It’s been a long journey. This October, it will be ten years since I started writing The Beginning After the End. A lot has happened along the way, from the story being adapted into a webcomic to me getting married, adopting two dogs, and even facing a near-death experience. Now, TBATE has officially become an anime.
With any new medium comes uncertainty, and the journey here wasn’t easy to navigate. There were no resources or other examples I could learn from directly; however, through these challenges, I gained invaluable experience and met so many amazing people. The Beginning After the End broke a lot of barriers by becoming an anime, and despite the challenges we faced, we did it.
Ten years ago, I was writing at Starbucks after work and uploading chapters for the few hundred of you waiting on Royal Road. To those who have stuck with me since the beginning, I wouldn’t be here without you. And to everyone else, whether you came to know TBATE through the comic or novel, thank you sincerely.
Now that the anime is out, I hope you can support it just as you have with the novel and webcomic, giving it a chance to grow and evolve. There may be an influx of new TBATE fans coming from the anime–I hope you’ll welcome them with open arms.
A heartfelt thank you to my wife for making this milestone even more special with a surprise cake and flowers. And to everyone at Crunchyroll and Studio A-Cat, thank you for your hard work.
You can watch Ep. 1 now on Crunchyroll!