The Return of Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul: re, which has been out in Japan since 2014, finally released their first volume in English back in October. It’s the much anticipated sequel to Tokyo Ghoul, and I had the pleasure of reading through it.

The first few pages are in beautiful color.

I should begin by stating that my familiarity with the Tokyo Ghoul franchise is non-existent, which means that this review of the first volume is from the perspective of a newcomer. Going into this, I fully understood that I’d probably be missing out on some plot points, after all it is a sequel and is advertised as such. A sequel will naturally use the previous entry as its foundations. That being said, I still feel like the manga did a very poor job of catching the reader up to speed. Taking place 2 years after the end of the original series, this should have been a perfect opportunity to set up a lot of new plot points to keep new readers invested while still leaning on older plot points as well.

In many ways, this is exactly what happens. The story follows a new squad of investigators as they are trying to track down a particularly nasty ghoul named Torso, who rips the torso from their victims and leaves the rest of the body parts at the scene of the crime. This investigation is used as a way to get to know the new squad, and have them grow together. The problem is that there is very little information given about them, and it mostly focuses on the main character’s (Haise Sasaki) troubles of taking over a squad of new recruits while also trying to get a grip on his Ghoul powers. The twist is that each of these people is able to use Ghoul powers in some way. Fight fire with fire. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but the entire manga throws around a lot of terms and mythology from the series with little to no explanation, leaving the reader confused and lost. Playing the ‘well it’s a sequel’ card doesn’t exactly work though, since it’s entirely possible to have a sequel and still stand on its own.

The story starts with a very brief introduction to the cast.

It doesn’t help that the dialogue feels convoluted with no logical flow at times. The technique of overlapping dialogue with narration is used a few times throughout, but doesn’t flow in a way that makes sense making it difficult to follow sometimes. There’s also random plot points that are thrown about that feel like absolute fluff, which could have been used for character development instead. When the dialogue is done right though, it’s done beautifully. The characters have some very good interactions at times and the ‘villain’ feels appropriately nasty. It’s an odd mix, which I hope is improved over the course of the series. I did really like that the focus was on the characters, which made the story feel a bit more personal than some manga I’ve read. Sui Ishida does a fantastic job of taking the liberty to be gruesome and disturbing in order to establish the threat of these villains, even if there isn’t much of this that is seen in the first volume.

Sasaki is a kind of reluctant leader.

One thing that the manga absolutely does right without question is the art. Everything is beautifully drawn, without sensory overload that I’ve seen so many modern manga suffer from. There is a nice balance of pictorial detail that made it a pleasure for me to look at. At first I was a little jarred by the lack of backgrounds in many of the panels, but as I kept reading I learned to appreciate this since it helped me focus on what was happening, without being distracted by the surroundings. In the end, I find this to be a well-drawn manga and commend Sui Ishida on finding this balance.

Besides the issues mentioned, the story is a decent start, and will likely keep fans interested, but it also does a good job of making newcomers not want to read the original or the sequel. Serving as a mere introduction though, I’d give it one or two more volumes to develop before really giving up on it. It’s clear, upon reading Volume 1, that Tokyo Ghoul: re has big plans for the characters and plot, so I’m willing to give Volume 2 a shot before really passing judgement. The surface is barely scratched, making this more akin to a pilot for a television series than the start of an interesting story. That isn’t necessarily bad or good. There is enough of a taste to make you want more.

Not much action in this volume, but what's there is good.

Fans should definitely check it out, but newcomers might be better off starting from Tokyo Ghoul in order to avoid being discouraged. Here’s hoping for a more positive future for the sequel. Volumes 1 and 2 are available now, with volume 3 releasing on February 20. You can get the book from your favorite retailer or from your favorite digital distributor. Don’t take my word for it though, you can read a preview of the manga here. Here’s to hoping the quality improves as time goes on! Check it out!

- Teepu

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Overall Rating: C+

Pros:
+Fantastic artwork.
+Some masterful dialogue.
+Fun action.
+Good tease.

Cons:
-Some convoluted and confusing dialogue/narration.
-Too dependent on a lot of details from the original Tokyo Ghoul.
-Not enough main character development to keep you invested.

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Note: This item was provided to us by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This fact does not affect the outcome of the review in any way.