This adaptation has the blood but it’s missing the guts.
The live-action film adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul checks a lot of boxes; it follows the source material, there is tons of blood, people are eaten, coffee is brewed, and the kagune pack a punch. Taking on the Dove arc only, this movie condenses the introductory story of Tokyo Ghoul competently, but only just so. It struggles to explore Kaneki’s waning humanity beyond screeching, and some of the film’s biggest moments fall flat due to odd directorial choices and irregular shot composition. This is far from the best version of Tokyo Ghoul, but it is at least a fun movie so long as you’re not looking for depth.
Like the anime and manga before it, Tokyo Ghoul follows Ken Kaneki as he transforms from human to a human-eating ghoul after receiving his ghoul attacker’s organs. He goes on to join a group of rather peaceful ghouls that run a cafe, Anteiku, that acts as a refuge from the Commission of Counter Ghoul, a government agency charged with finding and eliminating ghouls.
Though he’s acted well enough by Masataka Kubota, Kaneki feels like the weakest part of the film because of how his character is written. This adaptation omits Kaneki’s internal dialogue, which effectively eliminates a lot of his deeper struggle with his transformation, exploration of what it means to be human, and ultimately a substantial part of his growth as a character. Instead, his inner turmoil is annoyingly conveyed through a lot of shrieking and cowering. The few times in the movie when Rize, the ghoul whose organs were given to Kaneki, appears to taunt Kaneki about his transformation are satisfyingly creepy. More of her presence could have helped represent his conflictions.
Kaneki is generally disappointing, but thankfully his ghoul co-star, Touka, serves as great insight into the ghouls’ darker world. Touka’s frustrations with her life as a ghoul are conveyed well, such as in scenes that show her attempts to lead a normal student life with her close human friend. What stands out in those scenes is that, unlike Kaneki’s, they’re nuanced. Tokyo Ghoul is at its best when it shifts its attention away from Kaneki’s transformation. Much of that takes place during Kaneki’s genuinely enjoyable time at the cafe and ghoul hideout, Anteiku.
Tokyo Ghoul’s second act does well at juggling an investigation by the CCG’s agents, the Doves, and Kaneki’s integration into the ghoul collective at Anteiku. While the Doves hunt for leads on a ghoul mother and her child, we see them find refuge and kinship at Anteiku. The side characters at the cafe are interesting, and Kaneki actually gets a bit of good development through his relationship with them. Kaneki and Touka’s trip to the delightfully gothic mask shop is definitely a highlight, too.
Generally, Tokyo Ghoul does look good. The ghouls’ darkened eyes don’t appear too fake, and their powerful appendages, the kagune, look okay. It’s a shame that when the kagune are in action, though, it’s apparent that fights are shorter and slower. I also wished there would have been better gore. The uncensored version of the anime is brutal, and while this version does have a lot of blood, it mostly omits dismemberment, guts, or really any other gore that’s not blood. This made some of the cooler fights feel a little less impactful.
On the other hand, Tokyo Ghoul could have been a lot better too if it’s dramatic scenes had any shred of restraint. Most times when the drama kicks up it’s grossly overdone. Though odd and annoying camera movements plagued some of the film’s bigger moments, strange framing and out-of-character actions were especially apparent in Tokyo Ghoul’s final moments. Odd shots and actions made by Kaneki made what was supposed to be a serious scene embarrassingly funny. After that bit of weirdness, Tokyo Ghoul does at least wrap up well with room for a sequel.
The Verdict
This adaptation does a good job of getting the surface level story of Tokyo Ghoul right, and it’s certainly one of the better live-action anime movies out there. Its gore is disappointingly tamer than the source material’s, but action sequences are generally done well. However, erratic direction and cinematography make some of Tokyo Ghoul’s biggest moments irritating to watch. It also mishandles Kaneki’s interesting internal struggle with his humanity, leaving this adaptation as a decent yet shallow interpretation of the source material.
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