![Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging”: Shattering Of Illusions [Review]](http://18.216.46.40/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/black-butler-review-1280x640.png)
Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc– Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging” features the climax of the entire Emerald Witch Arc story. All with Sieglinde Sullivan as the star of the show, and all featuring her entire world coming down around her like panes of shattering glass. Yeah, the poor kid is quickly finding out just how much of the world around her has all been nothing but an illusion.
Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging”: Details in Brief
Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging” is the seventh episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, and Ep. 6 here) of the new season of the dark comedy and darker fantasy/supernatural anime adaptation of Black Butler. This latest season comes directly after the Public School Arc.
Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Yana Toboso (Rust Blaster, Disney Twisted-Wonderland). CloverWorks (Spy x Family, Bocchi the Rock!, The Elusive Samurai) is the animation studio behind the anime. Crunchyroll is the company licensing the anime for its global release. Kenjirou Okada is the director, with Hiroyuki Yoshino as the writer.
Synopsis
Alas, Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- only recently began airing a couple weeks ago. In fact, Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging” only just aired/streamed (read: simulcast) on May 17, 2025. Thus, here’s the official synopsis from Crunchyroll to give you an idea of what’s going on without too much in the way of spoilers below:
“Sullivan finally completes the Ultimate Spell.”
Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging”: The Good
Wow, the story of Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging” manages to be a step above even the rest of the anime, and that’s why it’s the best part of this episode. It’s all because it’s the climax of everything that has happened so far. It’s the very culmination of everything since the arc’s beginning, and it’s all going downhill from here. Secrets are being spilled left and right now that the cat (or rather: wolf) is out of the bag, and poor Sieglinde Sullivan (voiced by Rie Kugimiya, and Sarah Wiedenheft in the English dub) is at the very center of it all.
Why would I use “poor” to describe her, you might ask? Well, mostly because Sieglinde’s entire world is shattering around her in this episode. Everything that she has ever known to be true is being revealed to be all a big lie. You can literally watch in real time just how she’s being traumatized by it all. Worse yet, a few distinctly notable people who are part of that lie don’t seem to care about that in the slightest. You really feel a great deal of sympathy for Sieglinde in this episode, and you really need a heart of stone to not feel that.
Not Over Yet for Her
Fortunately, Sieglinde isn’t alone here. We see that she does have Ciel (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto, and Brina Palencia inthe English dub), Sebastian (voiced by Daisuke Ono, and J. Michael Tatum in the English dub), and the Phantomhive manor staff on her side. Yeah, they’re basically near-total strangers to her at this point, but at least they give a damn about her for her own merit. There does seem to be Sieglinde’s butler too who genuinely cares about her, but…no, I won’t say anymore. That would be spoiler territory. Let’s just say that as a fan of Yana Toboso’s manga, you will all be shocked at the later events.
And even more fortunately, all of it will be just as well-animated as this episode. CloverWorks are really pouring in the work to make this episode have feature-length anime film levels of animation quality. Seriously, when you’re pausing the episode just to admire the illuminated artwork in a storybook or the level of detail on the woodwork of a chair, you know that you have a very good-looking episode here. The fact that the entire anime thus far has been that good-looking gives me great hope for the remaining episodes.
Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging”: The Bad
Alas, Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Ep. 7 “His Butler, Encouraging” is definitely not an action-packed episode. It’s basically a mystery-thriller right now. The closest we get to action is Ciel, Sebastian, and Sieglinde sneaking around parts of the Sullivan castle that Sieglinde has definitely never been to before. Which also means that there is not a drop of blood anywhere to be seen.
If you’re a total action junkie who wants that, then might I recommend watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, and/or Solo Leveling? Those anime should have more than enough action and/blood to satisfy that inner action junkie of yours. At least, until Black Butler gets back to its own action and blood. Fortunately, I happen to know as a reader of the manga that the action and blood is going to start up again very soon. As early as the next episode, I believe.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc-? Tell us what you think of it in the comments section below.
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