Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul (Japanese: 東京喰種-トーキョーグール- Hepburn: Tōkyō Gūru?) is a manga series by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014 and has been collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2014. A sequel titled Tokyo Ghoul:re began serialization in the same magazine in October 2014 and a prequel titled Tokyo Ghoul: JACK is running online on Jump Live. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by studio Pierrot aired on Tokyo MX between July and September 2014 and a second season is in production. Funimation has licensed the anime series for streaming and home video distribution in North America.
Plot[edit]
The story follows Ken Kaneki, a college student who meets a woman named Rize Kamishiro at Anteiku in a coffee shop. They share an interest in literature and plan a date. While walking Rize home, Ken is attacked by her. Rize reveals that she is a ghoul, a human-like creature that hunts and devours human flesh. As she is about to finish him off, she is crushed by a falling platform. Kaneki is taken to the hospital in critical condition. The doctor decides to transplant Rize's organs into Ken. He then must deal with life as a half-human/half-ghoul, including interacting with ghoul society and its conflicting factions, while striving to keep his identity secret from other humans.[2]
Characters[edit]
Main Characters[edit]
- Ken Kaneki (金木 研 Kaneki Ken?)
- Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae[3]
- The protagonist of the story, he is an 18 year old university freshman that receives an organ transplant from the deceased ghoul, Rize who was trying to kill him before she was killed by a fallen i-beam. After the operation he develops ghoul like tendencies and characteristics, and his rationality begins to wane. As one that is now both ghoul and human he struggles to keep his ghoul identity, secret always fighting against his ghoul side while trying to continue to live like a normal human. He later works as a waiter for Anteiku under Yoshimura's guidance. After his fight with Amon he gains the name "Eye Patch" because of his mask's design and becomes somewhat famous after a ghoul saw him defeating the investigator. He loves to read and is normally quiet and reserved but can be calculating when fighting. He has a bad trait of easily trusting strangers which sometimes puts him in life threatening situation. After being kidnapped by the ghoul run organization known as Aogiri Tree, he is mercilessly tortured by a sadistic ghoul and later develops similar traits like his torturer. While being tortured he has hallucinations of Rize has she mocks him about his mother which leads to him finally embracing his inner ghoul. His personality gets darker and he becomes a ruthless anti-hero. His view on strength changes and he goes on a power hungry path and starts to cannibalize other ghouls in order to get stronger. The continued cannibalization led him to become a half kakuja, where he develops a centipede shaped kagune and gains the alias "Centipede".
- Haise Sasaki (はいせ Sasaki Haise?) (also known as Kaneki Ken)
- The protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul:re, he is a 22 year old Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator, member and ace of the Mado Squad, and mentor of the Quinx Squad, a special unit composed of half-ghouls like Kaneki. Haise is a self-contained individual who comes off as trustworthy, devoted to his work and believes that an Investigator should not annihilate more ghouls than needed. Though he is hailed as the mentor of Quinx, he shows apportioned respect and great concern for his colleagues, pledging a protective streak over them. He also complies with the obligations assigned by his seniors without hesitance. Haise habitually reads books, and is very co-operative; as he’d prefer to work with his group, than to single-handedly accomplish the CCG’s goals.
Ghouls[edit]
- Tōka Kirishima (霧嶋 董香 Kirishima Tōka?)
- Voiced by: Sora Amamiya[3]
- A sixteen year old ghoul of the 20th ward, that works part-time as a waitress in Anteiku and attends high school. She blends in well with human society and believes that keeping one's ghoul identity is of top most priority. She is sometimes vindictive and is usually a very rash and reckless individual with violent tendencies. She also isn't afraid to let anyone know when she is not fond of them. She later becomes Kaneki's training partner, and their movements become in synch when fighting as a team. She is a good fighter and is more than a match for either Tsukiyama Shū or Nishio Nishiki on even grounds, though not nearly as strong as Yomo. She later comes to be known as "Rabbit" after her attack on some investigators, killing one of them in the process. She takes up the role as Hinami's guardian after her parents are killed by investigators. She appears to have Ornithophobia.
- Rize Kamishiro (神代 利世 Kamishiro Rize?)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[3]
- Rize is a girl with glasses that Kaneki encounters, who tries to eat him after luring him out on a date with her. Parts of her body are transplanted into Kaneki after she is struck by a fallen i-beam. Before the i-beam incident Rize was a very powerful, fearless and merciless ghoul, often preventing other ghouls from hunting in areas she stole from them. Before she came to the 20th ward, she wreaked havoc in the 11th ward attracting the Anti-Ghoul Investigators to it. Before leaving she killed the ghouls that were in charge and caused a shift in power. She is known as the "Binge Eater" by investigators and like Kaneki she was very fond of reading. Originally believed to be killed during her encounter with Kaneki, later it is revealed that she is still alive and her body was used to produce materials for Ghoul/Human experiments, and Kaneki's transformation into a ghoul was the result of one of them.
- Shū Tsukiyama (月山 習 Tsukiyama Shū?)
- Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano[3]
- He's one of the most troublesome ghouls of the 20th ward to the point where even some ghouls wouldn't get involved with him. He is known as the "Gourmet" by investigators and is one of the most difficult ghouls to capture. He is a part of the "Ghoul Restaurant" under the alias MM. He is a very powerful, cunning, smug, and fashionable ghoul and was also an acquaintance of Rize. Like both Kaneki and Rize he is an avid reader. He sometimes says words or phrases in either English, Spanish, French or Italian and develops an obsession for Kaneki. He is very athletic and proficient in martial arts.
- Yoshimura (芳村?)
- Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo[3]
- The manager of Anteiku, he is a very kind and reasonable ghoul that provides aid and food to ghouls that are incapable of hunting on their own like Kaneki and Hinami. He takes Kaneki in after he becomes a half-ghoul and teaches him the ways in which ghouls can blend in with humans.
- Hinami Fueguchi (笛口 雛実 Fueguchi Hinami?)
- Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi[3]
- Hinami is a 13-14 year old ghoul that came to the 20th ward with her mother after her father was killed by ghoul investigators. She is very shy and yearns for knowledge as she isn't allowed to go to school. She meets Kaneki in Anteiku and becomes attached to him, seeing him as an older brother after he helps her with learning Kanji. She begins living with Touka after her mother is killed by Mado. She enjoys books from one of Kaneki's favorite authors and loves learning new things. She is shown to have a heightened sense of smell, even more powerful than regular ghouls.
- Nishiki Nishio (西尾 錦 Nishio Nishiki?)
- Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma[3]
- A ghoul that is a second year student that attends the same university as Kaneki. He is arrogant and hates it whenever his juniors talk back to him. He is very territorial and is hostile to other ghouls that invade his space. His hunting grounds were stolen from him by Rize after a fight which he lost and he tries to reclaim it after her death, but is stopped by Touka. He is a loner and fairly good fighter that even small groups of ghouls tend to avoid. Like Touka he blends in well with human society and is well known at the university.
- Renji Yomo (四方 蓮示 Yomo Renji?)
- Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura[4]
- Yomo is quiet and reserved and usually helps Yoshimura out by collecting food for Anteiku. Before working behind the scenes for Anteiku, he used to have very violent tendencies much like how Toka is now and would often fight with Uta making the 4th ward uninhabitable. Regardless of his cold demeanor he does genuinely care about those around him. He is good friends with Uta and Itori.
- Uta (ウタ?)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai[5]
- A ghoul that owns Hysy ArtMask Studio, in the 4th ward, he makes masks for both ghouls and human customers alike. Despite his appearance he is a very calm ghoul, and speaks very kindly, he is also close friends with Renji Yomo and Itori. In the past he would often get into fights with Yomo and this caused the 4th ward to become uninhabitable.
Humans[edit]
- Kōtarō Amon (亜門 鋼太朗 Amon Kōtarō?)
- Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi[3]
- He's a Rank 1 Anti-Ghoul Investigator and a friend of Mado. He has a very strong sense of justice and believes that he must make this 'Wrong World' right by killing the ghouls whose murders create orphans. He is very dedicated to his job and begins to work even harder after Mado is killed. He fought Kaneki but he lost; however, Kaneki let him go.
- Hideyoshi Nagachika (永近 英良 Nagachika Hideyoshi?)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga[3]
- Nagachika is Kaneki's best friend, nicknamed "Hide". He has a sharp intuition, so much so that while Kaneki tries to keep his ghoul identity hidden from him, Nagachika seems to know something is weird about his best friend. After Kaneki disappears, Hideyoshi joins the Anti-Ghoul forces in order to learn about his whereabouts, eventually being promoted to Rookie Investigator and partnered with Amon and Akira.
- Kureo Mado (真戸 呉緒 Mado Kureo?)
- Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa[3]
- He's an Anti-Ghoul Investigator with the rank of Senior Investigator and he works with Amon to achieve his goal. A very experienced and ruthless fighter, he is more than a challenge even for the physically superior ghoul and always trusts his intuition, which is never wrong. His ultimate downfall came from the fact that he was obsessed with ghouls (or rather dissecting them) and while fighting Tōka and Hinami he let his guard down by his fascination with the latter, being killed by them. His daughter, Akira worked with his partner after his death. His goal was to get revenge on the "One-eyed Owl" ghoul for killing his wife.
Media[edit]
Manga[edit]
Tokyo Ghoul started as a manga series, written and drawn by Sui Ishida. It began serialization in 2011's 41st issue of Weekly Young Jump, published by Shueishaon September 8, 2011,[6] and the final chapter appeared in 2014's 42nd issue, released on September 18, 2014.[7][8] The series has been collected in thirteentankōbon volumes, released under Shueisha's Young Jump Comics imprint between February 17, 2012,[9] and August 20, 2014.[10] The fourteenth and final volume is scheduled to be released on October 17, 2014.[7][8][11][dated info] The series has been licensed for an English release by Viz Media and the first volume is set to be released on June 16, 2015.[12]
A sequel titled Tokyo Ghoul:re began serialization in 2014's 46th issue of Weekly Young Jump, published on October 16, 2014.[13] The series features a new set of characters, including another protagonist.[14]
Anime[edit]
A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Pierrot aired on Tokyo MX between July 3 and September 18, 2014.[1][8][15] It also aired on TVA, TVQ, TVO, AT-Xand Dlife. The opening theme song is "unravel" by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, and the ending theme is "Saints" (聖者たち Seijatachi?) performed by People In The Box. Funimation has licensed the anime series for streaming and home video distribution in North America.[16] A second season has been announced.[17]
Episode list[edit]
| No. | Title | Original airdate[note 1][19] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Tragedy" "Higeki" (悲劇) | July 3, 2014 |
| Ken Kaneki is a young man who befriends the beautiful and enigmatic Rize Kamishiro unaware that she is a ghoul. Rize reveals her intentions to eat Kaneki but by a stroke of luck Kaneki survives her attack but is mortally wounded. He is saved by an emergency operation, transferring Rize's organs into himself. This subsequently turns him into a half-ghoul half-human hybrid and Kaneki struggles to survive and cope by himself. | ||
| 2 | "Incubation" "Fuka" (孵化) | July 10, 2014 |
| Kaneki struggles to adapt to his new nature with no success, until another ghoul, Nishiki Nishio attempts to prey on his friend Hideyoshi Nagachika and he must fight to protect him. | ||
| 3 | "Dove" "Shirohato" (白鳩) | July 17, 2014 |
| After saving his friend, Kaneki is taken in by Yoshimura and Touka Kirishima, ghouls who run the Cafe "Anteiku", who teach him to blend in human society while hiding his true nature. However, another ghoul, Shū Tsukiyama approaches him with unknown intentions. | ||
| 4 | "Supper" "Bansan" (晩餐) | July 24, 2014 |
| Kaneki befriends Tsukiyama the two start hanging out. However, little does Kaneki know that Tsukiyama is preparing a mortal trap for him. | ||
| 5 | "Scar" "Zankon" (残痕) | July 31, 2014 |
| Intending to consume Kaneki himself, Tsukiyama prepares another trap for him, using Nishio's human girlfriend as a hostage. | ||
| 6 | "Cloudburst" "Shūu" (驟雨) | August 7, 2014 |
| Tsukiyama is defeated by Touka with Kaneki and Nishio's help, but the recent developments in the 20th ward draw the attention of the police, who sends two of their investigators, Kureo Mado and Kōtarō Amon to hunt down all ghouls in the area. | ||
| 7 | "Captivity" "Yūshū" (幽囚) | August 14, 2014 |
| Hinami's mother is killed by Mado. Touka attacks members of the ghoul investigation and kills Kusaba, but is wounded by Mado. Kaneki tells Touka that he wants to fight the ghoul investigators and is given his mask. | ||
| 8 | "Circular" "Enkan" (円環) | August 21, 2014 |
| Kaneki, Touka, and Hinami confront Mado after luring him into a trap. During the commotion, Kaneki confronts Amon while Touka is focused on getting revenge for Hinami. | ||
| 9 | "Birdcage" "Torikago" (鳥籠) | August 28, 2014 |
| After the battle with Mado, Hinami starts living with Touka and Kaneki. Still mourning the loss of his partner, Amon is relocated to the 11th ward, where the police is having trouble facing some dangerous ghouls who do not fear them. | ||
| 10[20] | "Aogiri" (青桐) | September 4, 2014 |
| Kaneki is kidnapped by members of Aogiri Tree, an underground ghoul faction who is interested in his connection with Rize. Meanwhile, Amon is introduced to his new partner, the eccentric and dangerous Juuzou Suzuya. | ||
| 11 | "High Spirits" | September 11, 2014 |
| As his friends from Anteiku make preparatons to rescue him, Kaneki is tortured by Jason, one of the members of the Aogiri Tree, whose hideout is stormed by the police. | ||
| 12 | "Ghoul" | September 18, 2014 |
| During the physical and mental tortures he suffers at the hands of Jason, Kaneki comes to accept his ghoul-half and fights back. | ||
Home release[edit]
| Volume | Episodes | DVD/Blu-ray Release date[21] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 1-3 | September 26, 2014 | |
| Volume 2 | 4-6 | October 31, 2014 | |
| Volume 3 | 7-9 | November 28, 2014 | |
| Volume 4 | 10-12 | December 26, 2014 | |
