In “Tower Dungeon 1” by Tsutomu Nihei we have the start of the classic story done in an interesting fashion.

The setup is one familiar to anyone who has ever entered a dungeon (either in games, on screen, or on page). Princess Ignelia is kidnapped by an evil monster. The army has failed to rescue her, in desperation they are forcing each village to give up “one body” to go rescue the princess. Yuva, the master bird feeder (as he sees himself), is a farm boy who volunteers to go, hoping to save his village from the curse that’s causing their crops to fail.

And off he goes. In chapter one, Yuva is ridiculed by the seasoned warriors, but soon his incredible strength and willingness to do anything starts to win over the Royal Guards. We quickly progress through the dungeon, breezing through the first 49 levels until we get to the first fight at the doorway to 50. On this level is a slime monster, and Yuva’s job is to use the barrel of salt he’s been carrying to finish the monster off. Chapter two has the forces regroup, although the rescued mage is left behind, and they make it to the 100th level where they encounter a fire-breathing dragon. Will they ever be able to rescue the princess?

A fantastic start to what promises to be an interesting series. Yes, these are stereotypical scenes from a stereotypical story, but so far the execution is what sets this apart. The graphics are sparse and linear, gothic black and white. The story seems to skip over many things (going from level 1 to 10 to 49!), but its necessary to get us to where we are. Looking forward to the next volume.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Kodansha Comics, Vertical Comics via NetGalley. Thank you!

Having read 'BLAME!' I was very interested in this as soon as I read the description. By the time I hit chapter 2 I was hooked- I hope I can continue to read this story! I know it is currently ongoing in Japan's print version of Shonen Jump- but not the American app. I hope to see it added soon!

This story offers a quick, efficient and clean setup/ intro to characters, getting right into the business before the end of chapter 1. Includes several architecture-focused panels reminiscent of 'BLAME!' but this time with castles! Just as you wonder how they can keep this up as an ongoing series they stop, scale it back- and set up a start over. Looking forward to reading the next chapters!!

I'll always take a look at anything Tsutomu Nihei does, even if his storytelling is a little vague -- like several panels are missing every couple of pages -- and his art is a little hard to follow, his characters a little hard to tell apart.

This seems to be a spin on a fairy tale, with a common farm lad tasked with rescuing a princess from a magical tower whose every level is loaded with danger.

It's a short book, so it just barely finishes setting the scene before the final page, leaving me primed to wonder what comes next.


Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 1. Yuva, Master Bird-Feeder -- Chapter 2. The Fire Mage and the Half-Dragon

This is a good dungeon craller but I have some qualms with it .
Yuva is a young farmer who is roped in to a dangerous mission to rescue a kidnapped princess. The journey is filled iwht monsters and creatures but I am missing some of that detail in the drawing.
I am not a fan of the art , its a bit too simplistic for me and I am missing those gritty gorey details of the dungeon details. The emotions of the characters are not dicernatble and the lines and impact of the situation is not communicated through the images we see.

Tower Dungeon is poised to be a good fit for fans of DnD. The plot is one we've seen before: a princess gets kidnapped by a monster & whisked away to the tallest point in the tower. Now, the kingdom sends every able bodied person to the tower to try and work through the many levels of traps and monsters to save her. The book is very plot focused, with little time spent on building character personalities, which made it difficult for me to connect with the story. I can see potential for growth as it continues, but not enough that I will continue the series.

Tower Dungeon is a brand new manga out. The simple plot is the princess is taking hostage atop a tower. Our MC Yuva, along with other knights and mages are tasked with saving her. Battling monsters as they ascend the tower.

It’s got a very dark souls vibe to it which I really enjoyed. So far, the monsters have had a lovecraft design to them, and are kinda unsettling. Which I’m all here for! The artwork is also decent and I’m enjoying that.

Some cons I’ve noticed so far.

The book doesn’t flow very well. I felt like there was panels or pages missing throughout as it would switch to a whole other scene pretty abruptly. Same goes for the story as well. Felt very stop and go throughout.

That’s said it’s only the first book. The Artwork and concept is enough to keep me intrigued for now, so I’ll check out the next Vol.

Synopsis
From the author of Blame! and Knights of Sidonia comes a new dark and gritty dungeon tale. The story follows Yuva, a farmboy drafted into a rescue mission to save a princess held captive in a towering dungeon. Alongside the knights, he must ascend through treacherous floors where twisted, malformed creatures lurk around every corner.


Thoughts
I’m a bit conflicted about this volume. The first chapter felt like a gritty dark fantasy with knights braving a grim tower dungeon to rescue a princess, while the second chapter shifted to a more narrative-driven style that almost felt disconnected. The inclusion of two nude scenes and a particularly questionable moment (page 137) also pulled me out of the story.

That said, I enjoyed the atmosphere and concept. The eerily horrific monster designs and bleak tone made for an unsettling but interesting read. There’s a sense of world-building that’s hinted at rather than fully explained, which adds to the mystery. The art style is striking and catches the decrepit, grotesque environment of the tower perfectly. I do wish that there was more character development, especially for Yuva, but in some ways the starkness suits the story’s tone.

Tower Dungeon is a very interesting kind of manga. It tells a story of a young farmboy Yuva who is sent to a towers where his kingdom's troops are trying to save the kingdom's kidnapped princess. The tower is filled with monsters that Yuva and his small group of companions need to defeat to progress further. There is also a hint of a political intrigue.

One word I can describe Tower Dungeon with is bare. The art is very neat and clean in its simplicity and details are saved for the monsters. There isn't much dialogue, backstory or explanation, which can be a turn off for a lot of people but for me it helped to establish an unsettling atmosphere. While I wish there was a little more to the characters we're introduced to, I am hoping they will be developed further in the next volumes and so far what we've got is enough to keep me interested.

There are also some naked women shots that I guess were supposed to be fanservice but they are so out of place and random that it doesn't feel like it. It doesn't seem like that type of manga so I'm not really sure what purpose was it supposed to serve, but be warned.

All in all, I'd gladly check out next volumes of Tower Dungeons, if only for atmosphere and the monster designs. It's a fast read so if you enjoy dark fantasy and dungeon crawling adventures, you should check it out.

Tower Dungeon is an incredible and unique take on the classic rescuing a princess from a tower/dungeon crawler fantasy adventure.
There’s a dreamlike, cozy quality to the art style that contrasts with its darker moments. Filled with strange and terrifying creatures occupying vast and unpredictable spaces, building a sense of uneasiness and fear.
The characters were each set up to be compelling in their own way, in particular Yuva.
A first volume I cannot wait to read more of and see how the mysteries unfold, perfect for anyone inclined to darker fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

A thrilling tale of adventure and mystery with a captivating setting. The author introduces the characters well. The artwork is detailed and enhanced the reading experience. Overall, the story's exciting plot twists and engaging characters make it a worthwhile read. The dungeon elements add layers of excitement.

"Tower Dungeon 1" serves as an introduction to a dark fantasy world with medieval elements. I enjoy a lot of mangas/manhwas where towers and dungeons are a key feature. I liked the premise for Tower Dungeon 1: small band of heroes must brave a tower filled with evil, otherworldly creatures to save their princess. For the most part, the story delivered a good set up and showed the stakes for the kingdom if the heroes fail. However, as much as I liked what I read, I couldn't shake the feeling that too much was left out.

Characters are given the bare minimum of development in this first volume. Yuva, our hero farm boy, showed the most promise as far as what his journey might look like in future stories. But by the end of this story, I realized I didn't know much about him. Yuva doesn't speak much in this volume, and his apparent super strength isn't explained at all.

The rest of the cast? I lacked any connection to them, which is too bad. But if there is one character type I groan to see in mangas it's the female mage who's introduced here. With unnecessary fan service (seriously, do her clothes blow off whenever she does magic? 'rolleyes' ) and the cliched, overly aggressive interactions with Yuva, I found her wholly unlikable. There were full-body views of naked women that had no reason to be there and didn't do jack for the story. The archer, though, had a slightly better introduction. Maybe he could be a solid companion for the more naive Yuva?

The art is classic manga. It helps to pull you into the story. I did have difficulty making out what was in a panel a few times.

Tower Dungeon 1 could be seen as a prologue to whatever comes next. I don't feel a lot of time was spent on this volume (i.e. backstory is missing and pacing was faster than I liked). Still, if you are a fan of towers and dungeons, this dark fantasy should be a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the review copy.

Very much essential for fans of Dark Souls and Elden Ring! A classically minimalistic, disturbing Japanese manga depicting a strange kingdom ruled by a mysterious class of dragon-human hybrids. We follow a naif peasant hero as he joins the Royal guard, climbing the eponymous massive flying tower filled with the semi-dead. The black and white line art is executed with panache and the story barrels along without waiting to explain anything - which draws you on even more.

The art of this was simple but evocative and I loved the story. The plot built up gradually and set up the board for the oncoming volumes pretty well. The characters were well written and while I couldn't relate to all of them, I think they were fleshed out.

I had been eyeing Tower Dungeon for a while and im mad that I sat on the fence for so long. This first volume is great. It does well to establish the world we'll return to with each new volume and shows us the core qualities of main character, Yuva. He's humble, strong, and has a yearning for adventure. The artsyyle is magnificent and somewhat minimalist while not sacrificing and detail. It reminds me a bit of Aposimz in its art direction.

The monster design is something special. When they mentioned that they'd be fighting a slime I had no idea I'd be laying my eyes on one of the best design slimes in fiction. The main villain is also some sort crazy eldritch horror which is always going to excite me personally.

Needless to say im excited to see where this series goes, I'll be buying this series for personal manga collection and I recommend others do the same while there's not too much to catch up on!

This is a 4 star volume 1 for me as it effectively sets the tone, introduces the main plot line and cast without feeling bloated and with a great art style to boot. This rating also reflects my anticipation to see where the story goes.

The incredible artwork of Tsutomu is jaw dropping as always. A great start to a dungeon crawler, but inverted of course! I will be following this series!

Yuva is an incredibly strong farm boy, who is sent on a mission to rescue the princess from the infamous tower with ever increasing difficult floors of monsters. The guards have already sent numerous warriors on this mission with only injury and death to show for it, and this is their last chance.

There isn't really much more to the story than that honestly. This first volume throws the reader straight in with very little backstory on how or why the princess was taken, and there is little character development throughout. Like many graphic novels, this manga attempts to use full page spreads with little text to tell the story. However, the art style used was very minimal with little detail, and it's entirely black and white. So sadly, I found Tower Dungeon to be a bit a disappointment with little story or art to ground it, the volume ended up being pretty surface level without much payoff.

A (classic) take on fantasy, or more specifically, fantasy RPGs with dungeons and combat. A colossal 100-level tower, strange creatures, and the rescue of a princess are the main ingredients. Nihei's minimalist—yet detailed—art complements the dark setting of the story, which unfolds across an endless dungeon filled with levels. There's mystery, creatures, magic, characters to explore, and vast structures I'm eager to explore.

Dungeon crawl intrigue begins with a decent premise and subtle character development. Time will tell if this is an average or great tale, but it starts on a good footing to warrant investigating book number two.

Thank you to Kodansha for the e-arc of this manga. This was such an interesting beginning to what I imagine will be a long, epic fantasy saga. The princess of the kingdom has been kidnapped and the line of succession is in crisis. The kingdom recruits people from many villages to slay the monster holding the princess captive and save her. This manga developed the backstory and a training (and beginning) arc for our main character Yuva and the team he’ll be a part of. An interesting twist on a common premise of old fairy tales, I’m certainly interested to continue reading when the next volume comes out.

4 ⭐️

the environment and the world definitely pulled me in. the artstyle is done in a simple yet effective way. can't wait to see where the story will go from here.