Tokyo Ghoul

東京喰種 / Tokyo Ghoul #1-14

by Sui Ishida

Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every way—except for their craving for human flesh.

A box set that includes all fourteen volumes of the original Tokyo Ghoul series. Includes an exclusive double-sided poster.

Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human, half-Ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds, he must survive Ghoul turf wars, learn more about Ghoul society and master his new powers. 

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Mystery, Comics Manga

2904 pages, Paperback

Published October 16, 2018

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

[E. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poster

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 1
(ISBN 9781421580364)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 1

Bonus Manga: Tokyo's Ghouls
Preview of Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 2

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 2
(ISBN 9781421580371)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 2

Four-Cell Ghoul: 4 Four-Panel Cartoons
Preview of Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 3

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 3
(ISBN 978421580388)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 3

Bonus Manga: Afterlife Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 4
(ISBN 9781421580395)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 4

Bonus Manga: Yomo and Others in the Past
Bonus Manga: Hinami and Touka

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 5
(ISBN 9781421580401)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 5

Bonus Manga: Bien
Bonus Manga: Yomo and Hetare

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 6
(ISBN 9781421580418)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 6

Mr. Shinohara's Special Lecture
Bonus Manga: Tokyo Investigators
Bonus Manga: 'My Name is Kazuichi Banjo.'

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 7
(ISBN 9781421580425)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 7

Bonus Manga: Stay at Home Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 8
(ISBN 9781421580432)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 8

Bonus Manga: Comic Relief

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 9
(ISBN 9781421580449)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 9

Bonus Manga: At the hideout
Bonus Manga: Mado Family

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 10
(ISBN 9781421580456)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 10

Tokyo Ghoul Karuta Playing Cards
Many Sides of Touka
Many Sides of Shachi


Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 11
(ISBN 9781421580463)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 11

4 Four-Panel Cartoons: Snow White, Rapunzel, Rapunzel?, and Little Red Riding Hood
Bonus Manga: Peach Boy
4 Four-Panel Cartoons: Kenderella, Kenderella 2, Hansel and Gretel, and Hansel and Gretel 2

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 12
(ISBN 9781421580470)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 12

Bonus Manga: Quiz Time
Bonus Manga: Aogiri
Bonus Manga: Three Adults

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 13
(ISBN 9781421590424)

Tokyo Ghoul so far: Places, Characters, Summary

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 13

Bonus Manga: Fireworks Festival

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 14
(ISBN 9781421590431)

--Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 14

Tokyo Ghoul:re Teaser

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Ken Kaneki is an average college student - albeit a bit bookish and quiet. His best friend, Hide, is the closest person he has to family.

One day, Ken notices a cute girl at a coffee shop who just so happens to be reading his favorite author. Tentatively, excitedly, he asks her out and they have a wonderful date.

On the walk home, they turn down a dark alley and...she tries to eat him.

Literally.

In Ken's world there are people and beings called Ghouls. Ghouls walk, talk and act human but the main difference is that they are an obligate carnivore...and the only meat they can consume is human.

Ken is dangerously injured and his date even moreso. Back at the hospital, the doctors are in a bind. Ken desperately needs vital organs and the only donor nearby is...the date.

Unbeknownst to Ken, he has several of his internal organs replaced with those of a Ghoul...which makes him half-Ghoul.

Stunned, horrified, Ken can only look on as his body changes and his appetite grows.

Life is for the living, but what do you do when life isn't worth living anymore?

So, I've been curious about Tokyo Ghoul for ages.

I love the concept of this - the ever narrowing lines between what it means to be human and monster. I love the morality juxtaposed against the will to survive.

Ken's descent into Ghoul-hood was both fascinating and horrifying to watch. There's just something about a character fighting against their nature and pursuing the "right" path above all else that fascinates me.

I will say that this series does have a few really great scenes or areas of interest that just happen off screen - which annoyed me. There were moments that were skipped by that I would've LOVED to see drawn out.

It also ended just at the pinnacle of interest - where

Ken is poised for the greatest fight of his life...and then the book just kinda ends. It felt like a letdown, and that it could've been so much cooler if the series had continued from there opposed to starting with the whole memory-loss arc.



At the end of the day, I did enjoy this one. It was really neat to read and the art is great. It is a mature manga (if the cannibalism didn't clue you in), so just be warned about that.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Monika Nazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

دنیایی که اشتباه است.
غولهایی که هر روز انسان های بی گناه را میکشند و از آنها تغذیه میکنند اما آیا این همه ماجراست؟

تقابل میان انسانها و غول ها اما کدامینشان خیر و کدامینشان شر است؟ این سوال و چالشی است که توکیو غول پیش روی ما می نهد و آن را با بهترین روش ممکن مطرح میکند. به وجود آمدن موجودی که مرز میان این دو دنیاست. کانکی، دانشجوی ادبیات که بعد از حادثه ای در مرز بین دو دنیا قرار میگیرد و با گذشت زمان جای خود را در میان غولها پیدا میکند.
در مواجهه با چنین دنیای اشتباهی دسته های مختلفی قرار دارند که هر یک به یک شیوه منحصر به فرد به این وضعیت واکنش می دهند. چندین گروه اصلی عبارتند از:
کسانی هستند که سعی دارن در گوشه ای به تنهایی زندگیشان را میکنند وقتی اوضاع بد می‌شود فقط به آسانی غیبشان میزند.
گروه دیگر دسته دلقک‌ها هستند. که تنها به دنبال خنده آخر هستند از مجادله پرهیز میکنند از مشاهده رنج سایرین لذت میبرند و هر دو طرف درگیر را به تمسخر میگیرند.
گروه انتقام‌جویان، کسانی هستند که به دنبال گرفتن انتقام سختی‌ها ها و مشکلات پیش آمده در زندگی خود از سایرین هستند گاهی از خود فرد مقصر و گاهی گروهی خاص.
دنباله‌رو ها که پیرو راه آنهایی میشوند که گمان میکنند از خودشان قویتر هستند یا اینکه به خاطر علاقه‌ای که به آنها دارند بی چون و چرا از آنها تبعیت میکنند.
دسته محافظان که وظیفه اصلی محافظت از خانواده و یا آشنایان خود را عهده دار میشوند.
و در آخر قهرمانان داستان که به دنبال تغییر قوانین حاکم بر این دنیا هستند آنها اخلاق‌ مدارانی هستند که نسبت به همه گروه ها حس دلسوزی و همدردی دارند و در نهایت رستگاری حقیقی به دست آنها رقم خواهد خورد...

اما پیچیدگی مانگا در آنجایی مشخص میشود که مرز میان این دستجات و گروه‌ها بسیار بسیار کمرنگ و باریک است به گونه ای می‌تواند مجموعه از ویژگی های مختلف و حتی متضاد را در شخصیت ها قرار دهند. گاهی با گذشت زمان شخصیت حالتها و باورهای مختلفی به خود میگیرد و گاه شخصیتی دچار تردید هایی میشود که میتوان او را همزمان در چندین گروه مختلف جای داد. بر روی هر کدام از شخصیت های مانگا که دست بگذاریم جذابیت های زیادی دارد که به مرور و طی پیش رفتن داستان و جلدهای متمادی شکل میگیرد. اگر به طور جزئی به هر شخصیتی بپردازم مقدار زیادی از داستان لو میرود و چون در تلاش برای پرهیز از هر گونه لو رفتن داستان (حتی به اندازه جزئی) هستم از چنین پرداختی خودداری میکنم.

دانستن منبع الهام مانگاکا نیز خالی از لطف نیست. به گفته سویی ایشیدا فکر مانگای توکیو غول از آنجایی به ذهن اون خطور کرد که به فکر افتاد که شاید خطرناک ترین موجودات روی زمین انسانها باشند. انسان هایی که در جامعه به صورت عادی ظاهر میشوند و به کارهای معمولی و عادی زندگانی خود می‌پردازند حال آنکه در خفا ممکن است دست به انواع کارهای شنیع بزنند و به راحتی آن را در پشت نقاب انسانیت پنهان کنند.

جناب سویی ایشیدا مانگای بی نظیری رو قلم زده که هم از نظر پیچیدگی های داستانی، هم شخصیت پردازی و هم طراحی صحنه های مختلف چه روزمرگی‌ها و چه مبارزات حیرت انگیز است. همچنان تعداد شخصیت های زن داستان به نسبت مرد‌ها کمتر است اگرچه که انواع مختلفی از جنسیت‌ها و گرایشات در داستان مشاهده میشود. هیچ توضیحی درباره اولین غول‌ها و چگونگی پیدایش آنها ارائه نشده که برخی آن را نقطه ضعف بزرگ داستان به شمار می آورند.

برای من مانگا به قدری عالی و کافی بود که تمام ستاره هایی که میتوانم را با افتخار به آن تقدیم دارم، پنج ستاره طلایی⭐️

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Kaneki is living a pretty normal life; he loves books and hanging out with his best friend. But when an accident happens that leaves him half-ghoul and half-human, he must figure out how to survive in both worlds.

This series is one that I’ve been mildly interested in both in anime and manga form but just never picked up. I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it but the more I saw people talk about it, the more certain I became that it would be something I love. I treated myself to the manga boxed set earlier this year and when I planned a “30 days of manga” challenge for myself, I knew this had to be part of it. This series is phenomenal! It opens the door for discussions about good vs. evil and morality. I expected a horror series full of twists and turns and gore; I got that, but I also got so much more. I think what really added to my enjoyment the most was something that I didn’t think I would like - we get to follow both the ghouls and the humans whose job is to hunt the ghouls and that is what really leads to some further understanding of good vs. evil.

The characters really added to my enjoyment of this series, as well. Sui Ishida creates a few characters that really had me wanting to know everything I possibly can about them. The first character I was really drawn to was Uta. He’s a mask maker for ghouls and his character design alone was enough to hook me. Talk about FASHION. We don’t get a ton about him but I loved the things I was able to learn. I am also really interested in Juuzou Suzuya, the ghoul investigator. His backstory is brutal and heartbreaking and I really felt bad for him.

Overall, this series was so much more than I thought it would be and I am so glad I read each issue back-to-back so I could really immerse myself in the story. I hope to watch the anime at some point though I’ve heard mixed things.

[Joshua Adam Bain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great manga!

I watched the anime and loved the first season, although the second took a bit of a dip and ended in a very anti climactic way. Glad to say that the manga plays out a lot more satisfying than that. The biggest difference being that Kaneki doesn't go to the bad side like in the anime, something that never really felt believable.

The thing I look be the most of manga, more so than the anime adaptions for the most part, is they have so much more context and world building. Little moments with secondary characters and layout descriptions really give you more of it all, and in turn makes the whole experience that much greater. I hate to be one of those guys, but for me it's definitely manga>anime.

If your diving into this beautiful series then just know that this is only the beginning of the story. We don't get any real answers for big questions here, and it leaves us on a hell of a cliffhanger. It all leads into the sequel; Tokyo Ghoul: Re, which I'm currently reading, and loving!

A great story with mystery, action, great characters and a story that makes it hard to put down. Highly recommend!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Tokyo Ghoul begins with a streak of incredibly bad luck disguised as good luck. Reports of strange murders involving cannibalism and monster attacks have been haunting the city of Tokyo. What started as rumors quickly becomes reality as more and more victims show up dead. The creatures behind the attacks are believed to be ghouls. They don’t quite fit the normal definition of ghouls, they’re not hideous, rotting, undead monstrosities. They look like humans, they talk like humans, they act and even pretend to eat like normal humans, there’s no way of telling a ghoul from a human until you end up as their next meal. Ken Kaneki and his childhood friend Hide continue to laugh the incidents off as superstitious rumors and continue about their daily life as they normally would.

Things start to seem too good to be true when the shy and socially awkward bookworm Kaneki scores a date with the girl of his dreams, a beautiful, mature and intelligent young woman named Rize. Not only is Rize completely out of Kaneki’s league, but she also happens to share his infatuation with complex horror literature and philosophy. Things seem to be going unusually well for Kaneki, but it turns out that his lovely date is only interested in his body—eating his body, to be more specific. (And not in the hot kinky way either.)

Rize is not only an extremely dangerous ghoul, but she’s what’s known as a binge eater; ghouls that kill and consume without remorse or concern of the population or the safety of other ghouls. She’s the one responsible for most of the brutal killings and cannibalism incidents in the area and poor Kaneki just so happens to be her latest target. Just like that, a dream date quickly descends into a bloody nightmare as Kaneki is nearly tortured to death by Rize in an empty construction site where no one can hear his cries of pain.

Kaneki seems to get lucky when Rize slams him around the construction site and ends up knocking a large hunk of metal down on herself from all the destruction she caused, and ends up killing herself by accident just before she can deliver the final blow to Kaneki. The commotion causes a disturbance in the neighborhood and police are called to investigate the scene. The nearly dead Kaneki is rushed to the hospital along with the corpse of the bloodthirsty ghoul Rize so her organs can be transplanted into Kaneki.

All’s well that ends well, right? Wrong. The streak of bad luck continues. The morally questionable rescue of Kaneki ends up transforming him into the first half-human half-ghoul hybrid because of the ghoul organs implanted in his body. Losing his taste for his favorite foods, developing violent urges and twisted desires to consume the flesh of his fellow humans, Kaneki is forcefully pulled into the demented underworld of ghoul society which has existed alongside human society for many years in secret.

Kaneki has no choice but to adapt to the ways of the ghouls if he wants to survive, all while keeping his identity a secret and trying to live a normal human life. Thus begins a tragic horror story where a psychologically tortured boy is constantly exposed to the worst aspects of human nature and the savagery of ghoul society. Is Kaneki the first ever outcast that doesn’t belong to human or ghoul society, or is he the first and only person that has the potential to bring the two clashing societies together? Kaneki begins to realize that there’s more to the incident with Rize and the surgery that changed him forever, and he slowly unravels the secrets of the nastiest ghouls and the most corrupt humans working in mysterious ways behind the scenes. After a while, you’ll begin to question who the real monsters are.

Caught between two dangerous worlds, Kaneki grows through immeasurable suffering, bridging the gap between humans and ghouls by learning to love and fear them in equal measure. Tokyo Ghoul builds an emotional story about morality, discrimination and self-discovery. It utilizes the literary themes of Kafka such as metamorphosis and the exploration of absolute gray morality.

Kaneki’s development is literally an emotional roller coaster. He goes through so many changes in beliefs, morals, personality and identity that he struggles to keep track of who he really is as all of the different sides of himself constantly try to conquer and slaughter each other in his severely fractured brain. He can’t decide if he wants to fight against humans for the sake of the ghouls, to fight against ghouls for the sake of humans, or try to come up with some crazy master plan to fight against both of them or neither of them in order to find a way to stop the conflict between all sides once and for all. All these confusing thoughts and morals create a storm inside him and the greatest conflict of all is perhaps the conflict of Kaneki’s own conflicted sense of identity.

Overall, the story has a strong start that immediately throws you into a dark and twisted drama, a tedious middle section that's held back by pacing issues, poorly explained terminology and too many unimportant side characters that don’t get nearly enough development or screen time, but it gets back on its feet with a really strong final few arcs that leave you with many questions and potential answers regarding human morality. It has an impressively large cast connected by limitless plot twists and clever intricacies, deep protagonists with many layers, flashy fight scenes with unique weapons and bodily horror mechanics called Kagune, and it pulls on the heartstrings as you slowly begin to realize that humans and ghouls have a lot more in common than either one would care to admit.

***

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[Ananya Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga series is sooòoo damn good!! It's a full package of AMAZING-ness

[Noah Lach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loosely based on Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and very rich in nihilism, absurdism, and ethical philosophy. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful and so deeply human.

In my opinion, Tokyo Ghoul is the pinnacle of artistic and narrative achievement in its medium.

“All acts of taking are equally evil. We take from the moment we are dropped into life. We take from those around us, even from our own blood. We butcher, kill and take as long as we live. Life is a continuous commission of sins. Life is evil itself. I recognize I am evil. You are too. Now come kill me.”

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Why do beautiful things remind us of death more than life?"

Holy shit.

This is a review of the entire 14 volumes of Tokyo Ghoul (NOT including Tokyo Ghoul:re), so I'll be reviewing the series as a whole and not each volume individually.

This was so good. The artwork is gorgeous; dark and haunting and dreamy and perfect for this kind of story. The worldbuilding is great. The characters are so layered and unique. Kaneki, for example, is someone who could easily have fallen into the category of characters whose main motivation is "I have to protect everyone, I don't want to lose anyone else" which is admirable and all, but also a characteristic that is so overdone that I usually lose interest in whichever character expresses it pretty quickly. Does he want to protect everyone? Yes, but ultimately he has his own selfish reasons for it, and I loved how other characters confronted him about trying to play the part of "the tragic hero".

I don't even know what to say; I have so many thoughts about this series yet I can't seem to put them into words.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Принципно притежавам тази кутия и можеше да не си добавям томовете отделно, но... така ми е по-прегледно.
Общото ми мнение за тази поредица е изключително високо. Авторът притежава изчистен и подреден стил, справя се прекрасно със задачата си. Сред заглавията от този тип (например Parasyte, Shingeki no Kyojin и дори Terraformars), "Токийски гул" заема много достойно място в модерната отаку култура, а сега вече и в моето сърце, както се казва. Всичко в тази история е точно премерено и напаснато. Явно е характерно за този тип разкази, но за моя радост и тук отново липсва поучителният тон ала "ето тези са злите и затова просто трябва да ги мразиш, виж какво правят на главния ни герой!". Няма прав и крив, има битка за това да притежаваш свое място в света, независимо как се преобръща той под теб. Светът все пак е за всички, човек е неспособен да бъде само за едните, които искат да се защитят, тъй като са "плячка", или за другите, които са хищници, но не по своя воля.
Невероятно е, че сякаш не съществува герой, който да намразиш съвсем истински (странно, дори и Якумо...). Е, може би Арима печели малко точки в тази категория...
Единственото ми разочарование е, че историята определено едва сега започва... Сигурно е било голям шок серията да приключи с това, което се случва в 14-ти том и да не знаеш дали ще продължи, но аз съм спасена от тези опасения.

[Chase Guard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The box set is hands down amazing, obviously the story that is at play here is unlike any other and truly manages to grab your emotions and keep you reading through out. The art work throughout each volume is remarkable and the characters are nothing but lovable. Honestly this has been my favorite series so far and I genuinely love uncovering the true intentions of Sui Ishida in the world that he created.

[Ethan Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly the best piece of literature I have ever read! The heartbreaking tragedy of the protagonist will have you weeping your soul out, whilst the heartwarming moments - which are in abundance - will make you cry even more. Sui Ishida is a genius at making not only his pictures and words tell a story, but his layout of panels too. We learn more through what is not said than we ever do from what is. Bitter sweet chaos, that I will fall in love with time and time again.

[Annes Yakoubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite manga series so far. When I wanted to read it i wasn't sure why people said it was considered seinen and dark. I soon understood why. The ending was confusing that's why i had to purchase re: I ALSO LOVED THE ART, it was nothing compared to others!
So excited to see how the sequel will be.

[Habeeb Alnaqi | حبيب النقي · Rating 4 out of 5]

تجربتي الأولى لقراءة مانقا.
اخترت هذه المانقا بالذات لتمحورها حول فكرة فلسفية لطيفة، وهي التزاحم الذي لا سبيل لحله بقوانين بشرية.
المانقا لطيفة جداً ولكنها سوداوية أحياناً أكثر من اللازم.
أعتقد أني سأكمل الجزء الثاني منها، لكن لا أعتقد أني سأقرأ مانقا أخرى مستقبلاً.

[Izrezar · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

[Luke Breen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If God is real he wrote this manga. I will re-read this for the rest of my life.

[Fatima Alqassab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9,

[Zey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Too many characters and battles were often hard to read, but still solid.

[Hayley Garcia Parnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really beautiful world and art style but surprisingly difficult to follow within action scenes.

[Aesop Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

im throwing up my insides

[✯Anoushka⁷✯ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mom, I love Kaneki.

I didn't obviously read the series physically but this was the only chance I had to review the series as a whole. My experience with reading (more like trying to finish) Tokyo Ghoul has not been a smooth one. I started the manga like 2 years ago however I left it with 2 volumes to go for a circumstance I can't remember (exams maybe?), and I finally picked it up 2 days ago, and ohmygod I cannot tell you how much I respect the plotline and its one and only main character: Kaneki Ken.

To say that the characters had a character development would be an understatement. If you look at the stories of Hinami, Amon, Juzou/Suzuya, Touka, Tsukiyama, or even Hide, you will have some character development to analyse. But when I say that Kaneki had character development I mean that he had a whole metamorphosis.

I kind of realised something about myself while reading the manga, to be honest. I realised that I revere strength and kindness. I think they both go hand in hand. And when you put those values together like this: strength + kindness + human + hot, you get = K. A. N. E. K. I. To say that I admire/adore/love this character would, again, be an understatement. His journey from being a shy, kind, unassuming 18-year-old to a strong, protective, tortured leader is what sets him apart from the rest of the characters I've read in all my life.

To carry the burden that Kaneki carried before he turned into a ghoul was already taxing. He was an orphan with a relative who didn't care about him. But once Kaneki decided to shoulder the burden of essentially the entire 20th ward, he turned into a tragedy-just-waiting-to-happen.

I cannot emphasise how much I love how Kaneki's selflessness in protecting others was actually inherently selfish. Like Touka pointed out in grief: "In the end, it's all about you." But the truth is his metamorphosis did save the people he loved. To quote Kaneki's old self when speaking to his new self: "You fought in the place of the weak me. I'm not angry at all. Thank you for all you've done."

Throughout the series, the only thing Kaneki had on his mind was "Rather than be the person who hurts others, become the person getting hurt." And in the end, it was his fatal flaw (or was it? I don't know yet.)

With that, I hereby place Tokyo Ghoul and Kaneki Ken in the annals of Anoushka's loves and to-be-read-again masterpieces.

P.S. It does destroy me that the only heartfelt interaction Kaneki and Touka was one where Touka was beating the shit out of Kaneki. I'm hoping for more when I read Tokyo Ghoul: re next.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instead of writing out a review for all of then, I'll just have the one. Most important fact: I love Hide.

[AJCantus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psychological and physical horror that chills you to the bone. One of the grimmest stories I have ever read, and I loved it.

[✨Rashi✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have the box set but I've read the manga and I'm too lazy to add each book to the list sooo
Oh btw it's one of my favourite mangas ever.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the whole series: Oof, I have some thoughts about this one. I think the best way to sum up this series is that I feel like it is a concept that has a lot of potential, but it ultimately fell short for me in several ways. Instead of a really long review, I think I'll just write up a pros and cons list to help other people decide if it might be something they would like to try.

Pros:
1. Lovely artstyle and (mostly) good character designs.
2. Really cool fight scenes. Like really, really cool. I would love to see how they animated the Kagune fights.
3. Interesting world-building and concept.
4. Asked some interesting questions about the nature of humanity and deconstructed the typical idea of a shonen protagonist. It was interesting how Kaneki's desire to protect everyone (very typical of an anime protagonist) was ultimately portrayed as coming from a rather selfish desire of his to not be alone.
5. I actually really like Kaneki's development as a character, although I wished he had lost more of his naivety. It was an interesting portrayal of someone struggling with being caught between two worlds, as well as what trauma can do to someone.

Cons:
1. The portrayal of the canonically LBGTQIA+ characters is not great. The two characters that I can think of off the top of my head are portrayed as very predatory. It's not great when your only LGBTQIA+ characters are all bad guys.
2. Way too many characters in the cast. I had a hard time keeping track of them all, and there were many times where a character would show up, be named, and then immediately die. I think we also spent too much time jumping between characters.
3. There are frequently spoilers in the character bios in the beginning of each volume. I got spoiled for the identity of the Big Bad in the beginning of a volume before the reveal actually happened in the story. Not a deal-breaker for me, but something to look out for if you are sensitive to spoilers.
4. There were times that it felt like the plot depended on characters not using any common sense, which can be frustrating.
5. We didn't delve quite as deeply into the philosophical questions Tokyo Ghoul presented as much as I wanted to.
6. I wasn't crazy about the ending, it felt very odd for what we had learned about many of the characters up to that point.

Tldr: I liked the series, but it definitely has its flaws. Will I end up reading Tokyo Ghoul:re? Maybe just to get some answers to the questions I was left with. Fair warning, the anime is very different from the manga, so don't go in expecting quite the same experience.

Tw; body horror, gore, graphic violence, cannibalism, death, death of children, child abuse, sexual abuse, torture, homophobia/biphobia

[Ozan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga is called a seinen, but the story is full of shonen clichés... For example, the phrase "I must protect everything I love, I must protect everything that is important to me", if I had a peny for every time the main character said this phrase in every shonen I watched and read. , now I would be even richer than Elon Musk. Then, in order to achieve this phrase, there is the you need to get stronger by training, especially against a strong enemy, learning to use your power or learning a new technique, and the enemy you fight against later joins your team as your friend... etc. Shonen clichés like these were in this manga, so it would be more accurate to call this manga a battle shonen with excessive blood and gore scenes.

The story of the manga was not that original at all. Basicly, Human-looking monsters, who try to survive secretly in society, are a threat to humans and because of that they are hated and hunted. There were so many characters in the manga, I can't remember the names of many of the characters. After a certain point, I wasn't sure at first whether the mangaka added a new ghoul investigator character to the manga or we went back to and focused on an already excisting ghoul investigator character who was mostly in the background so far. Of course, this confusion went away when I realized that when the mangaka added a new ghoul investigator character to the story, he showed the ghoul investigator character's name, rank, Quinque (a special weapon used by ghoul investigator while hunting ghouls) technique and the name of the ghoul investigator character's Quinque.

The manga made me read without getting bored due to its abundance of action, otherwise I would not have been able to finish reading all the 144 chapters. I like shonen anyway, I just expected more from a manga that is considered as a seinen.

[Govind · Rating 5 out of 5]

i felt the anime was mediocre, so didn't start manga even though i had the box set since three months, but i didn't expect what i was getting into, Tokyo ghoul manga blew me away, i loved how the characters developed with each incident and the backstories of every character, some of them made me feel deeply emotional, it made me ponder over who is right and who is wrong, are ghouls whose only way for survival is to kill and consume humans really the monsters even though they are born that way? are the ghoul investigators heroes of justice? i couldn't take sides with either the investigators or the ghouls, it just made me feel pity towards both the sides.

From the beginning till the end "the world is cruel" is stated many times and there are several incidents which proved this. The story in itself started out simple and as it grew so does it complexity, and coming to the artwork, i was flabbergasted, it is just pure pleasure to the eyes, although sometimes it becomes too abstract to understand what is going on, but one could clearly see how Sui Ishida became better and better with each volume, with the final volume containing some of the best pieces of art i have ever seen in any manga, i'm a hardcore fan of Berserk and Vagabond, so i generally don't expect much in terms of art, but Tokyo Ghoul proved me wrong.

Tokyo Ghoul leaves you with lot of unanswered questions and I'm excited to read further to know what happens in Re. Tokyo Ghoul is definitely in one of my top 10 manga reads of all time and the fastest i have ever completed an entire manga.

tldr; Tokyo Ghoul is a superb manga with gorgeous art, which kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page.

[Evy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is so good and sad and complicated but in the best way…

A story about a world where some inhabitants are ghouls and have to eat humans to survive is definitely and interesting setting. This could go a lot of ways, but this manga finds a way to show so many different philosophies and ways people choose to live their lives. You find yourself seeing the good in characters that you originally thing are purely bad, and seeing “good” characters do bad things as well.

It’s a story with a lot of moral gray area and it shows how both sides (humans and ghouls) participate in violent and peaceful acts. Some ghouls choose not to kill and find alternative ways to live. Some humans kill ghouls violently and have little regard for other’s lives. Many characters have complicated morals and relationships with their identities and companions. I feel that the character work is one of the strongest parts of this story.

And that is NOT to say that the story isn’t engaging and interesting itself!! There are so many twists, and certain parts are foreshadowed in such a way that you may feel shocked, but thinking back the pieces were laid out the whole time. At least, that’s how I felt.

Visually, this is a beautiful work. The art is absolutely stunning and I loved it.

I’m giving it a 4.75/5⭐️ because I didn’t love the ending… it sets up a second series though, so maybe my opinion would change if I read that. While this series answers many questions, there is still a lot to be uncovered by the end, so it’s not fully satisfying. Overall, I really enjoyed it though!

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this series a lot, with some small-ish gripes. I thought going into the series that it was more aimed to a younger audience, and although it kinda is... It gets pretty effin' dark at points, even for my horror fan sensibilities. Fine by me! Just not eat-over-breakfast material. I took a small break in binging through the box set after the whole "Jason" torture bit...

The illustrations were beautiful and grotesque and chaotic, albeit occasionally too chaotic and unclear during action scenes. There were points where I didn't know exactly what happened or who laid a blow to who. This was intentional in some cases, but other times I had to double back to check if I missed something.

Very mild spoiler warning: I didn't realize the series continued into "Re:", so I admit I wanted/expected a bit more closure in the last two volumes, but I had a feeling around Vol. 13 that they weren't going to wrap up things all neat and tidy. The "final" battle was epic and there were some really heart wrenching bits throughout the series. Next to maybe Inio Asano, Sui Ishida has artfully captured pain and despair and conflicting inner emotions better than most manga and graphic novels I've read.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched the anime first and then wanted to get a better sense of the main character because the story didn't quite align with his motives. I was not let down by this at all.

Kaneki is a deeply flawed main character that I never stopped rooting for. He really has a special place in my heart because I get it, man. Stripped down, this is the story of a kid who wants to be loved but doesn't know how to let people love him. The ghoul side characters in his life are also amazingly developed. Everyone was unique kind of tragedy, and they all blended so well together.

Here's the part I didn't like at all: Half of the story is from the perspective of the humans hunting the ghouls. I get the whole idea that there is no right or wrong side, but I couldn't care less about most of them. The ghouls are so interesting that it's a chore to read about people who want to kill them. And there are a lot of those pages.