I was introduced to Tower of God through the recent introduction of its anime adaptation. I hadn't heard much of it before that and what I did hear was always positive so I delved into the anime with pretty high expectations. I was immediately drawn in by the setting and world of TOG. The story follows the mysterious protagonist, Baam, into the Tower of God and follows his journey of climbing the tower. The world building is compelling, and the story pulls you in with its unanswered questions. Which is why its so dissapointing to say that after reading almost 400 chapters of TOG, I can say that those questions I had? Are still unanswered. All of them. This story doesn't go anywehere.

Story: 3/10

Ignore what I said earlier about the TOG being compelling. This is your run-of-the-mill typical shonen story. There's a bit of momentum carrying it forward at the beginning with the main protagonist being thrust into an unfamiliar environment. I even think the first season ends off on a pretty strong note. But then season 2 hits, and my mind goes blank if you try to ask me to mention anything of praise from there. At the end of almost every arc, I had to ask myself: what was the point of all that? Couldn't we have just skipped all that and the story would have been left unchanged? And the answer to that question is almost always yes. The second season goes on for 300-something chapters and I can think of one, ONE, major plot development. An entire 8 years worth of chapters could have been replaced with a single arc, and nothing would have changed. And this isn't even mentioning the metric tonne of dropped plot threads, half due to the ever fattening amoeba that is Baam's team of forgettables (more on that later). The whole story is littered with random developments, that serve nothing to the overarching plot, and seem to be made up on the go and are later dropped, never to be heard from again. It was pretty evident to me when reading, that the author had no clear direction when writing the story, and each story arc seemed to be just a way for the protagonist to get a cool new powerup, without anything really happening.

Art: 5/10

I'll be lenient here and just ignore the quality of the art from season 1. I almost dropped the manhwa because the quality of the art was so off-putting. The art does significantly improve in later chapters, but just know, that if you're a stickler for good art, you're going to have to wait a hell of a long time before it even resembles anything mediocre. There isn't really anything significant to be said about the art to be honest. At best its meh, and at worst, it puts a grimace on my face. The backgrounds and landscapes lack any modicum of detail or thought. Typically just two-color blue or grey blurry images that hide behind the characters (which is really unfortunate, with a world as much potential as TOG, the background scenes could have been a very strong tool and medium of storytelling). The fight scenes are confusing, as I don't understand what's going on half the time beacuse they consist of 4 consecutive panels of random splashes of colour which do nothing to explain what the heck is happening. Overall, the art isn't unbearable, but it certainly isn't anything noteworthy.

Characters: 2/10

This is easily where TOG falls flat on its face. It's amazing how many characters are in the story, and yet at the same time there are no characters. Rather than developing a few characters to push the narrative forward, the author seems to be content throwing a bunch of flat, one-dimensional characters in your face, telling you to look at the cool special ability they have. Even the characters that do get some development are half-baked at best and are later forgotten about like the rest of the crew. And there are. So. Many. Of. Them. Almost all the characters are just props in the story, that serve as "friends that the main character needs to protect". And they just keep coming. With each new arc, a whole slew of new randoms get jammed into the already conflated cast, and some old ones are thrown in the dumpster, never to be mentioned again. You know, your story has too many characters when you could cull half of them, and the story would remain completely UNCHANGED. And don't even get me started on our beloved main hero, Baam. This boy is one of the most generic, self-insert, boring protagonists, bordering on Kirito levels of blandness. His whole character boils down to "I have to get stronger to protect my friends". I can't even give you an accurate description of his personality, because he flip-flops so much throughout the story for no apparent reason like a moody teenager. He has no clear and consistent motivations to drive the plot forward, no real conflicts that enable character growth, not even a BACKSTORY to relate to. Everything about Baam screams blank, power fantasy character with the depth of a kitchen sink. The story is filled to the brim with characters like these, who serve as action figures to play out a scene, rather than as actual people who drive the plot. The only reason this doesn't get a 1 is because I think some of the character designs are pretty alright.

Enjoyment: 4/10

Despite everything, I still think there are things that the 14-year old shonen lover in me found enjoyable. If TOG has anything going for it, its the interesting and unique concepts that it presents to the reader. However filled with inconsistencies, and underdeveloped those concepts may be, it was still cool to read.

Overall, I'm pretty disapointed with TOG. I wanted it to be good, because the concept on paper was compelling and filled with potential. But alas, what we got was a half-baked mess, filled with logical inconsistencies, unfinished plot-threads, and a bland cast of characters. I can't find myself recommending this to aynone, unless your a fan of the shonen formula and have a lot of free time on your hands.