My expectations for The Beginning After the End were never on top of the world but what I saw was worse than what I had anticipated. The pacing had always been something that bothered me, so I thought it would be best to keep an almost unchangeable criticism on the side and see what the anime would have to offer. Much to my dismay, there was little left to one’s imagination.
The animation quality was worse for wear, adding to what looked like a PowerPoint Presentation in motion. It was clunky and underwhelming, making the entire anime lack a sense of flow. In fact, were I to close my eyes and listen to the entire anime, I wouldn’t have missed a single instance.
There were a lot of issues with this episode, unfortunately, a lot more significant than any praise I have for it. I am always skeptical when it comes to Isekai because it becomes difficult to nail an idea that hasn’t been overused too many times already. Provided, The Beginning After the End came out during a time when Isekai weren’t as prominent.
The Beginning After the End is much too bland
When the light novel and even the manhwa of The Beginning After the End first came out, Isekai wasn’t as popularised as it is now. The concept was relatively fresh and that’s why the story was able to find such a strong footing. Contrary to its success in different media, the anime fell short of both quality animation and storytelling.
With a narrator in use, there are two things that could easily ruin the flow of a story. One, the voice-over is too much to ever focus on the actual plot, and two, the narration is scarce enough for you to forget it even existed. The anime falls into the former category. I could have my eyes closed, pretending I was watching a podcast, and the more King Grey spoke, the more it became obvious to me that show, not tell might not have even crossed the minds of the creators.
‘The Beginning After the End’ Betrayed Its Own Legacy by Giving A-Cat Studio the Reigns to Its Anime
Knowing that the author was involved in the making of the anime, it baffles me how this was so easily approved. When a project has so much anticipation, the pressure also increases with it. The animation was something I could not get over, especially because of how much Arthur’s narration was killing me. It was just nonstop talking.
Poor execution becomes inexcusable
The entire first episode acted as an introduction to Arthur’s new world, but in ways that made it seem just so boring. There were minor moments where things were still looking stronger, but that faded just as quickly as any hope I had with the anime. With so much talking and telling, the world itself felt flat. That is, the more they try to add depth to it in one episode, the more cliché it comes out to be.
I would be outright to say this, The Beginning After the End needed an anime adaptation well before 2025. In a time where Isekai like Shangri-La Frontier and Mushoku Tensei have such a strong hold on their audience, an anime like this just seems basic, despite how revolutionary the idea was when it first came out.
There were moments where attempts were made for comedy, but it all fell flat. I felt a little sad seeing those jokes that could have been executed well but simply weren’t. There was so much that piled up, turning it into an unfortunate mess.
I will tune into the next episode, of course. However, my expectations aren’t as high as they were before. Arthur has a long way to go, and he has only just tapped into his mana. Considering that he is barely a 3-year-old, we can hope to see immense growth in the forthcoming episodes.
Rating: 2/10
The Beginning After the End is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
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