Warning: Death, violence, mild nudity and spoilers
Tragedy has struck the realm! A king is dead, and a princess is kidnapped. An evil necromancer hails a tower of overwhelming magnitude and whisks away his prize for who knows what. With a kingdom struggling for stability, the captain of the royal guard sends their finest to their doom. Now it’s up to a simple farmboy with an old hand-me-down helmet and shield and a small party to heed the call to duty and save the princess.
The Plot in a Nutshell
The Evil Necromancer kidnaps the princess and uses her to summon the Dragon’s tower. Hard to say at this point in the story, but it’s a good bet he needed her to continue his path towards something greater. But why her? Why not the king or any of the others of royal blood? Also, why kill the king at all? The most that will happen is that the kingdom will fall into turmoil. While the monarchy scrambles for power, trying to figure out who should ascend the throne, the necromancer would likely complete their plan unmolested. With just this one moment in this scene, it raises more questions than answers. Leave it to Tsutomu to leave very little in the first volume that would manifest so many misdirections.
It’s a Dangerous Business, Yuva, Going Out Your Door
The need for a character like Yuva takes place throughout their journey. When a humble farmboy befriends a group, beats the bad guy, saves the princess and ultimately becomes the hero of a kingdom, it doesn’t necessarily mean they knew what they were doing the whole time. It just shows that anyone of any status can become a hero. But even heroes need training, discipline, and an empty head ready to be filled with knowledge that aids them in overcoming the impossible. Yuva came from modest means and has shown qualities that have impressed a princess, the royal guard and a lesion of parliament. He may be showing promise now, but the fun is only beginning.
It’s Dracomorphs, not Animorphs
Is the royal family, the Dracomorph affliction and the dragon in the dragon’s tower somehow connected? It just seems too coincidental that there is a dragon on top of a tower that no one in their right mind would climb, but can be summoned with the help of someone who is of “royal” blood. And then there are talks of the kingdom being threatened by the tower itself or by the necromancer meddling with powers in conjunction with the tower. Sounds to me like someone has a secret to hide.
Soldier or Sovereign?
Even a monarchy is subject to the law, especially if its laws are set by the monarchy itself in order to keep itself in check. The royal parliament pays Minsabelle a visit and explains to her that her house believes it’s her time to claim the throne, or rather, claim it away from her older brother, already dubbing himself the Dragon King. Her sister’s gone, and the brother may or may not be being influenced by the Dracomorph affliction; either way, they’ve deemed him unfit to rule. Politics aside, Captain Minsabelle is not having any of it. Her priority is saving Ignella, not maintaining stability in the realm or wrestling an unwanted crown from a misshapen relative and becoming a puppet queen for the parliament.
Expectations: It’s Dungeon Meshi, but Without the Food
Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!, AposimZ, Biomega and Knights of Sidonia) has always made grandiose works of art with their manga instilling the feeling into their audience the magnitude of the world in each of their series. Tower Dungeon stands out with its skyscraping monoliths and mountaintop-style structures, making every step for the protagonist seem absolutely peerless. With this series only starting, and having read previous installments by the same author, this writer is rather skeptical of there being any intimate relationships with the characters. If there is going to be something between, let’s say Yuva and Lilicen, they’d better make it quick because if it’s anything like Tsutomu’s other manga, someone’s not going to make it at all.
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