We had to wait a long time for Tower of God to make its big return so everyone was eager to see just how good it would look. Well, unfortunately the series isn’t one of the more big budget ones to put it mildly. The story is a 10/10 though so the series was always going to be great unless they changed something about the plot. Fortunately the cuts weren’t all that bad here. Some stuff is missing to be sure but all in all I thought they did an impressive job with it. It’s no season 1 but this show was definitely a lot of fun.

The story takes place a long time after season 1. Our new main character is Wangnan who is trying to climb up the tower but he has been having a hard time so far. He owes a lot of money to the local Yakuza so this is his last chance. There are a scary batch of recruits this time around too including the mysterious Viole who is the latest Slayer candidate. Since he is sponsored directly by FUG, getting on his bad side would not be a good idea. As luck would have it, they are placed on the same team along with a variety of other colorful characters. Will they be able to succeed or are they all doomed to die? In the meantime, the old characters like Khun are still making their moves to climb the tower and get justice for Baam.

There is a lot going on here as you would expect since this was always a very dialogue heavy series with a lot of storylines going on. This one adds a whole lot of characters to the existing roster which was already quite sizable. There is definitely a lot to keep up with here and the story has to move fast so don’t expect to have too many moments to relax and digest what just happened. Naturally I tend to enjoy fast pacing so that was pretty fun. I’d say it is still enough where you can understand what is going on even without reading the original manhua. It makes things easier for sure though.

So the story is super compelling as always and that’s why I say the series was destined for greatness. As for the animation, it’s not bad. It went for a more traditional look than the first season and while I think that can be good to show off the higher power levels, it really isn’t taken to the fullest. This animation style feels very familiar after all but it doesn’t have the same budget that bigger titles have. So as a result the fights aren’t super fluid or tend to have a lot of movement. At the very end of the season we get some quick cuts but that’s about it. The big punch with Viole and Urek is still a lot of fun even if the animation isn’t super high tier or anything though. I guess it’s another moment where I would give the story itself the most credit.

Fortunately the soundtrack is still really good like in season 1. There are a lot of reused tracks but they still age well. The cliffhanger theme when Urek is fighting Viole is definitely the best one. The openings/endings aren’t as catchy as season 1’s were but they are still good. I’ve listened to them a whole lot and at this point I’m used to them but I still couldn’t say that they are elite or really stand out. They do work better when you ignore the images though. The first opening’s is still criminally low budget. There were some artistic ideas there but they failed.

The decision to make this season 2 cours was definitely a really good one because of how much content there was to adapt. They will probably need 4 cours in order to adapt the Hell Train arc properly but we’ll see how that goes. Hopefully the wait isn’t super long for the next season because it’s rough to have to wait for so long each time. The next arc is my personal favorite of the series after all so I need it right away!

Wangnan makes for a pretty fun main character and I would say he’s a lot more fun than Baam from the first season. That kid was nice enough but Wangnan has more of a personality. He has dreams and aspirations and works hard to make them come true. He may not be the most powerful fighter in the tower but he doesn’t need to be. He just needs good allies and gets some decent feats as the season goes on. He’s more of a comedic lead but that doesn’t stop him from getting serious moments as well. He does what he needs to in order to go higher in the tower.

Miseng is one of the main party members but she can’t really fight much which puts her in a tough spot. The tower is a cruel place and trying to climb it without being able to fight is a really terrible idea. I feel bad for her of course but cmon now. This is just not going to work. She just ends up holding the team back the whole time and since she knows it, this causes Miseng to make some pretty bad moves the whole time. The whole thing is really just a wash for her and she should probably have gotten kicked out of the exams earlier. It only gets rougher the more you climb up after all.

Then there is Goseng who is in a similar boat as she can’t fight. What’s with all of these civilians trying to climb the tower? It’s just such a bad idea and the series sets up a little romance for her but you can’t imagine it ending in anything other than a tragic way. It’s just not possible to climb while constantly having to protect others. She doesn’t seem to be working on her abilities either so for now she isn’t rising up for me.

Akraptor is the tough guy who seems unhinged at first but has a soft side. Still, this is finally someone who can really fight so I am on board with having him around. He is able to keep his cool and keep the others in line when needed. He also tries to put up a fight against Viole although going for cheap shots against Horyang wasn’t smart with how high the stakes were. The guy adds a little spice to the team dynamic by being someone who can’t 100% be trusted so I appreciated that.

Horyang is another pretty powerful fighter and he’s got a sinister past. Definitely someone to keep an eye on and he gets a big role in the arc as other figures from his past turn up. I think he can be a bit too soft spoken but once his mini arc starts, he did get more serious and pro active. So I would say I hesitantly like him. I would like him to do more in the future though instead of just being dragged around a whole lot. He also needs to not make such a reckless move in leaving the heroes again since that just puts them all in danger.

Yeon is a pretty high ranking individual among the family hierarchy so when she shows up you expect a whole lot out of her. Unfortunately she can’t control her flames which is a classic way to nerf her. She’s not bad but considering how much hype the flames themselves get, it can be annoying to see people blocking them or straight up tanking the blasts. She absolutely needs to improve her abilities and do it quickly. Fortunately for her, Tower of God is one of those titles that doesn’t put a ton of stock on speed so she will still be able to tag speedsters even if it doesn’t make sense. Still, you need more than flames to win in this world because being a one trick pony is a recipe for disaster.

Viole is the power hitter that the team needed so it’s always good to have him around. He also doesn’t live up to the hype as much as you would want in the show version. As the slayer candidate his abilities are supposed to be absolutely legendary and on a whole different level yet he doesn’t look quite as overwhelmingly powerful as you would expect. If anything it just seems like his aura is slightly greater than the others which isn’t the all powerful buff that you would think it is. I would have liked to have seen more out of him.

Even so, it’s clear that he is stronger than the rest of the guys on his team so that’s good. Additionally just the fact that he stood up to Urek even for a moment was impressive since everybody else was chickening out immediately. When you are trying to climb the tower, you sometimes have to have a defining moment where you stand against the strong and this was it. It’s a lesson that the other characters could definitely learn from.

Take Prince for example. He may have looked tough at first as one of the villains but the instant he joined the heroes, the guy lost all his hype. It’s not like we needed another kid type character on the crew either. He doesn’t really contribute much at all except to hold the heroes back so I can’t say that I was a big fan of his either. On the whole you can see why I preferred the team from the season 1 group. I tended to enjoy everybody there while here the team can be hit or miss.

Then of course we have Khun’s team led by the man himself. Khun is solid as always here as he thinks 3 steps ahead and always has a plan. This is around the time he became a full time strategist. In season 1 he was also rather dominant physically but I suppose by this time the opponents are getting stronger. I would like to see him fight more though because I have to assume he’s still stronger than a lot of people. He doesn’t see into every possible contingency nor does he win every battle but on the whole he looks good. Khun is great at adapting to the circumstance and always keeping a confident demeanor up no matter what.

Dan is the new recruit Khun finds who has super speed. Uh oh, we all know how super speed can get kinda dicey when it comes to power levels right? Well, naturally it’s not all that good for Dan and he doesn’t get to show it off as much as I would like. The show does a good job of making him immediately likable though. I thought he was a really well developed character though and somebody who was just fun to root for.

Most of Khun’s other members aren’t all that memorable but there were two others who left an impact. First up is Novik who is one of those strong guys who is always overshadowed by having someone more powerful than him on the team. That has to be rough to know that you are pretty powerful but will never get that elusive #1 spot. Doesn’t feel all that fair right? Well he doesn’t let it get him down. It’s a bit hard to gauge Novik’s strength as well because he’s often either much stronger than his opponent or much weaker. There’s not really much of an in between here.

Then you have Ran who is a lot of fun. The guy is super confident and powerful. He reminds me a lot of Killua from Hunter X Hunter. His smugness is definitely deserved with how easily he dispatches his opponents. I like his fighting style so you could say that everything about the character is great from start to finish. He’s really fun to root for and gets a good amount of screentime. Khun definitely did really well to recruit this guy.

Shibisu has his own team as well which is a mix of new characters and old ones. The guy has really come a long way from being more of a loudmouth to a strategist who is treated a lot like Khun. The first season set up the seeds for this and the payoff was really good. He’s still not really a fighter though so tactics are really how he shines in the battles. If you take that away from him then he will really be in a tough spot here.

One of his new recruits is Vespa who is a strong fighter. Vespa brags a lot about having an awakened form and being the fastest but ends up fighting people who are either faster or who have hax which is unfortunate. I still like the character though. I don’t like Verdi as much because she seems borderline evil. She likes to collect people as puppets and brainwash them. That’s not exactly hero behavior so I don’t know what she is doing with these guys. I guess it was one of those strategic partnerships to look the other way but that isn’t a huge consolation to me. You have to reign that “Anything goes” attitude a little bit or you will become the villains.

Endorsi is also part of the group but she really does whatever she wants. It’s fun to see her absolute freedom though and continues to be one of the more powerful fighters. She gets a lot of hype on this one and also on an intellectual level as she quickly figures out that something is a little off about Viole. I definitely look forward to her continuing to have a pretty big role.

Anaak also gets her own solid fight so her fans should be pleased. Her durability gets a lot of respect and she is a high end fighter as well. For the most part you would expect her to be able to defeat most of the other fighters in each group. She is quick to want to get revenge for Baam which I appreciate. That’s how a real friend does it. Unfortunately I would say Hatz looks far less impressive. I really liked him in season 1 but it’s clear that he has lost to the power creep. Gone are the days where he could fight on par with Anaak. Hatz gets his own sub plot ad everything but he just doesn’t have the edge that he used to which is a shame.

Then on the FUG team we have Refejo at the helm. He’s a rather mysterious guy who seems loyal but is always having a backup plan at the ready. In fairness to the guy, trusting anyone in the Tower of God is a really bad move so I don’t blame him. His suspicions turn out to be correct more often than not. He ends up making for a really good villain and is one of the standout antagonists here. The guy can back up his tough talk really well.

Varagav may be stronger but the guy has less character. We get to see him fight Endorsi but that’s about it. I do like the foreshadowing with Baylord Yama being mentioned though. Beta was a more impressive villain as he really gave Viole a tough fight. The guy was pretty whiny so I won’t say he’s as likable as some of the other villains but the guy made his presence known. He really gave all of the characters a really tough fight throughout.

Another villain is Quaetro but he stops being a threat early on. His fight with Wangnan was a lot of fun though. For the most part the fights in the series tend to be serious so having a little comedic moment once in a while isn’t bad. His partner Chang gets even less to do but does seem to be stronger. Maybe one day we will really get to see him cut loose although it feels like the power creep has already passed him. The series really moves fast when it comes to powers.

That’s not even counting characters who appear but haven’t fought yet. Karaka gets a few appearances to gloat and look tough. He’s a solid villain so I look forward to him getting a role. Then of course we have his master Jinsung who gets even more hype. The kind of guy who doesn’t mind walking into a villain’s base all on his own just to talk smack. Now that’s a good level of confidence that I like to see.

Of course Urek towers above all of those as one of the strongest characters in the whole franchise. The guy loves a good fight and really shows off his power. Definitely someone you will want to see more of and he really steals the show even with a very limited amount of screentime. It will be a while before he does anything again so you better savor the moment while you can. His appearance was like a glimpse into the end game.

Then we have Xia Xia who isn’t the strongest villain but she still finds ways to shake everybody up so I can appreciate that. She is crazy in a very dangerous way with no tactic being out of bounds. I thought she did a good job of playing everybody and while her role isn’t large, it was impactful. She’s almost like the reverse Hwaryun who also trolls everybody constantly. Hwaryun gets more hype though since as a guide her foresight is pretty much unstoppable. She will always be on the path that she needs to be. Granted, it doesn’t stop her from being knocked out but you always assume that she got knocked out at a good time for her or something like that.

Emily is a mysterious figure and most of her scenes had to get cut out for the anime. Not that it changes much since she keeps the mysterious aura either way. I wasn’t crazy about the subplot in regards to her true identity but I did like the idea of a texting app that everybody was using in order to stay ahead. That added a fun wrinkle to the Workshop battle arc and kept all of the characters guessing. The more mind games in Tower of God the better!

Still, any scene with the Traveler would usually be pretty uneventful and dare I say a bit boring. I just didn’t care about the guy and not even the anime adaption would end up fixing that. He doesn’t appear a ton fortunately so that worked out. As one more miscellaneous hero, Rak shows up for the second half and even gets some fights. I would say he is an unfortunate victim of the power creep so don’t expect him to look too overpowering but he gets his share of fun moments. He’s not exactly my favorite character but the guy is super loyal so I really appreciate that.

Somebody like Cassano can learn from that. Cassano is a solid villain but you wonder how far he has thought ahead in his plans. he makes a whole lot of enemies out of pretty much every faction which can’t be a good idea for his long term health. He’s a solid fighter but not one of the top tiers. I guess relative to the average fighter he would be considered near the top though. I think he works as an interesting wild card and just needs at least one more power up.

Then of course we have Rachel who is still a standout character. She’s just an absolute blast and always shakes up the tower. It’s clear to see why she is considered one of the destined ones by the tower itself. She also has the most brutal moments in the series. She doesn’t appear much in the second half but of course you can look forward to seeing a whole lot more out of her down the road.

Overall, Season 2 was definitely a blast. It’s a great show even if it’s not downright elite the way that season 1 was. There is a lot going on here and a lot of plot developments set up for the next saga. Regardless of how the animation ends up looking, the next part should be super elite. Although of course I will be hoping for better animation as well because why not have the full package right? A series like Tower of God absolutely deserves every bit of effort it can get. I definitely recommend this title.

Overall 8/10