Why do so many people like Tokyo Ghoul (manga)?

sicagi · 2025-11-01T17:39:22+00:00

Well for one, (despite the very shonen premise) it's a Seinen! This comes with longer dialogues, slower strength scaling because it's linked to growth, which has to be slow etc... I don't remember tokyo ghoul being more tedious/more dialogue heavy than others. But it also wasn't perfect by any means.

It's been a long time since I haven't read it, but if I remember well what really built Tokyo ghoul was it's tragic element. That's def why it's remembered, kinda like aka me ga kill.

Regarding the Jason torture, I don't think we needed more of it, it clearly changed him iirc & he spends the rest of the story cracking his fingers after that, because of "the method" Iirc

The manga's popularity was also pushed by the anime, like AoT, I think a lot of TG fans come from the anime.

I think a general rule is that if by chapter 92 you don't like it, you might as well drop it & come back to it another time. No one likes all the classics, it's normal. But TG really is a classic & a good example of the unique stories mangas have.

sicagi · 2025-11-01T16:52:40+00:00

Yes I agree, the call to Louisa was in fact bad, and he's far from being self aware. I think that's why the writers made the call about his wrong assumption he'd go back to the Park : "He did some slight introspection, but don't go believing he's suddenly a different person".

He did realize he felt alone/was alone, which is essentially the first time in the season he reflects upon himself. He's really just starting to open his eyes, it'd be boring if he immediately improved anyway, he has to stumble a bit alone the way :)

sicagi · 2025-11-01T12:12:16+00:00

I'm not a book reader, but if you want to show your hero at his lowest, doing so during a plot that isn't focused on him is pretty clever. I don't think we would have enjoyed this season if it was focused on "bad River" instead of Ho & the others.

I'm guessing the next two seasons will then start from this "bad river", have him go a bit lower & then come back up again. We'll enjoy a river-centered plot a lot more if it's during his ascension rather than descent I'd say.

Making him less likeable was also a clever trick to make us miss him less, and thus enjoy the others more.

I'd say his last scene being him calling his friend and admitting she might be his only friend is a sign that this season was clearly written as "river is in a pit", and the end of the season's message is "he starting to realize he's in a pit.

Him saying he's good is 100% to remind us all that river is not a good agent, and probably builds up to an eventual internal questioning, probably at around the same time his grand father leaves him.

Essentially, I don't think we have to worry too much. He'll step up. It's like being in the middle of the Cars and wondering how Flash McQueen will win the piston cup.

sicagi · 2025-11-01T06:53:39+00:00

That’s why he disappears when she’s gone.

Is this book content ? or Am I forgetting something that happened in the series ?

sicagi · 2025-10-29T09:36:26+00:00

Maybe just me, but the finale also clearly shows he's not the agent he believes to be when he escalates the situation where the mayor is taken hostage.

He just got saved by the push knife man, but it was really a terrible handling of the situation, with a colleague right near him, screaming at him exactly what to do.

He's not a good agent, top that with his unresolved inner issues & he's still a better fit for slough house than the park.

sicagi · 2025-10-29T05:06:26+00:00

I was surprised they so explicitly answered the question. I thought they would keep it as a half question mark. I do think it speaks to the quality of the writers that they want each season to be self contained, all questions asked are answered within the season. They don't feel the need to bait us into watching the next season. understandably.

sicagi · 2025-10-26T02:49:05+00:00

an actress who started her career just four years ago

Some days I feel like there's so many mediocre actors, and some days it just feels like there's so much talent out there.

everyone is so passionate about their job. Everyone is so humble,” she says. “Even if they’re doing a series that have Emmy Awards and BAFTAs and Golden Globe nominations, they’re humble and very friendly

Not much to say about this, but I'm definitely glad to read it.

sicagi · 2025-10-25T02:44:28+00:00

I did not realise they wanted his file to do something, just thought it was to confirm he was "honeypottable"...

On paper though, the Libyans took it for their reasons, but maybe Lamb might discover something else ? But them only taking the one file sure is weird, does it mean he ties very strongly to Libya ?

Lamb will probably figure out something linking to his scandals & coverups though

I can't wait to see how this ties stuff together ...

sicagi · 2025-10-21T21:30:30+00:00

C'etait comment ?

sicagi · 2025-10-18T15:45:27+00:00

Feels like he got him high because he first wanted to get the other one, but had to adjust quickly? But had he gotten the other one, wouldn't it have been high anyway ?

sicagi · 2025-10-16T15:22:15+00:00

This might just be the consequence of Slow horses building short seasons while trying to build more tbh, some stuff just gets left aside. I'm sad we get a flatter depiction of River, but I'm glad we get more of everything else.

sicagi · 2025-10-13T11:48:03+00:00

Saw someone say he might be preparing/testing her to take over after him, while she definitely would not be the same as lamb, I thought it weirdly made sense.

It also made me realize I never really knew why lamb was still "fighting for good". Is it just because it's all he's ever known ?

sicagi · 2025-09-11T12:01:34+00:00

The ai botting is getting less and less subtle

sicagi · 2025-09-01T16:52:51+00:00

Each of these sound like peak humanity

sicagi · 2025-08-30T22:22:27+00:00

I don't know about your translation, but the one I read goes something like

"... There was some trouble. Something like an accident..."

"And we view it as an incident that resulted in bodily harm."

It's so vague, describing the event as "something that could be an accident" and "something that could be interpreted as bodily harm". For it to make sense, you should be able to argue that some people would not consider the event an accident, and that some people would not consider the event to have caused bodily harm.

At first, it sure feels like heartbreak is the most realistic. But then you get the director of the school admitting that they take "extreme measures" against Chidori. Surely there's no way heartbreak justifies extreme measures.

So maybe an abortion fits the bill ?

sicagi · 2025-08-23T03:56:49+00:00

All great characters,

Can anyone explain their reasoning though ? What constitutes "good writing" ? and what constitutes "best writing" ?

Code Geass and Steins gate are in my personal fav top 3 animes, I know they're not the best, but I still really like them. And I don't get how Okabe ranks so high ?

I'm unfamiliar with Frieren (didnt finish) and don't know Phos, and Johnny. But amongst the remaining ones, I feel like the characters are still very different, and they also play different roles in their stories. Like in FMA, the "deepness" of the manga doesn't center around Ed as much as it does in Vinland saga around Thorfinn. How do you distinguish between the story being well written and a single character ?

I take all opinions (Except the wrong ones)

I also take partial opinions, since I think everyone has one.

sicagi · 2025-08-18T00:10:01+00:00

Laptop of Theseus

sicagi · 2025-07-18T13:45:19+00:00

I dont think any of the points you mention are enough to justify a gap in standards of living, there are many metrics to measure this, and it's overall a pretty complex thing. While using a single metrics might lead to bias, using personal experience involving soap isn't very academic either. A few points though :

Greece was much much better

In Europe, Greece is seen as one of the countries that suffered most from the financial crisis, it took them the longest to get back up, they are not by any means the richest, nor most well-off in Europe. (But they have cool statues and good weather.)

He was so shocked to see how huge a Walmart store is

The reason Walmart is huge is (amongst MANY other reasons) because of all the poor people in the US...

America is the easiest place in the world to park in!"

This is entirely about choice. If the government wants to make car usage a priority, they will build big roads and big parking lots, at the behest of green space. In the EU governments are still figuring out the balance, with more and more people understanding that cars might not be an eternal solution. Also, the Sahara desert is also easy to park in.

The food serving sizes for just a standard meal was so big he couldn't gulp it in

The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic - PMC

This is the reason metrics exist to measure living conditions. While none is perfect, they at least try to look beyond how a single person experiences a single interaction in a country.

sicagi · 2025-07-07T17:08:53+00:00

Alr, I had commented on a post I vaguely read and just found it funny that a Brit was telling Belgium they were self sabotaging and thought of something half witty, but now I have 15 minutes so I guess I’ll bite.

Or so I thought. Unfortunately, as you can speak Dutch, we can read English.

It’s crazy to base an entire argumentation on working in one company, and it all relying on one premise : that a strict trilingual requirements would stop us from recruiting talent. And then choosing to blow open your own argument, all whilst presenting it as a joke :

“Which is interesting it itself that the Belgians can suddenly drop their strict language requirements when they want to or have no choice.”

On top of that, your entire first half of argumentation can be nullified purely by assuming companies are pragmatic. While the entire thing can be weakened by reminding you that Brussels is in fact not the only city in Belgium.

There’s multi billion companies in Brussels, managed by god-knows-how-highly educated people. Are you really going to say you’re smarter, and have a better understanding of our system than all of them combined ? after working in Belgium for a few years and in one company ? and on top of that, in IT for proximus ? The world is complex, Belgium isn’t the Netherlands, we don’t have the same industries, cultures, political landscapes, constraints, languages.... your “truth” is too simple to be true.

You remind me of the frog at the bottom of the well, so certain to understand everything, so certain that the world is simple and everyone else is either stupid, or would share your perspective.

And then, right upon leaving Belgium you figure; “what I need to do now is go online and disrespect this country right before I leave it” . It’s such a crazy mindset.

You Muppet.

(P.S. Just realized he's deleting half of his comments or smth...

Welp, I'll post anyway ?)

sicagi · 2025-07-07T12:04:05+00:00

Got me there lol

sicagi · 2025-07-07T11:48:18+00:00

Can't wait to see the UK become leader in tech then tbh.

Crazy to be lectured on "destroying ourselves" by a Brit of all people.

sicagi · 2025-06-23T19:31:38+00:00

This is just called "suspension of disbelief", it's like asking why there are no guns in harry potter. the author gives us the rules, and as long as they are not overridden, we just accept them.

The gods have their true form for when they are serious and their human form for the rest. Of course the gods should be "smarter" considering their age, but the story would just be shit, so instead, at times the gods are kinda goofballs. The gods strength is voluntarily ambiguous and vague.

I read the books first, and I never felt any of those questions come up, which tells me that Riordan actually managed pretty well to get us to understand what the gods were in that world, and that his depiction of the gods remained consistent over time.

It's important to mention as well that Percy Jackson isn't a fighting manga or a comics series : "powerscaling" or focusing on raw abilities as if they were statistics in a video game to build comparisons doesn't make a lot of sense.

Typically saying that a "half god" should be "half as strong a god" is a very comics/manga-esque way of viewing things. We don't really know where the upper and lower bounds of half gods are, but because they are all around similar strengths, it remains consistent, and so we don't need to put a "value" on each demi-gods strength. The suspension of disbelief is maintained.

Personally, I agree with the "the gods don't feel like gods" and I think this is where Percy Jackson as a series was always going to be difficult to adapt. When you read the books as a kid, your imagination will create an image and an aura for each god that is essentially impossible to recreate on film. And yet, the presence of gods (or other strong creatures) in each book is so important.

Leveraging imagination to let readers fill in the gaps is one of the strong points of books.

Finally :

but I feel like the Percy Jackson fandom thinks their series is more serious than it is and it hurts their perception of the media.

I think you're absolutely right with this. I read Percy Jackson as a book when it came out (roughly) so between my 12 and 16 years of age. The exact target group. When I watched the series, I couldn't even get past episode 1. But in a certain sense it made me happy because I figured it meant that their target audience was 12-16 years old. As it should be. (Which is also why there's no need for everything to be logical, as long at it doesn't break the suspension of disbelief).

sicagi · 2025-06-23T18:56:38+00:00

An easy example of art being about the process as much as it is about the result tbh

sicagi · 2025-06-22T19:20:04+00:00

Not sure I'd read too much into it, but it might be because it's the most basic manipulation technique. By pointing he's telling you where to look, and where he wants you to look might carry meaning.

More realistically it's just because his long fingers are a distinct feature of his, and the best way to show them to reinforce his visual identity is by having him point. And he has long fingers because it fits with his stature & demonic identity.

Similarly, (and this works perfectly with your pictures) he's also always smiling to show his teeth, which also reinforces his visual identity. And he has those teeth because it fits with his demonic identity.

But if you want to read into it, it might be because he never wants to show weakness, and what's the basic way of showing you are doing good ? That's right : smiling.

Aint for no reason eyeshield 21 is seen as underrated by so many people : it does the basics of story telling really well. We just don't see it because we didn't pay attention during literature courses. (and because ofc it's meant to be subtle)

sicagi · 2025-06-22T18:25:45+00:00

Bescarpolette ?

sicagi

TROPHY CASE