Nineteen floors. That is how far Bam climbed before everything we thought we knew about the series shattered. Honestly, most readers who picked up Tower of God back in 2010 on NAVER WEBTOON didn't expect a scrawny kid chasing a girl into a giant pillar to turn into one of the most complex political dramas in modern fiction. It started simple. It got messy. Now, it’s a behemoth.
S.I.U. (Lee Jong-hui) has been building this world for over a decade. He’s tired. You can see it in the hiatuses, but you can also see the obsession in the lore. This isn't just a "battle shonen" where the protagonist gets a new hair color and beats the bad guy. It is a story about a stagnant, corrupt empire and the people willing to burn it all down just to see the stars. People often compare it to One Piece because of the world-building, but Tower of God is darker. It’s meaner.
The Rachel Problem and Why We’re Still Talking About It
Let's just address the elephant in the room. Rachel is probably the most hated character in the history of webtoons. But here is the thing: she is also the most human. While Bam (Twenty-Fifth Baam) is an "Irregular" with god-like potential and a heart of gold, Rachel is just a girl. She’s weak. She’s manipulative. She’s terrified.
Her betrayal at the end of the first season wasn't just a plot twist; it was a fundamental shift in how the story functioned. It told the audience that being "good" doesn't mean you win. In the Tower, you climb by stepping on others. S.I.U. didn't give us a villain we could easily dismiss. He gave us a mirror. Most of us want to think we’re Bam, but if we were stuck in a dark cave our whole lives, we might be Rachel.
The complexity of their relationship drives the narrative even now, hundreds of chapters later. Bam's growth from a codependent boy to a man who accepts his own "monstrous" power is the spine of the series. But Rachel is the friction that keeps the wheels turning. Without her, Bam would have no reason to face the Ten Great Families.
How the Power System Actually Works (It’s Not Just Shinsu)
People get confused about Shinsu. Is it water? Is it air? Basically, it’s everything. It is the substance that permeates the Tower, and your ability to manipulate it determines your rank. But the genius of the Tower of God power system isn't the flashy energy beams. It’s the contracts.
- Irregulars vs. Regulars: This is the most important distinction. Regulars are chosen by Headon (the floor guardian). They are bound by the laws of the Tower. Irregulars—like Bam, Urek Mazino, and King Jahad—forced the doors open themselves. They aren't bound by the same rules. They are the only ones who can kill a King.
- The Roles: Positions like Fisherman, Spear Bearer, Scout, Light Bearer, and Wave Controller give the fights a tactical, almost RPG-like feel. It’s not just about who hits harder. It’s about how a Light Bearer manages information or how a Scout navigates the darkness.
- The Administrators: These are the true gods. They are giant creatures that manage the Shinsu on each floor. To use Shinsu, you technically need their permission, unless you’re an Irregular who can bypass the system.
Complexity is a double-edged sword. Sometimes the fights in the later arcs, like the Nest or the current marriage tournament saga, get a bit "light-show heavy." You’ve got giant dragons, magical bows, and ancient spirits flying everywhere. It can be hard to track. Yet, the underlying logic of the "High Ranker" tier remains consistent. When someone like Enryu or Urek Mazino shows up, the scale shifts entirely. They don't just fight; they change the environment.
The Politics of the Ten Great Families
The Tower isn't a vacuum. It is a kingdom. King Jahad and the heads of the Ten Great Families have ruled for millennia. They’ve become bored. They’ve become cruel. This is where Tower of God elevates itself above your standard adventure story.
We see the internal rot of families like the Khun clan. Khun Aguero Agnes, the fan-favorite blue-haired strategist, is a direct byproduct of this toxic environment. His cunning isn't a "power-up"—it’s a survival mechanism. He had to betray his own sister to survive his family’s internal politics.
Then you have FUG. Are they the "good guys"? Not really. They are a religious syndicate of slayers who want to kill the King. They use Bam as a tool. They've kidnapped him, threatened his friends, and forced him into a life of violence. The series exists in a massive gray area where the "revolutionaries" are just as scary as the "dictators." This nuance is why the fandom stays so engaged. We aren't just waiting for the next fight; we’re waiting to see which side of the moral coin Bam will land on.
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Visual Evolution and the S.I.U. Style
If you go back and look at Chapter 1, the art is... rough. It’s scratchy. The proportions are weird. But there’s a soul to it. S.I.U.’s use of color, especially his "glow" effects with Shinsu, became a trademark.
As the series progressed, the art became incredibly polished. The character designs for figures like White or Jinsung Ha are iconic. However, the sheer scale of the series has clearly taken a toll on the creator's health. We've seen long breaks, and occasionally, the art style shifts slightly as assistants take on more of the heavy lifting. This is a reality of the webtoon industry that fans have to reckon with. We want the story to finish, but we want the creator to stay alive to see it happen.
What Most People Miss About the "Princesses"
The Princesses of Jahad are often viewed as just a collection of "waifus" for the fandom. That’s a mistake. They are one of the most tragic elements of the lore. They are essentially a "display" of the King's power—powerful women given the King's blood but forbidden from ever having children or falling in love.
The 13 Month Series weapons they carry are cursed. The whole system is designed to keep them fighting each other so no one ever becomes a true Queen. Look at Yuri Jahad or Endorsi. They are rebels in their own right, constantly pushing against the boundaries of what is "allowed" for a Princess. Their involvement in Bam’s journey isn't just a romance subplot; it’s a political defiance that threatens the foundation of Jahad’s rule.
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Getting Started (Or Re-Started) in 2026
If you’re looking to dive into Tower of God now, the barrier to entry is high because of the chapter count. It’s over 600 chapters. That’s a lot of reading. But the community is more active than ever.
- Don’t Rush Season 1: The first 78 chapters are a prologue. Treat them that way. The "real" world opens up in Season 2 with the introduction of Viole.
- Pay Attention to the Names: Names like "V," "Arlene," and "Enryu" are dropped early but don't pay off for hundreds of chapters. S.I.U. plays the long game.
- Check the Blog Posts: Historically, S.I.U. released blog posts with extra lore that wasn't in the chapters. While some of this is being "soft-retconned," it provides incredible context for the Great Families and the ranking system.
- The Anime vs. Webtoon: The anime is a decent gateway, but it cuts a lot of the character motivation and world-building logic. If you want the full experience, the webtoon is the only way to go.
The Tower is a place where dreams go to die, or where they transform into something unrecognizable. Whether Bam eventually reaches the top or destroys the whole structure from the bottom up is still the big question. But the journey—the climb—is why we’re still here after sixteen years. It’s a messy, beautiful, exhausting epic that hasn't lost its ability to surprise us.
Actionable Next Steps
To truly appreciate the depth of the current arc, go back and re-read the Floor of Death arc (roughly chapters 230-260 of Season 2). It contains the most significant lore drops regarding Bam’s origin and the history of the Great Families, many of which are only now becoming relevant again in the current conflict. Also, keep an eye on the official WEBTOON translations, as fan translations often miss the specific honorifics and ranker titles that define the Tower's rigid social hierarchy.