The Tower of God anime adaptation has reinvigorated anime fans' love of manhwa. While most anime are adapted from Japanese manga, Tower of God by SIU has brought a bit of the limelight back to Korean manhwa, a medium which has grown in popularity recently as people slowly begin to discover all the great series worth checking out.
The anime adaptation of the manhwa debuted in the summer of 2020 and grabbed anime fans' attention with its cast of colorful characters and mysterious setting. Every episode of the anime is worth a watch, but like any anime series, there are some episodes that stand above the rest.
10 3/400 (Three Four Hundredths)
The trio of Khun, Rak, and Bam may one day go down as one of the best anime trios of all time. Watching as Khun and Rak battle over the title of best boy while Bam embraces them both is as hilarious as it is endearing.
3/400 gets its name from the fact that the episode starts with four hundred regulars competing in the battle royale-like field test. By the end of the episode Bam manages to find two strong allies out of the group of four hundred regulars. If viewers need another reason to love this episode other than Bam, Rak, and Khun, the names Hatz, Anaak, and Shibisu should certainly be enough.
9 The Correct Door
Episode 3 of the Tower of God anime puts fan favorite Khun Aguero Agnes through the ringer. Luckily Khun's struggles are balanced by the introduction of Hansung Yu, Bam's admiration of the sky, and the moment the distrustful best boy realizes that Bam and Rak are indeed useful allies.
The test Bam, Rak, and Khun face this episode is without a doubt the easiest test they will face all season. Hansung Yu makes sure to give every person taking the test all the information they need to succeed, which turns the door test into a psychological game of trust that will have viewers questioning their own distrustful nature.
8 Position Selection
One of the best parts of the Tower of God series is the way it fully embraces its battle anime roots. Episode 6 places each of the powerful characters climbing the tower in the roles they will be asked to fulfill in battle for the rest of the season.
This episode also reveals Rachel as the deceptive and selfish character that fans know her to be. The revelation that Bam's first friend is the worst kind of person is difficult to accept after Bam throws the Crown Game in order to save her life. Luckily Khun shows viewers what a true friend looks like by pampering Bam after he recovers from the head injury he sustained while saving Rachel.
7 The One-Horned Ogre
For fans of Endorsi Jahad, "The One-Horned Ogre" is by far the best episode in the first season of Tower of God. After dispatching all the other fisherman on her team and teaching Bam a lesson about the cut throat nature of the tower, the princess takes the Narmada ignition weapon and goes toe to toe with Ranker Quant.
Endorsi is not the only character that gets to stand in the limelight in Episode 9, either. After Bam has his heart broken, he demonstrates an affinity with shinsu that gives viewers chills and Ranker Quant a panic.
6 Beyond The Sadness
Episode 10 was tasked with cleaning up the mess created by Ho's betrayal during the crown game. With one of the tertiary characters defeated and a strong secondary character crippled in the previous episode, it would seem nearly impossible to pull a smile out of viewers during this episode.
Still, "Beyond the Sadness" guides viewers through the pain with some of Khun and Hansung Yu's best moments of the season. Finally, viewers get the chance to see Hansung Yu in action, albeit very shortly. Also, Episode 10 reveals Bam's status as an irregular to the rest of the characters that have been climbing the tower next to him.
5 The Crown's Fate
A show as battle heavy as Tower of God runs the risk of exhausting its viewers with unoriginality before the season even hits its midpoint. Luckily, SIU is brilliant in the way he constructed the tower around tests that never falter in their complexity.
"The Crown's Fate" exemplifies this by giving Khun, Bam, and Rak the throne at its outset. Though this episode could have very easily fallen into the trap of monotony, Khun's plot, Hwaryun's decisive maneuvers, and Bam's loyalty make what could be 30 minutes of mindless beat-'em-up into an incredible anime episode.
4 Underwater Hunt: Part 1
Part one of this two-episode test is tasked with explaining the complicated guardian's exam to an audience of casual anime viewers. To do this, it spends the majority of the episode jumping from one perspective to the next in order to demonstrate the full scope of the mission. Fortunately, viewers have little to worry about because Khun is sitting high above the battlefield in his lighthouse.
Episode 11 balances all this set-up by centering its action around Endorsi, Anaak, and the Bull. Series fans will love the interactions between Hansung Yu, Khun, and Shibisu as they explain the test, while casual fans can sit back, ignore all the chit chat, and watch as the two strongest characters taking the test finally meet their match.
3 The Green April
Anaak already proved herself powerful in "3/400" by making her way through two separate tests with relative ease. It isn't until the Crown Game that she really gets the chance to show her strength though.
As soon as Anaak, Hatz, and Shibisu, enter the Crown Game it is made very clear that they are the team to beat. When Anaak ignites the Green April, it is made even more clear that this is their game to win. Luckily, the mystery that is the thirteen month series of weapons removes Anaak from the throne, giving Bam, Rak, and Khun the opportunity to win more than just the crown game.
2 Tower Of God
The final episode of the season finally unveils the mystery that has complicated the entire first season of Tower of God. Up until this point, Rachel's behavior has been entirely unexplainable, and therefore entirely despicable.
Watching the events of the first season unfold from Rachel's perspective is not enough to convince viewers to forgive her, but it is enough to allow her some sympathy. In fact, after watching this episode, Rachel's behavior throughout the first season could be defined as admirable if viewers consider the corruption that seeps through every crevice of the tower. In the world of Tower of God, taking advantage of your allies is the only way to the top other than god-like strength. It may hurt to admit, and it definitely hurts to watch, but the final episode of the season makes this fact very clear.
1 Underwater Hunt: Part 2
It is difficult to agree with IMDb's rankings when they put this heart-wrenching episode in the number one spot. Though it may just be the case that this episode takes the top spot because of the way it bends viewers emotions.
After watching the conflict between the princesses of Jahad wrap itself up in a neat little bow, viewers have to watch Rachel betray the show's loyal protagonist again. Not even the cool moments between Evan and Hansung Yu can soften the blow of this betrayal.