Anime Review: Tower Of God Season 2 Episode 7
Ja Wangnan and his crew face a powerful enemy in Urek Mazino to retrieve the Zygaena flower in episode seven of Tower of God season 2. Tower of God is based on the ongoing original South Korean manhwa created by SIU and is published as a webtoon.
'If I catch you first, your life is mine'
Mazino then challenges Jue Viole Grace to a game of "tag" for the flower. All Viole has to do is to get to the flower before he gets "tagged". However, if Mazino manages to catch him before reaching the flower, he dies.
"If you can get to the flower before I catch you, you can have it," Mazino tells Viole. "But if I catch you first, your life is mine, okay?"
The "game" begins as soon as the Zygaena turns over. Viole accepts the terms of the game and then tells Prince and Kang Horyang to leave the area and not get involved.
Kang agreed without hesitation then they left the battleground. Prince has no idea Kang wants to help Viole even the odds against Mazino. He instructs Prince to send Viole's location to the rest of the crew, go there, and attack Mazino at once.
'I don't need thrones or stars, I'll fight anyone who tries to hurt the people I care about'
Recognizing he's a member of FUG, Urek then questioned Viole why he was interested in Jahad's throne. Mazino reveals he's not interested in being the "King of the Tower."
"Your target is the throne Jahad sits on, isn't it? You've spent your whole lives in the Tower. Jahad must seem like a tremendous figure to you," Urek said. "But that doesn't interest me. What's so fun about becoming the king of the Tower? You can have it for all I care!"
"I'm going outside the Tower. Outside the Tower is an endless sky. Infinite stars illuminate the darkness," Urek continued.
"It's billions of times freer out there. Don't you think what you want is lackluster when there's a place like that out there," Urek asked Viole.
"I don't know. After all, I don't need thrones or stars. But I'll fight anyone who tries to hurt the people I care about," Viole answered then proceeded to attack Mazino.
The truth about the Zygaenas
Wangnan and the others pounced on Mazino as soon as they reached Viole's location. Despite being outnumbered, Mazino fended them off easily and then went straight to attack Viole.
After Viole's brief clash with Mazino, he suffered severe injuries while trying to protect Miseng, who got in the middle of it while pursuing the Zygaena offspring.
He sensed something was off and realized he was against Regulars instead of Rankers. The cocky Mazino was no longer interested in finishing off Viole, taking the Zygaena offspring as his price instead.
Mazino faced three Rankers including the Test Master, whom he easily took care of, as he was about to head back to his den. Mazino then reveals the truth about the Zygaena offspring, which is also the Yeon family's symbol.
"You've been hiding the fact the kids [Zygaena babies] get their nutrients from the flowers, so they've been picking them," Urek tells the Test Master. "There are guys who don't want the flowers to lose their value, right? Like some powerful people on the 21st floor."
"In a few years, the sea will be full of Zygaenas. And the flowers will lose their value. Though they won't lose their beauty, of course," added Urek.
After the Zygaena test, Yihwa has been cooped up in her room since the revelation about the real value and rarity of the Zygaenas which lead to damaging the Yeon family's reputation. Meanwhile, Viole's been bedridden for two days after his brief clash with Urek Mazino.
'It's a question of our resolve'
Since episode six, FUG has been keeping a close eye on Viole due to his association with Wangnam and his crew. Jinsung has been skeptical of Wangnan's group even after their "successful" Zygaena test.
He tells Wangnan on the rooftop that they should distance themselves from Viole. He will find a suitable replacement should they want to continue to climb the Tower. Keeping him in the team would put Viole in danger yet again.
Wangnan then discussed with his crew the possibility of climbing the Tower without Viole. Wangnan thinks "the world Viole lives in is too different from ours."
Arkraptor then asked Wangnan why he wanted Viole off the team. Prince then tells Wangnan he should leave the team instead and he's still climbing the Tower with Viole.
Wangnan insists he also wants to climb the Tower with Viole more than anything. Prince argues that whatever the reason was, they're still not backing out. However, Wangnan stressed that sticking with Viole will mean the possibility of facing someone like Urek Mazino again.
"This isn't about Viole," Kang tells Wangnan. "It's a question of our resolve."
Wangnan meets up with Jinsung on the rooftop again and then tells him they're sticking with Viole.
Karaka's trust
Jinsung meets up Karaka after his conversation with Wangnan on the rooftop. They move to a different location sensing "The Administrator" is watching them.
Karaka informs him that they have acquired a weapon that can kill Jahad. He then asks Jinsung why he hesitates to eliminate Wangnan and his team. Despite this, Jinsung tells him he's still on top of the situation.
Karaka insists Jinsung should've let him handle Viole instead. Pissed off, Jinsung asks Karaka if he doesn't trust him. Karaka assured Jinsung that he still had faith in him despite rumors among the elders that he would get caught up in his emotions and make a mistake.
Jinsung then reminded Karaka why he joined FUG in the first place.
"I abandoned my family to join FUG," Jinsung said. "They think I'd get caught up in my emotions now? More friends for Viole means more hostages for us. Tell the Slayers and Elders not to worry so much."
Jinsung invites Karaka for dinner but declines his offer. Karaka says he can't eat and remove his mask with someone he can't completely trust.
Before leaving the area, Karaka instructed Poken to find some Regulars they could trust and secretly observe Wangnan's team. Karaka adds that they should kill all of them if they do anything suspicious.
'Mazino Magic' takeaways
The clash between Viole and Mazino was rather short and the animation of the fight was a bit stiff. It may be intentional but fans of the anime would've been more glued to the episode had Viole and Mazino's fight been somehow longer.
Hopefully, longer Viole versus Mazino fights in future episodes.
It's kind of strange how Yihwa's family kept her in the dark about the Zygaena's rarity and value. The revelation from Mazino about the Zygaenas somehow made it worse especially for the Yeon family.
Despite it all, Yihwa is still determined to right her family's wrongs by pursuing to become a Regular, she can thank Hwaryun for the motivation. It remains to be seen how the Yeon family can recover from Zygaena revelation perhaps in the coming episodes.
Karaka may have lost a bit of trust in Ha Jinsung. The Elders being skeptical of Jinsung's motivation and capability of getting the job done, clearly doesn't favor him either.
Perhaps Karaka will go rogue in the coming episodes after he instructs Poken to gather new people to keep tabs on Viole and Wangnan's team.
Episode seven is definitely worth watching despite the rather short clash between Viole and Mazino.
