To stipulate up front, the second episode of Kami no Tou was certainly better than the first. But in fairness to Telecom Animation Film and the anime staff, the manhwa was the same – at least for me. The first couple of chapters were a walking start, but it was with the arrival of the major characters that really entered the story this week that things became genuinely compelling. While Bam is an excellent protagonist (as I think most new viewers will eventually come to agree) it’s in group dynamics that SIU really excels as a writer.
There’s a danger of input overload with Tower of God, that’s for damn sure. Fair warning – it becomes a major issue later in the manhwa, should you choose to read it. Even here one can get overwhelmed by the flood of characters and background information, but I thought the anime did an excellent job of navigating that this week. The presence of Lero-Ro (Tsuda Kenjirou – thank goodness he finally got some work) definitely helps. He’s the first ranker (a kaibutsu who’s climbed all the way to the top of the tower) we meet, and his rather serene and logical presence helps ease us (and Bam) into the next phase of the story without being too heavy-handed about it.
I was a bit skeptical of Kenjirou for this role, and he’s certainly not what I imagined when I was reading (not to mention being terribly overexposed at the moment) but his performance is kind of working for me. Casting is a huge deal in this sort of series where larger-than-life characters are everything, and none of them is larger than Rak Wraithaiser (Miyake Kenta). By contrast Miyake is spot-on what I imagined – Ohtsuka Akio is the only other name I considered. As for Khun Aguero Agnes (Named after a soccer player from Argentina who’s named after a manga character who plays soccer. Full circle.), Okamoto Nobuhiko is another odd choice – I was thinking someone like Ishida Akira – but so far he too is clicking pretty well for me.
These two are the Yin and Yang surround Bam at the moment. The Blue Turtle calm and calculating, taking an interest in this strange young boy wielding what’s clearly a legendary weapon in the Black March. Rak is pure hunting instinct – the Black Turtle interests him only as prey. But when the child-cube announces that the culling to 200 has been completed and that the next stage is for survivors to form groups of three within five minutes, Khun moves into manipulator mode and tries to make Gator see the logic in joining forces. Bam interests him enough to merit close observation, and Rak is obviously strong as all get out – a useful quality for a potential teammate.
It won’t be news to regulars (pun intended) that I generally despise exposition by explanation, but here it sort of made sense in context for Lero-Ro to explain a few things to both the group (Shinsu, and its importance) and to Bam (regulars, irregulars – like him – and such). Obviously Bam is here for a reason – if he weren’t strong, we’d have no story. He wasn’t even moved by Lero-Ro’s wall of Shinsu, and he spotted who the strongest of the ones on the other side of it was. But Bam is a child even above and beyond the fact that he physically remains one – he has no memories beyond being trapped in a pit and rescued by Rachel. His innocence is not a put-on – it’s who he is. Nothing in his memory has prepared him for what he’s currently facing.
As for the other climbers, a few certainly stand out. Anak (Sekine Akira), who both Bam and Lero-Ro recognize as a beast). Hatz (Fukamachi Toshinari) who fought her to a draw. Their eventual teammate Shibisu (Eguchi Takuya), who seems to be all bluster but does manage to will his way through the Shinsu. And this chap (Ono Daisuke), who can only be bothered to wake up when he needs to do something badass in about three seconds or snark at somebody for being too loud. But newsflash – Rak is the best character of the bunch. No one beats the Gator.
It surely isn’t going to escape the attention of anyone who knows the series that this setup bears a striking resemblance to the Hunter Exam arc in Hunter X Hunter. I don’t really consider that either a positive or negative, just a thing – but to the extent it matters I don’t personally feel Tower of God borrows too liberally from HxH, and I won’t hold it against any writer that they’re influenced by Togashi Yoshihiro (that’s just good taste). I just think at this point of the story Kami no Tou is insanely good fun, and to my relief I thought this episode really captured that. I described myself as “cautiously optimistic” after the premiere, but I’d definitely crank that optimism up a couple of levels now.
Miyu Fan
April 9, 2020 at 4:22 pmYes this episode 2 really reminded me again how easily hooked I was with the manga after Khun and Rak were introduced, and what incredibly great and fun dynamic these 2 people have with Bam. Love the trio very much, especially Khun the magnificent bastard.
Just want to say about Tsuda Kenjiro, that he already overly exposed to me because he is really, truly everywhere in the most annoying way now. I literally screamed in agony when his voice appeared in To Your Eternity trailer. I want his manager because clearly TsudaKen is a millionaire now with the way he has a role in every single TV anime.
Jindujun93
April 9, 2020 at 4:27 pmJust a quick mention that this is not Yuri Jahad alongside Shibisu – you were probably somewhere else along your train of thought when you wrote that passage?
But anyways, I had a lot of fun with this episode, simply because the leader and his two turtles are finally assembled. I love Rak as a character dearly (alongside one particular character from part 2 onwards, he’s my favorite), and I’m almost as fond of Khun as well. It’s kind of interesting how they made Rak a little goofier already, since at that point in the source material he was still 100% serious all the time, but it works and is absolutely in line with him, so I like this.
Guardian Enzo
April 9, 2020 at 4:46 pmLOL, sorry about that. Character overload syndrome.
whoami
April 9, 2020 at 6:17 pm”There’s a danger of input overload with Tower of God, that’s for damn sure. Fair warning – it becomes a major issue later in the manhwa, should you choose to read it.”
Hi, lurker here, as you say I can see the similarity between this show and HxH which is one of my favorite shows. If this turns out to be a pretty good adaptation and would continue with the manhwa on its later arcs, would this ‘input overload’ be the same as the lengthy exposition present in the current succession arc in the HxH manga?
Don’t get me wrong, I like reading those thought bubbles and minor details in that arc even though it gets a little tedious at times.
Guardian Enzo
April 9, 2020 at 7:07 pmWelcome! As to your question, I think we’d be getting close to spoiler territory if I tried to answer that in too much detail. In as generic terms as possible, I’d answer “not really”. While I agree to an extent with your comments about the Dark Continent arc, the problems I have with later ToG arcs are more in terms of the narrative itself – plot drift, too many characters with marginal importance to the core story, and just general sensory overload. There’s a lack of focus and an overabundance of plot twists that just seem to go on and on.
But, as they say, your mileage may vary. I know there are readers who share that view, but I’m sure there and plenty who don’t.
dc22
April 9, 2020 at 7:05 pmStill pretty weak, the MC just breezes through the suposed tests.
BlueBlue
April 9, 2020 at 8:29 pmWith absolutely no desire to polemic (better to state it from the beginning), I should say that I am a bit amazed the kind of “free pass” that this show has (I am not talking about here in particular as you are even yourself warning from the future) compared to what it may (I say MAY) have had if it had the label “new Jump era” or “light novel”. I mean, is it uninteresting? Absolutely not. But as dc22, I feel nothing of that amazing compared to many formulaic shows with these tropes. So, don’t know. Maybe the nostalgic feeling? Or maybe I have an unintended backslash reflex from the hype? Well, don’t know.
Perhaps there is something “different” latter. Let’s see. But just wanted to point out as the irony of the never ending debate of what make formulaic nekkestu/SAOesque series interesting to our eyes while not appreciating another one. In my case, this is very often the characters but here, even that, I feel nothing special (which does not mean uninteresting to me).
(By the way, thanks Enzou for the replies to my questions in “Major 2nd”).
kanda92
April 10, 2020 at 6:01 pmI really enjoyed the 2nd episode, reminded me what I liked about the first part of ToG and made me go back to reading some chapters of part 1 (until I had to stop myself around chapter 20 falling into a binge-reading mode again). Also I had Shinichiro Miki’s voice in mind for Lero-ro when first reading ToG. Yu Han Sung’s voice though is exactly how I imagined it xD. I am intrigued how it will be received in Japan, hope i fairs well in the TV-ratings.
Random
April 10, 2020 at 11:32 pmWhy is it called Kami no tou tho. It’s a korean webtoon, the name should be in korean not japanese… I don’t understand why it is not refered as such with a korean name lmao.
Lilturo
April 11, 2020 at 7:52 pmLike your review style! I’m of pretty similar opinion. ToG definitely hits you with way too many unnecessary detours and information later. I’m happy if they do the first season justice. Glad to see you don’t criticize without explaining why…I feel like I’ve seen way too many of those lol.
Guardian Enzo
April 11, 2020 at 7:57 pmThank you – I do try and at least justify an opinion, probably to varying degrees of success.