{"id":662768,"date":"2025-04-15T09:24:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/maybe-itll-get-better-in-the-middle\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T09:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:24:53","slug":"maybe-itll-get-better-in-the-middle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/maybe-itll-get-better-in-the-middle\/","title":{"rendered":"Maybe It’ll Get Better in the Middle?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As someone who\u2019s not too well-acquainted with the reincarnation genre, I started watching The Beginning After the End<\/em> unsure of my expectations for the story. After viewing the first two episodes, I am just as unsure as I was at the start. The show introduces an interesting world full of magical dangers and adages on human connections, but although I enjoyed the antics of a once-mighty king trapp<\/a>ed in a toddler\u2019s overpowered body, I found myself losing interest in the plot in places where the animation didn\u2019t supplement it.<\/p>\n

Based on the hit webcomic by TurtleMe<\/a>, The Beginning After the End <\/em>introduces King Grey, who, after mysteriously falling to his untimely death, is reincarnated as a baby named Arthur Leywin on the continent of Dicathen. Still retaining the memories of his past life, Arthur grows up in the care of his new parents, Alice and Reynolds, and through observing them he learns that humans in this world can possess magic powers, or mana. With the knowledge of his previous self\u2019s powers and the help of his parents\u2019 old party, the Twinhorns, Arthur makes it his mission to awaken and master control over his mana.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 \u201cThe Beginning After the End\u201d Production Committee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lot of fans seemed to be disappointed after seeing the art direction of the anime<\/a> when the trailers were released, but after watching the first two episodes, I personally found the simpler character design and backgrounds to possess their own charm. It felt reminiscent of anime from the early 2010s, and this slightly older feel added a sense of nostalgic comfort. Arthur\u2019s giant blue orbs for eyes did take some getting used to, but I eventually found the overall design of Arthur quite cute, even humorous when paired with the low, matter-of-fact narration from King Grey inside of him. Though the art style does stray from the more ethereal rendering of the comic\u2019s recent volumes, it actually seems to emulate the style of the comic\u2019s initial chapters quite well, remaining faithful to the source material.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The complaints about the animation that I do agree with, however, are the ones about the lack of movement. Several of the scenes are just a string of tableaux rather than actually <\/span>animated<\/span><\/i> scenes, which doesn\u2019t work for a story that involves a plethora of magic and combat. This isn\u2019t to say that there aren\u2019t <\/span>any<\/span><\/i> scenes with smooth animation \u2014 in fact, there are a few scenes that are executed quite well. I really enjoyed the fiery displays of Reynolds harnessing his mana to move the earth, and the cosmic supernova Arthur materialized while activating his mana that blew up his house in the process. In the places where pieces were physically moving across the screen, the art complemented the magic of the plotline.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There were a handful of moments where the animation could have added a hint more of this liveliness. For example, in the scene where Arthur went into town with Alice and gaped at a man parading his fire-like mana around, the flames could have flickered as they wrapped around them, dancing through the air like a flowing kite, rather than relying on another static Ken Burns transition. When Arthur\u2019s family and the Twinhorns get attacked by bandits in episode 2, perhaps we could\u2019ve seen the arrows whoosh through the air and lodge themselves deep in the enemies\u2019 flesh, rather than seeing only the frames of before and after the arrows were shot. These small movements would\u2019ve elevated the anime in leaps and bounds, and without them, even the most intense parts of the plot fell flat.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a9 \u201cThe Beginning After the End\u201d Production Committee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite these pitfalls, the story itself has an interesting premise, especially in its mysteries about the different types of mana and King Grey\u2019s past. I found myself particularly intrigued by the premise that Grey is a king from a futuristic society and not a medieval era. Many of his memories show a dull world filled with floating blimps and desolate roads, and the beginning of episode 2 shows that his past attendants were thin, cyclopean robots. Despite these technological advancements, Grey is shown using a sword to commit his heinous acts of violence. It piqued my curiosity and made me wonder whether this ultra-technological, dystopian kingdom of his would ever be explored in Arthur\u2019s timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

These explorations of Grey\u2019s journey, as well as the ominous appearance of a red-eyed beast at the end of both episodes 1 and 2, hint at a larger conflict that is sure to develop in an interesting direction. But have all of these plot points and animation choices in combination hooked me enough that I\u2019ll remember to tune in for next week\u2019s episode? That, I\u2019m not so sure about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I know there is a dedicated audience for TurtleMe\u2019s original work, I hope this adaptation recognizes its strong points and hones them further in its remaining episodes. So far, it\u2019s not there yet \u2014 but maybe it\u2019s a case of playing the long game<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Beginning After the End<\/em> is now streaming on Crunchyroll<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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