Tower Dungeon 2

タワーダンジョン [Tower Dungeon] #2

by Tsutomu Nihei, Marc Bernabé (Translator)

Yuva, who joined the Royal Guard, will climb the "Tower of the Dragon" in a party with the archer Eliquo and the hot-tempered magician Lilisen to rescue Princess Ignelia. But will their path be filled with difficulties...? The second volume of Nihei Tsutomu's labyrinth exploration fantasy, depicting a world of swords and magic!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2024

About the author

See also 弐瓶 勉.

Tsutomu Nihei (弐瓶 勉 Nihei Tsutomu, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist. His cyberpunk-influenced artwork has gained a strong cult following. He has a relatively large community of fans in Germany where his manga Blame!, NOiSE and Biomega were published by Ehapa. Blame! was also published in France and Spain by Glénat, in the US by Tokyopop and in Italy by Panini Comics.

At first he studied architecture and later it is shown up in his manga works with drawing huge structures. This became one of his general theme that makes his manga unique. His works are usually in black and white. He is also an avid fan of the video game series Halo, as he mentions in his commentary section in the Halo Graphic Novel.

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_...

Reviews

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

EN Spectacular! Tsutomu Nihei is, without a doubt, a true master.

I love the simplicity he manages to bring to everything he does — a simplicity that never weakens his work, but instead enhances its visual and emotional power.

Straightforward, beautiful stories, epic settings, and charismatic characters we connect with almost instantly.

Really, really good.

--

PT Espectacular! Tsutomu Nihei é, sem dúvida, um verdadeiro mestre.

Adoro a simplicidade que ele consegue aplicar em tudo o que faz — uma simplicidade que nunca empobrece, mas antes reforça a força visual e emocional da sua obra.

Histórias diretas e belas, cenários épicos, personagens carismáticas com quem criamos empatia quase imediata.

Muito bom, mesmo.

[Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seguindo a jornada no universo de Tower Dungeon, nesse segundo volume, vamos acompanhar uma narrativa que mescla a aventura dos protagonistas, com um pouco de humor, conversa entre amigos e um suspense/apreensão no final.

Essa junção, consegue agradar o leitor que busca uma conexão com os personagens e o desenvolvimento entre eles, bem como o público que busca um aprofundamento da trama e do universo.

Após derrotaram o chefe no volume anterior, Yuva, Eliquo e Lilisen continuam a exploração da masmorra, ao mesmo tempo que precisam sobreviver no local com recursos escassos.

No meio disso, eles conhecem uma figura misteriosa, que por um motivo inusitado, os ajudam e eles descobrem uma escadaria que irá ajuda-los na exploração futura.

Após esse descobrimento, os herois saem da masmorra e retornam a cidade, onde somos apresentados a raças diferentes de humanos desse universo - lembrando muito os universos de fantasia e RPG.

Na cidade, eles encontram a irmã de Yuva, e ficam sabendo de mudanças que estão ocorrendo no reino por causa da princesa sequestrada.

Ademais, o grupo de heróis retorna para a masmorra e embarcamos novamente para a exploração, já com um gancho para a próxima edição.

Por fim, sem revelar muito sobre a trama, esse segundo volume contou com mais detalhes sobre a organização política do universo, enquanto demonstrou as contradições que a sociedade vive - inclusive com semelhanças ao nosso mundo real - em que a nobreza explora e se diverte com os menos favorecidos.

[Isabela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sem nenhuma pretensão de ser um mangá memorável, mas… o que é isso?!
Eu sou suspeita porque adoro esse universo, mas estou realmente surpresa pelo tanto que é bom.
Só espero que continue nessa intensidade, porque isso daqui vou acompanhar até o final.

Trata-se de um grupo que é convocado para resgatar uma princesa que foi sequestrada por um necromante e está presa no topo de uma torre gigantesca. É literalmente uma exploração de dungeon, com monstros, criaturas bizarras e perigos a cada andar!!!

[Garrett M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles better than volume 1

[Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

El guion es un poco de receta de presentación de escenario: un encuentro fortuito por aquí, un villano que la lía con uno de los personajes por acá, un final que amenaza con dejar tieso a alguien del trío protagonista... Pero Nihei lo ilumina con ese arte estilizado con figuras bosquejadas con un mínimo de líneas, muy basado en las manchas blancas y negras, en las antípodas del detallismo de Berserkr, Record of the Lodoss War o Bastard (por ejemplo). Y qué bien funciona.

[Jeremy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh this was so so good

[Štěpán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naive ordinary hero, who is not that ordinary, with a heart of gold, unknown heritage and secrets, is a staple of fantasy and put in an unforgiving world, makes for a fun read. The stylised art helps in selling the atmosphere, and the world slowly expands, just lovely.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Numerous monsters, threats spoil the threesomes journey up the Dragon Tower to rescue the Princess.
A seemingly simple premise but with great art snd settings and lots happening.

[Max Freese · Rating 5 out of 5]

YO this series is awesome. highly highly recommend.

[Drake Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t understand how the art is both so simple and so good. The story too, like there isn’t any “fat” on anything. We did have more of an actual structure with chapters and official spreads for the chapter pages but still very simple even in how those were executed. I’ve never been so captivated by an art and story style like this before. This is starting to be poised to be my new favorite manga series since Kingdom or Color of the End. Color of the end is a lot more similar to this in the pacing, story structure, and it also has monsters, which I always love. The focus is less on character interactions and dialogue and more through visual story telling but they both do so much with so little.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series so far. Getting a better feel for the characters while little hints of the world’s history continue to get dropped all while keeping a brisk, entertaining pace. The line art is ephemeral and the poses are naturalistic, giving the whole thing a very emotive and free flowing visual look. I find myself filling in the blanks in my mind of how these figures move between panels, rather than how more detailed illustrations can sometimes feel like a disconnected collage of images on the page.

[Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gusta tanto el estilo de dibujo pfff

[Davi Bampi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was even better than the first volume! It features more world building, showing two new races which inhabit this world, more mechanics to the magic system (even if just a little), and it expands on the initial premise.

I thought it was going to be more like the Black Company series, in which we follow this large group of characters in their mission, but because the events we saw in the ending of vol 1, things are more personal and leaning more in the old-school vibe of the story. Our heroes must not only try to reach the top of the tower but also compete with other groups and rivals with their own interests.

The stakes grow in this one, I'm definitely way more hooked!

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best thing i have ever laid my hands on ever

[Irving Aragón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mejoró mucho la historia y creció el mundo. Ya me encariñé con algunos personajes y otros me dan bastante miedo porque se sienten desalmados y crueles. Es una historia muy entretenida hasta ahora pero lo que más me intriga sigue siendo la torre y los mutantes. Espero que no sea un mistery box en manga pero hasta ahora va genial.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

love me a cool magic system

[Rocío García]

Se está poniendo un poco turbia la cosa.

[Dp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read a book so fast. Loved the introduction of new characters with exception to one, HE GAVE ME THE CREEPS.

[Mangrii · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 / 5
Bastante chulo el 2° volumen del «Tower Dungeon» de Tsutomu Nihei y su espíritu de dungeon crawler con (mucho) worldbuilding🔥

[Anthony Perazone · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Alessandro Parisi]

Yuva, Eriquo e Lilisen proseguono la loro esplorazione della Torre, ma il gruppo fatica a mantenere la giusta sintonia. Le difficoltà di orientamento e le tensioni interne rendono la missione ancora più complicata. Durante uno scontro improvviso, Lilisen riesce a dimostrare la propria forza: grazie alla sua abilità di fuoco, elimina un potente mostro che li aveva attaccati.

Una notte, mentre i tre dormono, una misteriosa creatura umanoide ruba i loro oggetti. Dopo un inseguimento, i cavalieri riescono a recuperare il bottino e, con l’aiuto di alcuni umani che vivono stabilmente all’interno della Torre, trovano finalmente la via per le scale e l’uscita.

Fuori dal Dungeon, i tre si concedono una pausa per mangiare, ma la tregua dura poco: Funapa, la sorella di Yuva, viene ferita gravemente da un enorme mostro antropomorfo chiamato Karash, noto come “mangiauomini”.
La situazione sembra disperata, ma interviene Garamna, una guardia donna-bestia, che salva Funapa e costringe Karash alla fuga.

Funapa viene portata nella fortezza, dove rimane al sicuro, mentre Garamna giura di proteggerla a costo della vita.

Nel frattempo, Yuva subisce un duro colpo: un gruppo di vandali gli ruba la sfera curativa (orb) che aveva recuperato nel Dungeon dopo aver sconfitto uno slime — un oggetto prezioso e dalle proprietà misteriose.

Poco dopo, si scopre che una contessa del regno è in realtà un Darkmetamor, una creatura della stessa razza di Karash. Quest’ultimo tenta di raggiungere la principessa per salvarla, ma il suo piano fallisce.

Il volume si chiude con il ritorno del trio nella Torre, dove viene attaccato da un’unità di soldati reali disertori, i quali, per sopravvivere, si sono abbandonati al caos e ora agiscono per conto proprio, seminando morte e distruzione nei piani inferiori del Dungeon.

[Ignis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le tome 2 permet de mieux découvrir les deux autres personnages qui forment l'escouade réduite de la garde royale avec notre Yuva. J’apprécie particulièrement Lilisen que l'on retrouve sur la couverture. C'est une marge de feu assez exigeante envers elle-même et les autres. Elle est aussi intransigeante avec notre héros qui est un peu naïf. Cela fait une dynamique intéressante dans ce groupe dont le chef ne semble pas très bien tenir la pression. Il y a donc des petits moments d'humour parsemés ici et là, mais sans que cela ne me semble forcé.

Je suis aussi emballé de voir que l'univers de Tower Dungeon se dévoile davantage au fil des chapitres. Malgré ce que l'on pourrait penser, le focus n'est pas seulement sur ce qui se passe à l’intérieur de la tour (cela reste évidemment l'élément principal de l'intrigue). On en apprend notamment un peu plus sur les dracomorphes qui ne sont pas tous des enfants de cœur. D’ailleurs, l'immense tour des dragons donne lieu à de superbes planches dont les compositions accentuent l'aura intimidante de la structure. Je prend le temps de m'arrêter quelques instants sur plusieurs pages pour admirer les dessins du mangaka. Ce deuxième tome est excellent!

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way this is drawn. Simple, compelling, effective. Every manga doesn’t have to have over the top art.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep reading the series because I didn’t like how Lillicen’s character was presented in the first volume. I also didn’t like the panel where in doing her magic her dress flies up for no reason. I changed my mind about continuing when I watched a video on YouTube about “Tower Dungeon” that mentioned an interview where Nihei said he felt pressure to make his female characters sexy or show them in a more sexual manner.

It pissed me off that someone of his caliber still had that kind of pressure put upon them and that he couldn’t or didn’t push back. But I was also curious if it showed up in later volumes or if it was the first volume has to do well so I’ll compromise sort of situation.

“Tower Dungeon” has five volumes available and the English volumes come out quickly, so it’s doing well. Volume 2 was not overly sexual to me. I liked it better than Volume 1, so much so that it felt like it went by too fast. I think Eriquo, Lillicen and Yuva are a good trio. The other characters were good additions. I like that there are good female characters that all looked different but normal looking bodies and they had their own things going on.

I love that Yuva falling advances the story.

I’m hoping each volume gets better.

[HowardtheDuck95 · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a moment in here, like a quarter of the way in, that just made me stop, stare stone faced, and go “I need to get the rest of this, stat.”

It’s a fairly silent moment, but it has a real kind of unnervingly beautiful quality to it that just made me realize this is going to be a ride. I don’t want to spoil it, just that it doesn’t go the way you expect it to, and it’s so good for that. Instead it’s like a key being put in a door, and the rest of the series world within and beyond the tower starts to open up.

This is followed by some really good stuff. Nihei really knows how to layer in the fun, cute little moments, with some real dark swings. Like a hammer wrapped in velvet. It results in higher highs than the first volume, but I can’t give it full marks for one big reason.

The volume ends in a way I can only describe as “if I didn’t have the third volume by the time I got to it, I’d want to punch the mangaka.” Trust me, pick it up before you finish this or else you will leave mad.

[Nimbuhlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My initial worry that this manga would be just another bland fantasy work has all but left me after reading this volume. Its really opening up to be its own thing, with the dragon-humanoid race and their inherent political strife. Our main trio has a familiar interplay and if I were being cynical would describe them as the quiet reliable one, the glass cannon tsundere and the protective and observant big brother. While these archetypes may be well established to the point of being cliche I find this rendition a comfort, not a fault. Not every story needs to revolutionize every aspect, some can just be great in their earnestness. In that somber earnestness I sense strong notes of Frieren and that makes me feel that my expectations will be betrayed and my heart will be ripped out. Perhaps that expectation is misled as well.

[Enol Martínez Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume Two: After introducing the world of Tower Dungeon and sketching out its basics, we delve deeper into the quest of our three protagonists, alongside the introduction of new characters who are sure to feature more prominently in subsequent volumes. The world-building expands and deepens; we encounter new races and adversaries, and the motives for rescuing the princess vary: from altruism and loyalty to greed and ambition. The inclusion of more shape-shifters and the aura surrounding them makes me wonder what the future holds for this saga.

For now, the three protagonists—Eliquo, Lilisen and Yuva—strike me as a group that still needs to go through crucial, defining moments to see how they will be brought together. That said, Lilisen’s relationship with Yuva I hope that later in the story, the two of them will give us moments where they can develop their relationship further.

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ad inizio volume i nostri eroi si perdono, ma durante l’esplorazione incontrano delle creature che rivelano loro una rampa di scale che parte dal primo livello fino ad arrivare all’ottantesimo: top scorciatoia.
Una volta tornati alla fortezza scoprono che ci si e’ trasferita anche Funapa, la sorella minore di Yuva. La sera stessa viene attaccata dal marchese Karash, un depravato e ripugnante mutaforma. Viene però salvata da Lilisen e Garamna, valorosa guardia dalle fattezze feline di cui Funapa diventa poi apprendista/assistente.
Viene introdotto anche il personaggio della Contessa Ieoa, anche lei una mutaforma ma buona, che vuole essere lei a salvare la principessa.
Si conclude con un cliffhanger in cui i nostri vengono attaccati da disertori dell’armata reale.

[Pcabrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

En este segundo tomo de “Tower Dungeon”, el autor Nihei profundiza notablemente en el World Building, revelando más detalles del intrigante universo que rodea a nuestro trío protagonista. Las interacciones entre Lilisen y Yuva destacan especialmente, ofreciendo momentos muy divertidos, aunque resulta curioso que Yuva, a pesar de ser el protagonista principal, mantenga por ahora un perfil bastante discreto en la historia.

La narrativa de Nishei continúa fluyendo de forma equilibrada, avanzando sin pausa pero sin prisa, lo que mantiene el interés en todo momento. En cuanto al arte, se mantiene fantástico, destacando su trazo sencillo pero cargado de un atractivo especial que encaja perfectamente con la temática de fantasía y proporciona una sensación de escala impresionante.

Estoy disfrutando mucho cómo se desarrolla esta historia y la verdad es que espero con ganas el siguiente tomo.

[Pedro Faria · Rating 3 out of 5]

hmmmm...
It's pretty interesting but a little conventional.
It has all the classic hangups of Japanese media: submissive protagonist, hot-headed boundary breaking side characters who ruin everyone's mood, world building through exposition, lengthy dialogue...
But the world is so cool. The titular "Tower Dungeon" is so daunting, a floating tower bigger than a mountain with labyrinthine grimy corridors and sense-bending side effects...
And the art. It is the perfect balance between simplicity and grittiness. Nihei is always a master of manga, even if the story can fall a little flat.
Still a few chapters to read till I catch up. Hopefully, the narrative picks up.

[deLibroenLibroconAJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yuva, Lilisen y Eliquo son los únicos de la guardia real que siguen adentrándose en la torre en su misión de rescatar a la princesa. También llegan nuevos personajes al fuerte y empieza a haber más vida a los alrededores de la torre. Conocemos también a dos poderosos drac metamorphs y a otros seres.

No hace falta que reitere lo increíble que son los diseños de las criaturas de Nihei, ni que nos cuenta una gran historia que se va a haciendo cada vez más interesante solo con mostrarnos paneles sin texto.