King Grey (Makoto Furukawa) ruled his lands with an iron fist, taking what he wanted with a deadly sword and a vicious thirst for blood. He was both feared and revered, never taking his eyes off his enemies or desires for a second. So imagine his surprise when he opens his eyes one day to find…he’s now a baby. Yup, after his mysterious death, Grey has been reborn into the body of a boy named Arthur (Natsumi Fujiwara), the cherished son of doting parents from another world.
Arthur is unable to talk or walk yet but his mind and memories of ruling as Grey remain sharp—so as Arthur grows, he starts to consume as much information as he can get his tiny hands on about this new world and its magical system. Here, mana can be channeled by a select few, and Arthur is determined to become one of them. Through Arthur’s observations of his father’s own powers, we learn alongside him how to channel mana—and in doing so, it sets up what is destined to be a firecracker of a season.
Based on the bestselling original comic series by TurtleMe, The Beginning After the End gets off to a lore-heavy but entertaining start; Grey is absolutely furious that he’s now a helpless little baby and you can’t help but giggle at the absurdity of his predicament. As he lays out Grey’s backstory and learns to navigate the world as Arthur, you see all the struggles of growing up through the lens of an adult, which is surprisingly endearing.
Contrasting the blood-soaked flashbacks of Grey’s former life with Arthur’s peaceful and shiny new world, the animation style works hard to show off the emotions in each character. The before times are sharp and dramatic, using darkness and shadow to devastating effect, while the rebirth era is more rounded and cute as Arthur’s life is filled with love and new things to explore.
Arthur’s parents, Reynolds (Yamato Kinjo) and Alice (Rena Maeda), are caring and kind, indulging his curiosity and watching over him as he tests the boundaries of his new world. Through them, Grey starts to understand the meaning of family and empathy, and how having support isn’t all that bad; this realization is rather cute to watch. While Arthur still has a good few years left to grow, he learns fast and is already becoming acutely aware of his power.
Will the softness and love of Arthur’s upbringing be able to alter Grey’s personality? Can Arthur forge his own path? “The Rebirth of the King” asks some fun questions and you can already tell The Beginning After the End is gonna have a helluva time answering them—but one thing’s for sure, growing up has never looked this complicated.
