When I first started watching Tokyo Ghoul, I thought it was a sure shot to join my must-watch list. The premise of a world where humans and ghouls co-exist is intriguing, and that opening theme is just catchy. As I write this, I still wonder how it could have all been so much better.
Tokyo Ghoul introduces us to Kaneki Ken, a human who lives like most people do, knowing that ghouls live among them and properly fears them due to their need to consume human flesh to survive, but can't distinguish them from the rest of the population. Kaneki is shy and loves to read books, which is why he was elated to have met a kindred spirit in Kamishiro Rize. But their date turns into disaster when it appears that Rize is actually a ghoul who set out to devour him. Kaneki survives the attack when Rize is killed instead, but he wakes up to find out that he was transplanted Rize's organs in order to keep him alive. Unwilling to devour human flesh to survive, he is helped by Yoshimura, owner of the coffee shop Anteiku and leader of the group bearing the same name. Yoshimura and the more reluctant Kirishima Toka teach Kaneki that while their world is indeed dangerous, there are ghouls who choose to co-exist peacefully with the humans and try to find ways to avoid murder in order to survive.
There was a lot to look forward to in watching Tokyo Ghoul. Just the idea of humans and ghouls trying to keep a balance, even if the latter fed on the former, would have been an excellent foundation for world-building alone. The series featured a lot of characters that would have given the audience plenty to look forward to when it comes to interactions and growth. Kaneki's struggle alone would have been a fountain of dramatic realizations that would keep the audience engaged. With their enhanced physical strength, you can expect exciting action scenes.
These elements were actually present in the series, but I feel like each one was a little short in delivering the desired results. It took watching the whole season to make me realize that the reason why I wasn't as keen in my excitement to watch each new episode is because I was looking for something more. There are a lot of forums discussing their disappointment regarding the adaptation of Ishida Sui's manga series, but I've never read the manga, so that couldn't have possibly impacted my overall reaction to Tokyo Ghoul as an anime series.
If you've read any of my previous anime wrap-up posts, you would notice that I have mentioned empathy with characters and how important it is to my viewing experience. Try as I might with Tokyo Ghoul, I can't quite say that any of the characters were able to fully draw me in. The lead character Kaneki somehow just stayed the same throughout the entire twelve-episode run of the series, only coming to terms with finding strength at the end... after I was already turned off by the horrendous experiences that he had to go through. And the rest of the cast of characters aren't that much better at garnering any of my interest as a viewer. It doesn't help that they have a large group of characters to work with in the series, which meant that many of them seemed to be just passing through in the story.
The short run of Tokyo Ghoul also didn't help in story execution, with different interwoven arcs that demanded the audience's attention. Aside from Kaneki coming to terms with being a ghoul, certain characters have backgrounds that demanded to be explored in order for the audience to learn more about them. Kaneki also struggles with the ghost of Rize, who seems to have a measure of influence in his desire to eat human flesh. There's also the constant conflict between the humans and the ghouls, with the humans employing Anti-Ghoul Investigators or Doves who just aim to eradicate the ghouls. There's also conflict among the ghouls themselves, such as those in Anteiku who value living with the humans as opposed to ghouls who only want to devour them. Later in the series, a group calling themselves Aogiri Tree would wreak havoc, forcing the humans to deploy a massive strike against the ghouls in a particular district. Any of these would have been interesting to explore, but somehow, I could never find full satisfaction in any of their conclusion.
In the end, Tokyo Ghoul was reduced to an anime series that featured a bland main character and others that bordered on caricature or just plain horrific. While gore was to be expected and the more bloody scenes are stylized to downplay the level of violence, there are scenes that are just hard to watch. If the aim was to shock and awe with violence, I suppose that production Studio Pierrot gained some success on that regard.
Considering that the series was one of the most anticipated titles last summer due to the manga's popularity, it was a letdown to end up watching something that feels rushed and half-baked in its execution. I don't know if the fact that they knew they were getting a second season was reason enough to let things end on such an inconclusive note. I don't even know if I would stick around for the second season, unless somebody could guarantee that there's something to look forward to in terms of actual character growth and story execution. But for the twelve episodes of Tokyo Ghoul I watched...
Not so happy viewing.Labels: Action, Adaptation, Anime, Drama, Horror, Supernatural, Tokyo Ghoul, TV
