But why didn't you tell him the answer? [Tower of God, Volume One by S.I.U]

Twenty-Fifth Bam must journey skyward in a mysterious tower if he has any chance of reuniting with his best friend Rachel, even if that means facing his own death.

Before mysteriously disappearing into the tower gates before his very eyes, Rachel cautions Bam to forget all about her. Unwilling to lose her, Bam enters the Tower completely surrounded by Shinsu — a divine and magical water, at his own peril.

The Tower itself contains multitudes of floors as vast as continents, each one with its unique geography, language and culture. Confronted by skillful tests each step of the way, Bam meets powerful guardians and otherworldly environments, making his quest to the top no easy feat.

Beginning his journey, Bam is met by Headon, the first floor guardian and caretaker of the Tower who explains the rules of the Tower. At each level Bam is constantly tested for his strength, dexterity and wit. With help from fellow travelers and unlikely villains, Bam makes both allies and enemies in order to find Rachel; however her intentions of reconnecting with him become unclear as misinformation about her whereabouts do not add up. Behind each ascension is a revelation about their friendship, revealing a much deeper, darker secret.

I might have to give the anime a second chance. When I requested this first volume of S.I.U.'s Tower of God I didn't look too much into the description because something about it, the title, the description, felt familiar. Once I was into the first chapter my suspicions grew. Was this that anime I had started watching bur couldn't get through the first episode of? Indeed it was, even if it wasn't exactly as I'd remembered. More than likely I will be picking the anime back up, not only for comparison, because I'm somewhat invested in the story. And that's surprising to me. 

The story isn't a new one. A young man with an blind and naïve desire driving a steadfast will learns he is special. His uniqueness translates to extraordinary abilities that he'll definitely need to get through the hero's journey suddenly he finds embarking upon. And he will be undeserving helped by pretty women along the way. If you're an anime watcher - dare I say, if you live in a patriarchy and consume media authored by men - this is not a new story. 

To boot, the exposition of the serialized comic is clunky. There's just no getting around that. Though I suppose, from the questing character's point of view, suddenly finding yourself in an unknown, tense, combative situation demands you get explanations quick and fast. So I would like to chalk a lot of that awkward pacing to this being the foundational volume. Once the rules are established, and I don't know if that baseline setting would continue for additional volumes, then the story is free to develop. And despite it's formulaic trope-y-ness, I'm interested to see if personal development will mean goals changing, if impending betrayals are justified or long-lasting, and what everyone's motivations are. 

The animation was definitely interesting enough to catch my attention, the read was quick. I'm going to say a large portion of my lasting interest is cemented with my previous exposure to the anime. Or is it a webtoon? I don't know. That's to say, would I have still been interested in the story had I not already seen part of the anime? I don't know. No matter, sometimes one watches the movie then reads the book. You get the gist. This gets 3 stars from me. Maybe subsequent volumes would rate higher (another hook of remaining interest), but as a read this first one didn't sell me so convincingly.  

Tower of God, Volume One (ISBN:9781990259760) is due for publication November 22, 2022.