So I first came across Tokyo Ghoul in passing growing up alongside my brother. He was fanatical about it, namely the anime when it came out.

Big whoop, my brother likes seinen, it's just another one of those. But it always sort of caught my eye, because I've been edgy since forever. Edgy media is gonna appeal to me, sky is blue.

A few years pass by, and I'm on this forum of sorts. And someone mentions Tokyo Ghoul again. And I start thinking about it.

The design of ghouls scratches my brain in some sort of way, in the kin way. Y'know. But I'm like...no let's think about it later. I'm ghoulkin but I'm avoiding it, that sort of deal. I thought it was cringe, and horribly edgy. Like moreso than I already am. So I shove it down, like I did with a lot of my identity at the time.

More years pass, and one of my otherkin friends is like, "Hey I'm a ghoul too", and we watch the first season. This cracks open my tiny little ghoulkin brain fully.

Seeing someone so confident in being ghoulkin inspired me to open up about it--and at that point, I was beginning to accept other things about myself too.

At the time of writing, I've gotten into the manga, and it is ten times better than the anime, minus pretty colored kagune. But otherwise, it has further cemented my love and connection to it.

Tokyo Ghoul also spoke to me as someone who is plural.

Throughout the manga, the viewer is presented with various forms of Ken.

And one might think, oh well every protagonist gets character development and changes and maybe even looks different.

No, I mean, it is literally portrayed as different Kens.

Observe:

Literally child Ken in that first one. That's a little alter right there.

Ken assumes the identity of Haise at some point and loses his memories. Just full send dissociative amnesia between switches.

We see other characters in his headspace too, introjects! Rize and Hide to name a couple.

Tokyo Ghoul is for the nonhumans. For the plural folks. For the traumatized. Ken's struggle with ghoul versus human, different "selves", and repressed trauma attests to that.

There has to be the place to bitch.

The anime did the manga so dirty.

The animation was alright, but there was so much cut from the anime that it made anything beyond season 1 nigh incomprehensible.

There was so much content missing in the later seasons, and the art did plenty of characters dirty as well.

Like our man Arima. Come on. That chin is heinous.

So if no one has told you yet, read the manga if you want to get the best version of Tokyo Ghoul.