Rachel Spelled Backwards is Satan

Okay, so I was wrong last week when I predicted that Rachel pushed Bam out of the bubble and into the Shinsu “for his own sake.” And I’ve seen a lot of people mentioning how much they hate Rachel for betraying Bam like this. But I don’t really see it that way.

Obviously Rachel was just revealed as an antagonist of the series, but I’m still not entirely sure what her role is going to be going forward. I just don’t see her being an antagonist all the way until the end. She’s probably going to have some sort of redemption arc just like Sasuke Uchiha — which is to say a surface level one.

Also, I have to say this betrayal actually makes me like Rachel a lot more as a character. Up until this point, she had no real personality and there was barely any reason for her existence. But now she’s been revealed as a dynamic character in her own right.

The way in which this episode told Rachel’s story from episode 1 until episode 12 was also done very well. Everything up until this point was from Bam’s perspective. So showing the events of these episodes from Rachel’s perspective instead was a great way to build up her character in a short amount of time.

And one of the most important aspects of this quick recap of Rachel’s perspective is that it didn’t change her character. She’s always been the person we see in episode 13. It’s just that now that we aren’t viewing her from Bam’s point of view, we see her for who she truly is — as some of the other characters already have been doing.

It’s clear that both Khun and Endorsi have known what kind of person Rachel really is.

Journey to the Top

While I understand that it made sense to show the scene of all of Bam’s friends finding out that he’s “dead,” I think it could have been done better. I don’t know how it could have been done better, but it seemed to be trying to be an emotional scene. And the problem with it trying to be emotional is that it isn’t emotional because we know Bam is alive.

Think of similar scenes from other anime. Any time there’s a scene like that, that’s actually emotional, it’s because the character in question is dead. Or at the very least, the viewers are lead to believe they’re dead. Since Bam is the protagonist of this series, there was never really a question about him being dead or alive.

However, with Bam seemingly dead, the rest of his friends band together to help Rachel reach the top of the tower. After all, this is what Bam would have wanted them to do (if he had actually died).

The fact that all of Bam’s friends are now climbing the tower with Rachel flips the entire prologue on its head. Does this mean that Bam won’t be climbing the tower with Khun, Rak, and the others? If so, I actually think the format of this prologue was genius.

Normally a prologue sets up your main characters (the protagonists). But if all of these characters are going with Rachel, then we basically spent the entire prologue setting up the antagonist group. Now, I’m not saying Khun and Rak are really antagonists themselves, but perhaps by the time they reunite with Bam, they won’t feel indebted to him.

Maybe by the time Bam catches up with them, they can truly view him as a rival. They wouldn’t hate him, but they would respect and want to beat him. It would almost be the same relationship Luffy and Shanks have.

End of the Prologue

At the very end of the episode we get a shot of what looks to me like Bam as an adult (pictured below). That may not be the case, but since we aren’t told it’s not him, I’m going to assume that’s who it is for the sake of this discussion.

My first question when I saw this shot was, “is this Bam towards the end of his journey, or is this Bam after a time skip that happens at the end of the prologue?” I think either way could work. Foreshadowing a scene towards the end of the series is always neat. But at the same time, I’d like for Bam to be an adult for the majority of the series so I hope that’s him next season.

Also, the Navigator (I forget her name already), mentioned something about Rachel having been traveling without Bam for a while by the next time he sees her. So that seems to lend credibility to a time skip happening after the prologue.

What I really like about how this episode ends is that it opens up the story to be something entirely different from the prologue. Bam has a new goal, he might have an entirely new cast of characters around him, and if there’s a significant time skip we may be able to ignore a lot of the more questionable world-building aspects of the prologue.

And before I conclude this review, I guess I should also point out two other possible identities for the person we’re shown at the end of the episode. I’m also entertaining the ideas that it could be King Jahad, or more likely, whoever’s waiting for Bam on the 77th floor of the tower.

Conclusion

As of the writing of this review, I don’t believe a second season of Tower of God has been confirmed. But based on how popular the source material is and how popular the first season of the anime seems to be, I think it’s only a matter of time.

But what did you think of this final episode? Do you think Rachel’s betrayal made her a better character? Or do you hate her now? And how do you think the following seasons of this series are going to differ from the first? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month, as well as Key Mochi~ for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the first season as a whole is available here.

Underwater Hunt (Part Two)

A lot happened in Tower of God episode 12, and I want to discuss all of it. Unfortunately, I don’t actually have much information on everything that happened. There were a lot of twists, a lot of mysteries hinted at, and potentially a lot of things that were rushed through so that we can finish the prologue of the series next episode.

But I’m going to give the anime the benefit of the doubt this week and assume that all of the things that didn’t make sense to me were that way on purpose. If you’ve read the source material, feel free to let me, and other readers, know how faithful this episode really was down in the comments.

So the first thing to discuss is Khun’s plan for passing the Administrator’s test. I think it could have been shown and explained a bit better as it was happening, but in the end, all the important elements were there. Basically, when the test began, we were introduced to all the different moving parts, and Khun makes use of this information.

There are six main groups we have to keep in mind during this test: The group taking the test, the seals, the goblins, the worms, the pigs, and the bull. The bull is the wild card, so we can basically ignore it unless you think Anaak and Endorsi hunting it was all part of the plan to keep it distracted.

But the main plan involved using the pigs and worms to prevent the goblins from getting to the seals. Khun had Laure herd the pigs into the worms feeding area, and then the pigs were released from within the worms to fight the goblins. I like that the pigs weren’t just forgotten about.

Ranker Princess of Jahad

Yuri Jahad finally showed up again with the rest of her entourage, and she’s kind of a big deal. It was already implied that she was one of the strongest and highest-ranking of the Princesses of Jahad, if not the strongest and highest-ranking. But I didn’t really understand just how strong she was supposed to be.

If Anaak and Endorsi were to team up against Yuri, and both Anaak and Endorsi had ignition weapons while Yuri had nothing, Yuri would win. We know this because Ren was able to defeat both Anaak and Endorsi, and then Yuri was able to easily wipe the floor with Ren.

Surprisingly, Ren was also killed in this episode by one of Yuri’s retainers. I really thought Ren was going to be the major antagonist for the next arc or something.

We also see that although Ren works directly under the king, Yuri outranks him in that regard too. Sure, Ren attempts to kill Yuri, but when Yuri originally relieves him of his duty as the collector of the Month series ignition weapons, he actually seems to be afraid of going against her word — not because of her strength, but because of her status.

I’m thinking that Yuri might be a real Princess of Jahad (the daughter of the king) rather than an adopted one.

But the biggest surprise for me was when Yuri was referred to as a Ranker. Clearly she’s strong enough to be a Ranker, but I thought she was trying to find her way to the testing area to start her climb of the tower. Aren’t Rankers those who have already made it to the top?

The Khun Family

This episode also introduced a new member of the Khun family, of which Khun is also a member of if you couldn’t guess. We don’t actually know what Khun’s given name is at this point, but I assume we’ll learn it eventually. And likewise, we don’t know the given name of this other Khun family member who appears.

I also don’t remember if he was part of Yuri’s entourage or not, but I guess that doesn’t matter for now. What matters is that we know he likes to mess with other members of the Khun family, and that like our Khun, he’s an outcast.

We really don’t know anything other than that about him. But allow me to make some predictions.

Because the Khun family has been so mysterious thus far, I’m getting an Uchiha family vibe from them. This is clearly one of the more powerful families in this world, and these two members we know of are the only two we know of — much like Sasuke and Itachi for a good portion of Naruto.

And just like Sasuke and Itachi, I’m predicting that Khun is going to make it his goal to take down this other Khun for whatever reason. But, once he does take down the other Khun, he’ll probably learn that the two of them were actually on the same side fighting against the main family.

Maybe this other Khun is even our Khun’s biological brother.

Raging Bull

As far as I’m concerned, the bull was a lot better in this episode than the previous two episodes it was featured in. I think it looks really stupid on land, but once it was actually swimming through the Shinsu like the “fish” it is, it looked a lot better.

When swimming, the sideways head looks more natural because it’s perpendicular to the spine anymore. Also, the cape turns into ray-like fins, which is also a much better look. But with all that said, there’s still one major problem I have with the appearance of the bull: It’s size.

Perhaps the bull becomes larger as it soaks in more Shinsu. If this is stated in the source material, then I could understand that swimming through the condensed Shinsu sea could make it grow over time. However, this isn’t something that was ever mentioned in the anime, and that led to some apparent scaling issues.

When the bull was on land, it looked like it was maybe 10 – 12 feet tall. That’s a decently sized creature, and definitely not one I would want to run into. But by the time it eats Bam in the Shinsu sea, it must be at least 80 feet long. It’s massive, and with each pass of the bubble, it appears to grow larger.

However, one good thing did come out of the bull becoming larger. I really liked how Bam was eaten by it and then destroyed it from the inside — exactly as he learned to do at the start of the series. It was a good way to show that he’s learned from his past experiences.

Navigators

There’s not much I can really say regarding Navigators right now, but from what I understand, it’s an official title much like Rankers have. I believe the shorter, white-haired man in Yuri’s group has been previously referred to as a Navigator, and from what we’ve seen this title means exactly what you’d think: He helps Yuri navigate the tower.

The interesting thing about Navigators is that this known Navigator refers to Hwaryun (I’ve also seen her name as Hwa Ryun) — the red-haired, eyepatch-wearing, Wave Controller — as a Navigator. And he expresses surprise at seeing a Navigator there. So, there must be something to Navigators we don’t yet know.

First, how does he know she’s a Navigator? Second, how does one attain the title of Navigator? Are they just a subset of Ranker who serve as guides? And, as Yuri’s Navigator asked, what is a Navigator doing here anyway? Why was she taking the tests to climb the tower with all the others?

Even though she isn’t participating in the Administrator’s test, maybe we’ll see her rejoin the others and help guide them through the floors.

Rachel’s Betrayal

Of course, I can’t finish this episode review without discussing Rachel’s betrayal of Bam at the very end. When we were shown Bam and Rachel reaching towards each other in slow motion, I knew something was going to go wrong. But I can safely say I didn’t expect Rachel to stand up and push Bam out of the bubble.

Oh, and I should clarify that the betrayal I’m referring to in this section isn’t Rachel pushing Bam out of the bubble. The real betrayal is that Rachel was pretending to be a paraplegic.

The main question I have right now is: Does everyone fail if Bam fails? It seemed like that was the original condition of the test, but maybe if Rachel is eaten by the seal monster, she and everyone else still pass while Bam fails. I think that has to be the case because otherwise, Rachel would have just thrown away her own chance to climb the tower.

So, why did Rachel pretend to be a paraplegic and then push Bam out of the bubble and into the Shinsu sea as they were about to pass the Administrator’s test? Did she really betray him? Is she working for someone who doesn’t want to see Bam succeed? Is Bam’s success somehow a threat to her own?

I think the answer is a lot more boring than you’d first expect. From what I’ve seen, Rachel is extremely self-conscious about the fact that Bam doesn’t really have a dream of his own, and that he basically only lives to serve her. I think Rachel doesn’t want to see Bam risking his life for her dream, and so this was her way of releasing him from what she sees as his burden.

It’s basically Rachel telling Bam that he doesn’t need to live for her sake anymore.

Conclusion

What do you think of Tower of God episode 12? Is Yuri really a Ranker? Is Khun actually just Korean Sasuke? Does Shinsu make the bull grow larger? What do you think is the deal with Navigators? And why do you think Rachel betrayed Bam? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier and 「KEY MOCHI」 for supporting at the Senpai tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the final episode of season 1 is available here.

Underwater Hunt (Part One)

I’d like to start off this review of Tower of God episode 11 with a correction. Towards the beginning of the series, I claimed that Anaak was the best girl. Then, later on, I corrected myself and claimed that Endorsi was the best girl. Now I’m correcting myself again (for the final time) to say that Narae is the best girl.

When I saw that some of the other random characters were killed off by the Bull in this episode, I was worried the same would happen to Narae. But she made it through the episode, was actually given a name, and even made herself useful despite being told to sit on the sidelines.

I have high hopes for the continued participation of Narae in the future of this series.

Best girl Narae aside, the test given to Bam and Rachel was a little questionable when we were first told about it. All they have to do is sit still and allow themselves to be eaten by a seal monster. But, as it turns out, there was more to the test after all. There are a bunch of other things also trying to eat them, and the rest of the gang needs to prevent this from happening.

So, why is this the test? How is this testing Bam and Rachel?

The short answer is: It isn’t testing Bam and Rachel. It’s not testing their luck or their faith in their comrades. It’s not even testing their comrades. The entire test was set up as a plot to kill Anaak (definitely) and Endorsi (maybe).

I think the only reason the test puts Bam and Rachel in a bubble underwater is so that Bam doesn’t interfere with the assassination.

The Bull

When we’re first introduced to the monster known as the Bull, I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I’m still not impressed, but at least I’m less unimpressed than I was originally. Seeing Anaak and Endorsi easily go toe-to-toe with this creature that apparently even scares away Rankers was definitely not what I wanted.

But, that problem I had with the Bull was invalidated when we learned that the Bull was actually being controlled by Ren. And not only was it being controlled by Ren, but he was purposefully making the Bull seem weaker to lure them deeper into the cave.

Once the Bull was able to unleash its true power, it became clear why even some Rankers would fear it. However, the fact that Ren can so easily control it makes me think that it’s still not quite as strong as we were led to believe. Unless Ren is an Anima who specializes in controlling divine sea fish, I’d imagine most Rankers could do the same thing.

The main reason I’m unimpressed with the Bull at this point is just due to its appearance. Maybe you guys think it looks cool, but I think it looks so stupid. I don’t really have a problem with its head, but everything else about it is pretty bad.

Its mouth, singular eye, and how it’s able to turn it’s head 90 degrees are all fine. The whip-like appendage really feels awkward though. And the fact that it stands upright with its tail dragging on the ground makes it look like an early 1900s depiction of a T-Rex.

Let’s also not ignore the fact that this monster is literally wearing a cape. I get that it’s part of its body, but it looks like it’s tied around its neck.

Ren the Ranker

Last week is when we officially met Ren the Ranker. I don’t remember the name of the other Ranker he supposedly killed and took over the body of, but that’s no longer important. And the reason it isn’t important is because Ren seems to have turned this body into his own at this point.

I’m sure at some point in the future Ren’s true appearance will be revealed to us — probably when he’s about to be killed off. But until then, he’ll probably keep this appearance. It’s a convenient appearance, after all, because only one person knows who he really is.

And even if both Anaak and Endorsi come out of their current predicament alive (which I think they will), does their knowing about him really matter? They didn’t know who he was to begin with, so it’s not like they’ve discovered his secret or anything.

What I find interesting about Ren is his wide variety (or potentially not so wide variety) of abilities. We know he’s able to control the Bull, so that’s one thing he can do. He can also expel things that look like monsters from his mouth — and apparently eat anything. And, there’s that energy blast he was going to hit Anaak with, which may be separate.

But even with all those varying abilities, there’s the distinct possibility that he only has two real abilities: The ability to control divine sea fish and the ability to eat and expel anything.

If this is the case, then those monster-looking things that shoot out of his mouth in the picture above may be divine sea fish he’s controlled and eaten. Or he could have eaten a witch from Madoka Magica.

Conclusion

What are your thoughts on Tower of God episode 11? Aside from my obvious complaints regarding the appearance of the Bull, I actually thought it was quite good. But how did you feel about the Bull? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month as well as 「KEY MOCHI」 for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Beyond the Sadness

The 10th episode of Tower of God revealed who passed the tests and who failed. Obviously I was correct in some of my predictions last week, but I think I was probably wrong about just as many.

However, in my defense, the ones I was wrong about really seemed to come out of left field, and I wasn’t sure how many people were allowed to pass. For example, who would have guessed that the Spear Bearers who abandoned Hatz and then got beaten down by Quant would still pass?

Even if they had enough points to pass the tests, you’d still think that abandoning your allies may be worthy of disqualification. Though, I have to admit that if that were true, killing your allies would probably amount to disqualification as well. And Endorsi still passed despite that appearing to be what she did.

We never actually saw Endorsi kill any of her allies during the test. In fact, I thought she simply beat up the other two Fishermen. But one of the girls who passed is shown to be holding a sword that looked an awful lot like the one wielded by one of those Fishermen. And she was crying about the owner of that sword being “her knight.”

So did Endorsi kill him? That much is unclear. Endorsi very well may have killed him, but if she did, would this other girl readily ally with her? Probably not.

The most bizarre development for me, though, was the fact that Serena failed, yet some random characters we’ve never seen before passed. I already assumed she was going to fail, and I guess someone we knew had to fail (besides Hoh). But it’s still strange that she’s being swapped out for some no-name, background characters.

Royal Enforcement Division Unit #67

Yuga is the name of the ram-looking ranker (I assume he’s a ranker because he was helping to administer the tests). While this isn’t explicitly stated in the anime, I’m pretty sure that he’s been killed. I’ll get into why that seems to be the case in just a moment, but first, allow me to set the stage.

Han Sung catches Yuga making a call to some unknown entity who we later find out works for King Jahad. The conversation they were having revolved around the assassination of Anaak and the reclamation of both the Black March and Green April.

So why do I think Yuga is dead? First, Han Sung refers to him as Lo Po Bia Ren of the Royal Enforcement Division Unit #67. Now, that could simply mean that Yuga was a false name, but Han Sung then mentions that Yuga is always five-minutes early — implying that this impostor was late.

Lo Po also mentions that he’ll have to eat Han Sung for discovering his identity, which is likely what he did to Yuga — maybe. We can assume Lo Po eats people, but at the same time, he appears to be hiding inside of Yuga’s corpse. So is he using Yuga’s corpse as a disguise, or does eating someone grant Lo Po the ability to take on their appearance?

The web manga readers probably know the answer, but us anime-only viewers are just going to have to wait.

Han Sung’s meeting with Lo Po also gave us some interesting information about the ability of Han Sung. He mentions that Lo Po is a ranker and that he doesn’t want to fight him. But he also shows that he’s clearly the stronger of the two — by a large margin. So just who is Han Sung?

The Administrator’s Test

At the end of the episode, we’re told about another test known as the Administrator’s test. I’m pretty sure that the test proctors, like Lero-Ro and Quant, have been referred to as administrators in the past. But the Administrator with a capital A appears to be someone above them.

And what’s even more strange is that when Bam enters the Administrator’s room, he comes face to face with the Shinsu “monster” he met earlier on in the series. We were told that he has to make a bond with the Shinsu on each floor, and when he does this for the first time he meets this creature.

Did he meet the Administrator back then?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we need to understand what this Administrator’s test is (as far as we know) and why it matters. The Administrator’s test is a “secret” test people aren’t supposed to normally know about, but that Lero-Ro told Khun about.

Whoever passes the Administrator’s test is apparently allowed to change some of the rules to how climbing the tower works. And the idea is that if they pass the Administrator’s test, they can allow Rachel to climb the tower despite her injuries.

But the issue is that to take the test, you first need to speak with the Administrator, and the only ones allowed to do that are Irregulars. Luckily for us, Bam is an Irregular, so this isn’t actually a roadblock.

And the final thing I want to say about the Administrator’s test is that it’s a double-edged sword. We learn that Irregulars are viewed as outcasts, as is anyone who climbs the tower with them. However, anyone who passes the Administrator’s test with Bam will be able to take a shortcut up the tower, which is a pretty good incentive.

Conclusion

Overall I think this episode actually explained things much better than any of the previous episodes. It didn’t explain everything, but anything it didn’t outright explain or show us, it gave enough hints for us to make some assumptions — like Yuga’s fate.

I’m also interested to see if Serena ever makes a comeback. It seems a bit odd to toss her character aside completely, so I’d like her to reappear at some point. But as I mentioned last week, based on how difficult it was for me to find out her name, I don’t really think she’ll be back.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.