Tower of God | |
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신의 탑 Sin-ui Tap | |
Genre | Action, dark fantasy [1] |
Author | S.I.U. (Lee Jong-hui) |
Publisher | Young Com |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Webtoon service |
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Original run | June 30, 2010 – present |
Volumes | 17 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by |
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Produced by | Joseph Chou |
Written by | Erika Yoshida |
Music by | Kevin Penkin |
Studio |
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Licensed by |
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Original network | |
English network |
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Original run | April 1, 2020 – present |
Episodes | 37 |
Tower of God [a] is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by S.I.U. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon since June 2010, with the individual chapters collected and published by Young Com in 17 volumes as of October 2024. Tower of God received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in July 2014.
It has received several mobile game adaptations and merchandise. In Japan, the web manhwa received an anime television series adaptation by Telecom Animation Film that first premiered on Naver Series On in South Korea, and aired in Japan immediately afterward. It originally aired from April to June 2020. A second season produced by The Answer Studio premiered in July 2024.
Tower of God centers around a boy named Twenty-Fifth Bam. It is notable that in Korea 'Bam' can mean 'Night' or 'Chestnut'. He has spent most of his life trapped beneath a vast and mysterious Tower, with only his close friend, Rachel, to keep him company. When Rachel enters the Tower, Bam is devastated. Somehow, Bam manages to open the door to the Tower. Now, he will go any distance to see Rachel again even if it means dying. When he enters the Tower, he meets allies that will help him up the tower.
"The Tower" is a mysterious structure that is completely enclosed and hosts many unique environments. It is permeated by an element called "Shinsu", which has strange properties similar to magic in other comic universes. It is inhabited by many different intelligent species. Living on the top floors is associated with a higher status in the Tower and better living conditions. This is because ascension from one floor to the next is only allowed by passing increasingly difficult tests of strength, dexterity and wit. Regulars are any individuals from the Outer Tower chosen to climb the tower in the Inner Tower. Former Regulars who reach the top of the Tower are known as Rankers, and are generally much more powerful than others. Rankers are often put to work administering the lower floors. At the top of the Tower sit the "Ten Great Families", which form the governing body of the Tower. A figure known as King Jahad (or 'Zahard', in some translations) is the chief leader of this body.
Each floor is composed of three layers: an external Outer Tower which serves as the residential area, an Inner Tower where people are tested, and a Middle Area, which acts as a network linking each floor. Residents of each floor are given the chance to ascend, provided that they are deemed "worthy" of doing so by Headon, the First Floor's Guardian and caretaker of the Tower. Such people are referred to as "Chosen Regulars" in Tower of God. The Tower is sealed from the vast, unknown "Outside" by portentous, impenetrable doors. On rare occasions, extraordinary people are able to open the doors and enter the Tower. Such people are called "Irregulars" in the manhwa, and Twenty-Fifth Bam is one of them.
According to the author, each floor is the size of the North American continent.[ citation needed ] Each floor often has its own culture, language and governance systems, and it is not uncommon to have nations living in isolation and unaware of the existence of the tower.
Only Irregulars are exempt from the contract Jahad struck with the Tower Guardians that made him immortal. Thus, only an Irregular can kill Jahad. This fact drives much of the plot in Tower of God.
Shinsu (신수;Sinsu), roughly translated as "Divine Water", is a substance found within the Tower in varying concentrations on each floor. On the lower floors, Shinsu is diffuse and inconspicuous, similar to air. However, on higher floors, Shinsu increases in power and concentration, and is said to be viscous and flowing similarly to water. High Shinsu resistance is required to enter these floors. Residents in the tower must form a contract with the "guardian" of the respective floors in order to manipulate Shinsu.
Shinsu can be manipulated to enhance physical abilities, powerful weapons, and even manipulate the elements. Bang (Korean-방) is the number of discrete units of Shinsu control. The more Bangs someone handle, the better the ability to control shinsu. The size of the units is called Myeon (Korean-면), and the concentration is called Soo (Korean-수). Though used with varying degrees of explicitness and even conscious awareness, its use seems to be inextricable from combat within the Tower. Shinsu reinforcement (Korean-신수강화-shinsooganghwa) is a technique used to strengthen the body, and is commonly used by Regulars. Those who are strong with Shinsu have their aging slowed to the point where they become effectively immortal. It is unclear to what extent aging is slowed simply by living in the tower without training to use Shinsu.
Shinsu does not have a fixed flow, but there is a temporary flow. Using this flow to attack is called flow control. Expert wave controllers could destroy a village with this. Reverse flow control is used to strike back in the direction of the flow and to stop the opponent. Sometimes they are used simultaneously, attacking with flow control and protecting the body with reverse flow control. Flow control is a favored technique of Twenty-Fifth Bam.
However, there are certain exceptions to rules regarding Shinsu. Individuals known as "Irregulars" seem to have a special connection with the tower, being able to use Shinsu with little to no constraints, regardless of whether or not they have contracts with the same administrators of the floors they're on or going to. One highly notable irregular known simply as "Enryu" even managed to kill the then administrator and guardian of the 43rd floor. A feat once thought to be impossible on the apparently false pretense that Administrators were thought to be immortal and otherwise infallible. This has led many of the tower's inhabitants to see irregulars as little more than highly destructive entities with unfathomable powers and abilities, as well as being regarded as calamities brought forth by the tower's prophecies in an effort to bring about change to the tower.
Because of their ability, irregulars are often heavily stigmatized and feared, even by inhabitants of the highest caliber within the tower known simply as "Rankers". Individuals that have reached the highest floor known to the tower's inhabitants. The current capabilities of Irregulars is such that even the upper echelon of Rankers known as "High Rankers" such as the Ten Great Families and even King Jahad, are extremely wary of them, especially so in King Jahad's case due to the nature of his contract with the Tower Guardians.
Most battles in the tower are done in teams. Each person in a team plays a certain role in battle, which are referred to as positions. There are five basic positions: fisherman (낚시꾼 nakksiggun), spear-bearer (창지기 changjigi), light-bearer (등대지기 deungdaejigi), scout (탐색꾼 tamsaekggun), and wave-controller (파도잡이 padojabi). Fishermen are direct fighters, spear-bearers are a fighting support class, light-bearers provide distant reconnaissance, scouts provide on-ground reconnaissance, and wave-controllers control Shinsu. There are other positions, such as guide, but they are rare.
Author S.I.U. majored in visual arts education on a university level before being conscripted into the South Korean military. By the advice of a senior in the army, S.I.U. started drawing cartoons. During this period, S.I.U. drew "ten books" worth of practice cartoons, which formed the backbone of the Tower of God comic he later started to create for the Internet. [3] S.I.U. already has major events and characters planned out, sometimes more than 8 years in advance, and often shares additional information on the Tower of God universe on his blogpost, after each chapter is published.[ citation needed ]
Lee Jong-hui (Korean : 이종휘), also known by the pen-name S.I.U. ("Slave In Utero") launched Tower of God in Naver's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon on June 30, 2010. [4] It is the first story in the "Talse Uzer" universe. As of February 2020, Tower of God has collected 4.5 billion views worldwide. [5] Tower of God was one of the first webtoons to receive official English translations by Line Webtoon in July 2014. [6]
Its first and second collected volumes were released simultaneously by Young Com on November 12, 2019. [7]
In November 2021, Wattpad announced that Tower of God would receive a print release in North America as part of their new Webtoon Unscrolled imprint. [8]
No. | Korean release date | Korean ISBN |
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1 | November 12, 2019 [9] | 979-1-19-015317-1 |
2 | November 12, 2019 [10] | 979-1-19-015318-8 |
3 | May 26, 2020 [11] | 979-1-19-015329-4 |
4 | May 26, 2020 [12] | 979-1-19-015330-0 |
5 | January 12, 2021 [13] | 979-1-19-015361-4 |
6 | January 12, 2021 [14] | 979-1-19-015362-1 |
7 | July 14, 2021 [15] | 979-1-19-015393-5 |
8 | July 14, 2021 [16] | 979-1-19-015394-2 |
9 | March 29, 2022 [17] | 979-1-16-779073-6 |
10 | July 28, 2022 [18] | 979-1-16-779140-5 |
11 | November 23, 2022 [19] | 979-1-16-779140-5 |
12 | March 23, 2023 [20] | 979-1-16-779216-7 |
13 | July 20, 2023 [21] | 979-1-16-779265-5 |
14 | January 30, 2024 [22] | 979-1-16-779376-8 |
15 | May 27, 2024 [23] | 979-1-16-779424-6 |
16 | July 31, 2024 [24] | 979-1-16-779449-9 |
17 | October 29, 2024 [25] | 979-1-16-779477-2 |
In 2013, Naver released a mobile role-playing game on Google Play based on Tower of God, developed by Sunrise. [26] [27] The game drew in 120 million players shortly after its initial release. [28] The Tower of God role-playing game's development continued for two years after its initial release, and the game saw a full commercial release in 2016. A cross-webtoon RPG game titled Hero Cantare was released in 2019, featuring Tower of God and other popular titles such as The God of High School and Hardcore Leveling Warrior. [29]
A mobile turn-based role-playing game, titled Tower of God: Great Journey, developed by Korean company Ngelgames, was released in Korea in April 2022, [30] and globally on February 14, 2023. [31]
A collectible card role-playing game, titled Tower of God: New World, developed by Netmarble, was released globally on July 26, 2023. [32] [33] It features a story mode based on the series, as well as original storyline events and original characters.
The series has had collaborations with mobile games such as Fantasy War Tactics R , [34] Heir of Light, [35] and Seven Knights . [36]
Naver sells a variety of Tower of God merchandise, such as figurines. During the commercial release of the Tower of God role-playing game, Naver released limited edition items worth ₩30,000 South Korean Won. [27]
An anime television series adaptation was initially announced at Seoul Comic-Con in August 2019. The series, titled Kami no Tō -Tower of God- (神之塔 -Tower of God-), began releasing in April 2020 simultaneously in Japan, South Korea, and the United States. [37] [38] It is produced by Telecom Animation Film, with Aniplex subsidiary Rialto Entertainment responsible for Japanese production, and Sola Entertainment providing production management. [38] [39] The series aired on April 1, 2020, on South Korea's Naver Series On and television network Aniplus, [40] and in Japan from April 2 to June 24, 2020, on Tokyo MX and other networks. [41] [b] It is directed by Takashi Sano, with Hirokazu Hanai as assistant director, Erika Yoshida in series composition, Masashi Kudo and Miho Tanino in character designs, and Kevin Penkin composed the soundtrack. [43] The opening theme song "Top", [44] while the ending theme song is "Slump"; both performed by the K-pop band Stray Kids in Japanese, English, and Korean for the respective language dubs.
Crunchyroll streamed the Japanese original version of the series as a co-production under its "Crunchyroll Originals" label. [38] [45] [46] Viz Media licensed the series for home video distribution in North America and released it on Blu-ray on January 18, 2022. [47] [48]
In August 2022, during their industry panel at Crunchyroll Expo, Crunchyroll announced that a second season was in production. [49] It is produced by The Answer Studio and directed by Akira Suzuki, with Kazuyoshi Takeuchi serving as chief director. [50] The season premiered on July 7, 2024, and airs in two consecutive story arc cours. [51] For the first cour covering the "Ōuji no Kikan" (王子の帰還, Return of the Prince) story arc, the opening theme song is "Rise Up", while the ending theme song is "Believe"; both performed by NiziU. [52] For the second cour covering the "Kōbō-sen" (工房戦, Workshop Battle) story arc, the opening theme song is "Night", while the ending theme song is "Falling Up"; both performed by Stray Kids. [53]
Head of Line Webtoon Tom Akel stated in July 2015 that the manhwa's weekly installments are read by five million people. [54]
Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by East Asian media, including Japanese anime, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with a Japanese branch located in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Noblesse is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon, written by Son Je-ho and illustrated by Lee Kwangsu. Noblesse was first posted on Naver Corporation's webtoon platform, Naver Webtoon, in December 2007 and concluded in January 2019. It was among the first webtoons to receive an official English translation at the launch of Line Webtoon in July 2014. The series has been adapted into an aeni in 2015, an original net animation (ONA) in 2016, and an anime television series by Production I.G that aired from October to December 2020 on Crunchyroll.
WEBTOON is an American-South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation, providing hosting for webtoons and compact digital comics. The platform, controlled by Naver and the Naver-SoftBank Group joint venture LY Corporation through a Delaware-domiciled, Los Angeles, California-headquartered holding company WEBTOON Entertainment Inc., is free and can be found both on the web at Webtoons.com and on mobile devices available for both Android and iOS.
The God of High School is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by Yongje Park. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon from April 2011 to December 2022, with the individual chapters collected and published by Imageframe under their Root label into four volumes as of January 2023. The God of High School received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in July 2014.
Kevin Penkin is a British-born Australian composer, primarily for video games and anime. He is best known for composing the score of the anime Made in Abyss, which won Best Score at the 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and the score for the Tower of God anime adaptation, which won Best Score at the 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
Solo Leveling, also alternatively translated as Only I Level Up, is a South Korean portal fantasy web novel written by Chugong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on July 25, 2016, and was later published by D&C Media under their Papyrus label since November 4, 2016. The novel has been licensed in English by Yen Press.
"Top" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released in three languages. The Korean version and English version were released digitally on May 3 and 20, 2020, respectively, through JYP Entertainment, and distributed by Dreamus. The Japanese version was released on June 3, as their first Japanese single, titled "Top -Japanese ver.-", through Epic Records Japan. The song was featured as an opening theme song for the anime television series Kami no Tō -Tower of God-, together with its B-side "Slump", as an ending theme song.
True Beauty, also known as The Secret of Angel and other names, is a South Korean manhwa written and illustrated by Yaongyi. First published in Naver Webtoon from April 2, 2018, to June 28, 2023, it centers on a young woman who mastered the art of makeup in her teenage years in order to transform herself into a gorgeous "goddess" after being bullied and discriminated because of being perceived as ugly.
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion is a South Korean web novel written by Milcha. It has been serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage since September 19, 2016. A webtoon adaptation was first serialized in KakaoPage on September 3, 2017, and is illustrated by Whale. An anime television series adaptation produced by Typhoon Graphics aired from April to June 2023.
A Returner's Magic Should Be Special is a South Korean web novel written by Usonan. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage from September 2016 to August 2019. A webtoon adaptation was first serialized in KakaoPage in May 2018, and is illustrated by Wookjakga. An anime television series adaptation produced by Arvo Animation aired from October to December 2023. A second season has been announced.
Gosu, also alternatively translated as Gosu: The Master, is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written by Giun Ryu and illustrated by Mun Jeong Hoo. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon since September 2015 with the individual chapters collected and published into fifteen volumes as of February 2024. Gosu received official English translations by Line Webtoon beginning in 2015. Gosu is a sequel to the Yongbi Bulpae manhwa, which was serialized from 1998 to 2002.
Viral Hit is a South Korean manhwa released as a free webtoon written by Taejun Pak and illustrated by Kim Junghyun. It has been serialized via Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon since November 2019, with the individual chapters being collected and published into eight volumes as of December 2023.
Tomb Raider King is a South Korean web novel written by Sanji Jiksong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on November 1, 2016.
Who Made Me a Princess is a South Korean fantasy web novel written by Plutus. It was serialized Ridi's digital comic and beginning on December 20, 2017.
"Night" is a song by South Korean boy band Stray Kids, taken from their second Japanese-language studio album Giant (2024). It was released as a single in three versions—Japanese, English, and Korean—along with "Falling Up" by Epic Records Japan and JYP Entertainment on October 7, 2024. The song serves as an opening theme for the "Workshop Battle" arc of the second season of Kami no Tō: Tower of God.
"Falling Up" is a song by South Korean boy band Stray Kids, taken from their second Japanese-language studio album Giant (2024). It was released as a single in three versions—Japanese, English, and Korean—along with "Night" by Epic Records Japan and JYP Entertainment on October 7, 2024. The song serves as an ending theme for the "Workshop Battle" arc of the second season of Kami no Tō: Tower of God.
Tower of God is an anime television series based on S.I.U.'s manhwa series of the same name. The anime adaptation was initially announced at Seoul Comic-Con in August 2019. The series, titled Kami no Tō -Tower of God-, began releasing in April 2020 simultaneously in Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The first season was produced by Telecom Animation Film, with Aniplex subsidiary Rialto Entertainment responsible for Japanese production, and Sola Entertainment providing production management. The series premiered on April 1, 2020, on South Korea's Naver Series On and television network Aniplus, and in Japan from April 2 to June 24, 2020, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The season was directed by Takashi Sano, with Hirokazu Hanai as assistant director, Erika Yoshida in series composition, Masashi Kudo and Miho Tanino in character designs.
Tower of God is an anime television series based on S.I.U.'s manhwa series of the same name. The second season of anime begins with chapter 80 of the Naver Webtoon series. It is produced by The Answer Studio and directed by Akira Suzuki, with Kazuyoshi Takeuchi serving as chief director.
A Crunchyroll and WEBTOON Production, based on the comic series "Tower of God" created by SIU and published by WEBTOON, this dark fantasy action series centers on the journey of a young man as he battles his way through the mysterious Tower
The adventure fantasy series has collected 4.5 billion views worldwide
시리즈온에서만 1,2화 무료 선물! 2화는 4월 8일 20시 무료 공개될 예정입니다. <신의 탑> 더빙판으로 보면 자막판까지 드리고 있으니 두 배로 즐겨보세요!