Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review: The Answer Studio fails to nail fundamentals in an uninspired effort

Modified Oct 01, 2024 03:35 GMT

Tower of God season 2 episode 13: The Answer Studio fails to nail fundamentals in an uninspired effort (Image via The Answer Studio) — Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review: The Answer Studio fails to nail fundamentals in an uninspired effort (Image via The Answer Studio)

Despite marking the end of the anime’s Return of the Prince Arc, Tower of God season 2 episode 13 is an unceremonious and unmemorable sendoff. Officially released on Sunday, September 29, 2024, the installment sees The Answer Studio break one of the most fundamental rules of cinematography in its opening scene.

Tower of God season 2 episode 13 unfortunately doesn’t recover from this bad start, although there are some high points in the episode directorially speaking. However, even these relatively bright spots are held down by wooden, inexpressive animation which sees naught but mouths move as dialogue rings out.

Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review: Khun and Wangnan’s conversation and good character development are the positives

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While Tower of God season 2 episode 13 does have some directorial successes, these are mostly isolated to a single scene. This is when Khun Aguero Agnes and Wangnan Ja speak with each other about the former’s offer to join as one large team. The official soundtrack pairing is perfect, with the main highlight being when Khun tells Wangnan Ja that going after Bam/Jue viole Grace is simply going to see their friend.

Visually, the scene is impressive for its use of lens flare and camera panning, portraying Khun and his offer as a savior and light at the end of the tunnel for the confused and lost Wangnan. While it wouldn’t stack up to other productions whose studios would go all-in on such an approach, what little The Answer Studio does here is refreshing given the season so far. While a somewhat backhanded compliment, it’s nevertheless intended as one here.

The only other place Tower of God season 2 episode 13 particularly shines in its directorial choices is the introduction of a new, seemingly significant character. The Answer Studio once again provides relative spice to its production so far via the scope and various focuses of the scene. It’s worth reinforcing, however, that this visual flavor is still relatively bland compared to the direction other studios would take.

Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review (Image via The Answer Studio)

Beyond this, the episode has some significant character development for the other members of Wangnan’s team. Prince, Yeo Miseng, and Yeon Yihwa specifically get the most benefit here, highlighting their respective motivations and dedication. The others get more subtle development in different ways reinforcing their characters rather than developing them further.

The voice acting is also fine, with Tower of God season 2 episode 13 having neither a standout performance nor a particularly egregious one. As mentioned above, the animation is as wooden as ever, but the 13th episode at least benefits from not having any action which would make its art style and animation particularly offensive.

Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review: Forgotten fundamentals, animation issues, and more are the negatives

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The Return of the Prince Arc’s finale may have some positives, but it immediately starts on the wrong foot via breaking the 180-degree rule. Shots of Wangnan and Hwaryun’s conversation continuously break this guideline as they speak, and also offer confusing switches in positioning which serve to grab immediate, negative attention. The scene is a chaotic mess overall and quite frankly will make most viewers want to abandon the episode at this point.

The conversation also highlights the animation issues, specifically with how wooden the season has been thus far. Despite having a relatively serious and tense conversation, Tower of God season 2 episode 13 doesn’t do a good job of ensuring these characters are as expressive as they should be. This extends throughout the entire episode, as it has the entire season prior to this point, and is a frustrating, continuous choice which The Answer Studio refuses to fix.

The latest installment also fails to give any real immediate major narrative developments despite the Workshop Battle Arc being around the corner. There are certainly long-term plot points being set up heading into the storyline’s premiere next week, but nothing to immediately grab viewers’ hearts and minds. This is specifically a major issue for the fact that, in all other major areas, there’s not much of an argument to continue returning on a weekly basis.

Tower of God season 2 episode 13 review: Final thoughts

While there’s nothing about episode 13 that’s especially offensive beyond the 180-degree rule break, it does continue the adaptation’s plain feel. Going the extra mile continues to be shirked, with The Answer Studio seemingly scoffing at the idea given what fans have seen so far. The series continued to be an uninspired and plain production which fails to improve upon the first season and makes no weekly effort to improve.