Kami no Tou: Ouji no Kikan

On the 20th floor of the Tower, the "Regulars" who have been permitted to enter have to undertake arduous and extremely expensive tests to rank up. Most abandon hope and choose to stay where they are—but not Ja Wangnan.

Wangnan is determined to reach the top and become the king of the Tower. However, he is weak and has repeatedly failed the exam, with debt collectors tailing him. In desperation, he attempts the exam one more time, only to encounter a mysterious and powerful individual: Jyu Viole Grace, a member of the crime syndicate FUG.

Cursing his rotten luck, Wangnan has no choice but to form alliances with strong people, including Viole—who still refuses to be part of any team. Amid a dire situation, Wangnan must find a way to change Viole's mind to finally advance past the 20th floor, or he will never get a chance to build his legacy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Twenty-Fifth Bam Main

Ichikawa, Taichi Japanese

Ja, Wangnan Main

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Khun, Aguero Agnes Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Jahad, Endorsi Supporting

Suegara, Rie Japanese

Wraithraiser, Rak Supporting

Miyake, Kenta Japanese

Jahad, Ha Yuri Supporting

Honda, Mariko Japanese

Hwaryun Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Mazino, Urek Supporting

Takahashi, Hiroki Japanese

Rachel Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Lero-Ro Supporting

Takeuchi, Kazuyoshi Director

Suzuki, Akira Director

Yamaguchi, Takayuki Sound Director

Nishimura, Taiki Episode Director

Reviews

Oct 1, 2024

logic340

Recommended

Funny

Tower of God: Season 2 – Return of the Prince brings back the complex world of the Tower with an engaging blend of intrigue, new character dynamics, and a sense of looming danger. This season picks up 6 years after the explosive events of season one, and it continues to build on the intricate world and character dynamics that fans have come to expect. While this season introduces new faces, reveals unexpected alliances, and showcases growing tensions, it also has a few pacing issues, especially for fans familiar with the original Manhwa. Still, it manages to deliver a compelling narrative, leading into what promises to ... be one of the series' most exciting arcs: the Workshop Battle.

Plot (8/10):
The story this season may feel disjointed at times, particularly to fans of the source material, but it remains a strong narrative arc. Return of the Prince serves primarily as a setup for the highly anticipated Workshop Battle, one of the most thrilling arcs in the series. FUG’s manipulation of Baam by holding his former team hostage adds a lot of tension, especially because Baam, still unaware of how much his friends have grown, finds himself at their mercy. Rachel continues to deepen her role as a cunning antagonist, her manipulative journey to the Workshop adding layers of hatred and frustration toward her character.

Characters (8/10):
The introduction of new characters in this season is handled well, with each one bringing distinct and memorable personalities to the table. The diversity of their traits and interactions makes for a lively and engaging cast. The bond between the characters has deepened, reflecting the amount of time they’ve spent together during their ascent of the Tower, even if some interactions are left in the background. Khun’s scheming in the shadows, motivated by his desire to avenge his fallen friends, was a high point of the season, adding emotional depth to his character.

Animation (8/10):
Though the animation quality took a step back compared to Season 1, it remains solid overall. The character designs, while sometimes simpler, still manage to maintain the unique flair that the world of Tower of God requires. The fights are fluid, intense, and visually engaging, though the occasional dip in quality can be noticeable. The backgrounds remain rich, complementing the dark and mysterious atmosphere of the Tower itself.

Sound (10/10):
One of the standout aspects of this season is undoubtedly the sound design. Both the opening and ending themes hit the right notes, providing hype and encapsulating the themes of the story in both music and lyrics. The OST does a fantastic job of setting the tone for key moments, whether it’s during a battle or a quiet, reflective scene. The sound design greatly enhances the viewing experience, leaving a lasting impression long after the credits roll.

Enjoyment (9/10):
Despite its pacing issues and the occasional animation hiccup, I thoroughly enjoyed this season. Return of the Prince sets the stage for an even bigger and more dramatic arc to come, leaving fans hungry for more. While it would have been nice to see certain moments from the source material included, the anime does a good job of keeping the core elements intact and delivering an enjoyable experience on its own merits.

Overall (9.0/10):
Tower of God: Season 2 delivers a compelling narrative with well-crafted characters, impressive sound design, and a solid buildup to future events. Though not perfect, it is a highly enjoyable season that continues to build excitement for what's to come. As an adaptation, it stands strong on its own without being a direct carbon copy of the Manhwa, and that is something worth appreciating.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 29, 2024

Marinate1016

Mixed Feelings

Oh how the mighty have fallen. What was once one of the most hyped anime of all time, Tower of God is a shadow of its former self. Changing studios completely destroyed the quality of this show. Horrible animation, art and fights that look like my nephew put them together in MS paint.. not even a Kevin Penkin masterclass could save this. Barring some miracle in the second cour, this will go down as one of the biggest collapses ever and that’s not hyperbolic.

Funny enough, ToG season 2’s story is actually better than season 1’s by quite a bit. We meet a lot of new ... characters and the world gets expanded substantially introducing new factions, allies and foes. The tower which we already know is almost incomprehensibly massive, gets explored in a way we didn’t see in season 1. Bam’s whole edgy FUG Viole phase was actually pretty cool too. But, it’s overshadowed by the horrible pacing, direction, animation and art of this season. I always say that anime is a two part story. Yes, a good plot and narrative are important, but it is ANIME at the end of the day, so If that narrative is wrapped in horrible production quality it’s going to hurt it. Occasionally during this cour, we did have a good episode where the animation was passable and that was great.. but, it just didn’t happen nearly enough to save this season.

Pacing even as an anime only notably feels off. I’ve heard from manwha readers that they often skipped chapters or adapted too many in one go, and it shows. It feels at times that things are happening too fast and you just feel lost when watching. I think it did get better in the last 3-4 episodes when some big twists have, but you shouldn’t have to wait two months for a show to get its act together.

For me, the only thing I really enjoyed in this season was the worldbuilding. Season 1 felt kind of claustrophobic because we were with Bam, Khun and the group on a select few floors as they were beginning this long and arduous journey to the top. Season 2 really shows you the sheer scale of the tower, reveals more of the powers that be in this world, terrorist organisations trying to change the world order. It’s almost like a child realising how insignificant they are in the vastness of an ocean. Say what you will about Tower of God, but this author knows how to world build. I mean there’s enough stuff here that ToG could go on easily past One Piece in terms of length. Just needs a better team behind it. Bam’s character arc was actually really good in this though. Did enjoy seeing him go from the wimp in season 1 to this Edgelord Chad here, BUT the fact he’s still simping for Rachel annoys the hell out of me.

Whether or not you’ll enjoy season 2 of ToG really depends on how big a fan you are of the series. I think manhwa readers who have been on the series for years and are looking forward to some of their fave moments being adapted will be disappointed overall, but find some solace in some of the hype moments. Anime onlies will be in shock from the drop of quality from season 1 and feel lost for half the season. In short, Season 2 of Tower of God is a better story, worse anime. What you choose to do with that info is up to you.

Tower of God gets 6, out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 29, 2024

Xiao

Not Recommended

Well-written

Tower of God deserves better than this. After a four years wait between season 1 and season 2, what we get is akin to a PowerPoint slide show rather than a proper anime adaptation of one of the most popular manhwa.

ART STYLE: There is a noticeable difference in art style between seasons 1 and 2. In season 1, the art style was more unique and colorful and fits with the overall mysterious atmosphere of the tower. In comparison, the art style + color palette in this season is completely bland and generic, and the characters are often drawn off-model and look inconsistent.

ANIMATION: Frankly, the animation ... is ass. This season is full of still shots and the animation completely lacks any fluidity. The fight scene in the first episode is the best in animation the season has to offer; afterwards, the animation for the rest of the season completely plummets. The punches and blasts completely lack any impact, the fighting choreographies are lazy, important techniques specifically named and emphasized in the manhwa are skipped, and most of the non-fighting animation are limited to either character mouth movements or character walking/running movements. The characters always look so stiff and lifeless, and even the characters walking or running look very awkwardly animated. There are minimal body or hand gesture movements, plus character expressions are also mostly static.

DIRECTING: This season is directed by someone who is a complete novice at directing, and it shows. Everything about the anime looks so cheap and uninspired, and in turn makes the entire show feel so soulless and bland. It's no exaggeration to say that a vast majority of the shots consist of either zoom-ins/face shots or characters just awkwardly standing around with zero creativity or thought put into the camera angles. The camera pans on the characters' eyes or faces so often that it's distracting and an obvious way of cutting corners. The transitions from scene to scene feel awkward and disjointed as well. Even the "comedy" scenes are not funny, any emotional scenes lack any impact, and the scenes that are obviously supposed to feel very hype and tense lack any suspense and intensity. It feels like the studio is adapting things by going through a checklist of what to adapt instead of actually putting effort and care into what they're adapting.

CHARACTERS: This season focuses on the introduction of a completely new cast of characters from the first season. While season 1 revolves around a cast of genius characters with above average strength, this season revolves more around a cast of normal/misfit characters with mostly average/below average strength. Yes, the main cast of characters from the first season make brief appearances and will eventually return, but this season is mostly a setup to the introduction of the new cast of characters and for the big battle arc next cour.
However, this season fails at making any of the new characters compelling. Their interactions as a team feel so forced and the characters are barely given any depth. Numerous character interactions were cut from the manhwa that make you care more about the characters and help to develop them to understand their personalities, views, and motivations for climbing up the tower. A lot of the dialogues that were cut were a baseline that build up to dialogues that were included in the anime, so some conversations the characters have in the anime feel so unnatural and out-of-nowhere.
It's especially hard to care for any of the characters when the way they are drawn and animated is so dull and lifeless. The VAs have to carry many of the scenes, since the anime, with the static character expressions and stiff animation, fails to properly convey the various emotions of the characters.

STORY: The storyboard writing and the way the anime presents the story is clunky. Many times, the events that occur in the episodes seem random, disconnected, and rushed through. Key information to understand the context of what's happening in the show, such as time skips or what floor the characters are on, are omitted for no reason.
The first four episodes of this season are especially painful to watch. The first big game/test arc of this season has horrible pacing, so much so that it's difficult to understand the game rules and care about anything that is going on. The anime even skipped out on properly explaining the conclusion of that arc, which was vital information and had no reason to be excluded.
The remaining episodes have slightly better pacing; however, everything else - the directing, the storyboard writing, the animation, etc. - continue to be subpar, thus failing to create a fluid, cohesive story and failing to make the developments in the story feel exciting.

MUSIC: Kevin Penkin's music carries the show. He never misses when it comes to creating a playlist of epic soundtracks. However, the placements of the OSTs in some scenes are questionable, and it sometimes feels as if the OSTs are randomly thrown in everywhere to make up for everything else the anime lacks.
The OP is visually presented like a scrapbook, while the ED shows 1-3 snapshots of each episode. The studio really seems to be doing all they can to cut corners when even the OP and ED have little to no animation.

Ultimately, S2 is a huge disappointment. This season is barely watchable. I can't recommend it when the source material is clearly not being respected and the anime doesn't offer anything above mediocrity in any aspect, aside from the OSTs. You're way better off reading the manhwa while playing the OSTs in the background.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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