B: The Beginning

***B: The Beginning*** is an original Japanese anime streaming series produced by Production I.G. and directed by Kazuto Nakazawa. It premiered on Netflix worldwide on March 2, 2018. On June 12, 2018, a second season was announced titled *B: The Beginning Succession* and it premiered on March 18 2021.

## Story

### Synopsis

In a world powered by advanced technology, crime and action unfold in the archipelagic nation of Cremona. The story centres around Koku the protagonist, Keith the legendary investigator of the Royal Police Service (RIS), and a mysterious criminal organization. A wide variety of characters race through the fortified city as it is beset by the serial killer, Killer B, and a chain of crimes unravel in this suspenseful drama directed by Kazuto Nakazawa and produced by the famed studio Production I.G

### Plot

The series starts off with a lone girl in the woods running barefoot from unknown men holding crossbows and night-vision hunting goggles. Although her mouth is duct-taped, her feet are badly cut and her eyes are in a panic, she is able to narrowly miss the arrows zipping by. Until one gouges her thigh and she plummets to the ground to lay unmoving. As her perpetrators prepare to stab the victim, the scissors glint in the moonlight and a hidden figure drops down and slashes their heads off.

As the sun rises over the quaint and elegant city of Cremona, RIS officer Lily Hoshina hurriedly drives to the brutal scene. Mistaking him for a middle-aged drunkard, Lily tries to shoo Keith Flick, also known as Genie by his close-friends, off while he examines a single black feather.

Lily and Keith along with the other RIS members attempt to find who beheaded the two sadistic hunters, revealed to be the Crouse Brothers, and the only clue they have is that the bizarre enigma goes by Killer B.

## Voice Cast

### Main

* Koku: Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Kyle McCarley (English)
* Killer B: Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Kyle McCarley (English)
* Keith Kazama Flick: Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)
* Lily Hoshina: Asami Seto (Japanese), Faye Mata (English)
* Eric Toga: Hiroki Touchi (Japanese), Jalen K. Cassell (English)
* Boris Meyer: Minoru Inaba (Japanese), Doug Stone (English)
* Kaela Yoshinaga: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese), Allegra Clark (English)
* Brian Brandon: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese), Khoi Dao (English)
* Mario: Shintarō Tanaka (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
* Jean Henri Richard: Atsushi Goto (Japanese), Keith Osterberg (English)
* Gilbert Ross: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), John DeMita (English)
* Minatsuki: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

### Supporting

* Quinn: Makoto Awane (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English)
* Izanami: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Marianne Miller (English)
* Kamui: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Benjamin Diskin (English)
* Yuna: Satomi Sato (Japanese), Brianna Knickerbocker (English, adult), Cristina Vee (English, child)
* Laica: Yu Kitada (Japanese), Xander Mobus (English)

## References

1. ↑ Deadline, 2018, B: The Beginning Season 2 announcement, Deadline, viewed on June 13, 2018, <https://deadline.com/2018/06/b-the-beginning-season-2-premiere-date-hilda-netflix-1202408799/>
2. ↑ MyAnimelist