Trigger warnings: grotesque imagery, violence, gruesome deaths, racism
About the Author: Sui Ishida is a manga artist best known for his dark fantasy series Tokyo Ghoul. After being translated into English, Tokyo Ghoul topped the charts of The New York Best Seller list in 2015. Ishida’s series has also been adapted into an anime.
“You’re wrong. It’s not the world that’s messed up; it’s those of us in it. Yes, some ghouls walk a path that leaves sorrow in their wake, but just like humans, we can choose a different path altogether. We have a lot to learn, both your kind and mine. We need to stop fighting, and start talking. Because when it comes to the state of the world, you can’t point your finger at ghouls or humans. We’re all to blame.“
Tokyo Ghoul is a fourteen volume series centered around carnivorous monsters called ghouls, who look exactly like humans, except for their dependence on human flesh for survival. Ghouls live among humans in secret, hiding their true nature in order to evade authorities. College freshman Ken Kaneki barely survives a ghoul attack after a date-gone-wrong and undergoes surgery in order to save his life. However, the organs transplanted into Kaneki were from the ghoul that attacked him! Kaneki soon discovers that he is now half-human and half-ghoul, the first of his kind. In order to survive, Kaneki must navigate this new world of being both ghoul and human. This series focuses on the negative effects of discrimination, racism, and abuse, as well as the idea of good versus evil while being on both sides of the situation. For Kaneki, he sees both the monstrous side of the ghouls from a human’s perspective, and on the ghoul side, he sees that some ghouls just want to live a peaceful life among humans.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
PRR Writer, Meghan Reinholz
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