---minor spoilers ahead---
Just as man built the Tower of Babel to reach the heavens, I found myself metaphorically climbing along with the Kami no Tou aka Tower of God (ToG) hype. With such cultural influence, ToG inevitably came to life as the trailblazer anime adaptation of manhwa. Unfortunately, just as the tale of the Tower of Babel doesn’t end the way mankind wants, neither does the ToG adaptation.
Story: 3.5/10
The defining issue that rises from the ToG adaptation’s story is depth. Pacing is erratic for storytelling and worldbuilding but holds up decently in maintaining the high stakes, competitive fighting on the Testing Floor. There are missing details that hinder the shows overall world building.
Characters, noticeably, lack characterization. Specifically, why is Khun so fascinated by Bam and why does that mean he treats Bam differently than others (specifically in regards to trust)? Why does Yuri, the supposed ferocious “Jahad’s Imp,” just readily hand over one of the most powerful weapons in the ToG universe to Bam, who belongs to the same group of individuals that threaten the status quo, within minutes of meeting him? Why does Bam, an uncompelling character, become the object of everyone’s affection? Turns out, none of these questions have a satisfactory answer that matches the observed actions or stated history of the cast outside of “for the sake of the plot” which degrades the continuity of the story.
This isn't to say that questions at the end of the first season of a show are bad. In fact, it's in all likelihood good for the high fantasy/pseudo-isekai setting of ToG. The critical distinction that exists between the ToG plot questions and an anime that executes the mystery well is captivation. Ultimately, I can recognize that these questions play a crucial role in the continuity of the plot, but the current construction of the characters and environment leaves me with a general apathy towards their “soon-to-be” answers. This is a bad use of confusion, there must be some purpose behind a mystery. Maybe there is a sudden finite window of time to do something, maybe the cast’s survival is contingent on participating in the journey, or maybe we even just grow to resonate with the protagonist and their vision for the future. These three motives can all be identified as an expression of the “call to adventure” in the hero’s journey, yet ToG’s call to adventure is just about as nebulous as it gets. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you want, or why you want it, just climb the tower. This is frankly uncompelling and doesn't do itself favors in elevating the levels of suspense and intrigue.
Art: 1.9/10
This is where the adaptation falls woefully short to the point of laziness. Composed of flat pencil sketches with minimal shading, the animation frankly looks lifeless outside of dynamic scenes such as fights. Even then, fights are definitely not up to industry standard with a comical misunderstanding of how motion works.
The adaptation is a faithful representation of the early manhwa art; however, these comments aren’t particularly convincing. While the early manhwa panels are quite bad, the later artwork in the manhwa is significantly improved and likely better encapsulates SIU’s vision for the series. It’s not enough to just follow along with the source material without a critical evaluation of why the source material is conveyed the way it is. Poor source material art is not an excuse for poor art in the adaptation.
The opening animation is also indicative of a lazy animation effort as the viewer is treated with 5-second increments of animation followed by cuts to black credit screens for no narrative purpose. Animation quality is critical in action anime, and ToG falls woefully short of the industry standard.
Sound: 7.2/10
The opening is nice with the feature of being Korean; however, it’s doesn’t stand out to me as particularly iconic. The background/ambient music helps dampen the obtrusive drawn environments and frame the tension. Some of the supporting characters struck me as having strange voices for the characters; however, these are quite minor.
Characters: 3.4/10
Simply put, ToG’s characters are lackluster and even uncompelling. Of the main cast, Bam is a boring and personality-less character, Khun is essentially the Killua of ToG sans the fleshed out emotional baggage, and, quite egregiously, the rest of the cast has an inexplicable love for Bam. Only Rak from the main cast is likable as a stubborn to a fault warrior that adds some actual comedic relief. This may not be how Rak is meant to be portrayed, but, considering the rest of the cast, it’s no surprise that Rak is usually the focal point of memorable character dynamics. However, if the rest of the main cast was properly developed, I could see Rak as being quite obtrusive.
Enjoyment: 3.6/10
Unfortunately, I can’t say I enjoyed the adaptation very much. ToG is supposed to be an extraordinarily vibrant yet simultaneously perilous world. I can’t help but feel that the magic of the world is noticeably missing. This anime definitely serves as the biggest wake-up call regarding hypetrains for me in recent memory.
Overall: 3.9/10
In all likelihood, ToG has changed the landscape of anime. ToG had many expectations, well-founded expectations that many sincerely wish would be met to redefine the medium. The ensuing hype alone is indicative of the sheer possibility of anime to adapt and bring to life our favorite stories. That alone is commendable. However, as an actual work, ToG doesn’t live up to the hype. For the reasons I’ve stated above, ToG is subpar. However, this may be subject to change as more material is adapted. This is not a story well suited for a 13 episode seasonal anime run. In the end, ToG falls woefully short of the imposing world it has sought to convey.
