Fred Abberline

Overview

Image Gallery

Fred Abberline
Kanji	フレッド・アバーライン
Rōmaji	Fureddo Abārain
Alias	Mr. Underline (by Sebastian and Ciel)
Characteristics
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Professional status
Affiliation	Scotland Yard
Occupation	Chief Inspector
Base of operations	Scotland Yard, London
Personal status
Status	Alive
First appearance
Manga debut	Volume 4, Chapter 15
Anime debut	Season 1, Episode 4
Musical debut	That Butler, Friendship
Portrayal
Japanese voice	Hisayoshi Suganuma
English voice	Jonathan Brooks

Fred Abberline (フレッド・アバーライン, Fureddo Abārain) is a chief inspector at Scotland Yard. He is frequently partnered with his superior, Police Commissioner Arthur Randall.

Appearance

Fred has shaggy, auburn hair, blue eyes, and a mustache. A Scotland Yard officer, he dresses in a manner fitting of his role; his typical attire consists of a suit, a green tie, a dark-gray trench coat, and a bowler hat.

Personality

Fred is often very curious about the affairs of others. He regularly directs his questions to his superior, Arthur Randall, with hopes of having him elucidate certain matters; for instance, he asked Arthur to explain the purpose of the Phantomhive family. Fred is frequently subjected to Arthur's insults, as well as whatever reproach that may arise when investigations are not carried out quickly enough. He usually responds to the admonishments with meek apologies. A tractable man, he was, on one occasion, unable to prevent Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis from entering Scotland Yard's file room.

Furthermore, Fred, in alignment to his position as a Scotland Yard chief inspector, strongly believes in justice and righteousness; thus, he refused to accept Ciel's bribe, and was appalled by Ciel's dubious methods of investigation, as well as his dishonorable arrangement with Queen Victoria—Ciel performs the dirty work for the Queen and receives bribe money from her.

Additionally, Fred harbors a vast appreciation for the arts, and is considerably knowledgeable of various paintings. He was impressed by Ciel's collection of Brotherhood Pre-Raphaelite artwork, as it is something he is a fan of.

Plot

Indian Butler Arc

Anglo-Indians are attacked for the 20th time, and Arthur Randall chides Fred for his failure to apprehend the culprit. Ciel Phantomhive and his butler approach them, and Fred regards them with hostility but is stopped by Arthur. Ciel snatches the documents of the case from Fred's hands to look over them, and returns them before he departs. Fred asks about the obscure nature of the Phantomhive family, and Arthur explains that it is a secret executive agency under Queen Victoria that resorts to any method in order to erase the Royal Family's involvement in crimes. Fred comments that the Phantomhives are, in essence, the opposite of Scotland Yard, since they use evil powers to carry out the wishes of Queen Victoria.

After the case is solved, Fred and Arthur visit Phantomhive Manor, with the former admiring the artwork displayed there. At dinnertime, they sit in the dining room, where Arthur hands Ciel bribe money from the Queen for his work as her Watchdog, to Fred's astonishment. They celebrate the closing of the Anglo-Indian case with champagne, despite the lack of an official capture of the culprit; Arthur tells Fred that since both the Queen and Ciel have declared that the case is over, it will be deemed as such.

Circus Arc

In the absence of Arthur Randall, Ciel and Sebastian Michaelis trespass to the third-floor file room of the Scotland Yard department, much to Fred's alarm. Sebastian makes copies of the files connected to the Noah's Ark Circus kidnappings. Ciel asks Fred if he may take certain photos with him and adds that he does not mind being held accountable; despite this, Fred argues that he will still be scolded by Arthur. As ordered by Ciel, Sebastian gives Fred money for his "cooperation." Fred refuses the bribe, stating that while he knew Ciel is willing to employ whatever methods to solve cases as soon as possible, this act is excessive. Ciel argues that he is merely being flexible, and tells Fred to hurry and get promoted, before departing with Sebastian.

Blue Cult Arc

Fred

One night, outside the Sphere Music Hall, Fred encounters Sebastian, recognizing him as the butler of Ciel. Sebastian pretends to forget Fred's name, to his annoyance, and then asks if he is out at this hour in order to investigate a case. Fred ponders over whether or not to share the details to Sebastian, and then decides to do so, whispering to him that a series of odd corpses has been appearing lately—the corpses, "too pretty" they are, have no external wounds, and look like they are asleep. The corpses identified were a prostitute, a postman, and a shoemaker's assistant; they have no connection to one another. Then, the other day, the corpse of a peer's daughter was found in the same state, which spurred Scotland Yard to work harder. To Fred's chagrin, an amused Sebastian points out that the corpses were dismissed as ordinary unnatural deaths until a member of the privileged classes was found in the same state—that was when Scotland Yard began to deem it an actual case. Fred states that Ciel should cooperate with the Yard if he has any information. Sebastian questions this, wondering whether Arthur Randall would be displeased for his reliance on an Aristocrat of Evil, to which Fred asserts that he would take the reprimand if it means closing the case as soon as possible. He adds that while he does not agree with Ciel's methods, he understands that both Ciel and the Yard have the aim of protecting the people. A surprised Sebastian promises to convey the message to Ciel, and Fred tells him to meet with him in person if he needs to get in touch with him. Afterward, Fred leaves.

In Ciel's townhouse, Fred informs Ciel and Sebastian the corpses died due to severe blood loss. Ciel and Sebastian conclude that the Sphere Music Hall is bleeding their guests to death and that they may also be conducting experiments in blood transfusion. When Fred declares that he will have them immediately arrested, Ciel has Sebastian show Fred the list of people who regularly attend the Sphere Music Hall gatherings—among them are members of the military, the House of Lords, and Scotland Yard. Some of them, they affirm, must be lending financial support to the music hall. Ciel warns Fred that if he were to act openly, the individuals in power may not only hush up the investigation, but they may fail to catch the true mastermind, as well. When Fred suggests that they request aid from Queen Victoria, Ciel states that, by the word of law, she cannot intervene in domestic affairs. Frustrated, Fred asks what he is to do, and Ciel assures him that he will handle it, as the Queen's Watchdog.

Fred and Arthur Randall observe a riotous crowd outside Sphere Music Hall. Arthur, then, orders Fred to keep up the search for the missing persons.

Afterward, Fred goes to the Phantomhive townhouse, where Agni leads him to Ciel and Sebastian. Fred asks to speak to them about something, which prompts Sebastian to ask Soma Asman Kadar and Pitt to leave the room. Once they are gone, Fred shows them the newspaper with Sphere Music Hall in the headlines, which, according to him, have silenced the government officials and nobles who have been conspiring with the music hall, and, in turn, Scotland Yard was able to expose the organization's crimes. Ciel and Sebastian, then, explain the treacherous workings of Sphere Music Hall, and their plan to steal the music hall's source of supply. Fred is appalled that they would indirectly induce the deaths of Sirius individuals, deeming it a "heartless method." Ciel retorts that he, the Aristocrat of Evil, took action when Fred, the "righteous police," could not. Fred confesses that he was powerless and is ashamed, and vows to solve the case next time without getting Ciel's hands dirty. Amused, Ciel urges him to quickly get promoted.

At Scotland Yard, Fred escorts Edward Midford to Paula, after Edward receives notice that the Midford maid has been detained by the police. Fred explains that, when they raided Sphere Music Hall, they took into custody many women who were forced to work there, one of which is Paula. He watches as Edward and Paula reunite.

Blue Memory Arc

Sometime afterward, Scotland Yard receives an anonymous hint that Blavat Sky and his accomplices are hiding in Phantomhive Manor. Alongside his colleagues, Edward, and Alexis, Fred rushes to catch them and storms the manor. Fred secures the place and asks Ciel for an explanation—and notices that there are two "Earl Phantomhives." The "Earl" he does not know announces himself as the real "Ciel Phantomhive", and Elizabeth arrives to confirm his words. Then, Fred's colleagues run into the entrance hall, having found multiple bottles of blood and Blavat.

Fred asks Blavat if he is the founder and head of the Sphere Music Hall cult, but to his surprise, Blavat reveals that Ciel is "Lord Sirius." One of Fred's colleagues then connects Ciel's alleged identity of "Lord Sirius" with the erection of Funtom Music Hall and the increase of victims afterward. Fred wants to clarify the situation before he catches himself as regular people are not allowed to know about the Watchdog duty. Having no other choice, Fred arrests Ciel and Sebastian, before he turns to interrogate the "redhead" and the "chap in the lab coat," only to find them gone. Subsequently, some other Scotland Yard officers rush to catch them.

Fred himself drives back to London. On the way, he ponders over why Ciel assumed his brother's identity as he would have inherited the earldom and Phantomhive estate anyway even if it might have taken decades. He wonders whether Ciel simply did not want to pay the massive estate taxes which incurred with the deaths of Vincent and "Ciel", but quickly discards the thought as Ciel most likely would not have taken over the Watchdog duties at such a young age if he only had such a "petty" reason. Fred's thoughts are abruptly cut off when his carriage catches up with the prison carriage which had gotten into an accident.

He gets out to inspect the damage and finds Blavat sitting on a fallen-over tree and Ciel and Sebastian gone. Fred sends out a search party for them and rearrests Blavat.

Quotes

• (To Sebastian Michaelis) "I'll take the reprimand if it means closing the case posthaste. I'm not keen on your methods, but both your aim and that of the Yard is to protect the people."

Trivia

• General
• Anime
• Musicals

Etymology

• "Fred" is the short form of "Frederick" which is the English form of the Germanic name "Friedrich" meaning "peaceful ruler." It is derived from frid ("peace") and ric ("ruler, mighty").

Out of Universe

• According to the official Kuroshitsuji character popularity poll, Fred is the forty-third most popular character in the series, with five votes. He shares this spot with Jeremy Rathbone and Eric Slingby, who also received five votes.

• Fred is based on real-life police officer Frederick Abberline, who also worked on investigating the Jack the Ripper murders.

Fred without a mustache.

• In the first season of the anime, Fred does not have a mustache. Moreover, he dies in the season.

• Exclusive to the first season, Fred lost his family when he was young. As a result, he was left to fend for himself, by any means necessary. Before becoming a police officer, he unloaded cargo ships. Sometime later, Fred got engaged with his girlfriend Maria when he learned of her pregnancy. Thereafter, he was determined to create a better world for his fiancée and unborn child.

• Exclusive to the second season of the anime, Fred has a twin brother. However, in the first season, he once stated that he does not have any siblings.
  • The real Frederick Abberline also had a brother named Edward.

Fred is portrayed by various actors in the musicals:

• By Naohiro Ise in That Butler, Friendship and the first run of The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World; his actor also plays the Auction Mask Master in the latter.
• By Shun Takagi in the second run of The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World, in Lycoris that Blazes the Earth, Noah's Ark Circus, and Tango on the Campania.

Fred appears in Tango on the Campania even though he does not make an appearance in the Luxury Liner Arc which is the basis for the musical.

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Arthur Randall • Fred Abberline