Choujin X, Vol. 4

超人X [Chōjin X] #4

by Sui Ishida

Azuma has always felt driven to help others, and his need to become a choujin was an extension of that desire. But when he finally turned, it wasn't the victory he dreamed of. Now, rather than fighting side by side with Tokio, he’s trying to kill him! Forget repairing their friendship—can Tokio escape their reunion with his life?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Horror, Seinen, Comics, Action, Dystopia

Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2022

About the author

Also known as 石田スイ.

Sui Ishida (石田スイ, Ishida Sui), born December 28, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist
In 2010 he won the Young Jump 113th Grand Prix award with Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種, Tōkyō Kushu). In March 2011, the same oneshot was published in the 2nd Issue of Miracle Jump. And later in September 2011, Tokyo Ghoul started as a series in Weekly Young Jump 2011-41 Issue. In December 2011, he made another oneshot about Rize that was published in December 2011 in Miracle Jump 6th Issue, which was later collected in the 6th volume of Tokyo Ghoul.
In 2013, he also started Tokyo Ghoul: Jack in the digital magazine Jump LIVE.

Sui Ishida is his penname; nobody knows his real name or what he looks like.

Reviews

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like we’re nearing a climax, where everything is on the verge of collapsing. All of the most stunning art panels, backstory and fight scenes were in this volume. And Azuma?? Ishida has done a great job building dread towards the possibility of him being Chouijin X. If I wasn’t already invested in this series, this would be the moment that all changed.

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume where every time I turned the page I just whispered “damn” under my breath because YES Ishida is THAT GOOD. These spreads are museum worthy.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A being the choujin world regards with awe and envy, a being they refer to as... Choujin X"

[★ wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

cuando el protagonista tiene un "descanso" es porque en el siguiente volumen lo van a hacer pedazos vdd

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025
I stand by my statements of if Azuma becomes the villain he has every right to be. The way they treat him as if he some sort of bad omen is not great at all. I do have to say tho that he has a control issue that he never knew he had before because he liked being the one in charge, the leader, the one Tokio could follow. And when Tokio finally started to show that he could exist without him, it became too much. I think he knew that Tokio was equal to him like he realized that when they did that arm wrestling contest and Tokio threw it. Azuma knew. And he didn’t want to be the one left behind.

2024
Art style is still mid for me. Poor baby Simon. I also would like to say that if Azuma ends becoming the villain, he has every right to do so. The way they’re treating him is awful. Except for tokio. And that’s going to be hard when it def is going to come down to Azuma vs Tokio. And Tokio will have to kill his best friend

[444M · Rating 5 out of 5]

PARDON ??????

[Mili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sora Siruha is one hot nun🧎🏻‍♀️

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.

Less action packed sequences (besides the beginning which was cool) but more character moments in this volume. Plus a fun training arc at the end. Getter better as the characters develop for sure🙂‍↕️ and the plot has me really interested to see where it goes.

[Trauty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read #1 — 4.25

Carries on with one of my favourite fights so far - love how it explores the dynamic of Tokio and Azuma

[Alo ★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 oka 👍

quedé más afectada x lo de la hiena q todo lo demás al chile 😔

[Le0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Je retrouve Simon

[Nicccolleee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in here = diva status

[Anna Marie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chojin X Volume 4: This Is the Story of X

The first half of this continues the absolute insanity and brilliance that was the end of V.3. Azuma is a chojin! He's trying to kill everyone! He, or Tokio, might be the one-man-calamity of prophecy! The fight between Tokio and Azuma in chaos chojin forms is brilliantly choreographed and visually stunning. It's also emotionally devastating. Especially that aftermath portion when Azuma realizes that he is no longer Tokio's hero, but might be the villain in his friend's story :'( ... and when Tokio forgives him and invites him to develop his powers at Yamato Mori so they can be heroes together :)

The backstory drops on Ely and the Great Chojin War are also epic and gorgeously illustrated. It feels like we're really getting places with both the world building and character development.

However things fall off in the back third when it seems like, after hitting some real emotional peaks and *finally* starting to take itself seriously, CX falls back into its usual pattern of undercutting its violent, intense scenes by following them up with juvenile goofiness and fanservice jokes. So, we get the Obligatory Shonen Training Montage on the beach, and the Obligatory Female Characters In Bikinis Fanservice Scene, and a training drill in which a very sexy and considerably older female chojin ties up Tokio with brambles and "motivates" him in the most sexualized way possible, that should qualify as child abuse but somehow is played for laughs. Ugh, really, Ishida? You may be my favorite mangaka but sometimes you really, really tick me off.

We get some absolutely tragic backstory on Simon Kagomura at the very end. Poor baby. He deserves all the hugs. And I think Simon may actually be more interesting of a character than either of the male leads so far. I am pretty invested in Azuma and Tokio's friendship, and Ely continues to grow on me, but I'm still not 100% in love with the main 3 as characters yet the way I already was at this point for other manga like Tokyo Ghoul or Noragami. But if Ishida can keep up with the amazing superpowered teamwork and steady backstory drops, and not undercut things too much with jokes and tone shifts, I think we could eventually get there.

Things start to heat up and get serious again at the end, though, as more eccentric-but-terrifying chojin baddies show up to crash the party and set the stage for an epic, action-packed Volume 5.

For CX As A Whole (So Far):

I started reading Sui Ishida's absolutely incredible Tokyo Ghoul a few months ago, so when I found out the author has a second, still ongoing, manga series, I was eager to jump on the bandwagon.

At first glance, Chojin X (or Choujin X) shares a lot of surface similarities with the mangaka's previous smash hit, Tokyo Ghoul . An every-boy protagonist dealing with sudden, grotesque changes to his body, themes of alienation and injustice, rival organizations of super-powered folk with their own mysterious goals ... it's all here, too. At the same time, though, it isn't really fair to compare this series to TG. It is its own beast (or rather, its own bestial Chojin) and even in its early stages, there are already a few key differences.

For one, Chojin X feels a lot more like a shonen manga than its predecessor. The characters are several years younger, and their personal struggles feel more teenaged than young adult, though Ishida being Ishida, the psychology is still expertly well-drawn. The arcs feel more like self-contained adventures, there's more emphasis on big fights, and the themes feel more focused on friendship and figuring out one's purpose in life than the intense moral and psychological questions of TG. There's a school for young superhumans, and the accompanying training montage scenes, as well, all of which feels solidly shonen. There's also quite a bit more wacky humor, which I have mixed feelings about (see below). So rather than comparing Chojin X to TG, perhaps a better comparison would be to new gen shonen like Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Jujitsu Kaisen, Dan Da Dan, Kaiju #8, Sakamoto Days, etc. -- and in comparison to the aforementioned titles, Chojin X, while less accessible or tonally consistent, manages to hold its own. Despite its other weaknesses, CX's outstanding art and psychological drama give it an edge in the world of new-gen shonen.

Tokio and Azuma's friendship, with its heady combination of mutual admiration and mutual resentment, is the real heart of Chojin X, and it is by far the best thing about this series, especially in its early parts. Tokio's decision to become a chojin is ultimately motivated by his desperate desire to be someone self-assured and accomplished like Azuma, and the hideous vulture form he takes is pretty much an externalization of his repressed feelings of shame and resentment towards his friend. As in TG, Ishida really excels at expressing his characters' complexes and hangups through beautifully insane body horror. Still, though, I'll also admit that I did not find Tokio, Azuma, or Ely as likeable or interesting as even the secondary characters in early Tokyo Ghoul, but we shall see.

The art is incredible, with cute but distinctive and detailed character designs and bold, sketchy strokes bringing the run-down world of Yamato, the Chojin body horror, and the subtle facial expressions of the human characters beautifully to life. It feels more stylized and shonen-y than Tokyo Ghoul, but it is still quite recognizably Ishida, and it is truly a cut above the typical manga illustration style. It's well-worth paying $15 each for the oversize tankobon volumes for the cover illustrations and artwork alone.

I think if there was one word I would use to describe Chojin X so far it would be "indulgent." That's both a criticism and a compliment. On the plus side, Ishida seems to be having a lot of fun with the process this time around, and his enthusiasm is infectious. An artist this talented being given this much freedom to let his imagination run wild is a joy to behold. The experimental art style yields some lovely surprises at every flip of the page. The sheer coolness factor of the Chojin powers and transformations (as well as the intricate worldbuilding that undergirds Chojin physiology and history) is pretty enjoyable. And even some of the sillier, what-the-hell-even-was-that sequences are at least visually fun.

But unfortunately, the level of authorial self-indulgence starts to become a bit of a problem for the story itself. To put it bluntly, Ishida just isn't as funny or clever as he seems to think he is. That's not to say he's not funny -- Tokyo Ghoul had its lighthearted and comedic moments, too, and those were deployed masterfully to make readers care about the characters (and give them a much-needed reprieve from the relentless violence and angst). But Chojin X's wild swings between genuinely affecting character drama and wacky shennanigans including superpowered baseball, an ill-fated attempt at eating pancakes while having a vulture skull for a head, and a high-speed tractor chase (yes, really), honestly felt more distracting than charming to me. So far, I feel like the silliness of this manga undermines the big story moments rather than building on them like TG did. It's like Chojin X can't decide whether to be a serious, dark drama like, say, Tokyo Ghoul or Attack on Titan, or a wacky, unhinged romp that never takes itself too seriously, like Kaiju #8 or Dan Da Dan. Instead it tries to split the difference and ends up falling short at both. It is unserious but it still takes itself way too seriously, if that makes sense. Though I will say around volume 5/6 it starts to become more serious for the most part and gets quite a bit better.

Oh and speaking of indulgent ... I feel obliged to say that the fanservice in Chojin X is absolutely heinous. Like I do not know how Sui Ishida managed to make the boob jokes in CX feel dirtier than the literal chapter-long sex scene in TG: re, but, somehow, he pulled it off. What's worse is when the fanservice jokes are at the expense of the younger female characters -- Ely, Maiko/Momo, and, eventually, Palma -- who are minors (Ely is stated to be 16 but looks like she's about 13. Momo is 18, and Palma is 16). Now, look, I know fanservice is just part of the deal with shonen manga/anime, considering that the primary audience is teenage boys, and, well, teenage boys like certain things. But I am genuinely pissed off because I know that my boy Sui Ishida-sensei is capable of better so I don't know why he doesn't just DO better.

The one saving grace is that Ely, the female co-protagonist, is a pretty solid character. She's funny, she's smart, she's brave, she's tough, and she's deeply endearing. She's also, at this point, the strongest protagonist of the three. Momo is also cool and likeable, if underutilized, and Zora, the former hero of Yamato Mori turned mad witch is a powerful female villain who is, thankfully, not sexualized at all. The female characters are *just* cool, smart, and likeable enough that I can overlook the fanservice and not throw the book across the room, but do be warned: Chojin X has a fanservice problem, and unfortunately it does not get better later in the series.

Still, despite its uneven start and some lingering issues, Chojin X is shaping up into a solid series that, recently (volumes 11/12 as of latest serialization) has been getting very good. So it's worth powering through the earlier volumes to get to the good stuff.

[Andrew Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started Choujin X after waiting for months letting the chapters build up, and I'm glad I did. I just loved Tokyo Ghoul, you see, and Ishida delivers again. Wonderful splash art, really creepy creature designs, and who doesn't love people with super-abilities tearing each other to shreds. I think Ishida, deep down, has the most fun when he's corrupting a protagonist, he's done that plot framework beautifully in both Tokyo Ghoul and now Choujin X, albeit nothing in Choujin X so far is as traumatic as the corruption of Kaneki Ken by the Aogiri Tree.

I think what I like most about Ishida's style is how well he can write passages of time. There were moments in here where no words are spoken across eighteen pages of comic, yet Ishida is aging the main core of characters significantly. It's really awe-inspiring technique, boiling down years of the characters' improvement down to a couple dozen snapshots...

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Altro volume coinvolgente. L'ho finito senza neppure accorgermene. Lo scontro contro Azuma si risolve nel migliore dei modi e tutti si ritirano su un'isola dal valore simbolico per migliorarsi. Ma l'allenamento dei ragazzi verrà presto interrotto contro la loro volontà.

La storia si ripete e, tenendo fede a questa triste verità, ci viene rivelato il "ruolo", prescelto dal fato o presunto tale, di un personaggio in particolare... sarà veramente questo il suo destino? E sarà realmente lui il Choujin X?

Comunque, sono convinta che abbiamo già incontrato la persona che si cela dietro la Maschera Nō, anche se ora come ora non saprei dire di chi si tratta.

[Printia_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Era el héroe de una persona con la fuerza necesaria para volar y dejarme atrás. Pero al ver como ocultaba su potencial solo podía sentir una fuerte repulsión, además de unos crecientes celos. Si yo tuviera ese poder podría seguir siendo su salvador."

Ahora si que está arrancando esta historia, y menudo inicio. Ha sido una introducción bastante larga, pero ha valido mucho la pena la espera.

Nos centramos muchísimo más en la relación entre Tokyo y Azuma, dejando al descubierto la oscuridad que estaba oculta. Y es que cada uno de ellos vivía su amistad de forma muy diferente, teniendo que chocar en algún punto.

También se nos muestra el pasado de Yamato Mori junto con ciertos sucesos pasados, los cuales le han dado más interés al propio tomo. Aunque siento que este tema volverá a la luz, ya que solo nos han dado unas pinceladas del mismo.

El tono de humor que fluían por los otros tomos, en este apenas se ha notado, dejándose ver solo en algún capitulo para reducir el peso de la historia y hacerla más amena al lector. Algo que me parece muy bien logrado en este número.

Espero que el siguiente siga así.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This manga is so frustrating - the premise is good but the execution is not. The flow is all over the place and where there are explanations, they do not make much sense. This volume includes the conclusion to a pretty big one on one fight (the reasoning for was a bit nebulous), some type of history that, for me, did not make much sense and a mini training arc that seemed to be there to throw in a bit of fanfic and silly humor. I think I will be dropping this series as it just is not improving for me. That being said, this series does have pretty good reviews on the whole so this could just be a ‘me’ thing.

[Avel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Volume was insane. Azuma's inner turmoil and his fight with Tokio was incredibly well written. Tokio's Choujin form, the one with the swords and 4 hands looked so insanely cool. Also the whole history with the Great Guelta empire and Queem Macman the war choujin is super interesting and adds a lot to the overarching narrative. The introduction of Choujin X and the declaration that this is his story also makes a very interesting narrative actually. I'm extremely looking forward to whatever's next. Especially with the cliffhanger at the end of this one. Currently my favourite character is Tokio Kurohara but let's see who will it be after a few more volumes.

Volume Cover: 7
My rating: 10

[The Book Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Azuma has gone crazy and it out to pummel Tokio into the dirt because... a Bakugou-style inferiority/superiority complex. (He knows he's cool... but he thinks his 'rival' is going easy on him and therefore, looking down on him.)

Then there's this small info dump about a Choujin country that decided to declare war on the world because once a generation, there exists a Choujin X (roll credits) "with the power to annihilate an entire world." Granted this power could be used positively so it's not always the end of the world.

Anyway, time for the training montage!

[Kazu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adoro quando vou fazer uma história muito ORIGINAL de um garoto medíocre que por um acaso ganha poderes e se prova ser mt foda.
Para aprender lidar com esse poder ele entra em uma organização do BEM no qual tem um cara que perdeu a família e uma garota q não tem personalidade.
No fim o protagonista tem que enfrentar vilões com mt mais personalidade que ele para no final ele lutar contra o super vilão que causou tudo isso.

Eu juro por Deus que eu não aguento mais ler esse manga mais eu quero ver a Sora e a Vlad, elas parecem servir mt mais que esses personagens aí

[Griffin Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great volume with some new characters being introduced. I really enjoy the mundane aspects of the story that let the characters breathe and show you their friendship outside of fighting other choujin. While this volume was amazing, I did notice some fan service that put a sour taste in my mouth. I’m really hoping this is a one time thing for the beach chapter, but I can’t rank the volumes the 5 stars I want to if it continues.

[Frankie Frabizzio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Idk. I liked that last chapter though, and need to remember that for volume five I should listen to the recommended reading music at the end of the volume. Part of me wants to go back to the beginning of the series and binge with the right songs. I love adding music to my reading experience so hmmmmmmm methinks it’ll be worth a try

[ANTHONY FLORES · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya tenemos una profecía que es lo que le faltaba a este manga.

Está siendo uno muy bueno y tiene un world building muy bueno, la verdad hay muchas cosas como que raras o convenientes pero es algo que te acostumbras a ver en este genero en el manga.

Me gusta que ya todo el problema del manga pasado se está resolviendo o se resolvió de completo y todos tratan de ser guardianes.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creo que es mi volumen favorito de la serie.

Va agarrando forma la historia, los personajes ya están cómodos y se van desarrollando. Deciden qué van a hacer con sus habilidades y las empiezan a entrenar.

Me gusta mucho el diseño de las portadas y los personajes, cuanod se transforman son como monstruos minimalistas (algunos), con detalles raros pero no ridis.

[Sergsab · Rating 4 out of 5]

La verdad es que me estoy encariñando con este equipo. El diseño de personajes es maravilloso y siempre quiero saber qué poderes tendrán los nuevos Choujin que aparecen.

Hay algunos muy muy locos.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great volume. I liked that we got to see some more of the other people that are training to become Choujin handlers. I also liked that we got to witness the extremely messy reunion or Tokio and Azuma. I can't wait to see where their friendship goes from here.

[Lexyloowoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was such a cliffhanger. I am so excited to start the next book is this series I still have so many questions but I am glad I’m still interested in the characters and where their stairway is going. Because I am easily disinterested.

[Alex Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t realize everyone’s superpowers also included super healing because that tonal shift was abrupt after what went down during the fight. Made the stakes of the previous volume lower by comparison.

[I like flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fight at the beginning of the book was so good and I liked the training arc but I can only give it 4.5 cause of the fan service 😭 like boi we did not need to see allat to progress the story.. it even leaked into the extras…

[Hasanasil]

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