First of all, this manga is not fair. My heart was not prepared for the amount of sheer anguish it would endure reading this dumb picture book.It was my fault really, I grew too attached to the characters. But how could I resist? The writing is solid, the plot is engaging, and the visuals are thick with little bits of symbolism for the reader to keep an eye out for (like the tarot card numbers). You can definitely tell Ishida wasn't penning this story by the seat of his pants. It's also an emotional fucking rollercoaster.The Kafka allusions are pretty strong. From start to finish it's suffering and tragedy, but not so much that you get jaded or pulled out of the experience. There are even humorous omakes after certain chapters which, in my opinion, were nice little breathers among all the drama. Another thing I like is how no side's really on the 'right side'. Barring a few obviously antagonistic characters, you really can't say which side is the 'hero' and which are the bad guys. Everyone's out for the safety and survival of their own kind (and personal vendettas) I think Tokyo Ghoul is one of the few manga out there that does the whole "shades of grey" thing right.My only real gripe is the ending, and I'm 100% sure I am not alone. The conclusion felt incredibly abrupt and unsatisfying, like we were ending an arc rather than the entire stinkin' series. It left me unsatisfied. TG's plot might be a tragedy, but the real tragic event would be this manga not getting some kind of continuation. 9.5 out of 10 will most certainly buy the entire series when it's inevitably licensed in North America. Twilight lässt grüßen: Kurz gesagt geht es in "Tokyo Ghoul" um die Erkenntnis, dass menschenfressende Ghule bereits unter uns leben und sich als Menschen tarnen. Manche versuchen, sich in die Gesellschaft zu integrieren, andere morden und fressen nach Belieben. Der Oberschüler Ken gerät zwischen die Fronten, als er nach einer Organtransplantation zum Halb-Ghul wird. Er will nciht zum Mörder werden, kann seinen Hunger aber nicht ewig kontrollieren.In abgewandelter Form, nämlich mit Vampiren, ist dieses Thema seit Jahren vor allem in der Jugendliteratur allgegenwärtig. "Tokyo Ghoul" sticht daraus zumindest dadurch heraus, auf Kitsch und Romantik zu verzichten, und seine Figuren viel bodenständiger zu inszenieren. Man merkt schnell, dass es rein erzähltechnisch eigentlich gar keine Rolle spielt, ob man es mit Ghulen, Vampiren oder Werwölfen zu tun hat - dennoch kann der erste Band überzeugen. Was noch fehlt, ist eine übergeordnete STory - denn bis jetzt gab es in erster Linie Charakter-Einführungen zu begutachten.
What do You think about Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 (2014)?
A ghoul is a person in your neighbourhood, in your neighbourhood, in your neighbourhooood...
—Taha
Interesting, a world where humans are the prey and the ghouls are the predators.
—Jessi
