Tokyo Ghoul :reis one of the bestselling manga of the 2010s,but fans were worried when it got greenlit for an adaptation. Studio Pierrot, the studio responsible for the infamous Tokyo Ghoul: Root A, already had a history of disappointingTokyo Ghouladaptations. And when the series aired, fans' fears proved justified: Tokyo Ghoul :re was a disaster, somehow falling below everyone's low expectations.
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Predictably, its two seasons deviated from their source material, moved too quickly and twisted the manga's plot irreparably. They were abysmally animated, poorly directed and unintelligible for anime-only viewers. All in all, Tokyo Ghoul :re is aserious candidate for the worst anime of the 2010s. How did it go so wrong?
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From the beginning,Studio Perriot was operating on uneven ground. The lastTokyo Ghouladaptation wasTokyo Ghoul Root A,aired in early 2015. Manga readers disliked howRoot Adeviated from the manga, condensing the source material and providing an anime-only ending. However, anime-only viewers had no idea about the different endings. For Tokyo Ghoul :re,Studio Perriot chose to scrapRoot Aand return to the manga's plot if nothing ever happened, which wasn't a bad decision. However, it left a large portion of the fanbase hopelessly confused from the get-go.
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Piling on the problems,it looked as though there would only be 24 episodes to adapt 179 chapters of densely plotted material. This was especially foreboding, as there would have to be ommissions. In the first 12 episodes,Tokyo Ghoul :re scrappedsome important character moments, made some unexpected changes and moved at a very fast pace. Most agree, however, that the anime wasn't anything disastrous (so far). The season ended on the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Arc, and while it's all a bit messy, it didn't go off the rails.
With the second season, though,Tokyo Ghoul :re fell apart. Right off the bat, close to an entire arc was cut as the anime lunged straight into the Third Cochlea Raid and Rushima Landing Operation. Following this problematic beginning,Tokyo Ghoul :readvanced with jarring ommissions, terrible pacing and disappointing anime-only moments. It was so convoluted that manga-reading YouTubers uploaded videosexplaining the plot to clueless viewers. Similar to Tokyo Ghoul: Root A, fanswere offended that Studio Perriot would treat its source material so poorly. Of course, faithfully covering so many chapters in so little timewas an impossible task. Tokyo Ghoul :re'smangahad a rushed conclusion even without the adaptation, so mangling it further was not a popular decision.
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Anime is a visual medium, so the way it looks matters. Tokyo Ghoul: Root A may havebutchered its source material, but it provided some qualityTokyo Ghoul moments that, when viewed in a vacuum, weren't too bad. There were some beautiful scenes, well-directed shots and even a few anime-only momentsthat earn their place in the series.Tokyo Ghoul :re has none of these. With poor animation, a lack of detail and simplistic character designs, the anime rivals the CGBerserkin terms of offensive visuals. Without exaggerating, the anime legitimately resembles a slideshow at points, and even faithfully adapted moments fall short aesthetically.Couple that with some disastrous direction (poor shot composition, scene transition, etc.), and the adaptation fails in almost every regard.
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The soundtrack may be Tokyo Ghoul :re'ssaving grace, asTokyo Ghoulcomposer Yutaka Yamada returns to give the anime's stale frames a little buoyancy. Unfortunately, his soundtrack isn't utilized as well as it could have been, and viewers will hear the battle theme "Symphonie" and various arrangements of the iconic "Licht und Schatten"enough to bore them even of these great tracks. Still, it's a nice soundtrack to listen to outside of the anime. The same can be said about the openings: Asphyxiaby experimental rock band Cö shu Nie,andKatharsisby fan-favorite TK (vocalist ofTokyo Ghoul'sfirst opening).
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It's common for anime studios to be overworked and understaffed. That's what happened to Studio Perriot whenTokyo Ghoul :rewas in production, already busy withBoruto, Black Clover and other popular shows. It's unfortunate that Perriot would neglect Tokyo Ghoul (which was arguably its largest active franchise). Something similar happened when Studio Madhouse was too busy to continue One-Punch Man, so it gave its second season off to another studio. Tokyo Ghoul is a real cash cow, so Perriot didn't want to forfeit their rights to the franchise. In the end,T okyo Ghoul :rewas discharged toPierrot+, a smaller studio that struggled with the workload.
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Tokyo Ghoul :re'sstaff also left a lot to be desired. Animators, character designers and directors from the original series were busy elsewhere, which explains how different the anime looked to compared to its predecessors.Shuhei Morita, director of the bestTokyo Ghoulepisodes out there (Episode 1 and 12 of the original, and Episode 12 ofRoot A) could have possibly salvaged an episode or two, but he too was busy with other work. Overall, the finished product boasted a profound lack of industry-standard effort in all areas. Eventhe promotional art (posters and such) looked like they were whipped together lazily.
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Sadly, this is probably the end for Tokyo Ghoulanime adaptations. The series isn't as popular as it was a few years ago, so chances of another run (possibly with a different studio) are slim. A faithful reboot,reminiscent ofFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,would be a treat for fans, but that's only a pipe dream. For now, it's best to just read the manga.
Speaking of which,Tokyo Ghoul :reis available in English fromViz Media.
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