Tower of God season 2 episode 23 review: An encouraging sign of what to expect in the homestretch

With the series building into its exciting final episodes, many expected Tower of God season 2 episode 23 to finally see the series jump the proverbial shark on its recent quality increases. Officially released on Sunday, December 8, 2024, the installment did just that, seeing a major boon to animation quality which benefitted Bam and Beta’s bout greatly.

However, Tower of God season 2 episode 23 is still far from perfect, with some unfortunate corner cutting coming in upsetting ways. The episode also moves at a relatively slow pace, sometimes dragging with lingering on certain scenes for a touch too long. Thankfully, however, these are the only major flaws in the episode, which is a very enjoyable watch in all other respects.

Tower of God season 2 episode 23 review: Directorial choices, animation quality, and more are the positives

Generally speaking, all of Tower of God season 2 episode 23’s biggest strengths can relate back to either directorial choices, or high-quality animation. There are several scenes which tie into both, such as the opening shot of Beta walking into the Item Summoning Shop in his pursuit of Wangnan Ja. It’s an eerie and grim reminder of what’s to come which sets the tone for the episode perfectly, and also highlights the improvements The Answer Studio has made.

The next major qualitative highlight from the episode comes in Yeon Yihwa’s use of her abilities to target the parasite and the parasite only. The anime improves on source material here, making Yihwa’s concentration and efforts more palpable and impactful. First-person shots from her perspective also help to enthrall the viewer more, in turn making her first successful targeted shot even more exciting.

Tower of God season 2 episode 23 parlays this into a particularly impressive string of sequences, starting with Wangnan beginning to summon Bam. The scene is primarily impressive from a narrative standpoint, serving as an enthralling development which capitalizes on viewers being already entranced. This is then further capitalized on by going right into a fight scene with Beta taking on those present and uninjured.

Bam and Beta's fated confrontation is a major highlight of Tower of God season 2 episode 23 (Image via The Answer Studios)

This sequence is primarily impressive for the animation quality of Beta’s abilities, which are of a cut above what’s been seen in the entire season so far up to this point. This is further capitalized on in Bam’s summoning scene and in their final fight after. While the entire skirmish is well–animated, Bam’s final two attacks are particularly notable, with the attacks themselves and the Thorn’s activation being especially impressive.

The final attack scene also highlights the fundamental improvements The Answer Studio has made to its product as of Tower of God season 2 episode 23. Although not particularly extravagant or flashy, the final attack possesses great fundamentals and is of a high enough quality to at least not appear off-putting to the viewer. Again, when considering what has come before this moment in the season, this is most certainly an impressive achievement.

The final major positive from this latest installment is in its narrative, which finally explains Beta’s hatred for Bam and begins tying together several loose threads in the season. The episode also does a great job of introducing a new, final twist to end the Workshop Battle Arc on, the execution of which is fairly well done. Certainly, there’s plenty for viewers’ attention to be wrapped up by heading into the final three episodes of the second season.

Beyond these specific highlights, most other aspects of Tower of God season 2 episode 23 were adequate enough to not rightfully be considered true flaws or negatives. Chiharu Shigematsu continues to shine as Beta, while other voice actors play their parts sufficiently. The series is also doing a good job of ensuring loose ends are being tied up as mentioned above, such as finally expanding on Beta’s backstory.

Tower of God season 2 episode 23 review: Continuous cut corners and minor pacing issues are the only major negatives

Tower of God season 2 episode 23 isn't perfect (Image via The Answer Studio)

Easily the most obvious and most disappointing flaw in this latest installment is the fact that corners are still being cut in an almost laughable way. A shot of Khun Aguero Agnes in an Observer trying to manipulate his Lighthouse especially demonstrates this. To communicate he’s typing, the scene locks Khun into a range of motion which sees each of his arms bounce back and forth along the same range of motion with no deviation.

This scene is particularly upsetting, as it’s so obvious and such an upsetting corner to cut that it’s almost insulting to viewers. It’s also egregious enough to temporarily take audiences out of the viewing experience, which is never a good sign. Another cut corner comes during Bam’s fight with Beta, where his hand suddenly jumps from by his side to on Beta’s stomach before the final attack. While not as egregious, it’s still very upsetting to see given all the good done.

The only other relatively major issue with Tower of God season 2 episode 21 is a generally slow pacing overall relative to recent installments. While one could argue this is due to dwindling source material, this would nevertheless still speak to an issue with The Answer Studio’s storyboarding and planning. While certainly more minor than the continuously cut corners, it’s nevertheless a clear fault in an otherwise great episode.

Tower of God season 2 episode 23 review: Final thoughts

More likely than not, Tower of God season 2 episode 23 serves as a good example of what fans can expect from these final few outings. Animation quality will improve on the whole and especially where it matters, but there will still be some cut corners, some of which are more egregious than others.

Likewise, the narrative will continue to both wrap up loose ends as the Workshop Battle concludes, and set up new ones for each week and the series’ overall future. In between, fans can expect excellent character writing and a generally enthralling final product with some relatively large blemishes.