Second Steward Monsieur raves, with his usual light touch, about his love for a beloved work — a tale of the other world the guardian of fine art loses himself in on his days off.
It has been some time, everyone. This is Monsieur, of the All Japan Butler Association. Well now — today, shamelessly, I should like once again to rave with all my heart about the manga "Black Butler," which has long held me spellbound.
Usually I am called the "guardian of beauty," one who judges the condition of artworks and protects paintings and porcelain. I am often taken for a stiff sort of fellow, but the truth is, steeping myself in subculture like this is my very favourite pleasure on my days off. I look the solemn type, yet inside I am, rather surprisingly, quite the enthusiast.
What is so splendid about "Black Butler"? First, the sheer craft of that nineteenth-century English setting. The costumes, architecture and furnishings, based on careful period research, are drawn with real devotion, every one. As one who works with fine art, I cannot help letting my eye wander to the antiques and paintings in the background. "Oh my, that vase—" and often I am left marvelling, the plot quite forgotten. An occupational hazard, I confess.
And one more thing: the flawless bearing of the butler protagonist, Sebastian. He is, of course, a demon, so no human butler could imitate him. Yet his loyalty to his master, his thorough insistence on detail, and a comportment that shows not the slightest opening — there, truly, is depicted what we butlers ought to look up to as an ideal. That there is something to learn even from fiction — this, I should say, is a case of just that.
Time lost in what one loves on a day off is nourishment for the heart. We butlers, too, can offer good hospitality only when our own hearts are full. Do treasure your own "world to lose yourself in," everyone. And I shall throw myself back into my daily work again from tomorrow.
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