Story
The story of Tokyo Ghoul is very good. It starts off slowly, and although the first arcs are interesting, each one has a slow beginning that drags things down a bit. The Nishio arc is kind of meh until he reappears in the Gourmet arc, which had its great moment with Touka. Then comes the Aogiri and torture arc — the beginning, meant to introduce everything, felt heavy and text-dense to me, but from the middle onward it becomes really good, reaching its peak at the “I am a ghoul” moment. That chapter isn’t just about that famous panel, but about Kaneki’s acceptance of himself as a ghoul — realizing that if he wants to survive, he has to eat and become stronger, facing Jason and Ayato as the predator who utterly crushes them.
The story continues with Kaneki’s search for answers after leaving Anteiku. Between his comings and goings, and many chapters with a lot of CCG context and exposition, they find the doctor who made Kaneki a ghoul. Kaneki and the CCG eventually cross paths, leading to some incredible Kaneki moments. In this arc, the doctor reveals several things — that Rize is still alive and that he’s been using her to create artificial ghouls, with Kaneki being his masterpiece. This arc is great for its ending and for Kaneki’s psychological downfall, which I’ll expand on later.
The final arc is really good — tragic, fitting for the story, though it’s open-ended and leaves many questions unanswered, which I hope :re will address.
It’s an 8, because it’s a very good story, with high peaks and strong arcs, but there’s a noticeable imbalance with the early arcs being text-heavy without achieving much, and the ending clearly serving as a doorway to :re.
Characters
Ken Kaneki
Kaneki carries most of this first part of Tokyo Ghoul. His story is a tragedy, as stated right in the first chapter.
To break it down by phases, we have human Kaneki — Kaneki before the torture — a character who refuses to let his primitive (ghoul) side overtake his sanity. He has moments like “Don’t let him eat you” or “Someone help me,” deeply human moments of someone fighting against himself, against the beast within.
Then comes post-torture Kaneki, after accepting his ghoul side — the famous Shiro Kaneki (white-haired Kaneki, due to stress). This phase of him is incredible — wild and fierce. While he still has a bit of heart and humanity left, he lets his savage side out much more often, showing off his kagune, though not fully controlling it. By the time he gets the revelation from the doctor, he unleashes his most feral form — becoming a killing machine, even taking on a centipede-like form with his kagune.
The third phase, though part of the second, is Kaneki’s death. In the Anteiku incident, he still holds onto his humanity, wanting to save the old man, but meets his end at Arima’s hands. That’s my favorite Kaneki moment so far — self-acceptance and self-forgiveness for everything he’s done. A phenomenal character.
His main themes are identity crisis and self-acceptance, which are handled very well. We’ll see how :re continues to develop them.
Touka Kirishima
To talk about Touka, you have to mention her conflict and her dynamics with both Kaneki and Ayato.
Touka’s conflict (at least in this part) is also about acceptance — like Kaneki’s. She hates her ghoul side and wonders why being that way brings so much suffering to everyone she loves, having lost two father figures — her biological one and the old man from Anteiku. My favorite moment of hers is when an ordinary person tells her that her kagune is beautiful, triggering an internal conflict that sadly wasn’t explored much afterward.
Her best dynamics are where she shines:
With Kaneki, she progressively grows to care for him — and to some extent, wants him close. I suppose it’s because she feels understood by him. At the end, she says she has faith in him and that he’ll come back to Anteiku.
With Ayato, the sibling dynamic is more complicated than it seems. Both lost their father as kids and went separate ways — Touka wanting to live a normal human life, and Ayato embodying her harsh reality, telling her it’s impossible and hating her for that.
Her themes, too, are self-acceptance and forming an identity between her ghoul nature and her human dreams.
Brief Comments on Other Characters
Ayato: Touka’s brother. He kind of disappointed me. He has aspects of weakness and hatred for that weakness, but there isn’t much depth. I mostly remember his brutal moments and his ending — I’m not even sure what happened to him.
Hide: Kaneki’s best friend. He exists, but isn’t explored much yet. He has a moment at the end with Kaneki, saying he knew everything from the start, but it seems more like Kaneki’s dream than the real Hide. Their dynamic hasn’t been deeply developed yet and mainly works because of the “best friend” trope.
Hinami: Her arc with Mado and her mother is her main one, but beyond that, she’s not explored much. She’s there to be part of Kaneki’s group and admire him.
Amon: They try to create a parallel with Kaneki, but it gets lost in the walls of text. Still, he’s an interesting character, and his worldview and conclusion are pretty good.
Suzuya: Huge potential. His past is very rough, and I expect a lot from him in :re.
This section gets an 8, since I consider two characters truly great, while the rest of the cast — with some exceptions — leaves a bit to be desired.
Art
I consider Tokyo Ghoul’s art beautiful. It fits every moment so well — when it needs to be grotesque, it is; when it needs to be calm and beautiful, it’s equally effective. It doesn’t always shine, but when it comes to portraying horror, it truly excels. I give it a 9, though, because of the excessive amount of text in some parts. The art is there, but sometimes overshadowed — yet when it needs to be excellent, it absolutely is.
Final Conclusion
Tokyo Ghoul was a very good manga. I really wanted to read it, and the experience was great. I know :re expands and develops many more things, but this first part has many strong points. The ending is ambiguous but quite good overall. The story — at least in this first half — speaks about the struggle of identity in a world that corners us, the self and the superego, and self-acceptance and forgiveness. I hope :re continues exploring these themes, because it’s on the right track.
Story: 8
Art: 9
Characters: 8
Enjoyment: 9
8.5/10 ⭐
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