Is Alan considered particularly tiny in Dispatch? Men back then were smaller on average though.

kashikoikawaiisaschachen:

language-of-souls:

Though people were both smaller in build as well as shorter in the Victorian era, it was not as drastically different as modern times. Since the late 1800′s, the average height of individuals has been gradually increasing due to cleaner water, better food and medicine, etc. 

On average, people were about 2 inches shorter than they are today. There were still tall and short people though. It was not unheard of for a man to be nearly or at six feet tall. Keep in mind, even today, the average height for a British man is about 5″9. An average height range for a man at that time was between 5″3 and 5″9, though, considering Black Butler takes place towards the end of the 1800′s, we can assume that by this point, the average height was beginning to increase.

I make Alan out to be about 5″5, maybe 5″6. He’s fairly short and, canonly, the shortest of the London reapers. Compared to the other reapers, he would be considered small.

Grell is about 5″7 out of heels, about 5″11 with them on.

Ronald is about 5″9.

William is 6″0.

Eric, I make him a little taller at 6″2.

Overall, Alan is fairly petite. But the other reapers are also drawn rather lanky. We do see Grell, William, and Ronald with a bit more of their clothes off and they have muscle and aren’t exactly lean, skilly people. Just from Eric’s images alone, we can see how thick his thighs are compared to the others as well as the width of his chest.

All in all to answer the question, yes. 

I also have a headcanon that states that Alan is half white and half Japanese but that’s more so my personal thing than any canon information.

Thank you for the elaborate answer! Grell’s canon height without heels is 5′9, sometimes I’d like to think that his heels might not be as high as Yana claims them to be, though the reverse can also apply. Personally, I think Eric is around 6′1 tall, 6′ would be the bare minimum. If the Kuromyu promo art is a reliable source, then I estimate Alan to be around 5′6-5′7.

(Now I’m inspired to write a post about Shinigami’s body types. Maybe we can learn something about their lifestyles from this.)