The Dark Fantasy Manga That Subverts Expectations
The challengers ascend to the 59th floor of the tower. A heavy silence hangs in the air. As they move deeper into the floor’s hollow center, figures begin to take shape in the distance. What are these? They’re the excavators union. Wait, are they? Petrification. An entire squad had been turned to stone. The culprit, a basilisk. An immense serpentine creature of myth feared for its petrifying gaze that freezes his life in an instant. And now the party stands at the heart of its lair. Yua, don’t look. But it’s already too late. Huh? Yuva has begun to turn his head toward the creature. You expect a monstrous serpent, something drawn from the pages of dark fantasy tradition. But the image Tower Dungeon offers instead is one far more unique and somehow far more oppressive. [Music] If it wasn’t obvious from that entire sequence, Tower Dungeon is a uniquely dark fantasy manga built on the principle of subversion. Though unique and dark is something you’re bound to experience when reading any of Nihei’s work. But even then, Tower Dungeon feels distinctive amongst an already incredible lineup. Take Blam as an example. Easily Nihei Sensei’s most famous work, a manga built on atmosphere where the story is explored through its silence. While there is dialogue throughout the read, it is notably lacking in prominency. This applies to various works of Nihazi. However, with Biomega and Abbera also coming to mind, letting you learn of these gritty and surreal worlds through imagery alone. Yes, that is a bear holding gun. Uh, no, I will not elaborate. While there are exceptions to the rule like Knights of Sidonia, where dialogue is a lot more consistent, Tower Dungeon is the most character-driven story I’ve read by Nihagen quite some time. And dare I say, it’s on its way to become my absolute favorite work of his, which is interesting considering the kind of person I actually am. I’m a weird [ __ ] who enjoys body horror. And while Tower Dungeon does contain it, believe me, we’ll get to that later, it’s without question a lot less darker and bleeer compared to most of his other stories. And yet, it is the one that has gripped me in a way unlike the previous. Tower Dungeon really has what it takes to go the distance. Its striking nature is the result of both a shift tonally compared to his other works, but visually as well. Hell, if you’re a manga nut, maybe looking at these panels alone, you thought of Tatski Fujioto. The rough nature of the art and the weirdly honest kind of character writing is very similar to his work with Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch. This rigid and almost cartoonish approach to storytelling is a complete 180 on the Nihei tradition where works are prominently sharp and uncanny. But man does it absolutely work for Tower Dungeon. Because despite being a dark and gruesome fantasy story, its tone is as bipolar as my internet. Seriously, why do I have 5,000 ping? What does that even mean? But look, to really explain the aspects of this series that largely appeal to me, we have to dive deep into what this labyrinth of a manga holds. So, let me give you guys a really basic rundown of its premise. A princess pleads to her father, desperate for an answer to his kidnapping of her. However, what she cries to is no longer her parent. It is instead his killer wearing his flesh. Through the princess, the necromancer summons the legendary dragon tower, a monument said to bring about a cataclasmic dome. The royal guard attempt to save the princess. Yet in their repeated effort comes repeated failure. Suffering casualties with every venture into the legendary chasm. Now desperate, they conscript villagers to bolster their armies. Each village is forced to send someone. And in our villager focus, young inexperienced harm is selected. Once getting acquainted with the squad, they head into the dungeon with the intention of saving the princess. Now look, that is the very basic plot. And while this video will include some minor spoilers, such as how certain creatures operate in the manga and a few character dynamics and developments, I promise not to reveal the three major reveals that have appeared so far. Those moments, and more importantly, the mystery they leave behind due to their lack of clarification are a big part of what makes this story so compelling. But if you want to go in completely blind, I’d suggest just clicking off the video now and giving a read for yourself. There are only like 18 chapters as of recording this video, but they are meaty beasts worth sinking your teeth into. But maybe you need some more convincing. So, let’s go way back. I’m talking like chapter 1. Because one thing that separates this series from so many like it is how its characters directly interact with the haunting and intricate world crafted by Nihi Sensei. Right in the midst of chapter 1, there is a moment that immediately grabbed me. One that is subtle, unsettling, and atmospheric. and one that perfectly establishes the tone of Tower Dungeon. A group of challengers walk towards the giant tower suspended in the air. The team, a combination of veterans, all of whom are somewhat familiar with the early floors of this giant chasm, and our protagonist, the newbie, Yuva. Crossing the threshold into this labyrinth, they find the first floor in ruins. Shattered pillars, cracked tiles, and the quiet echo of something long gone. No one speaks, not even the newcomer. This desolation has become too familiar. A known stillness that signals no immediate threat. The wreckage suggesting this place was once inhibited, but whatever lived here is now long gone. And this lack of context is precisely what I love. The sense of the story told only through its absence. But it’s what happens next that really made me realize this was something special. As the groove moves into the next chamber, something stops Uther in his tracks while the others trail forwards. In the far corner of the room, he sees them. A silent congregation of naked bodies. Some lying, some sitting, others eerily upright, stacked together in a grotesque, fleshy mass. They are all alive, some disturbingly with damp, swiny, and trails slipping from open orififices. And how does the crew respond to this unsettling sight? Simply with, “Those aren’t living people. Be careful. It’s a real pain in the ass if they spot you.” And so they carry onwards. Cool. So that’s a [ __ ] nightmare. But god, what an amazing moment that actually is. It’s the absence of clarity that makes it so captivating. You can feel there’s something deeper at play, something just beneath the surface. But even our own characters won’t give us that answer so easily. The way they respond to this encounter is so fascinating as it establishes so many things without needing to say much at all. It immediately tells you something vital. These aren’t wideeyed explorers anymore. They’ve seen things like this before. They know the smartest move is to leave it alone completely. No questions, no interaction. Just move on. It’s not fear. It’s experience. a quiet shed understanding that the uncanny life lurking in the dungeon isn’t just strange, it’s dangerous. They have very clearly engaged with it before and it brought about unfavorable results. It also establishes character Yua who despite in this scenario being the newbie with an intense curiosity. He follows orders without hesitation in order to support the group. Their immediate dismissal of the events a perfect display of how urgent their mission truly is. None of this is spoonfed though. It’s just there waiting to be noticed. And [ __ ] me, that’s so yummy. And yes, of course, explanations do exist, but Nihei sensei, he doesn’t hand them over. He carries a large bag of bread and only drops the rarest of crumbs. And sometimes he won’t even do that. And I somehow love that even more. Mihei sensei can create intrigue without ever lifting the veil, which is precisely what he does with the door guardian. The towering figure speaks an unknown language. Blocking the path forward, the crew assume its words to mean leave or dangerous inbound. Its overbearing physique and underlying protective task suggesting a staggering formidability. [ __ ] me in the ass. A staggering formidability. [ __ ] me. Formidabil formidability. Formidability. Its overbearing physique and underlying protective task suggesting a staggering formidability. The monster ascends on the crew almost instantly with a giant mace in hand. The team, however, are unfaced, coordinating an attack together and ending the fight quickly. And just like the father you never had, off they go onwards without a word. The door guardians we’ve only ever seen once again on a single page without any dialogue. What you saw earlier is the only text we currently have on this dude. And I love that so damn much because like in the universe we live in, we don’t have all the answers except for me for my brain is really big and very handsome. I also just realized I never explained the tattoos real quick. I only have two permanent tattoos. The rest are all semi-permanent. I work for a semi-permanent tattoo business on the side. I’m the guy who shows off their products essentially, which is why in these recordings you’ve seen them jump around my body and why one of them was still developing. I recorded this on various days. So, you know, continuity is [ __ ] Anyway, back on topic. Tower Dungeon is the kind of manga that just refuses to show its hand in full form. And in the world of Tower Dungeon, that rule holds firm. The tower decides and the characters simply endure. They are its intruders. They do not own this space. Characters are victims to the will of the tower and they do not have all the answers. They are merely survivors operating on fragments of knowledge and making choices with that limited understanding. And from time to time, we see the cost of that uncertainty. At the very start of this video, when our characters stumble into the room of the basilisk, they don’t arrive there with intention. They are instead led there by chance. You see, according to the maps, floor 59 was supposed to house a staircase leading upwards that takes venturers straight to floor 80. But when they arrive, the stairs lead down. A detour forced upon them now, or perhaps a return to that path that was always intended. No explanation is offered, and that mystery is exactly what makes it so compelling. Throughout the manga, we catch glimpses of how other adventurers have tried to impose order on this chaos, constructing paths, laying down structures, attempting to bend the dungeon to their will. Whether that shortcut was engineered by one of those earlier groups, or whether the staircase simply vanished at the whim of the tower itself remains unknown. But in a world like this, time spent searching for answers is time stolen from the mission. Save the princess, no matter the cost. And so, the party doesn’t overthink, and neither do we. and we just keep moving forward. That’s not to say the series is in constant motion, though, because there are various sequences throughout the manga where characters are just inhabiting a space, simply existing within it. And those happen to be some of my favorite moments in the whole series. Characters are often just drifting through vast corridors, inhabiting the quiet to let us soak in the gargantuan and alien nature of the tower. It’s moments like these that remind me I’m reading one of Nihei sensei’s works. Because of this, the floors feel distinct. Some holding artificial tunnels that branch unpredictably, granting access to unseen parts of the structure, others are so expansive, the party looks like a bunch of lost ants. Occasionally, there are tight quarters nestled along the staircase, brief sanctuaries where the adventurers can rest. The series, without saying anything, is able to convey so much through just its imagery alone. The world building is not just contextual, it’s visual. Hell, some of my favorite moments in this series are just when the crew stumble upon floors that open to the outside world, offering a rare chance to just look back and realize just how far we’ve come in this climb, but also reminded just how much more we still don’t know. And while it’s about the journey and not the destination is mega cliche, I like cheese, especially at 3:00 a.m. in Nothing But my Sonic the Hedgehog boxes, it’s never felt more fitting here, especially with this cast. Many of them linger in your mind long after their scenes pass, leaving an impression without even needing a character page. Like, come on. Where’s Pookie’s character page? Huh? Come on. Look at him. He deserves it. I love Pooky. No. Brilliant. What are you doing? Ignite. No. No. Do it. No. Not the Pooky. No. Pooky. All of these characters are caught in a web of fate. And at its center lies one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever seen in a dark fantasy. [Music] Take a Hmbo and give him absurd physical strength with an eagerness to run through walls and off buildings and you have our protagonist. No, seriously. His main means of fighting isn’t something as elegant as swinging a sword, nor is it something as dignified as casting spells. It’s instead uh well this is a constant in the manga. Yuba literally falls ass backwards into main storyline beats and it’s yet if ever to get stale. And again, no attention is even drawn to this. It’s just something you naturally begin to notice. I’m ashamed to admit it took me at least 15 chapters to realize, huh, he uh he follow he follows a lot, doesn’t he? And this simple act is something built from the first chapter. Trust me, the you following a lot segment is going somewhere. His task during the first venture into this dungeon was to carry barrels of salt on his back. The veterans believe Salt will be the key to defeating the monster on the 50th floor. But during that first mission, Yuva slips, not watching his footing, he tumbles down into the water below. Now, this scene functions on multiple levels. It’s a clean segue into further tower exploration, sure, and a natural way to explain the salt’s purpose within the narrative, but more interestingly to me, it sets up a fascinating pattern. Every time Yuva is seen crashing his way through the story, new and subtle precedents and questions are being posed. Let’s analyze that first sequence as an example. So Yuva plunges firstly from a height so extreme that the others have to carefully climb down, gripping onto crumbling bricks just to descend safely. He lands in a pole that barely reaches his knees and yet he’s barely hurt. One of the barrels even shatter on impact, yet his juicy, supple ass remains untouched, perfectly impacted. This suggests to us readers that Yuva possesses an absurdly tough physique that is uncommon to even people within the army. And this will be continued to be played into with or without Yua’s intention. Later on on the 50th floor, when the party finally confronts the creature, they’re down to a single barrel of salt. The monster, growing more smart with experience, has learned from past encounters. It is now able to trap this entire group in its thick mucus, preventing their escape. And as desperation sets in, Yuva doesn’t hesitate. Unwilling to let his comrades die, he decides that simply pouring a bit of salt on it isn’t enough. From where he stands, he leaps into the air, slamming his full weight down onto the creature while unleashing the salt midair. Thanks to that, they’re able to finish the monster off and clear the floor. This is how Yuva carries himself throughout the dungeon, breaking it completely apart with the sheer brutality of his body, likely a product of Expedition 60’s influence. Yes, that was a shameless expedition 33 reference, but I mean, look, dude. All right, I’m going to continue to glaze that donut until it creams and both it and myself can go on for another four years at least. But back to the point, when Yuva moves, the dungeon bends. It’s not pretty, but it’s brutally effective. And that’s what makes him so unforgettable. In moments where his shield and sword are simply not cutting it, he relies on his own body, not thinking twice about the pain inflicted upon himself. And man, oh, it’s so fun. He simply does not care for elegance or disposition. He just does what needs to be done using his body as a means of achieving it. And while Yuba’s brutal physical edge is definitely part of his appeal, what really makes him stand out is who he is at his core. People are naturally drawn by him. And it’s easy to see why the more you get to know him fundamentally as a person. At first glance, Yuva seems like a pretty unremarkable guy. Stoic, quiet, a chill guy, if you will. There’s something disarmingly plain about him, like he’s just a regular person thrown into wildly regular circumstances. He doesn’t speak much, and that silence sometimes sounds like emotional detachment. Yeah, this motherfucker’s brain is the loudest thing in the whole manga. Internally, his mind is constantly moving, sometimes not necessarily thinking about the right things in the moment. Close. She’s close. I like this, but I’m really scared. From the moment we meet him, it’s clear this isn’t someone who was just dragged into the role of a tower challenger. While he was nominated by his village, he doesn’t just accept responsibility put upon him, but he’s actually excited at the prospect of it. And that’s what makes him really fascinating. There’s no obvious reason for Yuva’s interest in the dungeon or in any of this. There’s no tragic backstory looming overhead. There’s no clear goal or driving force. And even now, that core motivation remains elusive. Sure, you could theorize, but I wouldn’t be able to even give you a concrete answer. And while you may think you know, like I did, you’ll be happily surprised to see that idea be shot down pretty quickly as the story goes on. If you were thinking as simply as I was, enjoy being incorrect. Yuva is the embodiment of just going with the flow, but not in the way that feels careless or naive. He knows how dangerous the tower is, even locking the [ __ ] in in such a way that even guts would be proud. But if Tower Dungeon were really just him, I wouldn’t include an entire chapter in this video talking about its character writing. While he absolutely is to stand out for me personally, the entire cast is an absolute joy to experience. Like how Stan uses attract Stan uses compelling and weird characters attract compelling and weird characters. And look, before I get into their personalities, I want to take a moment to pause here and be honest as well as vulnerable with you. It’s come to my attention that a certain precedent has been set in this community uh for reasons beyond my understanding. You [ __ ] have decided to put me in a box. A box labeled weak, submissive man, hopelessly down bad for really strong women. And look, did y’all instantly guess that I’m a s for Haley in Stardw Valley because she’s hot and verbally abuses me on the daily? Yes. Did viewers correctly guess that I got back into wrestling because I may or may not have seen some more footage of Ria Ripley on my Twitter timeline? Also, yes. Did my Discord instantly guess my Guilty Gear man before I even picked up Guilty Gear? Undoubtedly, yes. Does my 3×3 for fictional crushes strongly suggest a liking of bicep blessed, emotionally unavailable women who could pop my head clean off with just their pinky? Look, possibly. But it’s a coincidence. For I’m a man, a dominant specimen, a towering slab of primal masculinity, a waterfall of testosterone, a hunter, a provider, a leader, a man who does not bend. Oh, well, that’s that’s just not fair, is it? The characters in Tower Dungeon all look fine. I guess they look fine. But even outside of the visual spectacle and uniqueness of their designs, there is a lot of personality looming beneath. Lilison at first glance comes across as your typical hard-edged sundere. Cold, proud, and sharp tongue. You know, the usual. To leave it at just that though would be to completely misunderstand her character entirely. Beneath that hardened shell lies a deeply caring and deeply earnest soul. She simply struggles with vulnerability and gratitude. These things just don’t naturally come to her. But she’s also painfully self-aware of how her sharpness pushes other people away. But it’s not something she can just shed. It’s an innate part of her. And yet in Squad 7, she finds an acceptance unlike any other. She unknowingly finds a family. Two people who not only see her flaws, but accept them without question. Two people who don’t just tolerate her, but embrace her. Lilyen is a powerhouse, the team’s destructive force. She’s an exceptional mage, but with that power comes limitation. Mana needs to be replenished. Spells take time to cast, and moments of vulnerability are inevitable, but she trusts Yuva and Eliqua without hesitation. She knows they’ll be there when she falters, just as she is there for them. Once she believed only in her own strength, unwilling to rely on anyone else. But now, she’s become something far stronger through these two. She’s become someone who can believe in other people. The trust between this crew is quiet and unshakable. It’s forged through a drive to survive and a willingness to just be honest. There are no masks in Squad 7. Only three people doing their best to move forward, carrying each other when necessary. Eliquo, in particular, drives this home tenfold. A veteran of the dungeon, he was one of the first to walk alongside Yuva and has since become one of his closest companions. He’s composed, efficient, and endlessly reliable. The kind of man who doesn’t flinch or break, and rarely, if ever, shows what he’s truly feeling. But around Yuva and Lilysin, his mask slips. Not often, but just enough to remind you he’s still just a guy underneath all that professionalism. When the three are entrusted with the secret mission to rescue the princess under the nose of governing bodies, there is no hesitation in the moment to accept that request. But something in Eloqua from then on begins to shift. As they descend deeper and deeper into the dungeon, his presence grows quieter, more distant. He moves with the same precision and care, but his mind seems to be somewhere else completely. Doesn’t speak unless he’s spoken to. And even then, his answers are kind of halfassed and barely even there. So, finally, after what feels like hours of letting this awkwardness fester, Lilison eradicates it. Eloqu, you’ve been acting weird since they entrusted us with saving the princess. What’s the matter? The life and death of the kingdom is on the line, right? There’s some sort of problem. We have to work together to solve it. Uh, fine. I can’t pee. My body’s been out of whack the whole time. The pressure of saving the princess is crushing me. I um I couldn’t believe my [ __ ] eyes, man. I was fully bracing for like a huge reveal, a terrifying new threat, a a mindshattering twist, maybe even a plot development that shifts the entire foundation of the story. I mean, it’s Eligua. He’s the guy. And then it he he he just needs to pee. He just needed to pee. And that’s when I realized Tower Dungeon might just go on to be one of the greatest stories in manga. God, man. The fact that the gags aren’t even safe from Nihei Sensei’s ability to play on subversion. I think really speaks to its consistency throughout this manga. I don’t know how this guy keeps [ __ ] getting away with it, but brother, he does every time. And the wildest part, I haven’t even started talking about my favorite kind of subversion this manga pulls off. We’ve barely scratched the surface on how Tower Dungeon completely reimagines the way monsters function in dark fantasy. [Music] I want to jump backwards for a moment specifically to the Bassilisk we saw at the start of the video. That towering mothlike creature stands out immediately and not just for its size. Traditionally, one of the most defining features of the Basilisk is its eyes. It needs to be in order to capture your gaze with its own. The danger is direct and obvious. You look, you lose. But in Tower Dungeon, that design kind of flips that expectation again. Let me ask, when you first saw this guy, what were your eyes drawn to first and foremost? What part of this image grabbed you first? It’s likely the eyes up here. And would you believe me if I said congratulations, you actually haven’t been turned to stone just yet. Because truth be told, your attention isn’t drawn to its real eyes at all. Instead, they are just drawn to massive eyeike patterns on its wings. But they’re not functional. They don’t do anything. They’re just there to be decorative and deceptive. And that’s where the brilliance of this design comes in. This creature is a journey, a puzzle to be solved because the false eyes invite curiosity. They seem like the threat, so you naturally focus on them. But as your gaze moves around the creature, trying to make sense of what you’re looking at, that’s when you catch the real danger, cuz you look towards its body, and suddenly you found its true eyes, probably without even meaning to. But the danger these guys present cannot be understated. Let’s say you’re the kind of person who already knew how this particular basilisk operated. Maybe you see those wing eyes and immediately look away. And if you’re lucky, you may have temporarily avoided its trap. However, if you’re not, your view upward and away may instead lead you to another hiding within the ceiling. Because here’s the thing, Tower Dungeon is just like Ubisoft. They don’t give a flying [ __ ] about you. They don’t care about fairness and they don’t care what’s just. The Dragon Tower doesn’t just want to challenge you mechanically. It wants to challenge your assumptions. One basilisk is already a serious threat, the kind of enemy that gets remembered when it’s finally brought down. But here, they don’t always come alone. Sometimes they hunt in massive swarms looming in the dark. And at that point, the danger scales from overwhelming to just outright impossible. Unless you have a old man riding a giant chicken in your party, but that’s that’s pretty unlikely, I’d imagine. This is the Dragon Tower, and fairness simply isn’t part of the equation. You can make all of the right choices, but you enter a room at the wrong moment, and you’ll still lose everything. But hey, it’s not all bad. After all, in Tower Dungeon, death doesn’t always mean the end. Because, my lovely viewers, we haven’t even touched on the concept of necromancy and how Tower Dungeon engages with it. Now, I am going to spoil its application here. It’s not a massive twist, but it is something that’s fun to discover naturally through the read. So, if you’d rather experience it fresh during your time with this manga, go ahead and skip to this time code. It should take you past uh this section. Necromancy in Tower Dungeon is very reminiscent of Dungeon Meshi’s living armor formula. Unlike the classic trope of armor possessed by restless spirits, deliciousness in Dungeon offers a more biological approach to this idea. These suits aren’t haunted, they’re inhibited. Animated by swarms of small jelly-like organisms, uniting as a collective life form that moves in unison to puppeteer the empty armor from within it. It’s biological and not magical. And it’s a clever subversion of the haunted armor trope. And like with the basilisk, Tower Dungeon doesn’t just play to tradition, but plays upon it. Not necessarily imitating this idea, but mutating it and twisting it to make it its own. You see, throughout our venture through the Dragon Tower, you can’t help but feel this enormous layered structure is subtly alive. And I don’t mean that in a metaphorical sense either. The walls at times feel like they see and breathe. And while that might seem like a side effect of good atmospheric writing, there’s something actually a little deeper going on. Enter the Necromites. These small laval creatures live in the dungeon itself, embedded in the cracks between flag stones and almost impossible to notice as they tuck themselves away in the environment, only really visible when intermingled with blood. And when they find that trail of red, they seek out its source immediately. Upon finding it, they don’t just crawl in, they become it. But here’s where Tower Dungeon makes a critical departure from something as unique as Dungeon Messi. The jelly creatures of Messi act on instinct. They pilot the suit in order to survive. The Necromites, however, don’t even have a will of their own. From the moment they came to exist, they are ruled by a higher power, the Necromancer, which flips the whole necromancy concept on its head. Because in this universe, necromancy isn’t about reanimating the dead. It’s instead about commanding species that specialize in reanimation. There is layers to this [ __ ] man. You aren’t controlling a corpse. You are controlling creatures that control a corpse. And to me, ah, that’s the good stuff. That subtle shift adds so much more depth to how necromancy operates in this universe, utilized to the fullest extent in chapter 15. God, it’s so gnarly. I won’t spoil it, though. It’s worth experiencing yourself if you haven’t already. It’s so visceral. And if you’re weirdly unapologetic about being a body horror enthusiast like myself, you’re going to love what Nihei sensei has planned for you in that chapter. I genuinely caught myself grinning like an idiot the first time I saw it play out. A mixture of admiration and amusement, I’m sure. But it’s just really, really yummy stuff. And um speaking of yummy, um yeah. Yeah. Take my poopy. Ah, that was good. Um the let me I realize now the point the point of that was those who skipped the spoiler segment would would be taken straight to footage of me me farting in the camera but now but now I realize those who didn’t skip the spoiler segment would just segueed horribly into that. Uh I’m sorry. Well, anyway, that’s uh kind of the video uh actually because as of writing this script, Tower of Dungeon is only 19 chapters in, which means there’s still a lot of ground left to cover with a lot of potential just waiting to unfold. So, if any part of what I’ve talked about today has caught your attention, now is a great time to jump in and see where it all ends up. I’ve left plenty out of this video on purpose, like other major characters, major well-being moments, plot twists, and even more than a few questions you’ll want to ask for yourself upon reading. There’s a lot going on under the surface, and a part of the fun is trying to figure it out for yourself. It’s still in its early days, and I can’t really say with full certainty whether this series will stick the landing. But even so, there’s already so much packed into what’s here that I can’t help but encourage read and purchase, of course, of a physical release. I’m really glad I gave it a shot because Tower Dungeon reminded me of something incredibly important. Fantasy as a genre has existed since the very conception of storytelling, and yet it still has room to surprise us. Even now, creators are finding new ways to break it open and reimagine it and turn it into something genuinely fresh and special. And look, I’d be lying if I said a series like Tower Dungeon inspired that hope upon first glance. Tower Dungeon sounds like an uninspired placeholder name. It sounds generic and forgettable. And yet, now that I look at it after engaging with its contents, I realize it may be intentional because once you actually start reading, whatever expectations you had going in, unravel the deeper you go. It’s a perfect reminder not to dismiss something based on a title or surface level impression. Art doesn’t always fit into a neat category. It doesn’t need to. Ideas aren’t always obvious at first, and sometimes what looks uninspired on the outside turns out might just be something a lot more ambitious and worthwhile if you give it the time it truly deserves. So, for that reason, I’m going to watch the entirety of the anime. My little sister can’t possibly be this cute cuz I’m sure it’s actually a really pig show with pig ride. Hey, thanks so much for watching everybody. It’s been a hot minute, but I swear I’m not lazy. Just got new important commitments and too many projects cooking in the oven. I hope you enjoyed this less emotionally taxing video. While Tower Dungeon definitely challenged me and inspired me, I’d be lying if I said it swayed me in such a strong way like other series I talk about on this channel have. But still, it’s an immersion and an experience that just felt worthwhile. And to be honest, I just want to talk about series like this from time to time. But that’s for later. And as for now, I want to thank my wonderful patrons so much for their support. You guys are the most patient fellas on the planet. Seriously, everyone on this list is an absolute treasure and I really appreciate your support after all this time. It’s a blessing I don’t deserve, but I am eternally grateful for it. When it comes to gratefulness, however, it’s hard to express just how much the following people matter to this channel. Seriously, these guys are the spine of the Micle brand. Please give a round of applause to the highest tier patrons. Mighty Dong, Lux, Koa, Sea of Clouds, Lance and Larry, Pigeon, and Stagamus. Actual Chads, man. You guys really, and I hope you know just how much your support truly means to me. I’m unworthy, but thankful. I also want to give a quick shout out to the Kickstarter for the online manga, Wonder Garden. I was emailed the first chapter, and I really like the world this young creator is trying to explore. So, if you’re interested in Dark Fantasy stand battles in Wonderland and you want to support someone who’s new and upstarting, you might have a pretty nifty time with Wonder Garden. This isn’t a paid sponsor or anything. I just like their work and want to support it. Check them out. Link in description. With that, I’ll leave you with these parting lessons. Don’t run into walls unless you have a physique that can handle it. Be wary of giant moths because you might get turned to stone. And of course, continue to praise masculine women. Take care in the dungeon. We call the outside world, y’all. Till next time.
Tower Dungeon by Tsutomu Nihei is a new manga that has absolutely captured my heart. It’s a dark fantasy series packed with an absurd amount of intrigue. It plays with convention in the best way, setting up ideas you think you understand, only to pull the rug out from under you with a fresh take on traditions you’ve grown too comfortable with.
The visual style and tone are unlike anything I’ve seen from Nihei before. It feels like a complete outlier in his body of work…and yet, it’s the series that’s gripped me more than any of his others.
At just 19+ chapters so far, Tower Dungeon already shows the potential to become something truly special. This is a short glaze session on why this manga absolutely rocks and why I think you should treat yourself by diving into it.
Chapters:
00:00 – The Basilisk
01:11 – Intro to Tower Dungeon
03:17 – The Premise of Tower Dungeon
04:35 – The Tone of Tower Dungeon
13:01 – The Weird Characters of Tower Dungeon
23:40 – The Monsters of Tower Dungeon
29:36 – SKIP HERE To Avoid Monster Spoiler
30:11 – Conclusion
32:37 – Thanking My Patrons
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