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
