is a 2017 Japanese

dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

based on the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

Tokyo Ghoul is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' between September 2011 and September 2014, and was collected in four ...

'' by

Sui Ishida is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his dark fantasy manga series ''Tokyo Ghoul'' and '' Choujin X''. Career history Sui Ishida is best known for his dark fantasy series ''Tokyo Ghoul'', a story about a young man named Ken Kaneki w ...

. The film is directed by Kentarō Hagiwara and stars

Masataka Kubota is a Japanese actor. Filmography Films * ''Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu'' (2009) * ''Kyōretsu! Mōretsu!! Kodai Shōjo Doguchan Matsuri Special Movie Edition'' (2010), Makoto Sugihara * ''Gachiban Series'' (2010–2014), Yūto Kuronaga * ...

as Ken Kaneki and

Fumika Shimizu is a Japanese actress, gravure idol and model. In February 2017, she announced her temporary retirement from the entertainment industry to join the controversial Happy Science religion, declaring she had been a member of the group since childhood ...

as Tōka Kirishima. It was released in Japan by

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

on July 29, 2017.

Plot

''Tokyo Ghoul'' is set in an alternate reality where

ghouls A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a certa ...

, individuals who can only survive by eating human flesh, live among the normal humans in secret, hiding their true nature to evade pursuit from the authorities. Ken Kaneki, a normal college student who, after being taken to a hospital, discovers that he underwent a surgery that transformed him into a half-ghoul after being attacked by his date, Rize Kamishiro who reveals herself to be a ghoul. This was accomplished by transferring Rize's organs into his body, and now, like normal ghouls, he must consume human flesh to survive. Struggling with his new life as a half-ghoul, he must now adapt into the ghoul society, as well as keeping his identity hidden from his human companions.

Cast

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

lasted from July to September 2016.

Release

On May 31, 2017, it was announced that

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

have acquired the licensed of Tokyo Ghoul and will be coming to theaters soon. Tokyo Ghoul premiered in the US at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

2017 in Los Angeles on July 3, 2017.

Home media

release the film on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

which included English Dubbed with voice actor

Austin Tindle Austin Tindle is an American voice actor who works for Funimation and Sentai Filmworks. He is best known for voicing the lead role of Ken Kaneki in the ''Tokyo Ghoul'' series, Kiyoshi Fujino in ''Prison School,'' Ayumu Aikawa in ''Is This a Zomb ...

Brina Palencia Brina Michelle Palencia (born February 13, 1984) is an American voice and television actress. She has voiced a number of English-language versions of characters featured in anime. Palencia provided the dubbed voices of Tony Tony Chopper in '' ...

reprised their roles as Ken Kaneki and Touka Kirishima. On

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

, the film's

and

releases have generated sales of $121,000 in the United States.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed () in Japan. Overseas, it grossed US$71,222 in Australia and New Zealand, and $21,177 in Thailand, for a worldwide total of .

Critical reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported that 82% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. Gabriella Ekens from ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

'' was impressed by film's cinematography even though it didn't have a huge budget and praised

and other cast for their strong performance. Although he criticized film for its ''Kagune'' effects.

Mark Schilling Mark Schilling (born 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, translator, and author based in Tokyo, Japan. He has written for ''The Japan Times'', ''Variety'', and ''Screen International''. Biography Schilling began working for ''The Japan ...

of ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars. Andrew Chan of the

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

writes, "Tokyo Ghoul is one of those films where the over the top gore and violence ends up over shadowing everything from plot line to meaningful words or even its characters." ''

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

'' gave the film three and a half stars and called the film "A beautiful but flawed adaptation." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said "This live-action adaptation of Sui Ishida’s famous manga about flesh-eating monsters is likely to please fans, despite some technical imperfections." ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' found the film ambitious but felt it ultimately stumbled saying "The film collapses into a series of conventional stand-offs between opposing characters struggling as much with their own identities as their conflicts with each other. For about an hour, however, ''Tokyo Ghoul'' did offer something special." ''

Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006. The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...

'' said "It feels like a film designed for newcomers, but it ultimately fails to leave viewers hungry for more."

Accolades

''Tokyo Ghoul'' won the Excellence Award in the Live-Action Theatrical Film category, and was nominated for the Best Award category in the ''VFX-Japan Awards'' 2018.

Sequel

On September 22, 2018, it was announced that a sequel film for ''Tokyo Ghoul'' was green-lit for a 2019 release. On April 10, 2019, it was revealed that the title of the film would be ''Tokyo Ghoul S'', and was scheduled for release on July 19, 2019.

Maika Yamamoto is a Japanese actress, TV personality, and fashion model. She is known for her roles as Kaede Kayano in ''Assassination Classroom'', Chiyomi Horikiri in the 2015 television drama ''Minami-kun no Koibito'', and Mizuki Kurata in the 2018 film adap ...

will be replacing

in her role as Tōka Kirishima, and

Shota Matsuda is a Japanese actor. Matsuda is best known for his roles in the ''Hana Yori Dango'' series, the ''Liar Game'' series, and '' Love Shuffle''. Personal life Matsuda was born on September 10, 1985 in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan, to Yūsaku Matsuda, a ...

will join the cast as Shū Tsukiyama.

References

External links

* * * {{Tokyo Ghoul 2017 films 2017 horror films 2010s Japanese films 2010s Japanese-language films 2010s monster movies Films about organ transplantation Films scored by Don Davis (composer) Films set in Tokyo Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Tokyo Funimation Giant monster films Japanese horror films Kaiju films Live-action films based on manga Shochiku films Tokyo Ghoul