This is a summary of the plot and overview of "Tokyo Ghoul", which is currently being serialized in Weekly Young Jump. This is a summary of the plot of Tokyo Ghoul, including spoilers.
What is Tokyo Ghoul anyway?
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
A Japanese manga by Ishida Sui. It has been serialized in Weekly Young Jump since September 2011. Part 1 is Tokyo Ghoul, and part 2 is Tokyo Ghoul:re. It was also made into an anime in July 2014. The story is set in modern-day Tokyo.
A popular work that has also been made into a movie
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
In recent years, it has also been a hot topic that it has been made into a movie starring dynamic actors such as Kubota Masataka and Shimizu Fumika. Just before the release of this film, there was the "Happy Chemistry Nun Controversy" involving Shimizu Fumika, which put the release itself in jeopardy... Later, Shimizu Fumika confessed that she did not agree with the purpose of the film and felt uncomfortable about appearing in it. Now, let's take a closer look at "Tokyo Ghoul," which has attracted so much attention.
Important terms to know
Ghouls
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
A term also included in the title Tokyo Ghoul. It refers to a race that has the appearance of humans but eats humans. Ghouls can only eat human flesh, apart from water and coffee, and normal food tastes so bad that they spit it out. By ingesting human flesh, they store "RC cells" in bags called "kakuhou" inside their bodies.
kagune
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
A weapon unique to ghouls. The "RC cells" stored inside the ghoul's body are released outside the body. The shape and abilities vary from person to person, but they can only be damaged by kagune or "Quinques" made from kagune.
CCG (Ghoul Investigator)
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
An investigator who specializes in investigating crimes committed by ghouls. He also fights ghouls with a weapon called a "Quinque" made from kagune. Each "Quinque" has its own characteristics, and the "Quinque" used by each investigator is different.
Quinque
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Weapons developed by the CCG to fight against ghouls. Weapons made from processed kakuhou. Usually stored in an attaché case. The shape and function of the kakuhou are determined by the material, so a powerful ghoul's kakuhou can become the material for a powerful quinque. A single kakuhou can also be divided and used to make multiple quinques.
Kakuhou also have a biometric authentication function, so normally they can only be used by the person designated as the user, but some ghouls have the technology to disable this authentication.
Anteiku
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
It is also a mutual aid organization centered around leader Yoshimura, and processes the bodies of those who commit suicide and distributes them to ghouls who want them. Anteiku, as a coffee shop, is a window into the organization, and at the same time, it functions as a place where visitors can learn the necessary mannerisms for ghouls, such as "eating (human) food and drink with relish".
The Role of Anteiku
The food areas where ghouls hunt are prone to becoming a source of conflict, but in the 20th Ward, Anteiku manages the areas to suppress food area conflicts, and by hiding the fact that they hunt, they try to avoid raising the alert level of the Ghoul Investigation Bureau as much as possible.
Synopsis of the first season
The main character, Kaneki Ken, gets into an accident
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Kaneki Ken, an ordinary college student, was living an ordinary college life. But one night, he encountered a ghoul preying on him. While running away from the ghoul, Kaneki was caught up in a falling steel beam.
Becoming a ghoul changes your life
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
After the accident, Kaneki has ghoul organs transplanted into him through surgery. From then on, Kaneki has to live as a half-ghoul. This means he can no longer eat normal food. However, he is unable to accept the behavior of a ghoul (eating humans), and he lives a life of anguish.
Ghoul Community
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Kaneki, who has become a half-ghoul, is hidden in Anteiku, a coffee shop run by ghouls. Anteiku is the center of the ghoul community in the area, and Kaneki meets various ghouls during his life there.
Views on Ghouls
At first, Kaneki sees human-eating ghouls as monsters, but through his encounters he learns of the unexpected side of ghouls. He learns that there are ghouls who try to interact with humans, cannot eat humans, and have the same worries as humans, and his view of ghouls gradually changes.
Cruel reality
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Meanwhile, Kaneki learns that his fellow ghoul has been killed by an investigator. His friend, who was a ghoul but had lived his life trying not to kill humans, was suddenly and mercilessly killed by an investigator. Kaneki takes action along with his fellow Anteiku members who stand up to fight the investigators.
Because Kaneki is half-ghoul
While fighting the ghoul investigators, Kaneki realizes the difference in the way ghouls and humans think. The anger and sadness of humans who lose their friends is the same for ghouls. Realizing that he is the only one who can connect the two, Kaneki decides to fight the investigators in order to change the world.
Gourmet "Tsukiyama"
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Tsukiyama, a ghoul known as a gourmet and a nuisance in the 20th Ward, approaches Kaneki. Tsukiyama is a slightly unusual ghoul who is obsessed with how to eat humans as deliciously as possible. Tsukiyama is interested in what Kaneki, who is half ghoul, tastes like, and approaches him.
Kaneki is kidnapped by Tsukiyama
Tsukiyama uses every trick in the book to lure Kaneki out to eat him. Finally, Kaneki is taken away by Tsukiyama and is about to be eaten! The Anteiku gang comes to his rescue, but Tsukiyama is a formidable opponent. Touka and Nishiki come to his rescue but are defeated.
Kaneki & Touka VS Tsukiyama
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
In front of the struggling Anteiku members, Kaneki comes up with a plan to get his teammate Touka to eat his own flesh. Touka regains her strength by eating Kaneki's flesh and defeats Tsukiyama with a splendid victory.
A story that begins to move
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
The existence of an organized ghoul group, "Aogiri Tree," is revealed. "Aogiri Tree" is a fairly belligerent group that tries to destroy the CCG. The ghoul that "Aogiri Tree" is looking for is Ghoul Rize, who is the source of the organ transplant.
Kaneki is kidnapped
The command of the Aogiri Tree is to capture "Rize herself or anyone who smells like Rize." In other words, Kaneki, who has Rize's organs, becomes the target. And Kaneki is kidnapped to the Aogiri Tree's hideout.
The power to protect
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Kaneki is captured and tortured by the Aogiri Tree. In a situation where he thinks it would be better to die, he realizes his own powerlessness. He realizes that in order to protect what he absolutely wants to protect, he also needs absolute power and the resolve to give up something.
Kaneki Awakens
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Kaneki Ken (Kaneki) lost all melanin pigment due to Yamori's relentless torture and the stress caused his hair to turn gray (hair with a faded color).
After witnessing the repeated pain of death and the brutal killing of his friends, he questioned himself, and after consuming the "Kamishiro Riyo" within himself, he became aware of himself as a ghoul - awakened. After awakening, his hair turns white and he has a sharp expression. His nails also turn black and red.
Kagaku after awakening
After awakening to become a half-kaku, he is able to produce a "centipede"-shaped kagune of scales. He gains mobility that allows him to easily avoid even the bullets of his feather kakue, but his already fragile mental state worsens, and he is in danger of attacking friend or foe without distinction.
Fierce battle with Yamori
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui/Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
Immediately after awakening, he fights Yamori, a member of the Aogiri Tree who cornered Kaneki until he awakened. At first, he is overwhelmed by the regenerative power of the kagune, but by using the brute force of his kagune, which has increased from 1-3 to 4, and by using the martial arts he learned from reading martial arts books more brutally than when he was black-haired, he overwhelms Yamori.
How to become stronger
He then literally eats Yamori's kagune, the source of his kagune, and is convinced that the story Yamori told him, "Ghouls who eat their own kind become stronger," is true. He then leaves the dying Yamori alone, saying, "I don't want to take responsibility for your life," and leaves the scene. After fighting Yamori and Ayato, and confronting Noro, he safely escapes from Aogiri's hideout.
Farewell to friends...
Source: Tokyo Ghoul © Ishida Sui / Shueisha, Tokyo Ghoul:re Production Committee
However, Kaneki said goodbye to the Anteiku members, saying, "I'm not going back to Anteiku," and "I have things I want to do," and decided to leave Ward 20.
Summary
What did you think of this rough synopsis? I hope that I have been able to convey the appeal of Tokyo Ghoul, a work full of highlights such as the raging development, fierce battles, and the conflicts of the main character Kaneki. This synopsis focuses on Kaneki and summarizes the main parts of the story. There are many side stories that could not be contained in the synopsis, and there is a lot of fun packed into them as well.
