Anime Review: Tokyo Ghoul

 

Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

Quote: "Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn't mean they are bad people. It means they're human."

Plot: In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, humans are not the superior beings who are the last in the food chain, but there are Ghouls. Ghouls are beings that survive by eating humans and are more powerful than them. They hide from the authorities who hunt them for the welfare of human society. Kaneki Ken, a simple and kind boy gets in between these two worlds when he goes on a date with a sweet girl, thinking what could really go wrong? 

In a world where both species are fighting to survive, who can decide who is wrong and right and who will win in the end? 

My Personal Views: Let's start with Tokyo Ghoul's season 1 opening music. I found the song, Unravel, quite beautiful. The lyrics and the music were really heart-touching. I am not usually someone who likes Japanese music, but after Blue Bird, Unravel is the only anime music that has stuck with me.

I had heard great things about Tokyo Ghoul and to be honest, Season 1 stuck up to the expectations but unfortunately, I can't say the same about season 2. I could literally see the downfall. Not going to lie, the plot is actually a masterpiece (even in Season 2) but what I did not like about season 2 was how it did not follow the manga which resulted in the plot having gaps and not understanding many of the scenes.  

Considering it was a dark anime, the storyline was actually pretty good. I felt in the first season that Kaneki Ken was too much of a goody two-shoe but ohmygod when he fought Jason? That whole fight was so badass and Kaneki became quite badass in the second season. I also liked how they changed his whole look in the second season with all the white hair and black nails (even though how he acquired those looks was quite painful and heartbreaking). 

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

John Green just has a way with words.

 In life, you find very few people who you think can understand human feelings extremely well and even fewer people who you think can convey those human feelings extremely well on paper.

Asking questions about life that might actually matter, that's what John Green has been asking through his books.

Young Adult writer John Green is one of New York's best-selling authors. He has written novels like The Fault in our stars, Turtles all the way down, Paper town, etc. He started making videos on Youtube with his brother and eventually started writing. He still has that youtube channel which has now more than 34 Million subscribers. 

The first book that I read by John Green was The Fault in our Stars which was recommended to me. At first, I thought, it would be just another typical romantic book but I actually ended up liking it. 

(If I could I would have put the whole letter by Gus here <3)

More than liking the story plot I think, the way he writes is what attracted me to his books the most. Through his books, he talks about loss, grief, death, teenagers, and their emotions. It's the way he writes his teenage characters as well like he knows exactly what a teen feels at each particular moment and how exactly they would react. 

Then comes the quotes in his books. If you would say that most quotes that are quoted by people are from John Green's books, I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest. I literally have to keep my pen with me whenever I am reading one of his books as I have a habit of marking my favorite quotes. If you would see my purchased books of his, you would find so many markings, which (to be completely honest) has happened while reading his books only, until now.

After reading Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters's story in The Fault in our stars (and watching it), I started reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson in which John Green co-wrote the novel actually lead to a big disappointment. I ended up disliking the book. After that, I took a long break not only from John Green but books altogether. 

But then after I started reading again, I ended up reading another of John Green's works, Looking for Alaska. I was not going with high expectations with this one after my encounter with the last John Green book, but ohmygod was it everything and more.

(Here, if I could I would've put the whole book <3) 

What I personally like about his books (to which many of his fans might relate) is the way he keeps it real. You know there is death and grief out there but there are friendships and love out there too, and he knows it to his heart. And I think he does an excellent job of showing the same through his words.  

  

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Quote: "We are all going. McKinley said to his wife, and we sure are. There's your labyrinth of suffering. We are all going. Find your way out of that maze."

Plot: Miles Halter in search of his great perhaps goes to a boarding school in Alabama, where he meets a girl named Alaska Young. She is reckless and screwed up which draws him to her. Miles makes friends and finds himself doing things he has never done before. Miles didn't even know it but his life had changed the moment he met Alaska Young.  

My Personal Views: Now, from the plot written above, it might look like a very romantic book, which it kind of is but it is still so much more than that. This is book is about friendship, life, teenagers, and death. Everything that I love in a book, to be honest. 

Oh my god, when I read John Green's The Fault in our stars, I knew he was a fantastic writer but to write his first book this amazing? God, John Green is something else. The way he writes is just out of this world. He wrote the facts of life so beautifully in the book. 

This book was beautiful.

Even though, I could not find the chemistry between Alaska and Miles that much (which I get was not the point of the whole story). But the quotes, which I always crave in a book, were so great, so beautiful. I was in awe of the writing and the words. 

There was a lot of talk about death in the book, which is an interesting topic in itself, and the way Green described the different facets and facts of life was commendable. I read somewhere, some reviewers had written that they wished they were young when they read the book but I disagree. I am 21 and I found the book just as much interesting and life-changing as I would have if I was a teenager.   

I had read Will Grayson, Will Grayson of John Green after reading The Fault in our stars, but unfortunately, I found it too boring for my taste so I was a bit hesitant while purchasing this book. But honestly, this one was so worth it.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5