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“Tokyo Ghoul: JACK”Still Tokyo Ghoul, Still Rushed: Tokyo Ghoul is back for the first of two OVAs focusing on a few side characters. Neither Jack nor Pinto are advertised as essential viewing, but for anyone who consider themselves a fan of the Tokyo Ghoul series, or at the very least a fan of the characters being focused on, then these one-off episodes are sure to tickle your fancy. My story with Tokyo Ghoul is probably similar to many: I watched the first season and really enjoyed it, was inspired to read the manga – and loved it – and then when Root A came along… well, I decided to ignore its existence. I only got one episode in, but the changes were already painfully unbearable, so I dropped it there and then and haven’t looked back since. I did not want my appreciation for the manga to be tarnished by a D-Grade shambolic half-anime original second season. When I saw that Jack was released, I decided to give it a shot even if the second season was nightmare fuel (for all the wrong reasons), because these side stories surely can’t be ruined as well? Well, so far, so good. It’s still Tokyo Ghoul, which means it’s still rushed as rushed can be, but we got some intriguing insight into the life of a 16-year-old Arima Kishou (Namikawa Daisuke), and his two classmate friends, Fura Taishi (Kimura Ryouhei) and Minami Uruka (Hayami Saori – one of my personal favourites). This 30 minute episode storms through an entire volume of material (7 chapters) which sounds awfully rushed, but it actually wasn’t as bad as some parts of the main adaptation. One of my gripes with the anime has always been its breakneck pacing and its refusal to take its time; I have to assume there were complications with the episode counts they were given, because each respective season very easily could have been twice the length and covered the exact same material. Alas, that’s the main storyline, and this is Tokyo Ghoul: Jack, which turns out a rather pleasant ride compared to what we’ve gotten before… if only the content was as easy to digest. It’s gory, unforgiving, and massively entertaining. Just like that, my Tokyo Ghoul senses are tingling again after the disappointment that was Root A. Ghouls of a Tragic Past: Going into this, I kept my expectations neutral. After all, Arima has never been a character I’ve been that keen on. He’s cool and mysterious, for sure, but I was content with what we’d seen from him in the main series. He’s not got the most charming personality, but the fact that he’s arguably the strongest individual in the series makes him one to look out for in the grand scheme of things. And after watching this episode, I’m grateful to get some insight into his highschool days. We may not have gotten any massive revelations – instead opting for an one-off story about friendship and betrayal – but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a valuable addition to the series. In a way, it was Fura that was the lead here. Most of Jack was told through his point of view, as he learned the truths about ghouls from Arima and then first-hand through Minami. Perhaps the big reveal could have been a little more surprising (I guessed it about 10 minutes in when the set-up was a little too heavy-handed), but the moment when Minami turned on Arima was still heart-racing, right up until he cut her down and stabbed Jason through the floor. If anything, Arima was even more epic in this OVA than he ever felt in the series… at least from what the anime chose to adapt. The manga is another beast entirely. All things considered, I left Tokyo Ghoul: Jack much more invested in Arima and Fura. They’re both present in the current timeline, and now that we’ve witnessed this heartbreaking past they share, I’ll be more likely to root for them going forward – should we see more of them, of course. Overview – What’s Next?: Well, that was surprisingly good. Of course, Tokyo Ghoul has always been good, but there have been plenty bumps along the way as far as the anime adaptation is concerned. If there’s one thing I’ve taken from this, it’s that I’m inspired to read Tokyo Ghoul:re. I originally started the sequel manga but put it on-hold for no particular reason. As I’m writing this I’m already two volumes in, and I have to say, I may enjoy it more than the original series (at least if you compare the equivalent amount of chapters from the original). If it ever gets an anime adaptation in the future, I hope it isn’t as rushed as the previous installments… but I’m not holding out for a miracle. |
hmmm, funnily enough i dont find tokyo ghoul re: as good as the original tokyo ghoul. The new characters are not that interesting and it seems that somewhere down the line, the manga forgot the core essence of what made the original tokyo ghoul an endearing tragedy
I can see why you (and a lot of people, I think) feel that way. When I jumped straight from the original to :re it felt too different from what I was expecting that I didn’t appreciate what I was reading. In hindsight, putting it on-hold and revisiting it with a fresh perspective was the best thing I could have done. Once you accept that the main characters from the original are now the side characters of :re, it’s a lot easier enjoy and appreciate. At least it was for me!
see, but it’s not even about coming to terms with the fact that the main characters of the original ghoul have become side characters in Re:. The original ghoul was about survival. A group of beings who were detested by society (for understandable reasons) doing what they can to make it through life; a life that is mostly hell for people like them. There was this element of danger and mystic to the original ghoul, yet heart at the same time because of kaneki and touka’s character dynamics. Him learning how hard it is to be a ghoul from personal experience, while learning that ghouls have hopes and dreams and feel emotional turmoil through touka. And even when the inspectors started playing a bigger part in the tokyo ghoul mythos half-way through, the manga channeled most of its efforts in tragically portraying kaneki’s descent into madness, while surrounding him with people who would be his glimmer of hope, making his descent more tragic. In essence, tokyo ghoul was a much more emotionally resonating package. Re: on the other hand wants to tell it’s story from the inspectors side, and that’s just not as interesting. A lot of the inspectors are one-note and seeing the story from that lens does not make the narrative as dynamic as before. Not to mention that Sasaki’s dilemma is not handled as well as it could be; at times it seems…forced. I would go into greater detail but i dont want to go into spoilers for those who have yet to read Re: but yea. Overall, Re: is not bad whatsoever…but it’s just alright compared to the original (and i hate saying that)
Tokyo Ghoul:re’s already covered what happened to Kaneki, BTW.
Show Spoiler ▼
Fire Togashi so he can go back to Hunter x Hunter.
It’s tough work writing two of the most popular manga of the current era!
(Also as fun as that theory is, I don’t buy it. Togashi is just being Togashi!)
i have read the manga because anime the ghoul root is full of plot holes and who hell are these guys?
and so re still going but it have too much side character and ranks shit that nobody care boring until now <.<, i was sure that harima is a ghoul or half so he is human? ghoul re don´t talk much about him only that he is op shinigami
Arima and Fura are both recurring characters on the CCG side of the current story.
As for re:, if you can’t get invested in the new characters and getting a point of view from the “antagonists” of the original series, then you’re probably not going to enjoy it as much. You’re definitely not alone, but personally I’ve grown to love the new perspective it provides. Plus, I love seeing all the ranks and systems explained and getting more insight into the world! I hope we get another part after re: finishes, whenever it does.
Yamori has one hell of a plot armor
Like hell Ishida would care how a lot of people (who mostly read from scanlation) think of Tokyo Ghoul RE.
Just look at the sales volume in Japan.
I dunno man. I’m curious but I don’t really feel like checking this out after the monstrosity that was Root A.