Tower of God Season 1 Anime Review

Major Spoilers are included in this anime review. Please read with caution.

On October 8, 2020, I started watching Tower of God’s first season—13 episodes—and finished on October 27, 2020. Having caught up with all 485 episodes of the Webtoon, I decided to give the anime a try, which covered the Webtoon’s first 78 chapters condensed into 13 twenty-four-minute episodes. While the rush to hit major plot points and story revelations left a bad taste in my mouth, I still had a better time watching this Webtoon anime than The God of High School.

One-sentence summary: The story is about a girl named Rachel who wishes to climb the Tower and see the stars, and a boy named Baam who needed nothing but her.

Based on this one-sentence summary and the title—Tower of God—one can assume a basic fantasy story about boy—with his group of friends—chasing the girl up the Tower by fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles. While that assumption is somewhat true, there is indeed more to the story regarding politics, class struggles, friendship, and betrayal that blends together into the greater narrative.

The world-building is also the series’ greatest strength and weakness—a true double-edged sword regarding the mystery aspect of the series. The intricate design of how this world works—relating to how the story works—and leaving out unimportant details made the exposition feel imperative and less decorative.

The characters—aside from Baam and Rachel—are also fleshed out similar to how My Hero Academia handles their ensemble cast, with the Princesses of Zahard being the show’s breakout characters. Yuri, Androssi, and Anak Zahard also managed to steal my attention like 24/7 throughout the Webtoon too—they are amazingly explored characters with two out of three having a romantic interest in Baam—it was love at first sight.

Out of the three princesses, Anak’s backstory was explored the most, with Androssi’s second regarding how she used to live in poverty, and then the mysterious Lady Yuri. I found Anak’s the most compelling and the most tragic, as we learn more about her need for revenge.

Honestly, I invested heavily in the Zahard’s Princesses lore and the 13-month series weapons when I read the Webtoon, so revisiting it in the anime reignited my interest. The Princesses are a group of women—none of them biologically related—chosen by King Zahard for their incredible skills, power, and beauty.

They play an important role during season one, and Androssi and Yuri’s romantic inclinations toward Baam give off more than just sexual tension, as the Princesses aren’t allowed to marry, make love, or have children. Knowing Anak’s backstory make these rules carry serious weight. There are indeed consequences to breaking these rules.

Baam’s character is very similar to Izuku Midoriya and Tanjiro Kamado from My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer respectively—a kindhearted main protagonist to a fault. While initially a vanilla throughout the first season, Baam’s concern for others does grow on you when you realize his intentions are just too innocent and pure. His companions Khun and Rak are also great to watch, making them an awesome trio.

The action sequences were pretty good—keeping in tone with the Webtoon style—but this was where The God of High School had the upper hand in terms of animation. Of course, Tower of God isn’t an action-oriented Webtoon, and it did a great job with the fight scenes especially Androssi versus Anak; that particular fight scene is a personal favorite of mine from the first season.

Overall, I would recommend giving the anime a chance. Watching the series is fun, charming, entertaining, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and causally thought-provoking on its fantastic world-building—to the point where I would compare it to Brandon Sanderson’s ability to world build, and I don’t make comparisons like that lightly.

Since this series came out April 1, 2020 in the middle of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Tower of God didn’t get the official renewal for a season 2 (yet). I’m really hoping it does get renewed, as first season was just Prologue for what’s to come. Season 2 is when the true story begins. Thanks for reading this season review, everyone! Let’s hope the renewal comes—with more than 13 episodes—so we can keep on climbing the Tower!

Wait for us, Baam! We’re coming with you!