REVIEW - Tokyo Ghoul (2014) (Plus some extra Thank You stuff)

First things first, Damn, I missed the blogs anniversary!!! I'm so sorry that I didn't do anything special for the anniversary! Anyways, it has been a great year for this blog. I'm surprised that people actually visit this site every day just to read my reviews in some random Game or Anime, so to all of you who actively read my blog I want to say a huge thank you to you guys. I may not update so frequently (considering that in December 2013 I did a review a day) but whenever I do I'm glad at least some people are reading this. Also it may be almosta  week late, but Merry Christmas to all of you who believe in Jesus Christ (I don't but if you do, more power to you) or to be more politically correct, Happy Holidays to all of you.

Anyways, time to do a review. And I guess we'd better close off the year with 2014's most talked about anime (at least on Facebook and Tumblr anyways).

Studio Perriot's adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

Tokyo Ghoul is a 12 Episode long series produced by Studio Perriot. The essential basics of this story almost feel a bit like Attack on Titan's to a certain extent. In modern day Tokyo, humans live in fear of creatures known as Ghouls. Ghouls are basically the exact same as humans apart from their sense of taste and digestive system. Ghouls taste differs in that everything they eat - minus the flesh of a human being or coffee- tastes like something dirty or slimy. Their hunger can only be satisfied by the consumption of human flesh. Of course the Japanese government has a contingency plan in the form of the CCG, an organization which deals with the elimination of Ghouls. The Ghouls go into hiding so to speak, only eating when they need to. Enter one Ken Kaneki, a college student who's to be honest a pretty normal and decent guy. Halfway through the first episode, Ken's world and life comes crushing down (almost literally in a sense) as he struggles to come to terms with a reality he must face and accept, which to me is what is Tokyo Ghoul's driving force. The story is told through Ken's view of the world as he slowly descends into madness, which is what I love. The action is also a justifiable reason to view this show as it's amazingly well done. What makes the plot work so well though is that, although it's a gruesome horror story, Tokyo Ghoul is a tragedy story which involves physical and psychological torture. It's definitely not for the feint of heart. 

The characters in Tokyo Ghoul are for the most part very well done, minus one glaring exception. Ken Kaneki is a good main protagonist who reminds me a lot of Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion because he's whiny, soft and doesn't quite understand the situation he's involved in, and it's Ken that really pushed Tokyo Ghoul to be the tragedy it is. Touka Kirishima is however, one of the most negative and downright unlikeable characters I've seen in anime. She's so negative and so dismissive of almost everything Ken does that it's almost unbearably annoying in later episodes. She does have her moments yes in the second half, but she's not quite the character that Tumblr fangirls make her out to be. The rest of the cast, without going into too much detail, are all interesting in their own unique ways (particularly Amon of the CCG and the Café owner) and help to flesh out the world a bit more, which I like a lot.

As regards animation, Tokyo Ghoul is visually appealing as it's filled with colour (particularly red, although there's no need to explain why) throughout. It also moves quite fluidly, even during the most intense of action sequences. The scenery - especially during the night - looks breathtaking to say the least, and the characters all look particularly well drawn. Out of any show that came out this year, Tokyo Ghoul I think easily looks the best.

The soundtrack is Mediocre to say the least. There's no real standout BGM track I could really find on the OST that could grab my attention. The ED is the same kinda story, it's a generic rock song that just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

HOWEVER

I do not know how in the name of God they pulled it off but, the opening is even better than that of Evangelion's  or Attack on Titan's. The song is Unravel by TK from Long Suitre, and my God it's just an out of this world Opening. The build up, the vocals and the instrumental all go well with animation that fits the show's themes and events to a tee. It's the best opening I've heard in anime without a doubt in my mind.

Tokyo Ghoul is an anime that just blew my expectations out of the water. I heard some bad things about this show such as the horrific TV Version's censoring (which isn't an issue now thanks to the BRD Version) and the fact that the main character is a 'whimp' but, does a whimp make an entire show bad? No, no it doesn't. In fact Ken Kaneki's story is one of the best I saw this year in terms of anime. With beautiful visuals, great but sometimes flawed characters and a fantastic story, Tokyo Ghoul is an anime that should be watched by those who love the horror/thriller genre.

Story: 10
Characters: 8
Visuals: 10
Sound: 7
Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR TOKYO GHOUL: 9/10