Tokyo Ghoul started off with a bang. I absolutely loved the first episode and I was under the impression that this was going to be a great top tier series. Tokyo Ghoul was my personal #1 anime of the Summer 2014 season at that point when only the 1st episode aired. The 2nd episode was still okay, the 3rd becoming worst and slowly it started to degenerate into a big mess.
There are actually basically 2 ways of watching this series. 1) To not be a bitch about it and 2) To be a bitch about it.
I would imagine Tokyo Ghoul to be a pretty enjoyable series to most casual anime watchers. It does have a pretty decent plot, convincing characters/back stories and what not. (though I find them a little dull) but yeah, we all know Tokyo Ghoul by any standard is already a pretty decent/average anime at the very least. (meaning, most people would find it pretty good irregardless). It does present something fresh to the table. Torture, sanctity of life, survival of the fittest are amongst one of the major darker motifs in the series. By any standard, Tokyo Ghoul already distinguishes itself from the likes of conventional orthodox anime. Yes, to some extent, it does set itself apart from the typical Shounen battle anime.
My point is Tokyo Ghoul should have been a pretty decent series. But what went wrong?
Now let me introduce you to the second way you might choose to watch it, aka “Being a bitch about it and complaining about every single thing done wrong.” Firstly let me declare I have never read the manga (but I will soon), but just simple observation tells me that almost all manga readers seem terribly upset with the anime adaptation. I have read numerous times that the manga is way way better. Then again, I can’t disagree or agree until I have actually read the manga. And despite not having read the manga, hearing people complain almost everywhere somehow makes the series more unwatchable. Would I have noticed the series flaws if not for the manga readers persistently complaining about them? Perhaps? I don’t know. (Though I think I still would, but dramatically lesser).
Thus and hence, the second way of watching it is to be bitchy, anal and critical about everything the anime adaptation has done wrong. Then again, it’s one’s personal choice. If it floats your boat to reference and research up on the manga so closely just to pinpoint the faults of the anime, then so be it. There is no right or wrong in this. Then again, I always think it’s best to watch anime with a critical mind and not simply “ignorantly” enjoy them.
Again, it’s everyone’s own choice. but if you’d just want to stay casual and enjoy the anime for it’s own merits, I’d advice you to stay away from reading too much all over the internet. (and all the more so if you think you’d never get into the manga).
Now onto the actual review. Like I said, here is a “non manga-reader” perspective.About where I stand? I tried to enjoy the anime without being as critical as possible. But again, that is hard. I tried to watch with a paradigm of forgiveness and try to appreciate the anime for what it is. That having said, I was still faced with a lot of issues with it.
Tokyo Ghoul. I would say it does have pacing problems. It’s definitely rushed but it does have it’s good moments. (I personally only really enjoyed the first episode and the last). I found myself having no attachment to the characters whatsoever probably due to the terrible pacing. Even the moments which have attempted to be “feels-inducing” seem pretty lacklustre. I find myself thinking “if only I had more time with this character”. Then perhaps I would have felt that emotional pinch when the time comes. I also believe some characters ought to have some development but they were somehow cut off in the anime adaptation. I do not know who but I surely can feel fragments being cut off (or even whole arcs), and yeah it doesn’t really help to have a useless, whiny MC that I find myself hating after awhile. (true he turns badass later, it’s not a spoiler c’mon, everyone can see that coming, but isn’t that too much of a cliche here?)
I’m not even sure if Tokyo Ghoul aims to be more of a battle series or not because the fights in the anime are half baked and totally lacklustre. You can’t even count them as “fights”. You can tell fights are being placed here and there but then the fights just wrap up in seconds? So that begs the question. is this a battle anime or not. If it is, make it clear. If it’s not, then just don’t have those forced fights for no reason. There is also censorship (which I don’t really have a problem with) which I believe destroys the quality of fights. The world of Ghouls and their powers (Kagunes and such) are really hardly delved into and everything is just vague and left to the viewer’s interpretation (more often than not, you can’t tell any shit from happening because the fights are censored anyway). I believe the anime owes it’s viewers more technical depth into the fights, powers/kagunes of each Ghoul. this is important! Else every single piece of fluffy ghoul tail coming out from every ghoul somehow loses it’s meaning.
That having said, I won’t say Tokyo Ghoul was a shit job. It was okay-ish at best and it’s probably a pity because a series like this does deserve much better. What were they rushing for? A second season is confirmed anyway. They could have taken their time? What’s the rush?
The OST in the series is decent and I caught the occasional 20th century styled piano composition in the background. The opening song is by far one of the best opening songs I’ve heard in awhile. (it’s really attention grabbing! and the best is when they use it in a fight!). Despite it’s so called bad adaptation, there were moments when I thought there was great directing and adaptation. Also I find it a must to note that the voice actor of the MC did quite a good job in some scenes. (especially the torture scenes or the “to eat or not to eat” conflict scene in episode 1)
Overall, Tokyo Ghoul gets a 6/10 (B) from me. I’m planning to read the manga (to find how what’s the difference, and also will probably do a comparison post when the time comes). But this score remains because I’m trying to be as far as possible to the adaptation. (why do I get the feeling that this number will plummet when I’m done reading the manga? haha)