Tower of God - Anime

Tower of God is a shonen action anime based on the manhwa of the same name by S.I.U.  The series ran for 13 episodes in the Spring of 2020.

    Set in a world that is centered around a momentous tower of which fame and fortune can be found for those who survive the climb to its highest levels.  Bam, a boy who only knows abandonment, finds himself on the first floor of the tour following his only companion, Rachel, leaving him to climb.  Upon meeting the towers caretaker, Bam is allowed to test for his ability to climb the tower.  His only motivation is to be with Rachel on her journey.  Once he succeeds the first test he finds himself in a large field, with many other entrants.  The second test provides an important lesson to Bam about the reality of the tower and its challenges, that of fighting against the others who are climbing and the tower its self.

    As Bam strives to continue his journey to find Rachel he gathers a group of companions around him.  The grouping is both due to forced team making for different challenges but also due to his likeable personality.  Everyone has their own reason for climbing but keep as much of their intents as hidden as possible.  Bam on the other hand is an open book who is experiencing everything for the first time since all he had known prior to this journey was seclusion and darkness.  

    Tower of God in reality isn't anything new in the world of shonen.  The anime is really nothing more than a series of tournament arcs.  That said there is something intriguing with the story and the world is impressive and diverse.  Bam comes across as the typical emotionless main character, the vessel that the reader pours them self into.  But...that's not exactly the case with Bam, he really is a compassionate and caring individual.  He doesn't really know hate and is very grateful to interact with people based upon his past of isolation.  The other characters represent a healthy and diverse personality matrix as well.  Overall the story as its presented is enjoyable and compelling, even if it follows some basic troupes.

    But, there are a few issues.  The biggest is that the anime, being 13 episodes, barely scratches the surface of what exists for the story.  The 13 episode do a good job of telling the story that takes place between issue 0 and 78 of the manhwa, with only a few things left out.  But...as of the writing of this review there are 485 issues.  The other issue is the artwork...its mildly pedestrian.  It would be nice if more effort/time would have been put into it, instead of just what appears to be a rush job.  That said the story and characters make up for that.  I was so compelled by what I saw that I immediately started reading the manhwa after the final episode dropped.  Now, like everyone, I have to wait for the author to return from their prolonged break.  Tower of God is a breath of fresh air in the shonen landscape that has a very complex and interesting world.  Hopefully we will see future seasons of the anime.

    Tower of God is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll and the manhwa can be read in English on Webtoon.