Star and I have been implementing this new thing since everything went on lock-down, and that has been watching anime together while video calling. I’ve already made her suffer through Banana Fish, we’ve binged all of Yu Yu Hakusho (such a classic–I always forget how much I love this), and are keeping up to date with Kaguya-Sama, Fruits Basket, and now–Tower of God. I’d had this webtoon on my “to-read” list forever but never got around to it, so when I knew crunchyroll was making an anime? It was a must watch. And I kind of have a lot of things to say.
So I want to start off by saying the opening was absolutely banger. Which is something I’ve already mentioned in my Top 5 openings for Spring post a few weeks ago. Aside from the opening, one of the first things I noticed was how AMAZING the music mixing was. This honestly feels like it could have a nomination for best soundtrack because there is so much music in it that fits so seamlessly into the anime and is absolutely stunning. I feel like I mentioned it like upwards of four times to Star as we’ve been watching through it. Like, for me the music is one of the most hype things.
Moving onto the actual story–so far it’s not amazing, but it is good. What I can gather is that Baam (that’s Bam with two A’s) is trying to climb the tower to get to a girl named Rachel who disappeared in his arms. Pretty straightforward…kind of. I think the thing is, I feel like I still have a lot of questions (which is fair, we’re only like six episodes in), but I understand that Baam’s driving factor right now is Rachel (I absolutely loathe things like this though). Still, homeboy can do him–I’m just curious about more of the lore of the tower and about getting some backstory on our characters.
Which speaking on our turtles–I mean, characters–just wow. I am in love with their names. Like for real. Our main trio are Baam–the cute amnesiac you just want to go “oh honey…” to, Khun–our beautiful blue haired bae, and Rak–aka if Kuwabara from YYH was a handsome alligator with actual fighting skill. Which is basically to say I’ve nicknamed them Honey, Bae, and The Rock. At first, Star and I thought Baam was pretty bland but he’s grown on me a bit since I’ve been watching. I’m honestly waiting for some more characterization for him and maybe some more in depth backstory (I get he was an amnesiac before meeting Rachel but you know there’s something more there). I also weirdly like Rak, despite the fact he is beyond full of himself. I honestly think he’s just entertaining as hell, especially since he refers to Baam and Khun as “turtles” (I wonder why? Is it is a reference to ‘turtles all the way down? Or is it because turtles and alligators like to hang together?).
Then there is Khun. Aka best boy aka bae aka I would die for you. Right now Khun is definitely feeling like my anime bias. The rest of the side characters are like…okay for now. I have no strong attachments to them, though I do like the guy in a sleeping bag (Aizawa anyone?) and Mr. dual wielding swords (watch our Kirito, he’s coming for you). Everyone else? Kind of meh. Oh except Rachel, because -spoiler alert!- she shows up way earlier than you’d expect. And to be honest? Not a fan. I don’t trust her ass.
The only other thing I really have to say about Tower of God right now is the animation. I am both a fan of it…and also not a fan of it. Hold onto your dakimakuras–this may get convoluted. The artwork in Tower of God is strangely muted despite its great colors. What I mean by that, is that there is a softness to the art–like a feathered touch. It greatly resembles what I’ve seen of the webtoon. And for that, I LOVE it. But then there’s the background art. Sometimes, it’s amazing. When Baam ended up in the golden field of the first trial, you could like see every blade of grass. But then we also get a lot of lackluster backgrounds with little detail and mainly one backing color. Star thinks it’s stylistic, and I also think it is…I just don’t know what to think of it. It gives the show a very simplistic but almost surreal feel to me. The background art has been getting better the more we watch of the show, so I at least appreciate that. I think the main issue I have with the animation (or at least from the first episode) was the lackluster fights. Now, keep in mind the animation for fighting has improved…but it still feels lacking occasionally. But of course the moment that made me make this harsh judgement was in the first episode when the girl Yuri jumped over Baam. It was very awkward because I felt like I could see every frame. Was this a stylistic choice? Perhaps. But it was SO clunky for a first episode and did not impress me in the slightest. Luckily for it, Tower of God was interesting enough to keep going regardless and now the fights are getting much better.
Oh! There was actually one more thing about the characters. Is it just me, or do some of the background characters remind you of anime characters? I just remember seeing a guy looking like Zoro, a character referring to their body as rubber, we have sleepsack Aizawa esque dude, and the best new Kirito around in our dual wielding champ. I kind have made it a game to try to connect other background characters to other anime characters. If you find any, please let me know asap. I feel like we need a list. Actually–another observation. What is with the obsession with chocolate bars in this show? Like, I get Khun’s suitcase is like Grandma Aggy’s special bag from Halloweentown but good apple-loving shinigami–you’d think that this was advertising chocolate bars with how many Rak consumes on a daily basis. Also super clear that if you want to make friends, just offer them a candy bar.
Overall, I found Tower of God good enough to continue. Part of me regrets not reading the webtoon sooner, but another part of me simply doesn’t want to pick up the webtoon now so that I can experience it in all it’s animated glory. While Tower of God is far from perfect, it has the makings of a truly classic shounen anime, and it is certainly a contender for best anime of spring 2020.
Stay weebtastic!
xoxo
Luna
P.S. only boyfriends buy their boyfriend a tracksuit. And only boyfriends wear the godawful tracksuit their boyfriend bought them.
P.P.S. Khun should open up a fucking candy shop with all the chocolate bars he provides Rak in this show. Like honestly WHAT IS WITH ALL THESE CHOCOLATE BARS? Is this a Willy Wonka ad???
Nerdy Bloggers | Y0uC4n7kn0w | Star & Luna 
2 thoughts on “BAM! – Is Tower of God GOOD? : First Impressions”