The first season of Tokyo Ghoul, while certainly not reaching the heights as the manga, was an enjoyable exposition to the series that was able lead newcomers like me to binge read the entire 143 chapter manga in two days. As a stand alone show, ignoring the quality of the manga, it was pretty good.
Root A, however, is trash from an anime-viewer-only perspective and worse than trash if you've read the manga. It is a mess of unexplained plot points that insult the complexity of the source material it was adapted from. For all the hype generated by Sui Ishida creating an original plot line
...
for the anime to follow, Root A fell inconceivably short in almost all areas it could. Studio Pierrot proved itself completely inadequate to handling the franchise and we can only hope that the Tokyo Ghoul series gets the Brotherhood-esque 50-episode reboot with a much better studio.
Despite a promising opening episode that immediately introduced a difference in story to the manga, Root A never seemed to be interested in actually developing an original story. From one episode to the next, content was centered around adaptations of the sidestory in the manga. I never got the feeling that there even was an original element to the story. Kaneki, who should've been the focal point of the so-called "original plot", is left thoroughly underdeveloped and recieves approximately half a minute of air-time per episode. I was excited for the prospect of a different take on perhaps the manga's weakest arc, but found myself disappointed by the lack of attention to the main character. For all intents and purposes, there are zero differences in plot progression between the anime and manga, besides the fact that the anime development of the characters is far inferior. Simply nothing comes of this original direction despite the many glaringly obvious routes it could add to the series. Instead, Root A follows a rather slow-paced development of the supporting cast with intermittent unexplained violence. The story somewhat resembles season 1 Aldnoah Zero - intriguing major plot points outlined but no content to flesh out the story and add impact to the plot's important events.
A large part of the problem is no doubt due to the shortness of the adaptation. The first season, while not perfect, was able to a manage a somewhat coherent story condensing around 60 chapters of manga. Root A attempts to condense something closer to 75-80 chapters and royally screws it up. Major story arcs are melded together so that the overall picture is completely nonsensical. There is no coherent progression from one event to the next; the end result is that the series as a whole feels like a haphazard, condensed jumbling of the manga. With everything feeling rushed and coming from left field, it's nearly impossible to get invested or enjoy the story.
That said, there are some legitimately good scenes of character development of the side characters. Suzaya Juuzou's character and his relationship to Shinohara is actually better done in the anime than the manga. Unfortunately, the rest of these character development scenes are mostly direct adaptations from the manga. If you've read the manga, you will very soon forget that this is supposed to be an original story, as 90% of each episode is cut from the manga. You really begin to question Studio Pierrot's priorities, as the main story arc is so sidelined by side stories (how ironic) that when bouts of action occur, you simply have no idea what the conflict is about. Pacing was an issue in the first season; however, Root A takes poor pacing to a new level.
The major climax of the manga was impactful and well thought out but gets completely butchered in the anime thanks to a missing major fight as well as the larger issue of simply not adapting enough of the main story to really understand Kaneki's profound development as a character, which is what makes the final arc so epic. Once again, I really have to question the director's priorities - if you plan to adapt the epic, final showdown of the main story arc, why wouldn't you spend more time adapting the events of the main story?
Animation-wise, Root A is fairly underwhelming. The art is nothing spectacular (aside from one beautifully detailed keyboard) and the animation hits power-point level quality during some fight scenes. With this show, Studio Pierrot proudly declares to the world that fighting scenes are not their forté and fills most major fights with smoke so nearly all art is obscured.
Sound is a similar story. Pierrot should have kept the same opening song from the first season (Unravel by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure), which will undoubtedly be the most memorable piece of the Pierrot iteration of the franchise. This is pretty evident considering Pierrot even brought in an acoustic version was made specifically for the (rubbish) final episode of the show. The ED is a decent song but the series offers nothing spectacular when it comes to OST aside from the one standout song that came from the first season.
Overall, this was an extremely disappointing follow-up to a semi-decent first season. I'm still having trouble comprehending the stupidity that was the decision to cram the brilliance of the 143 chapters of Tokyo Ghoul into 24 episodes; furthermore, the hint of a :re follow up is nothing more an insult to manga readers. Root A has some good moments of character development, but that is due entirely to a direct adaptation from manga scenes and should not be any way credited to Studio Pierrot. In fact, Root A has only shown that Studio Pierrot should not adapt any more Tokyo Ghoul material - or any material really.
Story: 3/10
Art: 6/10
Sound: 6/10
Character: 7/10
Enjoyment: 5/10
Overall Rating: 5/10
TLDR; Read the manga from chapter 1, watch episode 12 of the first season, avoid all else. Or, wait for the 50-episode remake of Tokyo Ghoul it deserves with a competent studio.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Tokyo Ghoul Root A, Tokyo Ghoul 2nd Season, Tokyo Ghoul Second Season
Japanese: 東京喰種√A
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
12
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jan 9, 2015 to Mar 27, 2015
Premiered:
Winter 2015
Broadcast:
Fridays at 00:00 (JST)
Licensors:
Funimation
Studios:
Pierrot
Source:
Manga
Demographic:
Seinen
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Statistics
Ranked:
#42802
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#48
Members:
1,770,590
Favorites:
10,516
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 201 / 210
Sort
Your Feelings Categories Mar 26, 2015
The first season of Tokyo Ghoul, while certainly not reaching the heights as the manga, was an enjoyable exposition to the series that was able lead newcomers like me to binge read the entire 143 chapter manga in two days. As a stand alone show, ignoring the quality of the manga, it was pretty good.
Root A, however, is trash from an anime-viewer-only perspective and worse than trash if you've read the manga. It is a mess of unexplained plot points that insult the complexity of the source material it was adapted from. For all the hype generated by Sui Ishida creating an original plot line ... Apr 1, 2015
(This has been adapted from my reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)
Something that is inherent in all people is the need to protect the things you love. Doing whatever it takes to keep the stuff around you safe. Either by fighting or sacrificing, as long as what truly matters to you is unharmed, the rest doesn't matter. It might be family, friends, or your dearest of objects; it's not so much what it is but the act of protecting it that matters. But there are those times when, despite how hard one tries, such protection just isn't possible. Such is the idea that Tokyo Ghoul Root A ... Nov 5, 2018
“I laughed...
I cried... I experienced something that changed my life...” - LemonLyme about Tokyo Ghoul √A, 2015 Tokyo Ghoul √A is one of the most brilliant and intriguing anime I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. With a breathtaking plot, well-developed characters and wonderful animation that leaves me speechless beyond measure it is definitely one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, anime that has been, and will ever be, made. The story centers around all of the many wonderful characters that appear in Tokyo Ghoul; Ken Kaneki (his hair is completely white now by the way. That’s badass!), the Anteiku ghouls and the not-so-evil police force that tries ... Mar 26, 2015
This series is essentially what you would expect to be the end product of 12 directors and script writers playing telephone together with each episode, which would mean no overarching consistency, lack of cohesion and continuity between episodes, little to no character development, and a poor narrative. Alas, although it has turned out like a poorly written fanfiction, Tokyo Ghoul √A does not suffer from its staff playing games in its production. It's just a lackluster adaptation on all fronts, even without comparisons to its source material.
The plot is the biggest pitfall here, due to lack of clear direction and explanation. Even ignoring that ... Mar 30, 2015
To save you the trouble, Short Review: Wasted potential
Now if you'll like to get more insight into where this show could of excelled and what it ultimately opt out for instead then continue on, as we place Tokyo Ghoul √A under a analytical microscope for closer inspection. A show that had the opportunity to be more but ultimately became yet another "schlock" level blood bath. Social discrimination and persecution is an issue that has plagued mankind for as long as we know it, dating back to the oldest historical texts and manuscripts. Whenever a societal group feels threatened or simply don't comprehend another group's social ... Mar 26, 2015
Described by some as horror, some as a character story, and some as a hellish battle zone that erupted from the events of season 1, Tokyo Ghoul Root A is a series that got quite a lot of people talking. Written by Ishida Sui (the brainchild of the manga), this sequel isn’t just a continuation but serves as another work in the universe of TG. However, it does directly correlate with the first season so by all means, do yourself a favor and finish the first season or otherwise, this is going to be one hell of a confusing ride. Nonetheless, Tokyo Ghoul Root A
...
Jul 6, 2015
Tokyo Ghoul has an interesting concept, humans kills ghouls as they eat humans, ghouls kills humans to eat them as it i their primary food source. The question of who is right and wrong is not easy to answer as they have their reasons on what they do.
Interesting? For me, this was what pulled me into watching this series. So as I finished season 1, I started to read the manga and it was great. I liked the manga (so I'm writing in the perspective of a manga reader), so when Studio Pierrot announced a season 2 (root A) I was kinda excited and looked ... Mar 28, 2015
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**
The first season of Tokyo Ghoul had three major problems: A plot that went absolutely nowhere, a lack of any real character development, and a plethora of impossible-to-take-seriously, one-dimmensional characters that completely ruined the tone and broke any immersion that might have been occurring. When it was announced that season two was going to break away from the inevitable dead-end that is the fate of an incomplete manga adaptation in favor of being based around an original story, there was widespread hope that the show would be able to correct these issues. Well, now season two is complete, and not only were the ... Jul 31, 2015
Everybody is probably used to the fantasy logic "humans treated as livestock or inferior beings by someone supposed superior", that's pretty much what half the theme in Tokyo Ghoul is about. Initially, it begins as something utterly empty, using a vague example of the nature "there are two sides in each coin". That there are both good and bad ghouls, both well-natured and evil humans, and slowly that meaning breaks the story from the boundaries of being just an anime. As a result, you end up wondering, why from the moment that there are so many sources to absorb intellectual information from, anime which are
...
Mar 28, 2015
If it's one thing that astonished me before writing this review, it's the sheer amount of disappointment that other people are projecting in their reviews of this follow-up to one of the biggest new shows in anime as of recent. 5's and 6's flutter about in the review section stating different strengths and weaknesses that this anime had and I can agree that some of them are true to an extent. However, for those who are turned off from watching something due to a really strong resentment of choices made for a show, allow me to highlight every reason why Tokyo Ghoul √A is a
...
Feb 6, 2015
Recently watched the latest episode "5" Firstly: Censoring, it´s insulting to the ones that even remotley liked the show, GORE is that animes biggest forte and censoring it takes away from enjoyment, this isn´t watched by 10yearold to begin with. I can´t speak for what time of day TG airs in Japan though so that´s enough said about that.
Slow story, usually i don´t have a problem with that but already 5episodes in and i have no idéa what the hell is going on, the focus on the maincharacter is at a bare minium and that wouldn´t be a problem if the sidecharacters didn´t have cliffhanger ... Oct 25, 2015
I have heard a lot of hate for Tokyo Ghoul √A and I'll be honest, it triggered my brain to have very low expectations towards it when I first got into it. I did not really absorb the first season as it was incredibly rushed except for a few episodes so it only deformed my expectations for the second season.
But boy, I was not disappointed. I have not read the manga and therefore, I entered this series completely blank and you may think of me as 'not a real fan of Tokyo Ghoul' for not reading the manga, but it definitely helped me enjoy the anime ... Feb 21, 2015
While I really like Tokyo Ghoul as a manga, saying its anime counterpart is a letdown is a huge understatement. The ridiculous censoring for a series that has so much gore in it makes little sense. The first season sucked because they cut out a bunch of character development to squeeze around the first 60 chapters into 12 episodes. While I'm not gonna bitch about it being an alternate ending from the manga, it still sucks. If I hadn't read the manga before watching it, I would have no understanding of it whatsoever. There are random flashbacks all over the place, and there hasn't really
...
Apr 8, 2015
A review of *Tokyo Ghoul √A*, a disappointing second season to an already disappointing anime.
From the beginning, Tokyo Ghoul √A was advertised as an anime original story by the of Tokyo Ghoul manga, Sui Ishida, and this idea is an exciting one to me as an anime-only-watcher. With so many fans complaining about how the anime butchered the manga, creating an alternate story by the mangaka himself should be an interesting way to appeal to both the manga and anime fans, right? Well, not if the story itself is more disjointed than Kaneki’s fingers at the end of the first season.... Just like the first ... Mar 28, 2015
I've read many reviews below, and I feel like they compare a lot back to the manga. I have not read the manga but I plan to soon. I think this anime deserves a lot more credit than it is given.
I agree with many that season one was a bit slow. Each episode felt like an hour instead of 20 minutes. The character build up took much longer than it should have. I found it quite difficult to sympathize with Kaneki Ken. He was this weak kid thrown into a new world and I was bored of constantly seeing him being pushed about. In ... Mar 26, 2015
This season was such a huge disappoint. I would not recommend this anime to anyone. I kept waiting for it to get good, but that just did not happen. This season was like a prime rib...without any of the seasoning: fell way below my expectations. I am throughly sad I wasted my time on this piece of trash.
Story: This plot was so flawed I'm not even sure where to start. I have not read the manga so this is me speaking from watching the series only perspective. After every episode I wanted an analysis for what happened. None of it made much sense. The ... Jun 12, 2015
Since this is my first time writing a review, i would keep this as simple as possible. Another reason i decided to write a review for this Tokyo Ghoul is because i felt the need to point out the problems in this season. Also, this whole review is written entirely in an anime viewers perspective only.
Story:3 In the first season, the story pacing was quite well as we see new characters being introduced gradually and given enough screen time to actually give viewers the idea of their backstory. I was expecting somewhat the same thing for season 2 but i was wrong. More and more new ... Apr 30, 2015
(THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW)
As a manga reader of Tokyo Ghoul, this was obviously a disappointment. I won't get into the thick of it but to summarize most people's complaints: Cons 1. Stupid bad animation for a show with this much fighting. 2. Poor time management. There was a lot of just nothing happening on the screen with just walking or something. The problem with this is: 3. About 50% of what happened in the manga was skipped, whether it was personal internal monologues, or simply arcs. Its almost as if they simply ripped pages out of a book. My complaint is: ... Apr 12, 2015
While the first season of Tokyo Ghoul wasn’t perfect, with underdeveloped villains, censoring, and leaving things about the setting unexplained, it still had entertaining elements and an ending that delivered some hard hitting truths. I had high hopes for what was to come, considering how much more interesting the main character and his conflict had become. You’ll find that the second season doesn’t deliver on the promises that were set up. Instead it leaves you disconnected from the main character, making him barely even appear on screen for most of the show. Instead we focus on the minor characters, something that I did appreciate, yet
...
Mar 26, 2015
A continuation of the first season of Tokyo Ghoul.
STORY (4): The story continues where season 1 left off. Kaneki Ken became more badass when his hair turns white and he has his mask in place. And now he has to fight evil. The story at least explored about how ghouls were originated and this season they made Kaneki become more badass. However, does that excuse the rest of this season with problems, of course not. The story was boring. Although there were few sad moments, there are more boring moments than sad moments. The final fight scene where Ken Kaneki fights Amon was so intense, however, the ... |