I think that most of TG's problems arise from the attempt at squeezing what is a well-paced longer story into a 12 episode program. This caused the pacing issues and the seemingly out of nowhere decisions and character development. You are thrown into a lot of what happens as opposed to being eased into it.
Story:
Tokyo Ghoul is about protagonist Kaneki Ken becoming very involved with ghouls. Ghouls are human-esque entities that are just like us... except they live off of only human flesh and the occasional cuppa joe. So they're monsters? The bad guys? ...that's the grey area that Tokyo Ghoul explores. What is bad anyway? These are the kind of questions you find yourself asking when you realise that many times their actions are simply the result of circumstance. The premise of the show intrigued me right off the bat and I knew I was in for a ride (albeit a rocky one here and there).
Art:
The art is great. The action sequences were beautifully animated. Many complains were about the unnecessary censorship, which I completely agree was pretty ridiculous but the uncensored version it out so yeah.
Sound:
I thought the soundtrack was very fitting and that OP is amazing. Coupled with the animation, that OP is definitely one of my favourites, it really put you in the mood for something epic.
Character:
I think the reason it's harder to have a connection with the characters and understand why they do certain things is because there wasn't enough time for the creators to flush them out due to how rushed the story was.
Overall, Tokyo Ghoul was pretty enjoyable. Wasn't as great as we knew it could've been, but it was fun. It may have felt like important build up was amiss but the ending was pretty satisfying and convinced me to check out season 2. If you are still unsure whether its for you, I'd recommend you check out the first few episodes and see for yourself, it could be hit or miss.
