Tokyo Ghoul

As a non-manga reader of the original Tokyo Ghoul, i am going to base my review purely on this animated title.

I feel that this show has a brilliant array of aspects to it it, the combat is very gripping and intense, there is violence, a significant amount of it which heightens the viewer's engagement with the situation, generally i'd say that these 12 episodes are very emotive and dramatic, which is shown very cleverly as becomes more obvious towards the end.

Dipping into the story for the first time is a bit of a shocker, and a lot to take in, but throughout, this anime will ... give you a great slice of life experience from the perspective of a main character who grows to understand more about himself as the show persists. The set up is oriented about the friction between humans and a race of humanoid like beings: ghouls, and this friction is described and felt so vividly at times which i greatly credit the show for.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a very engaging series, and asides from the violence, it does have the ability to fit a very wide range of viewers' tastes. This anime has a mature feel to it, and the art is the best I've come across yet. Continuing with my point of the show being very easily likable, there's a hell of a lot crammed into this (what frankly should be longer) series of episodes, which adds to the level of drama but perhaps detracts in that at times it feels rushed.

But essentially, if you're okay handling drama and violence, you'll not be disappointed. Tokyo Ghoul is a very reputable anime, that really will leave you on the edge of your seat at times!

Tokyo Ghoul was easily one of the most hyped titles in 2014.
That's an undeniable fact. The manga got lots of attention before and all the fans were happy to see their new favourite thing animated. But oh boy were they disappointed when it started airing.

The animation in general was, for 2014 standards, below average for the most part. Certain visual effects, such as the Kagunes were well-done The character figures were a mix of good and bad, with the good ones leaving memorable expressions on the viewer and the bad ones being stereotypical character designs everybody will have forgotten about in a week. The backgrounds, ... however, were all largely well-done and one could see the effort being put into them, a quality which is still present in the lower-budget sequel that is Route A. But well, this is where the good parts end. The general animation looked horrible for the most part to the point where one could see the weird looking limbs during fight scenes.

The soundtrack wasn't too memorable but it fit the atmosphere of the show. The Opening was not too happy yet a bit too happy in general to completely capture the feeling of the show.
The voice acting wasn't too outstanding either. Most characters weren't too memorable and there wasn't too much effort put into it for the biggest part. It was average voice acting, perhaps a bit less considering the modern anime standard.

Let's now move on the important parts:
the story and the characters.
If one were to get vulgar, one could simply say "they sucked ass" but since I want to give a reason as for why that is so, let me elaborate on it:
The premise was basically ghouls living in Japan among humans.
It is above average for originality and differing from the modern "haha, everything is moeblob or medieval fantasy action" standard. Bonus points for that. Unfortunately, that's where the pros end and the cons begin. It was wasted. For the biggest part nobody ever seems to do anything against them, save for one special unit and warning signs telling kids not to leave their houses once the sun has sunk, and the ghouls themselves have close to no kind of order. The humans acting completely normal despite knowing there are dangerous beasts out there is somewhat questionable as well. And saying "they are an urban legend" is no excuse because there obviously is an anti-ghoul squad.
The pacing of it was goddamn awful and was faster than a Ferrari. One could tell that the directors simply wanted to get the boring parts over with and show some scenes that "kick ass".
It had no kind of complexity to it and was mainly just X moving to place 1 because event Y required him to do so. It was plot-driven and the characters were reacting instead of acting.
The story itself ended with a cliffhanger after having shown Kaneki getting super insta speed character development over the course of 10 minutes and going from a crybaby to a "badass" that wouldn't bat an eye even if he lost his legs.

Which leads us to the next section, the characters.
These are mainly made up out of semi archetypes like the crybaby protagonist, the strong female, the cute loli and the mysterious old leader. But cliches are cliches, right? Yeah, no.
Touka is a generic tsundere girl for the most part and has largely any kind of conflict until the Tsukiyama arc is over. This was a good backdrop yet provided no kind of development for her as a character since it was simply forgotten 10 minutes later.
Kaneki is a crybaby who has lived a hard childhood which gave him the mindset "it's better to be hurt than to hurt" which for a large part excuses his actions. His development as a character was fairly interesting to see yet whenever he seemed to finally do something on his own, he turned into the baby he was at episode 1. In the final episodes he seemed to receive some sort of development which, unfortunately, happened way too quick to feel like proper development. It was like he was turned into another character.

And now for some good excused scorings:
Art section : 4/10

General art: 4/10
Character figures: 4/10
Animation: 4/10
Backgrounds: 6/10
Visual effects: 6/10

Sound section: 5/10

Voice acting: 5/10
Music themes: 4/10 for not entirely fitting the atmosphere
Sound effects: 6/10

Story section: 4/10

Premise 4/10
Pacing 2/10
Complexity: 3/10
Conclusion: Not available/10. Therefore it can't be taken into account

Character section: 4/10

Personality: 4/10
Backdrop: 4/10
Development: 4/10 since only one character develops which also happens way too fast to be semi-realistic.

Final score: 4.3/10

Tokyo Ghoul is another fine example that animes are not for kids. The anime thrills you. They start with huge bang and ends with even bigger bang. The last episode leaves you begging for more. They lost momentum somewhere in between but its completely fine they made up for it with last episode that makes u scream with **** being tortured, question the world as **** speaks, and make u jump along with the action sequence.
Flaws:
Despite of the epicness i have mentioned there are some loopholes as well. If you haven't read the manga then its fine but if you have then you will ... be left disappointed as lot of scenes are skipped. Censorship is the worst thing that the studio have gone to that anime. The anime are definitely not for kids and yet they are censoring every blood scene as its gonna effect some adult minds. Cowardly act by studio or trick to make viewers buy Blu ray discs either way its a pathetic act from studio. So if you have patience then please wait for Blu ray to come out. When all said and done Anime should have been 24 episodes long, scenes are skipped, pace is too fast, leaves you with an incomplete story. All these flaws would have been avoided if studio would have been a little more sensible.
Story:
The first episode is enough to tell you that story is a masterpiece. Different people trying to make world a better place but their ways of achieving its make the world even a worse place. Story make you question your perception of stereotype. And gives you some lessons as well. Sometimes being good is enough you have to let the beast inside you to go out to save your justice. Thats what the story taught me and you will realize what am i talking about in last episode
Characters:
There isn't a single character that disappoints in any way.Its an all out crowd of bad ass characters in just one anime.
Enjoyment:
If you are into psychological thriller then you will enjoy it most. Those looking for action, drama or little bit of horror will enjoy it as well. There are some funny scenes in animes but its mostly dominated by action, suspense, horror, sorrow and thrills.

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INTRO
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It has always intrigued me how zombies or flesh eating humans has not made much of a presence in the anime industry. There were shows like Highschool of the Dead (and that turned into a fanservice horsecrap), Hellsing (mostly vampires but there was and an arc which featured great zombie actions), Sankarea (which mainly focuses on romance and hope), Ore was zombie desu ka (which was quite an oddity but its one of those shows that I can watch for pure stupid fun!), and a couple more. ... There was really no show in this genre that has truly captivated me; then came Tokyo Ghouls...at least I first thought it would.

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THE REVIEW
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The series started off great. You have this normal college student named Kaneki who has a crush on this girl who share the same interest as him. All is good and well when shit quickly hits the fan and he ended up becoming a zombie; not just an ordinary zombie but one that is self-aware and has an unrelenting appetite to human flesh. It was great how the series tries to explore the dilemmas that a ghoul has to go through in his everyday life and how the everything is not as it seems.

The show was great until Ep 4 came. Everything just went so effin fast. The show introduced this psycho who wants to be more than friends with kaneki. The episode started off from exploring different character scenes and the psycho trying to woo kaneki over and within a couple of minutes they end in this arena slaughterhouse. It goes worse as the series went on and the last minutes of the final episode just puts that nail in the coffin.

The pacing is just so terrible that it's hard to sympathize with the character's plight. The one saving grace this show had is the last episode where they showed Kaneki's inner monologue. Now that is great way to show a character's state of mind. It is a huge disappointment and a wasted potential as I feel that Tokyo Ghoul is one of those character study shows all the while showing some great action scenes. There is just so many things happening to coherently fit into a 1 cour show. It was only until Ep 6 that I found out that there was a manga. Reviews on it has been pretty positive and I have seen that it was also recently finished so I am going to start reading it soon.

Let's not also forget the censorship. Oh GOD! THE CENSORSHIP!! There are freaking times when the screen gets cut in half or just fades to black and all you hear is the audio. For god's sake! Studio Pierrot knows that this is a mature show aimed at an adult audience so why the fuck are you guys doing this? I will not be surprised if they end up removing those in BR just to boost its sales and that will be very underhanded, man.

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VERDICT
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The art style and premise got me intrigued; the direction of the show made me wince. So, to finally wrap things up I will now be giving a final score which comprises the built-in scoring system coupled with my personal bias and a fairly complicated process of wiping my lips clean with a tissue smeared with aromatic blood after taking a sip at a bloody testicle juice mixed with a straw made from dried human intestines makes me want to give Tokyo Ghoul a score of..

6.4/10!

A show with potential hampered by the production staff and dubious marketing strategies. Fans of the genre will be left hanging by the noose and is advised to look for their craving somewhere else. If you don't mind horrible pacing and extreme censorship you can stay for the action which is still pretty good.

Tokyo Ghoul is one of the most popular shows of the summer. Adapted from a popular manga, Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate reality in which beings called ghouls exist. Ghouls appear to be normal humans, but possess superhuman strength and survive by feeding on humans. Kaneki Ken is a college student who unwittingly receives the organs of a ghoul during an emergency transplant. Tokyo Ghoul follows Kaneki's new life as a half-human, half-ghoul.

I was instantly intrigued by Tokyo Ghoul and the first episode did a nice job of sucking me in. I was prepared for a dark, gritty thrill-ride. Unfortunately, Tokyo Ghoul did ... not meet my expectations and turned out to be the most over-hyped show of the summer.

Perhaps at the root of all of its problems is the fact that Tokyo Ghoul should have been twice as long. No matter how you cut it, trying to cram such a massive amount of information into only 12 episodes will never end well. I'm unfamiliar with the manga, but judging from those who have read it, the anime skipped a significant amount of the story and this is painfully evident in the choppy, broken pacing of the anime. The first few episodes flow smoothly enough, only to devolve into a mess by the show's conclusion. There's no sense of transition or linkage, and there's simply not enough time allowed for any meaningful character development. Moreover, pivotal plot points are given hardly more than a glance and they fail to really hit home because--again--there's not enough time. Why such a popular and anticipated adaptation was given only 12 episodes, I will never understand. The broken structure of Tokyo Ghoul is saved only by the fact that at the end of the day, the plot is still interesting. Yes, Tokyo Ghoul is a poorly-executed mess, but the ride is still fun enough to hold your attention.

I really disliked Kaneki as a character. I don't know how his progression goes in the manga, but in the anime his characterization is pretty damn bad. Even as the story jumps aimlessly all over the place, at least it's still going somewhere. Kaneki remained static throughout the show and as its main protagonist, this provides for a very frustrating viewing experience. I found that Touka was much more engaging on screen and I felt that she definitely stole the show. Touka is dynamic, angsty, headstrong, and she is by far Tokyo Ghoul's best aspect. With regards to the anti-ghoul investigators, I'm not exactly sure how they factor into the plot. They seemed to exist simply for the sake of existing and only really contributed to one or two pivotal plot points. By the second half of the show it's easy to dismiss them as almost irrelevant. The rest of the characters didn't get enough screen time for me to really have any opinion on them.

At the end of the day, Tokyo Ghoul is pretty much the definition of wasted potential. Appealing art, an intriguing story, and well-received source material does not equal a good end product. Combine that with a measly 12 episodes, some of the worst pacing I've ever seen, an atrocious ending, an even more atrocious opening theme (I really don't understand its appeal), and you have the formula for how to create a massive disappointment. Tokyo Ghoul's two redeeming factors: Touka and the intrinsic appeal of the story. I certainly hope the second season will not make the same mistakes as the first.

I came in with a positive mindset, and went out with a negative one. I haven't read the manga, but I really felt like this could be the next best thing I was going to watch. But oh man I was wrong.

It isn't that bad actually, in fact the universe and concept is VERY well done, but just like SAO, it's excecuted more poorly than a backwards bowling shot. The series itself looks great, and the OP and ED sound awesome. However, the characters was what really ruined it for me.

Meet Kaneki, a boy who doesn't want to stop crying. Now I know that he's ... turned into a ghoul, but sometimes I just feel that he goes overboard with the complaining. I'm not gonna spoil about what happens in the end, but for me it was very underwhelming.

Also there's Touka, your average fangirl favorite. She's just there to make her seem like the perfect character, which I found extremely bland. Also the relationship between her and Kaneki was weak at best.

There are also other characters, but I don't feel like they are too important.

The BIGGEST complaint I have, is the fact that every ghoul is a handsome young boy or girl. First of all, why. This was the perfect opportunity to show off the dark and gritty life of being a middle-aged man in Tokyo, but no. Of course everyone had to be handsome and long-haired.

Also, why is coffee the only human beverage the ghouls can drink? I mean REALLY? That is so pathetic

Overall, I'm giving this a 4, because I really like the universe and the art. Although it's pretty dissapointing that GIFs on Tumblr are more interesting than the show itself

Tokyo Ghoul will capture your attention with the captivating storyline in episode one, and will leave you interested throughout the series with its mixture of action, horror, and psychological concepts. The series will then end by leaving you thinking about the world of ghouls and humans, and who the monster really is. Are ghouls in the wrong for simply wanting to survive? Are humans right to exterminate the ghouls because the ghouls are killing people? There are so many questions you will be asking yourself as you watch this series.

An interesting aspect of the series was the use of weapons in the form of “Kagune”. ... Each ghoul possesses a Kagune that is unique to them, so each one is different. Kagune come from the ghoul’s body and can be many forms, from a blade to claws to wings and many more. Ghouls use their Kagune to attack humans, as well as other ghouls. On top of all that, humans have found a way to harness the power of a ghoul’s Kagune and are able to turn the Kagune into a weapon for the human’s use. This somewhat levels the playing field between ghouls and humans. It is nice to see the humans stand a chance against the ghouls and not just get wiped out. If you have seen D.Grayman or Akame ga Kill, the weapon concept is similar.

The characters are memorable, with development throughout the season. The animation is well-done. The story progresses at a decent pace with a proper mixture of action and dialogue. The violence is heavy, but in the version I watched, it is censored by covering the most grotesque animation with black, which is not unique to Tokyo Ghoul, it seems to be the most common way to censor violence in anime. For me personally, this was one of the few negatives I would mention about the series, if you are going to censor the anime, do not make it so obvious, especially when all the gruesome sounds are still present. In conclusion, there is a censored and an uncensored version, so if you do not handle violence well, there is a friendlier version for you.

You might enjoy this if: You can handle a brain-twisting anime that will touch on your buttons of psychological fear. If you enjoyed Deadman Wonderland, you will likely enjoy Tokyo Ghoul.

You might not like it if: You are sensitive to violence, gore, and the horror genre. Certain scenes of Tokyo Ghoul are some of the most grisly out there.

Note to the Viewer: Be prepared for an action-packed thrill ride that will have you captivated from the first episode!

"Tokyo Ghoul is so deep and mature!"
- A random pretentious edgy 12-year-old

After the ending of Attack on Titan, the anime community realized that they needed something to fill the void that was left behind. Another anime about humans vs. monsters, with beautiful music and visuals (aimed at 12-year-olds who believe that everything with blood is mature), but that in reality is just an advertisement for the way better manga was exactly what the community wanted. And then we got Tokyo Ghoul, one of the most overhyped anime I've ever seen. If you heard the fans talking about it, you almost believed that this was ... the best work of fiction ever created, with deep philosophical themes, well developed characters and a brilliant story. In reality there was another damn story about humans vs. monsters (and one of the humans becomes a monster, so original), a bland cast and an attempt to raise the question "are the ghouls or the humans the monsters?", but even Elfen Lied handled this better.

~Story~ 2/10
Kaneki is your average shy and boring protagonist, who has a date with a girl who's at least ten times as hot as he is. Then she turns into a ghoul (a monster that eats humans) and tries to eat our poor hero, because of plot convenience some kind of organization drops a bunch of metal bars exactly on the girl and she dies, the wounded Kaneki who magically survives, gets some organs from the girl and he turns into a half-ghoul. Of course it's totally possible for a doctor to transplant organs from a ghoul into a human without getting trouble and of course our hero is now special, because he's both human and ghoul. He teams up with a bunch of ghouls who only eat death people and befriends a tsundere called Touka. Then we watch how the ghouls are victimized, because how can humans be so evil that they try to kill monsters who try to eat them? Only 99% percent of ghouls is evil, there is no reason to kill all of those murderous, psychotic monsters because 1% of the ghouls is good, right? What kind of logic is that?! "We have to make sure that the audience feels sorry for the monsters, let's make the humans kill a little innocent ghoul girl's mother and laugh psychotic while doing it, that's not obvious and cheap right?" It is, all the villains in this show look like comic book villains, laugh while murdering innocent people and probably strangle little cats for fun, they're not realistic at all! Everyone tries to kill poor Kaneki, because apparently half-ghouls are tasty, why? I have no idea. There is something going on between episode 1 and 11 that can be described as a plot, but you can summarize it in one sentence: people try to kill Kaneki and ghouls are victimized, the end. But then there is a shocking, extremely original plot twist....... victimization- power-up. Oh and an unsatisfying conclusion, read the manga or wait for season 2!
{CONCLUSION}
The story consists of the constant and never ending victimization of monsters. No, there is no reason to sympathize with the ghouls. Yes, of course they just want to survive, but the same thing goes for the humans. And the humans aren't victimized 24/7 in this show. The ghouls aren't 100% evil, but neither are they 'misunderstood' like the director of this anime seems to think. The story is weak and there are unanswered questions and plotholes EVERYWHERE! Like why do the humans keep living the same way as before, when they are surrounded with murderous psychotic human eating monsters? Where are Kaneki's parents? Why does a certain persons hair turn white? How do metal bars fall exactly on the right spot? How can ghouls drink coffee, but no other kind of drinks? Why is every human either pathetic or evil?Why didn't the humans just force everyone to eat food and then checked the people who started vomiting, would that be too logical? And the most important question: why do people claim that this anime has a good story?!

~Animation~ 9/10
The backgrounds were detailed and gorgeous, the character designs were original and the battle scenes looked epic. I have only one problem with the animation: censorship. I personally hate it when half of the screen is covered with black bars, and I assume that most other people aren't a fan of black bars either.
{CONCLUSION}
It looked great, even though the story is (supposed to be) dark, the animators used vivid colors, I think that this was a good idea. The gouls looked beautifully creepy during the fight scenes (look at those eyes), but the censoring was horrible.

~Sound~ 9/10
'Unravel' was amazing. Yes, it was a bit edgy, but I don't even care. The OST's were all somewhere in between decent and almost perfect and they were used in the right scenes. The Japanese voice acting was also top notch, especially the voice actors of Rize and Tsukiyama brought their characters to life.
{CONCLUSION}
The sound was extremely good, the ending song was forgettable but the opening makes up for that. The (Japanese) voice acting was great and the OST's were used at the right moments.

~Characters~ 1/10
They were a pain to watch. The most side characters just were there for 2 minutes and then disappeared just to never come back again. Kaneki is a walking punchbag, who cries a lot, pretty much the whole anime. And I don't feel sorry for him, because he is an overvictimised whiny brat. His development/ character swap in the last episode was weird and unrealistic (Spoiler: when most people are almost tortured to death, they don't turn in a badass). The best thing about him is his masker, great main character! Touka is your average tomboy and all her development is thrown out of the window in the last episode. Then you have bestfriend-kun, oldinspirationalman-kun, psychomurder-kun and victimizedlittlegirl-chan. Boring. Rize was an okay character during her 5 minutes of screen time and Amon seemed to think like a rational human being, those two were endurable. Special mention for Shuu Tsukiyama, he was great meme material and another horrible sadist, obsessed with our amazing main character, really what this anime needed!
{CONCLUSION}
One of the weakest casts I've seen in a very long time. The main character is a joke, the rest of the cast a nuisance. The were either bland or over-the-top evil and sadistic. None of them was memorable and their development was either nonexistent or it came out of nowhere. A plain bad cast, but the voice acting was pretty good, what a waste.

~Enjoyment~ 4/10
Beautiful music, great animation, shitty story and characters, what's new? This seems to be a trend of the last few years (yes, there are exceptions, but in general most new anime follow this pattern). This anime was enjoyable, but so damn forgettable, nothing about the story or the characters was memorable. If you turn of your brain and just want to watch an action series with nice visuals and sound, then Tokyo Ghoul is made for you. But if you want something with substance, don't watch this show. Also the last episode was predictable and the lack of a conclusion is annoying. Maybe that's the biggest problem, it ends with an open ending (watch the sequel) and leaves the viewer with a lot of unanswered questions, but it's not a cliffhanger. I don't want to watch the sequel, because I don't care anymore. If they ended it with something less predictable, I might have felt the urge to watch the damn sequel. Right now I just don't care.
{CONCLUSION}
It could have been great. Imagine: an anime with amazing visuals, great music, an actual story about prejudice an discrimination and well written characters. Sadly enough, the last two things were nowhere to be found in Tokyo Ghoul. It's just another shounen anime, that's trying way to hard to be a seinen, but fails miserably. It was overhyped, overrated and a waste of time. If you want to watch a mindless shounen with epic battles, Tokyo Ghoul is great choice, but if you want anything with substance, then I would advice you to skip it. Peace!

Tokyo Ghoul is directed by Shuhei Morita which was based on a manga by Sui Ishida.

STORY (8):

The story follows Ken Kaneki, a college student who meets a woman named Rize Kamishiro at Anteiku, a coffee shop. They share an interest in literature and plan a date. However, Rize attacked Kaneki and it was revealed that Rize was a ghoul, human-like beast that feeds on human flesh. While Rize tries to kill Kaneki for good, she was crushed by a falling platform. Both Kaneki and Rize are sent to hospital. The doctor decided to transplant Rize's organs into Kaneki's. So from now on, Kaneki has to ... live a life of a half-human/half-ghoul.

The concept sounds interesting but it suffers from some lack of explanations. Like ghouls, how do they exist in the world and how do they interact and deal with life.

ART (8):

Many people are bothered by censorship of blood and organs. However, I didn't mind that as long as they have good plot and good characters. The animation is good. At least they give some creepy vibe but not so creepy to the point that I fear for my life all the time like the design of the eyes that are red.

The ghouls design looks like Gaara when he becomes a beast, however the difference is the pattern and color.

SOUND (8):

At least the opening and ending song is good.

CHARACTER (7):

You know, normally in action anime, the characters are the weakest.

The characters that stood out the most in this anime are Shu & Toka.

Shu is cunning and calm just like Hisoka from Hunterxhunter. Mamoru Miyano did a great job in making this character cunning.

Toka is a badass and she always has a mean attitude just like Revy from Black Lagoon. However, I do like her in the way she is brave and willing to take risks.

Yoshimura is like a father figure who is concerned about ghouls and especially try to help Kaneki in every possible way he can.

Hinami Fueguchi could at least have more material to work with because she always stays at home and never fights. But then again, I wasn't expecting much from her.

Ken Kaneki, oh boy. Where do I begin? He is the weakest of the bunch. I can understand that he is trying to adapt to a life of a human-ghoul. But the problem is that in the later episodes, he became useless and more annoying just like Yukiteru Amano from Mirai Nikki. He has the ultimate power among the bunch but the problem is he just couldn't do anything to save himself. Even during a fight scene with Amon, he just dodges but never land a single attack. I just feel ashamed of him.

CONCLUSION (8):

Although I have problems with the show, I enjoyed this anime regardless. I just hope that they will at least try to give some characters more development and give us more explanation on how ghouls exist.

So for what it's worth I give it an 8/10.

I love this show. I hate the second season, but I love this show. Now, as a warning, I'm aware of the manga, I'm aware that it's supposed to be better, but I have not read it yet. So, no manga bias in any direction going forward. Let's go everybody!

Story : 8
Tokyo Ghoul's story is very character driven, and at some points it even feels a little like... I don't want to say slice of life, but there are a couple of moments. The biggest theme of Tokyo Ghoul is that of Identity Crisis, something I think was very well done here. In addition, this ... show has some of the best world building I've ever seen, only outclass, in my opinion, by Log Horizon. The show gives several examples of various types and classes of ghouls, from binge eaters, to gourmets, to that one guy that gets killed episode one. Screw you, Nishio.

That said, there are two general issues that drag this from a 9 or 10 to an 8. First, there are a LOT of plot holes early on (e.g. How come falling pipes manage to hurt Rize, a ghoul shown to have some exceptional speed?, How did the CCG get quinques in the first place, if traditional weapons can't hurt ghouls?, etc.). The other major issue is the lack of an ending. Several plot threads are left hanging. This wouldn't bother me too much, since there is a second season, but I'll tackle the issues with that another day.

Art : 6
The art style is well done. The character designs are, at least to me, quite cool-looking, and I love some of the mask designs as well. However, I can't compliment the animation because I CAN'T SEE MOST OF IT. The show is littered with unnecessary censorship. If you watch this show, watch the DVD/BR version. Apparently, the censorship is supposed to be gone in that.

Sound: 9
The voice acting was solidly done. Currently, there is no dub (I can deal), but the original va is brilliantly done, and even features the wonderful hamming of Mamoru Miyano.

The soundtrack is pretty good, though nothing stood out TOO much to me. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the opening theme. Unravel is one of the best songs I've heard in a while, and nearly every remix of it I've listened to has been enjoyable, even, shockingly enough, the dubstep version.

Character: 9
Tokyo Ghoul's strongest point, by far. Going hand-in-hand with its world building, the characters are wonderfully explored. The MC, Kaneki Ken, is a character who starts off wimpy, falls in love (okay it was more of a crush), and loses his entire sense of identity. Ah, to be young again. But seriously, as much as he cries and complains about his new situation, he handles it quite well, and as time goes along, he finds the virtues of his fellow ghouls.

Hide is the stereotypical best-friend character, though that didn't stop me from liking him. The best way to describe Touka would be a tsundere, though that's not necessarily a bad thing here. She's still awesome, but not overly fleshed out.

I found Hinami incredibly relatable, especially since she's the character who essentially loses her innocence, and oddly doesn't crumble completely because of it. Plus, as a Japanese language student, I love the whole "How do you read this kanji?" thing.

Tsukiyama is just plain brilliant. Creepy, but brilliant. Moving on.

In the CCG, we've got two major characters, Mado and Amon. Mado is easily hate-able, which I can approve of in an antagonist if it's intentional. Amon is a brilliant foil to Kaneki, representing Kaneki's once-held beliefs about ghouls. He's your 'lawful good' character for the show, and I think the whole moral issue with him was wonderfully executed, at least in this season.

Last, but certainly not least is Rize. She's the whole reason we have a plot, and I love her for it. After Kaneki is implanted with her organs, she starts speaking to him like a mix of subconscious and conscious thought. And. She's . Amazing. My only issue is that, like the plot, she just... ends. I would have loved to see her fleshed out more. Was she always a binge eater, or did something drive her to that? Was she sincere with Kaneki, liking books and him, or did she lie just to get another meal?

Enjoyment : 8
This show was a ride, and I don't think there was a single episode that I disliked.

Overall : 8
This show would be an instant recommendation if the second season didn't ruin what good this first season set up. I still think it's brilliant, but I find it hard to recommend something with no good resolution.

"All the suffering in this world is born from an individual's incompetence. The person who told me that was a real piece of shit." - Jason

Preface:

This is the first part of my full Tokyo Ghoul review, and will be solely for the first season. I'm splitting them up because I felt it would be easier to follow and allow me to go into more detail about why this season is worthy of a decent score. This is NOT a manga review. Those have a place, and this is not it. I have not read the Tokyo Ghoul manga, but I have informed myself of where ... it differs from the anime.


Artwork and Animation: 6

The first and last several episodes aside, Tokyo Ghoul has very average character models, fluidity, and overall consistency. While there are some nicely animated fight scenes, and a few very intense moments, the majority of it is 'meh'. There are some scenes where the kagune look like living, pulsating tentacles with marks and veiny looking details drawn on, and other times they look like a 4 year old went wild with the red, purple, and blue crayons. Overall, it works, but this isn't some hyperrealistic animation.


Sound and Voice Acting: 8

Natsuki Hanae does a great job playing the timid, scared, and conflicted Ken in Tokyo Ghoul. While not Oscar material, definitely a good role, and one I found believable. Mamoru Miyama (Light, Death Note) is glorious as Tsukiyama, and Rie Kugimiya (Alphonse, FMAB) is fantastic as Juzo. Overall decent sounding and with a veteran voice cast, can't go wrong here.

The opening theme, "Unravel" is a nice song to start the show, and a good mood setter as well.


Characters: 7

Unlike Root A, it's very plain that Ken is the MC here. After his unplanned initiation to the world of ghouls, Ken becomes an extremely conflicted and detached person; unable to reconcile who he is, or what he has to do to survive, he shuts down and withdraws from life.

Through Ken, we're able to see the injustice and morally gray lives of the ghouls. There are those who would see their status as ghoul as an affliction, something that turns them into outcasts on the fringe of society, hunted by the government. There are also those who embrace their identity of ghoul as empowerment and use it to commit unspeakable evil.

Ken, as both human and ghoul, (due to the emergency surgery he receives after being attacked by a ghoul) is lost. On the one hand, he has to eat to survive, and the only way is to consume the flesh of a human. Yet, Ken refuses to give up his humanity, seeing it as cannibalism and denies himself until the point where he's being driven insane by his insatiable hunger for flesh that he would kill his own best friend. With nowhere else to turn, Ken manages to find a way out that doesn't involve murder, but does involve him addressing his inner turmoil.

Other cast of note include: the emo scenester Touka, who serves as Ken's guide into the world of ghoul, Hide, Ken's best friend and human influence, Amon, the naive young special investigator of the CCG, and the wonderfully sick Tsukiyama and Jason.

Story: 8

It's this angst that drives the first season of Tokyo Ghoul, and it works well. The inner conflict of Ken trying to reconcile his dualistic nature, and learning what it means to be hunted for things far beyond his control lend an air of mystery and suspense to the show, for there are far, far worse ghouls out there than the ones he meets at Antique.

Newly introduced into this hidden world, Ken learns that there are factions of ghouls that would seek to overthrow the CCG, the Commission of Counter-Ghoul, a special police force created to eradicate the terroristic threat that the ghouls pose to the wards of Tokyo. They're violent, merciless, and extremely bloodthirsty. Not only do these ghouls want to kill humans and devour them, but some of the sickest among them even hunger for ghoul as well.

Along with these groups, there are also peaceful ghouls that try to camouflage themselves in society by posing as ordinary people in mundane jobs, as students, and as a human being. There is a good portion of the plot dealing with how conflicts between the groups arise, which plays out suspensefully. The nail that sticks out gets hammered, and the ghouls are no different. The ghouls who commit the most crimes get more CCG investigators sent to their area, which further escalates the tension and violence. When these aggressive ghouls invade the territory of the peaceful ones, inquisitors follow, spelling a change in the way of life for those of the ghoul persuasion.


The plot functions in small arcs, with Nishio, Tsukiyama, and Jason + Aogiri being the different headlining acts split up with the CCG side of the story as seen through the eyes of Amon and Kureo Mado. The action has weight and consequences, and nearly turns into grimdark horror by the end. Overall, the pacing and flow are pretty even, though the series thickens at the end in anticipation of Root A, it doesn't suffer for it.


Enjoyment: 8

Tokyo Ghoul is fun. I've heard it likened unto being a digest version of some heavier anime that are more existential or focused on moral ambiguity, but Tokyo Ghoul is more about the action than a deeper meaning. There are a couple of twists, but nothing that groundbreaking. Personally, what was better about Tokyo Ghoul than Root A was how it was focused on the characters, and their interactions within themselves AND with the others around them versus being one giant battle for the entire season.

Ken is faced with the trolley problem (sacrifice the few to save the many) late in the season, and due to his personality and his life up until that point, he's unable to decide, since he'd always been the timid, repressed one that went along with the crowd. Crippled with indecision, Ken ultimately ends up saving no-one when he tries to save everyone. He is presented with a harsh truth- a consequentialist one. A truth that says that his choices are the ones that he's to be judged on, and that if he chooses not to, then it's all on him- the lives of others, of his friends, family, and even the innocent he fails to protect.


Overall: 8

tl;dr

+ Character driven story
+ Dark, dramatic, and brutal at times

+/- Some annoying characters

- Anime logic/biology*

*(Getting impaled and living through it, numerous times. Two characters fall off a 50+ floor skyscraper, and the one that gets crushed by falling girders from the same height's organs are in better shape than the one that just fell... like wtf? The force of a ghoul character's kick on a human character hits them with such force that they fly 25 feet or so in the air, through a concrete wall. The acceleration force of that kick alone would have liquefied the other character's organs, never mind the blunt force trauma death.)


Recommend?

Yes, I'd say Tokyo Ghoul is worth a watch. If you like a dark, action oriented show, it'll fill the void nicely.

This anime was eye-catching with its stunning visuals and also its brilliant opening.The opening was extremely detailed as it included the ghoul eyes in the ghouls reflections. Furthermore its opening sound track brilliantly executed by Yamada Yutaka and it also complimented the stunning art. However it had its downfall as there was a lack of development in the characters background, also it tried to introduce too much characters in 12 episodes. They could have improved this by focusing on the main chracters and by also showing Kaneki's inner conflict with Rise. In my opinion the best episodes were the first and last as both ... episode kept the audience at the edge of their seats.Personally I think that the manga was better as you got to see more of Kanzeki's fights as a bad ass. The series story is a very thought out idea as it shows conflict between ghouls and humans just as the writer wanted it, but the main character is a wimp who wants co-existence between human and ghoul he does nothing to show for this except cry throughout the entire series.The last episode however contradicted Ken's wimpy persona and he transformed into a total bad ass which the audience wanted to see. Another fail in character development was that they added a paedophile who did nothing but sniff Ken's blood on a napkin throughout the whole series. I hope that season two fill in the mistakes season one made and also I hope to see more of Rise's past as she is my favourite character in the entire series.

As a stand-alone work, the Tokyo Ghoul anime is enjoyable, but it is lacking; it falls short in a few aspects that could make it truly great. So, if one is trying to choose between watching the anime OR reading the manga, the most fulfilling course of action would be to skip this and find chapter 1. The source material fills the gaps in the anime that prevent it from being more than just a fun thing to watch.
Now, onto the details:

Story - 7/10
It's tough for me to objectively rate the story of Tokyo Ghoul, the anime, without comparing it to the manga, but ... I'll try my best. The story seems somewhat cliche at first, but it's executed in a manner that makes it very different from anime with similar concepts -- it's a very character-driven story, and because the characters are mostly three-dimensional, well-developed, and fascinating, the story feels fresh. It's engaging and well-paced; it goes fast enough to really suck you in, but it slows down just enough to build suspense, as well. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, or for people who don't like sad stories. But if you're like me and you like dark, tragic stories, Tokyo Ghoul is a good choice.

Art - 6/10
At first, the art seems okay, if not a little mundane style-wise. As the show progresses, however, it becomes apparent that Tokyo Ghoul needs a more atmospheric and interesting style to suit its themes. Tokyo Ghoul is set apart from other anime in that it has its own brand of twistedness -- after all, it's a story about a protagonist whose body and mind take a turn for the horrific. What Pierrot came up with was, unfortunately, bland and mediocre; aesthetically, the animation just does not suit the story or characters.
Even worse, the quality of the animation falters quite frequently. For example, when Nishiki kicks Hide, the movements of both the kick and of Hide being sent flying are so fast, choppy and otherwise poorly-executed that it's actually funny. It seems that Studio Pierrot had issues with kicking while animating this, because when Ayato kicks down a door later on, he looks flat-out ridiculous. Tsukiyama's face looks beautiful half of the time, and it looks like one big blunder the other half. Worst of all, if you pause at the right (or rather, wrong...) moment, especially during action scenes, you're bound to come across a hilariously bad frame, or series of frames. At times it seems like the animators were just hoping that viewers wouldn't be paying attention at times when the characters spend a few seconds looking like they were drawn by a middle school kid. However, there are some scenes that are actually very well-done, especially in the later episodes, e.g. Kaneki's hallucinations/internal conversation in the later episodes were both gorgeous and memorable.

Sound: 10/10
The soundtrack is wonderful, both in the show and for listening on its own. Tokyo Ghoul's soundtrack captures the mood and tone of the story in ways that the animation could not even begin to accomplish. It's the perfect juxtaposition of delicate/melancholy and harsh/heavy. If you enjoy this anime, then listening to the soundtrack later on will probably make you emotional, it's that good. Standout tracks include "Unravel" (the first opening), "Glassy Sky", and "Licht und Schatten". The second opening, "Munou", was met with mixed feelings from the fanbase -- mostly because it's straight-up bizarre, and it's not the kind of song you would expect from an anime opening at all -- but personally I thought it was beautiful and very fitting, considering Kaneki's psychological deterioration as the series progresses.
The voice acting is brilliant. (I'm talking about the Japanese here; I don't believe there's a dub out yet as I'm writing this, and it's not like I'd watch a dub of Tokyo Ghoul anyway, considering the perfection of the Japanese acting in this case.) Natsuki Hanae's performance as Kaneki is nothing short of devastating, and I mean that in the best way possible. In scenes where Kaneki was in pain, the voice acting felt so real that it was actually distressing. The other actors did a wonderful job too, of course, but Natsuki Hanae truly blew me away.

Character 7/10
The characters are all very interesting and lovable. I've never heard of a fan who doesn't like Kaneki, and his development is what really makes Tokyo Ghoul so great. Watching him change is truly heartbreaking, and that's the point. The character designs aren't spectacular, but they're all really cool, especially Suzuya's. Suzuya himself is a fascinating character that I got attached to very quickly, and his fight scenes were usually the most entertaining. However, a lot of characters were deprived of the development that they should have gotten. This is another situation in which it's hard to be objective about the anime, because in the manga, characters that the anime neglects development-wise (such as Banjou and Tsukiyama...ESPECIALLY Tsukiyama) go through outstanding development. But disregarding that, they're still great characters.

Enjoyment - 7/10
You'll enjoy this if you're not looking for a story with some depth but not too much of it. If you want something that will really keep you thinking about it, skip the anime, go for the manga. Or do both.

Overall - 7/10
There are characters and plot points that were full of potential that they weren't allowed to reach, and the animation was mostly lackluster, but it's still a decent anime. Definitely not a masterpiece, but it's good enough.

For the longest time since I watched Tokyo Ghoul I've been re-watching it over and over again (even now I'm writing this review while listening to unravel, I just can't get enough of this anime, gomen. xD). And oh, please take note that I haven't read the chapters of which this anime was adapted from so I will review it based on the anime itself not on the adaptation from manga to anime (hope we're clear on that. :p)

So first allow me to say this, Tokyo Ghoul is simply amazing. The story, the art, the character. Zenbu. As for sound? That did it. Words fail ... me. The moment I listened to the song, I was hooked. The song fits the anime perfectly. Needless to say, I really enjoyed it to my heart's content. *sigh

So let's go down to the details.

We have Kaneki Ken, a shy and bookish university student. He was a regular customer of Anteiku (a coffee shop run by Yoshimura, a ghoul, which serves as a refuge for fellow ghouls in 20th ward) where he met Rize, the binge eater, he instantly had a crush on her but he was about to have the surprise of his life when she attacked him after their date. One thing lead to another, he woke up feeling strange. Thus, his nightmare began when he discovered what he'd become.

I love tragic hero stories because I sincerely believes that those who have experienced the most painful things are the ones who are capable of deep understanding of life, that is if they stick to their values, have the wisdom to endure and the courage to protect the most important thing to them.

Honestly, all the characters have their own story to tell. This is the reason why it's painful to watch because you understand where they're coming from and it's hard to ignore. Although it's almost impossible, I hope they come to understand each other and break the chain of revenge. *sigh

However, I must say, even though I haven't read the manga I feel that the pacing is a bit fast and rushed. Somehow, I know there are many skipped chapters I can understand the disappointment of those who read the manga.

After watching this I read the manga as to what happened next. I can't help myself. And so I'm so ready for season 2. Bring it on!

And oh, I haven't mention that aside from Kaneki, one character that I really love so much is Hide. I kind of know the feeling of having a best friend since childhood so my heart really goes for Hide for being such the best best friend Kaneki could ever have.

*I'm currently reading Tokyo ghoul:re, I wish Hide is somewhere alive, please.*

So much feels. Amazing.

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

Most people hate being something they're not. "Just be yourself" is a common phrase used to express the feeling that, as a person, you should just act the way you normally do (within reason). But what happens when this type of mentality is challenged by those around you? Tokyo Ghoul aims to explore this idea by pitting the ghouls versus the humans and how they live their lives in co-existence.

STORY

Tokyo Ghoul stars Kaneki, a young high school student who, early on, takes an interest in another woman. However, during a freak accident, Kaneki is forced to become a ... "ghoul", a person who must feed on human flesh in order to survive.

One of the things I thought the show did well throughout the series was showing the dynamic between ghouls and humans, and what it means exactly to be a ghoul. Most prominent of all is the idea of eating flesh. But besides this, the show looks at more interesting scenarios, such as ghoul and human relationships, how ghouls are treated both by humans and their own comrades, and how to get by in a world not designed for you. I found these parts of the show to be the most interesting. While not on the same level as something like Shinsekai Yori, when the environment holds certain social discrepancies, it always invites interesting situations for the two sides to collide. And the show presents these quarrels in interesting enough ways to make the story enjoyable.

As a negative, I felt Tokyo Ghoul spent too much time on the eating aspect of the ghouls. It becomes apparent early on what they must do (and not do) in order to obtain nourishment. But even for some of the villains, their main trait still revolves around "food". I wish there would have been less focus on that and more on other ghoul facets, but that is more of a personal feeling.
I also agree with /u/ThatAnimeSnob's (a reddit user) reasoning that throughout almost the entirety of the series, Kaneki plays a passive role in an aggressive world.

Besides the final episode, Kaneki is portrayed as weak, helpless, and scared. Because of this, he has to maintain this role. However, the show suffers because of this. The characters around him drive the narrative; Kaneki is usually just along for the ride. Even though he is the lead, it never feels as if his actions provide any effect on what occurs next.

Regardless, the show's pacing is also quite quick. There is never really any clear goal that the characters are looking to achieve. Rather, they deal with the problems presented to them as they come. In this way, the show sort of becomes a "something happens, take care of it, wait a bit, something happens..." type of deal. Again, this problem stems from Kaneki's lack of power or hold over the narrative. Because he does not have an active role in the things that happen, and since he is the lead protagonist, there is no clear overall purpose to the show's story-telling.

ANIMATION

Tokyo Ghoul's animation is actually quite good. All of the fight scenes themselves are well choreographed and are easy to follow despite all of the jumping and twirling. The show goes into great detail when a character begins expressing extreme emotion. In these circumstances, the character's faces have actual individual teeth, facial muscles, and a manic facade.
The art style is also quite nice. It mostly sticks to darker colors in order to give a more mature feeling while simultaneously making the world seem darker (both in subject matter and in mood).

Personally, I liked the character designs. Jason's larger physique, Touka's kick-ass ghoul form, Mado's old but wise demeanor. Everyone presented a unique look that fit their personalities well.

The only gripe I have, and so do many others, was the extensive use of censorship. It can be argued that such a device was used so heavily in order to make selling of the actual copies of the show later to increase. But when I am watching the show, and half the screen is black to hide some random dude's missing arm or there is a shower of blue blood due to negative coloring, it does not help it in the slightest.

CHARACTERS

Tokyo Ghoul actually has quite a large cast. Due to this, many of the characters themselves are never fully explored.

Technically speaking, the only main characters are Kaneki and Touka. Kaneki, while pretty much pathetic, does experience the most growth of any of the characters. It is pretty small during the middle of the show, but it does exist. He understands that he is weak and unable to do the things that other ghouls can. He learns that he not only doesn't fit within the ghoul lifestyle but as a human as well. Near the end, he comes to the realization that what he wants and what he thinks are actually completely different. And after correcting his line of thinking, he finally starts to "just be himself". But at this point, it is too little, too late.

Touka, contrarily, sees little development. Throughout much of the show, she is a brooding character; more "tsun" than "dere". She has acclimated to the world around her. She goes to school, does human things, and at the end of the day, resorts to what she needs to in order to survive. These qualities make her out to be a well-rounded character already, meaning there is no room for improvement on her part. They attempt to instill some form of empathy for her following her fight against Mado, but it isn't touched upon enough to have any lasting effects.

The only other notable characters are Jason and Rize. Jason is depicted as being quite psychotic (for obvious reasons), but I felt that his lack of presence throughout the middle of the show dampened his effectiveness as a proper villain.

Rize, in a similar fashion, is alluded to quite often during the show, and makes her best appearance near the story's conclusion. While she isn't necessarily explored, her actions and monologues were quite interesting. Even though she wasn't on-screen much, she definitely left an impression when she was.

SOUND

Both the OP and ED for this show are very, very good. The OP starts off slow and peaceful, but by the halfway point it picks up, making you as energized as the people in that world. In contrast, the ED goes for a mellow tone, with simple beats and a nice rhythm. It helps you to wind down from the craziness that usually happens during that episode.

The rest of the soundtrack is okay. There isn't anything too memorable or of the same quality as the OP and ED (but that is hard to do).

The voice acting performances were very well done, especially by Kaneki, Jason, and Mado. Other notable performances include Touka, Rize, and Tsukiyama (Mr. French-man). In general, everyone did a very nice job.

ENJOYMENT

Tokyo Ghoul had a great opportunity to present a world filled with conflicting sides. I am a fan of all different genres, and while the psychological aspects for the show were fine, it never really expanded beyond that. Yes, there are good fighting scenes present within the show, but to me that wasn't the focus, or at least it shouldn't have been.

I found that many of the characters within the show, besides Kaneki and Touka, were used then quickly forgotten. Examples include Hide (Kaneki's best friend) and Ayato (Touka's brother). This is most likely due to the shows time constraint (only being one-cour) but it never really makes sense to introduce such characters and then not do anything with them.

I don't think this show is the best example of a psychological thriller. It does have these elements, but I think it is more aligned with people who enjoy a darker take on what it means to be human. Does the show even do this well? Not exactly. However, for what it is worth, the show was still a nice watch, even if the ending we received left many unanswered questions.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, wants to explore ghoul vs. human but with no clear direction

Animation: Good, nice detail and atmosphere mired in censorship

Characters: Fine, some are likable and hated for what they do while most are underdeveloped

Sound: Great, fantastic OP, ED, and voice acting

Enjoyment: Fine, mature but never quite fun

Final Score: 6/10

I have never written a review before but seeing lots of people giving this serie good votes and hyping like crazy fangirls, I felt the urge to write.

Where should I start?

Story: 2/10 "Pardon me?? Was there a story did I miss?"

Most of the episodes feels like they are arcs of themselves and have no connections at all. Plotlines just start to pop up out of nowhere and very bad written scripts don't help at all.

The last half was rushed and felt so empty. Characters were trying desperately to tell something but they failed miserably.

And for the last part it becomes like a DEUS EX ... MACHINA thing and turns the things from gore/horror/action/drama/blabla anime to a cheap shounen shot.

Art: 4/10

The actual art is fine but the gore scenes which should be the shining star of the show are CENSORED SO BADLY that it makes you want to puke.

You will find yourself mostly watching the dark parts which is 90% of the screenplay and wonder why did they hire artists...

Sound: 5/10

Liked the Opening so much. Ending was OK. Other than that OST? WUT? NAH.

For the voice acting it was cool. I mean actors tried to act like the script was good. Poor them.

Character: 2/10

BORING.

Worst character designs ever.

Kaneki=Yukiteru=BAD
Touka=SO BAD BEING A TSUNDERE
OTHERS=CRAP and MOST OF THEM DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STORYLINE.

I can't express my feelings towards how badly characters could be written. You watch a couple of eps. then you will understand me.

Enjoyment: 2/10

Because it is rushed as hell and censored so badly. No. I didn't even enjoy this serie.


Overall: 3/10

I still can't get why Tokyo LOLOHUL is sooo HYPED.

And they call Sword Art bad xD

This review goes for both seasons of Tokyo Ghoul (so far), and despite the fact that I don't think of Tokyo Ghoul as an anime that falls on the 'good' end of the spectrum, I will still be watching the third season. Why exactly? I don't really have a good reason. In fact, I expect to be asking myself why I am watching the third season of an anime I don't care about right up until I have finished the last episode.

* Note that I haven't read the manga, and even so, this is a review about the anime as a standalone work.

[potential minor spoilers ... ahead]

The very first episode of Tokyo Ghoul requires a strenuous amount of suspension of disbelief and overlooking clumsy storytelling. The first episode of a show is supposed to pull you into its world in an immersive way that leaves you with many questions and wanting to find out more, not dump a whole load of information on you solely through forced dialogue. While explanation via dialogue is often necessary, especially in sci-fi/fantasy settings, there is a point at which "show, don't tell" really has to come into play.

Despite the over-explaining, it is still peppered with plot holes that beg for an explanation: for example, how can a knife break in half when thrust at the abdomen of a ghoul because "human weapons can't harm ghouls", yet a bunch of shit falling off the roof of a building can actually kill one while simultaneously leaving its organs unharmed enough to transplant? (sidenote: what was with the exchange between the doctors when they transplanted the ghoul's organs into Kaneki? I have never heard such unrealistic dialogue in my life). There are plenty of other scenes I could talk about that made me raise an eyebrow, but I don't want to spoil it for those that still intend to watch this show after my review.

What I will say in favor of the show, however, is that at times, the art and animation can be quite emotionally evocative - the soundtrack is also very good, and the art in general is smooth and well animated (aside from the incredibly annoying enormous black lines that appear in most versions of the show to block out the gore. God dammit. Gore is to me what fanservice is to others) but that's really the only genuine compliment I can think of for this show. Had it not been for these elements of it, I would absolutely have dropped it out of sheer boredom.

The characters are very flat and seriously lack any real substance or relatability. Especially Kaneki. Though, in comparing TG to Sword Art Online and Mars of Destruction, it is a practically masterpiece in this respect. While one could protest that the fact that Kaneki basically stops being a lil bitch because the shit is tortured out of him is 'character development', I beg to differ. A 180 degree flip in a character's personality (or whatever little personality Kaneki has) over the course of one episode does not constitute realistic or interesting character development in my opinion. Even in the case of a severely traumatic event, like, for example, the shit being tortured out of you, you don't just switch from being whiney as hell one episode prior to being totally emotionless and abandoning everyone who has ever accepted you the next. Kaneki starts off as a total crybaby, before taking on a somewhat Kirito-esque Jesus-Kun aspect to him. Although there were hints of development of his character before he totally changed, it really wasn't enough to make his shift from one personality to another believable or realistic. Of course, there's always the way he is supposedly 'torn between good and evil' etc, but I have seen that premise done a thousand times better elsewhere, and with less dimensionless characters.

As for the supporting characters, none of them seemed to show any real development at all. The only character I actually got much enjoyment out of was Juuzou, and honestly, even he was a shit character. I think I like him because I'm biased towards childlike psychotic nutcases who enjoy ripping people to shreds with scythes, no matter how shittily they're written.

The characters just aren't believable or realistic. They are too black or white - even Kaneki, who is meant to play the part of grey, is too one-dimensional. The problem is that the plot doesn't leave any room for ambiguity to keep the viewer guessing, to get the viewer caught up in the turmoil of the characters. My general rule of thumb is that if you can easily summarize a character in one sentence (or god forbid, one word - eg. tsundere), the writer is probably doing something wrong.

As for the course of the plot... As far as I'm concerned, I'm not actually sure I could see that it had much direction. If you want to see the same basic concept TG follows applied in a more realistic way, I'd recommend Parasyte: The Maxim. I get the feeling that Tokyo Ghoul was trying to be somewhere between slice of life ghoul style and a dramatic thriller, and I didn't feel like it quite worked. There wasn't enough back story to most of the other ghouls in the cafe to make it possible to really keep track of what the hell was going on, especially towards the end of season 2.

I suppose, what I have to say about Tokyo Ghoul is that it tried. I mean, it managed to hold my attention, and it wasn't completely unwatchably idiotic and putrid. It was a good time killer at least, and a small part of me vaguely looks forward to seeing the third season.

Ken Kaneki is a shy young man who lives an ordimary college life.Due to an unexpected turn of events his fate is bound to change overnight.From the lonely world of books is thrown into the mysterious world of "ghouls".At first he is in denial and cannot accept his "nature" believing he is still a human, but hunger now blinds him.It is only after he meets Touka that he realises life goes on. Touka is young ghoul in protection of a group of less violent ghouls who try to live well with humans.Ken gradually becomes a member.Joy and tragedies he experience as a ghoul will grow ... him up and direct him to abandon them.

I was amazed by the connection of colours with the mood of Ken and the other characters(sad,angry--->rain, happy,enjoyment--->sunny day).Also the presence of art diversity in characters was clear(face, clothes,hair) as well as details in the background (cars, traffic lights,buildings).Battles were okay(i've seen better ones) but thats fair because i think Tokyo ghoul focuses more on Ken's drama than ghoul action sequences.

Honestly,i didnt like the opening theme.The ending is catchy thought.I was not that impressed with the sound i must say.

Ken's dramatic character evolutes well(happy,shy,introverted to lonely,sad,angry and backwards).There is a gap on drawing the other "main" characters like Amon,Touka,Hinami but i believe is part of focusing more on Ken.

I really enjoyed watching Tokyo Ghoul and i recommend it to all anime lovers especially those who prefer the plot and drama with a spice of mystery and action.

Tokyo Ghoul I found to be quite enjoyable, and had amazing art. The voice acting was amazing but the sound effects definitely left more to be desired. The music they used I felt matched the scene almost perfectly. I did not like however how they left some characters without an answer. Some characters were introduced and seemed like they could have gone someplace with that character but instead they completely abandoned that character within the next episode. However that did not take away the enjoyment of the main story and watching Kaneki slowly adapt to the new life he has been forced to live. ... The anime is one of the best I've watched and I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for one to watch.

My first ever review of an anime about every aspect

"Tokyo Ghoul" stands as a masterpiece, especially when compared to many recent anime productions, due to its exceptional storytelling, thematic depth, and lasting impact. Here's why it outshines its contemporaries:

Narrative Complexity: "Tokyo Ghoul" presents a narrative that transcends typical anime conventions. Its exploration of identity, morality, and the blurred lines between humans and ghouls adds layers of complexity to the storytelling. The series delves into profound philosophical questions, offering a depth that is often missing in more recent anime.

Character Development: The characters in "Tokyo Ghoul" are intricately crafted, with each undergoing significant development throughout the ... series. Theemotional journey of Kaneki Ken and the nuanced portrayals of other characters contribute to a rich and engaging narrative. Recent anime often struggle to provide such depth in character arcs.

Artistic Excellence: The animation quality and artistry in "Tokyo Ghoul" set a high standard. From intense fight sequences to atmospheric visuals, the series demonstrates a meticulous attention to detail that elevates the viewing experience. This level of craftsmanship is sometimes lacking in newer anime where shortcuts are taken.

Thematic Resonance: "Tokyo Ghoul" has a lasting impact on its audience by addressing relevant and thought-provoking themes. Its exploration of societal norms, existentialism, and the consequences of prejudice resonates deeply. Many recent anime, while entertaining, may not reach the same level of thematic resonance.

Cultural Influence: Beyond its entertainment value, "Tokyo Ghoul" has become a cultural phenomenon. It has inspired extensive fan discussions, fan theories, and a plethora of fan-created content. The series has left an enduring mark, sparking intellectual engagement that extends well beyond its original airing.

Soundtrack: A masterpiece due to its ability to intricately weave emotions into the narrative. "Unravel" serves as a powerful opening theme, with its haunting melody and poignant lyrics capturing the essence of the series' darker themes. "Licht und Schatten" complements intense moments with its orchestral arrangement, enhancing the emotional impact. The soundtrack as a whole enhances the storytelling, creating an immersive experience for viewers by effectively conveying the complex emotions and atmosphere of Tokyo Ghoul.

In essence, "Tokyo Ghoul" distinguishes itself as a timeless masterpiece by combining narrative brilliance, character depth, artistic excellence, thematic resonance, and a cultural impact that sets it apart from many anime productions of recent years.