- Happens a lot with Ciel, especially due to his extremely different personalities in the two canons (manga Ciel and anime Ciel have a lot of differences). This also happens with a few other characters, but to a lesser degree.
- Some people think he actually cares about others, and other people think he does not care at all about others or even hates them.
- Some argue just how much of Ciel's darker tendencies are truly his own and how much they are a result of Sebastian's looming influence and his position as the Queen's Watchdog. On the one hand it's no secret that Sebastian is doing his best to "season" Ciel's soul and on two instances tried to kill Ciel when he appeared to give up on his revenge or be too sick to go on and the position continuously exposes Ciel to the worst of human nature which leads to him making morally reprehensible decisions himself, especially when it triggers his PTSD. On the other, Word of God has stated multiple times that Ciel is in fact naturally twisted, a trait that he picked up from his father Vincent, and Sebastian has alluded to Ciel's soul having certain properties that he rarely finds in others.
- Going from the above one particular line from Claude has him note in the lines of how Ciel has traversed through much darkness yet his soul remained uncorrupted. Is Ciel simply a very resilient individual, or was his soul already a shade of black to begin with?
- Some people consider Ciel to be asexual, but other fans think he is gay or bisexual.
- Whether you're a shipper or not, he has shown hints of affection towards Elizabeth. Despite his maturity Ciel is only 13 and, similarly to most shonen protagonists, a romantic and/or sexual relationship is the last thing on his mind. Then there's his deeply troubled past...
- The topic on Sebastian's true character seem to be quite contentious as well.
- Sebastian's character itself isn't clear in the first place. His worst traits are that his morality is alien or nonexistent, that he thinks most humans are shallow and weak, and that he likes to (artfully) Kick the Dog during his fights or whenever he sees fit. On the flipside, he does express admiration for Heroic Willpower and finds humanity entertaining, openly admitting that demons' malice simply can't measure up to humans'. Oh, and he likes kinky boots and cats. And while he is affirmatively after Ciel's soul and is not the dashing Bad Boy hero, his place on the evil spectrum and whether he sees Ciel as anything besides a marinating roast is anyone's guess.
- There are some people who genuinely believe that Sebastian is losing himself to his butler persona and becoming more human and less cruel.
- Just how much is manga Sebastian truly a Born Lucky godlike Invincible Hero? He is definitely Nigh-Invulnerable and can curb-stomp most humans with flair, but Agni can duel him to a standstill with no supernatural help when Sebastian was ordered to defeat him. Not helping is that only time he's been able to easily trounce a supernatural opponent was with Ronald Knox on the Campania, Grell being able to seriously injure him (leading to him using a clever trick to win the fight) and Undertaker nearly killing him. Sebastian also occasionally struggles to fulfill Ciel's orders due to obstacles that even he can't breeze past, like in the aforementioned fight with Grell and later on when investigating the circus.
- It could also be questioned how much Sebastian might be holding back in order to maintain the façade, as many moments do hint that he has powers that he can utilize but chooses not to (causing hallucinations and entering dreams being a couple examples). The Campania arc and the Blue Memory flashbacks establish that Ciel has ordered Sebastian not to use the full extent of his powers. To make things even more complicated, in the Jack the Ripper arc Sebastian states that when Ciel orders him to do something then the contract will ensure that he succeeds. Given that there are several times throughout the manga where Sebastian does explicitly fail at fulfilling Ciel's orders and that Sebastian has tried to eat Ciel twice before the terms of the contract were fulfilled, it calls into question just how powerful the contract is and whether or not it genuinely limits Sebastian's behavior.
- Snake. Does he only repeat what his snake friends say, or can he speak for himself and just chooses not to out of shyness? It's worth noting that he has spoken for himself a handful of times in the manga, the first time being this
◊ panel in an early chapter. - The Hellhound. Is he sapient, or does he only have the mind of a dog?
- Grell's motivations for becoming Jack the Ripper. She tells Angelina that it's because she can relate to and sympathize with Angelina's desire and inability to have children, but aside from a comment to Sebastian she never brings this up again and tends to be at best dismissive of the child characters she interacts with. So was she telling the truth, or was she lying to gain Angelina's trust so that she'd let Grell join her? If she was telling the truth, did she change her mind after the Jack the Ripper arc, or is she simply keeping her desire for motherhood closer to her chest? If she was lying, then did she approach Angelina out of boredom, simple desire to kill women (or anyone for the matter), or was she interested in Angelina herself?
- Alois Trancy: psychotically mood-swingy Enfant Terrible who deliberately engineers his innocent moments just to get at Ciel, or love-starved punching bag who simply snapped from his Dark and Troubled Past and is being manipulated by his butler? (To be honest, fangirls would love him either way...)
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