First Impression: Kami no Tou (Tower of God)

Hello, lovely humans!

I’ve missed writing here, for sure. There’s something therapeutic about writing on your blog, even if you’re writing about no one in particular and to no one in particular. But in times like this, sometimes all we have to rely on is writing…

…and of course, anime. Hello, Spring 2020!

With the uncertainty surrounding my course currently, it is unlikely that I’ll keep up with the entire season. However, when scrolling through last night, one show did catch my eye…and boy, did it run with it.

Kami no Tou (Tower of God)

“Tower of God centers around a boy called Twenty-Fifth Bam, who has spent most of his life trapped beneath a vast and mysterious Tower, with only his close friend, Rachel, to keep him company. When Rachel enters the Tower, Bam manages to open the door into it as well, and faces challenges at each floor of this tower as he tries to find his closest companion.” (From MyAnimeList)

Admittedly, the synopsis doesn’t sound suuuuuuper exciting. I mean, sure. It’s a little bit like the Tower from the Hunter exam, but an entire anime about it? I wasn’t convinced. However, I am a sucker for a few death games (whether this is for better or worse). Going in with an empty mind, and no expectations, I watched…

Consider. Me. IMPRESSED.

This anime had everything going for it. Whilst I had never read the source material, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was of Korean origin, and even more surprised to see that the manhwa (the Korean equivalent of manga) was held in such high regard. Despite having no familiarity with the source material, I have no doubt that it has so far, done its source proud.

Yes, we may have our protagonist ‘fighting for love’. But from what little we grasp of his back story (which I can only assume is going to be revealed further as the anime continues), his reasons for fighting only appear to make him stronger as opposed to weaker. Bam, our protagonist fully embraces the ‘weak protagonist’ role, whether it fits him or not, and refrains from falling into the cliche tropes we so often see in similar anime. Aside from our protagonist, just in episode 1, we are introduced to an ensemble of unique characters, all offering a new piece of the puzzle that is the tower.

And the animation…oh, wow. It looks beautiful. Just in one episode, which hasn’t even shown us even half of what to expect yet,  we have seen so many amazing settings. Without giving anything away, the first challenge arena left me breathless with both exhilaration and in awe of how they could make something that was described so simply look so beautiful.

It’s early days, and I have been burned by anime that started off great and then…wasn’t, before. But based on the praise that has surrounded the first episode, and the manhwa so far, I have a feeling we’ll be talking about this show for a long time to come.

What are your recommendations for Spring 2020? Are you watching Tower of God, or something different? Like me, are you seasons behind? Let me know!

Until next time!