Tower of God is easily one of the biggest names in webtoon, helping to put web comics as well as Korean manhwa on the map in terms of international popularity. Having begun back in 2010, the franchise has grown quite a lot over the last decade. Beyond just merchandise and gaming, there's even been a Japanese anime adaptation.
Featuring a sprawling cast as they traverse a similarly tremendous tower, Tower of God is focused on a mysterious boy named 25th Bam. Though the manhwa continues to be produced, the anime is a lot easier to catch up with for those new to the franchise. Here's a look at what Tower of God is all about and where to get a hold of both versions.
The Plot of Tower of God
The hero of the story is named 25th Bam, who finally enters the eponymous tower in order to find his friend Rachel. Permeating the tower is the element known as Shinsu, which has incredible properties similar to magic. Unfortunately, to climb up the tower's ranks and possibly find Rachel, Bam has to prove his strength and valor against the denizens of the many different levels.
Each separate floor is the size of North America, so traversing them is an incredibly arduous task. The other characters in Tower of God are all classified by titles such as "Rankers" and "Regulars," with King Jahad leading the ten ruling families. Amid his desire to find Rachel, Bam becomes caught up in the contract of the tower, and could potentially be the one who can finally take out King Jahad.
Where to Read the Tower of God Manhwa
Tower of God started on the Korean platform Naver Webtoon in 2010 and was created by S.I.U. (Slave In Utero). Line Webtoon, the English version of the website, began localizing the series online in 2014, bringing a litany of Western fans as Korean media grew quickly in the United States and other countries. This format is currently the easiest way to read the series, at least for those outside of South Korea.
So far, Tower of God has been collected into eight manhwa volumes, released from November 2019 to the summer of 2021. It was also announced in November 2021 that Wattpad will handle the English print version of the book, though this has yet to be released.
Where to Watch the Tower of God Anime
Though mobile games and merchandise have helped to build the franchise's fandom in South Korea, the Tower of God anime adaptation has made the biggest splash for most Westerners. Given that it's handled by Japanese production company Telecom Animation Film, it is indeed a Japanese anime, in spite of its Korean origins. This has only made the distinctions between the media of China, Korea and Japan even blurrier.
Announced in 2019, the Tower of God anime finally premiered in Spring 2020. Season 1 amounted to 13 episodes, which were localized through Crunchyroll. VRV and HBO Max also host the series, so anyone with an account can check it out. The Blu-ray collection will also be released in January 2022, so those who'd prefer to own the series physically will soon have that option. Despite how much more story there is to adapt, there's been no official word on a Season 2 just yet, but given how popular the franchise is, it shouldn't be long before viewers climb the Tower of God once again.
