©Tower of God 2 Animation Partners
When I wrote about the first two episodes for the preview guide, I didn’t have much to say about the visuals. Maybe it was because I was too engrossed in the story or because of the annoying watermarks plastered across my screen that obscured everything. (I did watch a press screening of those episodes before they were released.) Regardless, by the third episode, it was clear that this wasn’t the quality product we got in the first season—at least in the animation department.
The first season of Tower of God feels otherworldly. This is largely due to its use of monochrome colors and the way it handles light and shadow. It also has a lot of creative camera work and great backgrounds that make the action pop on screen.
This season, on the other hand, has none of that, as the change of studios from Telecom Animation Film to The Answer Studio Co., Ltd. has really left Tower of God lacking in visual identity. Oh sure, some of the returning characters are still recognizable, but what we see here looks more like a mid-to-low budget anime than a sequel to one of the most popular shows of 2020. We get a lot of small movements and animation loops along with flat characters and backgrounds. And as for the action, it feels almost disconnected in the way the camera moves around—and that's not even mentioning the choreography.
Story-wise, the first two episodes are exciting. Here we have a disillusioned Bam starting over, but his goal remains the same: to climb the tower to find Rachael. Of course, he’s not doing so to help her now, but to discover the reason for her betrayal. Plus, he’s determined to go it alone this time. This decision is partly a reflection of his wounded heart—after all, no one can betray you if you don’t let anyone close enough to do it. But there’s a second reason—a more logical one. By publicly declaring that he’s in FUG, he’s got his main target squarely in his chest. Anyone who allies with him will be in the crosshairs of most everyone else in the tower just by association.
Also, on the plus side, we get to introduce a new cast. Each has new weird powers and stories that seem interesting. But even better, none of them feel like clones of the first season characters. Getting to know them through the upcoming trials should be fun.
But then episode three comes around and everything drops in quality—not just the animation, but the storytelling as well. The pacing just feels rushed. We get downtime, the test rules, and the first few battles of the test in a single episode. A lot happens, but none of it has the time to make any real emotional impact, it feels more like watching a shortened compilation movie than an actual anime.
So, after three episodes, I’m not sure where I stand on Tower of God’s second season. The first two episodes had some solid character beats and dealt with the issues facing Bam and our other heroes pretty well. But the third episode was such a mess that it felt like the show had squandered any goodwill it had. Hopefully this was just a blip and things will improve next week, but for now, I have to put myself in the “worried about this adaptation” category.
Episode 1 Rating:
Episode 2 Rating:
Episode 3 Rating:
Tower of God Season 2 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.