The Green April

Obviously there was a huge reveal in Tower of God episode 4, so I might as well get that out of the way first: Anaak wears spandex shorts under her dress. We saw this when she does a flip off of the throne to avoid Laure’s attack. I figured we would just never see under her dress, but no, we can finally stop theorizing.

There were also a few other minor pieces of information revealed about Anaak later on in the episode, but I’ll get to those in a bit. First, I need to talk about this crown game a bit more even though I already covered it in last week’s episode review.

Maybe I misunderstood the rules, but I feel like the rules are changing as the test progresses. Wasn’t the point of the five-round limit that only a certain number of teams would be able to participate? I thought it was five rounds, with up to two teams fighting for the crown each time — one of those two teams being the reigning champions.

With rules like that, teams would have to choose how late into the test they want to try their luck. If they try too early, they’ll have to fight through more rounds, but if they try too late, they might not get a chance at all.

However, in this episode that seems to no longer be the case. The second round sees two teams enter the arena, and the third round sees four enter. Doesn’t this mean every team is going to have a chance to compete before the final round?

Also, Lero Ro mentioned that the rule about not leaving the thrown was written in the waiting rooms. But he actually verbally stated that rule last week, so there was no reason not to know it.

13 Month Series

The second, and less important, thing about Anaak which was revealed is the fact that she’s the owner of the blade (whip) known as the Green April. This kind of weapon is apparently known as an Ignition Weapon, and I’m assuming it has that name because its “true nature” can be activated by the wielder.

But what’s even more important than that is that there are apparently 13 of these weapons, known as the 13 Month Series (I don’t know what the 13th month is). So while Anaak’s Green April is one of these weapons, Bam’s Black March is another.

Further, we know that these 13 Month Series weapons are the signature weapons of the Princesses of Jahad. And yes, Anaak is apparently one of these princesses — at least according to herself.

I guess the fact that there are 13 of these weapons also implies that there are 13 Princesses of Jahad. However, there could be even more than this, and the others just don’t have weapons from this series. After all, the 13 Month Series doesn’t appear to be the only group of Ignition Weapons around based on Khun’s familiarity with them.

Really, even the fact that these weapons are called both the 13 Month Series and Ignition Weapons implies that there are more of them. Otherwise there would only be one name for them as a collective, not two — the 13 Month Series is more likely a subset of Ignition Weapons.

But, I should also point out that the reason Khun knows about Ignition Weapons could be because he has one himself. It’s already been implied that he’s from some sort of royal family. And from what we saw in this episode, his briefcase has some magical properties that make it seem like an Ignition Weapon.

Princess of Jahad

Going back to Anaak’s claim that she’s one of the Princesses of Jahad, there’s some doubt surrounding it. One of the members of Rachel’s team mentions something about Anaak being a fake — so is she referring to her lying about her title of Princess? And how would she know to begin with?

So to get this out of the way first, I do think Anaak is one of the Princesses of Jahad. The fact that she has the Green April, and that she’s so mad about Bam having the Black March, is proof enough for me. You could say that she stole the Green April, but if that was the case, she wouldn’t have been mad at Bam.

With that established, why would that other girl call Anaak a fake? Well, it might have to do with Anaak’s appearance. The other Princess of Jahad we’ve met so far, Yuri, is a human. And as I’ll get to in a bit, I think we’ve also met another human Princess of Jahad already. So the fact that Anaak isn’t human could be the issue.

Isn’t it strange for two Princesses of Jahad to look so different? For this reason, my guess is that Anaak isn’t a fake princess, but instead she may have been born to one of the king’s concubines or something. This would explain why she may not be viewed as a true princess — especially by the other princesses.

And that brings me to the final thing I wanted to say here. The girl who called Anaak a fake may be a Princess of Jahad herself. In my mind, that would explain why she says this to Anaak. But, there is an alternative, and that’s Rachel actually being a princess of Jahad, and the girl who called Anaak a fake being one of her retainers.

If the no-name girl is a Princess of Jahad, isn’t it strange that she asked for Rachel’s permission to kill everyone else? This made it seem like Rachel was actually the one in charge. And if Rachel is one of the princesses, that might explain why she was able to enter the Tower to begin with.

Conclusion

What do you think of Tower of God episode 4? Do you think Anaak is a true Princess of Jahad? Do you think the girl who called her a fake is a princess? What about Rachel? And, what do you think the 13th month is? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

The Correct Door

While I think Tower of God episode 3 was better than episode 2, there are still some things that don’t make sense to me. The main questionable plot point being: What was the point of killing off half (or more) of the regulars right at the start?

Is the tower powered by the blood of the fallen? I really see no other reason for this to happen. And as far as we know, that second test was the only one which resulted in the deaths of participants so far. Sure, people could die during the other tests, but the second test forced people to be killed so that others could pass.

Although, I should point out that people may have been killed off after failing the other tests as well. We don’t actually know what happened to the people who failed to break through the wall of Shinsu after the second test, and we don’t know what happened to those who failed this latest test.

The third test is what really called into question the point of the second test for me. The second test was literally a battle royale to the death, and then the third test was basically a test of courage. The stakes were at rock bottom compared to the test which came before it.

This test involved a room full of doors and a 10 minute time limit. One team of three enters at a time and must choose the correct door before the time runs out. However, there’s actually a trick to this test.

Although the time limit is said to be 10 minutes, it’s 10 minutes based on the clock in the room, which runs twice as fast as the clocks each of the Regulars has with them. So in reality they have five minutes to choose. But, there’s also no correct door — they simply have to pick any door within five minutes in order to pass.

Bonus Round

After the third test Lero Ro shows up again and announces that there’s actually going to be an optional, bonus test. Obviously, extra tests aren’t good, but the incentive for participation in this test is that the team which wins is considered to have passed the rest of the tests.

And if you’re like me, this probably came as a shock, because I thought these tests were somehow connected to the actual tower. No. Apparently these tests are actually just the training tests before you’ve been approved to climb the tower.

Again, why not just let everyone attempt the tower? Those who wouldn’t have passed these initial tests will just die along the way anyway. What’s the point of killing them all now? Does it matter where they die? Wouldn’t it be better to let them live and contribute to society?

Anyway, this bonus test is a strange one. It’s set up like a game of keep-away. Two teams fight over a crown, and whichever team has it and has the wearer sitting on the throne in the center of the room wins. Then the next team is released and they have to attempt to steal the crown from the previous round’s winners.

There are two main strategies for winning this game. Either take the crown right at the start, as we see Anaak do, and defend it for the rest of the rounds. Or swoop in late and attempt to snag the win away from another team. The latter strategy would be the undisputed best, but there’s also a round limit, so there’s no guarantee your team will have a chance.

I think it was stated that there are only five rounds, and more than five teams. Also, the first team to press a button in their cell is the one which gets to enter the next round, so there’s no guarantee you’ll get in for the final round.

Also, you don’t have to kill the opposing teams.

Rachel

The first thing I want to mention about Rachel isn’t actually about Rachel herself, but rather about her dream. Bam finally asked the question I was curious about in the previous episode: What’s with the sky?

Remember, the sky is apparently only visible from the top of the tower, so why is there a sky on these lower floors? And why isn’t anyone else surprised by it? These questions are finally answered, though I’m not really all that satisfied with the answers which were given.

As for why there’s a sky, we’re told that it’s actually just an illusion created with Shinsu, not a real sky. That’s a fair explanation, because it would be pretty odd for there to be a real sky on the second floor of the tower. This also (sort of) explains why nobody else is surprised by it — they know it’s just an illusion.

Interestingly, although they know the sky on these floors is an illusion, they seem to believe that the real thing doesn’t exist. Or at least they believe the night sky full of stars is just a legend. So I guess that means the skies on these lower floors are always daytime skies.

So what about Rachel? Well, apparently she’s part of a team which was in another test group running parallel to the one Bam is in. And the three person team she’s a part of killed all 197 other Regulars in the battle royale test.

Now, there’s always a chance that this isn’t actually Rachel since her face is covered by a hood. However, if it is, what happened to her to turn her into this bloodthirsty monster? Does she really want to see the night sky that bad? And where did she learn to be a killer?

Conclusion

What did you think of Tower of God episode 3? Were your questions answered? Some of mine were, but I think those answers opened up even more questions. Of course, that could be a good thing, but that’s only if those further questions are also answered later on in a way that makes sense.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

3/400 (Three Four-Hundredths)

Tower of God episode 2 wasn’t as good as the first one. I don’t think that’s a shocking opinion for me to have considering the overall rating for the series has declined since last week — that would imply many people agree. But the reason it wasn’t as good isn’t because of the animation (which was arguably better), but more because of the story itself.

I was actually surprised that I didn’t hear from any source material fans after my first review of the series, but perhaps that’s because I didn’t have too many negative things to say at that point. And just to cover my bases, since this is an argument I see a lot, just because an anime follows the source material exactly doesn’t make it good.

You can have bad source material, and just because the anime follows it perfectly does not mean the anime is good.

But, no, I don’t necessarily think the Tower of God manga is bad. I’ve just seen a few people calling this anime “perfect” because the art, characters, and story match the manga exactly. And, sure, I guess if you think the manga is already perfect then that’s a fair perspective to have.

Other than Anaak, I don’t particularly think any of these characters have good designs. I don’t think this series is tagged as shounen, but let’s face it, it’s pretty shounen, and shounen series don’t typically have the best written characters. And in just these first two episodes there are a lot of things which happen conveniently.

Also, this is isn’t a complaint, and I’m just pointing it out here because I don’t know where else to fit it in, but what is the title of the episode referring to? Did they make it to floor 3/400, or is it a reference to Bam, Khun, and Rak being 3/400 people who began climbing the tower?

Shinsu

Although Shinsu is a concept which we’re first introduced to in this episode, it actually made an appearance in the first episode. Remember the “cage” which was holding back the Steel-Scaled Eel Bam had to defeat? That was Shinsu, and since Bam could pass through it then, it’s no surprise he passed through it this time too.

But everything else about Shinsu doesn’t make much sense to me. It’s only episode two, so I’m sure it will be explained more in the future of the series, but let’s just take a look at what we know so far.

One thing we’re told about Shinsu is that it’s basically water. That makes sense considering we see it flowing like a liquid. However, it can also be turned into semi-permeable barriers, preventing those who aren’t “strong” enough from passing through. For now, we don’t know how that “strength” is measured.

Is it physical strength? Luck? Willpower?

We’re then told that Shinsu is what powers everything within the tower (which is actually just the center of the tower). So all the magic stuff we see going on within the tower is powered by Shinsu. So not only is Shinsu a sort of water magic, it’s also the source of all magic.

But here’s where things really start to lose me. Shinsu, this magical water, fills the entirety of the tower. I get that you can have currents underwater, and water that’s denser than other water, but it’s a bit odd that you can have a wave of Shinsu flowing and splashing around within a room of Shinsu.

We also know the higher up the tower you go, the more dense the Shinsu gets. So is the top of the tower going to be like walking through “air” which is as dense as stone?

And to make things weirder, Shinsu is also how people are able to breathe within the tower. I guess the tower has no ventilation? And so magical water which has inverse dense properties is how they breathe?

As far as I can tell, breathing via Shinsu only “makes sense” because they’ve already established that it’s literally everywhere in the tower. This means if they couldn’t breathe it, they’d all suffocate. It really feels like the author attempting to quickly tie up some logic holes.

Tower of the King

Last week I questioned the point of having the 400 entrants of floor 2 battle it out until only 200 remained. It didn’t make much sense to me considering those 200 probably would have been weeded out by the higher floors anyway. But then I also remembered that the second floor was kind of set up like a game, with the announcer and everything.

Why would this be the case if the tower is just some challenge created by a “God” who will apparently grant the wish of anyone who reaches the top? Nothing about this whole situation makes sense unless you’re explaining it by saying “anime logic” (or in this case, “Korean manga logic”).

So in this episode, we’re given more of an explanation regarding what the deal is with the tower. And that explanation starts with the fact that the tower is basically the entire world in this series. The inner tower is the tower, and the outer shell is where everyone lives — except Bam and Rachel who were apparently isekai’d in.

But the next part is what really stood out to me. Yes, all the random plebeians live in the outer wall of the tower, but the king lives at the top. And it’s apparently the king who grants the wish of whoever reaches the top of the tower. Further, multiple people have definitively made it to the top, including Lero Ro, so it’s not just a myth.

From all this information, I think the true nature of the tower has started to be revealed. The “God” who controls this tower is no God, it’s the king who views himself as God and uses his power to control the masses for his entertainment. And that entertainment is why the challenges of the tower are set up like a game.

Further, the whole part about your wish being granted upon reaching the top of the tower has probably been inflated by people who have never entered the tower themselves. If Lero Ro really got his wish granted, would he be an instructor in the tower? The “wish” which is granted by the king is probably that he allows you to work for him, or something like that.

Conclusion

What do you think of Tower of God episode 2? Do you think it’s still as good as the first episode? Do you perhaps think it’s better? Is Shinsu just a cop-out magic system full of logic holes? Let me know in the comments, and throw in your choice for best character design so far as well.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

BALL

Tower of God is a new anime licensed by Crunchyroll and based on a Korean web manga. And if you’re anything like me, you read that and instantly assume it’s not going to be very good. Let’s be honest, Crunchyroll doesn’t have the best track record, and anyone can write a web manga — it doesn’t require a publisher.

But, even if you haven’t read the source material for Tower of God, you’ve likely heard of it. This is exactly why I’ve decided to add it to my weekly review schedule. I know nothing about it other than that it’s extremely popular, and that alone makes it worthwhile to check out.

I’m happy to announce that after finishing episode 1, I do actually have high hopes for this anime. It definitely has some issues, like some choppy animation and Deus ex machina right in the first episode, but overall I thought this episode was good.

And while I normally don’t like to call an art style bad, I have to say I’m not much of a fan of the normal art style of this series. The picture above looks amazing, but the majority of the series doesn’t have that same aesthetic. I don’t want to say most of the art looks flat, but it has simplified light and shadow which I’m just generally not a fan of.

But the art style isn’t something I would say detracts from the series.

What did detract from the series somewhat for me is when Bam, the protagonist, gets an “ultimate” weapon right off the bat. And I get that he’s the hero, but we’re told that the weapon chose him because he’s not a woman — so there’s that.

Regulars and Irregulars

While we don’t know that much about the world in this series just yet, we’re still given a lot of fragmentary information about it which is worth discussing.

One of the first, and potentially most important things we learn about the world is that it has something known as the Tower of God (shocking, I know). But what’s important here is that the tower consists of many floors, and whoever can reach the top will supposedly have their desires granted.

Later on, we also learn that there are two kinds of people who can enter this tower: Regulars and Irregulars. We don’t know exactly what makes someone a Regular, but if I had to assume, they’re probably from a higher class of society considering the main Regular we’ve met so far is a princess.

Luckily, the Irregulars were explained to us. They’re people who can enter the tower by their own power like Bam did. So from this, we can assume the Regulars have to go through some special process or access point. Also, does that mean Bam’s friend Rachel is also an Irregular?

Another interesting piece of information comes from Rachel when she says she wants to reach the top of the tower so that she can see the stars. Apparently the people of this world live underground or something, but that hasn’t really been explained yet.

However, one thing which didn’t really add up for me is that the sky is visible on the second floor of the tower. This is important for two reasons, with the first being that Rachel doesn’t need to reach the top to see the stars. The second reason this is important is that nobody seemed surprised by the sky when they reached the second floor.

So did they really live underground?

The First Test

The first floor of the tower isn’t a place we get to see much of. I’m not even sure if the first floor has a set appearance. When Bam firs enters it, he’s in a long halway, but it’s altered into a room with a large cage on one side by the caretaker of the tower, Headon. I think Headon can just make this floor appear however he wants so it has no set layout.

But the purpose of this first floor is quite clear. Just because someone makes it into the tower doesn’t mean they’re strong, brave, or lucky enough to survive the rest of the floors. It’s here that entrants must pass their first test, which is apparently different for everyone depending on their supposed skill level.

Since Bam is an Irregular, his skill level is assumed to be higher than average, and so Headon gives him a test to match this. And we’re told that even people who have made it to floor 20 would have a hard time with this test.

Bam’s test is to get past the White Steel Eel, a giant monster, and break an orb which lies within its enclosure. The scales of the eel are as strong as steel, hence the name. So even with his newfound ultimate weapon, the Black March, apparently Bam won’t be able to slay the beast easily.

But, that’s apparently the point of this test. It’s not about whether or not you can defeat the eel, it’s about whether you have the courage to do what it takes to defeat the eel. The only way to kill it is from the inside, so you first have to allow yourself to be eaten — which is exactly what Bam does.

And tied to how I didn’t like that the Black March’s power awakens for Bam because he’s a boy, I didn’t like how it conveniently awakens its power right when he needs to break the orb. It would have been more interesting if the only way to break the orb was to have the eel bite it after using yourself as bait.

Floor 2

The second floor of the tower is a wide open savanna. Here, 400 Regulars (including Bam even though he’s an Irregular) are spread out. This is the next test every challenger of the tower must face — a battle to the death against one another.

Starting with 400, the battle ends when there are 200 remaining, and those 200 get to move on to the next floor.

Here we see a wide variety of people, not all of which are human. There’s a lizard girl, a large lizard guy, some sort of alien, and many more. There also appear to be people from all different time periods within the tower, which may imply that they aren’t all from the same world. Perhaps the tower connects multiple world.s

For example, most people on the second floor are using weapons such as swords, spears, or bows. Even the one guy who’s wearing a suit and carrying a handbag takes a short sword out of it to fight. But then there’s one guy who’s just using a modern sniper rifle. Clearly he doesn’t fit in.

It’s also odd that the people who have already made it to the second floor of the tower would have to fight against each other so that only the strongest could move on. Why wouldn’t they all be allowed to go and then the weak get killed off by the challenges which await them?

The fact that the people attempting to ascend the tower need to kill each other for no reason other than only half of them are allowed through just doesn’t make sense. At that point, why even have the rest of the challenges? Just have them all fight until only one person remains.

Conclusion

Before I conclude I want to point out a few other things about Tower of God which make me think the anime is going to be good overall.

First, it’s animated by the studio behind Lupin, so that’s a good sign. Second, the director has worked on other good anime such as Psycho-Pass and Vinland Saga. And third, the OST is by Kevin Penkin, who admittedly has been 50/50 so far, but seems to be doing a good job with this soundtrack.

But what did you think of Tower of God episode 1? Are you looking forward to the rest of this series? Or did you not like what you saw? And if you’re familiar with the source material, how does this adaptation stack up? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.