Tower of God Reading Guide: Where to Start in 2026

The Tower of God reading guide question almost everyone asks isn't about reading order. It's about how to find Season 2 on WEBTOON without accidentally starting over.

The platform splits the three seasons into separate chapter lists. Finish Season 1 and the list ends. If you don't know where to look next, you'll either search fruitlessly for "Episode 79" (which doesn't exist on WEBTOON) or assume the series is on hiatus at episode 78. Neither is true. What follows is the guide that explains the platform structure, the anime entry points, and what's actually readable right now.

TL;DR: Tower of God reading guide: 652+ episodes across three seasons on WEBTOON, free to read. Where to start, the Season 2 Episode 0 trap, and what's on hiatus.

Key Takeaways

This Tower of God reading guide covers three platform decisions most readers get wrong.

• All 652+ episodes are free on WEBTOON (webtoons.com); no subscription needed
• After Season 1, navigate to the Tower of God Season 2 list and start at Episode 0, not wherever you expect the count to continue
• The series is on hiatus since February 2025. Season 3's 235 episodes are fully published and readable
• After the 2024 anime (two cours, 26 episodes), your starting point is Season 2 Episode 0
• The Urek Mazino spinoff (May 2025) is a prequel; read it after the main series, not before

Tower of God Reading Guide: Overview

Tower of God launched on Naver Webtoon in South Korea on June 30, 2010. The creator, SIU (a pen name for Lee Jong-hui, standing for "Slave In Utero"), has been writing and drawing the series since then across three seasons, with multiple extended hiatuses for health and creative breaks.

The story follows Bam, a boy who has lived his entire life in darkness at the base of an enormous Tower. When Rachel, the only person he has known, enters the Tower to climb toward what she describes as stars at the top, Bam tears open the Tower's floor and follows her. From there, the series unfolds as a test-and-tournament structure: each floor of the Tower requires passing tests, and the politics of who administers those tests, who benefits, and what the Tower actually is drive the larger story.

The series is free on WEBTOON in English at webtoons.com. No chapter is paywalled. All 652+ episodes across three seasons are accessible to any reader, with or without an account.

Time investment: at a moderate reading pace, Season 1 alone (78 episodes) takes 3-5 hours. The full series is a commitment of 30-50 hours depending on how quickly the format moves for you.

Tower of God Chapter Order Step-by-Step

Step 1: Season 1, Episodes 1-78

Start here. On WEBTOON, go to the Tower of God main page and begin at Episode 1. Season 1 runs 78 episodes and covers Bam's entry into the Tower through the Crown Game and the early test arcs. This is also everything the 2020 anime adaptation covers; if you watched Telecom Animation Film's 13-episode run on Crunchyroll, you already know Season 1.

Reading Season 1 fresh is the right entry point. The spinoff (Urek Mazino) is labeled a prequel but it only works as one if you already know who Urek Mazino is and why the Tower's power structure matters. Skip it for now.

Tower of God Season 1 on WEBTOON: 78 episodes, free to read without an account

New to manhwa and wondering if Tower of God is worth 652+ episodes before committing?

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Step 2: Season 2, start at Episode 0

This is where most readers get lost. When Season 1 ends on WEBTOON, the list stops. Season 2 lives in a completely separate list on the platform. Do not search for "Episode 79"; that doesn't exist in WEBTOON's numbering for this series.

The correct move: navigate to the Tower of God Season 2 list on WEBTOON and start at Episode 0. Not Episode 1. Episode 0. It exists, it's canon, and skipping it skips the transition into Season 2's story structure.

Season 2 is where the series stops introducing itself and starts being itself. The tournament arcs from Season 1 give way to factional conflicts (factions whose motivations don't resolve cleanly into hero/villain) and revelations about the Tower that make some of the early assumptions look deliberately planted. This section runs approximately 400+ episodes, and it's the reason people with 500 chapters logged still don't consider themselves close to done.

The 2024 anime returned with two cours: "Return of the Prince" (13 episodes, July-September 2024) and "Workshop Battle" (13 episodes, October-December 2024), both produced by The Answer Studio. These adapt the early arcs of Season 2. If you've watched them, your starting point in the manhwa is still Season 2 Episode 0; the anime's coverage doesn't map cleanly to episode numbers, and Episode 0 is a safe re-entry that won't have you re-reading more than a small amount of ground already covered.

One note for returning readers: some fans point out that the 2020 anime began skipping manhwa content starting around Season 1 Episode 42. If that gap bothers you, starting your re-read at S1 Episode 42 will cover the skipped material before continuing into Season 2.

Step 3: Season 3, Episodes 1-235

Season 3 concluded on February 23, 2025, at Episode 235. All 235 episodes are available on WEBTOON right now. The series entered hiatus after this conclusion; SIU has not announced a return date as of May 2026.

This hiatus is not the first. SIU took extended breaks in 2020-2021 and again in 2022. The breaks have historically been tied to workload and health rather than editorial decisions. Whether Season 4 is coming is unknown.

Starting Tower of God today means reaching a real stopping point at Season 3's end. It's not a finale that closes every thread; SIU clearly has more story planned. But it's not a mid-arc cut either. You won't end on a cliffhanger that makes the hiatus feel like punishment.

Step 4: Urek Mazino spinoff (optional)

Tower of God: Urek Mazino launched on Naver Webtoon in May 2025. It's a prequel covering Urek Mazino's climb through the Tower before the events of the main series. If you've followed the main story, you'll know why Urek Mazino is worth a dedicated spinoff. If you haven't, the character will carry no weight.

Read this after Season 3. It is a separate series, not a continuation, and starting here before the main story would mean prequel content for a story you haven't seen.

Looking for other long-running manhwa worth the time investment?

Best Isekai Manhwa Ranked for 2026 →

Tips

Finding Season 2 on WEBTOON

WEBTOON does not automatically link from Season 1 to Season 2. The two seasons appear as separate series entries on the platform. The fastest method: use the WEBTOON search bar, type "Tower of God Season 2," and select the correct result. The Season 2 list begins at Episode 0.

On the WEBTOON app, the same search applies. Many readers bookmark each season separately; there's no in-app "continue to Season 2" prompt.

What the anime covers

The 2020 anime (Telecom Animation Film, 13 episodes, Crunchyroll) covers all of Season 1. If you've seen it, skip ahead to Season 2 Episode 0.

Tower of God Season 2 anime (The Answer Studio, Jul-Dec 2024): 26 episodes across two cours on Crunchyroll

The 2024 anime returned under a different studio (The Answer Studio instead of Telecom) with two cours: "Return of the Prince" and "Workshop Battle," July through December 2024. These adapt the early arcs of Season 2. After watching them, your entry point in the manhwa is still Season 2 Episode 0. Some overlap is unavoidable; don't try to find the exact chapter where the anime stopped.

No Season 3 anime has been announced. All 235 episodes of Season 3 are currently reading-only. The Tower of God reading guide situation is similar to Solo Leveling in this respect: anime covers the early material, manhwa is where you continue. For how that works in the Solo Leveling case, see our Solo Leveling reading order guide. For the full list of manhwa with confirmed and released anime adaptations (including which seasons each anime covers and where to continue in the manhwa), see Manhwa with Anime Adaptations in 2026 →.

Platform options

The official English platform is WEBTOON (webtoons.com). The series is free with occasional ads. A WEBTOON Premium subscription removes ads. There is no official English print edition in a traditional publishing format; the Korean physical volumes exist (Young Com, 20 volumes), and a WEBTOON Unscrolled edition exists for English readers, but standard bookstore availability is limited.

Season 1 vs Season 2 vs Season 3: What Changes and When

Season 1 is the most contained arc in Tower of God. Seventy-eight episodes. One goal (follow Rachel), one setting (a single segment of the Tower), one central cast. The structure is test-based: each floor requires passing an examination, administered by Headon and then by Lero-Ro and other Rankers. The stakes feel personal and the scale stays manageable. If you finish Season 1 and feel like you understand the series, you're right about Season 1 specifically. Season 2 is a different animal.

Season 2 runs 400+ episodes and opens with a two-year time skip. The protagonist changes. Bam is still in the story, but he's spent that gap training under a different faction, and he re-enters the Tower under a different name. The cast expands dramatically: families, factions, and political structures that were background detail in Season 1 become the foreground. You'll encounter dozens of named characters across competing groups before the season settles into its main conflicts. The tone shifts from personal quest to factional warfare, and the series' mythology (what the Tower is, who built it, who benefits from its existence) starts answering questions that Season 1 mostly implied.

This is where many readers feel lost. The Season 2 opening is deliberately disorienting. The two-year skip means you're meeting people who already have relationships and histories you weren't shown. The series expects you to piece things together. Give it 20-30 episodes before deciding whether the expanded scope works for you.

Season 3 runs 235 episodes and is the most recent completed arc. The political conflicts from Season 2 converge, and several long-running threads resolve. The pacing is faster than Season 2's mid-section. Season 3 concludes on February 23, 2025, and the story reaches a meaningful stopping point, not a finale but not a mid-arc cut.

The practical takeaway: Season 1 is the sample. If 78 episodes don't hold your attention, the series isn't for you. If they do, expect Season 2 to expand everything and take longer to find its footing. Season 3 rewards readers who made it through Season 2's sprawl.

Who Tower of God Is Actually For

Solo Leveling is the standard recommendation for readers who like Tower of God's ambition but find the early pacing too slow.

Tower of God rewards a specific kind of reader. Getting the match right saves 50 hours.

The series works best if you want dense world-building that accumulates slowly, ensemble casts where secondary characters have arcs that pay off 200+ chapters after introduction, and political intrigue where factions don't map cleanly to heroes and villains. The mystery of what the Tower actually is, who built it, and what it costs to climb it drives the larger story across all three seasons. If that kind of layered structure interests you, the 600+ episodes justify themselves.

Tower of God is harder to recommend if you want a clear power-progression curve with a single protagonist at the center. Solo Leveling gives you that: one character, measurable power increases, a clear arc. Tower of God disperses its attention. Bam is the protagonist, but Season 2 runs chapters from other characters' perspectives, and the cast grows large enough that even major figures disappear for 50-episode stretches. The series trusts you to remember who everyone is.

The 50-episode threshold is real. The first 50 episodes introduce the setting and the premise. Episodes 50-78 start paying off what was established. If you're not engaged by episode 78, the series' later expansions won't change that. If you finish Season 1 and want more of the same, Season 2 delivers a larger version of what Season 1 built. The architecture is intentional; the density is a feature.

Common mistakes

Starting at the wrong Season 2 episode is by far the most frequent error readers bring up when following this Tower of God reading guide. WEBTOON's structure hides Season 2 from readers who don't already know to look for a separate list. You finish Season 1, see the list end, and search for "Episode 79" on a scan site instead of the official platform. The fix is simple: WEBTOON, Season 2 list, Episode 0.

Assuming the series is dead or incomplete. Tower of God is on hiatus, not abandoned. The full Season 3 is published and readable. SIU has taken breaks before and returned; whether that happens again is unknown, but the story to this point is complete and available.

Reading from unofficial scan sites. The series is free. There is no cost justification for scan sites, and unofficial translations have been inconsistent with character names, faction terminology, and some dialogue that carries structural weight later in the story. Readers who start on scans and switch to WEBTOON mid-series sometimes find terminology doesn't match what they remember.

Starting with the Urek Mazino spinoff. It's a prequel that makes far more sense with 600+ episodes of context. The character's significance, his relationships with other Tower regulars, and the reasons his story matters as a prequel all require knowing the main series. Read it last.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long has Tower of God been running? The series launched on Naver Webtoon on June 30, 2010. As of 2026, it has been running for 16 years across three seasons, with multiple hiatuses factored in.

Is there a physical edition in English? A WEBTOON Unscrolled edition exists. There is no Yen Press or Ize Press print edition confirmed for the full series. If you want physical copies, the Korean Young Com volumes (20 books) are the primary physical release.

Does WEBTOON require an account to read? No. You can read Tower of God without registering. An account enables bookmarking and subscription tracking. The free-to-read access is available regardless.

Can I read the Korean original instead? Yes. The original Korean version on Naver Webtoon updates before the English WEBTOON release. If you read Korean, you have access to the source first.

Does Season 3 have an actual ending? Season 3 concluded February 23, 2025. It resolves some major arcs from Season 2. It does not close every thread; the series clearly has more story SIU intends to tell. Whether that story gets told depends on the hiatus resolving.

What happened during the hiatuses? SIU cited health issues for the 2020-2021 break. The 2022 break was described as a creative reset. The post-Season 3 hiatus has no stated reason from SIU publicly as of May 2026.

Is Tower of God appropriate for younger readers? The series contains violence, character deaths, and morally complex scenarios. It's comparable to mainstream shonen or seinen, not extreme, but not sanitized. Most readers would consider it appropriate for ages 13 and up.

For a full review of whether the story holds up across all three seasons (including where each season changes in tone and what the mythology arc delivers), see the Tower of God review →.

Finished Tower of God and looking for what to read next? The manhwa like Tower of God guide covers nine picks sorted by which aspect of ToG drew you in: faction politics, tower structure, or ensemble mystery.

Related Reading

Tower of God ran on WEBTOON continuously from 2010 through 2025 across three seasons before the 2025 hiatus.

• Best Manhwa to Read in 2026 →
• Best Isekai Manhwa Ranked for 2026 →
• Solo Leveling reading order guide
• Manhwa with Anime Adaptations in 2026 →
• Tower of God review →

References

• Tower of God on WEBTOON
• Tower of God on Wikipedia
• List of Tower of God episodes on Wikipedia
• Tower of God Season 2 anime on Anime News Network
• Tower of God: Urek Mazino spinoff on Anime News Network
• r/TowerofGod community