The Beginning After the End Season 2
Synopsis
After being granted a second life, now-teenage Arthur Leywin—an unparalleled, ruthless king in his previous life—has finally become an adventurer with the help of his mentor, Jasmine Flamesworth. Although he is still far from his ultimate goal of becoming more powerful than in his past life, Arthur demonstrates remarkable skill in adventuring, exceeding everyone's expectations. Meanwhile, Arthur's elven friend and Elenoir Kingdom's princess, Tessia Eralith, has also started adventuring. Due to the prolonged hostility between humans and elves, her duty is to spread goodwill and create friendly relations with human kingdoms. However, as a mysterious group threatens to harm the races' fragile relationship, both Arthur and Tessia soon find themselves becoming pivotal parts of a larger change for the better. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience Consensus
Audience opinion is highly divided, primarily between anime-only viewers who find the show enjoyable and long-time fans of the source material who are deeply dissatisfied with the adaptation. While some praise the story and protagonist's growth, many are critical of the animation, pacing, and significant changes from the original work, leading to a polarized reception.
Strengths
- Protagonist's growth and evolution are consistently highlighted and encouraging.
- The story's expansion offers more insight into world-building, with bigger conflicts and political interactions.
- The power fantasy and sense of progression are well-executed, with a competent protagonist who still has limits.
- Some action choreography shows improvement and tells a narrative within the fights.
- The ending theme song and visuals are praised as fitting for the title.
Weaknesses
- Animation quality is frequently criticized as bad, subpar, or average, with excessive VFX masking flaws.
- Pacing is inconsistent, often described as slow, all over the place, too compact, or rushed, with unnecessary filler.
- Significant deviations from and omissions of source material (manga/novel) lead to a story that is unrecognizable to fans.
- Character development is lacking, and characters are perceived as dumber or less intimidating than their source counterparts.
- Sound design and music are generally considered bad or uninspired, with weak voice acting for the main character.