After the most recent live action Death Note film, fans have been skeptical when any anime announced an live action adaptation. Most recent is Tokyo Ghoul, but can it change the perception that all of anime’s Live Action counterparts are the same? Let’s find out.
Tokyo Ghoul follows the story of Ken Kaneki and his transformation into a ghoul. This was caused by having surgery after an accident where a ghouls organs were transplanted into him to where he is now half human and half ghoul. The humans have no clue as to why ghouls have appeared in the city or what causes someone to turn into a ghoul.
The movie begins with Kaneki and Hyde in Antekui coffee shop, a scene that’s familiar with those who have seen the anime or read the manga. This scene is infamous because it was when the fans were first introduced to Rize.
The film did a great job sticking to the source material. Overall the acting in the film was pretty good, although there were times that I felt that they went overboard, which resulted in the actors looking goofy.
For instance, when Kaneki fought Nishinki Nishio, the actor who played Kaneki looked more like a brainless zombie with his mouth wide open. Though there were few instances of this, it doesn’t make or break the film. Fumika Shimizu is the actress who played Touka. I didn’t really get a vibe of the actual character; it seemed as though she was just going through the motions at times instead of being a more vital part in helping Kaneki with his understanding of the ghoul world.
What surprised me is how much of the material they were able to put in the movie. If you’re judging it from the anime, they covered half of the first season. Things like this are what made the movie more enjoyable than other films who have tried adaptations. Of course they added their own twist and changed a few things. Unfortunately, the scenes that were skipped were very vital plots that made Tokyo Ghoul great.
For example, once Kaneki left the hospital and was trying to eat normal human food and realized that he couldn’t, the film didn’t show the intense struggle of him coming to terms that his life was falling apart. In the anime during the same scene, we were able to hear Kaneki’s thoughts and how distraught he was while he was going through this. If I knew nothing about the anime or the manga, there is a good chance that I wouldn’t know where the director was going or how much this scene should have mattered.
Luckily the vast majority of the movie made me feel as if I were watching the anime again. However the worst thing about the film was the CGI; it made the fight scenes look cheesy and out of place. This was especially noticeable during the fight with Kaneki and the CCG(Commission of Counter Ghoul), the slow motion effects during the fight scenes only made matters worse. I understood that it was supposed to make the fights feel more impactful and immersive, but it turned out to be an eyesore and slowed the pace down tremendously. It caused me to feel it was dragging scenes out longer than they should have been.
All an all the movie was very enjoyable and a proper adaptation that fans have been looking for. Definitely the best live action adaptation to date, which isn’t saying much since there haven’t been any good ones. Definitely check the movie out if your a fan of the series and would like a proper adaptation.
Unfortunately the movie is no longer in theaters but we will update you as to when the movie will become available to watch or for purchase. However if you are interested in watching the anime, please visit Funimation or Hulu.
[amazon_link asins=’B0102AL8V2,B01BUQ70AU’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’ticgn0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c88e042d-b46b-11e7-8cc7-1f0963ddf920′]
