is an

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animat ...

(ONA) series created by Production I.G and Kazuto Nakazawa. The series premiered on March 2, 2018, worldwide on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. A second season, titled , premiered on March 18, 2021.

Premise

In a world powered by advanced technology, crime and violence sweep through the archipelagic nation of Cremona (inspired by the real city of

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and other cities of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

such as

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

). Chief among the major players is "Killer B", a vigilante serial killer who has thrown the city into chaos. The stories of the protagonist Koku; Keith Flick, a legendary investigator of the Royal Investigation Service (RIS); and a mysterious criminal organization intertwine on the path to reach their objectives. Koku is a demihuman with the ability to shape-shift parts of his body into wings and blades. Attempting to save his childhood friend Yuna, Keith is attempting to solve the murder of his sister 8 years ago. Both of them are up against the Market Maker, a hidden organization that controls the government of the island to understand the magical powers that Koku has and where they came from.

Voice cast

Production

Netflix announced the series on February 24, 2016, stating that the series would air 12 episodes and debut in 190 countries around the world. It was originally titled ''Perfect Bones''. The title was later revealed to be ''B: The Beginning''. Kazuto Nakazawa directed the series and designed the characters while also serving as key animation supervisor, Yoshinobu Yamakawa also directed the series alongside Nakazawa, Katsuya Ishida wrote the scripts, and Yoshihiro Ike composed the music. The theme song "The Perfect World" was performed by guitarist

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well ...

and

Man with a Mission Man with a Mission (stylized in all caps and sometimes shortened as MWAM) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band which was formed in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, in 2010. The band currently consists of five band members, with stage names of Tokyo Tanaka ( ...

's vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny in collaboration with bassist Ken-Ken and drummer Kōji Fujimoto. The series premiered on March 2, 2018.

Anime Limited Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime, is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, ...

acquired the series for home video distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was announced on May 30 in the Anime Matsuri Panel that it'll also see a North American release.

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

would co-distribute it. It was released on October 2, 2020. During the 2018

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

, Netflix announced that a second season is in production. The second season, titled ''B: Succession'', was released on March 18, 2021. Itsuro Kawasaki is directing the series, with Kazuto Nakazawa serving as chief director, and the rest of the staff and cast are reprising their roles.

Episodes

Season 1: ''The Beginning'' (2018)

Season 2: ''Succession'' (2021)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:B - The Beginning 2018 anime ONAs Anime with original screenplays Japanese adult animated science fiction television series Japanese-language television shows Netflix original anime Production I.G Psychological thriller anime and manga Science fiction anime and manga Suspense anime and manga