B – The Beginning: Season 1/ Episode 2 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
As Minatsuki’s group is given a name, we also witness what the criminals of the kingdom are willing to do to its leaders. Network Netflix Director(s) Kazuto Nakazawa Yoshiki Yamakawa Writer(s) Katsuya Ishida Air Date 3/2/18 Characters Introduced Yukio Tomomichi Nishimura Kai Takahiro Mizushima Eric Hiroki Touchi Bran Toshiyuki Toyonaga Mario Shinataro Tanaka Just Your…
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As Minatsuki’s group is given a name, we also witness what the criminals of the kingdom are willing to do to its leaders.
| Network | ||
| Netflix | ||
| Director(s) | Kazuto Nakazawa
Yoshiki Yamakawa |
|
| Writer(s) | Katsuya Ishida | |
| Air Date | 3/2/18 | |
| Characters Introduced | ||
| Yukio | Tomomichi Nishimura | |
| Kai | Takahiro Mizushima | |
| Eric | Hiroki Touchi | |
| Bran | Toshiyuki Toyonaga | |
| Mario | Shinataro Tanaka | |
Just Your Regular Violin Maker: Koku, Yukio, Kai
So with 90% certainty, I’m pretty sure Koku is Killer B by night and just Koku by day. A boy who, with Lily’s brother and father, makes violins, and perhaps other instruments made out of wood. It is a boring and average life, but Koku seems to know his way around a blade so he’s quite good at it.
A New Threat On The Horizon: Lily, Bran, Kaela, Eric, Keith
With Assemblyman Ed Kyle dead, and B’s signature left behind, alongside beheaded bodies, it makes it clear that the team cannot be passive. Yet, when Bran discovers a page for the Market Makers group, Minatsuki’s, Kaela take no note of it. However, with a threat left behind after the death of Ed Kyle hinting to a gas attack, which could kill those throughout the city, and the body of Ian Reyes left as an example, now things have to get shifted into the next gear. Leading to Eric, who seemingly is the team leader, pushing things into overdrive and making sure to get all the people he can to assist at the charity ball – the location of the next attack.
Meanwhile, Keith once again visits his doctor friend who skates around Keith’s disappearance but rather than use the 10 years noted in the first episode, the doctor references 7. As in 7 years since Keith was looking for something vs. 10 when he was last with his current team – before going to archives. So maybe Keith is far more aware of Koku and the Market Makers than he has let on.
Commentary
Am I the only one who is getting Terror in Resonance (Zankyou no Terror) vibes from Keith’s story? Something about him reminds me of Shibazaki in a way I just can’t put my finger on. But, outside of that, I’m kind of wondering what happened in that three-year gap between Keith leaving the department and the time period the doctor notes he was looking for something. Much less, how and why Keith was transferred to archives? Was it a punishment or a request?
On top of that, I’m finding myself wondering Koku’s MO and, based on the way Keith was looking at the markings at the crime scene, was that even him that did that? For, at this point, it seems Koku is very precise and doesn’t seem like the type to leave a scene a bloody mess. Plus there was Ian upstairs but who is to say Koku didn’t do his thing, hastily leave his mark as he heard people coming, and left?
But, let’s play with the idea he didn’t have anything to do with this, which I lean toward. This leads to the need to question how cohesive a unit are the Market Makers? Is Minatsuki an absolute leader or do they all have their own agendas which aim towards a common goal? He appears in the episode watching the currently unidentified woman, who is clearly part of his group but doesn’t say or do anything.
Kill The Mayor: Lily, Kaela, Koku, Mario
The charity ball isn’t shut down but simply given a massive amount of security, well, massive if you consider maybe 20 or so teams, which don’t look all that huge, checking a building that looks to be more than 20 stories. But, hey, just because this all takes place in a kingdom doesn’t mean the location is rich. Plus, considering how much corruption is talked about, does this place even have money?
Well, the answer is yes and no. In terms of the hotel where the attack happens, after the mayor doesn’t get killed, considering how it looks locked down, this country has money. Also, Kaela, who is trying to hack into the hotel to undo the lockdown, seemingly has the kind of tech many can only dream of. But, as noted, while the terrorist aren’t dumb, they’re not smart either. For with announcing when the gas would get out and that it is in that building, they have giving a location and timeframe for everything. Of which leads everyone to panic and Mario to be lost between keeping the terrorist in his custody and maybe staying closer to the mayor.
For while the people seem more about escaping now, eventually they may give in and rather kill the mayor than have what happened to Ian, which gets broadcasted to them, happen to them. But, while the hysteria and panic is happening inside, Koku is facing off with Minatsuku’s associate on the roof outside. Leading to her revealing that there is something about him they need, but they don’t necessarily need him alive to have it. A strange thing to say but considering she is a strange woman, the river meets the ocean.
Commentary
So, is the whole country corrupt and the goal of Koku and the Market Makers is simply to, by extreme means, rid the country of corruption? It is just, the Market Makers have a more, one size fits all, type of method in mind while Koku is doing it one by one? Also, what did the mayor specifically do? Oh, and come to think of it, what did Ed Kyle’s family do to deserve to be beheaded?
The more we see and learn, it raises more and more flags. Not the kind which are too ridiculous to be explained or comprehend, but we’re definitely given some pertinent questions to ask and hope will be answered soon. Especially in terms of why Koku is so important to the Market Makers and why they can basically take him dead or alive. Are they some sort of imperfections and he is the perfect one? Be it the last or original of the experiments?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs
“They’re not so dumb after all […] but that doesn’t mean they’re smart.”
Highlights
- The Mystery of the Market Makers and Koku
- It remains a gruesome show, but doesn’t overly rely on the violence and instead pushes the animation to make the characters more interesting than no-named characters’ deaths.
On The Fence
- Did they really hire such a small group to cover that entire building and all those people?
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Previous Episode’s Recap
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my take is this… most of what you said was pretty off its clear that koku is killer B that 100% the interesting part of episode two is the on going them of distraction pay special attention to composition anything that is shown in a shot is shown for a reason. the whole thing was done to lure koku out, the fake killing the girl in the extravagant japanese dress the attack on the mayor the lock down everything. The killing with the fake sign was done because the market makers knew that it would be on the news and that the real killer B would see this and immediately respond the party was thrown to create an intimate space for them to identify who killer B was. The dress was used as a hook and bait. When she came out everyone stopped this gave her and the rest of the makers the opportunity to really see what was happening, who was moving, how they moved much like the technology the royal police were using. once they identified koku they made him aware that he was being watched by shooting signals in to his eyes now his attention was fully grabbed he was no longer blending into the crowd they isolated him like predators do to there prey. Now, when the mayor was being attacked this drew the attention away from the market makers, koku and the girl in the extravagant dress and lockdown further isolated the two. the poisonous gas was never important it was all a distraction even the guy who attempted to kill the mayor wasnt in on this plan he was just a pawn. the best part, sorry to stray off course, was that keith was aware of this distraction so when the old man he was with was distracted by the woman in the red dress with her hand in front of her ass he stepped out of the car to free himself of that spell he was hit by a car but he wasnt caught in the chaos. His character is very important his view is completely trustworthy. so, back to the scene if you watch it again you will remember that the guy who attempted to kill the mayor and koku bump into each other just after the little girl and the supposed main leader with the red sign around his eye walk past and she is able to put his face on the screen… leading me to believe that they own this place which was chosen for a reason.. then the girl in the japanese dress utters some word in silence while she looks at him which triggers some kind of eye detection thing and immediately after that the man they refer to as the guy with the blond hair is identified as the suspicious one using the system the royal police developed. After that she has locked in on him the main market makers have left and they have isolated koku adn left the building without anyone knowing everything after that is just pure distraction playing out lol until it cuts to the scene of koku in front of the skateboard girl it all played out beautifully…
I’m really trying to be optimistic with this show. It’s just increasingly a struggle.
I’m so glad you mentioned the Terror in Resonance vibes. Every time that guy comes on screen I just think of the detective from Terror in Resonance. And I know that similarities between characters occur but these guys could literally be cloned from one another at this point in terms of attitude, dress, and back story.
That said, reading this, I think you got way more out of the story than I did. I was struggling just remembering character names, probably because I wasn’t that attached to what I was watching so as soon as I turned it off after episode 2, my brain apparently did an info dump and now I’m struggling to recall anything other than some of the cooler visuals.