Gen Sato and Shouya Chiba join The Beginning After the End cast as Elijah Knight and Lucas Wykes

Season 1 of the fantasy isekai anime The Beginning After the End (aka Saikyou no Ousama, Nidome no Jinsei wa Nani wo Suru?) is wrapping up.

But there is apparently still plenty more to look forward to!

That’s because, with Season 2 set to arrive next year, Episode 12 is bringing the excitement early by introducing two brand-new characters who may just be arriving as the anime ends its first season, but will play pivotal roles in its next.

Those two characters are Elijah Knight — a mysterious bespectacled boy who has connections to the dwarven royal family and is being voiced by Gen Sato (Kou in Call of the Night), and Lucas Wykes — a grey-haired half human/half elf who is played by Shouya Chiba (Nirei in Wind Breaker).

Both characters also had their visuals drop earlier today, and all I can say is “Ye Gods, are they both anorexic?”, because there is no skin on them bones.

Both also appear very briefly in a The Beginning After the End, Episode 12 preview trailer, which you can watch below.

There is also a second preview trailer of the upcoming episode at the bottom of this article, if you want more of a glimpse into where the anime is heading.

Episode 12 itself will premiere tomorrow, June 18th, in Japan and then via Crunchyroll, and will wrap up the anime’s first season.

Anime adaptation production details

The Beginning After the End anime series is adapted from the Korean manhwa written and illustrated by TurtleMe.

It is directed by Keitarou Motonaga (Katanagatari), with series composition from Takamitsu Kouno (She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man), and Masami Sueoka (The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord’s Army was a Human) in charge of character designs.

Studio A-CAT (Battle Game in 5 Seconds) is in charge of animating the series.

And, while I have only watched the first episode of the anime so far, so I can’t comment, the first season of The Beginning After the End has not been received well by international viewers.

Over on My Anime List, for instance, it is getting abysmal average ratings from viewers, with the anime currently being rated an incredibly low 5.21 out of 10 from over 21,000 users.

And, even on Crunchyroll, a site where anime fans usually rate higher, the isekai anime is only earning a 3.8 out of 5.0 stars from over 77,000 site users reviewing it.

The anime must be performing better in Japan then, is all I can say, or a second season would not have already been greenlit.