Tower of Druaga Part 2: The Sword of Uruk (2009) User Reviews

Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 8 November 2014]

This series follows on from 'Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk' so it is advisable to watch that first as it introduces most of the characters and their situation. Six months have passes since Gil defeated Druaga and was betrayed by half-brother Neeba and his friend Kaaya. Those two ascended into the 'Mythical Tower' leaving the rest of their groups to get on with their lives. That is just what they are doing when a mysterious girl, who is being pursued by soldiers, asks Jil to take her to the Mythical Tower. He forms a new group, including Fatina and Utu, who were previously with Neeba and a girl named Henero. As they climb once more they are pursued by soldiers who have press-ganged Melt and Coopa. Meanwhile things aren't going well in the kingdom; the previously benevolent King Gilgamesh is becoming more oppressive; something that appears to be connected to what is happening in the tower.

If you enjoyed 'The Aegis of Uruk' you are sure to enjoy this as it is more of the same… in a good way. Familiar characters return and some secondary characters are promoted to main characters. We also get to see some characters who were lost in a way that doesn't feel like a cop out; it is not a case of 'they didn't really die'. The character development is mostly limited to the 'new' protagonists; especially Fatina who effectively replaces Kaaya as the female lead. The ending is a bit of a let-down; the idea of defeating the 'final' enemy only to have one more against an unexpected for was a bit too cliché for my liking… still not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the series though. The humour seemed to be toned down a bit and the fan service increased although neither to too great a degree. As one would expect the animation was as good as before. Overall a decent second half of the story.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

The lesser of the two, but still a passable conclusion to a great adventure show

[Alfabeta · 5 July 2014]

Sometimes a sequel is better than or equal to the original. This is not the case here. This sequel to "Tower of Druaga: Part 1: The Aegis of Uruk (2008)" show fails to achieve the same level of story excellence (with some exceptions), tonal balance (there's almost no parody here and even comedy is hard to come by) or character likability (the new characters are mostly bland and forgettable).

The story begins several months after the end of the first show. The surviving heroes now lead unfulfilling boring mundane lives and especially Jil feels that their job is not done. They were betrayed by their closest allies and he needs to know why. Fatina, the warrior girl from Neeba's party, on the other hand tries to move on and forget about their climb, Neeba and the tower. She befriends Jil and they even begin going out together as friends. One night during a wrestling match where a strangely unrecognizable wrestler competes, a very small girl who looks a lot like Kaaya runs into them and asks them for help. Kaaya and Neeba are still in the tower, and only Jil can save them. Fatina is sick and tired of the tower, but Jil and others are more than willing to give it another try. When king Gilgamesh begins showing signs of madness and sends his men to capture the little girl and arrest anyone who opposes this, Fatina has no choice but to team up with Jil again. Their goal is to defeat Druaga again, gain entrance to the secret top of the tower where Neeba and Kaaya are and find them. To do this, they'll first need the rest of their former teammates, as well as some new additions. What they don't know is that the king's unstable mental state is closely tied to the whim of the ruler of the secret part of the tower and true lord of the tower who Neeba and Kaaya intend to kill.

Unlike in the first part, here the story is not so great and while the setup is not bad, the clumsy execution leaves a lot to be desired. The twists are forced and convoluted, motivations become questionable, dialog is alright, action is still fun and comedy moments, although severely toned down to the point of nonexistence as the show progresses, can still get you to laugh out loud. Especially fun episode is episode 03 where Jil's new party finally meets up with their old teammates and friends, smug wizard Melt and his adorable young assistant Coopa, who now run a more than morally questionable business as the heroes of the tower. While comedy can be found here and there, parody is almost completely removed and it only hurts the show, but then again, even the story itself, while it does tie up all the loose ends, is quite half-baked.

The old characters are still likable, but they have nothing new to do here and they end up being wasted most of the time, while the new characters are very unimaginative and stock. Even many story elements are rehashed. The only character who actually develops here is Fatina and her mini-arc is one of the strengths of the show.

Another strength of the show is the superb episode 07 where the heroes arrive on the floor where the mystical Mansion of Eternal Spring is located. There, every dead person that someone who's there truly misses automatically materializes and acts the way they are remembered. These are just friendly illusions and materialized memories, but they still provide the opportunity for those in mourning to spend some more time with those they lost and say goodbye to them. This is easily one of the best episodes in any fantasy adventure show.

English dubbing is still excellent, all of the actors are back and I can again recommend the English version.

Animation is still really fluid and appealing and it creates good atmosphere.

The tone of the show is completely unbalanced, and the show gets pretty bogged down towards the end, when all focus shifts on the overtly melodramatic conflict between Jil, Neeba and the Shadow King, the true master of the tower. These final episodes have no comedy or parody whatsoever.

Violence is still PG and it still never crosses into gruesome territory or horror.

Side-characters tend to die more often here, and there's not all that much point to their deaths, but since these people are pretty bland to begin with, nothing much changes with their departure, unfortunately.

Fan service is still very much present, including soft nudity and there's still at least one obligatory male or female bathing scene in each and every episode, although this could still be considered a parody of the fan service cliché. The problem with possible underage nudity is back as well and the show can again get downright uncomfortable when it throws in a scene of some character who looks very underage like Coopa taking a nude bath with little left to the imagination. These scenes are again not overtly sexualized, though, and they again don't last too long, so if you turn your head away for couple of seconds or hit fast forward, it still shouldn't bother you too much.

The ending of the show is quite poor and unimaginative when compared to the high expectation that the first show builds, but it's passable.

If you want epic adventure and memorable lovable characters crossed with a fun good-natured parody of the genre, go see the first show, but if you want to see how the story ends, or wish for more time with your favorite characters, give this a shot despite its faults. You won't be sorry you saw it, just that it wasn't better all in all.