I’m rather picky with sub groups, which meant that I didn’t watch episode nine of Ghoul until episode twelve had came out. By this time, the internet had informed me that a) episodes nine through eleven sucked and b) episode twelve was awesome. So perhaps what I’m about to tell you is a story of expectations; episodes nine through eleven did suck, so the people who watched episode twelve when it aired had low expectations. I, on the other hand, had my head filled with delusions by twitter and other anibloggers. Nonetheless, I still don’t think this episode had much to offer. It wasn’t a bad episode, by any means, but there was definitely room for improvement. My biggest complaint is that the first 3/4 of the episode felt like torture porn. Yakumo is brutally torturing Kaneki, and we are watching. The censoring kept it under control, but the screaming and the vast amounts of blood just made it feel so distasteful. Ah, but while this is going on, Rize and Kaneki are having psychoanalysis fun time! It’s true, we do hear about Kaneki’s mother for the first time in a twelve-episode series. And I do remember Rize reappearing after not doing much for the past eight episodes or so. Argue all you want that this episode works in a vacuum, but I’m of the opinion that a final episode should build on what’s already happened in a series.
Everyone seems to agree that watching Kaneki be a badass was enjoyable, and I’m not going to rain on that parade… too much. What happens to Kaneki is a jarringly abrupt change of character. One moment he was sitting there being brutally tortured, the next he was kicking Yakumo’s ass. I understand that Kaneki always had the physical ability to be a badass and that it was his mind that was lacking, but people don’t overcome mental hurdles in the span of seconds. It’s called a character arc and not a character trait falling off a cliff because it happens gradually. Just look at that moment where Kaneki tells Yakumo that this pain is nothing. He shouldn’t know his own limits, what with him being new to the world of badass protagonists. Regardless, he’s just rushing into the middle of the fight and letting himself be injured to get the upper hand. Seriously? How did he know his regenerative ability wasn’t running low after all that limb removing Yakumo did? Shouldn’t he at least have been a little afraid?
The one thing I will unequivocally praise this ending for is that it gave a sense of finality despite the fact that so many loose ends were left untied. Normally, ending a season in the middle of a large-scale battle would be unforgivable, but Tokyo Ghoul pulls it off by putting a firm close on a chapter in Kaneki’s life. It’s a risky move, but it paid off.
Mo[r]e Anime 