SOS Bros React – City the Animation Episode 5 – THE TOWER EPISODE!

I must have watched this episode about 4 or 5 times the week it came out

I think they said about 16,000 keyframes of animation for this episode alone, its such a crazy thing they pulled off here

I was so looking forward to you guys getting to this one. Just an amazing episode.

This episode literally gave me a brain aneurysm, 10/10

I have come to affectionately refer to this episode as "The Reverse Endless 8". Instead of the same episode 8 times, it is a dozen different episodes all at once.

Some interesting facts about the production of this episode:
-It has about 16k key frames (wich is multiple episodes worth) and the needed to do storyboards for the main plot, the side stories in the small panels and oversiced versions of the side stories because the panels are to small to draw inside.
-The mansion articulated diorama took 3 months to assemble and was done by a guy from the background art department at kyoani that just makes dioramas as a hobby and was aproched by the director to make it.

Honestly this is probably the best episode of anime in 2025 and i encourage anyone interested in the production of this show to read the articles that Sakugablog made on it.

0:29 imagine kurapika finding peace taking care of a young rich girl somewhere. a lotta hxh influence this ep.

i've posted this before as a comment to a reaction video of city episode 5 that has long since been removed. here's a summary of the events occurring at the mini-screens.

– nagumo and co. are straightforward. they descend down the tower floors, with most of their challengers being sick or on leave.
– matsuri and ecchan are going on a leisurely stroll to find mimineko once again. eventually, they wander through a forest.
– another perspective comes from a middle-aged group of idiots (tsurubishi, mr. adatara, city magazine editor in chief), shown together earlier at the end of episode 4. at some point, the trio decided to kidnap dr. adatara for a prank, disguising him and passing him off as yamabushi, the head chef tsurubishi visited in episode 4; the chef was wanted by tanabe through a magazine issue the trio read a while ago. they had their own chapter in the manga, but that was truncated into its ending in the anime.
– at their arrival through hotaka's limousine, the three crows (the aforementioned trio's group name) meet up with mitsuami and soroban from earlier. tsurubishi (likely) mocks the latter, leading to an obvious beatdown. mitsuami (the girl in braids) gives the trio some liquor for them to settle down alongside the pranked doctor.
– from that same limousine, the old landlady from below, approaches the first floor of the east tower. nagumo and co. were supposed to fight off a bear as their final challenge; but said bear was knocked dead by the landlord.
– the adatara family van approaches the party. the eldest son tatsuya at the driver's seat, is helming their liquor delivery job for the party. meanwhile, the identical twin daughters were eyeing mimineko, resting freely at the roof of the van.
– after several moments, mimineko hops out of the van to chase a butterfly, heading towards the same forest the two middle schoolers wandered about earlier.
– after some time, the two middle schoolers end up finding mimineko before chasing it. after losing their target, they took notice of the ongoing party at the tower (presented through shadowplay).
– at some point, we see another member of the adatara family. their eldest daughter, kamome, fulfilling her job as the manager/babysitter of celebrity star, shia (a complete brat despite being an adult). kamome informs shia about the party, in which the latter absolutely wants to join; but she has to arrive through a public vehicle, which she absolutely doesn't want.
– at the arrival of both vans, we see tatsuya unloading the delivery packages while the twins play near the mansion's fountain; we would also see mitsuami playing with the two kids before heading out with soroban for their orders. on the other hand, we have shia's van with their passengers sent to the 12th floor by hotaka; greeted by the manga duo and a few others. celebrity brat shia frantically finds a way out of this building.
– at the first floor of one of the towers (edit: it's probably at the mansion), tanabe finds tatsuta managing the liquor delivery at the tower. the former becomes smitten as she turns to stone, before getting snapped back by hotaka (who for some reason, possibly teleported after a split second) before heading back to the top floor.
– hotaka orders shia and the top floor residents to head down to ground floor, overcrowding the elevator in the process. as the elevator unloads, shia becomes overjoyed as she eventually meets up with the adatara twins, two of her biggest fans to the point of looking alike.
– the soccer team, after having their main skit with the tsuchinoko, heads to the police box to bring the creature for a reward. however, they were instead ordered by the officer to take it to the tanabe mansion instead, with him as the escort.
– during their journey to the tanabe mansion, a mole pops out of the ground and trips their star player, sasago, yet again; however, he gets saved by the team's effort to prevent him from getting injured. the officer, and for some reason, riko, applauded at this whole spectacle. and thus, the gang continued on with their journey.
– lastly, we have niikura to bookend this whole spiel. she's been running left and right to search for the tower nagumo's trapped in. unnoticed, mimineko appears behind niikura, having arrived at the entrance of the mansion.
– the last few moments of this split-screen spectacle are in preparation for the events that shall unfold at the party.

This was the greatest spectacle of animation talent of the entirety of 2025.

Ah yes the ADHD Final Boss episode!

Ahh, the tower episode. I've been a fan of the original CITY manga for several years, and seeing this anime happen was a dream come true, and gave me a really interesting perspective on it. This adaptation is great in many ways, but it is much more condensed than the original series, meaning much has had to be cut out. It does make me sad that there are tons of fantastic chapters that weren't able to be animated, but limitations breed creativity, and this episode is truly a marvel born from its constraints. The original volume included several more chapters detailing how the many members of the cast ended up making their way to the tower, which would not have fit into one single episode linearly. But of course, the feeling of an entire CITY coming together for the grand climax it was all leading to was crucial for this little arc, and so… here we are. It is its own special fun switching through all the POVs and moments that reference the chapters that are literally put to the side in this. As much as I wish I could have seen every single moment from the manga fully animated just as wonderfully as everything else on display, this ambitious anime is definitely an adaptation for the ages.

check out Cosmic Princess Kaguya!