The Tokyo Ghoul live-action adaptation was better than the anime.

 

Adaptations are funny things. Sometimes they're great, other times they're fine and then sadly, more often than not they're awful. Continuing my quest to find the best live-action adaptations of manga, I remembered one particular one that stood out. Tokyo Ghoul is a brilliant manga by mangaka Ishida Sui. Now, the anime adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul was atrocious and actually butchered key elements of the plot and the animation itself was sketchy at times. This set expectations through the floor when the live-action was announced. Despite low expectations, I can confirm that the movie was a far better adaptation than the anime. That doesn't mean it's perfect. Far from it. It's just better than the anime by a long mile.

As you can imagine from the title, Tokyo Ghoul takes place in Tokyo. Unlike the real world, it's not just humans walking on two feet. Creatures known as Ghouls prowl the streets and for nourishment they feast on humans. To counter the threat against humanity, the CCG was established by the government. The Commission of Counter Ghoul locates and exterminates as many Ghouls as possible. A tricky task, given the fact that the creatures lurk within the shadows of the large city. 

Within the city, university student Ken Kaneki resides. One fateful day, he finally plucks up the courage to get to know a seemingly lovely lady named Rize Kamishiro and eventually they wind up on a date. All seems well, with Kaneki even managing to receive a hug. That is, until Rize bites him, revealing herself to be a Ghoul. With a stroke of good fortune, Rize is unable to finish our protagonist off. That doesn't mean that the encounter wasn't without lasting consequences however, as Kaneki is turned into a half-Ghoul after Rize's organs are transplanted into him. Forced to come to terms with his new life, he eventually winds up working with fellow Ghouls at the café, Anteiku. Naturally, it's not long before a confrontation with the CCG brews. 

Truthfully, Tokyo Ghoul was the very first movie directed by Kentaro Hagiwara that I have watched. For some reason, he didn't return for the sequel and that is a real shame as he did a tremendous job. He managed to create a visually appealing narrative by employing a wide array of shot types, both moving and static. I'll admit that I am not a fan of the usage of shaky shots even though I can see them being used to emphasise the emotions of characters such as Kaneki. Thankfully, he phases them out by the end and that coincides with Kaneki coming to terms with his new nature as a half-Ghoul. 

On that last point, it could be argued that when stripped down to the bone, Tokyo Ghoul can be seen as the tale of a man coming to terms with his existence, his new life. Kaneki is a man who is transformed from a regular human to half-human, half-Ghoul without his consent. Thus, we see his struggles to adapt and accept his new life. Most notably, he struggles heavily with having to adapt to a Ghoul's diet of human flesh. Thankfully, through finding Anteiku, he finds mentors to aid him. In contrast to the manga, there are zero internal monologues that depict the internal conflict with the movie instead opting to show it visually. It does pay off, with Kubota's acting through facial expressions and body language paying dividends. 

Masataka Kubota was handpicked by Sui Ishida to portray Ken Kaneki and it's very easy to see why. Kubota absolutely nailed the role. Even with plenty of scenes with little to no dialogue, he manages to express himself with body language, facial expressions and even purely through his eyes more than a lot of actors could do with all of the material in the world. In a role that could have easily gone wrong and tipped into parody, he nailed the balance of Kaneki's confliction perfectly. 

Some of the CGI is passable at best when it comes to the Kagune, the special organs used as weapons by Ghouls that can look quite a bit like tentacles. That doesn't stop the action from being quite enjoyable and it still holds up quite well. Especially the fight that Kaneki is involved in, which is my personal favourite. 

Overall, as I stated at the beginning of this blog post, I firmly believe that the live-action movie is leagues above the anime as far as adaptations are concerned. It's not perfect, but it is an enjoyable experience that tries it's earnest best to tell the tale of the world and of Kaneki. This would definitely be on any lists of good adaptations and deserves to be for Masataka Kubota's brilliant performance alone. Easy recommendation for fans of Kubota or for those who like a dark action movie with a hint of fantasy.