The Beginning After the End

Watching The Beginning After The End felt like walking into a story I should have connected with on paper, it had everything I typically love: fantasy, reincarnation, magic, inner conflict. I went in hoping for something that would stir curiosity, maybe even a little inspiration. But as the episodes went on, I found myself feeling more and more detached, waiting for a spark that never really came.

There’s something especially frustrating about watching a story with so much potential fall flat. At first, I tried to be patient. The show starts with the idea of a powerful king reincarnated into a new world, a new life, with the memories of everything he once was. That concept carries a quiet kind of weight the promise of reflection, redemption, and personal growth. I wanted to see that internal struggle, that push and pull between who he was and who he’s becoming. But instead, what I got felt hollow, like a world trying to be deep without really saying anything.

The pacing was the first thing that started to wear me down. It was slow painfully so. The early episodes seemed to drag through Arthur’s childhood in a way that felt indulgent. I kept thinking, when is the real story going to begin? Every moment felt stretched out, like the show was stalling for time. And as it kept meandering, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was waiting for something it had no real intention of delivering.

Eventually, that wait started turning into confusion. The show doesn’t do a great job guiding you. Scenes jump around without clear purpose or transition, and character motivations are often murky at best. I found myself rewinding more than once, trying to piece things together trying to care. But the more I tried to understand what was happening, the more I realized I wasn’t emotionally invested. I wasn’t connecting. The story didn’t make it easy.

And then there’s the animation. (buns)

It’s hard to talk about this without sounding harsh, but visually, the anime just isn’t up to par....not for today’s standards. There are moments where the art feels static, almost like you're watching a webtoon with minimal movement rather than a full-fledged animated series. Fights are supposed to be a major draw, but they come off as stiff and anticlimactic. The color palette is fine, the character designs are passable but overall, it feels undercooked, like something rushed out before it was ready.

There’s a sense throughout the show that it’s trying to be something bigger than it is, but it doesn’t know how to get there. Arthur is presented as someone special, someone with knowledge beyond his years, but his growth is mostly told to us instead of shown. He breezes through challenges too easily, and the supporting characters feel thin like placeholders more than people.

And maybe that’s what bothered me most. I wanted to feel something. I wanted to see this reborn king wrestle with his past, stumble, maybe even suffer a little in a way that felt real. But The Beginning After The End never really went there. It touched on interesting ideas power, identity, responsibility but it only skimmed the surface, like it was afraid to dig too deep.

The more I watched, the more I kept thinking about what could’ve been. With better direction, more thoughtful pacing, and stronger visual storytelling, this could have been something great. It could have been a quiet, introspective fantasy that still delivered excitement and depth. But instead, it ends up feeling like a shallow copy of stories that have done it better.

By the time I reached the end, I didn’t feel excited for what comes next I felt indifferent. I don’t say this lightly, but I don’t think it deserves a second season. Not unless something changes in a big way. It doesn’t feel earned.

So I’m giving it a four. Not because it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen it isn’t but because it left me feeling empty and indifferent. It was slow, confusing, and visually disappointing. It didn’t move me. And for a story about starting over and finding a new path, it somehow never managed to find its own.

Edit: Unfortunately a second season is released, it’s somehow worse.