Tower of God
“Webtoon Hype Falls Short”
When Tower of God premiered in 2020, it arrived with unusual expectations: it was one of the first major Korean webtoons adapted into a high-profile international anime project. Its challenge was not simply to introduce a new fantasy world but to condense a dense early arc centered on mystery, shifting alliances, and the uneasy relationship between Bam and Rachel.
Tower of God—known in Japan as Kami no Tō: Tower of God—is an anime adaptation of SIU’s South Korean webtoon. Its first season ran for 13 episodes from April 1 to June 24, 2020, with the Japanese television broadcast beginning on April 2. Telecom Animation Film animated the season; Takashi Sano directed it, Erika Yoshida handled series composition, Masashi Kudo and Miho Tanino designed the characters, and Kevin Penkin composed the music. Rialto Entertainment handled Japanese production, while Sola Entertainment provided production management; Crunchyroll released the series internationally as a Crunchyroll Originals co-production.
The anime later returned for a 26-episode second season, which aired from July 7 through December 29, 2024. The Answer Studio animated Season 2, with Kazuyoshi Takeuchi serving as chief director and Akira Suzuki directing; Yoshida returned for series composition, while Penkin also returned as composer. The season was split into two parts: “Return of the Prince” and “Workshop Battle.”
Tower of God began serialization on Naver Webtoon in June 2010. LINE WEBTOON began publishing an official English version in 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 it 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 yet unfortunate boy who has only ever known a dark cave, a dirty cloth, and an unreachable light throughout his life. His world changes completely when a girl named Rachel approaches him through the light, and his life will never be the same again.
The two become very close friends, and Bam learns various things about the outside world with her help. His now decent life changes drastically again when Rachel states that she must leave him to climb the infamous Tower, and Bam’s vivid world shatters all around him. He then vows to follow her and sets his sights on the Tower when an unexpected miracle occurs. This moment 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 called “Irregulars,” beings who have shaken 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 series was based on a Webtoon. Most viewers enter 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 of 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.
The story 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 what the test entails; most of it involves 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 of how anything works.
There is such wasted potential in world discovery, which is replaced by mediocre humor and an underwhelming setting. Any viewer trying to make sense of the story will discover that things don’t add up. The sloppy flashbacks are mostly meaningless, and viewers have to accept that the characters must take this test. One would expect the test to be challenging, especially with even more difficult competitors, but the reality is quite the opposite. Some powerful weapons exist for no apparent reason, and every character remains completely ignorant throughout.
The fights are boring and predictable, and the allure that a battle royal could have is completely lost. There are anti-climactic encounters, underwhelming scenes, and a lot of missing action. The battles recede into consistent, underwhelming, disappointing, and tensionless ones because most Regulars are unbelievably weak. The main cast is made to look OP, and there’s no question about Bam’s success, as he is clad in plot armor. Everything he does works out, and it is not realistic at all.
Another massive flaw of Tower of God is its characters. They are just so weirdly put together, with 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 furious. The character development is also awful, making all of them seem uninteresting and not serious. Bam is an incredibly dull and weak protagonist. He lacks grit, courage, fighting ability, knowledge of weaponry, and any likable or relatable traits. One might wonder how he even managed to traverse the Tower. This over-optimistic and passive MC 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 poorly presented. Khun is very mysterious, intelligent, and strategic. He is probably the only decent or compelling character worth mentioning, with a sad backstory and proper drive.
Art and animation do little for Tower of God either. The art style looks like it was drawn by hand, underwhelming and boring, and the animation looks lazy due to a lack of movement, action, and detail. Neither the characters nor their abilities stand out, and overall they look bland. 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. Such lighting, in turn, ruins the backgrounds and scenery, as viewers cannot see them clearly, 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 in which all the characters can happily mingle, but unfortunately, the music does not consistently suit the anime’s style. The Tower’s heavy tests fail to generate any tension or hype thanks to the music. Kevin Penkin composed the score, the strongest production element of the season. 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 not upbeat enough to glue your eyes and ears to the screen.
Overall, Tower of God is not recommended. If it piqued your interest thanks to the hype, you’d likely be deeply 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 explanations makes the viewing 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. Ultimately, it’s about you.
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