The Tower of DRUAGA -the Aegis of URUK-

It's your basic RPG comedy with a silly but sincerely meant positivist message about "heart" at it's core. Not terribly original, granted. Based on an old coin-op game. It has a plot but doesn't linger over it very long before making fun of sword and sorcery. A much souped up version of stuff like Ragnarok the Animation, but in my opinion much funnier than other stuff in that family of junk. The characters are more interesting, and the jokes are less stupid, and the send up of RPG convention is clever. I especially like the self-involved golf-playing business man adventurer.

Gonzo did a supremely good job with the animation, it looks great. I'm not sure where some people though the characters had no facial expressions. They certainly do... there is no over the top break with realism for comic effect you often see in other anime, and say, vintage looney toons... but, really, it's not Noh or Polar express.

An anime based on a classic arcade game of the same name. The main character of this show is Jil, a young man who is far stronger than normal and skilled with a shield. Jil's goal is to reach the top of the vicious tower of druaga and defeat the evil god at the top, as king Gilgamesh had done single-handedly in the past, and become a hero. For the sake of reaching the top of the tower, Jil joins a guild of other climbers. these climbers include a lancer, a mage, a magical golfer and his caddy. In their journey to the top the group will fight with monsters, outsmart magical traps, play videogames, and tangle with the greatest danger of all, the other guilds.

The first episode of this anime is one of the greatest episodes in any anime ever, period. This episode perfectly lampoons the genre of anime while also celebrating it, laughing along with the viewers. At the end of this episode it is revealed that this whole episode was Jil's dream. It is at this point that I would suggest you stop watching The tower of Druaga.

The rest of the show isn't bad really, it just tries and fails to be something that it's not, something meant to be taken seriously. What makes it fail so hard is the bone dry dialogue and emotionless characters, not the "vicious assassin" emotionless, but the "the director forgot to give the characters facial expressions" emotionless. It is this lack of emotion that really destroys the Tower of Druaga as a show. The character Coopa, a cute, witty young girl, suffers the most from this lack of emotion, what I remember most about her is not her banter with her boss, but her empty, soulless eyes.When characters started dying later in the series, I just didn't care because I had no feelings invested in them.

The show does get a point for trying though. The situations that Jil's guild gets into are very funny in theory, but are often poorly executed or stop just short of being something great.

The animation in this show is actually quite good, but the lack of facial expressions was quite noticeable. the fighting sequences are good, but none are very memorable. There was no real issues with the sound of the show, the opening theme was quite catchy and fun, but there were no musical themes that are worth recalling.
The story adds unnecessary layers to the show, most of these layers are not even important to the main narrative.

the show continually hints at what it is supposed to be, an funny and entertaining adaptation of a little known arcade game. It's these breif glimpses of what the show was supposed to be that will keep viewers watching, waiting for the tower of druaga to become whatever it was meant to be. But it never does. The tower of Druaga is ultimately disappointing and accidentally soulless.

At first glance, Tower of Druaga looked like a questionable venture. Translating a top scrolling video game into an anime is risky business full of pitfalls and Gonzo, despite having many good ideas, often fails in the area of execution. However, after watching the entire series, I have to admit that it’s a pretty good show. Compelling characters, a healthy amount of artistic license, a quirky sense of humor, and a catchy opening sequence make Tower of Druaga one of the best anime of its season and Gonzo’s best offering to date.

Tower of Druaga is set in a bizarre combination of ancient Sumeria* and medieval Europe, with mechanics that suggest a generic RPG. The main feature of this world is the tower of Druaga, which groups of climbers ascend in search of the blue crystal rod, an artifact that will supposedly grant its holder one wish. This plot is admittedly very corny, but the anime actually acknowledges this and has fun with it. The setting lends itself to jokes about the original game, generic rpgs, and the lemming like quality of the kingdom’s regular army, which is composed of red shirts... It also is an excuse for bringing together an eccentric cast of characters that each want the rod for a different purpose.

Without spoiling too much, the characters are well introduced and have an extra dimension over ordinary Gonzo characters. Each has a unique perspective, goal, and set of character flaws. Even the cliche rpg style characters have a hidden aspect to them that makes them unique.

In conclusion, Aegis of Uruk is an excellent anime that is well worth watching. Make it past ep. 4 and you won’t regret it.

*Wiki the epic of Gilgamesh. It’s one of the oldest stories known and it’s actually pretty messed up.

El anime está basado en una serie de videojuegos que consta de cuatro partes principales y unos cuantos sidequests y extras. El videojuego original salió en 1984 para arcade y producción de Namco.

Personalmente me encantó el anime desde el primer capítulo. No sé por que razón en los géneros oficiales no pusieron comedia, porque yo me la pasé riendo todos los 24 minutos que dura. Pasan todos los clichés habidos y por haber del género de aventura durante ese primer capítulo y de una manera tan despreocupada que no puedes evitar quedar enganchado.

Cualquiera que haya jugado alguna vez un RPG, y sobretodo un MMORPG entenderá de que va esto. Es un grupo o 'party' que van en una misión épica a derrotar el mal y en el camino encuentran otros monstruos y tesoros. Va el típico Guardían, un par de Magos, un Arquero, un Ninja, un Óraculo y algunos otros.

La serie está plagada de detalles ñoños (en la buena expresión de la palabra). Están las obvias referencias al trabajo que desempeña cada clase y también referencias directas al videojuego original. En una parte el protagonista entra a una mini torre que está dentro de la Torre de Druaga, y el resto de su party se queda afuera. La Chica que es el Oráculo deposita una moneda en una maquinita de arcade y toma control de él desde ahí y todo se ve en 8-bits. Incluso hay una tienda al lado donde les prestan una guía del mini juego.

Los previews del próximo episodio también son todos en 8-bits. Incluso en uno de los capítulos sale Masanobu Endo, el creador de la saga, y dice que se asombra de que pudieran pasar ese juego hace tantos años, cuando no había internet.

Hay una segunda temporada, The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk, que apenas comencé a ver, pero ya empezaron las ñoñerías desde el capítulo 1, donde sale una chica vestida de Chun Li.

En general es una serie altamente recomendada, sobretodo para los gamers y amantes del RPG y MMORPG. El final no es algo que no te esperes, pero la aventura está tan épica que te atrapa.

This series was AMAZING :D
It's only 12 episodes (there's two seasons though so , just 24 episodes). If you have nothing else to watch and not alot of time to watch anything, this is perfect for you. I was kindof taking a break from all the popular 100+ shows, and was looking for something good that isn't too long. I just finished Death Note so I wanted something rather funny and had just a little action and I stumbles across this.
The first episode is rather funny though, it may get you not to watch the rest of the series, which is totally up to you. But come, don't judge an anime by just the first episode.
As you go through the anime, you get to see new amazing characters, you also get to embark on the journey with the heroes .
The music was great, I loves the opening and the ending was just amazing :D
So I recommend this anime, go watch it now, you should NOT be reading this right now..
By the time you finish reading this I would probably be done with the second season from how good it is XP
(the animation is great for a show made in 2008 btw) SO GO WATCH IT NOW!!!!!!

The Tower of Druaga is one of the most fun and original Anime series I have ever seen...PERIOD!!! This show makes you feel like you are in a world between a video game and an anime series, so it appeals to viewers on two levels. The characters and plot are complex, but not overly so, and the varying forms of animation keeps the viewers on their toes. With each new episode I found myself wondering what suprises would be in-store. My only two criticisms are as follows: 1. I feel like this series could have been drawn out to 24 episodes instead of only half that. 2. The second half of the series does not follow the same format as "The Tower of Druaga" and in my opinion is significantly inferior, but I will not go into detail as this review is strictly for the Tower. This is a great Anime Series for both people just starting to watch Anime and people like myself who have been Anime fans for decades! Plus, the plots can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from children to full grown adults.