Tokyo Ghoul √A (anime) Episode 3 Review

Warning: Spoilers

This season is taking steps in the right direction, even through a few stumbles.

I’m very much in favor of the series’ renewed focus on Kaneki, as his presence hung a cloud over this episode and all of the show’s various characters and groups.  From Hinami stumbling through words while reading, Kaneki’s appearance on the news, and to the book-signing of his favorite author—even though the guy is far from Anteiku, he has certainly made an imprint on its employees.  The time spent exploring Toka’s motives for applying to Kaneki’s university are explained with just enough subtlety to come across, I think, very effectively.  It’s interesting to note that Toka only met Kaneki once he became part ghoul, and was really only exposed to that side of him.  She never got to know he who actually was before his transformation—who he was when he was human.  By applying to Kamii, she’s attempting to discover who this guy really was—what kind of life he was living, his interests—his world.  She wants to better know the person she and her friends are missing so dearly.  And as she gets to know more, so too do the viewers, for we also really don’t know much about Kaneki apart from how he’s handled his life as a ghoul.  But as her closing comments revealed, he’s not the same guy anymore (“The star of a play, huh?  It doesn’t fit him”).  The Kaneki whom she has gotten to know is special in his own right, and so too are the memories and bonds.  Perhaps by discovering what made him human, she can draw out that side of him once more to redeem him.

Nagachika also gets more screen time, as his reasons for becoming associated with CCG become more apparent.  To be honest, I didn’t fully recognize him at the season’s start—I blame the red cap, threw me off.  It’s cool, though, to see that he’s got some basic common sense, since he recognizes the eye-patched ghoul as, you know, his best friend.  Hell, the fact that he not only still accepts him as a friend, but is now actively and intelligently looking into what’s really going on speaks volumes of their friendship.

Yay friendship

Speaking of CCG, now that they have a lead concerning the identity of the eye-patched ghoul, it’ll be interesting to see how this organization handles discovering that this ghoul was originally a human (which he still might be).  At the very least, it’ll certainly throw a wrench into their own personal philosophies.  More specifically, it would be interesting to see what effect it would have on Amon’s black-and-white ideals–maybe something similar to the sort of confusion he displayed during his first encounter with Kaneki.  It’s an interesting direction to go, and ties back into Kaneki quite nicely.

However, I don’t think enough screen time went to Kaneki himself, for his only significant development was that he’s still got some good left in him—or at least some level of sympathy, displayed when he helps out that poor dude spell out “Yamatori.”  Perhaps the very fact that he is still literate on some level implies his preserved humanity.

Good Guy Kaneki

The mention of Yamatori, though, confuses me.  As far as I could tell, he barely played any significant role before his death, since he was deficiently developed as a character (all he really did was push the plot forward).  The fact that we’re introduced to a character who is so significantly tied to him troubles me, for if this character starts to play a larger role, the plot might suffer under the weight of its own baggage. His role in opening the door to this ghoul internment camp (which will undoubtedly play a larger role down the line) seems to imply such.  Also Tsukiyama’s resurfacing baffles me–the fact that he’s accompanied by yet another mysterious character makes me afraid that this series still means to introduce characters left and right with little to no foresight (what’s the deal behind those one-eyed girls–and the author?).  It’s troubling that there’re this many threads to follow so early on–there’s entirely too much to keep track of.  Maybe it’ll all be cleverly handled in the end, I don’t know, but these certainly aren’t missteps the series hasn’t taken before.  I mean, the fact that they’re still holding out on unpacking the mystery behind some already introduced characters alarms me.  Just how many times am I going to have to hear that bandaged girl giggle Kaneki’s name to herself.  I get it, you’re mysterious, geez.

Overall though, I would say that this episode did more to benefit the progression of this season than hinder it.  Though the series still has many issues to fix—some which it continues to exacerbate, I remain optimistic, if only for the development of Kaneki and those close to him.

-Jam

Tokyo Ghoul √A (anime) Episode 2 Review

Warning: Spoilers

That’s a little more like it.

My primary complaints with this season’s first episode was that it did nothing in the way of introducing the tone and direction of the second season.  It concerned itself primarily with clean-up duty for the last season’s finale.  Whether this was utilized as some cheap gimmick to hook viewers from the beginning, some instance of poor behind-the-scenes planning/scheduling, or whatever, I’m glad to say that this week’s episode worked especially well as an introduction to Tokyo Ghoul’s second season.

The scenes in CCG’s conference room had me at least initially worried that the series would resume an almost military/war-conflict-type tone so unlike the series thus far.  In actuality though, these scenes added at least a little bit to the motivations on either side of this Aogiri/CCG conflict.  Hopefully more will come, seeing that this war will no doubt cast a heavy shadow on this season.  I’m relieved that the series have renewed focus on a smaller, more intimate collection of characters.  The episode was primarily one of rest, following last week’s climactic battle, as various characters and groups settled back into their day-to-day lives.  But of course, not all carries on as it did before—the prior conflicts yielded very apparent consequences.  Kaneki’s absence at Anteiku is certainly felt among its staff and company, especially for Toka, who I guess now means to attend Kaneki’s old university—leaving me kind of stumped (in terms of what practical effect this will have on Kaneki’s retrieval), but perhaps it’s some emotional way to cope with his departure.  Even though the episode didn’t spend too much time on Toka, I’ve no doubt she will soon again be heavily featured.

My thoughts exactly.

Though, this episode especially impressed me with its treatment of CCG.  The new focus on just the members of the 20^th Ward leaves the door open for some much-needed character development, so as to give me reason to give a damn about these people aside from Amon (a member of the small cast the first half of the first season spent its time fleshing out).  Some of this group’s members had previously been introduced, but in a hasty, rushed manner which left nothing in the way of character development (an issue which unfortunately afflicted a bevy of the characters introduced during the first season’s second half).  It’s relieving to see that this season will be spent developed some of them.  The introduction of Wado Akira, the daughter of Amon’s former partner (an intriguing character I felt met his end too early) is certainly a welcome addition, though it’s interesting to note her role extends far beyond the daughter of Wado.  She brings a level of arrogant and calculative cool-headedness (completely different from the sparkling charisma and wackiness of her dad) which clashes interestingly with Amon’s earnestness, and brings just enough to the table to engage me.  While her personality-type has certainly been seen before, I have hope for her development.  Her deduction of Rize’s identity is just enough to add a degree of mystique and intrigue to Rize’s past.

The same devious look as her father’s.

Now, Kaneki (whom I thought to be the absolute star of the last season) was shelved for the majority of this episode—appearing only in quick, disjointed scenes—but I’m completely fine with that.  In fact, I appreciate it.  Obviously this new ghoul-Kaneki brings a completely different dynamic to the series concerning the mystery of his motivations and the lasting effects his actions will yield on those around him.  The fact that the episode barely addresses him hopefully means the season’s going to spend its time detailing this new angle.  There’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m glad it’s being reserved for episodes to come (please).  The very fact that Kaneki made coffee on his downtime spawns many questions to be answered.

A remembrance?

The closing montage was especially powerful for me, seeing the coffee shop reopen and its staff and friends celebrate was heartwarming to see, while at the same time melancholy, seeing how Kaneki’s absence is very much felt.  The mystery surrounding the actions and motives of Kaneki’s new little task force with Toka’s brother piqued my interest.  The closing scene in which a character who came out of nowhere last season (one of many) takes private interest in Kaneki by referring to him as his actual name (he has thus so far been mentioned as “Eye-patch”) is a good enough cliff-hanger as far as I’m concerned.

Overall, this episode has certainly shown potential for a redemption of sorts for this new season.  It does exactly what good first episodes should do—plant the seeds for the plot to come.  While I’m still somewhat concerned that the series will have trouble balancing this larger cast, the series’ renewed intimacy leaves the door open for some gratifying development–both for these characters and the dynamics within their respective groups (Anteiku, CCG 20^th Ward).  Hopefully, this will make the inevitable conflict among them more emotionally weighted.  Though I remain cautious, this series has renewed my interest, and I’m excited for the story to come.

-Jam

Tokyo Ghoul √A (anime) Episode 1 Review

Warning: Spoilers

This should have been the final episode of the last season.

I thought Tokyo Ghoul’s first season was for the most part, a success—surely riddled with flaws, but overall an enjoyable series.  It was most strong when it spent more time on a smaller cast of characters, as it did during the first half, and really started to go off the tracks towards the season’s conclusion, when suddenly the story thrust itself far too quickly into an expanded world—introducing far too many new characters and conflicts to keep up with in just a few episodes.  I wasn’t a fan of this direction, as the series really needed to take its time to adequately flesh out all of these new dynamics (such as Touka’s past and current relationship with her brother, and Aogiri).  As a result, that first season finale felt empty and left me almost completely uninterested, for the series had only really spent time developing a select cast of characters, and the main cast of that battle were mostly fresh, undeveloped faces.

These problems become alarmingly accentuated in the debut episode of Tokyo Ghoul’s sophomore season.  The episode showcases the final act of this large but vapid battle, with two fights occupying the majority of screen time:  that which is waged between CCG’s top fighters and Aogiri’s leader, and that which is fought between Toka and her brother.  Both these fights are fueled by empty, undeveloped conflicts, and as a result, they are utterly uninteresting.  In the first season, Aogiri’s introduction was seriously out of left field, and we got not nearly nothing of its members and purpose—they were hastily brought onto the scene to be the new baddies.  While two of CCG’s members were developed well in the first season’s first half, we saw nearly nothing of the organization itself and its other members until it far was far too late to sufficiently flesh out any of them.  When the motives and personalities of either sides of a fight are underdeveloped, it’s seriously difficult to get invested, no matter how cool their fancy new weapons and character designs may be.

What’s this guy’s name again?

The conflict between Toka and her brother saw practically no development in the last season.  The plot is obviously hinting at some dramatic event (presumably the death of their father) which made his personality take a complete 180, so I guess the viewer is supposed to express some semblance sympathy towards his anguish.  However, the brother, just like his organization, was completely rushed in introduction, and thus, warrants no emotional investment.  Maybe if—prior to his introduction—the audience was at least aware of his existence, and there were some hints or teases of their relationship—not even anything noteworthy or long, maybe just some subtle namedrops and flashbacks—we could’ve had something.  Sure it would have been somewhat clichéd, but at least it’s something!  Instead, we get some hackneyed grumbling about prioritizing “power” above all else and yada yada yada, we’ve seen this before.

Dude who are you

Even the episode’s final twist seems cheap and undercooked.  While I doubt Kaneki is goin’ rogue for reasons besides finding out more about Rize (I could be eating my words the next episode), did Toka and Anteiku really have to left in the dark?  And was Aogori so readily accepting of his membership, especially after Toka’s brother couldn’t have put in a good word for him?  The prior season really didn’t even do much in prescribing Kaneki with enough incentive and motivation to go through such extreme means as working with the enemy.  Additionally, he didn’t get enough screen time to see what his new white-haired, full-ghoul persona will make of his character for this season (I hope Kaneki’s human side—you know, the actual character we’ve got to know hitherto—still plays a significant role).  Couldn’t this little development have gotten a bit of, i don’t know, development?

This little wordless encounter, and *boom* suddenly he’s in?

And therein, I think, lies the bulk of my issue with this episode:  it should have stayed in the first season.  It’s blatantly nothing more than a continuation of the event which was started at the end of last season—a final act of last season’s finale.  All it really did was quickly sweep under the rug.  As such, all the flaws of season 1’s finale were carried over and even worsened in this episode, and this did nothing to establish the direction and tone of the second season (what good first episodes of a new season do).  So apart from the new (and somewhat disappointing, compared to last season’s) OP, I wouldn’t have known I was even watching an episode from a new season.  I’m not sure if something got botched up in production and planning or whatever, but it was a critical error to have began the new season with this impression.  I anticipate that next week’s episode will do more to introduce the tone and direction of Tokyo Ghoul √A, though honestly, it’s going to take a lot of time to really develop all the new and no doubt pertinent characters and conflicts to make a compelling story.  For the time being, my expectations remain neutral.

It was pretty to look at, though

-Jam

Tokyo Ghoul (anime) Review

Warning: Spoilers

Admittedly, I skipped out on Tokyo Ghoul’s initial run during the summer season—I mistook the anime to be one of horror, a genre I don’t particularly fancy.  After months of frequent recommendations though, I gave it a shot and I really almost missed out on something special.  While the anime didn’t blow my goddamn socks out of the water or nothin’, it is a greatly entertaining, exhilarating, and fast-paced watch.

The story follows Ken Kaneki following an organ transfer from a ghoul who attempted to feed on him and, under mysterious circumstance, died trying.  As a result, he becomes half ghoul, meaning his body runs exclusively on human flesh, is stronger, and impervious to knives and small weapons.  He is subsequently thrown into a world of macabre, revenge, and prejudice; he comes to make friends and enemies with those of a race (ghouls) which until then had played a background role in his life (only hearing about it on the news and such).  The lore of ghouls is rich and intriguing; it’s all exposited well enough, for there’s rarely any confusion with how the world of Tokyo Ghoul functions.

Kaneki awaking into his new form.

The production is top notch, with consistently impressive animation and superb sound design—the dark tone and atmosphere which the creators beat into the viewer rarely feel contrived or excessive, hitting all the right notes of emotion and excitement in every episode.  The action is incredibly well-directed and executed, exciting and heartbreaking in all the right places—every punch and kick carries emotional weight.  Much of the censorship was too overt and unnecessary for my tastes though—often times large portions of the screen were obscured by obnoxious splashes of black.  However, it wasn’t all that bad, and probably could have been handled far worse  The opening is breathtaking and really gets the blood goin’, perfectly capturing the dark tone and intense anguish which afflicts the anime’s characters and plot.

Kaneki proves to be a very likable and relatable character—a kindhearted bookworm whose strong heart and clearheaded morals propel him into acts of bravery and selflessness far beyond his comfort zone and physical competence.  His very apparent fear and insecurity in the wake of all these supernatural acts makes his heroism all the more commendable.  He’s a guy that’s easy to root for and who thinks rationally, and rarely naively—the final episode’s climactic ending was incredibly gratifying to watch, as Kaneki finally garners enough conviction and assertiveness to unlock an unbridled strength and badassery.  While not as well-developed, the supporting cast is still excellent and mostly three-dimensional—I particularly enjoyed Nishio and his redemption mini-arc.  Rize’s role as ghost (ha!) and crude mentor within Kaneki’s mind proved intriguing, I felt often caught between liking and hating her as a person, but also fascinated with her as a character.  As a result, her mystique extends far beyond her shrouded history.

Kaneki and Rize interacting in dreamscape.

I found the season to excel most when Kaneki and his friends were pitted against Mado and Amon, members of the CCG (an anti-ghoul investigative agency).  Some of the more profound themes of the anime arose from these conflicts, for the prejudice between human and ghouls became all the more questionable as the line separating the two species became increasingly hazy.  Sure ghouls survive off human flesh and humans don’t, but that’s pretty much where the differences end, both mentally and anatomically (Kaneki’s body is even able to function with ghoul organs).  Both species love friends and family all the same—Mrs. Ryoko’s death is no less painful to her loved ones as Mado’s is.  But just as both races are capable of love, so too can each side be consumed by revenge.  Touka and Amon are both possessed with enraged thirsts for “justice” against those who took their loved ones from them, bringing further to the light the uncanny parallels between humans and ghouls.  As such, I find myself sympathizing intensely with both sides of the conflict, and thus rooting all the more for Kaneki once he realizes he is the bridge between both halves of the fighting, and that only he can bring the two closer to mutual understanding and peace—a seemingly hopeless goal, but one which Kaneki devotes himself to nonetheless.

Ghouls // Humans

The parallels also question the validity of revenge, as Hinami concludes that the deaths of her parents do not fill her with incredible anger and thirst for revenge for the perpetrator, but intense sadness at the loss of her loved ones.  Perhaps we should cherish the memories of those we lost us more than take it upon ourselves to end those who are responsible.  As Touka found out with Amon’s bloodthirst, the chain of revenge seldom ends with one death.

That being said, I found that the anime was at its worst towards the end when for a little bit, it chose to focus more on the battle between CCG and Aogiri Tree, for both organizations were really just introduced and barely fleshed out.  This marked an overly sudden and ill-paced shift in story and purpose, for the focus deviated away from the core members of Anteiku (the coffee shop where Kaneki works at and makes his friends) to something uncomfortably bigger with little to no build-up.  As a result, the warfare came off as somewhat bland, and I found myself barely invested.  If this battle is good for anything though, it’s as dramatic and grand backdrop for Kaneki to eventually do some damage once he gets out.  Something else which suffered from this shift in tone was the introduction of Touka’s brother, which was rushed and sloppily executed—hopefully his relationship with his sister will develop more handily as the series progresses.  Additionally, I felt that parts of Kaneki’s interrogation sequence felt unnecessarily exorbitant in brutality, and went for nothing more than shock value.  Furthermore, I found the speedy progression of Kaneki’s fighting ability slightly off-putting when we barely got a glimpse of his training with Yomo.  Also, I found Tsukiyama’s introductory mini-arc somewhat uninteresting and underwhelming, given the mystique and incendiary history his debut implied.  At many times like these, I felt the series became a tad bit rushed, and could definitely have benefited from slowing down and letting the viewer digest all that was occurring.  Small issues like these abounded.

The morsel of development we got between Touka and her brother.

Despite its flaws though, Tokyo Ghoul is a impressively crafted work, jam-packed with intense action and emotion.  The lore and characters are rife with potential for further quality and excitement as the series heads into its second season.  While these are just my first impressions upon finishing the series, I can confidently say that I very much enjoyed this incredibly well-produced anime, and intently look forward to the series’ sophomore effort come January.

-Jam

Coming 1/8/2015