Tower of God is a compelling anime series that was one of the most popular manhwa in the world for most of the last two decades. The story follows Bam, a young man with a mysterious past that he knows little about. When he follows his only friend Rachel to the even more mysterious Tower, he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. He finds new friends, many enemies, and an inner dedication that keeps him going no matter the circumstances.
Be a great series comparable to Tower of God, there are many different qualities a program can have. Tower of God is set in the titular Tower, and any series with a vast and explorable world is already a great option. Tower of God is also no stranger to action. It has a lot of great fights and even better set pieces, making a show with similar qualities a worthy comparison.
10
Ground Leveling
Animated by A-1 Pictures, based on the web novel by Chugong
The anime adaptation of Ground Leveling took the world by storm. It’s a great Korean manhwa featuring Sung Jinwoo, the only character in his world with the ability to actually get stronger. While everyone else in the world is given a ranking that can never change, Jinwoo has the System supporting him, allowing him to grow stronger and stronger until he easily becomes one of the most powerful shōnen protagonists in the world. He’s exploring his world with his new power and can’t wait for the next chance to level up.
Ground Leveling and Tower of God are both compelling manhwa series with huge followings. Like anime, each series brings great fights to its viewers and presents intricate worlds full of wonder. Bam eventually becomes an incredibly powerful character in his series, and like Sung Jinwoo, he certainly didn’t start there. Both series feature two weak characters who never give up on themselves, and, over time, they gain the strength necessary to protect their friends and easily defeat their enemies.
9
Attack on Titan
Animated by Wit Studio and MAPPA, based on the manga by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan is another breathtaking action series defined within the boundaries of a predetermined location. Although you can’t climb the Walls and go to a new floor like the Tower, characters in Attack on Titan they are essentially trapped inside the walls as it is the only way to escape the imminent threat of the Titans outside. Eren lives a dark life at the beginning of the series, as he is the victim of one of the most tragic events of mass destruction in the anime.
Like Bam, Eren begins the series as a naive and utterly weak boy before becoming a menacing teenager and a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Also, like Bam, Eren will go to any lengths to save his friends, even becoming evil incarnate if it means stopping the world from coming to the island of Paradis. Both programs feature surprisingly dark themeslots of great action sequences and two of the biggest betrayals in all of anime.
8
Hell’s Paradise
Animated by MAPPA, based on the manga by Yuji Kaku
In just 13 episodes, Hell’s Paradise captured the world’s curiosity with ease. The show has a great premise that hooks you from the start. Gabimaru is a death row inmate who just doesn’t want to die, and it’s technically not even his fault. Every time his tormentors try to kill him, they fail. Instead of trying to kill him repeatedly, his captors eventually send him on a suicide mission to the island of Shinsenkyo to try and find the elixir of immortality.
As Tower of God, the world of Hell’s Paradise It couldn’t be more intriguing. It’s an open world where the main characters have barely scratched the surface, and the more they discover, the more questions they end up having. Just like the Tower, Shinsenkyo is filled with mysterious creatures, an interesting power system, and some important allies looking to keep the main character alive.
7
The Promised Neverland
Animated by CloverWorks, based on the manga written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu
The Promised Neverland is a shonen anime unlike almost anything that has come before or since. It is set in a brutal, dystopian world where children are raised to serve as meals for their Demon overlords. Although the outside world knows of the existence of these human farms, they do not care, as the farms are the only things stopping the Demons from waging war against humanity once again. The world of The Promised Neverland begins in a small orphanage that turns into a huge and complicated scheme built to keep children under control.
Both Tower of God and The Promised Neverland feature intelligent main characters seeking to understand the world around them. Interestingly, they also feature two of the anime’s most disappointing second seasons, with each show featuring a huge drop in quality across the board. Both are still two solid series, and perhaps future seasons will pick up where their dominant first seasons left off.
6
Blue Lock
Animated by Eight Bit, based on the manga written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura
As one of the best sports anime, it can be difficult to see the comparisons between Blue Lock and Tower of God, but they are actually easier to see than most people realize. Blue Lock takes hundreds of Japan’s best young strikers and pits them against each other in an attempt to find Japan’s best striker, an aggressive and selfish player who can finally bring the World Cup back to his country. Yoichi Isagi begins the series as a shy and fearful character who worries about everyone around him before focusing on himself and his own goals, much like Bam.
Although the two main characters have a lot in common, their worlds Blue Lock and Tower of God are eerily similar. Both feature characters locked in a building, trying to find the best ways to move forward. They also feature many secondary characters with exactly the same goals as the main character, and because they want the same thing, they often have to fight each other for the few positions that can be gained.
5
Black Clover
Animated by Pierrot, based on the manga by Yuki Tabata
Black Clover is one of the most popular shōnen series of the last decade. As Tower of God, Black Clover features a main character who don’t know the meaning of the word ‘give up’. Like Black Clover is as determined as anyone and so loyal to his friends that they know he will protect them without needing to check. The world of Black Clover is not as twisty or mysterious as the world of Tower of God, but the characters in each series have a lot in common with each other.
Asta and Bam’s first priorities are the well-being of their friends. Even though Asta wants to one day be the Wizard King, he wouldn’t sacrifice a single friend to get there. Bam is also incredibly loyal, becoming a candidate Slayer for the mysterious organization FUG with the sole purpose of saving his friends in doing so.
4
My Hero Academy
Animated by Bones, based on the manga by Kohei Horikoshi
My Hero Academy is another breathtaking action series with great powers and even better characters wielding them. The series is set around Izuku Midoriya as he begins the series as a helpless, quirkless character in a society that values quirks above all else. He ultimately inherits All For One, the second strongest Quirk in My Hero Academyand becomes the hero he always wanted to be.
Like Bam, Midoriya thinks of his friends before thinking of himself. The power given to him could not have been given to a more worthy person, as Deku would do anything to keep his friends, and even the nation of Japan as a whole, out of harm’s way. Both Bam and Deku are incredibly brave, want the best for themselves and those around them, and are willing to work hard to achieve their goals.
3
High School God
Animated by MAPPA, based on the Manhwa released as a Webtoon by Yongje Park
The God of High School and another great adaptation of the anime manhwa full of interesting characters. It stars Jin Mori as he faces off against the titular High School God tournament, a fighting tournament dedicated to finding the best fighters in the world. Jin finds two excellent friends fighting in the tournament and the trio grows closer as they progress through the competition. As Tower of God, the God of high school combines real-world elements with over-the-top action to create a cohesive, emotionally charged narrative.
The God of High School does not have a world as expansive as Tower of God, but that’s not their biggest comparison. The biggest things they have in common are trio of adorable charactersa main character who grows stronger as he faces increasingly better adversaries, and a mysterious group that governs the events of the series behind the scenes.
2
Made in the Abyss
Animated by Kinema Citrus, based on the manga by Akihito Tsukushi
Made in Abyss is an adventure anime series that began in 2017. Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name, Made in Abyss tells the story of a young girl and her robot searching for her mother in a mysterious abyss. Luci Christian voices Reg alongside Brittany Lauda as Riko.
Made in the Abyss is exactly the opposite of Tower of God. Instead of trying to climb a tower, characters in Made in the Abyss descend a vast abyss. Well, they are not exactly opposite of each other as it would be better to describe both programs like two sides of the same coin. Each level of the Tower demands more from its participants if they want to continue climbing, similar to the different levels of the Abyss in Made in the Abyss.
Both series feature some of the brightest and most hopeful characters in anime history. Riko is a wide-eyed young woman who loves adventure, exploring and hanging out with his new friend Reg. Both Tower of God and Made in the Abyss They are also much darker than they initially appear. While they may seem fun and light-hearted at first, both series can take dark turns out of nowhere, subjecting their viewers to some of the darkest scenes in anime when they thought everything was fun and light-hearted.
1
Hunter x Hunter
Animated by Madhouse, based on the manga by Yoshihiro Togashi
Hunter x Hunter is not only one of the best anime series of all time, but it is also easily the best comparison with Tower of God. Hunter x Hunter tells the story of Gon, a boy who dreams of exploring the world and finding his place in it. He is a naive small-town boy, but he is strong and dedicated enough to survive on his own with ease. Comparisons between Tower of God and Hunter x Hunter can be found everywhere. Both Gon and Bam begin the series naive to the world around them before becoming mature young men.
Gon and Bam are also surrounded by a group of excellent friends who look out for their main characters whenever evil comes their way. Both Gon and Bam are also quite dense when it comes to most subjects, so their friends are busy informing them about the inner workings of the world and even basic social dynamics. Overall, both worlds presented in either series are expansive, mysterious and just waiting to be explored.
text text