April 3, 2025, SEOUL, KOREA – Kakao Entertainment’s flagship IP “The Beginning After the End (TBATE)” has been adapted into an anime, with its much-awaited first episode released on April 2 on Crunchyroll, the largest anime platform in North America, and on Japan’s Fuji TV. This represents a key milestone, as “TBATE” is now the first American web novel/comic to receive an anime series adaptation.

The anime is currently available to Crunchyroll users in North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS and India subcontinent. It has also been released on the +Ultra block on Fuji TV, seeking to capture the hearts of viewers across the globe. The 24-episode anime will be split into two parts, with the first part – consisting of 12 episodes – unveiling one episode each week.  

Written by Brandon Lee, better known as TurtleMe, “TBATE” is one of the original IP titles from Tapas Entertainment – the North American platform of Kakao Entertainment – discovered in the U.S. Thanks to its stellar popularity, the web novel was transformed into a webtoon as part of Kakao Entertainment’s “Novel-to-Comics” system, aimed at extending its life and maximizing the creator’s profit.

Achievements

“TBATE” revolves around a former king named Arthur, who is reincarnated into a magical world filled with monsters, kicking off an epic journey to reshape his destiny. Marked by its fascinating blend of Eastern and Western fantasy, the series has been translated into seven languages including Korean, Japanese, and French, generating approximately $500,000 in monthly revenue. Notably, its webtoon rendition has been “reverse-exported” to Korea, where it is serialized on Kakao Page.

News about its anime adaptation was first revealed at New York Comic Con 2024, where its exclusive preview electrified the audience. A team of anime experts handled the adaptation, with TurtleMe assuming the role of executive producer to ensure the anime remains faithful to the novel’s core themes and characters.

“I never imagined it would one day arrive at this stage, when I first began writing TBATE as a web novel a few years ago,” he said. “This breakthrough wouldn’t have been possible without the consistent, unwavering support from fans. I’m more than thrilled to showcase the anime to both long-time readers and new viewers.”

The team also includes Keitaro Motonaga, director of “Date A Live” and “Katanagatari,” series composer Takamitsu Kouno, character designer Masami Sueoka, and music composer Keiji Inai. Slow Curve, in collaboration with Studio A-CAT, has produced the anime.  

Mike Zhu, Head of Comic and Film & TV at Tapas, emphasized that the collaboration denotes a pivotal moment for TBATE, Tapas as well as U.S. created webcomics.

“This is an incredible opportunity for us to present TBATE’s epic story to fans in an entirely new way,” he said. “We can’t wait to see the excitement it sparks among our community and beyond.”

Moving forward, Kakao Entertainment will continue to navigate more opportunities to turn Tapas’ original IPs into films, TV series, and other formats, aiming to reach a broader audience.