Could we include a section considering critical analysis of the contract? Or I suppose talking about it here is ok, too. There's an awesome article by Anna Maria Jones called
"The Victorian Childhood of manga: toward a queer theory of the child in Toboso Yana's Kuroshitsuji.(Critical essay)"[]
available here: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-314801279/victorian-childhood-manga-toward.html
Points about the contract discussed in the essay: (the contract section is toward the end of the essay, just before the Circus Arc is discussed and before the posible ends of the manga is examined, by the way)
Jones (author of the Kuroshitsuji essay) compares the contract to Henry James's "The Pupil," (1891; repr., New York: Scribner's, 1908 from her reference), the wordplay of the words "dog" and "knight" in Japanese, Sebastian's roll as a victim AND the agent after making the contract, and much more.
Jones also examines the symbolism, panels and background which describe/paint the scene of the contract. She also says the contract reveals the paradox the series comes back to again and again-- "Kuroshitsuji returns again and again to the contract, underscoring the paradox upon which the entire narrative depends...The child's power is a function of the contract--that is, the demon serves as his instrument as one of the conditions of their contract--but as a child he should have no contractual rights." (emphasis added)
(added on 8 August 2013)
That's interesting, thanks for sharing! I'll read the article in detail when I have time and I'll definitely come back to this. If the info in there is relevant enough, it could be considered as trivia. 罪の姫は, 暗闇で あなたを待っている... 10:39, August 11, 2013 (UTC)
What chapter the contract was made-- 62. Ciel is shown making the contract with Sebastian in chapter 62.[]
Citations needed:
It is implied that the human must be desperately searching for a way out, if Ciel's situation is indicative of a typical summoning process, and have little or no faith in God (quote or citation needed. what implies? Provide the quote and episode/manga chapter that proves Ciel didn't believe in God). Also,
We get a view of the summoning in chapter 62, (by the way, I think that the fact that chapter 62 actually shows/tells the story of the contract being made should be more clearly stated in the article. That chapter is not just a reference to the contract, but is depicting the contract in this flashback chapter. It took me ages to find and refind this scene each time I wanted to reference the scant details Sebastian reveals about Faustian contracts...)
Also, Sebastian refers to a "price paid" in chapter 62, "That Butler, Growth" page 3 "You have given a sacrifice." and "The price to cross the river has already been paid." Whether he is refering to the sacrifices the occultists paid, or something Ciel gave up is unclear.
Sebastian also says (somewhere)"So long as the young master possesses the 'mark of the covenant' I am his faithful dog. 'A Sacrifice,' 'a wish,' and a 'covenant' bind me to my master until I claim his soul." <-- not sure what chapter... (quote from the Jones article above)
"Botchan ga 'seiyakusho' o motsu kagiri watashi wa kare no chojitsu na geboku. 'Gisei' 'negai' soshite 'seiyaku' ni yotte watashi wa shujin ni shibarareru sono tamashi o hikitoru made" (Toboso, Kuroshitsuji,
Asking for orders[]
Are we ever given a reason Sebastian asks Ciel for orders even when the resulting command is perfectly obvious? Consider his fight with Grell, at least in the anime - he asks Ciel to order him to win. Does it give him some extra power, somehow? Hellsing has something similar with Alucard and Integra, but that's entirely because of Alucard being a sadistic bastard wanting to torment Integra...and he doesn't do it in battle conditions, only when there's time to indulge his whims. Sebastian, on the other hand, seems to genuinely respect Ciel, so I don't think it's that. Rashkavar (talk) 15:08, November 13, 2015 (UTC)