Ranked #832

Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk

Its really hard to tell where GONZO is going with Druaga. The first episode of Druaga is the funniest (and probably the best) first episode of any anime I have seen. It starts off with an RPG-style party (a sword user, an archer, etc) with the aim of climbing the Tower of Druaga to defeat the evil Lord Druaga There was me thinking 'Oh no, the lame shounen of this season', however that all changed quickly. The rest of the episode is about the protagonist's (Jil) journey to climb to the top, and the comic manor it all happened. The not-so-slapstick comedy in this anime has been somewhat refreshing and different to anything I've seen before, which is the reason for the 10 for enjoyment.

However, this actually turned out to be a dream, and from episode 2, it became more serious. The rest of the series continues the party's journey to the top, with less jokes along the way, but ones that will make you uncontrollably laugh nevertheless. Sometimes there are really hilarious episodes, and sometimes more sober-sided ones, which is why I can't really tell where this series is going and why I have given a 7 for story (sometimes the serious episodes aren't that interesting).

The art is average for this day and age, and likewise with the music (though the opening is very misleading as it shows the characters in modern school uniform, when this is set in medieval-ish times - though this raises the theory that these people could be playing an RPG all this time, like .hack, as it is very game-like with the parties, monsters, maps/levels and the different classes). I do however, like the characters in Druaga; there are no lame characters (the shy one, the overly-clever one) and its epically good there's no 'the-useless-one' of the party; they all seem to have a purpose.

All in all, a very amusing, but peculiar, anime which is showing good potential. I just hope it doesn't end with the 'power of love' saving the world. read more

Tower of Druaga is perhaps the finest example in years of a non-comedic series taking on all the trappings of fantasy cliché and making proper use of them, and, as such, turned out to be pleasantly surprising.

The series is based on an old and at the time successful arcade game in which you play a valiant knight entering a leveled tower to slay the evil overlord and rescue the princess. What made the game popular were the various almost random actions you had to perform in order to be able to ascend to the next level. The original game had a number of sequels, of course all involving some even greater evil and an expanded tower.
The background explains why the series plays out in an enormous tower of multiple levels, each with their own hazards and enemies. As a fantasy series, this is as clichéd as it gets; as a series bearing the Druaga name, this is proper.
Using this all too familiar fantasy theme has its uses. There really is no need to have to introduce much of the world, background story, and characters: everyone watching the series immediately knows he's in fantasy video game-territory, where everything and everyone has a standard role to play. Within the first few episodes all major characters are introduced, with the main roles being those of the somewhat naive young man who wants to fight for justice and peace, the girl with clerical powers and a dark secret, and of course the more experienced powerful adventurer with his own share of secrets. The cast is filled out with the usual bunch of rugged fighters, silent rogues, and whining but powerful mages, all planning to ascend to the top of the tower, slay the evil monster, and gain the heroes' reward. Of course, the animation and design of the characters is geared to making sure there are no doubts to their roles, as is the vocal cast, which includes some high-profile names but takes absolutely no chances: everyone sounds as their archetype should.

The first half of the series is used to pound every single trite and generic characteristic of standard fantasy series, from Wizardry to whichever animation of the Tales-video games, into the viewers perception. Expediently enough, it does this by making the episodes comical, even farcical at times. The first episode shows the main character's own vision of his heroics in the most generic manner possible, for instance, while later on the inherent greed of all adventurers is relied upon to have them unite against a common enemy. It is in this half that the series also pays its homage to the roots of the Druaga franchise, as not only are there a few instances wherein the drawing style switches to the top view, 2d, 8 bit look of the original game, but the game itself appears as well, and has a functional role too.

But I started this review by stating that Tower of Druaga is not a comedy series. This is because, halfway through, it suddenly takes a turn for the dramatic. Usually, this would mean the end of any interest the series would hold, as far too many broken romcoms and action comedies testify to, but in the case of Tower of Druaga, the first, somewhat comical, half turns out to be used to make the viewer comfortable with the generic setting and characters. It makes no sense for the viewer to expect some sort of realism in the setting, and he also has come to expect some sort of volta stemming from the characters' unspoken but clearly known backgrounds.
The effect is that the viewer does not have to be disappointed by this generic plot twisting or the reactions of the characters to it, as it was already clear that nothing overly original would happen. It is, in fact, this basis in generality that makes the drama fairly strong. As each and every character acts according to its archetypal fashion, a plot point that is as archetypal can be convincingly raised as a source of dramatic tension: for instance, if all characters have their own motives, and if only one reward can be gained from slaying the big evil, what would this imply for intra-party integrity and inter-party rivalry? The friction resulting from the fact that, while slaying the big bad would be beneficial for everyone, only one brave adventurer can become the true is convincingly exploited.
Granted, the drama and tension aren't very evolved or deep, and the fact remains that almost any single happening can be predicted. The way it was portrayed, however, was, to me at least, thoroughly enjoyable, even if entirely forgettable. What makes me shirk from giving the story an extra point for the way it is handled, however, is the simple fact that Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk is an unfinished series, with a sequel in the making, and I fear that many of the more interesting points will in the end be strung out and hung out to wither.

As for the art, in general it is pretty good, with clear lines and a strong design treading the middle ground between expected fantasy trappings and some more inspired vistas. A definite plus is the use of the graphics of the original game at times, and a definite minus would be the use of CG for the main monster, but that's just my personal hatred towards CG animation speaking. As said, the voice acting, though relatively high profile, was as generic as possible, ranging from the heroic to the positively annoying. Music is utterly forgettable.
The characters, as said, are as generic as they come. I didn't expect more, and I didn't get more. I have never understood why character development and connection with characters is such a dearly held item in reviews, as characters should portray their roles within a certain story (background in general is irrelevant) and should be convincing and consistent in their roles, whether or not the role is likable or not. In the case of Tower of Druaga, the roles aren't meant to be developed, or to offer some insights, or to portray either 'real' humans or ideals. They're consistent, clear-cut, and utterly generic, and this serves the series well. Just don't expect to be blown away by either their lines or their expressions. read more

It would appear GONZO seem to think they can use their unique release format to gloss over the fact this series is riddled with flaws. There are three experiences to be had from Druaga, a hilarious comedy one, a somewhat below average action one and a dire fantasy one. It is literally a lottery as to which genre will be dominant in each episode.

The storyline couldn't possibly be any more generic; explore dungeon, defeat evil boss, find legendary treasure etc., its not even well executed. When its not being generic, it's being downright predictable, major plot points are seen coming a mile off. The pacing is atrocious, the characters will spend multiple episodes in floors relatively close to each other then magically be much further in the dungeon just so the series can finish within the episode count. Much of which is taken up by almost filler like pointless episodes that do nothing to progress what little plot there is (episode 6 in particular). GONZO have tried to justify this shambles by confirming a second series to continue the storyline, but such a weak reason doesn't excuse this mess. A real shame after a genuinely fantastic opening episode, that made it look like the series wiould break a lot of these clichés, sadly it fails. If the storyline can't even meet its own expectations, what chance does the viewer have?

Animation is top notch, nice to see GONZO are still capable of doing something right. Very impressive scenery and backgrounds throughout the series, with some solid, likeable character designs. The enemies are also (for the most part) very well designed.

The audio is another highlight, very nice opening and ending themes that fit the series well enough. The background music is good enough and usually appropriate to whatever is going on. Voice acting is another strong point, with an impressive display from the seiyuu's.

Character wise, Druaga once again fails to live up to its own expectations, the cast is initially nothing short of excellent; likeable characters with interesting personalities, unfortunately there is next to no character development in he entire series, kind of to be expected when there are more characters than episodes though. Once again the excuse "it'll be fixed in the next series" isn't valid in an analysis of this series. As a result of little character development, it is hard for the viewer to get attached to the characters and the dramatic scenes lose much of their impact.

Druaga remains an enjoyable enough experience despite these flaws, thanks mostly to comedy episodes, but it can be a genuine atruggle to get through some of other episodes. The comedy episodes if reviewed individually would get nines and tens, whilst the rest of the series would get between four and seven. It keeps the viewers attention with the promise of better future episodes, which is sort of admirable. It'd be a lot better if it were a 26 episode series, that'd allow fleshing of the plot and characters as well as removing the rushed feel to the series. Worth a watch regardless. read more

I am sorry to say that this anime has been quite confusing, and I couldn't predict anything. Not like I must have control to enjoy something, but without having some solid ground, you don't know where GONZO's gonna throw you next. The series started out brilliantly, but as it went on, it felt like GONZO split up its team into sections. "OK, you make episode 4, and I'll make episode 5, and..." yeah, you get it. You can feel the disconnection between episodes, and GONZO is having a hard time finding the fine balance between comedy and serious plot movement that makes sense. However, it wasn't horrible and not worth watching at all, and it seems GONZO's gonna try this again with a new season next year.

STORY: 6/10

Not the most inventive thing you've ever heard of. A guy wants to be the hero, his old team rejects him, he finds a new team, and whoopee you can guess from there. Although the story has a nice twist at the end, it hardly makes up for the stereotypical plotline. What makes things even worse is that the plot is executed by underdeveloped characters that you have a hard time connecting with, and part of that is the tiny 12 episodes that GONZO attemted to cram their huge ideas into. If they had about 26 episodes for this anime instead of 12, I bet we would see some huge improvements.

ART: 8/10

The art was actually pretty good. I really enjoyed the occasional 3D moment, it really fleshed out the anime more. The character designs were unique as well (in terms of looks, not emotions) so not much else to say here.

SOUND: 7/10

Nothing fabulous. OP and ED were ok, and no in-anime music struck me as amazing. it just... it fit what it was going with, like anime music and sound should.

CHARACTER: 6/10

Here's the one I wanted to talk about. I can see that these characters have a lot of great emotions and ideas packed into them, but 12 episodes is simply not enough for such a complicated web of people. I didn't know much about any character at the end, and I felt almost like they didn't earn what they got. Instead, it felt like GONZO was pushing the characters to the end so that it could meet this 12 episode limit. It just feels like something is missing, and that probably has to do with the confusion of where this series is actually going. The characters rarely start an episode where they ended previously, and... well, I blame it on the 12 episode limit again...

ENJOYMENT: 7/10

Not much to say here. Let me put it this way: I always watch 4 anime episodes a night, sometimes 5, and I always watch them in order of worst to last. Druaga was almost always one of the first ones. It's hard to enjoy it when you don't know where its going, or what the characters really think. I am very confused right now about Kaaya's stand on things, but hopefully we'll learn more next season.

OVERALL: 7/10

I've been beating on this anime a lot, because I feel that Druaga is lacking something. I couldn't connect with the characters very well, the plot was cliche, it just wasn't there. It's still an enjoyable anime, though, and I suggest viewing the first few episodes and seeing how you like it. read more

I'll make a short review for your convenience (if you haven't seen this anime yet).

Tower of Druaga ~The Aegis of Uruk~ is an adaptation of an old namco game with the same name. This anime is just like any other typical adventure anime engulfed with wacky antics that will leave an impression to you.
The story is somewhat generic. Basically it includes a group of climbers with the desire to obtain the Blue crystal rod (an item which is said to grant its bearers wish). It can be obtained after defeating Druaga who is located on top of the tower that is named after the evil lord Druaga himself. Certain plot twists were also present which sets this anime apart from most adventure anime titles. The animation company "Gonzo" is the one who's responsible for this one. I personally disliked Gonzo before but I have to say that their work on this one is pretty good. From the first episode to the last, the animation got better. The background animation is decent and 3D animations were also present. The BGMs used in this one is unappealing. The only thing I liked about the music in this anime is the performance of the uprising band Muramasa with their opening song Swinging. The characters are also typical, it features some of the so-called classes which includes an Archer, a shielder, a healer and etc which can be found in most RPG's or MMORPG's of today. The characters are interesting, interesting to the fact that almost all of them have different intentions and reasons for climbing the tower however they share only one thought and that is to defeat Druaga.

I enjoyed this anime, almost every episode will make you smile and these interesting characters will do the honors of doing so. Overall this anime is good for all ages, it's an adventure of 2008 that you should not miss.

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GONZO sure started off very nicely with this release. The first episode was hilarious and had so little; yet so much to do with what has later to come.
Truly; it made me want to look at episode 2 with more heart and NEED of this Anime.

However, the more the episodes went on, the more disappointing it'll become.
I don't know what GONZO was trying to do; but a lot of stuff later in the series starts to get quite confusing and doesn't really add up to anything.

I see this happen in a lot of Anime; they try to complicate their stories more by confusing the viewer. But the only thing they are doing is putting unnecessary effort into unnecessary scenes. If only they'd put in more thought to the story and followed up from where they started, it would've been better.

However, it is what it is, so lets keep it that way. The Anime as it is, isn't flawless, by far. But it is enjoyable, however.

The characters are just like the story; not that big a deal. Quite typical for Anime, and sort of predictable. The story was unpredictable; due to it being confusing. But the characters, not as much.

The best part of this Anime is it's continual feel. At one point it is mystical and fantasy-based. At the other point it tends more towards action or drama. Some scenes really look like RPG's, while other scenes tend more towards a different type of action.

All in all, the Tower of Druaga - The Aegis of Uruk, has a lot to offer. Maybe a bit too much; seeing how it's better to stick to one vibe in stead of many.

However, let's skip complaining and enjoy the show. Since it still was quite enjoyable and has nearly flawless animation. The sounds were pretty good and there is a certain amount of development in between. So yes, it is definitely enjoyable if you look beside the flaws that is the story.

There will be a second season of this Anime; let's just hope GONZO makes up for it; so it'll become just like this one, but then without flaws.
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This spring season completely changed my opinions toward Gonzo. Blassreiter is already a very solid series and I have always been a CG-hater. Druaga, on the other hand, came as a wonderful surprise.

Druaga is not a masterpiece by any means, otherwise I wouldn't give it an 8 only. But it does have the potential to become a masterpiece. I was rather disappointed after the first episode because it was not funny at all (the Urua episode was much better IMO). In the next 11 episodes, I did see some interesting ideas and the writer did not drop them either. Unfortunately he didn't go on and explore them. Of course, one may argue that Druaga is a comedy anime in nature, and I'm perfectly fine with it. All I'm saying is that Druaga could be much better if the writers were more serious about these ideas.

But I'm not trying to bash the show here. What makes Druaga so wonderful is its good characterization and a full-of-imagination worldsetting. The worldsetting incorporates all the wonderful elements of RPG such as cute low level monsters, various skills, different classes of characters, team play, boss run etc. It also leaves all the boring parts out, such as walking from point A to B, like what they did in that more-boring-than-Bohr's-atomic-model Guardian of the Spirits. The little cute monsters and all that are what makes RPG interesting in the old days.

The chacterization is above the average too, even though it suffers a little bit from the plot. It has everything I could ask for. The characters are realistic, they have depth, and they have some lovable elements. Rarely seen in the anime industry, the writer clearly demosntrated that he received some professional training in writing. Druaga introduced a huge set of characters. Fortunately the writer didn't divide the screen time evenly to each character (see Rahxephon). What he did, like any other trained writer is supposed to do, is to focus most of the show on the main characters: namely Kaaya, Niba, and Jil. None of them are annoying, and all of them have some mysteries surrounding their past. The mysteries kept them interesting to watch throughout the season. My favourite character is Jil, not because he is the protagonist but because he is the only one who showed some character change in this season. From a rather naive hero wannabe to a person who desires to become a shield for his friends, the change was done smoothly and genuiely with considerable amount of introspection, another important piece in good characterization. The last episode says it all:"They are not heroes but people who fight for their dreams." A normal person growing up is always the best. The puppy love between Kaaya is cute too and it's very likely that the focus of the show is going to be shifted toward this relationship in the next season. As for the side characters, as long as they are not annoying, that's enough for me, and that's exactly what the writer has done.

Season 1 has been a great journey and ended at a cliffhanger. Without a question, season 2 is going to be my most anticipated series next year.

PS I hope someone could organize a petition. The rating system should really include more important things such as world setting, theme, theme delivery etc. Who cares about animation...? read more

This is my first review, so hold up on the critics. :P

60 years after King Gilgamesh defeated the evil god Druaga, the tower that Druaga once resided in returns. The story follows rookie climber Jil, who got kicked out of his brother Neeba's team after failing miserably. Refusing to give up, he decides to look for new teams mates to again climb the tower to defeat Druaga and claim the prize for doing so, an artefact said to be able to grant any wish, the Blue Crystal Rod.

STORY:
Making use of a legendary name of "Tower of Druaga", fans from that age and generation will be very interested in watching it. They will be sorely disappointed. The references to the game are so lousily done, it made this almost a parody of it, which I highly doubt that was the intended motive. Even the overall plot hardly has a flow, just mearly the climbing of the tower, facing various obstacles along the way, which are hardly entertaining, might I add.

ART:
For all of Gonzo's inability to make a decent plot, their animation quality never ceases to amaze me. It's very pleasing to the eye. Now if only the anime was any better. -_-

SOUND:
Good opening song, voice actors pretty decent. Not much more I could say, really...

CHARACTER:
WHAT character development? There are few different groups of people in the anime: Jil's party of 5, Neeba's of 4, the main people of the Uruk army and some bad guy. With only 12 episodes, what are the chances many of them will be developed? That's what first came to mind, but guess what. NONE of them are developed. Except the occasional minutes/seconds of background story, we still know next to nothing about most of the characters!

ENJOYMENT:
Those that know me know I'm hardly a shounen fan, yet, this is possibly among the worst shounen anime I have even watched. Fillers in Naruto are more enjoyable than this.

OVERALL
Frankly, if i could turn back time, I would have NEVER gone anywhere near this anime. With a decent first episode, I would have thought it would be pretty good along the way, only for it to drop further into mediocrity, right down to plain lousy. read more

LOL this anime is hilarious

every episode is jam packed with funny material. it has all the elements that i enjoy, the hot mage chick ^^, fighting, and a whole lot of hilarious content. the story of this anime isnt all that new (oh no this evil guy is destroying our villages and causing havoc, then a hero comes along and all that jazz) but since this anime is based off a game the makers really put that in the anime to make it funny

It is a must if u watch lots of anime ^^

Entertainment is not a difficult subject to write about since no matter what incarnation of it, either it be a music, a book, a movie or an anime, the main propose is to entertain. In that regard it can only either achieve it or fail, but in between those two there is what we call mainstream (don’t mix it up with ordinary or average), and there have been very few installments that represent the niche as well as Druaga.

Two things will remain constant in this review, first alphanumerical scorings will mean very little since we can only strictly classify an anime by its intrinsic values, when we are either flaming an abysmal show, or praising another gorgeous one. And second, people that tend to strive by exaggerating problems instead of praising achievements and balancing mistakes will most likely disagree with me. But anyway, these people tend to make their minds on a subject before hitting the issue so their thoughts are biased from start, and no matter how long of a rant or praise I write I will never make them happy, and I wouldn’t be paying justice to Druaga with neither approaches.


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Story
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The strength of the story here doesn’t come from intricate plot or interesting twists, instead it have its strongest suit on the development, which is only a pretty way to say it is predictive and not as well explained as one would hope, but still manages to stand on its own legs and doesn’t let down. Some parts of the lore and the most part of the back stories of the characters are simply not explained at all, but since we are dealing with some pretty standard territory (fantasy, dragons, ghosts, magic, so far not vampires…) even if some plot holes are present, the omission of explanations actually helps what could very well turn out to be a dragged mess of unneeded monologues.

The first episode is simply wonderful and kicks in with a really good pace that puts you into the mood to take whatever it might hold ahead, and actually manages to keep this feeling going for the majority of the time, only dropping the ball slightly by the end running away from its uniqueness’s to the more safe surroundings of your everyday shounen, complete with insane amounts of mainly screens and girly tears. It is aggravating but bearable since even in its worse moments it stays solid, and on the other rare occasions where it is simply bad, you always manage to find other redeeming factors on the scene, either it be the unusual and fresh homage to the source material spread throughout the series, or the humor that frequently comes off on the precise moments.

That aside, one of the small touches I like the most is the fact that they strayed away from the usual “average high school boy” as a main protagonist, while still referring to that demographic trough the intro. It was a really smart move to make the plot feel a little bit fresher, while still ticking the pre-requirements to get founding for the show. If only they would stick to this kind of creativity throughout the whole thing, the story would’ve been much better, but I don’t like criticizing something based on my failed expectations so it’s a moot point.


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Art / Animation & Sound
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The static art is good, characters are vivid and well designed and the colors albeit a bit too bright for a dungeon environment are good, but as soon as motion occurs it is uneven at best. This doesn’t deserve to be dragged much longer, but I have to point out you will spot a few sequences of animation with less frames then would be required to look good, luckily those were not frequent enough to leave a bad impression of the otherwise competent art and animation direction. Just as the 2D counterpart, the CGI is well executed but animated unevenly. It was also not bad enough to become intrusive, but at this day and age we have come to expect more value per screen time then what is delivered here.

Soundtrack is really subpar. It’s not technically at a fault and more often than not it fits the scene, but battles lack punch, drama lacks emotion and overall it lacks quality to make an impact worth noticing at any given moment. The intro selection is fitting for the unique choice but nothing else, and sound effects are not as bad as the rest, holding their own ground fairly well. Voice actors do a decent job, and at least during a few lines when both the plot and the soundtrack help they do a great one, but this is not common enough to worth praising on any specific role.

Without taking into consideration the lack of vibe the sound department provides, the visuals are pleasing while never achieving moments of complete gloriousness (possible exception for the outtakes of the tower itself) and in fact the irregular nature of the art here, hurts more than simply the lack of quality which gladly is far less common.


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Characters
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Lasting impressions after the credits roll are usually a safe indication of how good characters are, but here this might not be failproof. This is because the development of the main characters is incomprehensible from time to time, and you might just as well get attached to someone just to find out later he became something else. This is a bit more subtle on the female cast but ridiculously evident with the main character, he goes from good-for-nothing to dependable to demigod and then back to screaming teenager without any trouble or rational explanation, and in the meanwhile people around him act as if he had a giant poster written “main character” floating above his head and this was only natural. Romance development and drama climax also suffer from this, and they never truly deliver due to lack of proper trailing.

Side roles are not particularly flashed out here, and it is for good measure since the few attempts to bring them out shows how silly and underdeveloped they are, but with a main cast of roughly 10 characters we still get plenty meat on the bone with episodes focusing on specific characters and such. The main gripe thought is that there is no clear enemy, and instead they just go around facing random “evil” that pops up, most of them nameless, until they reach yet another boss that is not developed as a character at all. Instead of having opposing motivation, the enemies are just there to be slashed, and this gets old eventually even if it is yet another trait of the original material they derive from.

Just as with the story, where at the same time it’s neither the main focus nor the outcast, the characters face a well rounded tour, going from spotlight to backstage in a blink of an eye. You never get too much or too little of them, and by the end the mileage gained is quite good. Though it could be a bit better if they would settle for either comic or dramatic mood with some plot developments, because with so many stories I felt it lacked time to fulfill both goals to the fullest. Rest assured, there isn’t many unlikeable characters to begin with and the side cast is pretty weak, but the main ones all have some redeeming traits and unless you try really hard to hate them, you will be able to get attached to them soon enough.


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Enjoyment & Value
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So, what makes a mainstream anime? Average sound, average music, average animation, average art… these are scrutinizing about subjects one anime belonging to this category don’t need, instead what characterize a mainstream anime is how well it manages to differentiate itself from the horde of similar ones, and how effectively the fun factor can avoid the hindering all the technical shortcomings might incidentally bring to the table, and taking all of this into consideration Druaga is a proud member of this group.

With its dose of uniqueness both on visuals and direction it manages to remain with a fresh feeling during the entire show, and with somewhat likable characters and good pace, it also achieves a decent level of lasting impression. The technical aspects might not be as sharp as one could expect since the bar these days is set so extraordinarily high, but it also goes miles away from being simply ordinary or mediocre.

Overall it is an easy recommendation for anyone that likes the genre, perhaps not a “no brainer” for anyone else, but it definitely delivers into all aspects one would expect while at the same time bringing a healthy dosage of extravagances. read more