Oh dear, I usually skip anything written by supposed "mainstream" media on anime or manga. Thus I was utterly suprised when at one point I learned that watching anime has become a socially accepted way to spend time sometime during the last ten years. O.o

Back to Kuroshitsuji - while the series hasn't gotten to me as Pandora Hearts has, I still enjoy the monthly installments very, very much. :) Sure, the clichés are all there. But they're so much there, they're actually being subverted. For authors as the guy you described, having a closer look might pay of. I love the very particular sense of humor in Kuroshitsuji, and the wonderful play with clichés - which is admittedly not easy to see, especially when one isn't inclined to.

So boo for payroll writers that don't do the research and rather turn up their nose instead of doing what they're paid to. <.<