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REVIEW: B: The Beginning


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TheJeffrey



Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:02 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed the series... going to give netflix a plug for continuing to invest quality anime for us
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:13 am Reply with quote
I was entertained and generally liked this show. Its big problem is that it tried to juggle to many plot points and genres. But I would like to see more seasons, especially if the production values continue to be this polished. And I also liked Lily, even if she is a clichéd character.
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Scalfin



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 249
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:37 am Reply with quote
So, how much did the title influence the final grade?
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LegitPancake



Joined: 26 Jun 2017
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Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:52 am Reply with quote
I definitely recommend the English dub to anyone, even someone like me who prefers Japanese most of the time. It was very solid as the reviewer said.
As to the plot direction, I have to say that spoiler[the doctor, Gilbert Ross, being the main serial killer was rather predictable. His character design and voice just scream sinister, and the wall of creepy x-rays behind his desk was super weird.]
Overall, I gave the show a 7/10, as the awesome animation, action scenes, music, and voice acting made up for the unfocused, messy story. And yes, Lily was great.
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:22 pm Reply with quote
It's funny to me that this and AICO came out so close to each other because they felt like two very opposite efforts, honestly. B: The Beginning was a writing mess that was disjointed and nonsensical, but ended up being consistently entertaining, while AICO was tightly written and paced, but ended up being somewhat dry and not all that entertaining. Of course, I'm not really into hard scifi so I'm kind of predisposed to thinking that most of it is pretty dry and uninteresting.
I think I preferred AICO though, in the end, because it at least enjoyed wrapping my head around its concepts.
Now it's time for Children of the Whales... I need Netflix to stop now, I do not have time for all of this! I'd be good with one new series to binge per month or something, that seems like a good pace. Having this many series show up all within a month or so of each other, including Apocrypha part 2, and even Kakegurui, is more than most people can keep up with, I think.
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Raebo101



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:33 pm Reply with quote
relyat08 wrote:
It's funny to me that this and AICO came out so close to each other because they felt like two very opposite efforts, honestly. B: The Beginning was a writing mess that was disjointed and nonsensical, but ended up being consistently entertaining, while AICO was tightly written and paced, but ended up being somewhat dry and not all that entertaining.


Also funny is that B: the Beginning has a great dub and A.I.C.O.'s dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard Smile
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:
Also funny is that B: the Beginning has a great dub and A.I.C.O.'s dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard Smile

Oh, trust me, I'll be talking about the latter quite a bit when that review's turn comes up. Rolling Eyes

EDIT: And Netflix dumping all this stuff over the course of a week irks me, too. I still have yet to get to the second half of Fate/Apocrypha because of this all suddenly coming up. Razz


Last edited by Key on Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:38 pm Reply with quote
relyat08 wrote:
while AICO was tightly written and paced, but ended up being somewhat dry and not all that entertaining. Of course, I'm not really into hard scifi so I'm kind of predisposed to thinking that most of it is pretty dry and uninteresting.
I think I preferred AICO though, in the end, because it at least enjoyed wrapping my head around its concepts.

I am a fan of sci-fi, but I agree that A.I.C.O. felt dull. I actually liked the concept, but I wish it had been 22-24 episodes long because it felt like there was a better story if it had more time to develop. Its best attribute is the visuals from Bones.

Quote:
I need Netflix to stop now, I do not have time for all of this! I'd be good with one new series to binge per month or something, that seems like a good pace.

Agreed
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GoldCrusader



Joined: 25 Apr 2017
Posts: 1021
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:08 pm Reply with quote
I really liked B. It's easily the best Netflix original of the year so far imo. The characters were amazing. I was a big fan of the detective crew and Koku. Keith, Boris and Lily were also some of my personal favorites. The dub was phenomenal with lots of performance I really enjoyed. The OST was the best part though. I have been listening to the album non-stop on Spotify since I finished B. The Perfect world is easily the best song of the year so far.

AICO in comparison, I also enjoyed, but that dub. My lord. I didn't last all of episode 1. Netflix should never, ever, use that dubbing studio again.
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:16 pm Reply with quote
I'm glad I watched this series, but have to admit that the two best parts about it that kept me glued since the 1st episode were Lily and that kick-ass ED song.
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3980
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 4:26 pm Reply with quote
pachy_boy wrote:
I'm glad I watched this series, but have to admit that the two best parts about it that kept me glued since the 1st episode were Lily and that kick-ass ED song.

Dubbed Lily is so good. I'll be keeping an eye out for her VA's future roles.
And yeah, it's got a great ED.

A little over halfway through and quite enjoying this, pretty much agree with the strengths and weakness mentioned in the review so far. The excellent visuals/art style really makes both sides cool and quite entertaining to make up for the connection shortcoming of the two parts, as has been said, especially if they are both mostly complete even if not a cohesive whole. And the dub and the music being great really contributes as well.

Really cool to see Kazuto Nakazawa's modern setting art style again as this looked sharp just like Terror in Resonance did (Champloo looked great too of course).

Raebo101 wrote:
Also funny is that B: the Beginning has a great dub and A.I.C.O.'s dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard Smile

.

angelmcazares wrote:
I am a fan of sci-fi, but I agree that A.I.C.O. felt dull. I actually liked the concept, but I wish it had been 22-24 episodes long because it felt like there was a better story if it had more time to develop. Its best attribute is the visuals from Bones.

Agreed.

Heck, I didn't even mind that some of it was rather familiar if it had just had more time to tackle it better and be more exciting as I like these kind of shows. It's still a pretty quality production and deserved a much better dub.
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pajmo9



Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 630
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:43 pm Reply with quote
I just finished this. There was a lot going on but I never had any trouble following it and it was a consistently entertaining show. I really hope we get a second season to this especially after that reveal at the very end.
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HandofBobb



Joined: 06 Jan 2010
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:21 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I mainlined this series when it showed up about a week ago, I really got into the detective story half of it. The supernatural thriller half didn't quite thrill me as much, but it wasn't terrible. Something about the show just hit me in the nostalga, it really seemed like something from 10 or so years ago.

spoiler[But really, Kieth couldn't have shot him in the leg?]
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Deacon Blues



Joined: 09 Mar 2005
Posts: 381
Location: Albuquerque, NM
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:50 pm Reply with quote
I still wonder why the English voice actor for Gilbert Ross wasn't credited right away (heck, ANN doesn't even list him yet CrunchyRoll does). His voice sounds familiar but I couldn't place it (no, it's not because of Naruto because I don't watch that... I don't recognize any of his other works).

All in all I really enjoyed the series. The chaos and insanity of the back and forth story is what kept me roped in. I'm still wondering how a "sub" rating of a B works here on the site anyways but go figure. It's good to see animation studios being able to flex more muscle with smoother animation and little to no gaffs when it comes to animation quality. Their budgets really shine through nicely versus a TV broadcast.
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Animechic420



Joined: 25 Sep 2012
Posts: 1724
Location: A Cave Filled With Riches
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:20 pm Reply with quote
LegitPancake wrote:
I definitely recommend the English dub to anyone, even someone like me who prefers Japanese most of the time. It was very solid as the reviewer said.
As to the plot direction, I have to say that spoiler[the doctor, Gilbert Ross, being the main serial killer was rather predictable. His character design and voice just scream sinister, and the wall of creepy x-rays behind his desk was super weird.]
Overall, I gave the show a 7/10, as the awesome animation, action scenes, music, and voice acting made up for the unfocused, messy story. And yes, Lily was great.

You can sometimes tell who the villain's gonna be depending on the main lead. spoiler[It's funny how white haired characters are always portrayed as villains. And how their opposite has dark hair.]
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