I'm forced to pour my admiration into owning a figure of him instead, and luckily Square-Enix had the good sense to know beforehand that this piece would appeal to many a fan. Removing Sebastian from the box, which is beautifully detailed in black with a red velvet background, made me appreciate the thought put into even the packaging. The contrast got me to thinking that Sebastian might look right at home standing in front of a rich red curtain, which is how you see him in the shoot done for this review.

Watching Kuroshitsuji, you get the feeling that Sebastian is of a long, lean build, and the figure perfectly captures that, showing off the length of his legs and torso in a very attractive way. The flow of the tails of his coat is one of my favorite details of the figure, giving him that fluid feel of movement. This guy is so together. 

While one of my favorite illustrations of the character is with a knife in his teeth, the expression Square chose for the figure definitely suits him well. It sums up his patience and composure elegantly, while still giving one the impression that he has something up his sleeve (and if you watch the show, you know that he does).

There are a few tiny detail flaws -- for instance, mine has a tiny dab of silver paint next to one of the buttons on the coat. The hair looks handsome in side profile, but when facing front it reminds you that you are looking at a toy -- of course, considering his shorter hair, it's challenging to expect the glorious movement that some female figures are able to capture (see this Happy Soda shot to see what I mean), but I would have liked to have seen slightly more attention to detail here.

Despite these small flaws, I have no regrets about purchasing this figure. It still captures the essence of the character and makes for a lovely addition to my collection, and it certainly stands out against all the ladies. Not that I don't love them, but you know, sometimes you need a man to break up the breastfest. The upcoming Ciel Phantomhive figure ought to make a beautiful companion piece for Sebastian, not to mention they will look striking as a pair on your collectibles shelf. Look forward to a review of that piece in the near future!