Tower of God Episode 9: Recap and Review — Otaku Orbit
Endorsi’s betrayal
After attacking her teammate, Endorsi tells the story of a girl that was separated from the others. Forced to eat stale bread alone, eventually, the girl got tired of her lot in life and murdered her sisters. Tower of God exposes more of the culture surrounding the Princess of Jahad. It’s still not clear to me what they do, but it seems like the culture is unforgiving. Endorsi raised in this environment believes that the only way to succeed is for her to take out the competing Fishermen. This moment was made more shocking by the fact that Endorsi confirms to Bam that Michelle is Rachel. I thought that the series would keep this a mystery for longer, but it was certainly interesting that Endorsi revealed that information so casually. Regardless, Endorsi gets a surprise from one of the Fishermen, he has an ignition weapon.
Hoh’s plan to get rid of Bam
The letter Hoh received informed him that if he got “rid” of Rachel, Bam would quit climbing the tower. He grabs Rachel and puts a knife to her neck. He’s disrupted by Quant. Hoh doesn’t understand what’s happening. However, Bam arrives behind him. Hoh orders Bam to capture Quant or he will kill Rachel. Bam attempts to use his Shinsui against Quant, however, the ranker pours Shinsui into the body of Bam, paralyzing him. He tells Bam if he could use it against Hoh he could save Rachel. As Bam approaches Hoh, he and Rachel struggle with the knife. As Hoh stabs Rachel in the back, Bam uses the technique against him, surprising Quant.
Hoh’s backstory
Defeated Hoh tells Bam that they were never friends. He faked it. He begins to cry, telling Bam that he “lost” everyone he loved. Without strength, he failed to protect his family. He blames himself and has devolved into someone without hope. Hoh kills himself, jamming the knife into his chest. Endorsi arrives with the ignition weapon. With Rachel dying, Endorsi suggests they continue the test. She encourages Bam to do things his way, as she will continue to do so. Endorsi and Quant clash, she uses the ignition weapon. Bam aids her with the new technique he learned. Endorsi can trick Quant into thinking her panties are her badge. She takes him when he’s distracted. Team B wins.
Despite the dark tone of most of the episodes, I’m glad it ended with humor. Although, you could suggest that the end was tone-deaf. The speed in which Bam learned the new technique is ridiculous. He didn’t train at all and was merely told what the technique did and mastered it. That was the oddest part of this episode. Shisui seems like it does just about anything but if Bam won’t require any skill to master it, the stakes would be too low. Hoh’s story had a sense of tragedy, but there wasn’t any depth to it. Who killed his family? Why? Telling us wasn’t enough, the scene would have been more effective if we knew Hoh better.
Originally published at https://otakuorbit.com on June 4, 2020.
