| “ | I do love red the most. Hair, clothes, lipstick, I love them to be red. | „ |
| ~ Grell Sutcliff |
| “ | Red is the color of fiery passion and I'm flaming ! | „ |
| ~ Grell Sutcliff |
| “ | With all these handsome men in front of me I’m not gonna just leave like Cinderella! | „ |
| ~ Grell Sutcliff |
Grell Sutcliff is a character in the anime and manga Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji. She is the main antagonist in the Jack the Ripper Arc. Later in the anime, Grell becomes a deuteragonist and a minor comic relief character.
History
Jack the Ripper
During the Jack the Ripper Arc, Grell is first seen as the clumsy and shy Butler of Madam Red, who is also known as Angelina Durless. Despite her nervous appearence, it is later revealed that she is a fully trained Grim Reaper, also known as a Shinigami or Death God. Throughout the anime and during the Arc, Grell is shown to be inaffective at her Butler job, ruining and messing up the most simple of tasks and continuously attempting to commit suicide. Sebastian Michaelis, the Demon Butler of Ciel Phantomhive, stops Grell from killing herself, which allows Grell's affections for the Butler to increase. Grell later stops the acts when the servants of the Phantomhive Household in the anime hesitant from trying to stop her from killing herself, and usually tries to attract attention to be noticed by Sebastian. When Madam Red begins the Jack the Ripper murders, Grell follows her arround and reveals herself after one of the murders, claiming she understood her feelings because she could not have children of her own, as Grell is biologically a man. She agrees to help her in the killing of prostitutes.
As the episodes progresses, Ciel and Sebastian find out that Angelina and Grell are Jack the Ripper. During a brief confrontation, Grell flirts with and attacks Sebastian with her Death Scythe and nearly slices the demon's arm off. When Angelina hesitates to kill Ciel, Grell insists she do it; when she still refuses, Grell angrilly slashes at her and kills her with her scythe. Ciel then commands Sebastian to finish the job, and Sebastian agrees, attacking Grell to the point where the Reaper is faceplanted into the ground, weak and beaten, after Sebastian uses his tailcoat to jam Grell's scythe. Sebastian kicks Grell and unjams the scythe by removing the tailcoat, and raises it in preperation for a killing blow, as Grell pleads to be spared. Sebastian immidiatly declines, and brings down the scythe; only for the whirring scythe to be stopped short by another.
William T. Spears , another Grim Reaper; arrives and states to be there to collect Grell, who is overjoyed by William's appearence. WIlliam leaps down onto Grell, smashing her face into the pacement. He announces all the rules Grell had broken (killing those not on the To-Die list, modifying her scythe without authorization, and attempting to reveal classified information about the murderers of Ciel's parents; (this happened only in the anime as Grell pleaded for Sebastian to spare her life) William, much to his disgust, then thanks Sebastian and drags Grell away by her hair. Later on, Grell is seen throughout the anime as a deuteragonist and a comic relief character.
Personality and Appearance
Grell as a butler.
Grell is shy and clumsy as a Butler in her Human form, although in her Grim Reaper form, she is hyper and flamboyant, and finds guys generally attractive, although its been noted she had feelings for Madam Red.
As a Butler, she has long waist length brown hair tied back, green eyes, and wears a butler suit and red ribbon around her neck, along with large glasses.
As a Grim Reaper, she has long, blood-red hair, green-yellow eyes, false eyelashes, shark-like teeth, red-framed glasses, which are accessorized with a neck chain adorned with skulls. She wears a suit like other Grim Reapers with gloves and a tie, high-heeled ankle boots, and a red coat she took from Angelina's corpse, which she slings off her shoulders and wears around her elbows.
Grell is over-the-top, flamboyant, and outspoken, as she tells Sebastian Michaelis that she wishes to do some "vigorous exercise" with her, despite the latter's repulsion.
She possesses a strong predilection for the color red, and believes that substances which reflect that color, such as fresh blood, can be used to achieve beauty.
She can be a very ruthless, bloodthirsty individual that is willing to kill her own comrades once she loses interest in them.
She often puts things in terms of theater, referring to Angelina's death as the "falling of curtains," and comparing her conflicting Grim Reaper and demon relationship with Sebastian to the famous play, Romeo and Juliet.
Weapons
- Death Scythe: Grell's Death Scythe had been illegally modified by Grell herself, in order to reap souls and view Cinimatic Records as any scythe would; although the scythe is a chainsaw, and can cut through anything. The scythe is confiscated at the end of the Jack the Ripper Arc, but later given back to her in the final episode of the first season.
- Scissors: In replacement for her scythe, Grell was given a pair of useless kids scissors, although they are later shown to be nearly as sharp as her scythe.
Gallery
Trivia
- In the Durarara!! manga, a series that frequently references other anime and manga, some characters go to a manga store and Grell's image is on the elevator in one panel.
- Grell's name bears relative resemblance to Peter Sutcliffe, who was a British serial killer responsible for the death of 13 women and is dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper"
- Grell is similar to Dr. Stylish from Akame Ga Kill: she wears glasses, are very flamboyant and stylish. Grell however is transgender and not a homosexual, unlike Dr. Stylish.