Product Details

• Actors: Todd Haberkorn, J. Michael Tatum
• Directors: Zach Bolton
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Japanese, English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Funimation Prod
• DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
• Run Time: 280 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002MXZYH2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,196 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The fantasy-adventure Tower of Druaga (2008) is based on an arcade game that was released in 1984 and later remade for more sophisticated platforms. Jil is an inexperienced Guardian, one of several roles taken by people who attempt to climb the 60 floors of the Tower of Druaga. Anyone who can reach the top and slay the evil god Druaga will be rewarded with the Blue Crystal Rod that grants any wish. Assembling a fairly standard group of misfits, Jil sets out to conquer the Tower. At times, Tower of Druaga plays like an episode of .hack//SIGN restaged by the cast of Gurren Lagann. Voice actor Todd Haberkorn infuses Jil with much of the upbeat enthusiasm he brought to Tajima in Big Windup, and the show needs all the energy it can get. Subplots multiply like coat hangers in the back of a closet, and there's a plethora of secondary characters who contribute little to the storytelling. The Aegis of Uruk stops, rather than ends, with most of the plot left unresolved. Presumably, some of the dangling story points get sorted out in the sequel The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk (2009). (Rated TV 14: violence, brief nudity, risqué humor, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

(1. The Great Tower of Druaga, 2. Meskia, City in the Tower, 3. Before We Depart, 4. Band of Hands, 5. Ziusudra's Trap, 6. The Lightning Bridge, 7. Dance with the One-Winger, 8. The Legendary Tower, 9. 11:09, 10. At Summer's End, 11. As But a Single Shield, 12. You Zapped to…)

Product Description

TOWER OF DRUAGA PART 1:AEGIS OF URUK - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Video Game Turned Excellent Anime, October 30, 2009

By 

ONENEO (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Tower of Druaga: Part One - The Aegis of Uruk (DVD)

Solid fantasy anime is few and far between but that's simply not the case in the video game world where fantasy titles have reigned supreme since the days of programming in Basic. Wisely, a few companies have taken note of this fact and rather than simply tool a new fantasy realm from the ground up, transfer an established video game title into the animated medium. Enter The Tower of Druaga from FUNimation.

Released across a pair of discs (thin packs within a cardboard outer slipcase), The Tower of Druaga Part 1 consists of episodes 1-12 and comes in at a total runtime of 280 minutes. It wears an appropriate TV 14 rating due to violence and light supernatural imagery.

Language options are standard sub & dub with both an English dub (Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround) and original Japanese soundtrack (stereo) & the choice of English subtitled if so inclined to turn them on.

Extras are nice and thorough and include A Tale Told Twice: An alternate look at the first episode, an English commentary track over the 5th episode, textless songs, a host of FUNimation trailers on the second disc.

The story goes something like this: Summer comes to a mystical land once every five years (called the Summer of Anu here), and it is during this time that monsters hidden away within the mysterious Tower of Druaga lose their powers thanks to the intercession of an idol appropriately named "Anu".

Each Summer of Anu, the armies of the Uruk Kingdom secure their strongholds within the Tower, aiming to eventually conquer the upper floors in these periods where the demons' powers are at their weakest. It's been 60 years since the last human conquest of the tower (by a brave warrior King named Gilgamesh) and as far as huaminty is concerned, the creatures of the night wrecking havoc from within the tower are overdue for a whipping.

The story begins with the third Summer of Anu in the city of Meskia, which just so happens to be the human stronghold built on the first level of the massive Tower. The Uruk (human) Army is preparing for their campaign against Druaga; the enigmatic leader of the foul creatures occupying the levels above the stronghold. Getting in the way of warriors are freelance treasure hunters called "Climbers" who have traveled from distant lands to pursue rumors of a legendary treasure being guarded by Druaga called the Blue Crystal Rod.

We follow along with the adventures of a young warrior named Jil, who, despite a stout heart, is after the Blue Crystal Rod himself.

The plot structure is such that it focuses primarily on a few small groups of adventurers seeking to climb the Tower of Druaga and defeat the legendary Druaga once and for all (although it is explained several times that King Gilgamesh have him a spanking 60 years earlier but that seems not to have affected his ability to cause trouble). What this translates to for the viewer is a blend of action with a "race to the top" undertone working subliminally.

In truth it's no surprise that the video game incarnation was so successful since the premise boils down to overcoming challenges and dispatching monsters on a floor-by-floor basis. Progression is fairly linear with the big bad guy waiting at the very top floor (with the treasure).

The mythology comes off as a sort of blend of old Norse material mixed with a bit of early Anglo legend (think Beowulf) with just a hint of Asian influence in the form of massive dragon-like baddies. In all it works very well.

The visuals are quite remarkable as well if not for their clean, crisp look throughout, for the fact that often times it looks like an animated screenshot directly from the early Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior games. Nobody does the fantasy protagonist quite as uniquely as the Japanese and this fact is reinforced here.

The direction is nearly flawless as would be expected from the same man responsible for Last Exile. Pacing, lighting, and individual shots are beautifully constructed and lend heavy-merit to the fantasy world itself.

Voice acting is stellar in both incarnations with my nod tipping very slightly toward the English dub on this one. Not to take anything away from the impeccable Japanese vocal track, my opinion is simply a testament to the quality dubbing FUNimation has been turning out of late.

In all this is a fantastic little fantasy series filled with stunning visuals, nice direction, and a plot solid enough to keep the episodes flying by. Best of all the prose doesn't get bogged down or take itself too seriously by interjecting a dose of humor in moments that would otherwise be tension-ridden. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars story in search of an identity., December 29, 2010

By 

suburban dissident - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tower of Druaga: Part One - The Aegis of Uruk (DVD)

Aegis of Uruk has a number positive aspects to its, the only problem is that they are all thrown together randomly. The series starts out as a witty parody of fantasy stories and RPGs that is really quite humorous. At multiple moments, the video game heritage of the story is fore-fronted with hilarious effect. But then the story gets really serious, deep and almost depressing. It becomes, to an extent, a stereotypical fantasy story - the kind it has been parodying the whole time.

and it would be one thing if it were a tale of two halves - one serious one not. but the two are mingled too extensively (though the final four episodes or so are rather serious). It all ends up a little schizophrenic and unsatisfying.

in the end, if you like fantasy stories of any stripe, you will enjoy this for the most part. but it isn't anything special.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Climb to the Top!, October 15, 2010

By 

RavenRing (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tower of Druaga: Part One - The Aegis of Uruk (DVD)

Admittedly, I've never played the game on which this anime was based. But I don't think it mattered.
I was first introduced to The Tower of Druaga through the Funimation preview, which impressed me by being an actual preview and a good preview at that. When I found it was based on a video game, I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not, but when I heard favorable reviews on the series, I decided to give it a shot.

The Tower of Druaga is a mysterious tower filled with riches and monsters and the god of evil residing at the top. Jil and his friends are Climbers - people who climb the tower and whose goal is to defeat Druaga at the top.

The first episode had me in stitches - it was a parody of RPG games, and was really well done and entertaining. The second episode is where the story really starts. The parody element continue to show up through out the series, though is most common at the beginning. Nothing about this series could be taken seriously. Even the parts of the storyline that were really supposed to be dramatic, I just sniggered into my sleeve or tuned it out. This is one of those series where having 2 dimensional, stereotypical characters really works. The story and characters aren't really all that important - what is fun about this series is the tower; the various adventures and mishaps that our heros encounter. For example, in one episode Jil and his friends are trying to take a short-cut to the next floor. Their short-cut turns out to be covered in dangerous booby traps in the form of little colored, cursed balls. Step on one and you could find yourself horrible transformed - into a human sized teddy bear. Or have your gender reversed. Or end up dressed in a maid costume. This episode had absolutely nothing to do with the overall storyline, but was a shining example of what made this series fun to watch.

This set is the first half of the series, though there is a convenient break in the story between the two. The second set isn't too bad, but the first is vastly more entertaining.
There is some references to Babylonian mythology that is interesting and worth spending a little bit of time with Wikipedia to learn about. Or not.
If you are looking for random, pointless fun, The Tower of Druaga might be your show. This set is a little pricey, so if you want to try it out first, Crunchyroll.com has the entire series streaming for free. Have fun!