King Grey is the most powerful ruler in a world with advanced technology. But one day, he suddenly collapses and is reborn in another world as a baby named Arthur. Distraught by the situation, Arthur tries to learn as much about this world as he can, presumably in order to continue where he left off in his previous life. However, living in an infant’s body means that he needs his parents at all times. Arthur finds this inconvenient, but at the same time, oddly comforting. He might have had all the power in the world in his previous life, but he was ruthless and had no friends or loved ones. The home he’s growing up in now is far from a palace, but it’s warm and peaceful. Arthur spends most of his time studying the magic of the world, but he may find out his parents are teaching him things of greater importance.

Overall, I think this is a decent and entertaining first episode. However, there are some aspects that might ultimately contribute to a mediocre experience, but since I’m an anime-only viewer, I need one or two more episodes before I can be sure. The main area where I could see this anime going wrong is with the main character. He seems to be the type of protagonist that’s intentionally bland at the start, which allows the story to focus on his character development. Personally, I don’t like that kind of setup, and especially because it’s an isekai, I wonder how such a premise could stay interesting. If he’s an adult with zero social-emotional development in a child’s body, then there is almost no difference between him and a highly talented and motivated child, which kind of defeats the point of a reincarnation story. I liked the art, animation, and soundtrack, but this first episode does not have any major action scenes, so it remains to be seen how well they’ll be executed. So far, we’ve only been introduced to two other characters: his mom and dad. They’re likable enough but a bit simple. For this anime to succeed, either the protagonist will need a good amount of character development, or the rest of the main cast will have to make up for it. I might check out the second episode to see where it goes.

The Beginning After the End is streaming on Crunchyroll.