The Beginning After The End Discussion

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Apr 2017

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This seems to be Mushoku Tensei except the MC isn't a complete degenerate.

Mar 30, 8:39 AM

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Feb 2019

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Reply to runec

This seems to be Mushoku Tensei except the MC isn't a complete degenerate.

@runec Sounds more like Dyonisus I of Syracuse getting reincarnated. A guy who was completely competent in his former life is more like the anti-Mushoku Tensei.

Mar 30, 8:47 AM

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Aug 2011

6402

From the look of things, at least two seasons are being planned for this show. Otherwise, there would be no point in mentioning "Season 1" in the title. In any case, while the story seems interesting, the fact that it's being animated by one of the worst studios out there is concerning. A-Cat is infamously known for inserting random bits of CG animation in their shows, and I get the sense I'm in for that in this show as well.

Mar 31, 2:02 AM

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Oct 2022

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Yeah this is like the author took one of those characters from "the guy who was super powerful in his past life gets reincarnated" shows and stuffed him into a dumbed down, and less interesting, version of MT. The author couldn't even be bothered to make the MC have to learn to speak or read the language. He just can do both somehow right off the bat.

Well, it wasn't bad or anything, but I doubt I'll be able to enjoy it very much. The similarities to MT are so blatant it'll be hard to watch it without constantly comparing the two. And this will obviously come up wanting. Magic Maker from last season was maybe 30% Mushoku Tensei. This is more like 60%.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

Mar 31, 12:27 PM

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Oct 2022

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Reply to zkeleton

@zkeleton The beginning is very similar to MT but the story goes in a different direction entirely. The author is a dual nationality Korean/American and you can see they have as many western influences as they do eastern.

IMO the problem is it takes a while for the author to really hit his stride and there are a couple of really big problems with the way certain early plot elements unfold that don't make sense (one of them being Arthur understanding the language immediately).

On the other hand, this story has some of my favourite moments in manhwa and in my opinion the good parts massively outweigh the bad; important characters all get proper arcs, the magic system is well thought out which leads to some great fights, the world building is solid, and the story gets progressively more interesting as it goes on and the stakes keep rising.

As far as the adaptation goes, it's sticking very closely to the source material but the animation isn't the best so I'm dubious that the action scenes will be as good as the manhwa. Hopefully they can nail the character moments as they could carry the show if the action is a bit flat.

Apr 2, 11:07 AM

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Aug 2011

6402

Episode 1

And this feels just like Mushoku Tensei where it starts with the MC dying and then focusing on his childhood in his new life where he would train hard. But unlike with that show where it took its time developing the MC before the turning point causes him to have to man up, the turning point comes early on. And also, Arthur was a glorious king in his previous life as opposed to a jobless reject. While it has promise, I'm not expecting much from it knowing that this is being done by one of the worst animation studios out there. Granted, at least it looks better than their other works, but it's far from being a high-tier production.

Apr 2, 11:41 AM

Gafennec

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Jun 2017

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Too cliché; 3 episode rule in effect.

Apr 2, 12:57 PM

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Oct 2022

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The opening theme feels like it could have been done by Coldrain, and it wouldn't have changed its tone in the slightest.

I don't feel like Arthur's past self, Grey, was a very benevolent king. Based on the level of technology and violence back then, Grey feels like a cross between Thorfinn and Eren Jaeger.

Failure is always an option.

Apr 2, 5:23 PM

#10

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runec said:
the MC isn't a complete degenerate

nah, he just committed mass genocide....

HIs mom wasn't concerned that her 2 year old son can't talk, but somehow believes he can read?

Apr 3, 7:49 PM

#11

Jozuwa-_-

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Apr 2020

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In before the protag goes full Mushoku with female characters xD

I actually kind of liked it overall with the parenthood focus of the episode, especially in the latter half of the episode.
But the first part? A freaking long exposition. Good thing there was a bit of little silly comedy from time to time which did make me smirk a few times; The MC nonchalantly narrating his butt itch and accepting defeat when he realized he pooped got me. The angry wife teleporting behind the husband was quite funny too.

I don't mind it yet. I'll keep watching but immediately nope out if they pull a Mushoku.

Apr 4, 11:22 AM

#12

RMikami

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Sep 2019

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It's hard to tell where this is going yet. I'll give it a couple more episodes to introduce some more characters. I feel like they missed the opportunity to be a little funnier.

Apr 9, 10:57 AM

#13

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Aug 2011

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Episode 2

It turns out that Arthur was a cruel and menacing king in his previous life, and he should have known better, which is why he's out to make things right in this life. Seeing that Arthur can more than hold his own in the face of danger that now he meets up with the party of adventurers that his parents belong to. Arthur gets along with everybody quite well, but then disaster strikes when bandits attack, and just when it looked like he and his mother were in the clear, the leader was waiting for him. While Arthur saved his mother, he too a pretty big fall there taking down the leader with him, and now he's meeting up with a beast that for whatever reason knows who he is. Quite a lot of intrigue there in the end. Nevertheless, while the storytelling, is solid, the production values continue to be off-putting.

Apr 9, 11:08 AM

#14

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Oct 2022

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I was expecting Reynolds and Alice to be killed by the bandits. Instead, Arthur takes a tumble down a high cliff and ends up in a dark forest. This demonic beast he's encountered looks like really bad news. Will Arthur ever see his parents again?

Failure is always an option.

Apr 9, 12:03 PM

#15

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Feb 2019

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Well, they're going all in on the "let's just copy Mushoku Tensei" thing it seems, although the animation is closer to Rwby

Apr 9, 4:55 PM

#16

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Apr 2017

2953

It's hard to take this show seriously with the grown men dueling a 4 year old.

Apr 9, 6:20 PM

#17

SparkyBob

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Oct 2022

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Are they trying to set up a budding romance between Jasmine and a four-year-old? I swear that's what I was getting, but given the production values it really could be anything.

Apr 9, 6:29 PM

#18

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Nov 2022

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Reply to SparkyBob

Are they trying to set up a budding romance between Jasmine and a four-year-old? I swear that's what I was getting, but given the production values it really could be anything.

@SparkyBob I just assumed they were setting up the harem early.

Apr 9, 7:10 PM

#19

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Oct 2022

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They just needed to protect the spellcasters and use them to launch the bandits off the cliff. There must have been way more bandits than it looked like or using their magic exhausts them pretty quickly.

Arthur would have been better off learning to cast spells than enhance himself.

Didn't think we'd meet Morgoth this quickly.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

Apr 9, 10:03 PM

#20

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Apr 2017

2953

Reply to zkeleton

zkeleton said:
They just needed to protect the spellcasters and use them to launch the bandits off the cliff. There must have been way more bandits than it looked like or using their magic exhausts them pretty quickly.

My favourite part is there was a bunch of bandits on the cliffs *below* them as well as above but the ones below didn't have any obvious way to scale the cliff to get up to them.

Apr 9, 11:17 PM

#21

RMikami

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Sep 2019

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I have a big problem with these bandits. They attack with a large group and no surprise. The first group of bandits will die. They're completely suicidal. What are they after? They want to kidnap a child and a woman. Why would they be willing to sacrifice themselves just for that? They need to start with a diversion, some explosions or something, to throw the defenders off guard. Strength in numbers, where the first wave is going to be slaughtered, can be a good (?) tactic in war, not a robbery or kidnapping.

But it's nice to see some more cast members this episode.

Apr 10, 2:30 AM

#22

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Nov 2022

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Yeah that only made sense if the boss felt his gang was a little too big and getting hard to keep fed.

There was like 80 of them and their prey is a single random carriage on a poorly used road...

Apr 16, 10:56 AM

#23

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Aug 2011

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Episode 3

That monster Sylvia, which is animated awfully in CGI as this studio is notorious for, turns out to be an ally and somebody who Arthur can trust, and the two are in another dimension. Sylvia is teaching Arthur to be a kind man rather than the ruthless ruler he was in his previous life. Sylvia teaches and feeds him, and then comes the time when another monster comes for her head, where she reveals her true form as a white dragon. Sylvia knows about Arthur's previous life as it was her who sent Grey into this world to be reincarnated as Arthur, and as a sign of respect Arthur calls her granny. So this is Turning Point 1 in this show just like in Mushoku Tensei when episodes with that label mark a dramatic change in Rudy's life, and this is a big one in Arthur's as well.

Apr 16, 11:09 AM

#24

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Sylvia's initial appearance only looked menacing because of that armor she wore, and she becomes a mentor of sorts to Arthur. But their time is cut short when another dragon comes for Sylvia's life, and after temporarily freezing time, she has to send Arthur on his way. Evidently, Sylvia knew about Arthur's past life.

Failure is always an option.

Apr 16, 11:27 AM

#25

RMikami

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Sep 2019

702

And I don't care. The third episode caused me to lose all interest, so I won't be watching any more of this show.

Apr 16, 12:08 PM

#26

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Oct 2022

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IMO this adaptation isn't very good so far. They cut the entire scene about how Art survived the fall and got to Silvia's cave, then changed the dialogue between them and generally made everything slightly worse.

It's sort of following the plot, but the execution is pretty half assed. The beginning of the story isn't really great though, it's pretty generic. The interesting world building and story arcs don't really get going until Art gets a bit older.

Astral_IguanaApr 16, 4:22 PM

Apr 16, 1:03 PM

#27

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Apr 2017

2953

Its hard to feel bad for Sylvia when she was basically only in the show for 1 episode and I didn't see any clear indication as to how long he actually spent in the cave with her to be calling her grandma.

It was sort of funny that she went from armour clad evil dragon to My Little Pony.

Apr 23, 11:01 AM

#28

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Aug 2011

6402

Episode 4

Going to show that Arthur is fully committed to being a changed man, his first order of business is to rescue the enslaved elf girl Tessia, who is this show's version of Sylphie, and they form quite a close bond right off the start. After all, those thugs treated her like dirt, so just about anything would be better, but Arthur is really showing her affection. And then, she shows why she's valuable commodity on the slave market as her magic is really something.

Apr 23, 11:05 AM

#29

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Oct 2022

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Arthur rescues an elf girl named Tessia from some bandits, but his trek to reunite with his family takes a detour when she asks him to take her back to her home in the forest. Along the way, Arthur starts experiencing some pain in his chest. Eventually, they reach a portal in a large tree. But just as Arthur thought he had made a new friend, he gets captured by some elven soldiers, and Tessia has a stern look on her face.

Failure is always an option.

Apr 23, 4:52 PM

#30

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Oct 2022

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After she spent all that time telling him how much her people dislike humans why was he surprised at that reception?

And why would you blindfold someone and then leave their hands and feet completely free so they can take it off any time they want and try to run away?

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

Apr 30, 11:06 AM

#31

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Oct 2022

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Well, that's the reveal I like least during this, Tess being the princess. How she ended up wandering off and being kidnapped by the slavers never made any sense to me.

IMO things get a bit better from here on.

Apr 30, 11:14 AM

#32

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Oct 2022

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Episode 5

Tessia's grandfather Virion steps in and orders the guards to stand down, and evidently Tessia is a princess. But they're the only elves who don't harbor any animosity toward Arthur, even after he explains how he rescued Tessia to her parents, who reluctantly allow him to stay for a while. It turns out that Virion may have had an ulterior motive, as after testing his strength, he asks Arthur to become his apprentice. And it looks like he may not have a choice, for he has something called a Beast Will, which is the source of the pains in his chest, which are getting worse.

Failure is always an option.

Apr 30, 11:18 AM

#33

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Feb 2019

4146

So, they're not going to explain why she just stood there and watched them grab him for a minute or so?

Apr 30, 1:14 PM

#34

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Oct 2022

198

Reply to HOOfan_1

So, they're not going to explain why she just stood there and watched them grab him for a minute or so?

@HOOfan_1 It's an anime only thing, they probably just did it so they could show Art having a moment of internal conflict about trusting friends.

The scene in the novel and webtoon just have the guards welcoming Tess back home and then having her father invite Art to tell them what happened, Tess' expression is generally like this during the whole scene:

Apr 30, 1:33 PM

#35

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Apr 2017

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Reply to HOOfan_1

So, they're not going to explain why she just stood there and watched them grab him for a minute or so?

@HOOfan_1 I really like how they kept referencing it without explaining it.

Apr 30, 4:49 PM

#36

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Nov 2022

1764

If I read meaning into where it might not exist, possibly they were trying to show that as a princess (and apparently the one actually in charge of the country) she was considering if it would be best for the country to just let him be executed.

Apr 30, 7:20 PM

#37

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Oct 2022

2623

Well that was slightly better. Still hitting a lot of similar beats to MT.

runec said:
I really like how they kept referencing it without explaining it.

I kept waiting for him to ask her about it, but no.

I guess the original author apologized for picking this studio to do the anime.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

Apr 30, 10:17 PM

#38

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Apr 2017

2953

Reply to zkeleton

Well that was slightly better. Still hitting a lot of similar beats to MT.

runec said:
I really like how they kept referencing it without explaining it.

I kept waiting for him to ask her about it, but no.

I guess the original author apologized for picking this studio to do the anime.

zkeleton said:

I guess the original author apologized for picking this studio to do the anime.

Did he? Oof, that is rough.

May 1, 4:17 PM

#39

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Nov 2022

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The author rarely has any real say in it. They get an adaptation from the studio the producers hire or they don't get an adaptation.

May 1, 10:34 PM

#40

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Oct 2022

2623

Reply to marklebid

The author rarely has any real say in it. They get an adaptation from the studio the producers hire or they don't get an adaptation.

@marklebid From what I read it sounded like there were several studios interested that they could have chosen.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

May 7, 11:07 AM

#41

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Oct 2022

1711

Episode 6

Virion brings Arthur to a sorcerer friend of his who can help him contact his parents and let them know he's all right. Then Tessia takes Arthur to a bazaar, where he gets into a short spat with a snobbish noble boy. Virion's training lasts at least three years, during which Tessia has learned to cast spells herself.

Did the staff really decide to skip over Arthur's training regimen like that!? I feel like there's quite a few things that could have been explained during that period that we may never know now.

Failure is always an option.

May 7, 1:20 PM

#42

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Apr 2017

2953

Obligatory time skip.

Is the monster inside of him puberty?

May 7, 3:19 PM

#43

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Oct 2022

198

The biggest actual change they've made from the novel/web comic is the attitude of the majority of the elves. Most of them (including Tess' parents) are accepting of Art in the other versions of the story, it's only a minority which harbour resentment to humans.

I think it's a bit of an unusual decision to change the elves attitude to humans so far from how they acted in the original, I suppose they wanted to include more dramatic tension in the situation but IMO it ended up falling a bit flat and made the King out to be pretty weak and easily manipulated by Tess and his father, which wasn't how I remember him.

Overall, they've not really skipped much from the story so far (other than the bit between Art falling off the cliff and how he got to the cave and a few scenes of him joking around with Tess). This episode was the end of Season 1 of the web comic, things get a bit better during the web comic's Season 2 and then for more interesting during Season 3 but I'm not sure how far along the adaptation will reach.

May 14, 10:55 AM

#44

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Feb 2019

4146

you know what I was thinking "what this show is really missing is a mascot type character"...no, I actually wasn't thinking that at all

May 14, 11:05 AM

#45

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Oct 2022

1711

Episode 7

Arthur's training for the past three years has been to get his body resilient enough to withstand his Beast Will, which turns out to be that of a dragon. And the object he got from Sylvia turns out to be a dragon's egg, which hatches and imprints itself on Arthur. Now Arthur leaves the elven kingdom for a floating city where an important summit is to take place, and he reunites with his parents, as well as his new sister, Eleanor.

Failure is always an option.

May 14, 12:41 PM

#46

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Apr 2017

2953

Reply to HOOfan_1

you know what I was thinking "what this show is really missing is a mascot type character"...no, I actually wasn't thinking that at all

@HOOfan_1 Yeah, this is an immediate 5 point deduction. i thought the Beast Will(tm) was going to give him some kind of cool power. Not hatch him a Pokemon.

May 14, 4:20 PM

#47

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Nov 2022

1764

You all knew it was coming when he was given an egg...

May 14, 4:34 PM

#48

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Oct 2022

2623

I thought a dragon would grow at least some in the first four months of it's life. Then again I guess it's just impressive that it's alive at all since we've never once seen him feed it. I also like how it disappears and then re-appears when they want to show it for a reaction shot so they don't have to draw it all the time. Convenient.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

May 15, 5:03 PM

#49

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Oct 2022

2623

I lol'd when I saw him using a suitcase with wheels like some modern airport traveler.

Also the story continues to follow the MT template with him training with a girl who could best him. Though here it's because he couldn't use his mana.

Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze

May 21, 11:03 AM

#50