HannahCN
Well-known member
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNyClma6awo[/video][/align]
So... let's talk about Tower of God. For those who don't know, Tower of God - released earlier this year - was the first anime ever to be based on an original series from internationally famous manwha site Webtoons. Because of that, I feel it deserves to be judged on its merits purely as an anime separate from those as an adaptation. Let's go.[/align]
Just in case you didn't watch the trailer above, Tower of God is a series about, appropriately enough, the Tower of God. The Tower is an enormous structure full of an energy called Shinsu, and occasionally people are selected and given the opportunity to climb it. After overcoming the tests necessary to do so, it is said, those who reach the top can use the Shinsu to obtain anything they desire. [/align]
Outside of the Tower, a girl named Rachel lives together with a boy named Bam. For Bam, Rachel is his entire world, and so when Rachel is called to the Tower and given the opportunity to fulfill her wish of seeing the stars, Bam has no choice but to follow her. [/align]
The anime is *incredible*. It's got a wonderful story with deep characters who all have their own reasons for being in the Tower, and who will all use their own methods to get to the top, whether they be foul or fair. We all know Bam and Rachel's reasons for being there, but suffice to say you'll develop a sustained interest in most of the other characters as well. [/align]
Next, animation. To be honest, I'm not someone who usually pays animation quality that much interest, but Tower of God was *clean*. Amazing fight scenes, and the characters all looked like they jumped straight of the manwha pages to me, which was what I liked best about it. It's got its own unique feel to it, that I am finding very hard to compare with anything else. [/align]
Music. I suspected this the entire series, and when I finally looked it up afterward, I was delighted to see I was right: Tower of God's music was done by Kevin Penkin, who did the music for Rising of the Shield Hero, but above even that, for Made in Abyss. I don't know how well whoever is reading this will be familiar with specifically the music of specifically made in Abyss, but there is no higher praise than saying 'this is like the music of Made in Abyss' that I can give a series music-wise. It's *incredible* (even if the music is often more subdued that Made in Abyss) and if you pay attention to it, you'll want to hear it forever. <3
Honestly, on its own merits as an anime, there isn't really anything I can say to fault it. Its got a story that will draw you in that you will blow through (unfortunately) in 2 or 3 days, amazing music and animation, and it'll leave you hankering for more. And there will be more - the source material is available, and it was hugely popular. The author has been on hiatus for several months now due to health reasons, and that's a thing, but there will be more of this, and I wouldn't even be surprised if it was sometime in 2021 already.
So, that was its merits as an anime. Now, how does it score as an adaptation?
Well... it changes some stuff. But to be fair, what adaptation these days doesn't? It's mostly stuff that would take too long to explain in a 13-episode anime, and it doesn't lessen the enjoyment. Still it *does* change stuff. What's even more annoying is that it sometimes still refers to the stuff it changed in its original context. A small example (this isn't a spoiler, really): In the Tower, swords aren't used. The weapons of choice are 'needles', which are more or less exactly what they sound like: long sharp stabby things, big enough to actually be used as weapons. Why? Well, that's actually got a very good reason... however, if you want to know, I'll just tell you to read the original series, all the more because Tower of God has even got a physical manwha already, so I wouldn't be surprised if it either became paid content on Webtoons or was removed from the site as free content altogether. Anyway, in the series, they mostly changed the weapons to be more sword-like. Despite that though, 'needles' will still be referred to at times in the series, and you'll have no idea what they're talking about if you didn't read the original series first.
So anyway, rating time:
As an anime and nothing more, I'm rating it a 9, which is basically 'even if you don't really like the genre, watch this, you'll love the shit out of it'
As an adaptation, for minor annoyances from someone who read the original material, I'm docking it a point. That being said, an 8 is still no slouch.
And yes, like I mentioned earlier, you might want to start reading the original material asap. I linked it at the beginning of this post, so nobody has got any excuse not to go and read it. ;P
