English Dub Season Review: B: The Beginning -Succession-

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The R.I.S gets another case involving Killed B as the notorious killer crashes an event and takes the senator. Koku reunites with Kirisame who asks him to join them at a national institute and fight to change the country. However, Koku refuses until Kirisame’s minions threaten him with the life of Keith and the others. Meanwhile, Lily searches for Keith on orders and she goes to the crime scene of a shootout. She finds out that he’s been abducted as she comes across Koku on her investigation. They search for Keith with their allies on the places connected to Jet-Black, but they’re stopped by Kirisame and his associates.

Meanwhile, after a few days, Keith goes hungry and hallucinates Gilbert and his sister, Erika. He recalls a promise with Lily he uses his head to survive and make his escape from the tower. Koku finds him and calls Lily and an ambulance. At the hospital, Lily visits Keith as the television announces that the king is back on his feet. The king then imprisons his son with Kirisame and continues his work. Koku kills another Reggie and meets with Kirisame and then they duel.

 

Our Take:

B: The Beginning ~Sucession~ is disappointing. For starters, it’s half of what the first season was, in episodes and in the plot. Furthermore, Lily running late and Koku offering baked goods similar to how the first episode of the first season went. That structure of events was nice at establishing their daily routine, but with the thrilling beginning of Koku on his crime spree again it feels like a disconnect until we get Koku’s reunion with Kirisame. At least the animation for the fights is nice even if you can only see it half the time because most of the time it’s under the cover of night.

The plot of the season pales in comparison to the first season’s mystery. The political conflict between the king and prince over how to rule the country was a decent attempt to tie up the loose end of the first season on who ordered the raid for Jaula Blanca. However, the execution was bland as Kirisame betrays the prince and reveals that he was working for the king from the start. It’s like the show needed to be another twist as they did with Minatsuki in season one.

The R.I.S team except for Lily isn’t on-screen during the search for Keith which takes up a good chunk of the middle. It’s unfortunate to see that part of the cast just fade into the background. The more fantastical cast of characters appears as the show veers into the mythological part of the show. It’s even more disappointing that we don’t see any character depth with Kirisame’s group of the other members of the Jaula Blanca. Even when they’re on-screen acting as a diversion to prevent the heroes from rescuing Keith we only get the bare minimum of their personality or goals.

The show keeps its text on the screen gimmick with Lily observing the bullet holes and evidence of a struggle on the floor. Her observation compared to Keith’s is more chaotic with the handwriting. It’s a nice way to show how much her skills have grown since the first season. Her moments in the car chases were amusing especially when the king was her passenger.

Keith’s role in this season is lackluster in comparison to his drive to hunt down Erika’s killer in the first season. He’s a plot device to get Koku to kill again and for Lily to search for him. The show doesn’t even show the clues that he got from Kirisame which leads him to the shoot out and it’s disappointing because what makes a mystery great is how the audience can follow the investigation.

The incest definitely gave me whiplash because I don’t see that coming from Keith in the first season. The ending of the first season with him and Lily in the car driving to work gave the impression that he came to terms with the case. Keith seeing the ghosts of Gilbert and Erika in his dehydrated state was okay. He’s aware that he’s the one creating the illusion and that he’s acknowledging his guilt over Erika. His promise with Lily on the baked goods was nice, and it snaps him out of his depressing thoughts. However, after the confirmation of his feelings towards Erika, it gave me mixed feelings about his promise to Lily. Then he starts working on an escape plan using whatever he finds in the tower to make a pulley system for a boat to sail away on.

Then there’s Koku dragged into the conflict by Kirisame which starts this season’s conflict. Koku remains calm for the majority of the show despite the craziness. On occasion, he gets angry with the threats on the lives of those he cares about. He does try to get out from under Kirisame’s thumb. However, the plan fails and Kirisame’s minions pin the senator’s murder on him. Other than that he remains a stale main character with not many moments to prove that he’s a leader.

Izanami being alive was a bit unexpected. The hint was there with the revelation that Kirisame’s left arm is actually Koku’s arm. Their role in this season was nice from providing support and fighting with Yuna against Kazhan. Then there’s Asagiri, the upgrade who copies Koku’s abilities. Their existence only serves to buffer Koku’s position as the true king. There’s also the implication that Asagiri is the key for humans to gain immortality through the other superhumans cells. It was disappointing to see the new character used to tie the political conflict with Keith’s abduction. Not to mention despite being superior in abilities Koku still manages to beat Asagiri.

In conclusion, this second season is a train wreck and it leaves the audience with an unsatisfying ending of Kirisame and Koku battling before the ending song appears. It’s disheartening to see an interesting anime get a short season like this.