It's been quite some time since the first Anime Adaption of Tokyo Ghoul aired in 2014. Like most adaptions which only had twelve episodes it had to cut short on some things, and the censoring did not really help either. That being said, I still found quite some enjoyment in the show. The conflict of Kaneki was an interesting premise and the cast of characters was intriguing as well! On the other hand, the ending came rather abruptly and left me quite unsatisfied.
Enter: Tokyo Ghoul √A
Thankfully, it only took less than half-a-year for the second season to be aired. And while I could overlook the censoring and pacing of season one, this one made it quite harder. I do not intend to spoiler here, but the ending was probably one of the worst I have seen so far from an anime adaption. While the two main fights at the end were "alright", everything else felt lackluster. For a few weeks that feeling of something not being right haunted me, so I did what probably most would do: Have a look into the Manga.
Usually I do not read the original source material if there is one. Simply because I see the adaption as an own work. Also it was nothing new to me, after having watched other series that stray away from the mangas storyline. Best examples here would be shows like Claymore, Fullmetal Alchemist 2003, Hellsing and so on. However, none of them ever felt to me like they were missing something important.
The :re Anime
When the third season which would adapt Tokyo Ghoul:re was announced I was unsure of how Studio Pierrot would handle it. And as always, rumors and misinformation was spread across everywhere. Some saying that it will follow √A, other sources stating that it would adapt the manga 100%.
Well, it turns out it is more of an "unfaithful" adaption of the manga currently. Which leads me to my mixed feelings about the show. I am indeed up to date completely with the Tokyo Ghoul:re Manga, even having read some of the first chapters again recently, just in case if I had forgot something.
Now my feelings are not about scenes being skipped in favor of getting to the exciting moments, or certain scenes not being exactly as they were in the manga. In all honesty, there are many scenes that probably cannot be animated in a way that it would give you the same feeling as in the manga.
No, no, it all comes down to this: Who is this adaption aimed at?
Manga readers will and are most definitely complaining about all the skipped material. And if everything would have been adapted than the end of the first episode would probably be actually around the end of episode three. Which out of a marketing point of view would not be good for an adaption with only twelve episodes planned.
And anime-only fans? Well they are pretty much thrown into cold water. Nothing is really explained, about what happened between this and the last season. Some scenes also do not make a lot of sense. Mainly hinting at Mutsuki here, whose secret has been revealed quite early in the manga, but seems to be missing here so far. While some may guess why Mutsuki feels the way he does in the club in the most recent episode, others might just wonder why.
Now, it is pretty early into the series to really make any judgement. But the way as it currently stands makes me feel unsure about what to expect from the adaption. Maybe it will surprise me, anything could happen really.
If you have read the manga or are an anime-only viewer, what is your view on the matter? Let me know!
And with that, I wish every reader of this blog a wonderful day!