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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Toukyou Kushu

Japanese: 東京喰種トーキョーグール

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 14

Chapters: 144

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 8, 2011 to Sep 18, 2014

Genres: Action, Fantasy, Horror

Themes: Gore, Psychological

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Jump

Authors: Ishida, Sui (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.53¹ (scored by 275,448 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #131²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #5

Members: 506,141

Favorites: 45,500

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Filtered Results: 119 / 133

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Dec 14, 2023

dxath

Recommended

with berserk this is my fav manga, I starter watching the anime when i had 12 years and holy the scene when Kaneki bets the crap out of Nishiki traumatized me, but I started loving the series. When i talked some ppl about the anime when I was a bit older everyone would just say oh the anime is sht go and read the manga and now that i had the money to buy not only Tokyo ghoul but the Re series too was the best decision ever made. the story was a bit rushed at the end specially but Ishida had some problems ...

Sep 30, 2014

caboose510

Recommended

This is my first ever review of anything on here so I'll try my best to provide good info. Side note: I'm not sure what exactly will be in chapter 144, but I have read all the way up through 143. Just waitin on that final chapter...

Story: 9
Tokyo Ghoul or Tokyo Kushu is one of those manga that don't really have a solid objective at first but slowly develop one. The developmental process is a really good one though! We start off with Kaneki, the main character, as this weak freshman in college that seems pacifistic and reads a lot. When his world is changed ...

Apr 3, 2016

lee_v

Recommended

On this series that consists of 14 volumes, Ishida introduces us to Kaneki Ken, a 19y/o college student who is the main character and "accidentally" ends up becoming a half-ghoul. Through the pages of these wonderful volumes, we get to see and understand the physical and psychological challenges Kaneki Ken has to go through as his life changes and as he accepts that he has no ordinary human life anymore after becoming a half-ghoul. But that's not all, we also get to meet the dark ghoul world that lives around Tokyo (and maybe the world), feeding from humans, fighting between them, or trying to have ... a normal life pretending to be humans, and running from the CCG (also known as Doves or the Commission of Counter Ghoul), who are the people specialized in hunting them down if they cause any big troubles.

I have to admit that it wasn't so easy to get into like half of the first volume since you're being introduced to everything, but after that I actually couldn't stop reading it! The way Tokyo Ghoul was constructed and developed seriously is...ah, amazing. This series makes you want more and more and more and thank God there's more because I need it and I just. . .ok, I'll calm down. . .

Anyways, here on this series, we get to meet lots of characters and see their struggles as most of them just want "a normal life". And besides meeting the dark ghoul side of Tokyo, through some of the characters, we also get to meet and know how the CCG works and the struggles their workers face everyday risking their lives trying to protect humanity from troublesome ghouls. At the end, on this series, Ishida made sure to not only entertain us or mind fuck us, he made sure to open at least one of our eyes to make us see and understand how many challenges a person can face no matter who he is or what he has done, and also a lot of serious "things" that have to deal with our inner selves, just like with Kaneki.

We also get to see how easy it is to go through the pages of each volume and perfectly understand what the heck is happening because Ishida's way of writing and developing the plot was just great! Maybe, like I said before, you might be a little lost at the beginning, but once you understand and once you're inside. . .believe me, there's no going back unless you don't like it, obviously. But anyways, the point here is that this series is pretty amazing and it needs to get out there for more people!

If you've watched the first season of the anime or heard about it, Jesus! What are you waiting for? Take my example and give it a try after being stalked by people about it! I am completely sure you won't regret it and that Ishida's writing will easily help you get his messages as you see everything Kaneki and his fellow companions have to go through on their daily life; finding and accepting themselves and so on!

Jul 15, 2017

Chinaz

Recommended

Preliminary (62/144 chp)

Tokyo Ghoul - This kind of Seinen is.. Normal ?!

Since 2011, seinen has become a more shared genre among readers who are exclusively attached to other types of readings. Tokyo Ghoul is just an example of yet another forbid reading.

Personally and by reading the first time, I didn't like this manga at all because I feel that it's just like another 'cliché' seinen, which it's boring to read after a certain amount of hours with the same kind of stories. Even so, I feel very unsatisfied with the final product being almost exactly like some people thought it will become. Actually, I'm not even in ... favor of public opinion so that's why in some cases, my opinion may vary in favor of some plot points during the series until the end.

Tokyo Ghoul tells us the story of shy Ken Kaneki who is thrilled to go on a date with the beautiful Rize. But it turns out that she’s only interested in his body—eating it, that is. When a morally questionable rescue transforms him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid, Ken is drawn into the dark and violent world of Ghouls, which exists alongside our own.

Many people know that the part I like the most in the manga, in general, is the first chapters because the characters must have characterization until the end of the respective series and people know that due to my One Piece review.
This manga shows a very specific story due to everything is going on at the same time, like Kaneki being practically forced to live a new and dangerous life and with this, several other developments. Many people refer chapters 60-66 like something outside of this world but that's just an excuse, as always. The manga features the same kind of art to the extent of the tragedy, but the art is retouched to look something different, in this case somewhat improved. Of course, the context that is presented during these chapters is justifiable, but it is nothing out of the ordinary. Ken Kaneki no longer has a student personality to have a half-ghoul personality and this includes his appearance and again, of course, this part of the story is important because it is when the character is accepted as a ghoul, but the story does not end there.

Being art enthusiast in general, I can only say that Sui Ishida's art is not ugly. The context I want to get is that the author's art is almost the best considering that new readers are reading a seinen manga and so they can simply give a high score as a definitive score without justification and this is something that most users do. Being honest, I believe Sui Ishida can get to an 8 but because I like the trait of the beginning of the story, once again.

The goal of the Tokyo Ghoul manga is to bring realism to another level, using fanciful elements just as in works given in compulsory schooling and this is a positive thing, but I believe that the true readers of seinen can not be indefinite with the work of those elements. I like the characters immensely but it would be praiseworthy if they had more closeness to the reader. I realize that the work has excellent characters and well used but I don't understand why the author creates loving bonds if the character ends up dying. Without this, each important character has proper development and significance to the story and that's a good thing.

As my final words, the manga is enjoyable and have excellent adult ideas such as sadism and cannibalism which is something well used. Nowadays, Tokyo Ghoul is a well-known manga because of his anime popularity, unfortunately.

Story: 8 | Art: 9 | Character: 9 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 9

Personal Note: Still reading Volume 7. Volume 8 will be available soon enough.

Nov 8, 2015

ConstantReader

Recommended

Sep 21, 2014

OMG yes baby it's happening! Tokyo Ghoul;Re, the sequel, exists! Chapter 1 is out now!!

Update:
This manga was so good I gave it an immediate reread, which I haven't done before. Oh and I changed it back to five stars in light of the fact that there is a sequel in the making now, so the ending doesn't bother me so much; and also because I kind of take back what I said about not liking the Investigator side of the manga - in retrospect, it's a necessary side to the overall story that needs to be told in order to balance out the ... human and ghoul aspects, which strengthens the 'who-is-the-real-monster, which-side-is-right?' theme. Giving the manga a reread, I was more patient with those chapters where Kaneki and the ghouls don't show up for awhile. Also, it seems as though a lot of those Investigators whom we only caught a few scenes here and there of will be playing bigger roles in the sequel manga.

****

AS MUCH as I would love to give this five stars - because it left me breathless, it gave me chills, it hit my feels, it has amazing characters, it's dark and twisted and completely messed up and I LOVE stuff like this - I have to be honest with myself and knock off a star for 1) that absolutely appallingly open-ended, unsatisfying ending (although it left me satisfied in that I'd finally reached the end and could take a breather - my heart couldn't bear anymore pain) and 2) anything that did not concern my favorite characters, whether ghoul or human, couldn't manage to hold my attention very long so that I would only read them quickly just to get back to things I cared about.

What made me decide to read Tokyo Ghoul in the first place was that its premise - a regular somewhat timid kid being thrown into a set of unfortunate circumstances that lead to him becoming half a 'monster' - reminded me of the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan, which I have always claimed love for. I am also somewhat of a sadist - I love despair and tragedy and horrible things happening to the main character, not because I honestly want to see them getting hurt or because I hate happy stories, but because it allows me to feel real emotion and real anticipation for something good to happen. In any other genre I can count on things turning out all right for the heroes and for characters to not die, but in these kind of stories I can never be sure. As a reader, I love being thrown off guard.

And Tokyo Ghoul definitely delivers on that front. This is as deep and dark a tragedy as I could hope for. It also has my favorite kind of protagonist, that of Kaneki Ken, who starts out like any other average college student, book-obsessed, quiet, and a bit anti-social (like me) and ends up being someone completely unrecognizable by the last chapter. Not only that, but the way in which this character develops and transforms is disturbingly drastic and shocking to both the heart and mind. The other characters in this manga (the ones that matter anyway) are no less very well characterized.

In regards to the supporting cast, however, I do have one complaint, which is that there is a bit too much focus on the Investigators. The Investigators that matter, such as Suzuya, Amon, Mado, Shinohara and Akira, I have no problem reading about. But whenever something extremely intense is going on with Kaneki and the ghouls and we suddenly switch to this other fight involving all these nobody Investigators, whose names and ranks I honestly don't care about keeping track of, I can only feel frustration; no offense guys, I know you're all laying down your lives to protect humanity (in the way you see fit, that is) but you're kinda getting in the way of the part of the story that makes me love this manga.

I also have to note that in some cases the fight scenes are not very clearly portrayed or fluid. If a fight involves Kaneki using tactics he learned from training to weave through and dodge attacks from an opponent, the effect looks very cool; a sort of Matrix-ish feel of slow-motion break dancing that defies gravity. However when it's a fight between two really buff, bulky characters, or an Investigator in Kakuja armor, and there's kagune and quinques being waved around, the movements get a little disorganized and lost, resembling not so much a series of attacks as a giant mess of blurry charcoal streaks.

And of course, there's the ending, which really just screams sequel, seeing as how it didn't wrap up anything and added more mysteries than it did solve them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, although there's a very good chance that the author will do a sequel (mostly because I just can't see how he couldn't have more planned, considering that ending). If he does, I will most definitely be reading it, and I do so hope I will be able to see more of these characters that I love so much grow and learn and get the happy endings they're owed.

May 19, 2017

BemusedFrog

Recommended

Disclaimer: I'm treating this as a review of both Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re, since :re is not so much a sequel, but rather a direct continuation of where TG left off. Also, I normally don't write reviews, but for TG, I feel as if it's one of those series where I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't tell people why its worth their time to read.

I don't want to go into detail about the actual story, rather I want to touch upon a few things that make a story great, and why TG succeeds generally. In terms of the concept, TG may lose ... points by more dour readers due to its adherence to convention, but makes up for it tenfold in its brilliant execution. Mangas are unique in the sense that they are released by chapter, at fixed intervals, rather than all at once. Thus it is rare, especially for such a long on-going and complex series with so many moving parts, to display such a tight control over the narrative. Astonishingly, almost as if every scene has been meticulously forged in his mind before beginning, with no need for improvisation, Sui Ishida wastes hardly any moments and preserves the continuity of the plot throughout; a true artisan. There is no fat here.

Ishida's masterful usages of symbolism, allusions, parallels, and foreshadowing seamlessly integrated into the plot also adds deeper layers of storytelling. Moreover, TG holds its cards tight enough to its chest to build up real drama through meaningful suspense and mystery, yet not tight enough to drown the possibility of more keen readers sifting through the panels to uncover future developments.

Tokyo Ghoul is a character-driven story, and as such the characters themselves make or break the actual product. Thankfully, rather than cartoonish, archetypal interpretations of individuals through heavy use of tropes, Ishida's understanding of human psychology goes a long way in his construction of characters that feel distinctly human. Quite possibly, the most enjoyable moments of this manga derive from pondering over and watching play out the character's internal conflicts, changes, motivations, desires, and growth, if for no other reason than because they are portrayed brilliantly and with class, especially in the case of our main character.

However, I don't want to make it sound as if TG has no intellectual worth beyond this. In its most basic form, this is a story about humans dealing with predators living amongst them, and conversely, predators dealing with the changing tides of society that are driving them into hiding more so than ever before. Thanks to Ishida's expert writing, seeing this interplay through the eyes of our cast of character's is a true treat. I could say much more on this point, but I think it's best to experience all Ishida has to say about society and the world generally by actually reading the story.

Tokyo Ghoul is a true breath of fresh air in a sea of mass-produced, low quality, generally unimpressive manga. If you're looking to read an adult themed, dark, supernatural story with a strong plot and as impressively grounded and real characters, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one to sink your teeth into.

May 17, 2016

LSTGR

Recommended

If I was to describe this manga with one word, I would use Tragedy, or Masterpiece.

Story 9/10
As I mentioned earlier Tokyo Ghoul is a tragedy. As a Greek anime fan, I can easily say that this manga achieves the purpose of the Ancient Greek Tragedy.
And I ask you what tragedy is?
Tragedy is a represantation of real life, in a very creative way. It also has a begging and an end. And its purpose is to guide, the reader, to catharsis, while using mercy and fear. So yes, Tokyo Ghoul did that.

Art 7/10
The art was really good. The only problem is with the fight scenes, ...

Jan 29, 2016

volt16

Recommended

This review is Spoiler Free. Some minor spoilers that couldn't be avoided have been marked accordingly.

So, where to start with this. I seriously wonder. You see, this happens to be my favourite manga so I have to provide sufficient reasoning as to why this is a 10/10 not only from my point of view but from any other reader's (or rather it should be). But first I have to provide you with some context on how I was introduced to the TG franchise and to be honest the start was rough. I was made aware of the anime by some friends, who dubbed it ... as "one of the best anime in existence", therefore it was only natural that I came to have unrealistically high expectations. Naturally I was let down... The anime was flawed. The first season was only the introduction to the TG universe so it couldn't possibly suffice just by itself and the second was bland and boring and ultimately failed to complement the first one. That's when I was informed that root(A) heavily diverged from the manga, hence I elected to give this franchise a second chance. Indeed it was the correct choice. So let me walk you through my experience of reading this manga.

SETTING: Most people reading this will already be familiar with it, but for those who aren't here is the gist of it: The story unravels in an alternative earth, where a species called Ghouls exist. They survive by feeding on humans and have superhuman strength, speed and regeneration and worst of all no human can distinguish a human from a Ghoul, so they naturally blend into society. Humanity has established an organisation named the CCG, that hunts and exterminates such threats. A young adult named Kaneki Ken is suddenly involved in an accident along with a Ghoul and receives its organs as transplants in order to survive. He then acquires all of their abilities and characteristics yet retains his human mindset, thus he finds himself lost in a world where he is neither Human nor Ghoul. The story follows him as he gets entangled in the Ghoul society and gradually learns more about their everyday life, ideologies, problems and views on humans.

This doesn't seem too original at first. There have been countless books/movies/manga/anime handling a similar setting. One could argue other similar stories have been set up better (for example Shiki). This makes it only harder for TG to stand out from the others, since what matters is not the setting itself but rather how well it handles this setting. Which brings me to my next point:

PLOT DEVELOPMENT: Tokyo Ghoul starts slowly at first (compared to the rest of the manga). Kaneki is introduced to the Ghoul society and is involved with its members, making new friends and naturally enemies as well. Furthermore he gets to clear up his misconceptions about Ghouls, which he previously viewed as mere monsters and experiences their soft and friendly side. Additionally he supports them in their encounters with the CCG, since he has also become their prey. This sums up the first half (or about 2/5) of the manga, which was adapted into the first season of the anime. Up to this point one could call TG rather uneventful. It's not that it doesn't contain action. This first half has its fair share of encounters with antagonists but all of this mostly serves an introductory role, it helps familiarise the reader with the world of TG and the characters and sheds light on the relationships between humans and Ghouls. Therefore this first part of the manga can't do it justice just by itself (This is the same problem I had with the first season of the anime). Whether it should be appreciated or not entirely depends on how the second part does.

Somewhere around the middle of TG, the story suddenly blows up, the action escalates, the characters undergo major changes and Kaneki gets even more involved with Ghouls, while also setting concrete goals for himself. That's when the seemingly mainstream so far plot of TG makes a complete turn and decides to do away with convention. Gore, drama and violence all go up a notch and TG adopts a darker style than usual. The second half focuses on Kaneki's attempts to protect the people around him and to find out more about himself. That's when the pieces start falling into place and many previously unanswered questions are resolved. All of this development finally leads up to:

THE ENDING(minor spoilers): As you would expect from a person who considers some of his favourite anime to be Fate/Zero, Psycho Pass and NGE I like/adore dark endings. I like when the whole world of the main character collapses and they take a deep dive into a sea of despair. In a world where happy endings are the norm I just find such dark endings refreshing and realistic. Such is the case with TG. After an insane second half the story comes to a close (or does it?) with an epic battle that shakes the foundation of the entire TG cast. Words can't describe how well this was handled. TG's ending was an incredible climax with heavy symbolism and an impressive monologue. Well, actually this isn't really the ending of TG as a franchise but rather marks the end to a certain chapter in Kaneki's life. The story continues in the sequel Tokyo Ghoul:re.

THE CHARACTERS: The main character, Ken Kaneki is a shy introverted college student. He is empathetic and wishes for his and his friends' well-being. (Minor spoilers following) Or that is how he appears to be in the first half (and in root(A)). However, in contrast to most mainstream shows' main characters he has depth, real depth. Kaneki errs to the side of borderline(?) psychopathy, he doesn't just have a dark past in order for the reader to sympathise with him. As the story progresses we get to learn how his problems are rooted deeply within his psyche. He turns from the usual dull protagonist we have got sick of encountering into a multi-dimensional tragic character with complexity. (You can safely keep on reading from this point onward)

While I could spend a long time characterising the rest of the TG cast I opted not to; many people would argue that they also read/(watch) TG for certain characters aside from Kaneki such as Hide or Touka, the truth is however that he is the main driving force of the show. Sure, the cast of supporting characters is stellar but most of them follow an archetype and don't deviate considerably from it so I will just concisely describe them in short sentences. Hide is the usual cheerful companion of the main character with the only difference being that he is really intelligent. Touka is a tsundere with a rough childhood lacking the usual romantic element that we encounter in male protagonist-tsundere relationships ([Spoiler]I know people will get flustered over this but there haven't been almost any indications of a romantic relationship between the two), Hinami is a kind, younger sister-type character just with a really tragic past and Amon is a righteous, kind hearted character but with an actual fully functional brain (in contrast to many kind hearted characters in other series, who are depicted as retarded for some reason)

THE ART: Overall the art of Tokyo Ghoul is praiseworthy. I am by no means a manga art expert but in most manga I've read so far you can spot patterns when it comes to characters' faces that are similar (that becomes apparent in less popular manga like Gokuku No Brynhildr or Katekyo Hitman Reborn) That is not the case in this manga. Characters' faces have unique characteristics and shapes, which makes it so much easier to distinguish between them. Additionally the author has a good perception of perspective and how to work with it. It is a common occurrence in TG for drawings in one panel to overlap with another panel, which gives the drawings motion. A possible problem for some people would be the fact that occasionally some panels require some interpretation for the reader to fully comprehend. This might have to do with some scenes being drawn in a complicated or oftentimes ambiguous manner but also due to symbolism (or both). This ties in with the next segment.

SYMBOLISM: TG as a manga is full of hidden symbols. As previously stated one might need to reread certain pages/chapters in order to understand what exactly is going on and they might still miss hidden clues. This could be either imagery or even how certain people act or behave on certain occasions. It is commendable how far ahead the author plans some of these. There have been many cases, where things foreshadowed multiple chapters ago were addressed, which had totally slipped my mind on my first read. (SPOILER: An example would be Kaneki's mannerisms when lying) Moreover, as in many works of Asian culture one can trace a lot of references to the Yin-Yang. Indeed after having read the first three volumes of TG one could picture the human side as Yin, comprised mostly of good but also of some bad people (yeah I know this is a really generic term but you'll get the point if you read up to the third volume) while ghouls represent Yang, mostly evil beings feeding on humans but with exceptions. One could talk all day about the hidden symbols in Tokyo Ghoul so I'll stop here.

CONCLUSION: One would ask me at this point: “But, you had complaints with this one. How come you award it with a 10? Isn't it meant for the best of the best?” I would like to address this before wrapping up my review. First of all, nothing is perfect. Everything is allowed to have flaws, or rather it must have flaws. This is all due to perspective. (Such a wonderful word indeed!) A merit from one's point of view is a flaw from the opposite. Managing to do something one way means failing to do it the other way. Therefore some of its flaws can be forgiven according to that logic. I didn't mind that some side characters didn't get enough time or complexity because that allowed the manga to delve deeper into others' personalities and back-stories. One could also argue that the slow start of TG constitutes a problem, however I have reached the conclusion that it's necessary. One could not appreciate the second half of TG if it weren't for the first because it establishes a solid foundation for the rest of the story to base itself on. A work without foundation will ultimately fall apart. Thus I deem it necessary. And also I've grown quite fond of it after rereading it a couple of times, especially after having noticed several cases of foreshadowing of events to come.

To sum it all up: This is certainly one of the best manga or pieces of storytelling in general I've encountered. Therefore I award it with a 10/10. I would recommend it to almost anyone. I am of the opinion that TG can be appreciated by most people, even if you aren't particularly fond of symbolism, psychology or sociology you can still appreciate the Horror or Action elements of the series. I think everyone can find some form of enjoyment in TG. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading the manga as much as I did if you elect to do so and thank you for reading my review up to the very end. I hope to see you for Tokyo Ghoul;re.

PS: Please stay away from the anime. Really...

Dec 12, 2017

RandomFD

Mixed Feelings

Tokyo Ghoul is a manga in which the characters take a side-line to everything else the story has to offer. I would love to be able to lie and say that the premise is the main driving point, but after a while, even that gets thrown on the back. The back of what, you may ask?

THE EDGE TRAIN! And look, I'm all one for edgy ideas and characters in your seinen stories, I really am. As long as they're done well or realistically.

This story makes the ghouls out to be flimsy papery characters who main driving point behind their personalities is their insanity. Which ...

Oct 7, 2015

ShouldMan

Recommended

I will begin with the story, as I was looking for this manga, and how long I was going to read it, blablabla. Let's just say that I was lucky to stumble on advertising in general coming out of anime, and double-lucky guess, first read the manga.
The first thing that attracted - the name and the word "ghoul". I like it to me, that's all, nothing can be done about it. In general, intuition told me that manga should be interesting, and Bravo, she did not fail me, guys.

Let's start with the plot.
Mangaka really well done, he held readers [absolutely everyone, judging by the comments ...

Apr 14, 2023

eatingfatisgood

Recommended

This manga is pretty good because it's a somewhat unique story compared to other manga. The story is actually pretty interesting and the pacing is good until about volume 10, it slows down a bit and then picks up again. Can't really complain because it is mostly to the point. The end is somewhat vague but also satisfying at the same time. I think there could be bias there because I knew there is Tokyo Ghoul RE, so perhaps if I knew it had no sequel then I'd think the ending is incomplete. I suppose we can call it a not so good ending ...

Feb 17, 2022

animehuntermage

Mixed Feelings

****Warning there are Mild Spoilers******

Well that was something I guess….. Make no mistake, I did enjoy reading it (11 out the 14 volumes to be exact. But that ending (and the final battle in general) though made no sense whatsoever. It’s not like I didn’t like it, but it was definitely not satisfying and it didn’t really give me closure.

So let’s get into the stuff I did like:

Ken Kaneki’s character arc was nothing short of incredible. If I was grading this thing based strictly on his end of things, I give the manga 9 out of 10. I love how it goes from this reclusive ... weakling of a bookworm into someone that wants to get stronger. And I love how it explores his psyche throughout the course of the series. It gave a lot of nuance to his need to protecting other people. It came less out of something altruistic and we’re having unselfish need to not be alone. And the way that this was interwoven with his trauma of his somewhat neglected upbringing was truly tragic to watch and have me invested all the way to the end. And his death scene was a perfect cap off to this character arc, as he realizes he own hypocrisy in his chase for ultimate power and that he ultimately regrets the person he’s become.

I also thought that the art was really good. I think it gave a lot of emotional punch to almost every single scene. It’s nice to look at, it’s used effectively, and it matches the tone of the story being told.

I also liked the world building quite a bit. I loved how there was an entire stigma towards being a ghoul and that there was a specialized police force, called “Doves”, designed to hunt down such creatures. I love how not all doves were entirely good and that the ghouls were not entirely evil. It was a nice subversion because normally the ghouls would be considered the villains. And the fact that it showed a much more nuanced version of this dichotomy was both welcome and insanely enjoyable to watch. For example, not all ghouls are the same. Some are extremely peaceful and look for non-murderous sources for their sustenance. Others function more as rogue sillier killers. However there’s a separate organization, Aogiri, that actively trying to wage a war with the Doves with brutal tactics (thus functions as a tertiary antagonist). I also thought it was cool how even humans and ghouls could have intimate relationships. And that there was a lot of complications that would have said was an obstacle for such a dynamic. And I think the way that the manga explores was great.

Unfortunately that’s where the positives largely end.

The biggest reason why I can’t say that this manga is the best thing ever made is because there is way too many characters. This is particularly noticeable with the “Doves” portion of the story. If I had a nickel every time they introduced a “special investigator”, I’d be a billionaire. Seriously, there’s like 1 million of these guys and I didn’t care for most of them. Yes, I thought Amon, Mado and his daughter, and Juzu were fine… But the rest are just bland and forgettable. I can’t even remember most of their names or even what their back stories were. It really cuts the story thin because a lot of these guys die during the last three volumes and I felt nothing for them. I understand that they were trying to give the feeling that the “Doves” was this really large organization that had many different members, sections, and subsections… But they failed to do so in a way that didn’t just feel incredibly dragged out yet simultaneously being so uninformative. And this is where I think the six part saga Star Wars by George Lucas did much better. With the Jedi order, the writers chose wisely to focus on only one or two Jedi at any given time so that we could grow more attached to them. And even when new Jedi are featured in the story, they would be only explored and analyzed through the eyes of the main character at that point in the narrative. This is helpful because we have a frame of reference to compare the supporting cast too. However, Tokyo Ghoul fails to do this. Rather than having one private investigator be the focus of that part of the story, the narrative tries and fails to focus on all of them. This causes Amon (a character that I really enjoyed by the way) to get lost in his own subplot. This issue ricochets into a bunch of other smaller problems over the course of the series because it makes the larger story a little bit hard to keep track of. For example there is this ghoul called “The Owl” that the “Doves” were looking for. This is introduced via throwaway lines from the “special investigators” during the Aogiri arc. However, this was a poor way to introduce what would become a vital plot point because I already had a very difficult time keeping track of all the other “Doves”. Thus, a significant revelation gets lost within a haystack of other meaningless junk.

I also didn’t like that a lot of Ken’s friends were pointless. Touka was a massive example of this. Yes, she did teach him how to fight during I believe the first four or five volumes of the story. But after that, she does nothing of importance the story. In fact, both of these characters only meet once before the final battle and that’s it. The story could’ve killed her off prior to the final battle, and nothing would change. Yes, that would be one less character that Ken would have in his friend group…but any one of those friends could have filled the role that Touka does after the Aogiri arc. You could also apply this to The Gourmet as well since he is just a glorified cheerleader for Ken after being defeated by him.

My other issue is with the old guy that runs the cafe designed to shelter ghouls. It is a plot twist that apparently he was the father of “The Owl”, that he founded the Aogiri originally, and that he worked for this “secret organization” that ends up killing his human wife. To put it bluntly, absolutely none of this was fleshed out in anyway that I found plausible and the overall execution felt contrived as hell. I honestly think that there was no reason to connect this character is such a ridiculous backstory. Couldn’t the old guy just be an ordinary ghoul that helps Ken grow as a character instead of a stupid mystery box?!

Another massive gripe I have is that there’s way too many factions in this story but almost none of them matter during the stories climax. You have the “Doves”, the Aogiri, Dr.Kane and his artificial ghoul twins, and the people running the cafe. Only the first and last entries on that list actually matter. The other two just sort of just vanish. I know the doctor and at least one of the twins survived, and I know most of the Aogiri leadership survived their story arc… So why the hell were they not in the story’s climax?! It doesn’t even bother to explain it in a way that makes sense. Now, some people are going to defend this creative decision by explaining that this series has a sequel -Tokyo Ghoul: RE – that would potentially answer some of these questions. And I think that’s a dumb argument because I shouldn’t need to consult any outside material to make sense of the current story. For example, “The Empire Strikes Back” still makes sense narratively speaking even if “Return of the Jedi” didn’t exist. Yes, there were loose ends in that movie that are addressed in the sequel, but that’s entirely different from making sense of plot points that didn’t make sense previously. In other words, I shouldn’t have to watch Tokyo Ghoul: RE to understand Tokyo Ghoul. And even then, this is still a moot point because Ken dies in Tokyo Ghoul in such a way where the story really does feel over. My point is that Tokyo Ghoul: Re would obviously feel like a pointless sequel rather than an authentic extension of its predecessor. And if it was supposed to be one big story, why not just have Tokyo Ghoul: RE be in the same series as Tokyo Ghoul?!

And this leads into probably why I end up not enjoying this series nearly as much as I could have… The final battle was overdone. There were way too many characters to keep track of and I honestly didn’t care about most of them. Seriously there was these two ghouls known as the Monkey and [Holy crap I forgot the name of the other one] that were defending the café from the “Doves”. And the story acts like it’s this big tragic thing. But I was bored because I had no sense of who these characters were, what their stake was in this conflict, and why they were even there. It would’ve been nice if they actually had any real importance to the story leading up to this conflict, but they don’t. They barely have any screen time at any point prior to this, and their deaths are as hollow as humanly possible. And even the “Doves” have this issue too. A lot of them are just faceless/forgettable characters that barely got any development. So the entire conflict most of the time felt like two armies of characters I didn’t care about. And given that this was supposed to be the climax of the story, that’s not a good sign.

And even with that aside, I thought the battle itself was so over the top and edgy but I actually thought it was kind of funny. If you thought people in Star Wars lost their limbs too often, just wait until you see this. People are actively getting their hands, legs, and heads chopped off constantly in this final battle. The reason that it’s particularly jarring is because there wasn’t this much dismemberment during any of the other battles/fights throughout the course of this series. So this fight feels disproportionately and feels totally inconsistent with the rest of the series. I get that it’s the climax, but it feels like the writer just wanted to make everything extra bloody to give the illusion of any of this was impactful. It very much rhymes with the whole “bigger is better approach”. In other words, I could totally see the writer thinking to himself “if I put a lot of blood and dismemberment into this part of the story, then it will automatically be well written!” It doesn’t work like that. You have to have characters you can connect to… Which this battle doesn’t have most of the time.

Yeah I could go on all day but why the final battle was absolutely nonsensical… But I think I’ll just stop here. Overall the manga was fine. It had a really strong start and a pretty solid middle part, but it took a huge nose dive towards the end to the point where I can’t even take it seriously. If I had to guess why so many people love this manga series… I would guess it was due to Ken’s amazing character arc, the strong arc style, and the great action scenes. I mean I guess if you turn your brain off and you don’t think too much about it, it is really good. But if you actually dig into the writing of this thing… You’re gonna be in for a rude awakening. As for my own personal verdict, I thought it was OK. It’s 3.43/5.00 stars for me.
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May 14, 2021

DavidRd12

Recommended

Tokyo Ghoul was the first manga I finished and... WOW!
I enjoyed every single minute of it.
The story was amazing a 9/10 for me, loved every single chapter and volume of it.
The art was phenomenal (10/10), whenever I read a chapter I was fascinated by the quality of the art in this manga!
The characters are amazing, Kaneki is a very good main character, Toka and Tsukiyama are very good secondary characters. Basically all the characters are very well built with great impact on the story.
The fights as well are fantastic, being one of my favorite parts of the manga.
As I said at the beginning, I loved ...

Sep 7, 2023

LightNoragami1

Recommended

I have complicated feelings about this manga.

On the one hand: the big battles are way to chaotic to follow, the plot isn't even half-resolved, at times its a little over-complex with its emotions and storytelling, and some of its "big" moments don't land for me.

On the other hand: it has fantastic characters with some natural and beautiful development, a style which is addictive (seriously, I read this in 3 days), a great world and some genuinely brilliant moments.

The MC is a great character (although right at the end, his development stagnated slightly imo, wasn't bad but a little more clunky perhaps than what had ...

Jul 29, 2021

buslefer

Recommended

8/10. I loved the direction of Kaneki's development, but not so much the execution. The story can be fantastic, but also unexciting at times.

I liked:
The story itself is very interesting and I truly cared about what was next for Kaneki.
The characters were hit-or-miss for me, but some of them made for great tension and progression of the story.
There is a well written relationship between Kaneki and many of the antagonists.
The antagonists are very exciting.
The art doesn't really get any better than this.

Could have been better:
...

Apr 19, 2022

Shellshock123

Recommended

Edgy, ridiculous and hella fun. Tokyo Ghoul hits most of the right notes. Even if it fumbles on other aspects.

It feels kind of weird to review a manga that I've already read. Especially since there is a lot more smaller details that you pick up. This review contains some spoilers till vol. 6. Since there is a shift in story after the Aogiri arc (which ends in volume 8). I will try to remain somewhat spoiler free but be warned.

Ghouls are creatures that look like human, Breathe like humans, Reproduce like ones but are not humans. They have overall physical superiority factor on top of ... having crazy abilities depending on what they are. However the reason they are exterminated in this society is because they need to eat human meat to survive. Our Protagonist, Kaneki gets wooed by Rize, a ghoul pretending to be human. However before he can get eaten, steel beams fall on her and she dies. Now her organs have been transplanted into Kaneki and Kaneki has become a half ghoul half human.

Kaneki has to get used to what it means to be a ghoul. Since Ghouls can't eat normal food they all taste like hot garbage. He realizes that he is gaining a massive hunger for Human meat, a rabbit hole he doesn't want to fall into. Throughout the series we see Kaneki get stronger by utilizing his Ghoul powers as well as he's demeanor changing due to his Ghoul's desires. He meets new friends, allies and realizing that his organ transplant may not have been a coincidence after all.

I really like this manga. The major aspect of the series that I like is the Dichotomy between Ghouls and the CCG. The CCG are basically an Anti-Ghoul, but they aren't monsters or typical villains. If anything they are the typical good guys. The Ghouls are the ones eating humans, They are trying to do anything to stop him. The person that shows this best is Amon who is Kaneki of the Doves (Specific Name for the Ghoul Exterminators). He represents The good of the Doves. He is what is humanizing the Doves whiles Kaneki is humanizing the Ghouls. They have a rivalry throughout the series. With Amon questioning the disposition of the Ghouls due to him. They have such a good relationship I really hope to see more of something like that in the sequel.

The action scenes of the series is fantastic, bloody, violent every 14 year olds dream. Edgy as hell but in an enjoyable way. The art just strengthens the OMPF moments and does such a good job of it. I've seen people mention that the action scenes are a little hard to follow. I wouldn't really say so. At least not on the level I would say "a little difficult".

The biggest bad of the series relatively is Arima. Which is the No. 1 Dove in the entire CCG. Top dog as it were. And Holy shit does it show. There is just chapters of the author just drawing this guy's dick and swinging it around. When this guy shows up The Ghouls run. That's how fucking intense it is.

The story however and how its revealed to me is the reason why you should read Tokyo Ghoul. It is one of a kind not because it has an original concept, but rather because it utilizes so well. Kaneki's transformation to a ghoul, his choice to what to do next, His mental capacity declining all these things are such a joy to watch. You feel his pain every chapter and its exhausting as it is incredible.

I'm a bit upset on some of the fights and some of the side characters ended up being sidelined. The series obviously also ends with a bunch of questions unanswered with a full intention to making a sequel, But its a relatively small thing considering the series as a whole. Kaneki becoming the Monster he was destined to become is what makes this series.

Tokyo ghoul is fantastic. I've noticed so many little details re reading the manga but even if you didn't you'd still enjoy the hell out of this manga. Addicting, crazy and full of twists and turns to keep you engaged. 8/10 Tokyo Ghoul is one of a kind.

Nov 2, 2017

Wotakunai

Recommended

Here's my take after reading 144 dark and melancholic chapters of Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida.

I was a little bit hesitant to read Tokyo Ghoul at first because I watched around 2 or 3 episodes of the anime and at that time I was looking for a similar tone of the story as the masterpiece Kiseiju (Parasyte) by Hitoshi Iwaaki.

So to make the long story short, the anime fell short of my expectation so I had to drop it. Then after more than a year, I decided to give Tokyo Ghouls manga a chance and it did not disappoint.

Tokyo Ghoul is a story that ... revolves around the timid bookworm Ken Kaneki who was trapped in between the world of humans and the world of ghouls after being lured by the ghoul Rize to be one of her "meal". Everything goes wrong where it ended up Rize dying and Ken being alive.

The main narrative of the story in my opinion is about Ken and his metamorphosis from humanity to monstrosity, and the struggle, doubt, and confusion he undergoes in the process.

And this narrative is encased and adorned by its supernatural ghoul universe, lore, and abilities.

Art-wise, the manga was drawn in a dark semi-gothic grunge style that perfectly matches the setting of the story which gives you a gloomy melancholic feeling. I believe that this was intentionally done to immerse you more in their world.

Speaking of the characters, there are a lot of characters that inhabit the world of Tokyo Ghoul: We have the Doves which are similar to ghoul hunters/police, we have the ghouls and the different ghoul group organizations, hybrids, etc.

But what I can say in general is that the main characters in the story are strategically fleshed out through the story which makes you feel that you are growing with the character especially with the protagonist Ken so it is worth investing in the characters emotionally as it would not disappoint.

There are a lot of shonen-type battles in the story which showcase the supernatural abilities of the ghouls as well as the counter arsenal of the doves.

What I like the most is it balances out the drama and action quite well although I did not enjoy the parts that had a ton of dialogue that I thought was not that necessary to move the plot and just make the story hang a bit.

It's not a masterpiece but! I would like to emphasize that Tokyo Ghoul is an ongoing story that has the potential to grow into a well-established manga like Hunter x Hunter or One Piece knowing that Tokyo Ghoul RE is still going strong with 147 chapters published.

So with that said, I would give Tokyo Ghoul my manga review rating of 9 black goat eggs out of 10!

Apr 5, 2017

angel2slave

Recommended

Like many people I started the manga after watching the anime. When the first season was airing, I couldn’t wait every week for a new episode so I spoiled myself by reading the manga. I glad I did cause the anime didn’t do the manga justice. If Studio Pierrot had adapted the manga they was the mangaka, Sui Ishida, envision his/her story, the anime would have reach Attack on Titan level in popularity.

The story focuses on an ordinary college student, Ken Kaneki, who had a crush on a beautiful woman, Rize. After a ‘chance encounter’ they got to talking and found out they one thing ... in common, their love for reading. After a book date, Kaneki walk Rize to her apartment where she took a bite on his shoulder and revealed herself to be a ghoul, a man eating monster disguise a human are only able to feed on humans and other ghouls. As Kaneki struggled with her, she stabbed him in his stomach. Before she could finish him off, multiple steel beams crushed her. Kaneki’s organs were damaged so the doctor, Kanou, transplant Rize’s organs into him. After Kaneki woke up from his operation with a ghoul eye his left eye, he thought to himself that his life would now be a tragedy.

That was just the first chapter, the story get so much better as the story continued. As Kaneki now live his as a half human and half ghoul, he learned ghoul life isn’t easy. He meets ghouls that run a local café and each of them helped Kaneki their own ways of living and surviving the world that wish to exterminate their existence. Kaneki learned the ghouls are not all that different from humans as they want to be accepted by others and will to live and believe that there could be a way for humans and ghouls to coexist together. There are investigators dedicated to exterminating ghouls, mysteries surrounded in the city of Tokyo and its characters, crime organization, secret organization, legend of an all-powerful king, and hidden meaning that foreshadow events later in the series.

What a love more about Tokyo Ghoul are it characters. Of course the premise is what gets people interested to start the series but stay to watch the characters to the end. Each character have sad backstories that explains why they as the way they do. They also have amazing development and the reader will grow to care from them and cry when some characters meet the demise. Even characters when they first appeared to be the antagonist but are like that cause of the incidents they were in and care for them as well. I like how Ishida bring back characters that introduced early in the series and reintroduce them later as they are important and relevant to the progress of Tokyo Ghoul.

The art of Tokyo Ghoul are incredible. When you first start the manga, the art are just ordinary, but Ishida’s art improve noticeably especially in volume 14. His art looks astounding in his ongoing sequel ‘Tokyo Ghoul:re’, that would compete with the art of monthly series. It is unbelievable he could draw amazing art of this beloved series weekly.

Overall, Tokyo Ghoul is a breathtaking series and I hope anybody who read this review give this series a try and support the mangaka. I promise you will be glad you start it.

Mar 2, 2017

Blytz

Recommended

This is my first review, so please go easy on me :)

Story (10) - The story is outstanding and for many reasons. I'm going to say it now, but the foreshadowing is out of this world. The author hid so much information in front our own eyes, yet the majority of us weren't able to see it. Then, when the detail was revisited, it would amaze you at how well it worked (both in the writing and foreshadowing part.) The pacing (to me,) was perfect and I felt that every chapter was important to the plot in its own way. The symbolism was well thought ...

Sep 17, 2016

TheNoro

Recommended

Tokyo Ghoul is a manga by Ishida Sui which contains extreme suspense with a dark feeling added to it. It begins with an intelligent college student whose life is already quite full of tradegy. His life is turned upside-down and he has his humanity taken away, throughout the Manga he becomes a much stronger person mentally and physically. The character development is outstanding and the protagonist is glad to have made friends because of the change in him. The Art for this Manga is outstanding and the plot full of survival of the fittest, a thrilling and dark aurora and enjoyment!

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