Tower of God: A Climb Like No Other
Tower of God first aired in April of 2020 developed by Studio Telecom Animation Film. Adapted from its Manhwa origins created by SIU. The story follows the story of a young boy named Bam who ascends to The Tower in order to chase the girl he cares deeply for. Armed with only his memories of her he will find himself making unlikely allies in this level-based death game, finding out more about who he is with his fractured memories. And finding out just who Rachel is.
It has taken me a total of four years to finally watch this anime. I was always rather skeptical about this one as from what I had seen from trailers and just the name alone it put me off. And yet today I gave it a try. And I can safely say I am thoroughly surprised by how fun this show is. Certainly, confusing early on I will admit but it has such a wonderful means of storytelling. The trials the teams go through, at least at the beginning episodes, are so simple yet mess with the mind in some areas.
And I’m not too big of a fan of magic in anime, it honestly can become such a copout for limited creative thinking. Oh, we need the character to be overpowered? Magic! We need to find a way to make the world more whimsical. Magic! I’m, sorry but it’s too cheap. That’s why I love shows like Bleach, a completely unique power system with multiple means of expression. RWBY while still having magic has Dust which in and of itself can replace a magic system entirely. It’s creative writing.
Finally, who would have thought it would take this long? It’s not an entirely complicated concept it does however reflect that of water. Unique but not complicated. I’m not fully aware of its true scope since I only watch three episodes before I do reviews.
Also, the seeds laid in for the subtle foreshadowing and juxtapositions between characters is flawlessly done especially between that of Bam and Khun. Their characters are similar in terms of backstory but have their fast discrepancies. However, from what I can tell early on there are two things. Khun’s current story is an indication of a potential narrative that Bam will follow. And two things shown very early that seem confusing will make much more sense later on.
It’s difficult to explain without spoiling a couple of things which makes reviewing this hard. However, I can say that from what I’ve heard from people who have watched the show season one’s twist is apparently quite unexpected. Kinda makes sense it’s a twist for a reason.
I’m thoroughly enjoying Tower of God and all that it brings to the table however some moments fall flat with the intent of being comedic. Some scenes have some rather off endings or just seem like they’re padding for time which, let’s be honest here, they are. However, I also must admit some of the logical moments I find myself in are gazing at the people and questioning: They say Bam do something strange. Why are they not more worried? Why aren’t they questioning things?
It’s so clear that in Tower of God, Bam is exceedingly talented and special. We hear and see it over and over again from multiple different people. Even the administrators who lord over The Tower admit he is unique. Why aren’t more people worried about this?
Bam is in a precarious position and it’s piqued my interest enough to want to continue watching. I highly recommend you give this one a try if you haven’t already. It seems like it’s going to be quite a ride.