Tokyo Ghoul – 11
Don’t worry, this is anime. One band-aid will fix him right up.
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It’s very likely this show will leave us hanging with a “to be continued…” sort of ending since there’s still more material to cover. However, the manga has now officially ended. So at least I’ll know that Tokyo Ghoul has a complete ending somewhere. It’s unlikely I’ll read the manga at this point, but it’s there in case anyone gets pissed off at the anime ending and wants to see what actually happens. Neat! |
Maybe it’s been a while, maybe I was distracted or maybe I have a bad memory. Whatever the case, I felt a nagging sensation that this wasn’t Tokyo Ghoul and that I had downloaded the wrong episode by mistake. The way this show seems completely unable to decide what it wants to be makes certain episodes feel like they were stolen from another show. The pieces just don’t fit together. After an entire episode of introductions and monologues I wouldn’t be able to give you the vague details of even if held at gunpoint, it feels weird to jump into all of this action. What is this show trying to prove, having the new inspector Suzuya just rev up a motorcycle and crash into a window? That’s Devil May Cry levels of over-the-top, which works since that game is cheesy as hell to begin with and takes nothing seriously. Tokyo Ghoul is a serious, dark show…or at least it tries to be. The ridiculous drama and flamboyant action scenes undermine all that. There is no harmony whatsoever between all of the elements, and it ends up as a mess.
BORN TO BE WIIIIIIIILD
On the bright side, the messiness of a poorly-written story is less apparent when you’re watching dudes kill other dudes. That doesn’t require much thought to enjoy. Yes, I think it’s weird to have all this ridiculously dramatic fighting and see flashes of torture scenes that are so censored you can’t even tell what’s happening to Kaneki. It’s weird to see kagune do things we never knew they could do like form guns, shield or other REALLY COOL STUFF only now. Especially since we’re given no real explanation about how the hell tentacles coming out of your body would be able to do something like that. I would have been sold on the concept of kagune earlier if I was told it could be a gun or an impervious whirlwind cloak (like Ayato’s). But all this weird cramming, skipping, and unfortunate censoring aside…the fights are fun to watch if you just ignore absolutely everything aside from the fact that other dudes are getting ripped apart.
There’s something satisfying about seeing an all-out brawl between two forces. It’s not even as simple as ghouls vs humans, because there are different factions of ghouls. This adds complexity to the encounters, as ghouls sometimes end up fighting each other and humans sometimes come face-to-face with ghouls they wish they’d never have met. The huge amount of fighters keeps thing fresh and interesting, although I wish some of the fights lasted a bit longer. For example, I’m surprised Amon took out the twins so quickly. I’m not even sure why his weapon was considered a “dirty trick.” He just went from one sword to two smaller swords…and that suddenly made him powerful enough to kill them both. I can see how that might catch one of them off-guard, but geez, that’s not a very “exciting” final weapon for Amon to have. But hey, at least we got to see Amon pumped up with rage over his friend’s death.
Is that what boys do at sleepovers?
Other things to watch out for next week will likely be the battle between Uta, Yomo, Tsukiyama and this special ghoul they found. I’m assuming they’ll lose in order to show us how beastly this special ghoul is. Likewise, the Doves really have no chance against the one-eyed ghoul. Speaking of which, Kaneki seems to be turning into the character we all expected him to be based on the preview art. It appears that his hair has turned white now, and all that torture must be having an effect on him. I think he’s strong enough now that such a thing wouldn’t create an alternate personality (as it did to Jason). So I’m not sure exactly why his hair turned white. Are they going to play it off as acute stress giving him gray hairs? A ghoul thing? Jason playing hairdresser and bleaching his hair as part of his torture session?
Whatever happens, the finale is going to be a crazy mess of death, blood, and censored injuries. I expect almost nothing to be resolved. I expect melodrama and screaming and for everything to be rushed. The best part? The show will end soon!
Things I want more of: Uta getting screentime.
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
kaneki is going through marie antoinette syndrome…jason might have gone through it as well due to his torture although he doesnt seem to have the black nails like kaneki does. Part of that has though has to do with his appendages constantly regrowing
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s about the one serious drawback with regeneration: Always an opportunity to drag the pain unethically and insatiably long because the subject won’t die easily. Something Jason knows all too well and is sadistically taking advantage of it.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Wow, I didn’t know Marie Antoinette syndrome was an actual thing. Cool!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 140 comments
They had to cut out a lot of stuff for these action sequences, so it makes sense there is less of an impact. The action was good, but the tonal shift can be rough.
The fact that the manga ends really saddens me, because the manga was far superior to the adaptation. No censoring, less ridiculousness in the characters responses, more Kaneki being a badass. And the manga really draws out his scene where he is tortured. The end was a tease just to make the readers sad.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
ehhhh, i dont know…the character responses have always been ridiculous even in the manga; it’s no different (take suzuya’s bike scene in the manga and what he proceeds to do right afterwords; the anime sort of toned done the theatrics of that scene a bit). I just recently reread the manga to dissect it thoroughly and analyze the themes it tried to explore so a lot of it is still fresh in my mind.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I’ve heard so many different things about the manga that I’m almost curious enough to check it out…Almost. So although I can’t comment on whether the drama is more or less, for the most part I can tell they’re rushing things in the anime version.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m not a manga reader on Tokyo Ghoul, yet I can tell it was an incredibly rushed job of an episode for an adaptation. But, hell, it was nicely done so I still somehow found myself entertained nonetheless. Its saving grace, in my opinion, is its unpredictability because there’s no way of telling what’s coming next. A bummer finding out the manga ends this month. So I’m hoping to see another season. Especially with an apparent cliffhanger on the way, given the current settings.
Hmmm… I guess the series is showing things exactly as they are: War has arrived and both sides are pulling all the stops to put the enemy into supremacy. Some of these Doves look like they’re willing to use any dirty trick to come up on top. Like Mado’s justification indicates, if it’s for a good reason, any dirty trick can be overlooked. That’s as if saying it’s better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I don’t know why they tried to squeeze so much in this last arc…But I guess they can’t help it that this arc just happens to be really long and involved.
Welp, at least we get to see glimpses of cool fights!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The series would’ve done more justice to the source material had it been adapted into 24 episodes instead of 12. They could’ve done like Attack on Titan and give each arc a specific number of episodes to cover much needed ground to stay faithful as much as possible. Rushing things along because of an insufficient amount, especially for a long running manga was a wrong move from the get-go and was bound to be a wreck.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
In the Doves’ arrogance, they probably didn’t consider the possibility they’d face the Aogiri boss, the One-eyed Owl. So to them, I say: “Somebody call the Fat Lady. She’s on in 5”. Amon is likeliest to survive, in my opinion. He has plot armor until he gets closure concerning Mado. The boss’s title, by the way. Maybe there’s a possibility he’s like Kaneki.
On the Ghouls’ side, that Aogiri member must be tough if it’s taking Uta, Yomo and Tsukiyama to deal with him. Can’t wait to see how that plays out. As for the sibling rivalry that is Touka vs Ayato, I doubt the fight is going to go as far as killing each other. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t but it wouldn’t be a surprise if there’s some twisted reason behind Ayato’s motivation to stray from his sister’s peaceful lifestyle example.
There were mixed feelings regarding the torture session. Kaneki receiving such brutal treatment, though censored, is appalling, yes (I can’t imagine how much he endured before his hair color changed and it’s a safe bet his mind is already fractured) but hearing how his torturer got that way really messed up my intentions of completely hating him for being a bastard. The same happened to him, and by a human’s hand, no less. Once again making mankind look like the oppressive force and since the victim was a Ghoul, odds are a handful of humans turned a blind eye if a full report on the happenings was made. Still, what Jason is doing now makes him just as guilty so I’m hoping Kaneki tears him apart.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oh yeah, I can totally see Amon surviving all this and then being even HUNGRIER for revenge. He’s too important to die after all of this character development. I wonder if we’ll see any important ghouls die next week, actually. Ugh, if only Tsukiyama would die…again…
I’m glad they explained why Jason became so twisted. It doesn’t make you forgive him, but it does make you understand that ghouls aren’t just born evil. Humans do terrible things to them and it just messes them up. I hope Kaneki tears him apart too!
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
…Right.
Honestly I don’t even feel like watching it anymore because this episode is just horrible. They cut so many things that are vital to the story. Seriously, they’re at the part where Kaneki’s megane senpai is beaten already? That’s like cramming 25++ chapters of WSJ in two episodes. Jesus Christ, Pierrot. Honestly, I don’t know how they managed to get their hands on this awesome series. It’s probably the “Pierrot” part
And another reason why I don’t feel like watching it anymore is because I know the ending, and I’m seeing faces I DON’T want to see. I always feel like punching and burning my laptop every time I see Show ▼
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It really shows that they’re struggling to adapt this. It just makes me angry every week :/
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I can understand your sentiments. Despite much time passed, I’m still pissed at how bad the respective studios botched Rosario + Vampire and Dance in the Vampire Bund with their terrible adaptations. The former more than the latter, though.