Every few seasons or so, the hype squad arises from its short-lived slumber to scope out its next prey, and, understandably, this season’s prey appears to be this very show (though it being an adaptation of a manhwa, or Korean manga, which is hitherto unheard of likely contributes to the hype as well). As the law of nature itself dictates, this phenomenon entails only the ceaseless and bloody battle between the two factions who have been at each other’s throats since the very dawn of time; the elitists and the plebeians. So, without further ado, let us, as a certain someone would say, get to the meat and potatoes of this series and why I think it’s ultimately pretty mediocre (but can be enjoyable on specific occasions).
Premise. I for one am very fond of this show’s fantasy setting. I think it is a breath of fresh air and it reminds me a tad of the Tower of Babel from Christian mythology (pretty sure it is somewhat inspired by it too, if the few illustrations of the tower we see throughout the show are anything to go by). The air of mystery the show establishes certainly helps with the immersion too, I feel, and compliments its relatively non-linear storytelling as it puts the audience in the same boat as most participants of the tower; clueless, left to speculate and vulnerable to whatever surprise (and plot contrivance) awaits - though I must admit that I am not impressed by the few "tests" presented thus far. They all feel highly unremarkable, boring and pretty asspull-ish; as if not much thought went into them. I certainly hope the floor tests will improve as the story progresses.
A myriad of unanswered questions were thrusted upon the audience right off the bat; what is the tower? Where is the tower situated? Why does the tower exist? Who created the tower? What lies beyond the tower? How does the tower operate? And I-can-go-on-for-bloody-ever. As aforementioned, I really like how, contrary to the norm in recent fantasy shows, the narrative does not regurgitate exposition right from the start, though how well the show will utilise this element of ambiguity and mystery moving forward, I cannot say, as I have yet to and do not intend on reading the source material. I also like how there is somewhat of an end goal to the story; that being reaching the top of the tower. The only real way to fuck this set-up up, I think, is to either blue-ball the audience too much for too long by holding onto too many of the mystery's answers (or being too lazy to think of them in the first place) or by giving answers so unsatisfactory, you would rather the show took the direction Darling in the FranXX took.
Characters. Are. Fucking. Bland. They are every bit as dull, unimaginative and prosaic as one might have expected out of a blockbuster shounen. We have the sub-zero IQ simp homonculus of a protagonist whose survival and continued existence throughout the show is LITERALLY justified solely by luck and bare plot armour alone (“nooo you can’t just grant somebody shounen protagonist status based off of their cute face alone!! haha I give u uber OP sword cause u cute kbai”). Funnily enough, I found myself more invested in the supporting cast like the Administrators and their personalities and backstories than I did the main roster. Honestly, I have come to peace with how boring the characters are by treating them as complimentary narrative elements rather than an actual parameter of the story. I suggest you do the same, lest your interest in the show will likely be short-lived.
Production. Hoo-boy. Let’s save us all an even-more-heated debate by settling with “unique”. Truthfully, I’m not all that disturbed by the unconventional art style. The paper filter is distracting at times and so is the highly inconsistent art, but it’s manageable and not enough to pry my engagement with the story. OP and ED were alright. No qualms, but I’m certainly not fond enough of them to not skip them every episode. What caught me off-guard was this one acid jazz soundtrack that played near the end of the “Crown Game” arc. That shit was fire. Voice actors were absolutely fantastic. Some big-names, for sure, and my favourite VA’s are there too. Fight scenes were pretty average. Not OPM, but not Mars of Destruction either.
Summary. Fresh and intriguing premise and setting with dry and forgettable one-dimensional characters (yes, even Khun. He’s the tragic-backstory cutie I confess all the fujoshi, fudanshi and myself are fucking thirsty for, but he's still pretty basic). Definitely will continue watching this as a late-night, pre-bed show to slowly turn my brain off and pass out to (insomnia gang) and out of interest in what direction the story will take.
