Tower of God is one of the most popular titles to ever grace the WEBTOON platform, and for good reason. The veritable odyssey is one of the most creative worlds to come out of any story in years and the characters are just as layered as the tower they seek to conquer. The series has seen tremendous success on WEBTOON and went on to receive an anime adaptation which recently concluded its second season. On the heels of all of the movement for the series, its creator, SIU, made his first ever visit to the United States and Anime Expo. Fans in North America were treated to an opportunity to engage with the author. Alongside that, members of the press sat down for a roundtable with SIU to discuss his career, Tower of God, and the WEBTOON platform writ large.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.
Q: I understand this is your first American visit. How do you feel, and how does it feel meeting all of your United States fans in person?
A: The weather is great, the food’s delicious, and the readers are very passionate. They definitely know what they like, and will tell me what they like. A lot of them have told me things that they’ve been thinking about for a very long time. And even though it’s my first time meeting them, it feels like meeting people I’ve known for a very long time.
Q: You’ve named characters after football players and made references to real life pop culture and literature. Where do music references factor in, and are there any other pop culture references we can look forward to?
A: Recently, I’ve actually been trying to refrain from making a lot of references. And especially with Tower of God, I feel like with the football player references it’s mainly because it’s a battle story. So there are positions that have connections with the sport a lot. And the tower is a very multicultural setting in and of itself, and when it comes to music or football, there are a lot of different cultures around the world enjoying them. So I believe that in the future if there are any other similarities or points that come across I will probably be using them.
Q: Tower of God has been around for so long and is such a big property. How do you feel like you have grown as a creator since the manhwa began? Do you feel like your storytelling senses are sharper? What do you feel like is the one area that you really feel like you’ve improved on since the since the first chapters?
A: When it comes to plot elements, what’s important is trying to keep it going. Because when something is first introduced, it’s refreshing, but it can also become boring. So as a creator, I feel like in the long term what’s important is not boring the readers. That’s what I would like to say is important. As is probably the case for a lot of creators who work on long-running series, I don’t want to bore the readers, but also make sure that they are enjoying what they’re reading and trying hard to maintain that enjoyment. So as long as readers are reading, I will also try my best to make sure to do that.
Q: You mentioned hearing some of these things that fans have been thinking about for a long time. Do you have a favorite thing you’ve heard while here at Anime Expo, and do you think that’s going to influence your storytelling in the future?
A: At least from yesterday, something that made me a little proud and was great to hear is people saying “I made friends through reading Tower of God.” That was really the most impressionable thing that I heard yesterday. When a person enjoys a comic alone, it’s just enjoying it and having fun. But when everyone can come together, it becomes a culture, I believe. So I was very proud to hear that. And I wish it can continue to become a culture within everyone’s circle who enjoys it. Sort of like how events like this become a big part of culture. And hopefully that will continue and probably will affect my work in some way.
Q: You mentioned in the past that you came up with the ideas for Tower of God while doing your military service. Are there were any aspects of the story that changed significantly from the time you first started thinking about it to when it was actually published?
A: Rather than a change, I feel that, as a person, I got older. So there’s that natural change. And I also changed the way that I think, but more than myself, the readers are also changing. So rather than me as a creator, the readers are changing, the market’s changing, and culture’s changing. That’s usually where I probably get a lot of my inspiration from, too. The difference between when I was doing my military service and now is freedom. There’s more freedom.
Q: Recently, Urek Mazino’s spin-off was announced. There are a lot of characters, so why Urek Mazino of all the characters?
A: Well, Mazino’s popular. He has the direct opposite personality from Bam. And there is a certain type of main character style or characteristics that a lot of creators think about, and both those characters have those main character characteristics. But it felt like Mazino had those characteristics to lead a story, and that’s why he was the main focus. And I think one day, making a main character who isn’t your typical main character might be a fun story to work on as well.
Q: How do you feel about the trajectory of your series across a decade and a half in a manhwa industry that’s grown exponentially?
A: There’s a lot going on; it’s a little confusing. For example, when thinking of Japanese comics, a lot of creators seem to already be established once they are publishing, and there’s a market that exists for them to publish. And I feel like when it comes to Korean-style webcomics, WEBTOON in particular, it is now finding its footing being established and expanding as well. The approach and feeling of when you’re on the periphery versus when you’re in the middle of things is different, obviously. So if I’m able to continue doing what I do, I want to be able to do what I can from the center of everything rather than being on the periphery of things.
Q: Why do you think Tower of God in particular has proven to be so popular across the world? What do you think it is about Tower of God that made it such a good ambassador for manhwa across the world?
A: Actually, I’m not really sure. I think at the time, people who were familiar with reading Japanese comics wanted something new, but not entirely unfamiliar. And this is something familiar, yet new at the same time. And this is probably why people gravitated towards it. Because, to be honest, I was influenced by Japanese comics. Now, rather than creators who are influenced by Japanese comics, with more Korean webcomics coming out, there’s a generation of Korean comic creators who are more influenced by Korean comics. So now it kind of feels like there’s sort of this market differentiation happening. And so some of that popularity is probably due to that.
Q: Talking about the market differentiation is really interesting, especially to readers who are new to manhwa. How are the formats different? How is manhwa continuing to create its own voice?
A: So the first difference is, of course, the platform that it’s available on. Japanese comics are still mostly published in print, whereas in Korea, you start with the web for your comic. Another difference is definitely how quick things are. For example, It’s quicker to meet readers needs — you get reader feedback much more quickly and it’s also quicker to apply that feedback. The growth is probably quick because of that. With Japanese comics, for example, it’s not until the first or second volume where you start getting reader feedback, as opposed to Korean webtoons where it’s one or two episodes and you’re immediately hearing back from readers. And then you can apply whatever feedback you hear from them based on that. And obviously it’s a format that has its pros and cons. So it’s not to say which one’s right or wrong, of course. But there are the pros of being able to do things a bit more quickly.
Q: As you mentioned earlier, there are tons of characters in your stories and they all have unique personalities and unique dispositions. When you make a story, its world, its structure, and its characters, do those characters usually come first or do you make the plot first and create the characters around what the plot demands?
A: I tend to come up with the story first and then the characters. And this is probably kind of similar for other folks, but once you do that the character moves on its own in a way. The character chemistry might also develop in a way differently than what I initially thought. And depending on what happens, readers will like or hate the character. Usually the story tends to lead where the characters go at first. But after a while, it’s the characters that start leading the story.
We’d like to thank SIU for taking the time to speak with members of the press, the folks at WEBTOON for helping to organize the roundtable, and the staff of Anime Expo for putting on such a wonderful convention. Tower of God is available to read on WEBTOON.
Images courtesy of WEBTOON.
Participate In Discussions