The Beginning of the End...
- Episodes : 6
- Genre : Action, Mystery, Police, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller
- Airing Date : March 2021
- Producers : Production I.G
Contains Spoilers
Introduction and Story
Time has passed but for Keith Flick and Koku, their work is far from over. After their small victory stopping one of the biggest threats seen in Cremona, the two have tried to enjoy simpler days. Unfortunately, both Keith and Koku are about to run headlong into a new threat that has just been biding its time. Keith and Koku will not be able to stop this new threat alone and will need to rely on past enemies and friends to help them survive. Time is ticking and the peace that the Kingdom of Cremona has enjoyed is about to disappear…
A New Battle
B: The Beginning Succession might have released a few years after the first season but this sequel wastes no time jumping back into the world of Keith, Koku, and the rest of the Royal Investigation Service—RIS—as they face a new threat. The royal family is under attack and the small team jumps into action to investigate the culprit who seems to mirror a certain original threat named Killer B. We appreciated that B: The Beginning Succession doesn’t pad for time with lengthy recaps—though they are available via Netflix—and just jumps into this new situation without hesitation.
Intense Clashes Left and Right
B: The Beginning Succession isn’t shy about using the amazing animation skills from Production I.G as this season involves a lot more battles. Koku is quick to bust out his dark blade and the various evolved humans we met last season are equally quick to use their abilities to engage in battle. If you desired less mystery—more on that in a moment—and wanted more action then B: The Beginning Succession has you covered.
Keith Flick… MIA
One of the best elements of B: The Beginning was Keith Flick, the strange and quirky detective who used his amazing intelligence to solve many of the mysteries in the first season. Keith and Koku were two integral parts of B: The Beginning and sadly, one of them gets the boot for most of season 2. Keith’s character gets kidnapped early on by the newest threat the RIS face and Koku unites with familiar faces to try to track him down. Depressingly, though, this means Keith goes MIA for most of B: The Beginning Succession and only appears in a few scenes.
This issue alone ends up hurting B: The Beginning Succession in many ways. As clever as Koku and Lily Hoshina are—the RIS investigator who ends up close with Keith—the two aren’t at the same level of intelligence as Keith. This means B: The Beginning Succession focuses less on mystery and more on action. Koku is 90% of the time fighting various foes and Lily is usually chasing small leads to find Keith or driving as she did in the first season. B: The Beginning Succession losing Keith for a majority of the short 6 episodes, in turn, removes what we really loved from the original.
Seriously…Where’s the Mystery
As we noted above, B: The Beginning Succession is mostly action and that is a shame. We do get some hints of a mystery from the new enemies and their grand plan—which is still muddled in questions—but the show rarely relies on its mystery roots. B: The Beginning Succession shouldn’t even be considered a mystery anime and should just be categorized as action.
Part 2 Coming Anytime Soon? or No?
Our last major issue with B: The Beginning Succession is the fact that it ends with no hint at a part 2 or anything else. As quickly as the new threat reveals itself, the show ends on a massive cliffhanger with no indication of a possible part 2 or continuation. In our honest opinions here at Honey’s Anime, we would have rather waited a few more years for a full 12 episode season rather than only be given 6 episodes and not be told if the series will continue with more or be given a proper continuation/conclusion. B: The Beginning Succession feels more like an OVA than a season 2 and that is a big deal with us.
Final Thoughts
B: The Beginning Succession is very similar in terms of animation and style to the original 2018 first season. Production I.G, once again, made an incredible series that boasts impressive music and animation but the story has taken a rather large hit. B: The Beginning Succession feels like an action series and we wish it would have had some more mysteries to revel in like the first season. Keith is almost non-existent in B: The Beginning Succession and while he does have a big character revelation about his sister—which is one of our favorite scenes of this season—the show overall just fails to deliver what we expected from the series.
Did you fellow otaku have similar or different opinions on B: The Beginning Succession? You should let us know via the comments below! For even more anime reviews and related articles, keep stuck to our intuitive hive here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
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