The season’s just gearing up and after a winsomely gory first episode, Tokyo Ghoul is back with Episode 2. I’d better get this post started….
It’s 11:30 PM right now and I’ve barely typed two sentences. I said I would do this thing by 7 PM but after watching the episode at around 7:30 I somehow managed to let 4 hours slip past without accomplishing anything. That’s what you’d call a definitive talent for being an unmotivated idler. Me and my buds have had ages of practice – pretty sure we could write a brilliant text on the art of procrastination, but our own brilliance on the subject would prevent that from happening.
Enough dawdling? Aite.
Tokyo ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul, tokyo Ghoul… I had high hopes after watching the first episode. Some of my fellow anime-watching friends weren’t as excited about the show, but I continue to have confidence in its potential. Granted, some of my eagerness can be attributed to a natural fondness of shounen, but I maintain that there is room for depth amid typical, gratifying shounen drama scenarios. Hunter x Hunter is the exemplar, and Tokyo Ghoul might have the makings of such a show, based on what I’ve heard about the source material (which I will be promptly checking out).
0:17 – Excuse me, your arm’s pushing on my head, trying to put someone else’s arm inside of my head
0:35 – Ok actually if you’re always gonna be like that you can stfu now
1:35 – Hmm, interesting point to bring up, intentional or not (probably unintentional). It’s debatable whether it’s worse if you’re introduced to a horrible life since birth or after living a relatively normal life til young adulthood. Since in the former case, you’d be more acclimated to horrifying shit happening all the time, nameen. But w/e this route likely doesn’t have much to do with the original purpose of the statement, which, understandably, is ‘fucking stop being a little bitch Kaneki.’
1:56 – Sick opening from the same group who did Psycho Pass’s, and uh, pretty blatant reference to the mc’s newfound inner demons. Not that I don’t like it in the opening lyrics.
3:47 – Yeah, I get it.
4:14 – This kindly old gentleman looks as though he can be trusted
4:37 – This better not be ground up human brains with some dried blood packets coffee
Also… human meat is pretty much like normal meat, right? lol. I guess the minute chemical differences (i dont really know anything about bio/chemistry, are there even chemical differences?) are egregious to the sensitive and discriminating palate of a ghoul.
4:47 – Ok good. …….. Wait wtf? good one tokyo ghoul also sorry for the exit full screen mode prompt but yo these writeups are so much werk taking another screenshot would be 2 taxing
5:04 – Nice one tokyo ghoul
5:32 – Duhlischus susstinance
7:02 – Haha, Rize’s back as an apparition to haunt you forever!
8:10 – LOL OK THATS GENIUS TOKYO GHOUL Also I really like Hide’s character. For some reason, I don’t find him annoying like I do the archetypal upbeat jocular sidekick. His playfulness seems a lot more genuine and not the anime tropey dumb nettling kind.
8:13 – Hale yeeuh nigguh what do you even call this big ass long beige coat Im repping rn. also I love the word ‘stylin.’ The phrase ‘styling it up’ is delicious. +10 Hide
9:08 – Damn is this anime trying to advertise Hide as a chill dude to me
9:15 – Ok, that demonstrates some pretty good awareness. Some people don’t realize that in some cases leaving someone alone is the best way to care for their emotions. Sometimes unconcern = truu concern. Good job Tokyo Ghoul
9:36 – Im just gonna give you a teensy weensy little hickey on your neck
9:48 – Oooh, cockblocked. Or stomachblocked, or toothblocked, or whatever.
10:00 – Alright dude, I’ll make sure to stop myself from violating your territory next time.
10:10 – Moment of recognition. Awkz but I cant help but get excited as da shonen plot thickenz
10:12 – ………………
10:37 – ………………………………………………………….
11:29 – Oh, actual nice touch with the coffee owned by the actual ghoul pretending to be college student.
12:00 – He goes fucking hard with the pretense, doesn’t he
12:27 – Oh god, another reaallly dark alleyway. Is ‘dark alleyway’ gonna be a recurring character
12:47 – The orange haired guy saying that to Nagachika’s best friend. I’d be pissed.
13:01 – Despite the nonessential reiteration, comes off as a lot less bitchy defending his friendship than when groveling on the floor while refusing to eat the one thing he can eat. Also when said in a strained, my-windpipe-is-being-forcefully-constricted voice rather than a gasping tearful little bitch voice.
13:57 – I keep expecting, nervously, that his ghoul super strength will make Hide’s head explode as he stomps repeatedly
13:59 – Stunning defense
15:19 – Orange haired college ghoul seems to really want to provoke Kaneki to the point of awakening his cytoplasmy ghoul power. I say really because sometimes villains in shounen do that in the heat of glory and totally not just to give the protagonist the motivation he needs to power up 1000x. Here it seems to be more deliberate. Tho
15:23 – Yeah, see above, he’s definitely goading Kaneki on purpose. The distinction can be hard to make in shounen, though
16:21 – Ok, this is reaallly shounen (and shaft)… awakens powers in order to save best friend on the brink of death. Welp
16:47 – Damn, Kaneki’s jelly tentacles are so much stronger than orange haired guy’s
18:23 – Hold your horses didn’t you go to all the trouble of awakening your power to save him and also I don’t think that statement logically follows
18:42 – He looks quite rabid.
19:03 – DA gurl saves da day
19:52 – He fed you HUMAN FLESH GOD IS THAT SUCH A BIG DEAL KANEKI????? Plus add chewing and swallowing while asleep to list of ghoul superpowers\
20:09 – Beating a dead horse?
20:29 – Super beating a dead horse, although I guess he hasn’t actually said it EXACTLY until now.. but it’s been pretty explicit so far. Also that doesn’t sound like a sentence a normal person would say
20:40 – You open the window and apparently the sun was 1.5 inches away from the pane?? Garish directorial choice. The statement is pretty uplifting, though!
21:18 – HE WAS AWAKE THE ENTIRE TIME…. LOOKS LIKE KANEKIS GOT SOME SPLAININ TO DO
The verdict on this episode, despite the tone of snarkiness my remarks took, was a definite positive one. I am still liking Tokyo Ghoul. I can easily see how one might dismiss it as having SHOUNEN written all over it, but I feel as though there were instances when Tokyo Ghoul deviated from the genre, arguably in unforeseen and refreshing ways. I like Hide a lot as a character. I’m intrigued by the orange haired guy’s motivation for wanting to get himself killed so badly, and there were a few smart little details that stood out, such as the coffee in OHG’s room and the insight into Hide’s personality. I won’t dispute, however, that this episode was mostly SHOUNEN in structure and execution (I vastly preferred episode one’s portrayal of Kaneki’s desperation to this one). The annoying thing about it, in my opinion, is how repetitive and hammy it gets (IM… NOT LIKE YOU…. IM HUMAN! x10 I liked it the first time though haha). And SHOUNEN does chafe, grate, and vex with its cheap bag of tricks. However, I also believe SHOUNEN is one of the most engrossing genres open to anime, and that it is by no means closed to meaningful and artistic ideas. Tokyo Ghoul’s style and aesthetic are great, and I trust the team behind it + the director despite some tawdry mishaps this episode. The opening, anyways, is amazing. In terms of thematic content, or whatever, I still think that Tokyo Ghoul has a lot of potential. And what shounen is good for, Tokyo Ghoul gets right – I’m already invested in the plot by the twists and turns which have occurred thus far – in particular, I’m wondering how Hide is going to react to the conversation about Kaneki being a ghoul and almost eating him he obviously overheard. STILL PUMPED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. And with that, I conclude this week’s writeup for Tokyo Ghoul.
PS Actually I think I’m gonna read the manga because I really wanna know what happens next hehe
mostly in store 
