♦ ((A number of things have been bothering me in regards the Tokyo Ghoul:re. And I am not speaking simply in light of recent events, but the series as a whole. This is a rare topic that I do have some strong opinions on, especially in regards to the characterization of Tsukiyama, thus I do not necessarily recommend reading if you are fond of re:.
First and foremost - the uncomfortably shift in genre. Obviously after a series begins to grow in popularity, creators are often forced to make a few amendments in their original storyline, character design, the like, in favour of what will have traction with fans. But so often nowadays we see a complete “180 change” in the nature of the stories being crafted. The creators begin to cater to what their growing fan-base wants, instead of the (usually) well-planned structure they began with, and this leads to needless fan-service and bland characterization. Tokyo Ghoul has seen such an unfortunate transformation, going from a detailed horror manga to a generic shounen. The original had a lot of in-depth involvement - the stories were intimately drawn, and the darker aspects were meant to fluctuate between subtle shadows and jarring reveals. That is how the horror genre is most successful; it requires a delicate touch and careful construction. The original work was not about “defeating the bad guys” or “using your feelings to save your friends”. It was about survival and hardship, about the dual nature of humans and ghouls, and it was about how the ostracized cope with living under persecution. The ending was a perfectly pessimistic conclusion to a tragedy, just as it should have been. A sequel was not at all necessary. The sequel neither builds upon the tone that was previously established in Tokyo Ghoul, nor does it compliment any of the developments - from style to characters. Which brings me to my second point - the artwork. Ishida’s art has seen a change in the very same manner as his genre - shifting from a darker, more “sketchy” style that suited the series very nicely to something considerably more typical. This newer style has a habit of ‘softening’ expressions and scenes, lessening the impact and overall emotional involvement that were oh-so necessary; that imperfect artwork really helped the story progress. Artwork should be a reflection of the themes carried throughout the story - TG conveyed them much more masterfully and heightened sensations of all things macabre and violent. In Tokyo Ghoul:re the artwork has become much lighter, and gory scenes commonplace. Without the previous emphasis on making violent acts gritty and jarring, the audience is numbed and expectant - it carries little to no impact. (Take, for example, the two rather ‘iconic’ beheading scenes of Ihei and Ryouko. The latter carried a lot more weight; even in the panels leading up to their deaths, there is a lot more value placed upon the sequence in Tokyo Ghoul.) My third, and perhaps most impassioned, point would be the characters themselves, and any character development associated. Re: has done a good job of introducing a multitude of new characters, to the point where the series is teeming with minor roles that end almost as quickly as they are introduced. This really hurts the series as a whole, creating a cast that is just about impossible to feel sympathetic for. Less is more. Where characters were the driving point for TG, they are the weakest point for re:, with a whole line of dull, uninspiring story arcs that don’t seem to go anywhere. Where TG focused on the personal struggles of individual characters, re: brushes over them and tries to push character developments that are rushed and out of place. This practice is painfully visible in Tsukiyama and the whole breadth of his current arc in re:. I am firmly of the opinion that Ishida Sui completely changed his original characterization of Tsukiyama - everything from mannerisms to his background. Re: introduces him as a vapid half-shell of himself, lacking the eccentric and colorful qualities that first made him such an interesting character. Admittedly, the concluding events of TG make a great change in Tsukiyama reasonable - but this does not mean that his ‘former self’ would be completely obliterated. Re: attempts to paint Tsukiyama as a sympathetic character (something the fan-base often uses to paint him as “blameless”) and then it simply goes and unravels it’s own attempts at establishing any depth by making the matter seem shallow and unimportant. If you intend to have a character be bedridden for three years, having them walk within a week because it is “simply the nature of this character’, because ‘they can always bounce back’, is insulting to any concept of development in this character. It is as though Ishida were parading around the depth he had formerly established, reducing Tsukiyama to a select few aspects to serve as fodder for comedic material and fan-based interpretations. Now - Don’t get me wrong on this. Despite all that I said, Tokyo Ghoul:re isn’t irredeemable. It does have some redemptive qualities (namely some interesting moments, and a couple interesting characters - and, of course, with the individual interpretations of particular roleplayers who can bring depth to even stock characters) and as a standalone manga it wouldn’t be half bad. But attempting to produce the series as a response to a growing fan-base and demand for more of this and that was a matter of poor planning on Ishida’s part. Instead of trying to continue from the ending of his first series (which, might I remind you, was wonderful), it would have been much better to have taken at least a year off to develop a separate series. Even a spin-off, from the perspective of the CCG, would have been better. All in all, I can only say that Tokyo Ghoul:re has been a major disappointment for me.))