Tower of God season 2 episode 14 review: Workshop Battle Arc begins with an encouraging uptick in quality

While fans were far from optimistic regarding the upcoming Workshop Battle Arc, Tower of God season 2 episode 14 surprisingly did get the new arc started on the right foot. Officially released on Sunday, October 6, 2024, the latest installment for the series shockingly saw an encouraging uptick in overall animation and art quality.

However, Tower of God season 2 episode 14 also made it apparent that many of the problems that plagued the Return of the Prince Arc still linger as of this first episode. Issues such as cutting corners other studios wouldn’t and an overall lack of dynamic motion serve as the most notable of these persistent maladies.

Tower of God season 2 episode 14 review: Plenty of action, an uptick in overall quality, and more are the positives

Tower of God season 2 episode 14 raises the stakes, and the quality (Image via The Answer Studio)

One of the most encouraging aspects of Tower of God season 2 episode 14 is the increase in animation and general art quality. Bam’s fight against the Workshop patrol highlights this, featuring relatively dynamic animation and movement compared to what fans have seen. Bam’s Baangs of Shinsu also look more vibrant and move more fluidly than they did throughout the Return of the Prince Arc.

There are also non-combat scenes that are particularly encouraging, such as Bam and the Traveler walking to the latter’s hideout. Nothing particularly exciting or action-packed is going on here, but the quality of the water and the shot overall is of a notably higher quality than most of the first arc’s scenes. The explanation scene for the One Shot, One Opportunity game is also of particularly high quality relative to what’s been seen so far.

Tower of God season 2 episode 14 isn’t particularly impressive in many other areas with animation, but there’s clearly a general elevation of quality overall. One general example of this is less of a wooden feel to the animation, with characters not only moving more but moving more naturally and fluidly. The episode likewise benefits from having plenty of action due to the ongoing game starting.

Expand Tweet

The action itself is also well done due to feeling incredibly significant considering the ongoing circumstances. Although there are some issues with how The Answer Studio is going about animating these conflicts, their presence is nevertheless exciting. Especially encouraging is the buildup of two key conflicts in Bam versus Endorsi, and Shibisu’s team versus the FUG members and co who are accompanying Bam.

This cleverly whets fans’ appetites for the upcoming Workshop Battle itself, as well as beginning to set up plotlines which will likely be explored through that point. Tower of God season 2 episode 14 likewise excels narratively in this way; while ongoing threads are being tidied up, the series is also introducing several new story elements via this installment. At the very least, the Workshop Battle Arc should have more going on than the previous one.

The installment also does a good job of both establishing the bond Khun Aguero Agnes and Wangnan Ja have developed and executing this demonstration. Likewise, directorial choices on the whole for the episode are of a much higher caliber than recent outings. Endorsi’s appearance before Bam at the end of the episode is a particularly great example, being totally visually distinct from anything else in the second season.

Overall, it feels as though Tower of God season 2 episode 14 is seeing The Answer Studio both settle into the series, and break open their wallets. While the first season may have been a slog to get through, it seems those fans who patiently suffered through are on the verge of being rewarded. All that remains to be seen is if these first few steps continue for the rest of the Workshop Battle Arc.

Tower of God season 2 episode 14: The same old issues otherwise are the major negatives

Tower of God season 2 episode 14 is a major step forward, but it isn't perfect (Image via The Answer Studio)

While the actual art quality of the series may have generally improved, the art style overall still falls extremely flat relative to the first season. It simply doesn’t do the series justice overall, especially when it comes to portraying Shinsu and its usage in battle. The improvements mentioned above are helping to mitigate this but unfortunately, it seems no major changes in aesthetic will come for this arc.

Likewise, while the animation isn’t quite as wooden as it has been, the problem persists even if in a lesser capacity. A lack of expressiveness on the faces of characters serves as the best example of this, as well as a general lack of continued facial movement aside from lips moving. Much like the art style, such an approach fails to make the characters feel as alive as they did thanks to Telecom Animation Film’s production in season 1.

Interestingly, the series seems to once again be suffering from having such a large cast. No single viewpoint in Tower of God season 2 episode 14 feels fully explored, and it leaves a sense of wanting. While this normally would get the benefit of the doubt for change coming soon, the current focus is on a short game that is rapidly approaching its end. The series simply seems spread a bit too thin considering the length of the ongoing priority plotpoint.

Tower of God season 2 episode 14: Final thoughts

Expand Tweet

While there are certainly still issues with the series, Tower of God season 2 episode 14 is a great step in the right direction. There’s plenty to get excited about as the Workshop Battle Arc kicks off and moves into its larger narrative beats. This will hopefully coincide with continued improvement from The Answer Studio, making for a memorable finish to what was a very unimpressive start.

However, there are also still some major issues, both inherent to certain production choices and not so. In any case, these issues are those that have been plaguing the series throughout the second season so far and thus seem unlikely to change. Hopefully, the continued improvements on the series throughout the season can make up for these seemingly intentional negatives, which won’t be going anywhere.