Tokyo Ghoul – Band 1

東京喰種 / Tokyo Ghoul #1

by Sui Ishida, Yuko Keller (Translator)

Dem Tod gerade noch mal von der Schippe gesprungen, erwacht Oberschüler Ken als Ghul wieder. Zuerst ist alles normal. Doch dann beginnt er, Appetit auf Menschen zu entwickeln - was einige moralische Fragen aufwirft. Ken würde sich lieber umbringen, als Menschen zu fressen. So weit kommt es aber gar nicht, denn offenbar gibt es noch andere wie ihn. Eine geheime Gesellschaft der Ghule lebt längst unter uns.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Paranormal

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2012

About the author

Also known as 石田スイ.

Sui Ishida (石田スイ, Ishida Sui), born December 28, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist
In 2010 he won the Young Jump 113th Grand Prix award with Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種, Tōkyō Kushu). In March 2011, the same oneshot was published in the 2nd Issue of Miracle Jump. And later in September 2011, Tokyo Ghoul started as a series in Weekly Young Jump 2011-41 Issue. In December 2011, he made another oneshot about Rize that was published in December 2011 in Miracle Jump 6th Issue, which was later collected in the 6th volume of Tokyo Ghoul.
In 2013, he also started Tokyo Ghoul: Jack in the digital magazine Jump LIVE.

Sui Ishida is his penname; nobody knows his real name or what he looks like.

Reviews

[Jesse (JesseTheReader)]

i loved this so much! i'm already so attached to the main character.

[chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

my new obsession

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

She could literally eat him, sweet as he is. Ken should definitively have avoided this Barbie

Cannibalism without zombies is such a refreshing change in the alternative nom nom game
Instead of the usual, brainless infected or fantasy made zombies, rational people just decide to change their diet due to paranormal infections. A predator just has to do what´s necessary to survive and stay strong, so why all the panic? Just because it´s human and not pig, cat, chicken, cow, or dog it´s unacceptable? These are

Definitively double standards during short coffee shop breaks
Sadly, it´s not vegan or at least pesco vegetarian, but offers bloody meals too. And as always, everyone has faith style imaginations of what´s the right, ethical, cruelty free meal to serve that lead to

Radicalisation by force
Once ghouled, Ken could live a good life with new friends, if there weren´t these opinions formed into ideologies. Yes, even in cannibalistic fantasy town politics ruin everything! Why can´t they eat and live in peace instead of making the lives of others as hard as possible? At least they stayed human in this regard.

Manga just rocks the death horror dark fantasy genre
Just as Death Note, the not so hardcore but also dark Full Metal Alchemist, and the probably loads of other, still unread pearls, Japanese art hasn´t just incredibly entertaining violence, gore, torture, and human suffering. But brilliant characterization that is always perfectly fused Brandon Sanderson laws of magic style too. One won´t find a moment of not perfect unity of world, plot, abilities, and complex, credible character

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Kevin (Irish Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread: 19/1/22
Still loved it just as much!

I had a feeling I was going to love this manga, and it didn’t disappoint! I loved it so much! I found the world to be so interesting and I’m definitely looking forward to volume 2, to learn more about ghouls and the world.

Also did a reading vlog on my YouTube channel where I discussed this book. You can check that video out here: https://youtu.be/KkjqEK5fdco

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent beginning for this series! I'm watching the anime version on Hulu- which is fun. The reluctant ghoul is a great premise! Looking forward to the next installment!

[Aya · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I’m not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I’m a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But.. if, for argument’s sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a TRAGEDY!”

This is so PAINFUL!! A real TRAGEDY!




This manga is about a normal boy "Kaneki" that had an organ transplantation from a "Ghoul".. then he finds that he can't act normal as he was. He became a "ghoul" after the operation!!
He finds many difficulties in his life, he can't accept himself as a ghoul. He can't eat any normal food anymore! But he don't want to harm any human. He don't want to eat humans!

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó. El inicio es de lo más interesante.

Esta es la historia de humanos que son cazados y asesinados por los ghouls, unos seres que se alimentan de carne humana. El protagonista de la historia se verá envuelto con ellos cuando recibe un trasplante de uno de estos seres y termina siendo mitad humano y mitad ghoul, lo que desencadenará en un caos mental el tener que acostumbrarse a su nuevo cuerpo y las necesidades que este conlleva; mientras va conociendo a unos personajes interesantes y un poco sádicos.

No le doy todas las estrellas porque el dibujo es súper cargante y aún estoy un poco reticente con que sea vea todo tan oscuro. Las expresiones de los personajes son demenciales, muy edgys; aunque no se ven caricaturizados. Sin embargo, me encantó este inicio y definitivamente estoy convencidísimo de que tiene mucho para dar. De verdad, promete demasiado en cuanto a los dilemas existenciales que propone, los personajes y la acción, que seguro será muy jugosa.

[Axle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably THE most amazing manga of the century. Inspired by Takatsuki Sen's "Egg of the Black Goat," it shows the mental and physical progress of a once innocent boy into something much darker but still retaining some of the gentleness of his former self. The literary analogies and intriguing plotline and battles scenes come together to make this one of the most eloquent action mangas to ever exist. There are deep underlying meanings in this manga that can interest any level of reader. I highly recommend this compelling manga!

[Dream.M · Rating 4 out of 5]

اینو توی ساعت ناهارم خوندم 😁😍
داستانش درباره پسریه که طعمه یک غول زن سکسی میشه، ولی به طور اتفاقی غوله درحالی که داشت اینو پاره میکرد، میمیره و توی این حادثه بخشی از بدن غول رو به پسره پیوند میزنن و حالا پسره نیمه غول نیمه انسانه و داره سعی میکنه بفهمه چی به چیه. داخل پرانتز اینکه غول ها از نظر ظاهری کاملا شبیه انسان هستن ولی تنها منبع غذایی شون گوشت انسانه. غذای انسانی اونها رو مریض میکنه و مزه مدفوع میده. و تنها خوراکی مشترکشون با انسانها قهوه اس.
خیلی حال میده مانگا خوندن، شبیه زنگ تفریحه برام
شروع کردم انیمه ش رو هم میبینم. هر قسمتش ۲۵ دقیقه اس. کیفش بیشتر شده 🤤
روزی یدونه فک کنم بخونم یا بیشتر، چون ترمز ندارم 👩‍🦼

[AMEERA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Medha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I'm not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I'm just a normal college student who likes to read. But, if I were to write a book with me as the main character, it would be a tragedy.”

Wow! I unquestionably adore this manga! It’s tremendously gory, hair-raising and exceedingly action packed!

This tells the story of Kaneki Ken who was just your typical college student who loved to read. But one day, he went on a date with a ghoul and never realized what peril it might put him through! Ghouls may appear human-like on the outside and are found everywhere around us just waiting for the right moment to strike! They devour human flesh and love coffee!

You never know…there might be a ghoul in your neighborhood too, so I suggest you watch out!
Over all the storyline was engaging, and the illustrations were horrifying! I definitely recommend this manga!

“In order to be released from that agony, it doesn't matter what it takes even if it means using your friend's life, right? And then after you've gobbled him down you'd be left alone to regret it while covered in blood and guts. That's the hunger of a 'Ghoul'.”

[Daye]

“i was never athletic. i’ve learned what i know from books.”

ah, yes. me too, kaneki…. me too……

oh to be a half-human, half-ghoul hybrid in tokyo trying to protect your childhood best friend from other ghouls while also slowly coming to terms with the fact that you might eat him at any given time

[Zoë! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally did not pick this up because I have a minuscule crush on one of my regular customers who has been reading this series 😶‍🌫️ now we’ll have something to talk about ig! (I’m in my Mastermind by Taylor Swift era)

[aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Ken Kaneki this, Ken Kaneki that, all I care about is Touka. I love the kind of woman who would actually just kill me.

[BondS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 1 to Chapter 9
»»» My Reactions «««
★★★✩✩

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Goo Goo Muck

Meh. Weren’t teenagers supposed to fall prey to vampires or turn into werewolves when they get horny? Must be getting old… It’s a zombie world now, so our shy, angst-ridden protagonist falls for - you guessed it - a sexy, well-adjusted, dolled-up ghoul... and, well, let’s just say: somehow ends up with her organs in his body. Next thing our hero knows, he craves human flesh - bummer!

Yep, it’s all a bit clunky, contrived and generic - and the gore doesn’t really change that. Tokyo Ghoul isn't awful, mind you, just a little boring. I personally liked the story better when told by the Cramps:

Oh when the sun goes down and the moon comes up
I turn into a teenage goo-goo muck
Yeah I cruise through the city and I roam the streets
Looking for something that is nice to eat
You better duck, when I show up, the goo-goo muck.

I'm a night headhunter looking for some head
With a way-out body underneath that head
Yeah I'll get you baby with a little luck
Cuz I'm a teenage tiger and a goo-goo muck
You better duck, when I show up, the goo-goo muck.

Yeah the city is a jungle and I'm a beast
I'm a teenage tiger looking for a feast
Yeah I want the most but I'll take the least
Cuz I'm a goo-goo muck tiger and a teenage beast
You better duck, when I show up, the goo-goo muck.

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

ken kaneki supremacy

[Romie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely see why so many people like this manga!
I liked the MC, though I wanted to punch some sense into him sometimes and tell him to stop crying and do something with his life . . . but then again, the guy just became something he thinks as a ‘monster’ so I can understand why it's so hard for him to be at peace with himself.
I'm pretty excited to read the next volumes!

3.75

[Anniebananie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne für den Tokyo Ghoul von mir

Da ich keine Vergleichswerte vorweisen kann, ist meine Rezi wohl seeeeehr subjektiv und laienhaft, sorry dafür. Also es ist halt nicht mit einem Buch zu vergleichen. Es passiert storymäßig halt eher wenig, aber das könnte auch daran liegen, dass es der Einführungsband war.
Aber ich habe eindeutig gefallen am Thema gefunden und auch von Mangas an sich bin ich nicht mehr abgeneigt.
Es ließ sich schrecklich schnell lesen, daher werde ich eindeutig auch noch dem zweiten Band ein Chance geben, weil ich schon wissen will wohin sich die Geschichte entwickeln wird, da viele ja diesen Manga sehr hypen sind meine Erwartungen vielleicht auch einfach etwas hoch gewesen...
Zusammengefasst macht Band 1 aber eindeutig Lust auf mehr!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tokyo Girl is the name of a Japanese television drama series that aired on 2008- 2009. This horror manga is not about this tv program.

It is also not about this Ace of Base song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ootIy...

It also has nothing to do with David Bowie's "China Girl."

It is a ghoul story, though it is also a girl story, a girl named Rize a shy boy named Kaneki has a crush on. Then things get messy. K. survives the date with Rize, but with surgery, so now he's a half-ghoul. He lives in both the human and ghoul worlds. And because he is part-ghoul, he must consume human flesh to survive. The story is supposed to be gorey, and it is, a bit, but you're talkin' here to a guy that has read Garth Ennis's Crossed, so I am somewhat damaged in that respect.

I read it because my former student said it was her favorite manga horror series. I thought it was pretty good. I liked the references to how may be transformed like Gregor in Kafka's "Metamorphosis." So it is a "coming of age" story, transformation, but not in the Little House on the Prairie way, sorry.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did! I mean I thought I would enjoy the idea of ghouls living as humans until they need to feed, but the whole story is so much more. But when Ken is turned into half ghoul/half human, the story delves into so much more. There isn’t much to say about this first volume because it definitely sets up the premise for the rest of the series but I think there is going to be some exploration of some pretty interesting themes and I’m excited to delve into the rest of the volumes. The only thing I struggled with was the art during the action scenes. It’s drawn in a very fast motion and sometimes it was difficult for me to decipher exactly what was going on, but I think I’ll get more used to it in upcoming volumes.

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m slowly getting back into reading after a six month hiatus. I’ve never taken so much time away from reading and at times it felt like I was losing a part of myself. I used to be so in love with books and reading, but I slowly stopped wanting to do so much as pick up a book. I’d be lucky if I finished ten pages. Along the way, I realised that all this time I’ve been developing other interests and changing in general. And that’s okay and understandable. As much as reading was once a part of me, the books would always be waiting when I wanted them. I still love reading, but I’ve come to love other stuff also.

I looked for a manga to ease my way back. I’d heard a lot about Tokyo Ghoul, so when I saw it in a B&N in Miami, I had to see what the excitement was about. It’s an interesting premise: Ghouls, who’s only means of survival is consuming human flesh. The worst part? They look just like everybody else so there’s really no way of telling.

I liked this. I felt like it was occasionally hard to tell what was going on from panel to panel, but that could have just been because I hadn’t read a manga in ages. It’s a good start and I might pick up the next one shortly.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a series. Even though I already knew what was going to happen ('cause I've seen the anime) it was still really interesting to read. The art style kind of reminded me of art style of Attack on Titan, but to me, that was a good thing, because I love AoT's art style. Can't wait to continue on with the series and see where the story will go.

[nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

stooopp this is so painful 😭

I'm not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I'm a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But.. if, for argument's sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a TRAGEDY!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

11.08.19 Just casually rereading one of the greatest manga series of all time. Man, it’s been a while! Ishida Sui’s artwork in this volume looks so ugly compared to his latest work, that it makes me love it all the more. I kinda forgot how amazing of a character Yoshimura was. The true GOAT of the original TG series. And, of course, best boy Hide. Do I even need to say anything?

21.03.18 So far, I’m enjoying this more than i enjoyed the anime, but still 😕...maybe it’s just a little too creepy, even for me.

[Rusty Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Sheesh !! This sure was something . It took me about two volumes to get used to Ishida's art . The story is a bit slogging at places , otherwise it's quite fast paced like most of the shounen manga. I liked Ken Kaneki as the mc and most of the side characters . Tokyo Ghoul was a bit too gory at moments but overall it was an entertaining read .

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series!

Tokyo Ghoul begins with a streak of incredibly bad luck disguised as good luck. Reports of strange murders involving cannibalism and monster attacks have been haunting the city of Tokyo. What started as rumors quickly becomes reality as more and more victims show up dead. The creatures behind the attacks are believed to be ghouls. They don’t quite fit the normal definition of ghouls, they’re not hideous, rotting, undead monstrosities. They look like humans, they talk like humans, they act and even pretend to eat like normal humans, there’s no way of telling a ghoul from a human until you end up as their next meal. Ken Kaneki and his childhood friend Hide continue to laugh the incidents off as superstitious rumors and continue about their daily life as they normally would.

Things start to seem too good to be true when the shy and socially awkward bookworm Kaneki scores a date with the girl of his dreams, a beautiful, mature and intelligent young woman named Rize. Not only is Rize completely out of Kaneki’s league, but she also happens to share his infatuation with complex horror literature and philosophy. Things seem to be going unusually well for Kaneki, but it turns out that his lovely date is only interested in his body—eating his body, to be more specific. (And not in the hot kinky way either.)

Rize is not only an extremely dangerous ghoul, but she’s what’s known as a binge eater; ghouls that kill and consume without remorse or concern of the population or the safety of other ghouls. She’s the one responsible for most of the brutal killings and cannibalism incidents in the area and poor Kaneki just so happens to be her latest target. Just like that, a dream date quickly descends into a bloody nightmare as Kaneki is nearly tortured to death by Rize in an empty construction site where no one can hear his cries of pain.

Kaneki seems to get lucky when Rize slams him around the construction site and ends up knocking a large hunk of metal down on herself from all the destruction she caused, and ends up killing herself by accident just before she can deliver the final blow to Kaneki. The commotion causes a disturbance in the neighborhood and police are called to investigate the scene. The nearly dead Kaneki is rushed to the hospital along with the corpse of the bloodthirsty ghoul Rize so her organs can be transplanted into Kaneki.

All’s well that ends well, right? Wrong. The streak of bad luck continues. The morally questionable rescue of Kaneki ends up transforming him into the first half-human half-ghoul hybrid because of the ghoul organs implanted in his body. Losing his taste for his favorite foods, developing violent urges and twisted desires to consume the flesh of his fellow humans, Kaneki is forcefully pulled into the demented underworld of ghoul society which has existed alongside human society for many years in secret.

Kaneki has no choice but to adapt to the ways of the ghouls if he wants to survive, all while keeping his identity a secret and trying to live a normal human life. Thus begins a tragic horror story where a psychologically tortured boy is constantly exposed to the worst aspects of human nature and the savagery of ghoul society. Is Kaneki the first ever outcast that doesn’t belong to human or ghoul society, or is he the first and only person that has the potential to bring the two clashing societies together? Kaneki begins to realize that there’s more to the incident with Rize and the surgery that changed him forever, and he slowly unravels the secrets of the nastiest ghouls and the most corrupt humans working in mysterious ways behind the scenes. After a while, you’ll begin to question who the real monsters are.

Caught between two dangerous worlds, Kaneki grows through immeasurable suffering, bridging the gap between humans and ghouls by learning to love and fear them in equal measure. Tokyo Ghoul builds an emotional story about morality, discrimination and self-discovery. It utilizes the literary themes of Kafka such as metamorphosis and the exploration of absolute gray morality.

Kaneki’s development is literally an emotional roller coaster. He goes through so many changes in beliefs, morals, personality and identity that he struggles to keep track of who he really is as all of the different sides of himself constantly try to conquer and slaughter each other in his severely fractured brain. He can’t decide if he wants to fight against humans for the sake of the ghouls, to fight against ghouls for the sake of humans, or try to come up with some crazy master plan to fight against both of them or neither of them in order to find a way to stop the conflict between all sides once and for all. All these confusing thoughts and morals create a storm inside him and the greatest conflict of all is perhaps the conflict of Kaneki’s own conflicted sense of identity.

Overall, the story has a strong start that immediately throws you into a dark and twisted drama, a tedious middle section that's held back by pacing issues, poorly explained terminology and too many unimportant side characters that don’t get nearly enough development or screen time, but it gets back on its feet with a really strong final few arcs that leave you with many questions and potential answers regarding human morality. It has an impressively large cast connected by limitless plot twists and clever intricacies, deep protagonists with many layers, flashy fight scenes with unique weapons and bodily horror mechanics called Kagune, and it pulls on the heartstrings as you slowly begin to realize that humans and ghouls have a lot more in common than either one would care to admit.

***

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[Lauren Lanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something so haunting about this manga, and not in the bloody, gory sense.

"I'm not the protagonist of a book or anything... I'm just a normal college student who likes to read... but... if I were to write a book with me as the main character... it would be.... a tragedy."

I grew attached to our kindhearted protagonist Kaneki in no time; watching him endure the suffering of becoming the first human-ghoul hybrid proved a surefire way to break my heart (yes I am in pain).
The concept for this story is incredible, and I'm so happy that the execution is doing it justice!

This is only the beginning, but Ishida's art is already fantastic. I can't recall ever reading a manga where nearly every panel has obvious painstaking detail put into it. I mean, the dark expressions on Kaneki's face are drawn incredibly, with his agony practically radiating off the page. So much of this volume could have been a painting for how gorgeous it was.

I can only imagine how much pain this series is going to put me through if I'm already hurting from the beginning. Loving Kaneki and Hide's friendship can only be the nail in the coffin for me (since there's surely lots of death in this series....) This was a seriously phenomenal start, with Tokyo Ghoul sure to be my next series addiction.

[Tariq Alferis · Rating 4 out of 5]

.أنا لست بطل الرواية أو شيء من هذا القبيل، أنا طالب الجامعي الذي يحب قراءة القصص الذي قد تجده في أي مكان ، لو افترضنا أنك ستكتب قصة معي ، فأنا سألعب دور البطل، سوف تكون بالتأكيد مأساة."
.

كانت صُدفة وأحلى صدفة شُفت مُراجعة لرفيق هُنا يتحدث عن مانغا "غول طوكيو"، وفي نفس الوقت كُنت في فترة البحث عن مانغا للقراءة خلال سنة.الجديدة.
من وجهة نظري أن المانغا أحد أهم علامات الأدب العالمي وتُمثل ثقل ثقافي لأحد أهم الشعوب "اليابان"، أغلب ناس تستغرب من مُشاهدة الأنمي، أو قراءة المانغا علي أساس أنه شيء مخصص للأطفال، المُشكلة هو الجهل بشيء والحديث عنه في نفس الوقت، المانغا أنواع من ناحية الفئة المُستهدفة أطفال ، فتيان، فتيات ، كوميديا لكُل الأعمار ، رُعب، أطباء وإلخ،، المانغا الناجحة تُباع منها ملايين النسخ في الأسبوع الواحد، والرائع أن أغلب مؤلفين المانغا يصدرون عدد واحد فقط ليعلم مدى تقبل الناس للعدد، لهذا أغلبهم لايعرفون كيف سينهون القصة وهذا الى كان صاير لنارتو ..

قصة مليحة ، إنسان عادي يعيش حياة طالب عادي يتعرض لزراعة أعضاء غول ليُصبح غول بعين واحدة وتبدأ الأحداث، مانقدرش نصبر باش نشوف الأنمي.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands down, Tokyo Ghoul is one of my most favorite series after I watched the 3 full seasons of anime.

What's what in the story: University student Kaneki lived an ordinary life, until one day the beautiful young woman he tried to date turned out to be a human-eating Ghoul--humanoid predators living among humans.

Overall it's a well-crafted series, with interesting conflicts, human dramas and nice, reliable main characters. I like Kaneki's character transformation from a pushover to a more complicated person as well!!!!

PS: I like the friendship between Ken and Kaneki, plus upperclassman Nishio and Kaneki's interaction always rules!!!!

Review for vol. 5: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review for vol. 8: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review for vol. 10 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...