Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: The Answer Studio's improvements have a long way to go

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 was expected to be an action-packed episode given that Anaak Jahad and Khun Ran were set to rematch in the Workshop Battle's first round. Officially released on Sunday, November 10, 2024, the episode did indeed feature significant action, but it wasn’t quite at the level of quality fans were expecting.

That being said, the general improvements that The Answer Studio has made throughout the Workshop Battle Arc continued to be apparently present in this latest outing. However, Tower of God season 2 episode 19 proves that the production team refuses to go all in quite yet, and frankly, it may suggest that they never will.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: Good directorial choices, better animation, and more are the positives

Expand Tweet

Focusing on Anaak Jahad and Khun Ran's rematch to start, Tower of God season 2 episode 19 did up the animation quality for the fight. There was much more life to the characters’ movements than in prior, general combat scenes for the second season. The episode also had legitimately high-quality animation, although it was missing some aspects that could’ve further heightened the quality. One good example of this is Ran’s post-Lightning Pill aura, which was adequate but generic.

Yet sadly, this anticipated rematch isn’t even the most well-produced fight in the installment. Despite being much shorter, Hatz’s encounter with one of the Workshop’s robot sentries is much more well–produced and engaging. Fluidity and movement are present in the entire fight, and The Answer Studio bafflingly manages to nail the CGI–esque animation of the robot despite their relative phoning it in on the series’ general 2D animation.

While there are some problems with this in terms of what viewers implicitly take away from this distinction, the fight’s mention here is intended as purely positive. Likewise, considering the large set pieces and battles that will take place in the coming weeks, there are some positives to take from Hatz’s fight in Tower of God season 2 episode 19. However, this hinges on The Answer Studio not only maintaining these current improvements but also continuing to do better.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: Anaak and Ran's fight is home to many positives, and some negatives (Image via The Answer Studio)

There are also great directorial choices (as well as some not-so-great ones to be mentioned later) throughout the episode. One of the most meaningful comes in the opening focus on Bam, which sees him meet Beta and learn more about himself and what he’s doing at the Workshop Battle. Here, Beta is initially bathed in light in the dark room, while Bam is enshrouded by darkness a fair ways away from the light after entering the room.

As they talk and the scene progresses, Tower of God season 2 episode 19 sees Bam get closer to and eventually become fully bathed in the light as Emily reveals the truth. It’s a subtle, but effective directorial choice that symbolically gives more weight to both the scene overall and the truth Bam learns here. Stressing this impact is likewise necessary at the moment to further explain Bam’s coming actions and choices in the second season’s final episodes.

Expand Tweet

The episode also succeeds narratively in two key areas. The first is the twist ending to Ran and Anaak’s duel, which ends with sudden interference. It’s something that may let many viewers down, but it’s also a legitimately good twist to make given the anticipation and implications of their fight’s result. Likewise, the interference is narratively justified by reactive developments, which provide a more fulfilling, unpredictable, and exciting narrative in turn.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 also narratively succeeds in its cliffhanger, providing true suspense by giving fans exactly what they want as the episode ends. The twist scene itself is also well done, with Rak Wraithraiser’s actions and words (delivered expertly by Kenta Miyake) perfectly symbolizing what fans also feel in the moment. It’s a scene that rewards viewers, while also giving them something more to look forward to.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: Bad fight pacing and cut corners continue to be the major issues

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: Conclusion of Anaak and Ran's fight highlights one of the season's biggest issues (Image via The Answer Studio)

While this latest installment does see improvements in animation, there are still some major issues to address. One of the biggest is the fight pacing, which is seemingly being purposefully slowed down for the sake of cost-friendly animation business practices. Anaak’s dodge of Ran’s first big attack perfectly highlights this, seeing her move very choppily and slowly as she dodges. It takes audiences out of the viewing experience of how out of place it looks for a net-negative impact.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 also cuts some corners in close combat, where animation isn’t quite as fluid or high-budget as it necessarily should be. Ran and Anaak’s fight once again highlights this during their up-close-and-personal skirmish. The triple camera zoom effect on Ran’s final move also highlights this, with The Answer Studio lazily trying to create the sense of dynamic movement without actually creating any.

A final major and borderline inexcusable cut corner is the production of the twist ending to Anaak and Ran’s fight. Paracule simply just appears out of the water in a slideshow-esque fashion, which is given several camera pans in an attempt to also create movement here where none exists. Plainly speaking, this simply should’ve been a better-produced scene considering the impact it has on the Workshop Battle Arc’s narrative and how shocking it is for viewers.

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 review: Final thoughts

Expand Tweet

Tower of God season 2 episode 19 very arguably proves that The Answer Studio’s greatest enemy is themselves at this point. Generally speaking, most improvements have either reached or are imminently approaching the peak of what fans will see this season.

However, areas that would be no-brainers to pair with these established improvements are being continuously deprioritized by the production team. These cut corners and missed opportunities have been piling up throughout the season, making their continued presence even more frustrating and disappointing for viewers.

Related li

Edited by Joseph Brogan