Brandon Lee, known as TurtleMe, is a South Korean-American author who began writing The Beginning After the End while searching for an escape from his corporate finance career. He first published the novel on RoyalRoad before moving to Tapas, where the series quickly rose to the top of the platform. The TBATE webcomic now has over 75.5 million views and generates more than $500,000 per month. In another landmark milestone, The Beginning After the End became the first English-language web novel to receive a major anime adaptation — produced by Studio A-Cat and launched on Crunchyroll in April 2025. He has been writing the series since January 2017 and is currently publishing Volumes 11 and 12.