Coming off Khun’s (Nobuhiko Okamoto, Freiren: Beyond Journey’s End) discovery that The 25th Bam still lives at the end of the last episode, Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 9 “One-Winged Demon” turns its focus to Viole’s (Taichi Ichikawa) party. In particular, it highlights the enigmatic Kang Horyang (Ken’ichirô Matsuda, Engage Kiss) and the occurrence that may see him run headlong into Khun’s group before the Workshop Battle.
As the episode opens, both parties learn of the presence of someone who bears a striking resemblance to Kang nearby in the Tower. Seeing the figure unnerves Kang, prompting the rest of his group to inquire who the man is. It turns out that the individual’s name is Benaimino Cassano. He grew up with Kang as both underwent torturous experimentation at the hands of the Workshop to be living weapons.
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Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 9‘s exploration of Kang’s history is an emotional affair that treads very familiar ground. The two boys were taken as orphans, never knowing their birth families. They were given number designations by the scientists, though would later receive their names from the only kind person they ever met, Ms. Sophia. A nurse who would check in on the boys, Sophia joked with them and allowed the boys to feel like more than just test subjects. Once they underwent the final procedure that bonded them each to one half of a demon, they never saw Sophia again.
While these types of stories are always upsetting, this one falls short of truly hitting the audience. With this sort of background being common for tragic figures in anime, Tower Of God‘s attempt at it feels far too paint-by-numbers. The visual presentation of both the happy moments with Sophia as well as the scenes where the boys undergo experimentation feel too stand-offish to deliver the impact that it strives for. It shows us these moments, but it never makes us feel them.
Another key element of Kang’s tale is how he “escaped” his imprisonment. While being transported to a new facility, he is visited by Headon (Hôchû Ôtsuka, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) who spirits him away. An interesting note about this moment is that he refers to Headon as “the true master of the Tower.” With so much of this season’s story revolving around Jahad’s control of the Tower, this small line feels like one that could be important later on down the line.
Generally, there is nothing wrong with a character background laced with mystery. Kang’s, however, struggles only due to how much mystery the show already presents. So many questions and hidden machinations are happening in the background. More feels completely unnecessary.
After awaking from his encounter with Headon, he found himself in the Tower, designated as a Regular. He began to climb with ease, thanks to the powers he had gained through the experiments. He eventually grew to dislike using his abilities as they had been born from the suffering of thousands of unwilling sacrifices.
As Kang recounts his story to his friends, Matsuda does a great job of layering the character’s emotions into the dialogue. As an overly reserved character, Kang doesn’t feel like the type to blubber or ball, even when recounting something traumatic. Matsuda recognizes these elements of the character and manages to work emotion into the dialogue in far more subtle ways. By making Kang’s voice just quake a bit at key moments, the viewer understands how much Kang hurts, despite how well he hides it.
Unsurprisingly, the group decides to help Kang find his former friend. This moment of camaraderie helps lift the atmosphere after the somber telling of Kang’s origin. Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 9 further seeks to lighten the mood by having Yihwa (Sayumi Watabe) prepare another charcoal black meal for the group. While the joke is largely played out at this point, the moment does shine a bit when Wangnan (Yuma Uchida) notices a small smile momentarily grace Viole’s face. This brief glimpse at the Bam we knew still living within Viole is a nice moment that shows how much the group is impacting the character.
After the humor passes, we follow Viole as he visits with Kang alone. Kang wishes to know how Viole acquired his powers, believing he has been subjected to similar experiments. Viole however has no idea what FUG did to him. Once Kang is satisfied that Viole is telling the truth, he departs to find Benaimino alone. When Viole returns to the others, they inquire about Kang’s whereabouts. Choosing to respect Kang’s desire to go alone, he lies, saying that he is just taking a moment for himself.
Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 9 delivers a solid origin story that never manages to truly land. While the building blocks are there, the predictable beats and decent visual presentation never drive home the emotional moments the story feels hinged on.
Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 9 is available now on Crunchyroll.
