Ghouls dwell among us, just like us in every aspect except for their desire for human flesh. Ken Kaneki is a regular college student until he gets transformed into the first half-human half-ghoul hybrid after a violent confrontation. He must survive Ghoul turf fights, learn more about Ghoul society, and harness his new skills while trapped between two worlds. Shy Ken Kaneki is ecstatic to be going on a date with Rize. But it turns out she's only fascinated by his physique when it comes to eating it. Ken is dragged into the dark and violent world of Ghouls, which live alongside our own when a morally dubious rescue converts him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid.
This series is not one of my favorites, but if you like genres such as action, gore, and fantasy, then you will like this series. I liked the way that the main character is told in this book. Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 1, by Sui Ishida, is a dark series and for some readers, it can be sensitive because of the way the protagonist and his thoughts are written. But I like the whole plot and it is interesting to read it and continue with the other volumes.
Reviewed by Natali <3, Grade 10
Glendale Central Library
1 comment:
Tokyo Ghoul is a Japanese manga, where the main character, Ken Kaneki, gets turned into a ghoul in a society full of them. Ghouls are basically similar to what "zombies" and "vampires" are portrayed as in many media, as they can only feed on humans. This results in society at large obviously disliking these ghouls and discriminating against them. Kaneki and his best friend, Hide go to a cafe one day where they discuss the increasing issue of ghouls. Hide shows Kaneki a drawing of what a ghoul would like and they laugh it off which will serve as future foreshadowing. Kaneki spots a beautiful girl who is reading a novel made by one of his favorite authors which immediately grabs his interest. He wants to go on a date with her so he talks with her. Surprisingly, she agrees to spend some time with him and so they go on a "date" of sorts. As they are walking around together, she bites him, revealing herself as a ghoul. As that happens a mysterious steel bar falls on both of them "coincidently" and they are both put in a hospital. The doctor finds out Rize was a ghoul which can regenerate so he replaces Kaneki's body parts with Rize's which allows him to survive but as a ghoul. We see him getting used to his new powers as a ghoul and the difficulties of fitting in society as he gets familiar with the hidden ghoul society.
This volume was simply amazing. I think this is one of the best introductory volumes I've read with one of the strongest 1st chapters as well which is filled with foreshadowing. Firstly, the art is stunning and has a lot of detail which I love. The paneling that the mangaka uses makes the manga flow amazingly and it becomes incredibly easy to read. I think one of the best aspects of reading this volume was the number of plot twists and suspense that are built in such a short amount of time. The world-building is simply phenomenal as well, combined with the societal commentary by using ghouls as a metaphor for discrimination and unfairness within society, as they didn't choose to be born ghouls and many of them only kill humans for food(some don't even feed on alive humans at all). Overall, I think everyone who sounds intrigued by this review should check out this wonderful story which has some of the best characterization, character development, mystery, and plot twists I've seen.
Reviewed by Davit K., Grade 11
Glendale Central Library
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