Tokyo Ghoul Root A: Review

Warning: Contains spoilers up to episode 10. Also this article is not going to be very nice, but has some light at the end of the tunnel.

As a HUGE fan of the first season of Tokyo Ghoul I had the bar set very high for season two. What I got instead was a poorly developed plot and rushed production. The second season was written by the manga author Sui Ishida, which gave me high hopes that the adaption would go smoothly from one season to another with differences from the comic. Now keep in mind, I have not read any of the comics because I wanted to see everything with fresh eyes and no other influence. I have been told that if I had read the comics my disappointment could have been higher, but I also would understand more of what is going on. This season has been filled with countless plot holes, poorly developed new characters, and many unnecessary questions left unanswered.

Sweet baby Kaneki, I will always be here for you.

My biggest critique of the season is the plot, or the lack there of. We are introduced to many new characters with no explanation about who they are and why they have come up. These new characters later die tragic deaths and are meant, I am assuming, to stir up feelings of sadness from the viewer. I have found myself with dry eyes all season. These characters are thrown at us, like Nashiro and Kurona for example, with barely a background story, no explanation as to why they are here in the present, and then injured tragically. Granted these questions could still be answered as the season is not over yet, but I find myself not really caring about their point. The twins weren’t the only ones I had this problem with, but also the “Devil Ape” and “Black Dober.” These were gangs that are only briefly mentions and don’t seem to be relevent to main plot line. When it is time for the big fight in the 20th Ward, it turns out that two of the coffee house workers are the gang leaders. Now I feel forced to care about these two seemingly unimportant characters as they fight for their life. Live or die, I barely know them even with this new plot twist added in. The first season had the same sense of rushed background stories, but the details given were enough to understand each character’s life and purpose to the show. In the first season I instantly grew love many of the characters and hate the ones who seemed to most evil. There are no new loves for me this season, nor even new hates.

Seriously, I don’t care how horribly injured and censored you are.

The sense of rushed productions shows not only in the skipping plot lines, but even some of the quality of the episodes. Tokyo Ghoul is a BEAUTIFUL anime. Everything about it is crisp, clear, and well drawn. Characters, backgrounds, fight scenes are visually stunning to watch. This season’s quality dropped on a few episodes, but thankfully not overall. Particularly episode 7 is where they truly dropped the ball. There are frames which seem to be drawn with half the frames per second that are usually used because people freeze for longer than they naturally should. This could be from a higher up demand to push more episodes out faster which cause quality to slip. It really is unfortunate if that is the case because I know for me, and many others, I would be willing to wait a little longer for each episode if it meant the quality would remain the same for every episode.

You are a wacky lady, but that face is too wack.

The first season had a great deal of these same problems like rushed plot and censorship, but made up for it in character development and quality. Alas not all is lost for this season has done some good as well. It has taken some of our favourite characters, love or hate, from the previous season like Yoshimura and Mado and given us more insight into why they are as we see them now. Both come from tragic love stories and getting to see a more “human” side to the both of them can really change ones perspective of how they were previously seen. The fight scenes have not disappointed in the least (well beside censorship, but some things can’t be helped) and really keep you on the edge of your seat! The first season was greatly about watching a boy who is under enormous pressure and put through the most tragic and damaging situations and how he would overcome them. This season is greatly about the outcomes of decisions made after such tragedies have occurred in all the different lives of both humans and ghouls alike. There are two more episodes to go and as much as I have been disappointed in this season, I am still an overall fan who will not be missing the outcome of the last great battle.