Tower of God season 2 episode 10 review: Bam's growth is highlighted as The Answer Studio's animation continues to disappoint

After what many have called the worst episode in the series in last week’s release, fans were expecting Tower of God season 2 episode 10 to take a major step in the right direction. Officially released on Sunday, September 8, 2024, this unfortunately was not the case, with episode 10 falling prey to the same major missteps that the ninth installment of season 2 did.

However, there were at least some positives to Tower of God season 2 episode 10, specifically as it relates to Bam’s continued growth and character development as it relates to his allies. While there are also some tense and well-executed moments, this positive is unfortunately the only one which pervades the entire installment rather than being present in short spurts.

Tower of God season 2 episode 10 review: Bam’s character development is the only major positive

Tower of God season 2 episode 10 review (Image via The Answer Studio)

As mentioned above, only one aspect of Tower of God season 2 episode 10 is both truly exceptionally well done and present throughout the entirety of the episode. This is a focus on Bam, who is clearly coming to realize that he values Wangnan Ja and his other new teammates as highly as he does Khun and co. It clearly weighs on him, and affects his judgment throughout the installment, especially when he’s speaking with the fortune teller girl in the tent village.

Scenes such as his tucking in Goseng and Miseng help to highlight how the gentle soul within is not only still present, but being brought to the surface by these new allies. Likewise, Bam’s empathy is also shown welling up throughout the episode via his continued commentary on how he and Horyang are the same. It’s certainly a bit heavy handed, but still makes for a remarkably well done scene which highlights that Bam truly does care for his new allies.

These scenes in Tower of God season 2 episode 10 also help to highlight that Bam hasn’t lost sight of his goals, even if he is beginning to fight for new friends. The scenes where he remembers his old teammates and Rachel specifically highlight this. He is both still aware of the fact that he must climb the Tower to guarantee Khun and co’s safety, and also get the answers from Rachel which he deserves.

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This combines with the obvious development and growth he gets from these moments (as it relates to his new allies) to show that he’s returning to his old self without losing sight of what must be done. It’s a relatively subtle, but extremely impactful moment which tells fans everything they need to know about his character from this point on. While additional development is sure to come, most of his growth in season 2 will likely revolve around these concepts.

Beyond this, however, there are no major or significant positives which Tower of God season 2 episode 10 offers. There is a decent amount of worldbuilding, primarily via the tent village, the fortune teller girl, and the introduction of the Hand of Arlen. The installment also gives some focus to the core of Khun’s team in himself, Ran, and Novick. While there isn’t much to gain from the focus they get, it does show them as a relatively close knit unit, even if they do bicker.

The focus on Khun specifically and individually is likely the next “major” positive the episode offers. Him realizing he’s in a trap, thanks to an assist from an unknown entity, is well-executed and tense enough to actually elicit concern from viewers. Khun’s subsequent encounter with his would-be assassin is also a positive, as it shows Khun still has his ruthless, manipulative nature while also being fairly impressive directorially.

Tower of God season 2 episode 10 review: Minimal plot advancement and problematic animation are the negatives

However, where Tower of God season 2 episode 10’s focus on Khun fails is when it comes to the animation, as do other focuses in the episode. The scene is essentially a slideshow, featuring no dynamic movement that is particularly impressive and continuing to be wooden and stiff as a result. This permeates the episode, including the bonafide action scenes which are literal fights between characters.

The episode features several different fight or action scenes, indistinguishable in that each is as poorly and woodenly produced as the last. There is minimal dynamic animation, and even layups like Ran’s balls of Shinsu that spark electricity feel underwhelming as a result. Ran versus Horyang, the fight where these balls of Shinsu appear, specifically feels underwhelming given the potential it has via each of their respective fighting styles.

Generally speaking, all of the fight scenes in Tower of God season 2 episode 10 can have this same criticism levied against them. It’s a visually unappealing and downright boring adaptation of skirmishes which have tons of life in the original manhwa. These aren’t the most intense fights in the series, but they also deserve more than what was given to them here by The Answer Studio. The new, boring, and unappealing art style also does no favors here either.

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The installment also suffers from being so bloated with fight and action scenes, yet failing to hit a homerun on any of them. At least blowing one’s production out of the water would be a step in the right direction to making up for the lack of quality on other fight and action scenes. Instead, none are particularly impressive technically, and serve to irk the viewer who is expecting one of the scenes to eventually take up a significant portion of the animation budget.

There’s also the fact that Tower of God season 2 episode 10 has essentially no plot advancement. Kang, or Ilmar, and Cassano meet, but nothing else significant happens. There’s setup for additional plotlines, but like the introduction of Emily in episode 8, this all seems to be for the far future rather than anytime soon. Although this is good to see, this makes for an uneventful and boring installment, especially with so many underwhelming action/fight scenes.

Tower of God season 2 episode 10 review: Final thoughts

Tower of God season 2 episode 10 (Image via The Answer Studio)

Despite the hopes of many, The Answer Studio continues to let down viewers in season 2 episode 10. It’s likely fair to call it the second-worst installment of the series thus far behind its direct predecessor. Although it should improve once the Workshop Battle arc begins, viewers are set for a long, dull, and visually unappealing road ahead until that time.