#kuroshitsuji art book 4

[oya-oya-okay]

KURO in TWISTED WONDERLAND!!! AU

The scene with the meeting with Jamil in book 4🐍

Jamil would be very careful when using his magic next to the Professor☝️

[freckledfenrir]

made some quick doodle Icons of the circus members.

[ikarakie]

pretty boy

[imhereiguess420]

I usually hate everything. Myself included. But after this I might have some form of hope in myself.

(I swear to god I will start doing my incorrect quotes again soon. Just shut the hell up and be patient you little fuckers)

[shadow-cat-with-red-roses]

Some art of the boi in weston vuv

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

A. Ciel’s nails

I can’t with Ciel’s nails here though. That’s not a well-manicured set of nails. They are too short, too blunt, kinda chipped, as if he’s biting them. The fact that he doesn’t have any gloves on this particular pictorial is fascinating. He’s always worn stylish gloves. And if he didn’t have, they aren’t as lustreless as these. The blunt nails resemble a corpse that tries to dig its way out. I wonder if he has developed a habit of biting his nails in the course of his return. And Yana is showing them now to add to his characterisation. That says a lot about the stress he’s been keeping since then. They look painted but not in a way proper and well kept like he had on “Book of Circus” and other images.

Ciel’s fingernails and as a bonus, his toenails

B. ‘The world is my oyster’

Taken from William Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” that became part of the English idiom, it means that young people have so many options, everything is open to one, so many opportunities, a playground. On the play, the correct quote is “the world is mine oyster” and the meaning was not exactly what is meant in the present time. Anyway, not sure if Yana’s spelling of the “oisters” has been intentional. It is jarring nonetheless. Oysters 🦪 have many connotations, both spiritual and sexual. The most famous of all is that it is aphrodisiac. One Vice writer wrote her experience. A dietitian, however, contested if the oyster’s reputation is true.

In the West, “Oysters were a reminder of ancient times and symbolized Aphrodite, the goddess of love, fertility, pleasure, and sex throughout antiquity and all the way into Baroque art.”

In Asian cultures, especially in Japan, “Japanese folklore explicitly tells the origin of pearls. They believed that pearls were the very tears of merfolk and nymphs who were so mystical that they did not cry tears similar to mortal humans, but instead cried beautiful, milky white pearls.”

Thirtieth anniversary is also called pearl anniversary and might be the main reason Yana has chosen pearls as her motif.

But it is curious for her to portray Ciel as an oyster Sebastian is going to feast on. That’s not subtext at all.

[ryuichirou]

what fandoms were you in long before twisted wonderland? I mean like over 10 years ago.

Anon, thank you for this question because it made us sit down and actually look through the albums of my old art and write a list LOL We thought it’d take like 30 minutes tops + 10 minutes to write all of this down, but it took 2+ hours yikes… So sorry, no other replies today :(

And made us realise just how much we revisit certain fandoms 🤦‍♂️ I guess we’re loyal!

Some of them were just very brief phases when we watched/rewatched something, I drew like 5 sketches for this thing and we moved on after about a week. But it was still prominent enough for us to feel like “Oh right, Ryu was drawing (this) back then”. Damn, 2013-2016 were insane, we were jumping around so much… When did these people have time to watch and draw so much shit??

Since this blog is very old, you can find some of my very old shitty fanart for a lot of those here. In all honesty, I really want to draw fanart on some of the more obscure and old ones again… if you have questions about any of this, feel free to ask!

2007: W.I.T.C.H., Oban Star Racers, Naruto lol my very young years

2008: Petshop of Horrors, Yami no Matsuei, Gravitation

2009: Hetalia, Vocaloid

2010: Vocaloid, Terra e…, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Hetalia

2011: Terra e, Kaze to Ki no Uta, Sound Horizon, Hetalia, Magi (mostly Judal), Kuroshitsuji (a little bit)

2012: Homestuck, Prince of Tennis, Sengoku Basara, Sound Horizon, DC (Batman + Robin, mostly Tim Drake), Thor, Danny Phantom, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, ATLA, Adventure time, D. Gray-Man

2013: Ed Edd n Eddy, Sound Horizon, Penumbra Overture, Lucius, Thor, Hetalia, Dan Vs, Hannibal, Shingeki no Kyojin, Death Note, Bakuman, Neon Genesis Evangelion, South Park, Durarara, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Litchi Hikari Club, Hellsing Ultimate, Yami no Matsuei, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, the Simpsons

2014: Kuroko no Basket, Hadaka Shitsuji, Hoozuki no Reitetsu, Gravitation, Shingeki no Kyojin, Tytania, Panty&Stocking, Soul Eater, Bleach, Kill la Kill, Hellsing Ultimate, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood,  Ace Attorney (trilogy + Apollo Justice), Priapus (by Mentaiko/Itto lol I drew him a lot), Togainu no Chi, Outlast, Daria, Scooby Doo, Haikyuu, DMMD, Katekyō Hitman Reborn, Tokyo Ghoul, Free, Kuroshitsuji, Psycho-Pass, Yowamushi Pedal (HUGE!!!!!), D. Gray-man, One-Punch Man

2015: Metalocalypse, ATLOK, Gravity Falls, Guns n’ Roses (yeah the band), Hannibal, Steven Universe, View Askewniverse, the Addams family, Ace Attorney Dual Destinies, DMMD, Life is Strange, Over the Garden Wall, Rick & Morty, South Park, Miraculous Ladybug, Undertale, Watchmen

2016: Supernatural, Peanuts, Osomatsu-san, Outlast, Until Dawn, BioShock Infinite, Code Geass, LoTR, Game of Thrones, Hetalia, House MD, Zootopia, Shingeki no Kyojin, D. Gray-man, Hellsing Ultimate, LA Noir, Percy Jackson books, South Park

2017: American Horror Story, Danganronpa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, ATLA, Homestuck, Yuri on Ice (super briefly), Outlast 2, D. Gray-man, DMMD, Hetalia, Gravitation, Monster, Dream Daddy, Junji Ito, Boku no Hero Academia, Osomatsu-san, South Park, Hannibal

2018: Voltron, Danganronpa, Devilman (Crybaby and classic), Homestuck, Berserk, Gravitation, Bungo Stray Dogs (briefly), Gintama, Hellsing Ultimate, Hetalia, BTS, Priapus (he came back), LoTR, Togainu no Chi, Sweet Pool, Detroit Become Human

2019: Tanya Grotter books, Hannibal, Homestuck, D.Gray-man, Hunter x Hunter, Danganronpa, Durarara, ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept., Soul Eater, ATLA, Witcher 3, Shingeki no Kyojin

2020: Shingeki no Kyojin, briefly Uncharted 4 and BioShock Infinite

2021: Shingeki no Kyojin, ATLA, Sk8, Jujutsu Kaisen, Squid Game

2022: The Great Ace Attorney, Sadistic Beauty, Hades, Mirai Nikki (suddenly), Akira, Encanto, the Gray House (the House In Which, it’s a book),  Cowboy Beebop, Fight Club, It (2017), Stranger Things, LoTR, Uncharted, Hetalia, Frozen (more like Hans/Anna lol), Kuroshitsuji, Twisted Wonderland

2023-2024: Mostly Twisted Wonderland, but we also posted some Scott Pilgrim stuff at the very beginning of this year.

I guess this is it. Woah…

[ladyimaginarium]

1. Favorite Anime? Naruto, GANGSTA., Black Lagoon, Michiko to Hatchin, Ergo Proxy, Death Note, No.6, Shingeki no Kyojin would've made this list if it was written by Jewish writers bc my& mixed native jewish ass is conflicted w/ this one, Deadman Wonderland, I& haven't finished Tokyo Ghoul yet but it's really good, I& didn't finish Kuroshitsuji either but i& rly vibed w/ the aesthetic, BNHA was... ehhhh, okay, didn't really vibe w/ the whole ableist trope of "disabled coded character magically gets new powers or becomes abled" so I& dropped it, I& know for a fact that the animated ASOIAF stuff coming up is gonna make me& reverse shit myself&. all i& know is that if the books were animated that would fix me&. 2. Your Worst Anime? Can't rly think of any tbh, I'm& picky, the closest I& could think of was the Boruto series. Mostly bc it basically destroyed any kind of development in Shippuden & shit just doesn't make sense & not to mention it slaughters Sasuke's character & just the entire female cast as a whole which im& not even gonna get into for the sake of my& own sanity. lmao 3. Do you read the Manga that go with the Anime you watch? Usually yeah but I like to keep these separate tbh. I read the manga only if I know that the anime won’t get a second season and I’m still interested in what happens next. Anyway, in short, I bother with the manga only if I really love the anime ie gangsta & naruto but I& can't watch or read long series anymore due to adhd & spoonie reasons lmao 4. Favorite Genres? action, supernatural, fantasy, science fiction, comedy, horror, psychological. 5. Least Favorite Genres? Harem mostly bc the dudes are so lame & basic lmao 6. Favorite Character? Erica ( GANGSTA. ), Beretta ( GANGSTA. ), the Benriya trio ( GANGSTA. ), basically the entire Second & Third Destroyers regiments ( GANGSTA. ), basically the entire Akatsuki ( Naruto ), basically any of the founders ( Naruto ), any of the jinchuriki & tailed beasts/bijuu ( my& plural ass vibed w/ them so hard & i& didnt even know i& was plural at the time lmao ), Michiko Malandro ( what do u think lmao ), Nezumi ( No.6 ), Uchiha Madara ( Naruto; he really is That Black Air Force Energy Icon ) Eren Jaeger (snk; LISTEN HE'S MY& INSYS BF IM& CHEATING OKAY ), Mihael Kheel / Mello ( Death Note; g-d he's so fucking iconic ), Misa Amane ( Death Note ), L Lawliet ( Death Note; aro autistic mf represent ) Marco Adriano ( GANGSTA. ), Rebecca Lee / Revy ( Black Lagoon; she could beat my& ass & i'd& thank her lmao ), Eda ( Black Lagoon; smth about a nun w/ a gun who dresses up like a bimbo at night but is actually a cia agent makes me& go WOOF WOOF BARK BARK ). others im& def forgetting lmao 7. Least Favorite Character? bitch idk 8. Qualities you like in a Character? Kindhearted, caring, badass, strong-willed, cheeky, has deadpan sense of humor. women who can beat my& ass. poor little meow meows. 9. Short or Long anime? Short these days. I& litcherally Cannot watch longer anime. naruto was my& first long anime & it'll likely be my& last lmao 10. Anime or Manga? I procrastinate both but I guess manga, mostly because I can read it without fearing that the plot will go to shit  11. How do you choose the anime you watch? If it has pretty art, if the aesthetic is pretty, if my& friends watch it 12. Skip or listen to Intros/Outros? I usually always listen. I& literally never skip Naruto, Black Lagoon or the GANGSTA. openings & EDs 13. How do you cope if your friends or family don’t like you watching anime? most ppl around me& like anime but if they don't i& dont give a fuck?? like. why the fuck should i& care what other ppl think lmfao 14. Do you stop an anime midway if you don’t like it? I& sometimes drop anime for no reason whatsoever. lmao It’s a waste of time if it doesn’t hold your attention, let alone if you don’t like it. it's somewhat what happened w/ bnha as explained above. i& just really dislike that trope as a disabled & neurodivergent system lmao 15. Who are you tagging to do this? @librastrai @dethqveen @abri-chan & whoever else wants to do this !!

[kimium]

You could always ramble about…your favourite things from Twisted Wonderland👀👀👀

By gosh friend, you're RIGHT. Thanks for the suggestion! (In relation to this post.)

Here are my favourite things about Twisted Wonderland:

The character designs

Unsurprisingly, one of the strongest aspects to Twisted Wonderland are the character designs by Yana Toboso, mangaka of Kuroshitsuji. Her art style is so clean and crisp, with thin line art, beautiful colours, and costume/clothing designs that are breath-taking. Even if you think some aspects are a little busy (ex: Heartslaybul's dorm uniform) there is a clear theme. Truthfully, I think her clothing designs are on the same level as CLAMP who in my mind are mangaka Queens of clothing design.

2. The characterization

Now, I admit I don't know how much of this is in Yana's hands VS Disney executives for Twisted Wonderland, but I think all of the main cast have fun, colourful personalities that are more than surface appearance. It would be easy to fall into tropes, but every character goes beyond their "character trope". Example, Vil who as I said in a prior post, surprised me with his character depth.

3. The story

I love the writing in Twisted Wonderland. I find every book fun and entertaining. Every event is also very fun, with characters you don't expect to interact shoved together. Adding vignettes to the cards also helps establish more characterization for the cast and develop the world. Also, I really love the trend of past book dorm coming in to help us in the next book.

4. Events

Speaking of story telling, I really love the events. Not just for the story telling aspects mentioned above, but the fact that they're evenly spaced. I like the time allocated to complete each event and I don't feel smothered by endless event upon event. (Something I think Obey Me! does and it really mentally drains me.)

5. Twistunes

Not sure if this an unpopular opinion, but I have always been a fan of rhythm games. I find the challenge fun (even when sometimes getting that SS for hard mode is a giant PAIN) and rewarding. It's also why I've 100% completed every Twistune so far (in the English server).

6. The music

Tying into my previous point, I really love the music in Twisted Wonderland. I think every dorm's music perfectly fits the dorm's aesthetic and style. My favourite one so far, by the way, is Octavinelle's jazz music.

7. The ships

Like any fandom, ships are a natural progression of the fandom's interaction with the material. I think some of the ships to come out of Twisted Wonderland are fantastic. I already talked in a prior personal post my favourite Twisted Wonderland ships, so I won't say too much more here.

8. The unique magic

I'm always a huge sucker for magic unique to the caster. Usually it ends up a reflection of the character's personality. One gripe I have with fantasy series are magical abilities that are too generic. Not that I have anything against elemental magic, but giving a different spin on abilities really helps make the ability and character stand out.

While sometimes for Twisted Wonderland characters their unique magic reflects the Disney character they're twisted from (most notably Azul and Jamil's in my opinion), I think in the end they're not just copy and paste.

(Side note: My favourite unique magic (so far) is Vil's. Second goes to Riddle's due to the sheer hilarity of him screaming "Off with your head!" and having a big, tacky collar snapped around your neck. I actually have a mini list of my favourites but we'll save that for another day.)

9. The ease in rewards (for pulling characters)

Another game play aspect that might seem silly to mention, but hear me out. I think mobile games live and die by the way they treat Free to Play players. Mobile games that are less generous tick me off because if you're not going to treat FTP players right, just make your game a full-fledged game that I pay to buy. No one should have to be severely punished for being a FTP player, as not everyone has the money/desire to spend on a game but still wants to have a good time.

Twisted Wonderland is probably one of the best games (at least from my roster of mobile games) to give rewards that make it easy to summon. The keys from the birthdays are a huge point for me, as you are not limited to using them on the birthday banner. They also gave us TWO sets for Jade and Floyd which Surprised the Hell out of me.

Now admittedly I don't play a lot of gacha games (my main one being Fire Emblem Heroes), but Twisted Wonderland is on my list for "pretty generous".

(Which, side note, I also like that in a 10 pull you're guaranteed a SR. It's the least you can do to not just reward players who save their rewards, but also keep pulling something that players want to do. Gacha games live and die by summons.)

10. The ease for beginners to play

Again, this might be something odd to mention, but this is coming from someone who plays Fire Emblem Heroes and has to deal with over-bloated meta and text descriptions that Literally Need to be in Small Font. (I am looking at you Duo Ephraim's weapon refine :/ I don't care that majority of you is clarifying what a Bonus and Canto (Rem. +1) means. Yes, I understand this makes no sense to anyone who does NOT play FEH.)

I think Twisted Wonderland is largely a game that is easy for people to pick up. There is little terminology or "stats", if there is a meta game, it's relatively light and not 100% necessary to understand, and in story mode most things are set to easy.

So, there we have it. Things I like about Twisted Wonderland presented in a ten reasons list because Why Not?

(Bonus: I like Twisted Wonderland because you also play it and so we can share and talk about it to one another :D)

[sujimdipity]

Hello! Pardon me for taking a bit of your time. I'm new to the fandom and just caught up with everything although I've read Kuroshitsuji sporadically over the years (depending on which volumes my friend has because back then I recall there was no online manga publication yet). I just came across your Kuroshitsuji artbooks scans post and if you don't mind, I want to ask your recommendation. I want to have Yana's artbooks, but I have limited budget so I don't think I'll be able to buy all of them. I can get 2 at least. I don't really like non-canon materials so I prefer to have ones without anime-only-casts like Alois & Claude (or at least minimum screentime). I really like the Phantomhives servants tho, especially Tanaka & Snake. If you want to recommend your personal favorite or the artbook in which you deem the artworks are the prettiest, it's completely okay too ^^ Thank you in advance. I'm sorry for bothering you 🙏🏼

Hello anon! No worries about being a bother! You are not!

Sorry for the wait for the reply! I definitely would go with either art book 3 & 4. Stay away from 2, as there’s a lot of Season 2 artwork in there since you said you don’t prefer non canon material! The snake & Tanaka artwork is sparse unfortunately.

[grelleswife]

Poisoned Beauty: Musings on Flower Language in the 4th Kuroshitsuji Art Book

After seeing the cover art for the fourth Kuroshitsuji art book (and the card included as an extra with purchase from Animate), I started to wonder about the potential symbolic significance behind the flowers attached to O!Ciel’s hat (How on earth does babey boi wear that massive headpiece without falling over?! But I digress).

At first glance, the petal formation reminded me of the labernum tree. In flower language, the labernum is associated with pensive beauty or the state of being forsaken. Considering his emotional isolation, the tragic loss of his family, and the bleak fate which awaits him at the end of the contract—not to mention the fact that many of his allies have turned their backs on him in the wake of the twin reveal—the latter meaning aptly describes O!Ciel’s situation. And our boi’s expression in the artwork itself is thoughtful, albeit guarded: A wicked mind doubtlessly cooking up new schemes of villainy beneath that elegant veneer.

Moreover, every part of the tree contains an alkaloid known as cytisine, which is poisonous to humans, causing nausea, vomiting, and (in large enough quantities) drowsiness, headache, and confusion. At least one work of Victorian literature, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, uses laburnum’s toxicity as a metaphor for moral degeneracy. Lord Henry, who lures the innocent Dorian into a life of vice and hedonism, is associated with this plant as early as Chapter 1 (“Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum”), a nod to his poisonous influence on the protagonist’s life.

Once again, this easily relates to our smol murder nugget. Though presenting a golden facade to the world, O!Ciel’s soul has been corrupted (“poisoned,” if you will) by Sebastian’s demonic influence and his own dark choices, with harmful ramifications that extend beyond the earl himself to damage the lives of those around him. Note also in the illustrations above how the flowers seem to cascade down the right side of his face, where the eye bearing Sebastian’s contract seal is located, thus partially obscuring it from view. A hidden evil lurks behind their splendor.

There’s just one problem, however: I’m not entirely sure those flowers are from a laburnum tree. Perhaps my eyes deceive me, but the branching pattern of the decorations on O!Ciel’s hat might bear a closer resemblance to Koelreuteria paniculata, sometimes known as the golden rain tree.

Alas, I couldn’t find much on the potential symbolism linked to this tree, although one source claims that golden rain trees have traditionally been planted over the graves of scholars in Japan (obvious connection with mortality). Another Kuro-adjacent fact here is that its mature leaves can be made into a black dye…but if I attempt to reach any further, I’ll dislocate my shoulder, so I’d best stop there. 😅

If any folks with greater botanical expertise or a more thorough understanding of flower language have additional insights to share, I’d love to hear them!

[peocokruu]

i love this arc

[drawn-and-talk-of-peace]

I will more than likely redraw this in the very near future, but I wanted to at least do a sketch today. The arms are a bit funny looking, but the right one is supposed to be on Ciel’s left shoulder and the left is near his face the way people tend to whisper in people’s ears (especially when they don’t want someone else to hear). 

[levbolton]

I just checked Twitter and saw this post from Yana

GFantasy is a teensy bit earlier out this month, so that means new Kuro chapter is also out. Idk what is Art Book 4 buuut Kuroshitsuji volume 32 is going out (and vol 3 from Twisted Wonderland Heartslabyul) so we’ll have the cover sometime in July, who do you think it will be? The last chapter in 31 is 175 when Sebastian goes to fetch a desperate Bard with tea

My thoughts are that it’ll be the nurse from Bard’s mission (I forgot every name)

Does anyone know where I can buy the raws for Kuro separately (not the whole magazine)?

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Finally!!! There is already a category for 烏は主を選ばない | Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai | Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master (Anime) on AO3. So far there are six fanfics about the series.

I don’t usually brag about my works, but I am proud of them bc I love this series so much. It occupies my life, body and soul. Most of all I want to promote others’ works as well that you might be interested in bc they deserve the attention.

@ynxnyx wrote Wakamiya’s POV on his aide’s appearance during the bride selection, Episode 11 ending. I love this drabble, not only bc it was their gift to me (first time experience on AO3. I just started writing fan fic in 2021 due to Kuroshitsuji, though I’ve been a longtime reader), but also it is on point as the anime crew emphasizes this partnership. Love it to death bc it is also my head canon.

Reading @reinekkoya’s “The Raven Does Not Care for its Hair” feels like a fly on a wall. It is like witnessing what are Yukiya and Wakamiya doing this summer. Lovely writing.

“Intimacy tastes like citrus” by quartzguts. Somewhat naughty. Somewhat sweet. Solid narrative. Yukiya, who doesn’t choose his pesky young master, Nazukihiko.

Here’s wishing that there will be others too who get to be inspired to contribute once the last episode airs. The Japanese fandom side create fics and fan arts like there is no tomorrow.

Though I honestly dread the day they will air the 20th episode. What if the interest on this show will dwindle like a host of others before? It is a diminutive fandom after all.

On the other hand, I feel envy whenever I realise that Chisato Abe concocted this universe when she was still a Waseda Uni student. So young. So talented.

What will solve this dilemma is to learn more about these wonderful characters and this world. That is, if they can release the 12 books (Part 1 composed of six volumes, Part 2 contains 4 volumes, two short stories) in English. That would be fantastic. Hopefully.

[chibimyumi]

Hi there! So I've been meaning to ask this for a while after realizing it, but don't O!Ciel's, Doll's, Alois', and Lizzy's color schemes kind of reveal their past and future a tad bit? I've know Alois outfits are bold yet kind of gothic colors like violet emerald green black and brown which all in the world of art are color forms of different emotions depending how you work with them, green being envy or disgusted but he hides it with royal purple, black means wounded which are his shorts & tie

Dear Blackbutlerfandomnerddomain,

While colour symbolism is popular, I personally don’t think the colours in Kuroshitsuji’s costumes are supposed to deliver any meaning other than aesthetic value. Especially with O!Ciel and Lizzie we can say with some certainty colour symbolism is not within the intention, because they change clothes in every single illustration, and every time they wear different colours. Yes, these characters do have tones they tend to wear, but that’s how real people dress themselves too. Somebody who likes calm colours is slightly less likely to have a rainbow assortment of neon, for example.

This is simply the way I understand Yana’s style, there’s not really ONE correct answer here. So feel free to read as much into the colours as it pleases you. But as I personally see it, Yana’s style of using symbolism tends to rely on objects rather than colours. Allow me to briefly analyse two artworks to illustrate what I mean and how I came to my understanding.

Case One

One of the most famous artworks is the front illustration of the second illustration book. Many colours including green, red, blue, white, gold are all present here.

One could make arguments for the black and white of the Earl’s attire being symbolism, but this meaning is quickly overshadowed by the ravens emerging from the Escher patterns. Red is the most eye-catching colour in this illustration. One might say O!Ciel’s gloves being red means to symbolise his hands being blood-dyed, or his shoes red because he walks a bloody path... but then how do we explain the inside of the drape or Sebastian’s waistcoat?

The setting is a place that appears to be a type of greenhouse; a place built to maximise the function of sunlight. And yet, while the illustration seems to suggest it is daytime, the sun is failing miserably in face of the heavy clouds. Rather than painting the sky ominous red or just dark, Yana uses the unsuccessful sun to set a mood or convey symbolism. “Is the white light against the dark clouds not also a type of colour symbolism?” Yes, it may be, but then one should also ask the question: "why choose a greenhouse then, and not any other setting that could have conveyed the light/dark contrast?”

Case two

Another famous piece is this 2014 artwork. The overall tone is gloomy and is mostly lacking in colours. Though held back in terms of colour, there is a lot to be unpacked here!

The first thing that catches the eye is indeed the overwhelmingly sombre palate of this illustration. Black can symbolise many things, but when 70% of the illustration is black, one could say this illustration is either incompetent in conveying symbolism in it being over-saturated with “meaning”, or that the black is merely here to set a tone.

Instead, we can see white lilies in O!Ciel’s hair as well as one stem carried by Sebas. Rather than colour symbolism, Japan has a long history of flower-symbolism (花言葉・Hanakotoba), and Yana herself is big fan of this style. When Western culture was introduced to Japan, black and white lilies were accepted as symbols for death.

The composition of the artwork leads the eye from the bottom left corner to the top right. This guides our vision to the empty plate at the top of the table, where a bright white saucer lies with a conspicuous bit of red sauce.

Red might symbolise blood here, and it is befitting. But more importantly we also need to consider this choice from an artist’s point of view. How many different colours of edible sauces are there? There’s chocolate sauce and other dark sauces, but that would just blend in with the rest of the illustration. Yellowy sauce is certainly a thing, but that’d be overpowered by the golden details. So red is the only bright colour that would make the empty saucer pop out. The Empty saucer has a fork placed diagonally on top, meaning that somebody had consumed food and is now finished. Rather than the colour of red, I think it is the now-empty saucer that is supposed to symbolise Sebastian’s goal of consuming his master.

Next to the saucer is the skeleton of a bird; presumably a crow judging from the size. Skeletons universally symbolise death, but it has nothing to do with the colour.

In Japanese native culture the topic of ‘death’ is big taboo. In older Japanese buildings for example, the 4th floor would often be skipped because ‘4′ (四・shi) is a homophone of death (死・shi).

In the past when Buddhism was introduced, the Japanese embraced this religion with open arms because finally there was something else that would deal with ‘death’ while native culture could stay in its comfort-zone. It was a bit like: “we do we... Hey, Buddhism, can you take care of that thing we’re too afraid of for us? Thanks dude!” Since the introduction of Buddhism, images of skeletons came to not just mean ‘death’, but more specifically ‘impermanence’ (無常・mujou). Impermanence is one of the core teachings in Buddhism, reminding humanity that everything will eventually come to an end, be it good or bad. With Buddhism introduced, skeletons were no longer only associated with pure fear, but instead gained an additional meaning of acceptance of change and the cycle of nature.

The origins of the meaning of skeletons have blurred through the years, many Japanese people probably don’t even know why things evoke certain meanings in them (just like in other cultures, I presume). But fact remains that though still macabre, in Japan a skeleton is now assumed to symbolise the naturalness of death.

That the skeleton of the bird is preserved in a glass dome is interesting. Glass domes’ function is primarily display. Out of all things, Yana chose to specifically display the symbol of impermanence and death, meaning that within this artwork that skeleton is the key object of display. In human subjectivity death is finite and fearsome. To a demon like Sebastian however (from whose perspective we view this artwork as he’s the only one awake here), he probably views death more akin to the way Buddhism views it; as just impermanence. I am NOT saying that Sebastian subscribes to a Buddhist philosophy, but I am saying that he must view death a lot more neutrally than most humans do.

Most Japanese people are not raised consciously religiously, but everyone is always influenced to some extent, Yana included. And therefore it is no surprise that Yana might have been inspired by the neutral view towards death (for at least Sebastian), even if she might not know where this inspiration comes from.

The casualness of ‘death’ in this illustration is further indicated by the coffin that is set up as a dining table. There is no respect, no ceremony, objects are scattered on top and around. The message is rather straightforward so I shall waste no more time explaining the obvious here. But I do wish to point out how this gives further evidence for how the meanings of this illustration should be considered from Sebas’ perspective, just like the crow’s skeleton as explained above. What is finite to us, is just a fact of nature to Sebas.

Conclusion

Yana has created many illustrations. Not all include symbolism, but the more elaborate pieces are usually packed with them. Of course I have only analysed two illustrations, and I would not blame anyone for calling this post insufficient evidence. But... I could just go on and on forever, and I need to draw a line somewhere, right? What I can say with confidence however, is that if you were to grab any artwork by Yana and see it for yourself, rather than colour, item symbolism is stronger.

Also, the way Yana uses colour is just not very symbolism heavy; she has a much stronger tendency to use colours purely aesthetically. Take any of the inside covers of this series, and one would quickly find out there really is no pattern to be found here.

In a nutshell, Yana’s colouring style is mostly aesthetic and used to set a tone for her illustrations. What carries the symbolism instead is in the objects.

Again, this is merely how I personally read Yana’s illustrations and an elaboration of how I came to this reading. There is not one correct answer to read illustrations, because art is subjective in its core. So if the colours do mean more to you than they do to me, please do enjoy doing so by all means ^^