Why You Should Read Tower of God

There are a lot of new entertainment merging, and it has been great. I, like many of you, have been enjoying the new marvel shows and movies, I am excited for Dr. Strange to come out. This is a great time for superhero fans. However, the hard part is waiting for the new releases. During this probation period I have discovered a Korean comic that quenches my desire for new marvel material. “Tower of God” written and illustrated by S.I.U. (Lee Jong Hui) is uniquely beautiful. You can access the comic free on webtoon which releases a new chapter every week and has 500 chapters already available. The first season (13 episodes, 79 chapters) of this comic was aired in 2020 on Crunchyroll. If you want something new give this comic/show a try.

“Tower of God” branches off from biblical references to create its own story. Here are some of the similes that Tower of God has:

1. The tower is an allegory of the tower of babel in the Old Testament.
2. The main character is a similitude of the Savior (like Superman, Neo, Gandalf, Ashland, etc).
3. Sacrifices for the greater good happen.
4. 10 tribes of Israel, 10 great families.

The comic provides a diverse cast of characters with no sexism or sexist remarks. Gender does not determine how strong or weak a character is. The language is clean. The illustration is beautiful with no lewd images.

            The objective of the adventure series is to reach the top of the tower. Like most comics or anime this webtoon has typical but stimulating fights. To go up a level in the tower competitive games are played where strong characters may be at disadvantage. in order to win involves strategy and optimizing the use of their team. In the story weak characters progress along the tower while stronger ones are left behind.

            The one complaint I have about “Tower of God” is we are introduced to a lot of characters. Some of them will be present for a while, but then disappear for a hundred chapters, or more, as they go on their own pilgrimage. It is hard to keep track of the entire cast, luckily this is a comic, so we have the benefit to learn their name and see their faces so when we see them again, it is easier to recognize them unlike other novels like “Wheel of Time”.

No Spoilers Overview:

            We start by following a boy named 25^th of Baam (Baam for short) who has been living in a cave all his life, with no interactions with anyone until a girl name Rachel finds him. The comic starts with Bam chasing after Rachel who is entering the tower. As she is being teleported to it, she tells him that she must climb the tower to see the stars. After she leaves he wills himself to go to the tower to find his star, Rachel.

            While searching for his star, Baam forms a party with two other characters, Khun, a blue haired genius, and Rak, a two-legged alligator and a comic relief. This party becomes more than a group of allies they become friends. They become close because of how pure and genuine Baam is. He doesn’t know how corrupt the tower is and how hard it is to be raised in it. Everyone he meets in the training ground wants to keep him pure and therefore ends up aiding him in his journey to climb the tower. He breaks boundaries by making friends with those who should be his enemy. As he is making friends, he is becoming a star to them as he pursues to find Rachel.