We are in the home stretch of our “Seven Nights of Halloween Anime”. Tonight’s featured film is non other than the latest film of our favorite Gothic series, Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic. Unlike every other film and episode I have featured, Book of Atlantic is NOT set during Halloween.

We find our main characters, Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian, on board the maiden voyage of the Campania to investigate the mysterious Aurora Society as per the Queen’s request. According to the rumors, the Society have been bringing people back from the dead.  Disguising themselves as potential members, the two infiltrate the Society only to discover that they are indeed reanimating the deceased through means of science and luck. With such an incredible feat accomplished, the two realize that this isn’t something that can continue. Soon after the corpse is resurrected, it lashes out and bites it’s former mother setting off a chain reaction of hundreds of corpses attacking the Society members and passengers. The characters must escape utilizing lifeboats after the ship hits an iceberg. Sound familiar?

Book of the Atlantic is  a great flick to watch Halloween season or just any day of the year thanks to the numerous elements of horror and nods to stories such as Frankenstein and Night of the Loving Dead.  It is able to stand on its own as one and can be watched even without having watched the actual anime series. Fans of Black Butler will appreciate the returning of familiar faces as well as new ones. One such character returns in a most dramatic twist that no one saw coming. The zombies are done incredibly well and fans new and old will enjoy the bloody mess they and Sebastian leave behind.

The film is absolutely beautiful. The stunning animation and pristine voice acting tied in with the gory plot definitely puts this film in my top favorites.  If you are a Black Butler fan or just someone who can appreciate a good zombie anime set in the Victorian era, I feel that this one should be in your watch list. Unfortunately, this film is not available yet to purchase or stream in America so you may have to find other means to watch. However, it is available on Japanese shopping sites such as CD Japan, if that is more your thing.

I attended the premiere for the film earlier this year. You can listen to my review and coverage of the event on our Soundcloud or just by clicking the play button below: