After watching the first episode, my first thought was “Tower of God, more like Tower of Simp.” A few days later to my surprise, I ended up seeing similar thoughts to mine about this show on reddit threads and youtube. Suddenly all the people saying this show was going to be amazing suddenly disappeared. I assumed this was because people found the adaptation to be already disappointing as compared to its webtoon counterpart, so I decided to read the first chapter of the webtoon and I was right. They did a really poor job with its characterization especially for Bam (MC), the SIMP GOD himself. Just from reading 1 chapter of the webtoon I got a completely different impression of Bam and his motives are far more clear and justified as compared to the anime. Because I’m not a comic guy I didn’t continue with the webtoon after the first chapter and kept my faith that the anime will get better, and honestly I wasn’t disappointed. The show does become better in its later stages as it is far more easier to understand all the content within the story after you grasp a general understanding of the setting.
Speaking of TOG as a whole now one of its main problems is that the production was heavily rushed. In the span of just 13 episodes they covered over 100 chapters averaging around 8-10 chapters worth of content per episode. Because of this, it really felt like a lot of key content was left out to really establish any emotional attachment towards the characters. People die in this show and they even hold funerals for them but honestly I just can’t seem to care during all these scenes because of how much stuff was discarded. So basically, poor directing and production (most likely because of budget problems that 90% of all anime studios face).
A lot of people seem to dislike the art style and character designs specifically as well but I can’t agree with them in the slightest. THE ART IS GOOD. These are fresh new designs that really convey a spark of uniqueness. It is one of the main reasons that really distinguishes TOG from other anime in a good way. All the people saying they don’t like it are traditionalists who are incapable of adapting to change.
The score was composed by Kevin Penkin who also composed the music for Made in Abyss and Shield Hero. His music is very well-suited for fantasy settings and TOG is no exception. The music fits really well for the show’s setting. I wasn’t particularly fond of the OP at first but it really grew on me over time and now I highly respect it for how unique its instrumental trends and vocals are as compared to all the other general anime OPs.
I also want to note that there are a lot of plot twists and mystery prevalent in the show. These are very good plot twists. Honestly I can’t remember the last I have ever been so shocked before watching anything. So if you're into stuff like that, I highly recommend this series.
In conclusion, If you don’t mind webtoon comics read that, but if you’re an anime guy like me, the show is also good enough. The production team were able to do a good job with their limited budget and a lot of talented people worked on it as well.
