Babel II Review: The Boy With Three Servants and the Tower That Changed Everything
by Mitsuteru Yokoyama
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What if you inherited a tower from an alien ancestor — and with it, the responsibility to save the world from someone else who wants the same power?
Quick Take
- Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic sci-fi manga — one of the most influential adventure stories of the early 1970s
- Babel II commands three legendary servants: Rodem the shapeshifter, Poseidon the sea giant, and Ropross the winged dragon
- Compact and fast-paced — 8 volumes of pure adventure with none of the padding that longer series accumulate
Who Is This Manga For?
- Fans of classic Yokoyama works (Tetsujin 28-go, Sally the Witch) who want his sci-fi adventure
- Readers who grew up with the anime adaptations and want the original manga
- Action/adventure readers who want a tight, complete story
- Anyone interested in 1970s manga's approach to ancient-astronaut mythology
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: T (Teen) Content Warnings: Action violence throughout. Sci-fi themes including mind control. Appropriate for the rating.
Suitable for teen readers.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★★☆ |
| Art Style | ★★★★☆ |
| Character Development | ★★★☆☆ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★☆ |
| Reread Value | ★★★★☆ |
Story Overview
Koichi Yamano is a high school student who begins having strange experiences and is eventually led to the Tower of Babel — a structure in the middle of the desert that turns out to be the legacy of an alien who landed on Earth thousands of years ago. Koichi is that alien's descendant, and the tower is his inheritance.
With the tower comes power: three servants of extraordinary ability. Rodem, who can transform into any form. Poseidon, a giant with the power to control water. Ropross, a dragon capable of flight and destruction. Together, they make Koichi one of the most powerful beings on Earth.
The problem is that a villain named Yomi wants the same power — and has the resources and ruthlessness to pursue it. The series is the conflict between Babel II and Yomi, played out across global settings with escalating stakes.
Yokoyama keeps it fast. There is no buildup, no extended training arc — Koichi arrives with his powers and the story moves. The result is a series that feels urgent even decades later.
Characters
Koichi Yamano (Babel II): A protagonist whose strength is moral clarity rather than complexity. He uses his power to protect people, period. In the context of this kind of adventure manga, that simplicity is a virtue.
Rodem: The shapeshifting servant — usually appearing as a black panther — who is the most visually striking of the three and the most useful in infiltration situations.
Yomi: The villain — a powerful psychic who believes his cause justifies any means. His confrontations with Babel II are the series' engine.
Art Style
Yokoyama's art is clean and functional — clear storytelling over flashy technique. His character designs are classic and readable, his action sequences are well-paced, and his attention to setting (the desert tower, the global locations) gives the series visual variety.
Cultural Context
Babel II was serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1971 to 1973, during the era when the "ancient astronauts" theory was popular in Japanese popular culture. Yokoyama took the mythology seriously as a plot device — the alien heritage is not just a power source but a responsibility.
Multiple anime adaptations followed, the most notable being the 1992 OVA series.
What I Love About It
I love the three servants as a design concept.
Rodem, Poseidon, and Ropross each represent a different mode of power — stealth, force, and flight — and Yokoyama uses them with genuine tactical thinking. The battles are interesting because the different servants have to be deployed differently against different enemies. It's a simple system that produces varied and satisfying scenarios.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Not known in English-speaking markets. Among readers of classic Japanese adventure manga, Babel II is cited as one of the cleaner examples of 1970s sci-fi adventure — it doesn't overstay its welcome and delivers exactly what it promises.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
The first full appearance of all three servants together — Babel II commanding Rodem, Poseidon, and Ropross against an overwhelming force — and the visual power of the scene establishes exactly what kind of story this is going to be. It's a moment of genuine awe designed to land on a young reader with full force, and it still works.
Similar Manga
- Tetsujin 28-go: Yokoyama's earlier robot adventure — same sensibility, different setting
- Devilman: Same era, darker — the powerful boy against evil forces comparison
- Cyborg 009: Similar superhuman team-power structure
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1. The series is self-contained and reads best from the beginning.
Official English Translation Status
Babel II has no official English translation.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Compact and fast — complete in 8 volumes
- The three-servants concept is inventively used
- Yokoyama's clean storytelling holds up
- Hugely influential on subsequent adventure manga
Cons
- No English translation
- Character depth is limited by the adventure format
- The ancient astronaut premise dates the setting slightly
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Physical | Japanese editions available |
| Digital | Available in Japanese |
| Omnibus | Collected editions available |
Where to Buy
No English release yet. That just means you find it before everyone else does.
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Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.