Manhwa Tower of God

[segua]

Title: Tower of God (a.k.a. 신의 탑, Top of God)
Genres: Manhwa, Action Adventure Fantasy Romance
Author: Siu
Artist: Siu
Publication: Naver (This is an web comic.)
Start Date: 2010
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 19
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 19


General Overview:

There exist a tower that if one were to reach the top, any wish could be granted. But, to be able to climb the tower, only those chosen could enter in and climb towards the top. Yet, Baam, only a boy, was able to enter in. His only thought was to search for his beloved friend. Ignorant of his predicament, a Tower Guardian tried to clue Baam in. The only thing Baam understood was that he might get his answer at the top of the tower. Even after his successful pass at the first trial, Baam still failed to realize what kind of place he's in. Armed only with desire and naivety, Baam embarks on a journey towards stuff mere mortals could only dream about.


Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)

Art: 7

I realize that these web comics are most likely drawn with tablets which has its ups and downs. The up is that the art will always be clean for the most part. There shouldn't be any sketchy feel to the artwork. The downside is that some scenes that gives off more of a draft feel than a finalize feel. There is a certain feel for more refinement. Of course, I'm not too familiar with the process of these web comics.

Plot: 7

Even though the plot might be straight forward, it does create enough curiosity for me, personally, to keep reading it. I'm not too sure how the world works in Tower of God. It seems sort of depressing unless one has great strength.

Characters: 8

Very unappealing protagonist who has great hidden potential. Not surprised by the design decision.

So far, the cast has been entertaining. Baam, the protagonist, is mixed up with other people who has, for the most part, selfish or self-motivated desires in climbing the tower. Baam on the other hand is just looking to be reunited with someone he loves. Now, he has gotten caught up with an alligator who refers to him as a turtle.

Because of his innocent nature, he has no idea what's going on or any clue of the Tower and what's in it. Obviously clueless to say the least.

The mix of humaniod races adds a sort of flair to the manhwa. I'm not sure how the author will manage the uniqueness of each race and their abilities.

Theme: 10

After some time pondering about this, it dawn on me that this Tower that Baam and the others are climbing could be used as a representation of those that still have dreams or desires. To reach the summit, a person has to fight their way through. Along the way, new friendship comes, new enemies are made and yes, tragedies take their places.

But only the few will ever reach the destination they wanted. It takes hard work, commitment and courage.

Originality: 5

I'm not too familiar with mangas/manwhas set in towers, but one thing for sure, how it is structured is not as appealing as it should be. I'm sure that sooner or later, strength and power might become the sole indicator of a person's battle quotient. Basically, the shallowness of this manhwa is apparent. The only thing that might keep this manhwa going would be the story line.

One thing I'm wondering about is how long the trial structure will last?

Overall: 8

Tower of God has great humor. That one of the reason why I kept reading it. Of course, with the design decision concerning the protagonist, it helps create enough curiosity that the reader becomes interested in the development of the protagonist.

Spoiler: Images from Chapter 1

 

[jamespearl]

In the category of activity is easily in my top ten. Thin story says that creates its own universe, many twists and turns, the story goes, that does not seem to "rush" to build a decent and anticipation. The characters are interesting and mysterious, strong and loud, and their skills and abilities.

 

[scav]

Tower of God is definitely a must read. It's kinda remind me hunter x hunter or the beginning of naruto however i really enjoyed it

 

[apellon]

since this review is old i guess it would be differently judge now ...

but for the artwork , i dont get it :

the style he used is done on purpose , it s clean and mysterious , with a lot of pattern that makes it look like a piece of art a simple design more than a manhwa ... the colors are brilliantly used to out shine emotions and give a feel to this fantastic world , hue saturation and blur effects adds to the highly visual experience that you are about to have, its all imaginary journey an adventure in a dream , all this manhwa is about letting you guess and imagine , and with that deep of a world you have some time to think about it ... here is one manhwa that deserves recognition for that... ofcrouse there are some proportion off , but overall i dont think it matters much in fact proportions are not really important to convey the action or emotion .. overall it s quite beautiful and different from all those titles around ... just check at one of the first page of the manhwa ... its brillant . http://www.mangareader.net/1757-56632-29/tower-of-god/chapter-1.html

originality 5? shallow ? couldnt be more wrong... " I'm not too familiar with mangas/manwhas set in towers," well see, thats because its actually out of the box ..

this is by far one of the deeper title ive seen , the world keep expending the complexity of the structure of the tower , how it works , how the floors works, how the families works , there power works , how legends and myth in the tower are all around , every floor is pretty much its own world , if you had that with all the mysterious things going up around , guides , inner outer tower , outer world , talser user , its a real maze !!it s one of the most outstanding and brainblowing title around , every details count , and the way the plot goes , Slave in utero is actually thoughtful about how things are going , hints are there for a reason, and their is a logic in the plot dev...
I mean just the fact that he dares to start such an ambitious title in a tower is amazing ...

we ve all seen ninja story ? bullied kid ? vampire story ? school boy finding new find powers? halt talented kid meeting with some legendary mentor ?

but how many time have we seen someone entering a maze tower not even on his own will ??? thats original....

in fact the lvl organisation is genius, in a sense , its a constant power, a constant pressure on the story to shounen it up...



anyway it became one of my fav title lately ...

and yes i agree with the previous :

Tower of God is definitely a must read. It's kinda remind me hunter x hunter or the beginning of naruto however i really enjoyed it

it reminds me a little of HxH also , its like his son , but i guess i would agree with someone from the Wall , its not too far from winterfell after all...



Now i guess reviews are subjective , so everyone can think whatever they want

 

[segua]

The art assets might be improving but it is still not as good. By that, I mean that SUI's way of drawing bodies in motion are subpar. She/He needs more improvement. The bodies look great when standing still but awkward whenever they are doing some sort of action.

A rating for 5 is neutral right? I don't lean one way or another. However, if I were to re-score it, it should be higher because the tower is not like a typical dungeon but each floor is like another world unto itself. I might even add that certain species might be unique to specific floors such as steel eels preferring areas with denser shinsoo thus they can't be found on lower floors with less shinsoo. With that said, I might need to read other mangas that features towers as a setting such as Tower of Druaga or the like.

 

[Lord Of The Pandemonium]

Title: Tower of God (a.k.a. 신의 탑, Top of God)
Genres: Manhwa, Action Adventure Fantasy Romance
Author: Siu
Artist: Siu
Publication: Naver (This is an web comic.)
Start Date: 2010
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 19
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 19


General Overview:

There exist a tower that if one were to reach the top, any wish could be granted. But, to be able to climb the tower, only those chosen could enter in and climb towards the top. Yet, Baam, only a boy, was able to enter in. His only thought was to search for his beloved friend. Ignorant of his predicament, a Tower Guardian tried to clue Baam in. The only thing Baam understood was that he might get his answer at the top of the tower. Even after his successful pass at the first trial, Baam still failed to realize what kind of place he's in. Armed only with desire and naivety, Baam embarks on a journey towards stuff mere mortals could only dream about.


Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)

Art: 7

I realize that these web comics are most likely drawn with tablets which has its ups and downs. The up is that the art will always be clean for the most part. There shouldn't be any sketchy feel to the artwork. The downside is that some scenes that gives off more of a draft feel than a finalize feel. There is a certain feel for more refinement. Of course, I'm not too familiar with the process of these web comics.

Plot: 7

Even though the plot might be straight forward, it does create enough curiosity for me, personally, to keep reading it. I'm not too sure how the world works in Tower of God. It seems sort of depressing unless one has great strength.

Characters: 8

Very unappealing protagonist who has great hidden potential. Not surprised by the design decision.

So far, the cast has been entertaining. Baam, the protagonist, is mixed up with other people who has, for the most part, selfish or self-motivated desires in climbing the tower. Baam on the other hand is just looking to be reunited with someone he loves. Now, he has gotten caught up with an alligator who refers to him as a turtle.

Because of his innocent nature, he has no idea what's going on or any clue of the Tower and what's in it. Obviously clueless to say the least.

The mix of humaniod races adds a sort of flair to the manhwa. I'm not sure how the author will manage the uniqueness of each race and their abilities.

Theme: 10

After some time pondering about this, it dawn on me that this Tower that Baam and the others are climbing could be used as a representation of those that still have dreams or desires. To reach the summit, a person has to fight their way through. Along the way, new friendship comes, new enemies are made and yes, tragedies take their places.

But only the few will ever reach the destination they wanted. It takes hard work, commitment and courage.

Originality: 5

I'm not too familiar with mangas/manwhas set in towers, but one thing for sure, how it is structured is not as appealing as it should be. I'm sure that sooner or later, strength and power might become the sole indicator of a person's battle quotient. Basically, the shallowness of this manhwa is apparent. The only thing that might keep this manhwa going would be the story line.

One thing I'm wondering about is how long the trial structure will last?

Overall: 8

Tower of God has great humor. That one of the reason why I kept reading it. Of course, with the design decision concerning the protagonist, it helps create enough curiosity that the reader becomes interested in the development of the protagonist.

Spoiler: Images from Chapter 1

the review needs to be updated based on current plot....

 

[segua]

Hey thanks for the reply. Golly, it's been eight years and my first time back in a long while lol. Yea, a lot of things has changed but feel free to do your own review. But, seeing how this has been archived, I'm surprised you have even found it!

 

[segua]

Title: Tower of God (a.k.a. Kami no Tou, Sin-ui Tab, Sinui Tap, Tanrı Kulesi, TOG, Torre de Deus, Torre de Dios, Torre de Déu, Башня Бога, برج الإله, ทาวเวอร์ออฟก๊อด หอคอยเทพเจ้า, 神之塔, 신의 탑)
Genres: Manhwa, Action Adventure Fantasy Romance
Author: SUI
Artist: SUI
Publication: Naver, YOUNGCOM
Start Date: 2010
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 573
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 573

General Overview:
A clingy boy named Baam chased a girl, Rachel, who wants to be the protagonist of the story who entered into the Tower. Baam didn't comprehend what it meant to enter the Tower. People enter the Tower to climb to the top in order to wish their desires. Baam naively chased after Rachel because she was his desire. Little boy Baam could endure all hardship, trials and obstacles so long as he could climb up the Tower with Rachel. But, he did not account for Rachel's own desire. There can only be one protagonist.

Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)

Art: 10
There art has transformed. I don't know all the details if SUI is talent grew and/or a studio is helping her with the production. In my original critique, SUI's body proportions when they were in motion weren't very good. I didn't notice this until I re-read TOG from the start. But the reason why I read TOG in the first place was not the art, it was to enjoy the story.

Plot: 8
Overall I enjoy the plot development. There was a twist at the end of season 1. A different cast of characters were introduced in season 2 all of whom I grew to adore. For a long while now, the story has been focused on Baam, but I would to see more attention towards Ja Wangnan and his crew that Baam was partial with until the end of the Hell Train.

One thing I didn't quite like is how SUI likes to paint a back story for characters particularly during the Cat game at the Nest. Some of the enemies weren't interesting and the back stories served as a plot device as to justified their demise. I'm not sure if the antagonist revealing their past in the present would have worked better.

SUI does make the story interesting from the Floor of Test, FUG's involvement, Workshop battle, Hell Train and the Nest.

Characters: 9
Baam keeps getting stronger but what I like most about Baam was during the Hell Train trial. He could easily let his enemies die but he rescued everyone. He fights not purely based on combat prowess but with his values on the line. That there is far deeper than a struggle to see who the alpha is. Outside of Baam, everyone else seems so motivated for wealth, power, control or chaos.

The only person that has a similar desire to change the tower is Ja Wangnan. His story is especially interesting due to the fact that he bears a ring with Jahad's three-eye crest on it.

I enjoyed most of the characters that were introduced. Others, I didn't care too much about. However, the cast keeps getting bigger and shows just how rich and diverse the world is in TOG.

Theme: 10
TOG is definitely a postmodern work of art. The main protagonist Baam threatens the stability and hiearchy of the Tower. If Baam doesn't like the way the Tower works, he's going to change it. This desire starts with Rachel and develops more and more as he climbs the tower. Might is abused and soft-hearted Baam just wants all his friends to live. Of course his affiliation with FUG doesn't make it easy or the fact that he's an irregular, Baam continues to push forward. Baam's determination has won the adoration of many people and his monstrous growth, the respect and awe of friends and foe alike.

Originality: 9
The tower theme isn't original but what SUI does with it is what makes TOG unique. I also enjoy that TOG is not an iseki-esque RPG theme. Instead, SUI has presented an alternative universe to us. People live on floors that appears to be there own worlds with their own physics, races, culture and environment. I understand that there is much more to SUI's world and that the Tower is only one area.

Overall: 10
I highly recommend ToG to everyone. Of course it may not be suitable for anyone else. The artwork at the earlier seasons turn people off but art improves. There is also an anime now! Way to go SUI!