Quinn is literally the first Market Maker member we see. With extravagant pink hair and very noticeable blue and white makeup on his face, he is immediately recognizable. He is a deadly assassin, mildly telekinetic, and also completely loyal to Minatsuki. In addition to all that, he is also the first Reggie we met, before we even know what Reggies are. And this is only part of what makes Quinn a mystery to the viewers. His appearance is what starts the mystery, as we know he is not Killer B, but one of the many chasing him for their own goals. We don’t know what those goals are, but his words make it clear that he knows a lot more about the world than Killer B and the police put together.

And then he dies. After a lot of build up in the first episode, he faces Killer B on top of a train, ready to kill him, and instead is killed in the same first episode. The battle is incredible and savage. Both Quinn and Killer B are incredible fighters, and neither is willing to back down. Added to that, it seems Quinn is starting to succumb to the madness that plagues all Reggies, even if we only see small hints of him being crazy at the end of the episode, which makes him more dangerous. But we barely get time to register that before his head is lopped off.

Because of the many questions his death leaves unanswered, Quinn gets the tenth place on our list.

We meet Izanami at the same time as Quinn, as it seems they’re partners. However, Izanami doesn’t react with much sadness at the death of the Reggie. This shows the first cracks in the Market Maker’s organization: those who aren’t Reggies themselves see Reggies as little more than cannon fodder. We don’t know what Izanami is. They share some abilities with Koku; in particular, they can create a blue steel blade out of their leg, and are far faster and more agile than a human being. But they’re not Reggies, as they don’t decay into dust upon being killed.

There are many mysteries to Izanami that end up with their death. We know they used to go to the same school as Yuna and Koku, and that they were in love with Koku. We can assume they joined the Market Maker group after the attack in the school in order to protect Minatsuki, but we also know that they swore to protect Koku. So, are they really loyal to Minatsuki? Or did they join the Market Marker at such a young age to infiltrate them and assure they wouldn’t kill Koku? And what about their relationship to Yuna? Were they created as a possible replacement for Yuna? All those questions remain unanswered as Koku kills Izanami, and thus, we never find out the truth.

And since those questions make Izanami more intriguing, they climb to the ninth place of our list.

We don’t know much about Heath Kazama Flick. In fact, we only learn about his existence way into the series, in episode 7. He’s Keith Kazama’s father, and was a genetic researcher and caretaker at the Jaula Blanca Royal Scientific Research Institute. And yet, he’s incredibly important to the plot, as without his actions, it’s probable that nothing would’ve happened. He created the bioengineered kids in Jaula Blanca, including Koku, and used the translation of the Jet Black Epitaph to recreate the Original Black DNA’s sequence. But he had a good heart, and in particular hated the idea of the children being used as weapons, so he tried to protect them and teach them to use their powers for peace.

Unfortunately, this also made him a great danger for the Market Maker. He had figured out a way to stabilize the Reggies and make sure they wouldn’t fall into madness upon reaching maturity, so Market Maker wanted to get his hands on said cure. He was betrayed by one of the children, Minatsuki, who stabbed him in the back during the attack, long before the series started.

As we never get to learn everything he knew, or his motivations, he has the eighth place on our list.

Erika is another character that we only get to know by other people’s stories about her. She was killed eight years before the series started. After being kidnapped, she was tortured and then murdered by someone who sliced her up in a horrific manner. The killer then dumped her body in the mountains, where her brother Keith found her, and from that moment on, he decided he wouldn’t stop until he could find the murderer and avenge his sister’s death.

She was a very beautiful girl, with long brown hair and brown eyes –also, she looked a lot like Lily Hoshina, one of the Royal Investigative Services agents. The main difference between the two of them is that Lily isn’t as demure as Erika seemingly was, that Erika wore glasses, and that she also had a special birthmark in the shape of three stars on her shoulder. The similarity between both girls made Keith very hostile towards Lily at first, as he didn’t want to be around someone who reminded him of his sister.

Since she’s really important to the story, but we never get to know her or can be sure that what we’re told about her is true, she earns the seventh place on our list.

We meet Kirisame in a flashback, as one of the many children in the Jaula Blanca Institute. He’s one of the few kids who actively try to protect Koku, and we later find out that this was due to Dr. Kazame’s instructions. Still, this gives us a very interesting clue: Some of the children in Jaula Blanca were far more informed of what their fate was, and what had to be done to achieve that fate. When the Reggies attack the institute, Kirisame was sent by Dr. Kazame to protect Koku and take him to a secret shelter where Koku would be safe.

In the following attack, Kirisame is wounded and apparently killed protecting Koku from a group of Reggies. After being informed by a dying Dr. Kazame about what his fate is, Koku then proceeds to cut his left arm and take it into his own body –as well as other body parts from the other children who had also died trying to protect him. This alone makes Kirisame quite intriguing, as one can’t but wonder what made him so loyal to Koku and Dr. Kazame. But the final scene of the series adds an extra layer to this: we see that Kirisame survived, and is now working with the same Market Maker that had killed him. How did he survive? Why did he change sides? These are the questions that make us wish that there would be a second series where we can get some more answers.

And those questions are what make Kirisame find his way into the sixth place on our list.

The leader of the Market Maker’s unit we see, in charge of capturing Koku. He’s blindingly loyal to Regulus, the actual leader of the Market Maker, and seems to be calm and collected at all times. He’s very handsome, has long flowing blond hair, and wears a red makeup circle over his left eye. Unlike some of the other members of his group, he never seems willing to dirty his hands by confronting Koku directly. Instead, he uses the Reggies as pawns and seems not to care at all if they get killed.

We then learn that Minatsuki is nothing but a phantom personality implanted into a Reggie, and his attitude becomes tragic. He is just like the men he has been sending to die to try and capture Koku. And as he falls into the madness that all Reggies have, and tries hard to complete the mission that was implanted in his brain, we can’t avoid asking, who was he before? What was the personality of the boy that was brainwashed into forgetting himself? Did he have moments of lucidity before he had to be brainwashed again? Was he even working for Market Maker willingly?

Because all those questions don’t have answers, Minatsuki remains intriguing and thus, earns the fifth place on our list.

The first time we see Koku, he couldn’t be less impressive. As one of the violin craftsmen working under Lily Hoshina’s father, he seems to be there just for Lily to ignore him. He’s soft spoken, very talented, and smart. He’s also Killer B, although only the viewers know that at first. He has wings that burst out of his back, which he can use to fly, is a very skilled fighter, and his left arm can turn into a blue steel blade, one of the very few weapons that can kill Reggies. All this makes him far more interesting, and when we realize that Killer B is only killing evildoers, and that his own memories from childhood were erased, he becomes the focus of most of the series’ mystery.

What makes Koku more interesting are his origins, because he was created as a reincarnation/clone of the black-winged king of the original gods, and whose story is already decided by the prophecy of the Jet Black Epitaph. Even before he was completely aware of the Epitaph, he was already making it come true, especially with his undying devotion to Yuna. He also doesn't seem to be interested in ruling over anything, and once we discover that the one who erased his memories of Jaula Blanca was none other than himself, the mystery of why he did it becomes more intriguing.

Since most of his life is shrouded in secrets, Koku lands on the fourth place on our list.

Laica is one of the few characters that manage to remain mysterious even after we find out his real identity and story. At first, he seems to be Minatsuki’s right hand, and is present in most of the scenes where Minatsuki is, always watching and mostly silent. His appearance makes him look like any other Reggie: he wears makeup on his eyes, but covers it with dark sunglasses and always wears a bowler hat. But unlike the older Reggies in the Market Maker, he doesn’t seem to be particularly violent or insane. At times, he seems even more collected than Minatsuki.

This brings us to the shocking reveal that Laica may be a Reggie, but he is not a normal one. He is apparently immune to the madness –unlike Minatsuki, who needs injections of a gold liquid to remain sane. Not only that, but he was a student in Jaula Blanca that none of the others knew because he was kept in isolation. And then we realize that he is the real Minatsuki, using the other as a pawn to hide his identity because he wants to remain a secret, since he is the only Reggie compatible with the Winged King, as he has the King’s right eye and can use it to brainwash others.

Since we end up with more questions than answers about Laica, he climbs to the third place on our list.

It’s easy to argue that Keith Kazama is the true protagonist of B:The Beginning. After all, the story begins when he arrives to help the R.I.S. investigate Killer B, and he’s the only character who is involved in both storylines: the serial killer investigation, and Koku’s search for Yuna. At first, this seems to be accidental that he only got involved in the Jet Black investigation because he was in the case for Serial Killer B.

It is when he becomes a suspect that his true importance to the story shines. First, we get to know about his sister Erika and how her death affected him to the point that he tries to keep Lily away because she reminds him of her. Then, we realize that he is incredibly smart and a fan of cryptography, and that his father was in charge of the Jaula Blanca Institute. More importantly, it wasn’t his father, but Keith himself who managed to translate the Jet Black epitaph, and he was asked by his father to protect Koku and Yuna. All this proves that Keith is the axis around whom the story revolves, not Koku. And yet, at the end of it, we know very little about the years between Erika’s death and his return from retirement. He remains a mystery.

And because we doubt those questions will be answered in a second season, if there is a second season, Keith has the second place on our list.

We first meet Ross as the head forensics coroner of the RIS, a very serious man with a black sense of humor. We learn that he and Keith used to be friends, and it seems he still has faith in his old college buddy and knows that at some point, Keith would discover whoever killed his sister, whom Gilbert loved. Unfortunately, he also had a huge inferiority complex towards Keith, convinced that he’d never be able to beat him at anything. Gilbert, in those first episodes, seems to be a very secondary character who has no idea of the secret deals and conspiracies in the realm and a trustworthy friend who can listen to Keith’s problems.

But Gilbert is nothing like he seems. At night, he becomes far more ruthless, and later on, we find out that he is not only Erika’s killer, but that he’s a very prolific serial killer that uses his position in the RIS not only to hide his crimes, but to keep having access to the bodies. As if that wasn’t enough to make him despicable, he is also the leader of Market Maker, and uses Laica’s brainwashing power to get various scapegoats for his murders. And all he does is just so he can break Keith, to have the pleasure of proving that the Genie is not unbeatable.

After his death, there are still many questions unanswered. He claims he had a second personality to allow him to live without guilt, but, how true was that? Or was he just trying to make Keith feel worse? Since we will never find out, Gilbert Ross earns the first place on our list.