Stream It or Skip It: ‘B: The Beginning’ Season 2 is Another Dose of Adrenaline (2024)

The first season of B: The Beginning took place in the nation of Cremona, following a serial killer vigilante named “Killer B.” Protagonists Koku (Kyle McCarley) and Keith “Flick” Kazama (Ray Chase) work to track down Killer B and unravel the secrets behind his brutal killings. The second season, B: The Beginning: Succession, picks up after the Koku and Keith as well as the Royal Investigation Service (RIS) solve the mysteries behind Killer B. Keith returns to the RIS to kick off his own investigation, while Koku has settled down. But when Keith is abducted and Koku ends up getting in touch with a friend from the past, the worst happens: Killer B returns. There’s a brand new conspiracy to unravel and even more secrets this time around.

B: The Beginning Season 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: The series opens with a jubilant wedding and a man viewing it from the crowd before switching to a scene at the RIS. Lily Hoshian (Faye Mata) talks to Kaela Yoshinaga (Allegra Clark) and Eric (Jalen K. Cassell) at HQ to discuss a case related to the wedding visitor we saw moments before. Lily, Boris Meier (Doug Stone), and Brian Brandon (Khoi Dao) make a plan to investigate the man, obscuring details as they work to track him down.

The Gist: The second season of B: The Beginning picks up shortly after the first one left off. It takes place in the archipelago of Cremona, where a serial killer called “Killer B” has a concerned nation scared for their lives. After committing a double murder, protagonist Koku and Royal Investigation Service legendary investigator Keith “Flick” Kazama work to get to the bottom of Killer B’s motives as well as stop him before it’s too late.

When the second season picks up, Koku and Keith have solved the mysteries from the first season. Koku has settled down into a life of domestic bliss. But as it happens. Keith is abducted, which shakes Koku to his core. When Koku is approached by a childhood friend named Kirisame and asked to fight for a “new world order,” we’re introduced to a whole new chapter to the twisting, turning narrative.

Kirisame feels a kinship to Koku as Koku recalls a pivotal part of the first season, which found him trading a part of himself to save the friends closest to him during one of the show’s intriguing climaxes. Kirisame invites Koku to come with him to join an organization opposed to those against outdated technology, like the “Reggies.” Those failed experiments represent attempts by the Jaula Blanca Research Institute to create gods known as the “Promised Children.”

Kirisame wants to use Koku’s power to help eliminate these Reggies or to have them destroy themselves as the two have a rather bleak exchange. Kirisame’s intentions weren’t always noble, which rubs Koku the wrong way. In exchange, Kirisame offers Koku a phone and leaves with some disturbing parting words. Meanwhile, the individuals in his organization surveil Koku and plot on how they can get him to join them to accomplish their own mission. Will Koku ultimately decide to side with Kirisame? And in the meantime, what’s going on with Keith?

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? B: The Beginning’s true crime nature will remind anime fans of shows like Psycho-Pass, especially with the more futuristic elements.

Our Take: The second season of B: The Beginning isn’t nearly as long as the first one, stopping short at six episodes. But it manages to remain a gripping true crime tale with supernatural elements during that time that will absolutely appeal to anyone who decided to check out the first series.

As true as that is, however, it’s going to make absolutely zero sense to anyone who hasn’t season the first story. There’s no way to get up to speed as some second seasons offer, so if you want to jump on the tail end of the show, it’s absolutely necessary to go back and watch the first season.

For those in the know, however, this additional injection of action and intrigue offer the same pulse-pounding fights, secrets, and riddles that the serial killer mystery originally introduced. Getting to learn more about Koku, who offered some of the most exciting reveals from the last season, is a major treat this time around. But Kirisame is by far the star here, bringing an air of sinister machinations to a world that we thought (mistakenly) we knew everything about.

The same air of unease still permeates this next set of episodes as well, and the animation is just as slick as ever. The fantastic voice cast breathes life into a cast of characters that feel wholly believable, and though the world is rife with supernatural elements, nothing seems so out of sorts that, under slightly different circ*mstances, it couldn’t happen (or at least some of it) in the real world.

Sex and Skin: None to be found in this episode.

Parting Shot: An incensed Koku faces off against Kirisame and his followers as he’s forced to cooperate. He finds out Keith’s location, and what the group ultimately wants from him: his cooperation for Keith’s life — or one of Koku’s loved ones. Koku begins to lose control as Yukikaze orders him to “kill God.”

Sleeper Star: Kirisame isn’t a sleeper character per se, but one of the most chaotic elements of the entire season. There’s something disturbing about his entire being, everything he says, and the quietly evil implications behind all of his actions. He’s the complete antithesis to Koku, and he’s fascinating because of it.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Kirisame meets up with Koku on a rooftop to line out his plan, he appeals to Koku’s sense of neediness and belonging: “Aren’t you aching to be back with everyone again, like the old days?” It’s a throwback phrase to the way things were in the last season and establishes Kirisame as a villain.

Our Call: STREAM IT. B: The Beginning Season 2 is a fantastic continuation of the first series. Though it’s absolutely essential that you watch the first set of episodes so you can keep up with what’s going on, if you’ve followed the story you’ll be thrilled to see how it evolves. A sinister new force in the form of Kirisame makes it difficult to trust anyone you meet throughout the course of the episode, and the animation and voice actors are as high quality as ever. If you’re looking for a decadent slice of true crime anime, you needn’t look further than more B: The Beginning.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.

Watch B: The Beginning on Netflix