Summary
The following contains spoilers for Tower of God, season 2, episode 1, titled “Last Chance”, available onCrunchyroll.
Four years since the release of the first season,Tower of Godis back with season 2 and looking bigger and better than before. Throwing us into the deep-end with a new cast of characters, the first episode ofTower of Godseason 2 was the kind of epic return the series deserved following thesuccess of the first season.
As an intro episode, this hits the right notes and shows that we can expect to have a riveting season 2, complete with the return of a certain someone.
Quick Recap of the End of Season 1
Bam Decides to Climb
Then climb. It’s your only option. You want to know what about the tower drove her and you mad. You want to know all the answers. They’re at the top of the tower. If you want answers, then I’ll make you stronger.
– Hwaryun, Tower of God season 2, episode 1
We knew at the end of season 1 that Bam didn’t die from Rachel’s betrayal, and at the bottom of the abyss, he was found by Hwaryun, who offered to train him so he may pursue the answers he seeks. We see the impact Bam’s “death” has on the main cast from the previous season; Endorsi’s tears, Khun Aguero’s suspicion and blatant mistrust of Rachel and Yuri Jahad’s belief that Bam is alive. After seeing Bam’s decision to train with Hwaryun, we follow Yuri Jahad as she’s welcomed home followingher successful retrieval of Green April. Other Princesses of Jahad are briefly introduced; like Maschenny, who is used to remind us of the competitive and somewhat hostile dynamic that exists among the princesses.
Yuri visits another one of her sisters, a Light Bearer, to make a request, but before she can get it out, her sister already knows she’s talking about looking into Bam’s whereabouts. Yuri refuses to believe he’s dead, so her sister decides to accept the request and look into it. As Yuri leaves, many Lighthouses appear, and shot pans out to a bird’s eye view of the room, so we can see the sheernumber of Lighthouses Yuri’s sister can operate at once. A mischievous grin spreads across her face as she says “The Prince of Jahad will return”, and it cuts to an image of a man’s hand with a red ring on his index finger.
Introducing Ja Wangnam
The Man Who Wants To Rule The Tower
Tower of Godseason 2’s new main character is an energetic and ambitious young man named Ja Wangnan, who is currently on the 20th floor of the tower. This is where Regulars who were previously admitted to the tower are screened once again, and if they fail to attain E-Rank, they can forget about advancing. This rule, coupled with high examination fees and a whole host of loan-sharks makes life on the 20th floor quite difficult. As Wangnan puts it,the 20th floor is riddled with monsterswho feed on the dreams of others. When introduced, Wangnan is on his way to attempting the E-Rank qualification test but quickly fails again. He owes people a lot of money, and if he cannot advance, he will surely be forced to pay off the debt by selling his own organs. At this point, advancing to E-Rank is a matter of life-and-death for Ja Wangnan.
The first exam is a 30-minute survival exam in which the goal is to still be standing in the end. Combat between participants is permitted, and a new challenger is introduced at three-minute intervals. Ja Wangnan arrives in time to see amysterious figure with long brown hairand a black robe towering above several incapacitated fighters. It’s obvious that he took them all out by himself. Fearing for his life, Ja Wangnan uses his charisma to try win over the mystery man, telling him that fighting is a waste of energy. He’s happy to survive another round, but a big, scary-looking man appears in the next wave. The funniest moment in the episode ensues as Ja Wangnan, clearly terrified, squeaks out exactly the same line he used on the first guy, and it was surprisingly effective. More people showed up, including a little girl, a young woman familiar with the little girl, and a menacing-looking man with short silver hair.
The Survival Game Test
A Taste of Dazzling Animation
The silver-haired man shakes up the situation because he thinks it’s more strategic to remove those he deems to be a hindrance. Ja Wangnan agrees, but he thinks the first to be taken out is the new entrant. The pony-tailed man that Wangnan found in the examination venue, who had been quiet until this point, told them that there’s no need for a vote – all of them should leave. The silver-haired man materializes a lance and points it at the pony-tailed man, whose eyes have been obscured since his introduction. A fight breaks out, and the second season ofTower of Godshows off some of the awesome animation that awaits us this season.
The silver-haired guy and the big man join forces to take him down, but even with their combined abilities, which featured both long-range and close-quarters combat, they didn’t stand a chance against him. There were still 10 minutes of the 30 left to go when their attack began. The young woman recognized the crest hidden in the man’s robe as that of the Slayers faction of FUG, an anti-Jahad criminal organization. Ja Wangnan doubts the possibility ofsomeone like that being on the 20th floor; however, the man makes light work of his two main opponents before turning his attention to the others.
The Wave Controller
Teaming Up Against a Common Enemy
Ja Wangnan fled to run down the last few seconds on the clock to survive, and when he proclaimed his desire to rule the tower, the robed man was hit with various memories – memories of Rachel; of Khun Aguero and the various other Regulars he met before the attempt on his life. The robed man might be Twenty-Fifth-Bam, but heappears to have assumed a new identity. The sudden memories distracted him enough for the Pokeball-shaped explosives Ja Wangnan keeps in his arsenal to have an effect; however, Bam healed his wounds almost instantly before going for the kill. Time ran out just before he could make contact with Ja Wangnan’s neck.
One thing that was off-putting about this episode was how quickly the 10 minutes they had turned into 20 seconds, despite the fact that it didn’t take the robed man too many moves to subdue his opponents. This can easily be written off as a production oversight or awkward pacing, but a number of elements throughoutTower of Godhave been subtly incorporated into the story, and Ja Wangnan’s luck in this episode might be more than what meets the eye. With the 30 minutes over, the entire group passes. With a great second-half and no time wasted on the set-up for the upcoming season,Tower of Godseason 2 is off to a good start as it adopts a different look and feel to the first season.
Tower of God
Cast
Tower of God is an anime series based on the South Korean webtoon by SIU. It follows a young boy named Bam who embarks on a perilous journey to ascend a mysterious tower, where each floor presents unique challenges and tests. The tower promises to grant the deepest desires of those who reach its top. Along the way, Bam forms alliances and confronts adversaries while uncovering hidden truths about himself and the tower.
