THE BEGINNING AFTER THE END novel kickstarter announced by TurtleMe

The Beginning After the End novel may get a print release—with fans’ help.

At this year’s SakuraCon, The Beginning After the End creator TurtleMe revealed that a Kickstarter campaign is in the works to fund print editions of the series’ first three volumes. While a launch date has yet to be announced, over a thousand fans have already followed the project in anticipation.

The novel first gained traction on RoyalRoad, eventually moving to Tapas in 2017 after then-editor Gabrielle Luu reached out to TurtleMe. Inspired by stories from the wuxia genre and series like Mushoku Tensei, the webnovel follows a king reincarnated as a baby after his assassination. To date, The Beginning After the End has racked up nearly 27 million views on Tapas.

In 2018, the series was adapted into a webcomic, originally illustrated by Fuyuki23, who worked on the first few seasons before stepping away. The current artist, MGK-Story, has helped bring the comic to even greater heights, amassing over 43 million views since its launch.

Most recently, the series made the leap to anime, animated by Studio A-Cat and produced with TurtleMe credited as executive producer. Slated for 24 episodes, the adaptation has drawn criticism for its animation quality, prompting TurtleMe to release a statement encouraging fans to continue supporting the show through its growing pains.

Tapas has the following synopsis:

King Grey has unrivaled strength, wealth, and prestige in a world governed by martial ability. However, solitude lingers closely behind those with great power. Beneath the glamorous exterior of a powerful king lurks the shell of man, devoid of purpose and will.

Reincarnated into a new world filled with magic and monsters, the king has a second chance to relive his life. Correcting the mistakes of his past will not be his only challenge, however. Underneath the peace and prosperity of the new world is an undercurrent threatening to destroy everything he has worked for, questioning his role and reason for being born again.

The anime is streaming now on Crunchyroll, and fans eager to dive into the original novel can do so on Tapas. Meanwhile, the print edition of the webcomic is licensed by Yen Press, and with enough fan support, the novel’s print debut might be just around the corner.

Source: Kickstarter