The fans of The Beginning After The End have been looking forward to an anime adaptation for years. The story of Arthur Leywin, a reborn king in a magical world, is actually perfectly suited for a visually strong anime series. However, the implementation by Studio A-Cat has been heavily criticized for its lack of animations.
Which anime is it about? The Beginning After The End (short TBATE) is based on the web novel of the same name by TurtleMe, which later also became highly successful as a webtoon. The story tells of Arthur Leywin, who is reborn in a magical world as a former king with all his knowledge and experiences.
The series promises epic battles and a complex fantasy setting. Therefore, fans hoped that the anime adaptation would be as strong as that of Solo Leveling. However, disappointment followed quickly.
What is the problem with the implementation? The series premiered on April 2, 2025, on Crunchyroll. So far, only two episodes have been released, but fans are already disappointed. Instead of lively action and magic, the anime mostly offers still images, slow camera pans, and the characters often only move minimally.
The criticism of the anime adaptation of TBATE, however, was not surprising, as many fans expressed skepticism already after the first trailer in March. There were fears that the series would suffer from mediocre production quality, but it has now seemingly gotten much worse than expected.
“The animation only happens in our imagination”
What are the fans saying? In TBATE, the community feels reminded of a slideshow and not of a real anime series. In a post, a user stated: “At first, this type of animation might have been okay, but when things really get going, I don’t want to watch a slideshow anymore” (- ManyRepulsive5733 via Reddit).
Others also voiced their criticism and commented on the new series:
- “I thought I was watching an anime – it’s just a manga with sound effects and voiceovers.” (- DDChak via Reddit)
- “To be honest: This is a slap in the face for all loyal fans of the webtoon. The animation has even gotten worse than I feared.” (- dracoXdrayden via Reddit)
- “Honestly, I’d rather just read the manhwa. Such a miserable adaptation. And now we have to hear forever how Solo Leveling is so much better than TBATE.” (- RevanR via Reddit)
However, there are also fans who see things a bit more relaxed.
“I really don’t understand what all of you are complaining about”
Can the series still turn things around? Since only two episodes have been released so far, it remains to be seen how The Beginning After The End will develop in the coming episodes. Many fans hope that the animation will improve over time. At the same time, there are also voices that do not see the series as negatively so far. It is said that the animators simply oriented themselves on the original manhwa style. Numerous viewers praise:
- “To be honest? It doesn’t look that bad at all. It may not be a highlight of the season, but so far it doesn’t seem as bad as many have immediately assumed here.” (- FarawayHerbalist via Reddit)
- “So far, it’s actually quite good. I got baited by the haters and thought it would be complete trash – but so far it’s really solid, and I’m actually looking forward to the next episodes.” (- justforgetmeknot via Reddit)
- “I really don’t understand what all of you are complaining about. The animation is perfectly fine, and the opening is also quite okay – maybe not top tier, but who cares. The important scenes, like the mana core and the abilities, are well animated, and that’s what counts the most.” (- xtorreag via Reddit)
How Studio A-Cat and the series will perform in the future remains to be seen. However, it is clear: the expectations are high. The upcoming episodes must show whether TBATE can grow beyond slideshow level and meet the high standards of the source material, not only narratively but also visually.
While The Beginning After The End is still struggling to meet expectations, another franchise casts long shadows ahead. After the anime Solo Leveling was already a huge success, the game is now also drawing attention: The story of the most-watched anime is so interesting that 60 million people are playing it
