ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Black Butler English dub stars Brina Palencia (Ciel Phantomhive) and J. Michael Tatum (Sebastian) about the Public School Arc, which is now streaming weekly on Crunchyroll.
“Amidst Britain’s elite, Weston College defies government oversight. So, when students vanish—including the son of Queen Victoria’s cousin—Her Majesty sends her Watchdog Ciel Phantomhive to investigate,” says the synopsis for the anime series‘ Public School Arc. “With his loyal demon butler, Sebastian, Ciel must navigate treacherous school politics and infiltrate Weston’s model prefects, the P4, if he is to unravel the mysteries that shroud this institution.”
Tyler Treese: Brina, this is the seventh arc of Black Butler. What have you liked most about really getting to see Ciel’s growth up to this point?
Brina Palencia: Well, I think this arc is so unique in the fact that he actually has to deal with other kids. He’s never had to do that before. We’ve never seen him do that before, and there’s something about it that’s so humanizing and seeing him struggle with school politics and cliques and all that kind of stuff.
It’s just really fun to play and really fun to witness him get so flustered and see him have such a hard time with what he thought would be just a breeze. Like, ugh, these are stupid children. Like, I could totally just come in and do this so easily, figure everything out so easily. But it turns out school’s hard, and it’s kind of traumatizing for everyone, even smart kids like Ciel. So I love his discombobulation. It’s very fun.
It’s such a fun direction for the series to head in. Michael, we’ve gotten to see a lot of different cases throughout Black Butler’s run, and last time was like the Titanic with zombies. It’s gotten wild at points. So, what about the Public School Arc really stands out for you to really differentiate it from what came prior?
J. Michael Tatum: Well, I have to agree 100% with what Brina said about getting to see Ciel in this completely, compared to every other arc, this totally mundane, everyday situation [of the Public School Arc] where it’s like, oh, he is just going to school. That’s nothing like a dark sinister circus and murder or a ship full of zombies is nothing compared to going to school, which is true. It’s really fun to watch Ciel, this otherwise very capable, self-assured young man, who is also very cynical, have to deal with the endless bureaucracy and the infighting and all the things. I think it makes the show very relatable because I think every audience member has been to school and can relate to what it’s like having to deal with that reality.
What I love about it from the perspective of an actor is getting to… I love that it’s changed Ciel and Sebastian’s dynamic quite a bit because now Sebastian is going deep cover as a teacher, so he’s sort of taking a more ancillary role, but also one that allows him to be just a little bit sarcastic. A little bit barbed with Ciel in a way that couldn’t before, which I think is really funny. It’s like they’re more like old friends now. They almost have a Golden Girls vibe.
Palencia: Such a good way to put it.
Tatum: Just a little bit where they’re like, oh, nice stuff. Oh yes. I’m like, well done, well done. Nice. It’s kind remarks fun to see them here and there. It’s kind of fun to see them slip into that level of comfort with each other, which I think is really delightful.
Brina, I like that in Black Butler’s Publich School Arc we’re seeing Ciel immediately run into these social faux pas, like walking on the grass. There’s also an interesting dynamic because he’s an earl, he’s come from high society, and now he starts off here at the bottom for once and has to navigate this very social and cliquey nature. What do you like most about him just being put in this very different position where he’s not operating from a position of power?
Palencia: I love how off guard it makes him, just from what I see, it’s like he goes in, he didn’t read the rule book. Because the Ciel that I know from the previous arcs is always so prepared. He knows the ins and outs of every single thing. He’s just very well studied on whomever he’s dealing with, but this time he went into it a little too cocky, and he’s like, he’s like, “Oh yeah, no, I haven’t read the rule book.” And I’m just like, “Who are you? This is wild.”
He just kind of is sort of winging it in a way that I’m not used to seeing him do. And then kind of flailing a little bit, which is honestly kind of satisfying, like how Michael said, we’re used to seeing him with these really high stake situations, just epic mysteries, and everything. Yet now we’re just a school and it seems to be one of the hardest ones for him. At least for my estimation. It just looks like he’s struggling so much.
Yeah, it’s a great change of pace. Also, I don’t know how you’re gonna top zombies on the Titanic. Although, I’m sure the series will find a way. Michael, Black Butler’s production run has been very interesting. There have always been breaks, but there are almost seven years between the movie and this. What’s most satisfying about just getting to voice the character again, continuing that story? Is there ever any challenge getting back into the character when you’re off for seven years? I’m sure you’re still being asked by fans to do the voice.
Tatum: Yeah, it’s, it’s not a huge challenge finding the, the physical voice, because he lives very close to my own. It’s just me with a British accent, which I already sound like I’m struggling to hide one every day.
Palencia: Yeah. As someone who has directed Michael before in other shows, the most common direction he would get from me would be, “Can you make it less British? You’re not British.”
Tatum: That’s true. So the physical voice is not terribly hard to find. Sebastian, that voice comes up in my daily life all the time, just when I’m just having fun. I might use it to make a joke, or I might use it when I’m literally serving tea or something just to do it because it’s a fun voice. It’s a really fun voice. It’s very comfortable. Thank God he doesn’t scream or it’s not hard on the voice at all, so it’s just a pleasure to do. I just like how it feels, so the voice isn’t hard to find, but it’s always a struggle to come back to something after so long because you’re like, “Oh, I hope it’s still good. I hope what I’m capable of bringing to the role is still relevant.”
I hope that the fans have grown with it and aren’t tired of it yet, and they certainly don’t seem to be, which is always nice. One of the great advantages of getting to come back to a role like this and feeling so supported and enthusiastic is that it feels like the show is being animated now by people who grew up watching it. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it certainly feels like it’s certainly the show feels like a love letter to what the show has always meant to its fans. That is a lovely, lovely place to come into as a performer because you feel such enthusiasm for the material coming from all directions. It’s really fun. The challenge is sometimes it makes you a little nervous. You’re like, “Oh, can I equal this now?” Because the fact that it’s coming back just reinforces how big it is and how big a responsibility it is to do it justice. But yeah, thank goodness I stay in practice by just kind of being a pompous quasi-Brit.
Brina, due to the time it has taken, a lot of people grew up watching Black Butler as a young adult or a teen, and now they’re coming back to it. There’s such nostalgia now attached to this series. So what has been the highlight of the fan reaction and seeing all these people just excited for the return and then it be so successful?
Palencia: I mean, Ciel has always been one of my all time favorite characters to ever play. There are other characters that I adore that haven’t been received as well, and so it’s a nice surprise and I feel very lucky to have gotten to voice a character that other people love as much as I do. What a privilege as an actor to be able to revisit one of your favorite roles after so long. I felt really lucky to have gotten to do as much as I did, but then getting to come back to it is just really special.
Michael, there’s a fun line in Episode 5 of Black Butler’s Public School Arc where both characters simultaneously say, “moving the crowd to tears should suffice.” When you’re doing that type of simultaneous line reading, how is it done? Does one of you record first, and you try to match the cadence? Does that get tricky?
Tatum: That is exactly how it happens. One of us records first, and then the other gets to match that timing. It’s not tricky, necessarily. It’s one of the skill sets you have as an actor. Because that kind of unison cue is pretty frequent. Like it happens a lot. So you learn, and when you’re as familiar with the person you’re playing off of as I am with Brina, it’s not as hard as it may seem. I’ve said this a million times, but one of my favorite things about playing Sebastian is that I get to play off of Brina’s Ciel, and because Brina is so good, and so like there and present, I actually get to be very lazy as an actor because I know Brina is laid all the groundwork and been amazing.
She’s so good that even if she hasn’t recorded first, and so I’m not literally playing off of her track, the way I sometimes do it… It depends on the scheduling, of course. Sometimes she’s already there, and I get to play off her and vice versa. But even when I don’t have that opportunity, I’m so familiar with her voice and her approach to the role, and she’s so just as I associate her so strongly with that role that I can hear her in the role, even if she hasn’t recorded yet. And it’s just the animation I’m listening to in a vacuum, which is so cool, so cool. But yeah, I, lines like that are actually really fun because I think Brina and I have worked together so long, we kind of love the chance to imitate each other
Palencia: For sure. For sure.
Tatum: I dare say we’ve gotten rather good at it. Brina does a really good impression of me incidentally, but I’m not gonna make you do it because I can’t bear to watch it. It’s too close to home. But it’s a really good impression of me. My impression of Brina is garbage, but I love it.
Black Butler’s Public School Arc is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
