Tower of God season 2 has almost finished its first episode (The Return of the Prince) and there’s a lot to unpack. The first episode felt pretty bleak, it wasn’t bad but it was still lacking something. The next few episodes showed some promise; it felt like the art style just needed some time to get used to and the story was going to try and make the transition until it had an acceptable ending. However, as we head into the middle of the season, the cracks are starting to show and the Tower of God we once knew is starting to fade.
By around episode six it was clear that the animation couldn't keep up with the story. The demanding fight scenes weren't great with a lot of static and the slow paced moments were dull, lacking colour, movement and just overall spirit which I would attribute to the fact that it felt like they were just using a single track as background music during key moments. The Dubstep-like music in some scenes (like the fight with Mazino) felt oddly out of place as the characters' movements lacked the energy needed to keep up.
As for the story… SIU has created a dynamic world with somewhat clear rules and logic. I mentioned that the first season didn’t really use this, the world building in it was more about mystery than anything else and we were left without some important details about the tower and how the world works. However, the second season completely ignores the logic of the first season. The change in studio and staff is unfortunate and I’m sure it would be difficult to continue where someone else left off, especially when such major core changes are made, but if you’re a viewer who hasn’t read the webtoon then you’ll be clueless about most of the widely used technical terms.
Sticking closer to the webtoon means that the characters have more time to develop and present their motivations, reasons for fighting (climbing?) and overcoming their limits. However, some of them feel like they need to be rethought or are about to be skipped, especially Wangnan, who replaces Khun. What will happen to him when Bam reunites with his best friend is an interesting question, considering how quickly we've moved past the deaths and disappearances of some characters.
All of this is not to say that Tower of God: Return of the Prince isn't enjoyable at all. It's not as satisfying as the first season but with some extra work (reading the webtoon) you can get into the plot pretty easily. Animation-wise it's true, it's more in line with the webtoon but I'm sure most fans who started watching the original anime will always miss the beautiful colors that go so well with SIU's character designs. The Workshop Battle arc starts in October, so the second season continues in the fall. Answer Studio has quite a few titles but only a few TV anime. And none of them have any experience with scheduling right now (Golgo 13 came out in 2008) so it'll definitely be interesting to see where we go with this adaptation.
Tower of God: Return of the Prince is streaming on Crunchyroll.
© Tower of God 2 Animation Partners
