The Tower of Druaga

I've got a confession to make. I initially hated the first episode of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". For those unfamiliar with this brilliant series, it's simply one of the finest animations ever made, and I nearly let it get away. All because the first episode is so extremely off-putting. The initial episode of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00", is an extremely challenging introduction to the series, so much so that I didn't start watching the rest of the series until almost a year after I'd first seen "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00". For some reason, I gave the series a second shot, and it soon became one of my favorites.

"The Tower of Druaga" isn't as good as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", but it's still very good. At first glance, I have every reason to love this series. A well-animated series about fantasy adventurers on a quest for a mystic treasure on the top of a tower filled with monsters? "SIGN ME UP!", I said. After watching the first episode, I very nearly gave up on this series too. Just like "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "The Tower of Druaga" starts with an episode that was so over-the-top, it totally ruined my first impression of the show. The next few episodes didn't help either, as the series was very slow to start up. It didn't help that the main character wasn't really all that interesting, as this is an important trait in any story. After seemingly having everything that I would enjoy, "The Tower of Druaga" nearly fell flat for me.

It wasn't until the 5th episode that the series finally hit its stride. The main character finally started to grow, as did the other characters around him. The story started ramping up immediately after that, and before I knew it I was done with the short 12 episode first season, known as "The Aegis of Uruk". Thankfully, the story didn't end there, as I plowed through the equally succinct 12 episode second season, "The Sword of Uruk".  Later on, I found out why I found the first episode to be so off-putting for me.  "The Tower of Druaga" is actually based on a very old video game, and the first episode is actually a parody of that video game.  Looking back, this allows me to look at that first episode in a new light and actually have some appreciation for it.

In the end, "The Tower of Druaga" is a great all-around anime. The humor is carefully balanced with the more serious moments, and there's plenty of action to be had through the entire run of the show. I can't recommend it enough for fans of not only anime, but also to fans of fantasy games and novels.