The Series that Defies its Stereotype by Abraham Batres Rubio

When most people think about Japanese pop culture, they typically imagine vibrant and cheerful anime characters on a television screen however, there is also a whole other side of Japanese pop culture that most anime is based off of; this side of Japanese culture is in black and white; the world of Japanese comics, or as they are called in Japan, “manga”. And in this world of manga there is one hit series that is definitely not cheerful and energetic, if anything this manga is dark-natured and to some, depressing; the manga I’m talking about is called Tokyo Ghoul. There are various standards someone can judge a manga by. These standards are; art style, characters, character development, and the overall plot.

Before I begin the actual review of Tokyo Ghoul I will first explain why my review is a reliable one. The main source of my credibility is the fact that excluding Tokyo Ghoul I have read about twenty different series of manga. However my expertise on fictional stories does not solely stem from the manga I have read, it also comes from the vast number of western novels I have read as well. Now that I have established my credibility, I will start the actual review.

When one is about to start reading a manga (or any piece of fictional work) what they most often look at first is the overall plot. To start off I will present a synopsis of Tokyo Ghoul. The story of Tokyo Ghoul is set in a modern day Tokyo where there is species of organisms that are nearly identical to humans called ghouls; the most notable difference between humans and ghouls is that ghouls can only consume human flesh. The protagonist of the story is Ken Kaneki, an average college student who s an avid reader; however, on one fateful night Kaneki was suddenly thrust into the world of ghouls. The rest of the story follows Kaneki as he struggles to not only accept the drastic change in his life but also ensure his survival in his new world. I found this plot extremely interesting and my interest only increased as the story continued. One minor problem I have with Tokyo Ghoul is that the story is still ongoing and there are still some major elements of the plot that have not been given decent explanation. Another problem with the plot of Tokyo Ghoul is how, for the lack of a better term, choppy, the plot was at first, it was not terribly choppy, but it did leave one with that feeling of rough transition between the different parts of the story. Next up is a vital component of any plot; the characters.

When I evaluate the characters of a manga I base it of off the abundance of characters that have strong, memorable personalities and/or have had significant impact on the story. Too often in fictional stories one is introduced to characters that have no significant impact on the story or have no real personality for one to get attached too. A well-done story will have an abundance of characters that have memorable personalities; even if they are minor characters. Tokyo Ghoul does this beautifully, giving its audience many memorable characters that all play a role in the continuation of the plot. However, even if a manga is full to the brim of memorable personas, they can quickly grow stale without major character development.

Character development in any fictional work is seen in the form of experiences that adds more back story of the character or justify the actions of the character(s) and allows the reader to connect with the character on a more emotional level. In Tokyo Ghoul the audience reads on as they watch Kaneki struggle to survive without giving up who he is. As a result, the reader will find himself or herself having legitimate concerns over the well-being of Kaneki as the story goes on. The next part of the review is about a key factor that a lot of potential manga readers carefully study; the art of the manga.

When I critique the art of a manga, I look at three major factors; drawing the characters in a manner so that one is able to distinguish the characters from one another, realistic expression of the situation being depicted and accurate representation of the emotions of the characters. The first criteria is important because if one cannot distinguish the different characters then one may be unable to understand what is happening in the story, a prime example of a manga failing this criteria is Vampire Knight, while I tried to read this manga I was profusely confused because I was unable to tell who was talking to whom. The second criterion is important because it is frustrating to not be able to get an accurate picture of what is happening. For example, gore; gore is a significant part of the art in Tokyo Ghoul. There are various instances where a character gets horribly injured (i.e. stabbed multiple times in the abdomen). The third is important because in order for a reader to better sympathize with a character, they need to be able to tell what the characters are feeling. In this regard, Tokyo Ghoul does a wonderful job, it accurately portrays the situations being depicted, you can differentiate between all the characters, and you can tell what all the characters are feeling it as they feel it.

I would recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of gory, psychological series. It has a very interesting story that tackles serious subject matter that I find incredibly enjoyable. Overall I rate Tokyo Ghoul 10 out of 10 stars.