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EP. REVIEW: Tokyo Ghoul √A


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Calico



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:02 pm Reply with quote
Man, I can't believe it's ending next week. It's been a wild ride. I don't really comment that much, but your episode reviews always seem to capture what I feel about the show, and I enjoy reading them.
And as a side note, didn't we receive hints about the One-eyed Ghoul's gender earlier? More specifically, I'm thinking of Yoshimura's teacups. There was one blue and two pink(or red?) teacups. I thought the two pink cups hinted that his kid was a daughter since pink=girl coded. Admittedly, there was no information beyond that, but it was definitely hinted at.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:12 pm Reply with quote
I think the fact that we can't emotionally connect with Arima's fight with the Owl is, at least partially, intentional.

In Tokyo Ghoul Jack (which is a prequel spin-off mini-series of sorts, with Arima as the protagonist), Arima is portrayed as someone utterly removed and detached from the world, placing very little emotional investment in anything he does, even his job.

So I think the reason you may not connect with the fight, is that Arima himself doesn't connect with it either.

Anyway, this was an excellent episode. Seeing (or hearing) Shinohara get killed was awful. But Takizawa getting offed was even worse, considering we saw the poor kid crying for his life only a few episodes ago. Although, spoiler[knowing what happens to him in Tokyo Ghoul Re just makes this hit harder.] <------ Spoilers for the sequel manga

The scene with Hide and Kaneki in the manga is considered to be absolutely sacred by the fandom, and you can bet they'll riot if it's f***ed with. I'm curious to see how it's handled.

How did Hide even get to Kaneki though? We saw Noro spot him about 10 minutes prior. Did Hide somehow manage to get away? Hopefully that's explained.

I could tell you that Juzo is precious and must be protected at all costs, but Shinohara already knows this. Hopefully the aftermath of it is shown.

All in all, a great penultimate episode, and I'm looking forward to see how they'll end it. Will they leave room for Re to be adapted, or will they (somehow) try to resolve every single plot thread? I doubt they'll have time to do the latter, but who knows.
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B00m23



Joined: 19 Oct 2014
Posts: 60
PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 11:38 pm Reply with quote
Luckily,(Don't read this unless you've read the manga)spoiler[ Shinohara didn't die. He might even come out of his coma in Re. I'm hoping he does, as he's one of my favorite characters.]
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Bern73



Joined: 20 Feb 2015
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:11 am Reply with quote
OMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODIWASTOTALLYRIGHT

I can't believe what was just a joke theory turned out to be true. Very Happy

I don't think Amon is dead. It would be an anticlimactic and crappy way to end his character arc, and I trust the writer more than that. I'm thinking he's just KOed.

Takizawa and Suzuya did not deserve to go through any of that. Then again, none of these characters deserve to go through any of this. That's what makes this so hard. Crying or Very sad

And Hide at the end just got me screaming. I'm scared of what could happen should Kaneki suddenly lose control again. Especially when so much is going on. Hopefully Hide will be able to get him through this.

And also, I'm not convinced they'll be able to neatly tie up every plot point. For example, what happened to the twins? What motivated them to become One-Eyed Ghouls? Where did they go after Suzuya nearly killed them? And most importantly, how did they turn into One-Eyed Ghouls?

What about Jason's gay transvestite friend who was suddenly sporting a weird clown mask near the end of the first episode in an ominious way? Who is he, really?

And most importantly, who caused Rize's accident? I refuse to believe that was just a contrived coincidence.

There are probably more that I'm not thinking of apart from those and certain unfinished character arcs, but you get what I mean.

Anyway Hope, have you caught up to the broadcast dub? Any additional thoughts?
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B00m23



Joined: 19 Oct 2014
Posts: 60
PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:31 am Reply with quote
Also, I have to admit I'm a bit dissapointed that Touka's hair didn't get longer like it did in the manga.
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roseversailles



Joined: 13 Sep 2012
Posts: 236
Location: Washington, U.S.
PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:11 am Reply with quote
First off: OH GOD WHY?!?!?!?!?

Now that's out of the way, may I say this is shaping up to be one of the lengthiest week-long waits ever. Tokyo Ghoul seems determined to shatter and crush hearts and it sure did mine. This episode seems to be one of the better ones this show has seen. That fight scene between Kaneki and Amon was a study in effective direction and scoring; I was pretty breathless throughout the whole thing. What I'm wondering is whether this show can properly conclude in one remaining episode... from what skimming I've done this seems to still follow the manga's basic trajectory (I stand perfectly ready to be corrected on this!), albeit in a truncated version. If this is true and it ends on the same note as the manga, I can't picture this being a very satisfying conclusion. If they go for the anime-original ending as was originally announced, I can only wonder how exactly they plan to wrap everything up?

Btw I cannot wait for Funimation to release this so that I can marathon the show with my friend. Poor thing has only seen season one... perhaps we should finish this during the same sitting as our watch-through of Wolf's Rain's ending, just to get all the tears out at once. And here I had promised her a happy show Laughing
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Doc Hamme



Joined: 28 Feb 2015
Posts: 10
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:28 pm Reply with quote
Not going to lie, with the exception of episode 4 (or 16, but who's counting), I have yet to see one bad episode of this show. Every week it presents a cinematic, intelligent, moving experience that refuses to give it's audience breathing room. To conclude the story on Thursday will be, I predict, 1 of 2 results - an effective masterpiece in televised animation, or a steaming pile of trash that forever taints the series. I choose to believe the former.
....feels the hype train leaving the station.....
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BWLJ



Joined: 11 Jul 2014
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:03 pm Reply with quote
Well, so they seem to tease us with maybe adapting the sequel. . . Which is a bit weird, because the sequel is only now going into its second story arc. So then are we going to have wait like 4-5 years before we start to see Tokyo Ghoul:re the animation? Or are they going to go ahead and actually make an anime original story with elements from :Re?

At the end, we saw a then younger Touka opening up a cafe, so that was still a shot before the sequel. Which is a decent tease, but i kind of wished they had shown a bit more.
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roseversailles



Joined: 13 Sep 2012
Posts: 236
Location: Washington, U.S.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:55 pm Reply with quote
Wow, what a final episode that was!

Surprisingly, this ending seemed a bit more optimistic than I had expected, though it wasn't without its share of bleak moments. Watching this episode I got the distinct impression that this would have been a very different story if Kaneki had reached out to Hide and relied on him from the get-go, and the fact that this lack of communication could lead to such tragedy (on both personal and grand scale) is downright heartbreaking to me. spoiler[The revelation that Hide had known all along, the warm visions of happy days at Anteiku, and the "let's go home" all indicate a very different ending had these two been able to be honest with each other).]

Some of the characters' fates are still up in the air spoiler[(Shinohara, will Juzo recover from that potential loss, and what about Hinami and Tsukiyama? Ahh, there are so many!)] and other characters seem extraneous upon reflection (what purpose did highlighting that author a few eps back serve?) leading me to think we may yet see another season within the next year or two. Well, at least we know Touka's fate.

Even if we never see that third season, this was a fantastic closer (thematically, perhaps not narratively due to all the loose ends), with some really great quiet moments. I loved the usage of daybreak near the end, which really highlighted just how much of this season occurs during nighttime, and leant the ending a hopeful air. As for dear Kaneki, are we to assume spoiler[that we are witnessing a redemption of sorts at the end? In a way, he is finally bridging that gap between humans and ghouls by returning Hide to CCG; he is showing kindness they thought not possible in ghouls. Perhaps he can successfully work with CCG and show them the humanity of ghouls? After all, we do see flickers of his black hair occasionally, signifying his returned sanity and humanity. I'd hate to think CCG would detain him and either torture him ala Jason or just plain dispose of him. Curious to hear if the implications were clear and completely went over my head concerning his fate!]

Either way, this is certainly a finale I assume will be a "love it or hate it" one, and I fall squarely in the former category. Tokyo Ghoul has been one of my surprise favorites of the last year; I never would have picked it up were it not for Hope's reviews, so many thanks for that! Can't wait to read her thoughts on this ending.
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DeadRed



Joined: 20 Feb 2015
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:34 pm Reply with quote
roseversailles wrote:
What purpose did highlighting that author a few eps back serve?


That author was Eto.

Most of the loose ends are covered, being covered, or going to be covered in Re.
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Calsolum



Joined: 11 May 2010
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:27 pm Reply with quote
Damn you Root A.

I want to hate you for cutting the arguably best part of kaneki vs ayato in ep 1.
I want to hate you for omitting so many details like spoiler[rizes imprisonment, the clowns etc.]
i cant even believe you had the nerve to gloss over kaneki vs arima
even the mangas ending hinted at spoiler[kaneki returning as an inspector] was lost in this adaption.
you even made what was supposed to be an ambiguous event into something concrete and tragic.

Hell i expected a brand new story when root A was announced and a new direction with the way things were expressed but what i got was a condensed halfhearted adaption of the manga with some of my most memorable scenes omitted. And yet i cant hate it cause it was so damn beautiful. Almost everything was so well done from an anime standpoint, and the the feels (for lack of a better word)in that last episode. I went back and watched that walking scene 4 times, the second for the music, the third to see if i missed anything and the forth for that god damn well song. If there ever was a theme song that resonated so damn well with a series and scenes from it, it would be this one.
Well played Tokyo Ghoul and sleep well Ken you will live on in spoiler[Sasaki, till all hell breaks loose and you with it]
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chito895



Joined: 22 Jan 2015
Posts: 512
Location: Lima, Peru
PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:09 pm Reply with quote
As an anime only watcher, I want to say that this series likes to end "everything" with cliffhangers and plot holes the size of the One-eyed Owl. I like the series, though. I kind of want to read the manga in order to understand more things.

By the way, I find it incredible that spoiler[Shinohara is still alive. After that beating he received, how could he survive and not Hide?]
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ChibiKangaroo



Joined: 01 Feb 2010
Posts: 2941
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:50 pm Reply with quote
Hope Chapman wrote:

So here at the end, I'm not sure who this anime was made for or who it really speaks to, but it worked for me.


I stopped watching the show at the end of Season 2's opener. I doubt I'll ever finish it, but based on the descriptions I've read, I would venture to say that perhaps this show is made for those who didn't like the message of Death Note.
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Gabbomatic



Joined: 21 Aug 2014
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:27 pm Reply with quote
I am dead. This ending killed me, and ate me, then ate me, then vomited me up to eat me again.

It’s neat that this came out in the same season as an Ikuhara show. It’s thematically similar to Mawaru Penguindrum (another show about the predatory nature of society) but without the element of spoiler[the Scorpion Fire, the special fate reserved for “those who die for love.” True sacrifice in relationships built on mutual emotional selflessness manage transcend the law of “eat or be eaten” and constitute the show’s ideal vision of the world. I think that’s what Tokyo Ghoul was ending on without quite articulating in the Touka stinger.]
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:36 pm Reply with quote
As a manga reader, this ending was a disaster purely from a narrative standpoint. A number of plot points were set up in episode 1 of √A, namely spoiler[the Clowns and Dr. Kanou], and never resolved, so I get the feeling Ishida wanted it to be two cour but Pierrot said lolnope. Shame, although if re isn't adapted the reveal with spoiler[the Clowns] at the end will just come across as a pointlessly cruel kick to the gut, so I'm sort of happy it wasn't shown in the anime. A number of characters and plot threads that ultimately went nowhere definitely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth though (what they did to Tsukiyama was definitely annoying, but I'm more pissed off about what they did to poor Banjou. That gentle soul didn't get a single line this season, I'm pretty sure). Also, Kaneki joining Aogiri ultimately didn't result in anything different from the manga, at least regarding his character. His character arc is basically the same, though the way it ends is pretty different. The finale itself besides Hide's death was mostly the same too, minus an epilogue and a few details. The manga has a sequel to follow through on those hanging plot threads but the anime doesn't, at least not yet. It was smart of the anime to have that scene of Touka opening up the :re cafe, as it shows that Anteiku's sacrifice wasn't in vain, and it allows room for the sequel to be animated.

Thematically and productionwise though? Holy ****, this episode was perfect. Tragedy works best (though not always, coughcoughElfenLiedcoughcough) when it comes about as a result of character choice and action rather than contrivance and things beyond the character's control, and Tokyo Ghoul realizes that perfectly. Kaneki chose to become ruthless. He chose to join Aogiri, which resulted in Eto leaking info about Anteiku to the CCG. He chose to engage in cannibalism to grow stronger, knowing it could very easily erode his sanity (at least, I'm pretty sure he knew). He chose to distance himself from Hide and the folks at Anteiku, which resulted in Hide involving himself with the CCG to find out what happened to him, which then resulted in his death. And for all those wrong choices, the narrative punishes him in the worst way possible, by taking away almost everything he cares about. Maybe a tad too cruel for my tastes, but it works.

I know that whole "Kaneki did nothing wrong" meme is nothing more than a joke, but I noticed that some people, both manga readers and anime viewers, seem to seriously believe it, and that just completely ignores Kaneki's story and gives it way too little credit. Really, it's Hide and Takizawa who did nothing wrong. Sad

All in all, a fantastic ending to a...mostly well-done anime adaptation. The themes of Tokyo Ghoul are very simplistic, but when they're executed so flawlessly, it really doesn't matter all that much.

I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to continue on to the just recently started Tokyo Ghoul re, as any questions you may or may not have will be answered there. That, and it's exceptionally entertaining, with new interesting and memorable characters.
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