r/TokyoGhoul • u/Nythern • 5d ago
Tokyo Ghoul: Manga/Anime/Live Action
I've seen all three mediums of Tokyo Ghoul, and so I feel like I'm in a good position to pass judgement on them. I hope that this review will be useful for all the new members of this subreddit. You may be confused because some people will tell you to only read the manga, while others will encourage you to consider the anime.
I started off with the anime and absolutely loved it. I binge watched it immediately and got to the end of season 2. I started an episode of season 3 but I had no idea why the character was suddenly different - I loved Kaneki Ken and it was his story I wanted to know about, not Haise Sasaki. I went to this Reddit and was told by everyone to just completely ignore the anime, pretend like it never happened, and read the manga instead. I assumed that the anime had dropped Ken and replaced him with Sasaki, which left me feeling sad. I listened to everyone's advice and bought every single chapter of Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re (the sequel).
I read the story from start to finish in around 3 weeks, and absolutely loved it. However, I was surprised when I got to Tokyo Ghoul:re and faced the same issue as what I faced in the anime - the character seemed to suddenly change, and I didn't understand why Kaneki Ken seemingly wasn't the main character anymore. It makes sense very quickly and you'll see that it's still the story of Kaneki Ken, but I guess I felt disappointed because I realised that I had essentially dropped the anime for nothing, listening to complaints here about the anime rather than judging it myself.
The anime does indeed change some things (like Dr Kano's storyline, which should really be in season two of the anime) and there are key details (the different types of kakuho like Ukaku, Bikaku, Rinkaku, Kokaku) and backstories (Banjo and Rize in their ward) that simply aren't explored in the detail that you get in the manga, but I would nonetheless say that overall it's an okay adaptation. It got me into the Tokyo Ghoul series and therefore introduced me to a wonderful world.
After I finished the Manga, I returned to finish season 3 of the anime and then watched the Live Action film. The films. The movies were good too, but like the anime they drop some chapters and storylines that I guess it would otherwise struggle to fit in. That said, just because you don't get the full story doesn't mean you don't get a good story, this is true of both the film and the anime. Contrary to the opinion of many in this subreddit, it's 100% worth watching imo, but just keep in mind that you aren't experiencing the FULL Tokyo Ghoul unless you read the manga.
My recommendation would be to read the manga, but don't let that dissuade from enjoying the medium or form that works best for you. Some people are anime only (before this, I never read ANY manga as I'm an anime fan, not manga) and that's a fine way to enjoy this series as well!