Welcome to Tokyo Ghoul Book 1 – Chapter 2. This WILL contain spoilers for chapter 2 of the Tokyo Ghoul manga. So, you have been warned. If you continue to read beyond this point even though I’ve already stated that this article contains spoilers, then don’t blame me.
This chapter also contains gory content and violence, such as explanations and pictures. If you can’t handle those types of things but want to continue reading, be my guest.
To all my people who had torches and pitchforks for chapter 1, you might want to bring them back out. enjoy this chapter.
Now, we continue with our dear friend Kaneki, in chapter 2: Oddity
The chapter begins with Kaneki speaking of how when he was younger he read a book about a man who turned into a giant insect, and he had wondered what it would feel like to be a giant insect. There is a flashback to when Rize was about to eat him, and then she was crushed by the beams and the text of people finding their body.
The chapter cover is of Kaneki sitting on a chair that’s standing on a pile of opened books all over. That takes skills to just sit on a chair on a pile of books. SKILLZ
Continuing, the story progresses to Kaneki watching TV as Dr.Kano is being interviewed by many reporters, asking if Rize was really dead, or if she could have been saved, or did he receive her permission or permission from her family to transplant her organs. Kano responds that she was pronounced dead on arrival, and that he took it upon himself to save the life that was in front of him.
Kaneki walks through the hospital, thinking about how as the time goes by that night seems unreal, but the scar he had reminded him that it did happen. Kaneki chats with Dr.Kano as Kano speaks of Kaneki being able to go back to attend school soon and also brings up the topic that the nurses have informed Kano that Kaneki does not seem to like the food. Kaneki hastily replies that “It’s good”.
Transition to Kaneki sitting with a plate of fish and rice and some good looking food, he picks a piece off the meat and puts it in his mouth. His eyes widen as he thinks “It tastes so fishy..” Joke wise, or as in actual fish taste Kaneki? ;D Kaneki stops eating and the nurse beside him asks if he’s finished. She remarks that if he doesn’t eat he won’t get better, and Kaneki begins that it tastes..
She cuts him off by taking a bite of his food. She says that it tastes normal and he gives her a scary look. She tells him that he shouldn’t be picky with his food and she leaves. He thinks about how it wasn’t just the fish but the miso soup tasted like machine oil, the texture of the tofu was like a glob of lard, and the rice felt like he was kneading glue in his mouth, and overall everything tastes awful. You could have gone with just awful, Kaneki.
(ಠ_ಠ) Kaneki, what have you been eating to know what those things taste like?
As he reads in his bed he thinks about how he had barely eaten anything, but he was surprisingly not hungry. “Maybe I’m turning into an insect too.” He stated, as he trembled reading his book trying to laugh it off. That’s not something to laugh about Kaneki. After he’s discharged from the hospital, he thinks about how during the weeks he was hospitalized he got by on only water, and his appetite kept shrinking. He then gets a text from Hide who would like to celebrate his discharge by going to their favorite restaurant, Big Girl. Kaneki gets excited because he and Hide love their hamburger steaks. I never thought a black and white drawing of meat could look so delicious.
When they arrive at Big Girl, there are four waitresses, and you can only see the name-tag of one, Ohashi. Ohashi is their server and after Hide places their orders she goes to get their food. Hide talks about how Dr.Kano is being crowded by the press and Kaneki explains that it was because he didn’t get Rize’s permission or her family’s to perform the organ transplant. Hide continues that she didn’t have any family and she died instantly. Kaneki is surprised and thinks about how he hadn’t told anybody Rize was a ghoul because no one would believe him.
As Ohashi comes back with their food, Hide starts to talk about a student in their department named Nishitani. Kaneki is barely listening and looks at Ohashi walking with their food, as she continues walking Kaneki stares at her thighs and starts to drool.
(ಠ_ಠ) Kaneki, quit being weird.
Once their food is placed, Kaneki stares at his hamburger steak strangely. When he takes a bite, he’s surprised and asks Hide if the meat is cooked properly. Hide tells him that it’s done perfect and if his doesn’t taste cooked right he could cook it more on the hot rock. Kaneki does so and thinks about how he always loved the hamburger steaks from Big Girl’s because they were juicy and full of flavor. He places the piece of meat in his mouth and inwardly exclaims that it’s like licking a pig’s guts, and if that wasn’t enough he threw up on the table too.
(ಠ_ಠ) Kaneki, that is disgusting.
As he sits outside he wonders what’s going on. As he’s thinking a little girl drops her ball and he gives it back to her. As she thanks him, the wind blows and wafts a scent in his direction which causes him to gulp down hard.
Once Kaneki is home, he lay in his bed with the TV broadcasting a discussion with a ghoul researcher by the name of Hisashi Ogura. Ogura explains that ghouls have no need to eat a large amount of food in a short period of time. One dead body would keep them okay for about a month or two. The many people dying were being eaten for pleasure.
*cough Rize cough*
Dr.Ogura continues that the ghoul was probably hiding from the investigators and they usually disguise themselves as humans and live disguised as humans which makes them very difficult to find. Continuing his explanation, ghouls cannot gain any nourishment from anything but humans and it’s believed to be from a unique enzyme they possess. And to add, their tongues work differently and human food tastes disgusting to ghouls.
Ogura quotes, “Vegetables taste grassy, fish tastes fishy, and meat tastes gamy.” Kaneki uses a shocked expression as Ogura continues “They may eat it in front of us but they’ll be hit with a strong sense of nausea afterwards” More fear is shown in Kaneki’s eyes, as he wonders if receiving a ghoul’s organs some how changed his body.
Kaneki tried going to sleep, but was awaken by his stomach; he was hungry. As he goes through his refrigerator he qoutes, “In one of Kafka’s most famous stories, a young man turns into a giant insect. ‘The young man who became an insect saw his taste in food change. He could no longer eat fresh foods. He began preferring things like rotten cheese.’ If my taste in food changed . . . what’s the ‘cheese’ for me?” He questions as he takes a bite of a sandwich, and quickly throws it back up.
Food is scattered all over the kitchen, as he lay on the floor, with the rest of his food only bitten once in, depression. Kaneki has decided to roam outside wearing a jacket with the hood up; his stomach still growling. He stumbles upon a pervy old man harassing Touka Kirishima from Anteiku. Kaneki begins to look at her thighs and hips and wonders if they are “Filled with innards”
(ಠ_ಠ) Kaneki, seriously. Stop. Being. Weird.
The perverted old guy notices Kaneki and asks him what he’s looking at, and grabs him. Kaneki yells at him to not touch him as he sweats, revealing only his left eye looking like a ghoul’s eye. The old guy is afraid, wondering why Kaneki’s eye is different. Kaneki is confused and has no idea what he’s talking about.
The perverted man calls Kaneki a freak and then . . .
BOOM!
The top half of his head has been cut off. And the one who cut it off was none other than Touka Kirishima, to which now we can see that her revealed left eye is a ghoul eye like Kaneki’s.
That moment when you realize the sweet girl you saw in the beginning can do things like that.
Touka sighs because she killed the man and she wasn’t hungry. So she decides to take an arm quoting “Even though old guy meat tastes nasty.” As she rips the arm off, Kaneki begins to drool as he figures out Touka is also a ghoul. She notices him drooling, and offers him the arm.
Well then. . . that happened.
So I was probably being a jerk over sensitive topics. #Sorrynotsorry Bring out the hurt if you were upset about it. But I’ll continue anyway because I can. ;D
Please do not spoil anything, this is only chapter 2 of the first manga volume. It would be incredibly rude to spoil further chapters when others have read this article to see my reaction to chapter 2.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Chapter 3: Worst.
This is Karsyn, signing off~
Tokyo Ghoul is published by VIZ Media, in VIZ Signature Manga
