WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Tower of God Chapter 524, by SIU, now available on WEBTOON.
After months of hype and a ton of story buildup, Tower of God finally introduced one of its most mysterious characters: the Lo Po Bia Family Head, now known as Lo Po Bia Traumerei. Is his appearance worth the hype? How will this development change the dynamic in Tower of God? Despite only three panels in Chapter 524 actually showing Traumerei, there's still a surprising amount of information that can be unraveled about him.
It was long assumed that this mystery carried some significance because he was one of the only Family Heads whose name remained a mystery. His official name was first revealed in Chapter 518 along with his silhouette, but its meaning wasn’t yet clear. The term "traumerei" is German, meaning dreaming or daydreaming. It is also one of the most famous piano pieces by Robert Schumann, from his Opus “Scenes from Childhood”. These details may appear meaningless, but they can help uncover what kind of person Tower of God's Traumerei really is.
Now that Traumerei's appearance is revealed, it is a bit clearer why he has this name. From the way he looks, he seems to always be in a state of daydreaming. He is teleported into the Nest on a giant chair with many comfy cushions, yet he sits in a fetal position -- hunched over like L from Death Note -- with a large leather jacket draped around his shoulder.
Traumerei's complexion does remind one of a scene from childhood because he sort of looks and behaves rather childlike. He apparently doesn’t want to be seen -- before he arrives, his children warn everyone not to look at him -- or for others to even imagine what he looks like. To make sure of this, he also wears a mask to cover half of his face.
Questionable fashion sense aside, Traumerei’s looks do not really convey the type of dominance the other Family Heads usually exude. He seems more like a hikikomori, or someone who's withdrawn from all social contacts. While this does fit with his reputation of being a recluse, he feels like an anomaly within the Ten Family Heads. So far Tower of God fans have seen Po Bidau Gustang, Arie Hon, young Jahad and young Khun Eduan. All of them share the same sense of superiority and arrogance -- as well as a natural confidence from wielding great powers -- but Traumerei doesn’t seem to display or even have these qualities.
Along with Traumerei’s name and appearance, his ability might also be connected to the idea of dreaming. Since he is the most powerful Anima or animal controller in the Tower -- he's able to put animals in a dream or trance-like state so they'll follow his orders -- his name might be more related to his abilities than anything else. According to Yu Hansung, even some of his underlings can match the power of Evankhell, so as the 13th Ranked person in the Tower, Traumerei’s power is naturally far greater than everyone else in front of him.
Tower of God gives a hint of this power when Traumerei lifts his eyes in the last panel, showing a menacing look very much the opposite of a socially awkward child. This suggests a much more threatening undercurrent beneath his lazy and strange posture. Though his true intentions remain unclear, if he is willing to go to war with another Great Family just to get his hands on Bam, it can be assumed he wants more than Bam’s death -- but it also doesn't mean he's an ally.
Since much about Traumerei's personality and goals are still unknown -- and given the way the other Lo Po Bia family members have been acting -- it is more likely that his arrival will mean certain doom for one or even many groups currently in the Nest.
