Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

Ladies and gentleman, this is a momentous week for Tower of God. Where last week was ups and downs, where it skipped a lot of content but ultimately got it across, this week… does not. In fact this week was so annoying to me as a source reader, I compiled a list of all the things I think it screwed up. So without further ado, it’s time for a little rant. And I promise there are some nice comments in there. Maybe.

First up, lets talk straight up cut content. Both Serena, the lady who gave Shibisu the knife, and Endorsi lost a lot here. Tower of God straight up removed conversations that were rather important to both their characters. On Serena’s side, she and Shibisu had a much longer conversation about Hoh, Bam and her feelings about it all. She doesn’t ever return to the story, so it isn’t a big loss. However it is part of how everyone see’s Bam, from someone outside the core trio. Meanwhile Endorsi lost a very important scene between her and Bam. One where Bam explains why he is so devoted to Rachel, and that continues to push Endorsi’s world view. It’s important to remember that she grew up in a cut throat environment. One where this kind of care and devotion was a weakness, showing why Bam is as impactful as he is.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 10 [Beyond the Sadness]” →

I won’t lie to you, Tower of God was rough this week. There were ups, there were downs, and I dare say some parts were even good. Shocker, I know. But all I can think of as I write this is how it could have been better. So without further ado, lets dive in and talk about that.

Animation wise, I am very split. I want to say that Tower of God overall looked better this week. Quant had more weight for instance, especially during his fight with Hatz. Meanwhile I will always enjoy the water-like effects of Shinsu. However at the same time Tower of God was also incredibly safe with how it handled everything. Every shot felt standard, neigh uninspired, like they were trying to get the base information across and nothing more. Just going through the motions of mimicking the original work. There was never a moment that I, as a viewer, went “woah, that was awesome”. It’s only when I step away and try to look at it like a “critic” (hard to type that without laughing), am able to nitpick some decent shots. Sadly, beyond its art direction, Tower of God is just not that well animated a show.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 9 -[The One-Horned Ogre]” →

Hello all and welcome to another week of Tower of God! Apologies for the wait, been a busy few days, but not near as busy as our leads. As this week we see Team A’s test, Khun lay plans within plans, and Quant get publicly humiliated. So without further ado, lets jump in!

Starting off, the visuals. I always bring it up in some form or another, positively or negatively, so this shouldn’t surprise you. This week however I felt Tower of God was rather… lacking. The art style is still great, I love the inconsistent line work and bright colors. It still looks like nothing else really airing this season, what little is left. But as far as the animation goes? For what was seemingly an action packed episode, so much of it just felt flat and weightless. From Quant movements to the struggles of the Regulars, nothing really “wowed” me. There were some decent effects, like Quant after images, but the animation behind his movements did little to sell it sadly. About the only cut that I really liked was mid way through, at Khun’s “fall”. Beyond that though? Well, lets just hope they are saving their efforts for next week.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 8 [Khun’s Strategy]” →

This was a wild week for Tower of God. From cut content to changed scenes to crazy pacing, we are moving quick. So without further ado let’s jump in and talk Shinsu, Jahad and Best Girls!

Starting off, the pacing. Jesus Christ the pacing. I said from the beginning that the narrative would be tough if they tried for the whole first season. 78 chapters in 13 episodes is a ridiculous pace, and it looks like Tower of God is trying to meet that. As this week we burn through the position classes, cut entire magic system explanations and condense/change character moments. I’m sure many of the anime-only readers are noticing it to. After all, do we know what a Lighthouse is yet, or how it works beyond being a position? What about the floating cubes, why they use needles instead of swords or the entirety of Shinsu? I would be really interested to get an anime-only perspective on this. Because for me, at this point, I don’t see how you could be anything other than confused. At least they explained the Princesses well.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 7 [Lunch and Tag]” →

This week on Tower of God we have it all folks. Waifus! Fights! And even exponential inexplicable MC power ups! What more could you ask for? A lot, actually, so lets jump right in to it.

Right off the bat, I am going to play the bad guy here and say the production was… lacking. Compared to last week, Tower of God’s animation here just felt weightless and floaty. All throughout the combat sequences people were getting thrown about with no sense of momentum. Soaring through the air, or striking with the force of a 4 year old. I’m not asking for the ground to shatter or anything like that. But some impact would be nice, you know? That isn’t to say it was all bad either. Hwaryun, the masked red-head, had some great full body character work. The shading on the body suit had it look awkward at times sure. But on the whole, she was the best animated part of the whole episode. Overall though, I would still call it a step down from previous weeks. Even if I like the visual style.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 5 [The Crown’s Fate]” →

Come one, come all, to one of the few shows unaffected my Miss Rona, Tower of God! It’s nice to be covering a show that’s already mostly, if not completely, done. Gives me a sense of security in these oh so trying times. So without further ado, lets jump into it shall we?

Now I always start off talking about an episodes production, but Tower of God actually earned it this week. Everything from the animation to the music was impressive, really standing out from prior episodes. Of course I can nitpick small things, like Hatz sword having almost no weight. Or Lauroe being rather… floaty during the latter half of his scene. But those would be just that, nitpicks. Shibisu was incredibly expressive this week, with both full body and facial expression that were to die for. Telecom Animation have dialed in on who the comic relief character is and committed to him, full stop. And none of that is meant to downplay Takuya Eguchi’s vocal performance either, so lovably stupid. Meanwhile Anaak’s weapon and the sheer volume of stretching limbs and such were great. I’ve criticized Tower of God for this before, but credit where it’s due, the animation worked wonders.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 4 [The Green April]” →

Another week, another episode of Tower of God. This week we learn a bit more about Khun, take 2 more tests, and Rachel makes her return! I don’t have any clever one liners or puns for this opening bit, so how about we just jump right into it.

First up, let’s talk adaptation and production, because Tower of God was a mixed bag this week. As far as adaptation goes, I think it’s doing a good job. Cutting small things, reinventing scenes to work better animated vs Webtoon, etc. You can see this most clearly in the pacing, as we burn through the 3rd test. In what was originally almost 2 and a half chapters of dialogue, we instead get a much quicker 12 minute character focus on Khun. The original intent of the test is still there, just streamlined. Meanwhile animation wise Tower of God is much more spotty. While Mr.Neonbag (yes that is his name) had some nice physical animation, Anaak’s fight felt pretty weightless and stunted in places. I still enjoyed it, little was lost. But it wasn’t the opening spectacle I hoped for. Regardless, it was a good time visually, I love the artstyle.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 3 [The Correct Door]” →

Welcome one and all to the beginning of the Spring 2020 season, and the first Tower of God post! This week we get into the story proper as Bam meets his crew, we get a small info dump, and the tests begin. Lets dive in!

Starting off, let’s talk about the art and animation. I mentioned it a little in the initial impressions post, but I actually really like Tower of God’s art style. The lines are inconsistent, fading in and out, though they are bit thinner than i’d like. However I still find it preferable to the almost to clean and perfect linework of most anime. Even though its produced digitally, it gives a very handmade feel to the whole production that pairs well with the effects work. In a way, Tower of God’s production is very similar to Mob Psycho 100’s, in that it tries to mimic the original author’s style. Similar to Mob Psycho this looser style should, in theory, give it more freedom when animating. So far though we haven’t really seen that, as Tower of God has been rather inconsistent. I can only hope it improves moving forward.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 2 [3/400 (Three Four-Hundredths)]” →