The Beginning After the End

The Beginning After the End
Webtoon cover of The Beginning After the End volume 1 featuring young Arthur Leywin
Genre	High fantasy
Author	TurtleMe
Illustrator	Fuyuki23
Publisher	Tapas (digital) Yen Press (print)
Original run	July 7, 2018 – present
Volumes	7
Novel series
Written by	TurtleMe
Published by	Self Published
Original run	May 5, 2017 – present
Volumes	11
Anime television series
Directed by	Keitaro Motonaga
Written by	Takamitsu Kōno
Music by	Keiji Inai
Studio	Studio A-Cat
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Original network	Fuji TV (+Ultra), AT-X
Original run	April 2, 2025 – present
Episodes	9

The Beginning After the End (Japanese: 最強の王様、二度目の人生は何をする?, Hepburn: Saikyō no Ōsama, Futatabime no Jinsei wa Nani o Suru?, lit. 'What Will the Mighty King Do in His Second Life?') is an American web novel series written by TurtleMe and illustrated by Fuyuki23. It began serialization on Tapas in January 2017. A webtoon adaptation, also illustrated by Fuyuki23, began serialization on Tapas in July 2018. Yen Press is publishing the webtoon in English; as of March 2025, seven volumes have been released. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio A-Cat premiered in April 2025.

Premise

It follows the life of the late King Grey after his untimely and mysterious death. Reborn as Arthur Leywin, he seeks to correct his past mistakes in the vibrant new continent of Dicathen, a world of magic and fantastical creatures. Equipped with the knowledge of a powerful king in his mid-thirties, Arthur navigates his new life as the magic-wielding child of two retired adventurers and gains purpose through each of his new experiences—something he lacked in his previous life. When a kind dragon sacrifices her life to protect him, Arthur resolves to live a sincere, kind, and courageous life with those he loves. With the help of a lost elf princess and the Elven Kingdom of Elenoir, Arthur begins his long journey to find his true place in the world.

As the years pass, Arthur becomes more and more comfortable in this world, positioning himself as a young, but respected figure. However, deja-vu strikes as a war brews between Dicathen and the Vritra, a clan of banished deities now ruling over a faraway continent. Arthur must rise as a leader, despite his fear of becoming the war-hardened monster he once was in his past life. As the war rages on, Arthur discovers that he was not reborn to this world by chance...nor was he the only one.

Characters

Leywin family

Arthur Leywin / King Grey

Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara (Arthur), Makoto Furukawa (King Grey) (Japanese); Amber May (Arthur), Christopher Wehkamp (King Grey) (English)

Reynolds Leywin

Voiced by: Yamato Kinjo (Japanese); Jessie James Grelle (English)

Alice Leywin

Voiced by: Rena Maeda (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)

Eleanor Leywin

Sylvie

Voiced by: (Japanese); Kayla Temshiv (English)

Boo

Regis

Twin Horns

Jasmine Flamesworth

Voiced by: Chiaki Omigawa

Durden Walker

Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi

Adam Krensh

Voiced by: Taihi Kimura (Japanese); Nick Huber (English)

Angela Rose

Voiced by: Riko Akechi

Helen Shard

Voiced by: Miyū Ogura

Indrath Clan

Sylvia Indrath

Voiced by: Shiori Izawa (Japanese); Lydia Mackay (English)

Kezess Indrath

Myre Indrath

Vritra Clan

Agrona Vritra

Cadell

Voiced by: (Japanese); John Burgmeier (English)

Elijah Knight / Nico Sever

House Helstea

Vincent Helstea

Tabitha Helstea

Lilia Helstea

House Eralith

Tessia Eralith / Cecilia

Voiced by: Kana Ichinose (Japanese); Abigail Blythe (English)

Virion Eralith

Alduin Eralith

Merial Eralith

House Glayder

Blaine Glayder

Priscilla Glayder

Curtis Glayder

Kathyln Glayder

House Greysunders

Dawsid Greysunders

Glaudera Greysunders

Xyrus Academy

Cynthia Goodsky

Clive Graves

Fable Kristwood

Jarrod Redner

Claire Bladeheart

Theodore Maxwell

Alacryans

Caera Denoir

Media

Novel

Written by South Korean-American writer Brandon Lee, better known as TurtleMe, and illustrated by Fuyuki23, the web novel began serialization on Tapas on January 18, 2017.

Volumes

No.	Title	English release date	English ISBN
1	Early Years	May 5, 2017	978-1-3706-1060-0
2	New Heights	May 5, 2017	978-1-3706-7379-7
3	Beckoning Fates	May 5, 2017	978-1-3708-0253-1
4	Horizon's Edge	May 5, 2017	978-1-3705-0490-9
5	Convergence	October 12, 2019	978-0-4636-6099-7
6	Transcendence	October 12, 2019	978-0-4632-1157-1
7	Divergence	February 15, 2020	978-1-3706-7993-5
8	Ascension	March 29, 2021	978-1-0054-8418-7
8.5	Amongst the Fallen	January 1, 2023	—
9	Reckoning	June 16, 2022	978-1-0056-2569-6
10	Retribution	July 5, 2023	979-8-2150-4126-0
11	Providence	November 8, 2024	979-8-2275-3977-9

Webtoon

A webtoon adaptation of the web novel, also illustrated by Fuyuki23, began serialization on Tapas on July 7, 2018. Fuyuki23 ceased illustrating the webtoon in June 2023. An executive of Kakao Entertainment, Tapas' parent company, said the webtoon adaptation was specifically created for the North American market. At New York Comic Con 2021, Yen Press announced that they would be publishing the webtoon in print. As of March 2025, seven print volumes have been released.

Seasons

Season	Episodes	Premiere date	Finale date
1	25	July 7, 2018	April 20, 2019
2	37	July 31, 2019	March 20, 2020
3	23	May 29, 2020	November 27, 2020
4	40	January 1, 2021	October 15, 2021
5	50	December 31, 2022	January 24, 2023
Jasmine: Wind-Borne (side story)	10	November 4, 2023	December 30, 2023
6	37	May 11, 2024	Present
Overall	222	—	—

Volumes

No.	English release date	English ISBN
1	August 2, 2022	978-1-97-534563-1
2	February 28, 2023	978-1-97-534564-8
3	July 18, 2023	978-1-97-537308-5
4	November 21, 2023	978-1-97-537309-2
5	April 23, 2024	978-1-97-537310-8
6	August 20, 2024	978-1-97-537311-5
7	March 25, 2025	979-8-85-541343-4
8	July 22, 2025	979-8-85-541344-1
9	November 25, 2025	979-8-85-541345-8

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced at New York Comic Con on October 19, 2024. It is produced by Studio A-Cat and directed by Keitaro Motonaga, with Takamitsu Kōno writing series scripts, Masami Sueoka designing the characters, and Keiji Inai composing the music. The first season, slated for a total of 24 episodes divided into two cours, premiered on April 2, 2025, on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block, as well as AT-X. The opening theme song is "Kingsblood", performed by Kala, while the ending theme song is "Mahiru no Tsuki" (真昼の月, lit. 'Midday Moon'), performed by Seiza. Crunchyroll streams the series. An English dub was produced concurrently, which premiered on April 16, 2025.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Original release date
1	"The Rebirth of the King" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Umare Kawaru." (Japanese: 王様、生まれ変わる。)	Keitaro Motonaga	Takamitsu Kono	Goichi Iwahata & Keitaro Motonaga	April 2, 2025 (2025-04-02)
Grey, the most powerful and bloodthirsty king in the world, dies suddenly in his mid-30's of no apparent cause. Floating in the abyss, a voice urges him to seek out the light. He suddenly awakens in an alternate world as newborn Arthur Leywin, first son of retired adventurers Reynolds and Alice. At first he is furious to be reduced to a helpless infant, but he soon discovers humans in this world use an unfamiliar power called magic. Determined to protect himself by gaining as much power as possible Arthur takes any opportunity he can to learn, reading his parents books in secret. He discovers his new home is the continent of Dicathen which contains three kingdoms; Sapin the nation of the humans, Darv the underground nation of the Dwarves and Elenoir the forest nation of the Elves. Having been a master of Ki in his old world Arthur practices magic at every opportunity and casts his first spell at only two years old, injuring Reynolds and destroying their house. Having never experienced family in his former life he is confused at the feelings of guilt and realizes he has learned to love his parents and cries for the first time in either of his two lives.
2	"The King, Under Attack" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Osowareru." (Japanese: 王様、襲われる。)	Honami Inamura	Takamitsu Kono	Takashi Iida	April 9, 2025 (2025-04-09)
Arthur recalls when an emissary from another nation attempted to assassinate him, so he executed the man’s family to spare them years of torture, and the emissary thanked him. Reynolds begins teaching Arthur the sword and is astounded Arthur is already a skilled swordsman. Realizing he and Alice aren’t capable of training Arthur they move to Xyros city to find him an instructor. For the journey they hire their old party Twin Horns as bodyguards. Arthur learns Alice is an especially rare Emitter mage who can use healing magic. Adam, Twin Horn’s spearman, decides to test Arthur’s abilities, which Arthur loses as he is unfamiliar fighting with such a small body. Jasmine, Twin Horn’s scout, notices Arthur use Ki on his legs to increase his speed. After teaching her how she gifts him a knife. They are attacked by bandits seeking Alice. Reynolds reveals Alice is pregnant. A bandit mage attacks and Arthur is thrown from a cliff but uses Jasmine’s knife to drag the mage with him to protect Alice and his future sibling. As he falls he realizes he understands why the emissary thanked him, feeling he can die happy knowing Alice will survive. Arthur awakens in the forest at the bottom of the cliff and is confronted by a terrible monster that greets him by name.
3	"Meeting The King" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Deau." (Japanese: 王様、出会う。)	Keitaro Motonaga	Takamitsu Kono	Bob Shirahata	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
The monster, named Sylvia, claims to be Arthur’s ally and helps him recover. Afterwards she shows Arthur he has been unconscious for days and his parents were forced to continue their journey without him. More time passes and while Arthur wants to leave the forest is full of monsters, and Sylvia cannot leave her cave. Sylvia shows Arthur it is possible to use magic whilst absorbing more from the environment at the same time, allowing spells to be cast indefinitely. However, she refuses to teach him while evil lives within his heart. Eventually, Arthur realizes he cannot repeat his former life of hatred and violence and swears to protect others. Meanwhile, another monster identical to Sylvia searches for her. After much effort Arthur learns Sylvia’s ability. The second monster locates Sylvia who quickly hides Arthur. Sylvia reveals her true form as a white dragon and temporarily freezes time. She reminds Arthur of his promise to help others and gives him a magic crystal, one of her feathers, and a tattoo similar to her own body markings. After an emotional goodbye where Arthur acknowledges her as his adoptive grandmother, she uses the last of her magic to teleport Arthur as close to his parents as she can, unfreezes time and attacks the other monster with an explosion that collapses the cave. Arthur awakens alone in the forest and begins his journey to survive until he finds his parents.
4	"Saved by the King" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Tasukeru." (Japanese: 王様、助ける。)	Shunji Yoshida	Satoko Sekine	Takashi Iida	April 23, 2025 (2025-04-23)
Almost immediately Arthur witnesses slavers transporting a young elf girl. He takes down three slavers in ambush attacks but their leader turns out to be a mage whom Arthur eventually kills after a difficult magical duel. For a moment, the girl reminds him of a woman he once knew. Arthur tries to send the girl to her home of Elenoir but realizes she is too young to travel on her own, forcing him to try lead her there. He learns she is Tessia Eralith and that she wants to train as a mage when she is old enough. Arthur realizes one of the slaver's pet wolves is following them so he makes sure to stay on guard. The trip starts to annoy him since it is preventing him looking for his parents. He also begins to struggle with terrible pains from his mana core. During one such episode that leaves him immobile with pain the wolf suddenly appears with food for them before leaving again. Arthur is confused but Tessia is sure it is thanking them for setting it free. They eventually reach a teleportation portal Tessia recognizes as a gateway to Elenoir and quickly pulls him inside. Before Arthur can do anything he is grabbed by elven soldiers while the suddenly uncaring Tessia watches.
5	"The King's Test" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Tamesareru." (Japanese: 王様、試される。)	Norihiko Nagahama	Ayumi Sekine	Takashi Iida	April 30, 2025 (2025-04-30)
Tessia suddenly asks the soldiers to stop, but they plan to execute him. They are stopped by Tessia's grandfather Virion, the retired elven king, causing Arthur to realize Tessia is a princess. Her parents, King Alduin and Queen Merial, demand Arthur be arrested, but Tessia simply shouts at them until they relent. Arthur remains confused why Tessia showed such hostility towards him when they first arrived. At the castle he explains being separated from his parents and rescuing Tessia from the slavers, though he does not mention Sylvia. Arthur asks to be returned to Sapin, though Alduin explains the only portal to Sapin can't be opened for another five years, so after some more pressure from Tessia he agrees to have guards escort Arthur on foot. Arthur begins to doubt his parents would even want him back. Tessia snaps him out of his sudden depression and he realizes he was being foolish. Virion appears and requests a duel as he is interested in how Arthur defeated the slavers alone. Arthur wins so Virion stubbornly requests a second duel, until Tessia scolds him for bullying. Virion offers to make Arthur his apprentice, as he has determined the pain in Arthur's mana core comes from having acquired the Will of a Beast, and if he doesn't train to use it he will die.
6	"The King's Training" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Shugyō Suru." (Japanese: 王様、修行する。)	Shunji Yoshida	Touko Machida	Takehiro Nakayama	May 7, 2025 (2025-05-07)
In his dreams Arthur experiences the pain from his core as a shadowy monster. Virion decides to take Arthur to visit his old friend. He also warns Arthur that as heir to the throne Tessia has often been manipulated by people pretending to be her friend, so if she trusts him Arthur must be very special to her. Virion's friend is the elven sorceress Rinia Darcassan, a Diviner who can sense both the past and the future. With her help Arthur is able to send a psychic message to his thrilled parents telling them he is alright and will join them in Xyros once his illness is cured. Determined to see them again Arthur agrees to become Virion's apprentice. Tessia insists on showing Arthur around Elenoir but are confronted by several children Tessia knows, including Feyrith Ivsaar, one of the fake friends Virion mentioned. Angry Tessia prefers Arthur over him Feyrith challenges Arthur to a duel. Since refusing would dishonor Virion, Arthur accepts and knocks Feyrith unconscious with one punch. The next day, Arthur starts his Beast Tamer training with Virion, determined to master everything Virion can teach him. Three years later, Arthur and Tessia have grown up and become more powerful with their abilities.
7	"The King Says Goodbye" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Owakare Suru." (Japanese: 王様、お別れする。)	Keitaro Motonaga	Sekine Satoko	Bob Shirahata	May 14, 2025 (2025-05-14)
Virion reveals Arthur cannot use sorcery as the Beast Will disrupts the balance between his body and his core. After three years of training Virion decides it is time to awaken the Beast Will, allowing Arthur to tame animals. However, awakening Beast Will causes an explosion of magic and Arthur is forced to admit his Beast Will came from a dragon. Virion reveals Arthur should be able to leave Elenoir as the Sapin portal is being opened 2 years early for a massive cultural exchange between the elves, dwarves and humans. That night, the crystal Arthur got from Sylvia hatches an infant black dragon which accepts him as her father. Arthur names her Sylvie. Virion deduces awakening his Beast Will caused Sylvie to hatch. Arthur encounters Feyrith for the first time since their duel. It transpires Feyrith actually wanted to be Arthur's friend. Tessia is sad many children like Feyrith are taking part in the cultural exchange, but she cannot go due to security risks. Virion gives Arthur a compass with the Elenoir Royal Seal allowing him to visit Elenoir whenever he wants. Tessia almost misses her chance to say goodbye before Arthur departs. Arthur reaches Xyros, the flying city built on a floating island, and heads for his parents new home where he meets his little sister Eleanor.
8	"Reunited with the King" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Saikai Suru." (Japanese: 王様、再会する。)	Norihiko Nagahama	Touko Machida	Takashi Iida	May 21, 2025 (2025-05-21)
Arthur relates the story of his absence to his thrilled parents, except for Sylvia whom he keeps secret. Reynolds, who now works security at an auction house, is curious about Arthur’s power which is almost equal to his at such a young age. They are visited by Reynolds’ boss Vincent Halstea, his wife Tabitha and daughter Lilia. Vincent is astounded by Arthur’s power which easily surpasses the 12 year old students from the Xyros Magic Academy. Reynolds requests a practise duel using his fire magic but Arthur fights him to a stalemate using advanced fire magic and water magic. As it is exceedingly rare to control more than one element Vincent suggests Arthur be enrolled at Xyros Academy, even offering to pay the fees himself and ensure he be accepted despite only being 8 years old. Lilia introduces Arthur to the servants, who reveal Lilia often worries about her future, since her parents are desperately hoping she will awaken a mana core and become a successful mage. The next morning Arthur is visited by Twin Horns who are all glad to see him, especially Jasmine, who regrets she couldn’t stop Arthur falling off the cliff. Seeing them makes Arthur curious about the adventurer life, which would allow him to visit the other kingdoms.
9	"The King Teaches" Transliteration: "Ōsama, Oshieru." (Japanese: 王様、教える。)	TBA	TBA	TBA	May 28, 2025 (2025-05-28)
While shopping Arthur feels a presence from a store selling extracted beast cores. Lilia has long desired one as they sometimes contain beast wills, but her parents consider this cheating when she should be focused on awakening her own core. Lilia sneaks away to another store to secretly buy a cheap core. Arthur tries to dissuade her in case it doesn’t work, and their argument disturbs boys from the Academy. A fight almost occurs but the boys leave after realising Lilia is Vincent’s daughter, a financial donor to the Academy. Vincent assures Arthur the fight won’t affect his entry to the Academy. Lilia becomes upset, feeling Vincent is only sending Arthur as a substitute for her, since she can’t use magic. Later, she apologises to Arthur for her jealousy. Deciding to help, Arthur pretends to have sent Lilia to Elenoir for training. At first Vincent and Tabitha are furious but soon realise they pressured Lilia unfairly. Lilia reveals she never actually left; she just wanted them to understand. Vincent apologises and promises to support Lilia whatever future she chooses. Lilia decides for herself to attend the academy so Arthur uses Virion’s technique to forcibly awaken the dormant cores in both Lilia and Eleanor. Vincent throws a party to celebrate. Meanwhile, a sinister man takes an interest in Vincent’s auction house.

Reception

Mel Lake of Multiversity Comics praised the main character's journey, particularly its psychological aspects. Lake also praised the artwork, particularly its fight scenes, backgrounds, and faces. Vanessa Piña of Screen Rant compared the series to Solo Leveling, while also describing its aesthetic and storytelling as "distinct".

Alex Trent of Game Rant reported that 40,000 fans have signed a petition demanding the anime series be remade due to disappointment with the animation quality of the series.

External links

• Web novel at Tapas
• Official anime website
• The Beginning After the End (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia