Tower of God season 2 episode 12 review: An almost irredeemable installment marks the season's lowest point yet

Rightfully so, fans’ expectations heading into Tower of God season 2 episode 12 were very low considering where the series was at. The “climactic” confrontation at the Hand of Arlen in episode 11 all but confirmed that the series would enter a lull before officially beginning the Workshop Battle arc. Officially released earlier this weekend, season 2 episode 12 did indeed deliver an uninspired and relatively uneventful episode.

In fact, what little plot development is made in Tower of God season 2 episode 12 serves as one of just two major positives as The Answer Studio continues to cut corners at every opportunity. The plot also continues to drag, creating a sluggish, going-through-the-motions sensation, which is giving fans more incentive to binge the show in December rather than tune in weekly.

Tower of God season 2 episode 12 review: Certain directorial choices and relative narrative advancement are the only positives

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As mentioned above, Tower of God season 2 episode 12 really only has two major highlights that deserve to be commended. The first is the direction as it relates to Khun Aguero Agnes throughout the episode, seeing him work through recent events in his mind and try to accept that Bam is alive as Jue Viole Grace. These scenes see him struggling to see through smoke-filled rooms, as dialogue plays and static-laden images appear in the background.

It’s a scene that highlights the struggle Khun is going through, especially as the white smoke and background are traded out for a pitch-black one. This also leads to a white light at the end of the tunnel appearing, further highlighting how important this discovery is for Khun and how much Bam truly means to him. The two major sequences that make up this focus are essentially the only times where The Answer Studio goes above and beyond.

The other major positive in Tower of God season 2 episode 12 is much less worthy of praise, as it’s essentially a minimal plot advancement that does technically drive the story forward. However, the only new plot points revealed are essentially that Bam and Khun have switched teams, as well as Edin Dan’s survival. While it certainly does move the story forward, it’s hardly impressive enough to make up for the myriad of faults in the episode.

A final happy note, but far from a major one with how isolated it is, stems from the vocal performance of Nobuhiko Okamoto as Khun. What Khun is feeling throughout the events that unfold is clear and palpable, resultantly perfect in terms of its effectiveness. It’s also clear that Okamoto deeply understands the character by being able to deliver such a memorable, impressive, and fitting performance.

Tower of God season 2 episode 12 review: Cutting questionable corners, awful animation and art style, and more are the negatives

Tower of God season 2 episode 12 review (Image via The Answer Studio)

While the animation and art style from The Answer Studio had been an issue from the start of the season, the staff was at least not cutting any majorly questionable corners. Even if the animation wasn’t particularly enthralling or pleasing, it nevertheless was encouraging to see this dedicated approach. However, recent weeks have seen this practice fade, with one scene from this latest installment being the most egregious so far.

In Tower of God season 2 episode 12, there’s a scene where Wangnan Ja uses a bomb to disrupt rubble to find the location of Bam’s pocket. For many other studios, this would be an easy layup of a scene for some eye candy, with plenty of opportunity to spice it up and make it memorable. Yet, The Answer Studio not only doesn’t do this but cuts away from the explosion entirely before showing a static, unmoving image of the aftermath.

It’s an incredibly infuriating and almost insulting decision that communicates what The Answer Studio’s priorities are at this point in the season; go through the motions, cut corners wherever possible, go above and beyond on nothing in terms of animation, and keep dangling the Workshop Battle arc like a carrot on a stick. Truly, there is nothing redeemable about this approach, and viewers are resultantly best served binging the series in late December.

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Even in the brief fight scene that Tower of God season 2 episode 12 has, the animation and art style are static, underwhelming, and unimpressive. While the scene itself wasn’t needing any special treatment, it’s how plain it is combined with the cutting corners of the aforementioned Wangnan scene that is infuriating. While this does suggest that the budget is being saved for the Workshop Battle arc, this plays back into the almost-insulting carrot-on-a-stick methodology.

There’s also the fact that less of a focus is given to Bam than reasonably should be in this installment, especially since a time-skip directly into the Workshop Battle arc is seemingly coming. With this in mind, a cliffhanger on Dan’s status and Khun’s decision regarding Hwaryun’s offer in exchange for a focus on Bam would’ve worked much better. This is especially true considering the emotions Bam is obviously feeling right now, which is a rare occurrence.

It’s also worth emphasizing that such a choice in Tower of God season 2 episode 12 would’ve been buttressed by Bam being the major highlight of the entire season thus far. It’s his story, and seeing him grow into finding a team of comrades he cares for again has been the most engaging aspect. Likewise, the focus on the conflicting emotions he’s certainly feeling after seeing Khun again would’ve been a much better use of the installment’s time, if a time-skip is coming.

Beyond this, the typical negatives continue to apply. Outside of Okamoto’s aforementioned performance as Khun, voice acting is relatively unimpressive and immemorable. Characters and their arcs outside of Khun and Bam also continue to feel flat (Dan’s presence in this episode is promising in this context, but its payoff remains to be seen).

Tower of God season 2 episode 12 review: Final thoughts

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Clearly, Tower of God season 2 episode 12 is far from a high point in the series; in fact, it can be argued as the lowest point yet from an overall perspective. What’s clear is that The Answer Studio’s only concern is getting to the Workshop Battle arc as quickly, uninventive, and inexpensive a way as possible. Hopefully, the second half of the highly anticipated second season will make up for what viewers have had to suffer through thus far.