TOKYO GHOUL S by Urizen

There was a time when I, like most others, was convinced that nearly every live action movie adaptation of an anime was terrible. The only decent one I had seen was Death Note (not the Netflix one…you can read my opinions on that). Even still, the Death Note movies told mostly the same story, but changed a bit. My opinions started to change on this eventually though with the release of the first live action Tokyo Ghoul movie.

   It is an understatement that I am a huge fan of Sui Ishida’s manga series. I love the art, the story, the characters, it is just a great read. The anime came along and seemed promising in the first season before turning into a disappointing train wreck by the time it ended. Still, I can find a lot I liked in the anime. The idea of a live action movie was both exciting and terrifying. I really wanted to see the series I love brought to live action, but I wanted it to be done well. To my surprise though, the first movie was pretty good and included things the anime even left out. Plus I grew to love Kaneki’s mask design. So now flash forward a while later and we get to Tokyo Ghoul S. I couldn’t help but be optimistic after the first film. The question is, would I end up disappointed or pleasantly surprised?

   Tokyo Ghoul S keeps mainly the same cast as the first movie with the  exception of Maika Yamamoto taking over the role as Touka Kirishima and Shota Matsuda joining the cast as Shuu Tsukiyama. While I enjoyed Fumika Shimizu as Touka in the first movie, I really love Maika Yamamoto’s performance in this. Shota Matsuda was a great Tsukiyama as well. He managed to bring a lot to the character with his performance, really nailing what makes Tsukiyama's character great while also making him more intimidating and creepy. His performance was really amazing. Masataka Kubota returns as Kaneki in this, and while he isn’t given as much, he still does a great job with his performance. It is weird thinking that the main character doesn’t get as much to do in their movie, but realistically this is Tsukiyama’s movie, and that’s okay. It seems like that is how it should be truthfully.

   The movie for the most part follows the Gourmet arc of the manga. Kicking right off, we are introduced to Tsukiyama. He is shown going after a model with heterochromia, plucking out her eyes before throwing her body out a window. This instantly shows us what sort of ghoul Tsukiyama is, emphasizing his desire to find seek out the perfect taste. He didn’t care about the body or eating to survive, he only wanted the eyes because he thought it would be a unique flavor. We see this sort of thing throughout the movie with him eating the meat of a vegan and sausage made from twins. It does a good job showing what kind of character he is. We also get a shot of his mask in this. It is certainly different. In the anime and manga, his mask is a crescent moon in reference to his name. For the live action, I’m honestly not sure what it is supposed to be. Most of the masks keep the basis of how they were in the original, so I wonder if this is supposed to look like the moon. I’m not sure, but I can say it is unsettling, fitting the vibe of the movie. I like it quite a bit.

   From there the movie goes more into the plot of the series. After the first movie, Kaneki is now working at Anteiku full time and has been training more with Touka. After the events of the first movie, the CCG has been patrolling more than ever. Kaneki wishes to do his best, because whether ghoul or human, he wishes for no one to get hurt. His training gets put to the test though when the gourmet Tsukiyama arrives and sets his eyes on Kaneki. He will do anything to get a taste of the half ghoul and experience the ultimate flavor.

   This movie has not gotten as much love as the first, and while I’m not sure it is as good as the first one, I really enjoyed it. I think it did a good job at adapting a lot of elements of the manga while also changing a bit to make it not exactly the same story we have seen multiple times already.  One thing I really appreciate is that they actually  fixed a minor plot hole from the manga. So yeah, I think they did a good job with this movie, despite what some others are thinking.

   I was pleasantly surprised at the way the characters were portrayed. All of them were pretty accurate, though I’d say as enjoyable as Tsukiyama was, he was toned down a little for this movie, making him maybe a little more realistic and not so over the top. His suits are still eccentric, but not quite as bright, and his reactions while still enjoyable aren’t as crazy. It makes sense, and works in regard to this movie, but I can see it as a bit disappointing. Kaneki is still portrayed very well in this, with the movie putting more emphasis on his love of books than the anime, which I appreciate. He has his moments in this, but as I said earlier, this isn’t really his movie. It is more so about introducing our favorite gourmet to the series and also giving Touka a lot of major development. Again, Touka was portrayed really well. Her struggle is shown well and she is really allowed to shine.

   A minor thing that is worth bringing up more is the masks. I really enjoy the more realistic approach to them in this movie. We never see Kaneki’s in this sadly, but in the last one it was roughly the same but added some red color to the neck, and changed the back of the neck a little. Touka, instead of a cartoon looking round bunny mask, has a realistic looking rabbit mask that actually looks really creepy. I love it. A couple others are more simplified, realistic versions of their manga counterparts and continue to look excellent. One that surprised me was Uta's mask. It looked spot on! It was a bit unexpected that out of everyone’s, his was one of the most accurate.

   The tone of the movie is a bit strange as it definitely has a dark tone and horror elements, but there are a lot of funny moments. I think though that they just come from Tsukiyama’s eccentric personality. For anyone who didn’t know the character, it probably wouldn’t give the same feel. The music really adds to the darker tone. One of the greatest things about the anime was the soundtrack, and I feel like this movie does a good job and continuing the trend. It is definitely a soundtrack I would buy.

   One interesting thing is, we don’t really get too much of the kagune in this movie. We get one shot of Touka's during training, a glimpse of Tsukiyama’s early on, and then nothing else until the final battle really.  While we still have issues with the visuals for them due to the usual CGI of Japan’s films, I kind of like the way they look a tiny bit more than the anime. The anime has them as these bright, beautiful things, which looked absolutely amazing! The movies though have made them look darker, they look more like constructs made from RC cells.  I guess it would be more correct to say I like them both equally. Instead of being just pure flames, Touka's is more a solidified wing though it does look as if embers are flying off from it. Kaneki’s looks reptilian with scales that move, adding a bit more detail. I love all version of the kagune, but for different reasons.

   The movie naturally isn’t perfect. As I have said, the CGI is not the greatest. It never really even gets into great category, at best it is pretty decent. There are some moments where, say, Tsukiyama’s movements with his kagune don’t look too natural because of the CGI. A good chunk of the time it looks all right though. As I have said, I like the ideas of them.

   They also took away a little of showing Kaneki’s intelligence in this version, but it was something that was skipped in the anime as well. We do get to see more of Kaneki training in the movie, but in the manga besides that, he studies fighting through books. He actually learns a decent amount of fighting because of them, but sadly that isn’t something we ever get to see. It also glosses over Nishio and Kimi's meeting. She goes over it a little, but we don’t get to see that sadly.

   On that note, the fight scenes and choreography in this movie are all really enjoyable. I was a bit surprised at it all, but it was pretty impressive. It was honestly better than the kagune fights, with two of the majority of the final fight being hand to hand.  The ferocity of the those hand to hand fights also really showed how strong of an opponent Tsukiyama is. It helped establish him as a stronger opponent, taking things up a notch from Nishio and the CCG in the last movie.

   My only other somewhat negative thing I can say is that there is a bit of a tease at the end of the movie, and a bit throughout, that was pretty cool but unnecessary. While I liked having this whole thing, it was setting up something that doesn’t come into play until the final arc of the manga. I think if they were going to tease anything, having Yamori, Juuzou, or even Ayato show up to set up Aogiri tree and the next arc would have been better. What we instead got wouldn’t end up paying off for another maybe four or five movies. I worry if they are going to be skipping most of the story, but considering how much of that is pretty essential, I just don’t see how they could unless they skip a lot. Given the actor for Kaneki is in his 30s, I don’t know how long they could keep going even with one a year

  Overall though, I truly think this was a pretty good movie. It seemed like a good adaptation of the manga, not perfect but pretty good. I’d like to say that I know what the future holds for this series given the manga, but I’m really not sure. Given the themes of the Aogiri arc and the hints they have given for things that happen at the end of the series, I don’t know if they will just be skipping or changing a lot. I do hope they actually do a third movie at least because I think it was pretty good. It would be excellent to see how they handle things and if they can keep it up. Like most fan bases, the Tokyo Ghoul fan base can be a bit extreme so I’m not surprised they hate this movie, but if you can be open minded, I think definitely give it a shot. The portrayal of Tsukiyama is enough reason to love it, even Sui Ishida commented on the movie saying how he loved the performance. If he was happy with it, I can’t imagine anyone else who is a fan of the series not enjoying it. The movie only has a couple day theater release in the USA so once it is out on DVD and Blu Ray, check it and the first one out if you haven’t already. The story will be sure to gobble you up.