Tokyo Ghoul

About

Tokyo Ghoul is a 2011 manga series first written by Japanese mangaka Sui Ishida and serialized by Shueisha, followed by an anime series animated by Studio Pierrot in 2014. The series has garnered a notable following online, spawning a number of fan works.

Premise

Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate version of Tokyo, where a race of monsters known as Ghouls exist, who survive by eating humans. The story follows Ken Kaneki, a boy who, after being attacked and almost killed by an infamous ghoul known as Rize, is transformed into a ghoul after Rize’s organs are transplanted into him by a corrupt doctor. Because of this, Kaneki is forced to learn to live with his new Ghoul powers, working at a Ghoul-run coffee shop by the name of Anteiku..

History

Tokyo Ghoul first began as a 2011 manga series written by Sui Ishida and circulated in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump, which ran for 14 volumes before ending on September 18, 2014. A sequel manga, titled Tokyo Ghoul: re was also created following the ending of the original series, beginning publication on October 16 of the same year. A prequel manga focusing on the character of Kishō Arima, titled Tokyo Ghoul: JACK, also began publication in August 2013, running until October of the same year. An anime series based off the original Tokyo Ghoul manga, animated by Studio Pierrot, also known for their work on popular series such as Bleach and Naruto, was also created and ran from July 4 to September 19, 2014 for 12 episodes. A second season featuring an anime original storyline, titled Tokyo Ghoul √A was also created, and first began airing on January 8, 2015.

Reception

Upon release, Tokyo Ghoul became the 27th best-selling manga series in Japan for 2013, selling around 1,666,348 estimated copies that year. As of January 2014, the manga had sold around 2.6 million copies^[16]. For 2014, Tokyo Ghoul became the 4th best-selling manga series in Japan of the year, selling around 6,946,203 copies that year alone^[17].

Online Relevance

In North America, the Tokyo Ghoul anime is licensed by FUNimation, available for streaming on their website^[1], with the manga adaptation being licensed by Viz Media^[15]. The series has gained a large online following on many sites, including on Tumblr^[2], Reddit^[3], 4chan’s /a/ (Anime and Manga) board^[4], Fanpop^[5], My Anime List^[6], and DeviantART^[7]. There are numerous sites that provide episodic information about the series, such as the Tokyo Ghoul wiki^[8], TV Tropes^[9] and Anime News Network^[10]. In addition, the Tokyo Ghoul Facebook page also has over 190,000 likes^[11].

Fandom

The Tokyo Ghoul series has spawned a significant online fanbase since it’s creation, which has created much fanart. On the Japanese fanart site Pixiv, there are over 29,000 images tagged under “東京喰種”^[12], as well as over 2,000 videos on the video sharing website Nico Nico Douga^[13]. On DeviantART, there are also over 25,000 images tagged related to the series^[14].

Notable Sub-Memes

Shuu Tsukiyama

Shuu Tsukiyama is a character within the Tokyo Ghoul series, portrayed as an eccentric Ghoul who has an obsession with the main character, Ken Kaneki. Due to his over the top demeanour and actions, he received a notable fan base, spawning many fan parodies based on his outbursts within the anime.

Banana Haise

Banana Haise is a meme originating from the sequel series to the original Tokyo Ghoul manga, Tokyo Ghoul:re, in which the character of Haise Sasaki is seen with a poster of Bananas in his room. The scene gained notability among fans, causing many fan parodies featuring the character paired with Bananas.