Tokyo Ghoul Root Alpha, the second season to Tokyo Ghoul, just wrapped up after 12 episodes and makes it a total of 24 episodes. You can watch the final episode on FUNimation and Hulu right now if you are a paid member. Free subscribers can watch the same episode on April 2nd.
FUNimation is rolling out English dubbed broadcasts of Tokyo Ghoul Root Alpha for premium members, too.
This is an anime series that arcs, which means you need to watch every single episode in order to understand the story behind Tokyo Ghoul. It reminded me of the episode from HBO’s Tales From The Crypt, “Mornin’ Mess,” where a dirty journalist learns that ghouls exist and are living amongst humans.
I felt that the first half was creepy and stomach churning because of the whole cannibalism angle, but the second half got interesting when a bigger plot came into existence. This makes me think of Tokyo Ghoul as being similar to Death Note because the two of them combine law enforcement and superhuman dynamics together.
It was an enjoyable episode to watch, which I can compare to Parasyte: The Maxim.
This is an anime series that I would encourage anybody studying or working in the fields theology, anthropology, science, and medical to check out. If you are an anime fan in general, then I definitely encourage you to check out Tokyo Ghoul.
STORYLINE
The story centers on first-year college student Ken Kaneki, who has a keen interest in books. He often hangs out with his best friend, Hide, most of the time. That ultimately changes when Ken goes on the date with the older and attractive Rize Kamishiro, who takes an interest in him.
It is obviously a trap because there’s nothing special about Kaneki.
Rhetorically asking, why the f—k would Rize take an interest in Kaneki? Any intelligent person can see that there is an angle to this “date.” It becomes funny, but not in a comedic sense, when Ken and Hide theorize the existence of ghouls because of a string of mysterious cannibalistic murders.
The date turns into a ruse as Rize reveals herself to be a ghoul, where she lured Ken on a “date” in order to eat him. Ken survives the encounter, where Rize seemingly dies, and is taken to the hospital.
Ken’s f—ked up adventure begins when his damaged organs are replaced by Rize’s organs, which turns him into an artificial one-eyed hybrid (human & ghoul). He is trapped between both worlds, but the ghoul side is dominant because of the inability to eat normal foods because of his ghoul enzymes.
This leaves him no choice, but to be a cannibal.
Ken’s refuge is Anteiku, a coffee shop owned and operated by ghouls, where Yoshimura teaches him how to blend in. He finds a new “family” with Anteiku, but it is short-lived when members of the mysterious Aogiri Tree kidnap him and leads to the events of Tokyo Ghoul Root Alpha.
Being with Aogiri Tree causes Ken to become the antihero of Tokyo Ghoul.
The second half, Tokyo Ghoul Root Alpha, takes on a different pace as it focuses more on the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG), where it is tasked with dealing with ghouls. It has a special Quinx Unit, which consists of special investigators that use weapons and armor derived from the bodies of captured ghouls.
Ken finds himself the target of everybody’s interest, where he becomes “power hungry” in order to get strong enough to protect people. I will go as far to compare Ken to US President Frank Underwood from the Netflix original series House of Cards. That path influences Ken’s choice to temporarily side with Aogiri Tree, where he works closely with Touka’s younger brother, Ayato.
The first part of the series is mostly character-driven, but the second half slowly becomes plot-driven as the CCG and the ghouls have a brutal showdown in the 20th ward. I find the story to be emotional because you can sympathize with people on both sides.
The ghouls look, think, and feel the same as regular humans. They only hunt down humans if they are threatened or need to eat. The story is a subtle discussion on morality, too, because I can compare ghouls to beings that can only eat humans when they need to eat. That story dynamic parallels Parasyte.
I can also compare this to Liv Moore’s predicament in iZombie.
The CCG shows that it is not really better than the ghouls because of the weapons they use. It made me think of the “ends justify the means” philosophy, where you want the end product regardless of the process.
Tokyo Ghoul has a deep story when you look beyond the fighting and bloodshed. I do enjoy the action because the fights are intense, which I can compare them to what I see in Parasyte. Watching the two series simultaneously has me dying for a crossover, but I know that’s never going to happen.
There is always fanfiction though.
CHARACTERS
The characters are incredibly crucial to Tokyo Ghoul.
There are many characters I can talk about, but I will narrow it to the people who have gotten my attention, where Ken is obvious. I find Ken as the tragic antihero because he is trapped between both worlds, but ultimately sides with the ghouls.
Ken means well, but ultimately becomes a ruthless antihero. I am surprised that he did not cannibalize humans, but chose to cannibalize other ghouls. I think that he needs to date Liv from iZombie because they’d make a great couple.
Touka Kirishima, a ghoul, is set up as being the antiheroine of Tokyo Ghoul. She is a flawed person, too, because of her past. Touka is a kind and helpful person, but is not above killing in self-defense and hunger.
She is very human because of the weight of her guilt.
Shu Tsukiyama, one of the ghouls, has my undivided attention because he is a very f—ked up person. I have no idea of Shu wants to be friends with Ken or eat him. I wouldn’t want to be alone with him in a dark room.
Yoshimura, Anteiku’s owner, is a kind old man acting as Ken’s mentor.
But I was ultimately shocked at Yoshimura’s past and more shocked that he was the Owl. He is the prime example on how “looks can be deceiving.” Yoshimura is a kind person, but is one of the most dangerous ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul.
Juzo is the only human that I’m interested in because he reminds me of Dexter Morgan from Dexter.
There is nothing forgettable about Juzo because of the way he looks and acts, which makes him one of the best CCG investigators. This boy loves combat and has a compulsion to kill, which makes him a serious threat to the ghouls.
OVERALL
Tokyo Ghoul is a compelling story that delves into the existence of ghouls, but goes beyond that. It makes you stop and think before calling them “monsters” because they don’t really seem like monsters.
If you’re into stories about cannibalism and blood consumption, then you should check out Tokyo Ghoul.
I would give Tokyo Ghoul an A+.
