Sui Ishida's Tokyo Ghoul franchise has been a horror/action classic for years now, straddling the line between shonen action and the no-holds-barred world of seinen manga. It's the story of Ken Kaneki, a hapless college student who gets himself wrapped up in the bloody and unforgiving world of flesh-eating ghouls -- by becoming one himself.
The original Tokyo Ghoul manga, along with its follow-up, Tokyo Ghoul :re, have fully concluded and are ready to be added to any collector's arsenal. There are also anime and live-action adaptations of Sui Ishida's original Tokyo Ghoul, and fans can either stop there or add :re to get the complete story.
The Story Of Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul might remind viewers of vampire stories such as the Underworld movie franchise, and it should appeal greatly to fans of gothic horror and action. College student Ken Kaneki's life is forever changed when he dates a charming young woman named Rize Kamishiro, who reveals her ghoul nature and chomps down on his flesh. Ken narrowly survives Rize's onslaught when some I-beams from a construction site fall and impale the ghoul, but he awakens in the hospital with her organs transplanted in him, making him a one-eyed ghoul. There's no going back -- Ken is now part of the ghoul world, and he's not ready for it.
Ken finds solace in a coffee shop called Anteiku, a natural meeting ground for nonviolent humans and ghouls alike. Elsewhere though, ghouls regularly prey on humans while CCG investigators such as Kotaro Amon fight back with special weapons. Ken is determined to broker peace between these two feuding sides and help heal this "wrong" world. However, few ghouls are interested in peace, and members of the cruel Aogiri Tree ghoul gang will attack and kill anyone, even their fellow ghouls. Then there's the matter of why Ken was implanted with ghoul organs to begin with, and the truth leads him deeper into a chilling conspiracy that aims to blur the line between humans and ghouls forever.
Reading The Tokyo Ghoul Manga Series
Arguably, the best and most consistent way to experience the Tokyo Ghoul story is through Sui Ishida's original manga, since it avoids the baggage of the anime adaptation and also showcases the author's raw, gritty art style page after page. The anime has decent visuals, but it's a "clean" and streamlined look that actually subtracts from the original manga's atmosphere and personality.
The original Tokyo Ghoul manga ran for 14 regular-length volumes, all of which are available to purchase in English. Fans can visit Barnes & Noble, Right Stuf Anime or Amazon's book department to find these. Tokyo Ghoul also has a special edition release, the oversized Monster Edition series with paperback binding. Each volume of the Monster Edition has three volumes in one except the last, which has two. What is more, all three vendors also offer the complete box set of the original 14-volume Tokyo Ghoul series, complete with a stylish cardboard box and a poster.
If readers lack shelf space for the paper volumes or prefer to read graphic novels on the go with electronic devices, Amazon and Barnes & Noble offer Tokyo Ghoul in digital form. Barnes & Noble stocks the digital version of Tokyo Ghoul's 14 volumes in Nook e-reader format while Amazon offers them with its Kindle platform.
Watching The Tokyo Ghoul Anime
The Tokyo Ghoul anime wasn't quite as well received as Sui Ishida's original manga, but it's still worth a go, and many newcomers will surely enjoy it. Those who want to stream it can turn to Funimation to watch the entire series, including Tokyo Ghoul :re if so desired, and it's available dubbed in Japanese, English, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish. Subtitle options include English, Brazilian Portuguese or Latin American Spanish. Amazon Prime Video streams the English dub, though it may not be available in some regions.
Fans who either can't or don't want to stream the original Tokyo Ghoul anime can also find it on Blu-Ray (along with :re). Amazon's online catalog stocks both DVD and Blu-Ray collections of the original Tokyo Ghoul anime, and fans should take note that the Root A season is the second season of the original series. Collecting this series in order goes: Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A, then Tokyo Ghoul :re.
Amazon even stocks a DVD of Tokyo Ghoul S, the live-action adaptation. Similarly, Barnes & Noble also stocks DVD and Blu-Ray collections of the entire Tokyo Ghoul experience, as does Right Stuf Anime (which doesn't stock the live-action movie).
