Of Kings and Madmen

B: The Beginning is an anime I had started watching on a whim since it had no real summary, therefore I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I can now safely say I've found a (sort of) hidden gem.

If you're a fan of psychological anime, this is definitely for you. In addition to it being a psychological thriller, it is also a murder mystery. It combines elements you wouldn't think to put together but it works magnificently.

I'll be honest, I was confused for the entirety of the first five episodes of this 12-episode anime. Even though it is quite a short anime, it takes some time to really get into it. But once you're hooked, you won't be able to stop yourself from binging till the end.

The storyline is about Koku, the "black-winged king" and a genius detective named Keith Flick. Keith works for the Royal Investigation Service (RIS) and is in search of something, but he's not sure what it is. RIS works to hunt down a terrorist organisation called the "Market Maker". This group consists of extremely powerful non-human creatures and as the story unfolds, you'll find them more and more disturbing.

The characters are interesting but I must warn you now that you should not get attached to any character easily. Lily, another member of RIS, is the brightest and most lovable character. She brings light to balance the otherwise extremely dark tones of the anime. This anime is full of plot twists to the point that you'll have to sit and compose yourself after every episode. Your sanity will be tested and you might even start questioning humanity.

B: The Beginning is not for the faint of heart. There is an exceptional amount of gore and some scenes can be hard to digest. The action scenes are quite repetitive but as you keep watching you'll understand why the repetition makes sense.

The art style is nice, the animation average at best. The opening is fittingly creepy. The ending song is, however, an English song that just seems misplaced. B: The Beginning has been produced by Production I.G and is available on Netflix.

As you can tell from the title, the story does not end in just twelve episodes. It doesn't end in a cliffhanger either but it does leave you wanting more. Luckily enough, Netflix has announced that a second season is already in the works.