Reviews

Tokyo Ghoul vol. 01 by Sui Ishida

itoetthefilm's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

chelseaface's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I am so excited to be into a new horror manga. This has so so much potential and I am excited to be on this journey. I've heard so many great things about this manga, luckily my library has a couple volumes for me to try before I start collecting. But I am pretty sure it will be one I need in my library. I like the art, its good, not super unique but good. The horror is fantastic! The story is going places and I am excited to see what route the author takes. Ready to pick up the next volume already!

juushika's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Review of the series entire. A college student's life is radically altered when he receives transplanted organs from a man-eating ghoul. Ghouls take vampire tropes, make them even messier, and remove any pretense of ethics--so this is highly relevant to my interests. When it works, it's delightfully grotesque and unsettlingly intimate. But the style is so anime, and the overdesigned characters and exaggerated reactions share the heightened tone of the ghoul elements. Imagine the narrative this might be if the protagonist's revulsion towards human food didn't have the same tonal register as his
Spoilerprolonged supernatural torture
--if the violence stood out, if the unsettling moments weren't drowned out. Sometimes it lands better, but rarely without caveat (see: volume 7 is honestly great, but the subsequent shift to much less interesting characters is a let-down; the bitter tone of the ending is brave, but the plotting sucks). I like this, but like it by cherry-picking and extrapolating those best bits that the work itself doesn't have time to differentiate before introducing a new character design. I don't like it enough to read the sequel.

toni_reads07's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Meh.

Characters were written with conviction. (S/O to Hide!) But truly the only convincing and compelling part of this book. Plot was basic, been done better in other setup volumes (take Fruits Basket, vol. 1 as a stellar example of a setup volume).

Worldbuilding was my biggest gripe!! There WASN’T any. It’s like he had this awesome idea for a story (half-human, half-Ghoul boy in a world where ghouls blend in with human society, excellent concept!!), but didn’t yet know how to tell it…convincingly? Yeah.

Also: organ transplant. ORGAN. FUCKING. TRANSPLANT. The less I say about that fiasco of a plot wrinkle, the better. (It ENRAGED me, to say the very least.)

But this is only 14 volumes, apparently? Might give the rest a go to see where this leads.

For now? Meh.

sierra_burrous's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This book is a great introduction to the series. I love watching the beginning of the story and Kaneki, Touka, and the rest of the characters. I would not suggest this to younger teens and would say the series is more for +16 but depending on the teen there is a lot of blood and gore and later in the series sexual content that isn’t too explicit though.

rsoleil's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

solson5212's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I read this because my roommate suggested it; it's one of her favorites. I, on the other hand, found it rather odd. The storyline was good, as were the characters. It's just that I don't normally read manga like this. I generally stick to SAO or mysteries. However, I am glad I read this; it exposed me to other kinds of manga. I kind of want to read the next one to see where it goes. Overall, it was an interesting manga. I wouldn't suggest it if you prefer more light-hearted reading material.

adamdi5126's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

It did not live up to the hype.

fishykaja's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

mksultra's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Strong start!! Maybe I’ll have to read the rest of these.