12 Days of Anime 2014--#2: Ghoul or Human?

Despite the fact that I was cringing throughout most of it, this is one of the best anime episodes that I saw this year.

(A/N: This post contains some spoilers for the final episode of Tokyo Ghoul.)


Despite the complaints about censors, Tokyo Ghoul is not a series that pulls its punches. The final episode covers just once scene: the physical and psychological torture of the protagonist, Kaneki, at the hands of Yamori, a ghoul who became twisted by similar torture. While nothing is explicitly shown, what Yamori does to Kaneki is made clear through expertly cut scenes and bone-chilling voice acting.


However, an entire episode of the main character being tortured is not what makes this episode stand out. In response to his trauma, Kaneki jumps back and forth between the reality of what's happening to him and deep inside his own psyche. However, there's no escape for him there either. While he's there, a vision of the ghoul Rize, who changed his life in the first place, forces him to face his internal insecurities and fears, finally reaching the crux of his character conflict--the fact that he feels the need to sacrifice himself in order to help others.


What follows is absolutely fantastic. The combination of the symbolism within Kaneki's own mind contrasting and melding with the horror of his current reality provides he best character study that I saw in an anime over this last year. In fact, it's rare to see this level of insight into a character in anime at all. While the violence did make the episode hard to watch, and it definitely didn't wrap up the ongoing storyline, the way this last episode was executed was a hell of a note to leave on. The staff certainly set the bar high for the return of Tokyo Ghoul next month.

You know what they say about white-haired anime boys...

Images from Hulu.com.