While it may be a touch too early to say, The Beginning After The End has to be one of this year’s biggest flops. The manhwa that was originally carefully constructed by TurtleMe and arranged to have an anime adaptation under a smaller company couldn’t have been dealt a larger injustice with its animation. Fans have long pushed past the heartbreak to speed along the conclusion of this anime by memeing it to heaven and back, with most opting to just reread the original since it offers more in of art style.

The Beginning After The End is a highly acclaimed webtoon that premiered shortly around the time of Solo Leveling, succeeding as the manhwa’s biggest competitor and often even overtaking Jinwoo’s journey in popularity from time to time. Following the tyrannical transmigrator King Grey, he is reborn as an infant in his next life and aims to do more with his life to explore what was missing in his previous one, opting to learn magic, explore the new world he’s raised in, and experience what it means to have loved ones and a family who sincerely cares about him.

TBATE should have been an easy ticket for any aspiring studio to take full advantage of, given its incredible story, endearing cast, and a fanbase that was more than eager to consume it at a much grander medium. What was delivered, however, caused an uproar unlike any other within the fandom at the mistreatment of a beloved series.

The Beginning After The End’s Animation Left a Lot to be Desired

However, The Artstyle and Voiceover are Quite Commendable and Attractive

At a glance, The Beginning After the End’s art actually appears quite beautiful, especially in promotional art. It’s bright, vibrant, and alive, if not having taken on a more simplified style so that it could become easier to animate without all of the advanced rendering steps that are seen in the manhwa. The overall look of this isekai follows a fairly clean aesthetic compared to others of its genre that allow the depth of the story and the animation to weave interest into its audience.

Even its voiceover is done quite well with the deep, gravely tones of King Grey expressing his frustrations of “life’s series of small torments” while he’s being cleaned up and changed by his mother as a newborn. It serves as a great counterbalance to the child’s cries from Arthur that accompany the adult’s grumbling. For all the gravitas and terror he once carried throughout a past era, he’s now a hapless baby, and it’s reflected well within the dubbing. There are good elements within TBATE’s anime, but where it falls short is the most important part: its animation.

The Beginning After The End’s biggest downfall is that, for an anime in 2025, the movements of its characters and scene direction are mostly a series of shifting stills with added visual effects. Yes, the shot looks good as a replica of the manhwa, but the show doesn’t bring it to life by expanding past that. Fans have compared its beginning to Mushoku Tensei since, as isekais, they start similarly, yet they are leagues different when analyzing the versatile motion of the camera, frame rate, and how one draws in magic rather than relying solely on CGI and aftereffects.

Side-by-side, Mushoku Tensei is shown to have better animation that is more visually appealing and digestible to the viewer. While The Beginning After The End does look good, it loses that value the moment people press play and are subjected to a slideshow presentation of the manhwa they’ve already read.

2025’s Most Anticipated Isekai Deserved Better Treatment After Rival’s Success

Manhwa Can Be Successfully Adapted and Gain Earned Notoriety

From the moment the first look was shared at IGN’s Fan Fest, The Beginning After The End’s following was already prepared for what was going to be a poorly adapted anime. They picked up on the lack of movement of the fight between King Grey and a challenger, then mournfully joked about how the creatures in the series were going to be as CGI as the crumbling buildings and floating airships. While many tried to stay optimistic, each new episode that dropped only solidified their concerns.

As fans would rise to claim that the anime should be canceled and remade by a different studio, TBATE’s creator, TurtleMe, would step forward to address the controversy. He intended to choose a smaller studio like A-Cat from the beginning because he believed it would give him more control over his property without having the story stray too far from how it was originally written. The anime would not be discontinued, instead, TurtleMe would ask that his audience the anime as he has done after expressing how difficult a task it was to have gotten it adapted this far.

While the concerns of losing one’s work to the bigger picture of a large studio have merit, there exists an incredible example of all the things that can go right by shaking the hand of the right company. Solo Leveling has far sured its original manhwa fanbase by breaking ground to anime fans who both knew of it and are new to it. Not only that, but because of how well it was received, 20 additional webtoons were also greenlit for future adaptations.

Chugong worked alongside A-1 Pictures to faithfully recreate his manhwa, both in of the art style fans were used to and every direction the story would take, even taking measures to better the material in light of this second chance. In the same vein, a whole team is on standby for One Piece’s live-action adaptation, faithfully recreating Oda’s magnum opus with drastic changes only being made to circumvent how long the series is without taking away the details that made this series a success.

Where Will The Beginning After The End Go Next?

Fans Resign Themselves to a Disappointing First Season

The Beginning After The End has already been approved for 24 episodes, with 12 debuting in its first cour and the second half to release at a later date in time. Perhaps the studio A-Cat will take heed of the criticism leveled against it and return with a stronger foundation to live up to the expectations set by fans. Given its quiet production, the studio couldn’t have expected just how many viewers the anime would bring from TBATE’s manhwa and isekai-loving fans.

The anime is in no way a lost cause since The Beginning After The End’s story only gets stronger with time, though the beginning is notorious for its slow start. It still has potential with the reputable voices that did a great job in characterizing Arthur, Tessia, Alice, Reynolds, and King Grey, and decent art that falls in line with the manhwa’s later style. All the ingredients for success are within reach, now the product just needs the time and patience of animation to truly bring The Beginning After The End the recognition it deserves.