Tower of God Volume 3: “Baylord Yama” (Episodes 8 and 9) Webtoon Review
Major Spoilers are included in this Webtoon Review. Please read with caution.
On September 29, 2020, I started and finished Tower of God Volume 3’s second story arc: “Baylord Yama”. I’m loving the simplification of the plot—for the time being—and how character-driven the stakes are for Baam and his friends.
It’s almost poetic how Khun woke up from his years-long slumber only to deal with Baam’s inability to leave people behind again . Baylord Yama was also given a character focus, showing how powerful and terrifying he is—a slayer high-ranker is no joke—when Baam officially met him alongside Karaka.
The world-building on Baylord Yama’s gang and his “master-slavery” hierarchy were explored during this arc too, with Baam telling Baylord Yama how wrong it was that he would force his leadership onto his teammates and Deng Deng. I have been enjoying the constant world-building within the Tower and its various inhabitants. Tower of God is consistently well-written in regards to the world-building and the lore behind certain areas of the Tower.
Using an intern character—named Xia Lulu—as a stand-in for why people are desperate to get a job reflects the capitalist mindset of today’s world—or at least, America—very well, and how desperation leads people to do the most insane things for the sake of that job or potential promotion.
This short arc—but two episodes long—also clearly defined what everyone wanted, and why Karaka and Baam were teaming up at the moment. Remember, they share a teacher—Ha Jinsung—and saving him is their number one priority. Baam and Baylord Yama made a bet—winner gets to decide everything, basically. Baam wants to save Deng Deng because he sees himself—his FUG time as Jue Viole Grace—in the boy, and that’s really sad.
An old-time character—from Volume 1 (Season 1)—returned in this arc. Honestly, I didn’t recognize him—Akryung—at all because the artwork had changed drastically in-between appearances. Akryung was in a team with Rachel—ew—and was sort of an arch-nemesis to Rak when they were training to become Spear Bearers. He returned with a new group and attacked Baam for unknown reasons. The puriple shinsu was drawn magnificently—with Baam even stating Akryung’s new power was the strongest C-Rank shinsu he encountered. I do wonder why he’s made a comeback after a long hiatus in-between appearance.
The arc ended with the bet—a game—officially kicking off, with Karaka going rogue from Baam’s Team to hand Deng Deng over like they were supposed to do in the first place. Khun and his team are also facing off against Akryung’s new team for the “Fang”—the item needed to win the Canine Tooth Festival. I’m excited to see where the story goes next. Thanks for reading this Webtoon review, everyone! Let’s keep it climbing up the Tower!