Series: Tower Of Druaga – The Complete Series
UK Release date: 9th May 2011
Distributor: MVM
Certificate: 12
Running time: 600 mins
Director: Koichi Chigira
Genre: Anime
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Japan
Language: Japanese
Review by: Dave O Butnu
When most computer games are adapted to film or TV series, the results are often disappointing. We’re all familiar with the mass disappointment with such ventures as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and the Resident Evil franchise, and even Christian Slater couldn’t save Alone In The Dark from its straight to DVD destiny. Even if you thought these films were good, they by no means lived up to the stature of the games on which they were based. What can producers do to make computer game adaptations more enjoyable, especially in the eyes of the fans of the games they often butcher? The answer is, of course, to do things differently, and that is exactly what anime producers Gonzo have done with Tower Of Druaga.
As the title suggests, the series is about a huge tower, in the fantasy land of Uruk, which was built by an evil god called Druaga. At the top of the tower is a holy crystal rod, which is both fantastically powerful and incredibly valuable. This means that many of the citizens of Uruk set out to climb the tower in hope of getting the crystal rod and the countless other treasures littered around its many floors. However, the tower is no easy climb and is filled with armies of nasty monsters and malicious traps.
As Jil sets off with a group of fellow climbers, including his brother, it soon becomes clear that he has a lot to learn before he will be strong enough to reach the top of the tower. The group tell Jil to leave, so he finds new friends to climb with, who also turn out to be inexperienced climbers. Also climbing the tower is the mighty Army of Uruk and an evil assassin. Everyone seems to have different motives for climbing the tower and it soon becomes clear that they are not just competing with the tower, but each other as well…
You’ll be forgiven if you’ve never heard of a game called The Tower Of Druaga, since it was only released as an arcade game in Japan and the United States, way back in 1984. The game was a sort of action role-playing game and spawned a number of sequels on various consoles. The anime series uses the story of the game as its backdrop, but is set 80 years later and in a completely new and bigger tower.
So what does Tower Of Druaga do differently to its various other video-game-adapting counterparts? Well, firstly it doesn’t take itself as seriously. In fact, for the most part you could say it’s a comedy. The comedy employed is mostly quite slapstick, however, there are also a lot of jokes and references to the original game, role-playing games (as in Dungeons & Dragons) and computer games in general. In most cases, the jokes are really funny and will often catch you off guard, but some of the humour is a little lost in translation.
Tower Of Druaga takes even more from the original game by playing on the repetitive nature of such games. The characters make complaints about “yet another fight” and how “everything looks the same.” This approach actually seems to make it far more enjoyable than if the series had simply tried to be a serious adaptation.
The series also utilises the seemingly infinite sub quests that are another typical cliché of Japanese RPG games. In almost every episode we see the characters helping someone get their stolen wallet back or looking for their missing spear. This also shapes the narrative in to a more labyrinthine structure, which again seems even more ironic given that it is effectively set within a tower-shaped labyrinth!
Further to the constant sub quests, there is also a conspiracy sub plot as well as some sort of ancient prophecy which is gradually explained. Every episode brings completely new surprises, even though we all assume that we know what is going to happen next because of the countless clichés. The constant detours that the narrative takes us on distract us enough that by the time we end up back on track, we’ve forgotten that we knew where we were going!
Considering the aesthetic appearing to be directed more at younger audiences, Tower Of Druaga actually depicts some fairly adult content and themes. People actually die (the bad guys ruthlessly execute innocents), some characters even change gender at one point and, although we don’t see it, they discreetly joke about taboos such as masturbation and group sex.
Even more interesting are the opening credits to each episode, which show high school kids, who resemble the characters from the story, living their normal real world lives. Perhaps this suggests that the story portrayed in the series is merely an anime based on a group of children playing a role playing version of the game! Maybe we are just imagining that we are watching the DVD! Can any of this be assumed to be ‘real’?! To make things worse, the theme tune is incredibly catchy and you will find yourself humming it for days, despite not being able to understand the Japanese lyrics.
For anyone who isn’t too sure if they like anime, Tower Of Druaga is a good place to start. The episodes are only 25 minutes long and it will make you laugh throughout. Especially if you like playing games like Zelda or Final Fantasy. If you already know that you like anime, then you’ll definitely enjoy Tower of Druaga. This series is both insane and very funny, albeit very geeky at the same time! DOB
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