Tower of God | Review | Pinnedupink.com

Tower of God

The Anime industry seized the grand opportunity presented to it in the year 2020. Many people were stuck at home and opted to watch a variety of shows to pass the time. Many of them even got into the realm of Anime and have no hope of going back now. The anime titles released in 2020 were in leagues of their own, excelling at capturing audiences and keeping them hooked. So what were the most groundbreaking releases of them all?

“Tower of God,” also known as “Kami no Tou” or “Sin-ui Tap,” is a 13 episode TV Anime series that aired from the 2nd of April until the 25th of June, in Spring 2020. It was produced by Sega, Rialto Entertainment, Sola Entertainment, and Naver Webtoons, licensed by Crunchyroll, and brought to life by Studio Telecom Animation Film.

The primary staff behind it include Sano Takashi as Director, Yamaguchi Takayuki as Sound Director, Murata Masahiko as Episode Director, on Storyboard and Key Animation, and Miyake Kanji also as Episode Director and on Key Animation. It featured the genres of Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, and Mystery and received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.

The Anime series is based on the source Web Manhwa of the same title, being of Korean origins. It started publication on the 5th of July 2010 and continues to this day; it was serialized in Naver Webtoon and brought to life by Author and Artist SIU. It was digitally published in English via LINE Webtoon on the 30th of June 2014.

The story revolves around a peculiar tower that summons certain chosen people, termed "Regulars,” to it with the promise of granting them their greatest and deepest desires. Be wealth, fortune, fame, authority, power, influence, or something that surpasses these mundane worldly desires entirely— nearly everything awaits anyone who reaches the very top of the tower.

The protagonist, named Twenty-Fifth Bam, is a seemingly ordinary but unfortunate boy who had only ever known a dark cave, a dirty cloth, and an unreachable light for his entire life. His world takes a full 180 degree turn when a girl named Rachel approaches him through the light, and now his life would never again be the same.

The two become very close friends, and Bam proceeds to learn various things about the outside world with her aid. His now decent life changes drastically again when Rachel states that she must leave him to climb the infamous Tower, and Bem’s vivid world shatters all around him. He then takes a vow to follow after her no matter what it takes and thus sets his sights on the tower when an unexpected miracle occurs.

This was the beginning of the eventful journey of Bam, a young boy who was not chosen by the Tower but could open its gates all by himself. His kind are termed as "Irregulars,” beings that have shaken the very foundation of the Tower and its principles with every foot they have set inside it. Where would his journey lead?

The anime Tower of God was heavily promoted and praised, mainly because the Anime series spawned from a Webtoon. Most viewers get into it with high expectations, but ultimately, it is a significant disappointment. The Story is one of its biggest flaws, it starts without any proper explanations on the world or setting, and the pacing is off.

Most would expect to discover it right alongside the protagonist, but this does not happen. Bam is seemingly stranded in a new environment and is told to ascend the Tower to find Rachel. Like a typical OP and Special protagonist, he neither questions nor prepares for it and presses on. This is not an Isekai series either, because even by the conclusion, viewers would still be confused about everything that transpired so fast without any explanations.

Bam enters blind and has no idea about the Test it presents, most of which are battle royals with forced teamwork. Neither the Regulars nor Irregulars seem to know their world correctly, and viewers get the same treatment. The world-building is almost non-existent, the commentary is insufficient, the protagonist is not self-sufficient, and there is no explanation on how anything works.

There is such wasted potential in world discovery, which is replaced by mediocre humor and an underwhelming setting. Any viewer who tries to make sense of the story from everything they've seen will discover that things just don't add up. The sloppy flashbacks are mostly meaningless, and viewers just come to terms with the fact that the characters must take this Test. One would expect the test to be challenging with even more challenging competitors, but this couldn't be further from the reality. Some powerful weapons simply exist for whatever reason, and every character remains wholly ignorant throughout.

The fights are boring and predictable, and any allure a battle royal could possibly have is lost. There are anti-climatic encounters, underwhelming scenes, and a lot of missing action. The battles recede into consistent, underwhelming, disappointing, and tensionless ones due to most Regulars being unbelievably weak. The main cast is made to look OP, and there’s no question about Bam’s success, who is clad in plot armor. Everything he does just works out, and it is not realistic at all.

Another massive flaw of Tower of God is the characters. They are just so weirdly put together, with the inclusion of bold, goofy, sleepy, silent, loud, and tsundere characters. Their flashbacks don't make any sense, and they have nothing to make them relatable. These mysterious characters lack the edge, and there is no good humor surrounding them either. As for interactions, they are almost always either surprised or angry. The character development is also awful, making all of them seem non-serious and non-interesting.

Bam is an incredibly dull and weak protagonist. He lacks grit, courage, fighting ability, knowledge of weaponry, and any likable or relatable traits. One would wonder how on earth he even traversed the Tower. This over-optimist and passive MC just magically does things and binds everyone together. Rachel is exceptionally dislikable, and her connection with Bam is never made clear.

She is annoying, passive-aggressive, selfish, and is poorly presented. Khun is very mysterious, intelligent, and strategic. He is probably the only decent or interesting character worth mentioning, with a sad backstory and proper drive.

Art and Animation do not do much for Tower of God either. The Art style looks paper drawn, underwhelming and boring, and the Animation looks lazy due to the lack of movement, action, and details. The characters nor their abilities stand out and look bland overall.

The calm colors and simple detailing make it easy to watch, though. The lighting is pretty bad as well, either being too dark or too bright. Some of the tests are too dimly lit for even viewers to see clearly. This, in turn, ruins the backgrounds and sceneries as well, as viewers simply cannot see them correctly, making them unappealing and lacking in depth.

Possibly the only good aspects about Tower of God are the Music and Sounds. The OSTs are very suitable, well-coordinated, fit the timing of actions, and feel warm. It creates a relaxed atmosphere within which all the characters can happily mingle, but unfortunately, this does not suit the Anime’s style all the time.

The Tower’s heavy tests fail to make viewers feel any tension or hype thanks to the music. The Opening theme is "TOP" by Stray Kids, and the Ending theme is "SLUMP" by Stray Kids, both of which are pretty decent and catchy but are simply not upbeat enough to glue your eyes and ears to the screen.

Overall, Tower of God is not recommended. If it drew your interest thanks to the hype, you’d likely end up heavily disappointed by it. You might expect heart-pounding battles, high-tension scenes, and thrilling mysteries, but what you will get is zero world immersion, a sloppy story, and terrible characters.

The sheer lack of character bonding, world-building, and provision of explanations makes the watching experience jarring. It sadly did not deserve all the praise, popularity, and exposure it got. If you’re okay with the flaws mentioned so far or are incredibly curious about this one, give it a try. At the end of the day, it's about you.