The Beginning After the End episode 4 review: Storyline keeps interest alive while animation remains a weak point

The Beginning After the End episode 4 premiered on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 11:30 PM JST. Episode 4 of Saikyou no Ousama, Nidome no Jinsei wa Nani wo Suru? follows Arthur as he continues his journey post-farewell with Sylvia. His solitary path takes a new direction with the introduction of Tessia, a young elf girl he rescues from a group of kidnappers.

Upon escorting her to her homeland, Elenoir, Arthur finds himself in an unforeseen predicament as the episode concludes with a tense cliffhanger.

While the story evolves with new character dynamics, character development, emotional elements, and added world-building, the episode still struggles in terms of production. Despite minor improvements, the animation quality remains inconsistent, with noticeable flaws in CGI usage and scene framing.

The compelling plot carries the episode forward, but the lackluster visuals continue to hold it back, resulting in an installment that’s engaging in story but uneven in execution.

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The Beginning After the End episode 4: A brief synopsis and narrative criticism

Tessia takes Arthur to Elenoir (Image via Studio A-CAT)

The Beginning After the End episode 4, titled "The King, Rescues," begins with Arthur continuing his journey to find his parents after parting ways with Sylvia. Along the way, he stumbles upon a group of kidnappers holding a young elf girl captive. Arthur defeats the captors and saves the girl.

Strangely, upon seeing her, he sees a brief, mysterious vision in her, but chooses to dismiss it for the time being. As the elf girl, Tessia, doesn’t remember the way back to the elven kingdom of Elenoir, on her request, Arthur agrees to escort her back, despite it taking him in the opposite direction of his own path.

The journey allows the two to bond, adding to Arthur’s growth as he connects with someone outside his immediate family and companions. However, during the journey, he starts feeling a strange, unexplained pain in his mana core.

Tessia is introduced in The Beginning After the End episode 4 (Image via Studio A-CAT)

When they finally reach Elenoir, however, things take an unexpected turn. Upon entry, Arthur is suddenly apprehended by the elven guards, while Tessia remains silent, watching with a conflicted expression, closing the episode on a tense and suspenseful note.

In terms of narrative, The Beginning After the End episode 4 offers strong development, blending emotional depth, character bonding, action, and world-building. The subtle hints, like Arthur’s vision of Tessia, his growing pain in his mana core, and Tessia’s unsettling reaction, add to the mystery and build suspense for future episodes.

Overall, it’s an engaging episode that effectively moves the story forward, even if the production quality still leaves room for improvement.

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The Beginning After the End episode 4: Animation and an overall production criticism

While The Beginning After the End episode 4 continues to show promise through its engaging narrative and intriguing developments, the production quality, particularly in its visuals, remains a significant weak point.

Studio A-Cat continues to face heavy criticism for the underwhelming animation in this long-awaited adaptation of TurtleMe’s beloved webtoon, and the complaints are well-founded.

The visuals still resemble a "slideshow animation" style, with stiff transitions and limited frame movement, giving the impression of stitched-together stills rather than fluid motion. Despite some visible improvements in certain scenes, likely in response to earlier backlash, the overall animation remains lackluster.

Arthur and Tessia in The Beginning After the End episode 4 (Image via Studio A-CAT)

This is especially evident in the action sequences, a significant area that carries substantial impact in an anime. Instead, these moments suffer from a lack of dynamism and impact.

Movements feel restricted, lacking the smooth transitions and intensity that would elevate the action, reinforcing the "slideshow" criticism. CGI is another stumbling block. Its use continues to feel out of place and poorly integrated, most noticeably with the fully CGI-rendered hornwolves.

These creatures appear unrefined and visually disconnected from the rest of the environment, creating a jarring contrast that disrupts immersion and diminishes the overall aesthetic.

That said, the voice acting remains a standout element. Keiji Inai’s music composition also significantly enhances the atmosphere, adding weight to the atmosphere that helps lift the shortcomings in the visual presentation.

Together, the sound design and vocal performances somewhat salvage the viewing experience, even as the visuals fall short.

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Final thoughts

Tessia and Arthur journey to Elenoir (Image via Studio A-Cat)

Compared to the underwhelming first two episodes, The Beginning After the End episode 4 continues the upward trend from episode 3, showing slight improvements. While the anime adaptation still falls short in visual execution, it’s the narrative that remains the backbone of the series, supported by strong voice performances and music that help salvage the show.

These elements carry much of the weight, compensating for the lackluster visuals, but whether they can sustain the show’s momentum on their own remains uncertain, given how crucial animation quality is in enhancing an anime’s impact.

Although some steps have been taken toward improving the animation, the progress is minimal, and the visuals still have a long road ahead before this Spring 2025 series can be considered visually impressive.

As it stands, The Beginning After the End continues to offer a promising story buried beneath mediocre production, leaving fans hopeful that the studio will address these shortcomings as the series progresses.

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