This week was another case of “webcomic time” stretching the pacing of the show. Anak and Endorsi finish their fight (going into a more exaggerated comedic style for part of it as well) and, wiped out on the floor below, and seem to reach a sort of truce with one another as they converse down there.
On that topic, Endorsi clearly needs to
stop doing combat in heels, that’s screwed her over two fights out of
two now.
We get some scenes in the middle of
other tests working out, including the horned Wave Controller who’s
been nice to Bam approaching breakdown from a general limited ability
with his class and Tracksuit Guy’s trouble making friends. Bam,
Khun, and especially Rak are very out of focus this episode, but we
do get at least one good scene with Rachel as she continues to mope
and eat only wormy apples. Endorsi, having made something resembling
friends with Bam by this point, questions Rachel’s resolve, and
Rachel’s reactions, though underplayed, say a lot about the kind of
doubt and fear that may lurk inside her.
That done, we move to setup for the
next test: a game of tag. Really, it’s structured more like a sort
of Capture the Flag arrangement where two teams each have an “it”.
Victory is declared when one “it” claims the badge of the other,
with a bonus paid to anyone who takes the badge from the opposing
“it”. As a kicker, one side gets a crazy test administrator to
be “it” while the other has their own from the group. Khun,
placed the opposite team from Bam (with Rak exempt from this
particular challenge), concocts a plan to defeat the administrator,
even though claiming a clean victory would probably cause Bam to drop
out. We see the start of executing it, with Khun’s class having
gained the ability to appear in hovering light cubes (strange), and
the Administrator gains the upper hand against Khun’s “it” (Anak)
fairly quickly. Whatever twists or turns are going to follow in this
test will have to come next time.
Really, this show isn’t bad, but it
leaves me waiting for the other shoe to drop. I feel like there
should be some more intense intrigue going on, given the show’s
overall themes and tone, but there really isn’t yet. We’re still at
the very beginning of Bam’s quest, without him having really climbed
so much as a single floor of the Tower. The stuff we’ve learned
about Jahad and the princesses promises to be strong, and a lot could
be done with all the minor characters we’ve touched, but for a single
season anime I’m asking where the meat is. There are other shows
that take their time getting around to the main plot, but in most of
those I’ve been more invested in the struggles of the immediate than
I am here. Last week’s episode was strong, and I feel showed some of
what Tower of God is capable of, but this week I’m simply left with
the question: “What? Done already?”