“Tower of god” review – the Manhwa that takes World building to a whole new level

The world of Korean Manhwa has been becoming more and more relevant with each passing year, and last year, it finally had its major breakthrough in the anime communities as more and more anime fans became interested in them after Crunchyroll announced the anime adaptions of three of the most prominent Manhwas.

The adaptions themselves were rushed, but they did introduce the source material to a fair number of anime fans.

And among them, the most prominent manhwa, the one that gets the most praise is probably “Tower of god.”

It is one of those stories that just evolves and expands with time, plus there is an insane amount of world building. Kind of like One Piece if you will, so if you are a One Piece fan, you are definitely going to enjoy this one too.

Well then, let’s talk about it and see where it stands in terms of its storytelling, world building, and characters.

Plot/Story

We are introduced to a Tower so vast and diverse you can confuse it with another world and it wouldn’t be a stretch at all. This tower is divided over 100 floors with each floor having its distinct difficulty and status.

It is filled with mysteries, secrets, monsters, and everything in between. The amount of imagination that is put into creating this world is just insane. Which is exactly why Tower of god has so many One Piece vibes. 

There are people who start their adventure from the first floor and then slowly make their way through the floors. These people are called Regulars, and they are chosen by the tower to compete and reach for the top.

However, there are also people who come from outside the tower, these folks are Irregulars, and their very existence is a supposed threat to the tower. But they are very rare.

Each floor has its own administrator, and these guys give the challengers quests and tests to see if they are worthy enough to climb further ahead.

The world building itself is brilliant, and it goes without saying that it is this Manhwa’s greatest selling point.

Among the residents of the tower there is a King and there are all Royal families that stand above all others, at the top most floors of this tower.

So what happens when you reach the supposed top?

You are granted with anything you desire, be it wealth, fame, authority, or something else. And you are also given the status of a Ranker.

So, there is an end goal, and a path to get there.

Characters

Different regulars have different reasons for aiming for the top, and some of those reasons can be highly unconventional and very individualistic.

This is exactly what makes this journey to the top so interesting, as we are introduced to a number of sometimes cliché sometimes discreet characters, and they all have their respective storylines merging into one.

Then there is the protagonist, Bam.

He came from outside the tower in search of a girl named Rachel. And as you might’ve already guessed, he is an irregular. His personality is childish, and he is fairly naive.

He doesn’t have a clear reason to climb the tower. Heck, he doesn’t even know what he has gotten himself into.

All he knows is that, he has to find Rachel.

We know nothing about his past, in fact, he himself doesn’t know anything about his past either.

This is the starting point of his character development as well as the people who become his accomplices in aiming for the top despite the fact that he is an irregular.

As you can expect, this story is smothered with an extraordinary amount of characters. And while some are more relevant than the others. The author does a brilliant job of showing us different characters with their distinct quirks and then blending them into the actual narrative of the story.

It works surprisingly well, and that is exactly what makes it so easy for the reader to get emotionally invested into the story. It’s not just the group of the main characters that grab your attention… the side characters can sometimes be just as good, if not even better.

Art

Now, the thing about tower of god is that it’s gradually evolving, and that is just as much true for the art as it is for the story and the characters.

The first few arcs aren’t anything remarkable, the art can sometimes be all over the place, and the character designs are inconsistent.

However, this starts to change with time.

And the latest few chapters are genuinely beautiful. The art is almost on par with the best of the best.

Take this comparison for example.

It’s the same character, the only difference is that the Art has evolved.

Conclusion

Tower of god is a masterpiece in terms of its world building, the storytelling is consistent and the characters are genuinely likeable. Furthermore, the elements of adventure and mystery work oddly well together.

There are a few things that take some time improve, and I am not just talking about its art.

The growth of the characters, especially the main character is slow at first, and the earlier arcs may even turn some readers away. But that’s just about it.

As it goes on, the brilliance of this manhwa more than makes up for its minor flaws.

In short, Tower of god is an extraordinary manhwa that totally deserves the time of anyone who loves long running serializations. It has a lot to offer, and once you get emotionally invested in the story, there is no going back.

For now, the series is on hiatus, it’ll be back once the author’s health stabilizes and he is ready to continue working on the story.

That’s why, if you this kind of adventure story sounds you, you should definitely check it out.

You will not be disappointed.

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