Tokyo Ghoul the Complete Watch Order
Anime covers all sorts of genres, from high-action fantasy to everyday school life and comedy. Everyone can find something fun to watch. With Demon Slayer being and Attack on Titan being well-loved by fans, people have been looking for other great watches in the Dark fantasy genre.
If you’ve enjoyed seinen anime like the anime mentioned above, then you might also enjoy Tokyo Ghoul. What’s great about this series is that it’s already completed, so it’s something you can binge-watch without having to wait another week.
The anime is pretty easy to understand if you follow its release order. However, some people are interested in watching the series according to chronological order. In that case, this article will provide a watch order guide according to the timeline of events in the series.
Tokyo Ghoul: Jack
This is a prequel spin-off of the original Tokyo Ghoul anime that happened before the Tokyo Ghoul animated series. However, even if this occurs before the anime, you can go on ahead and watch this after the first season. The story follows a different character, Taishi Fura, a former basketball player turned delinquent due to an injury.
Unfortunately, Fura witnesses a man-eating ghoul known as a Lantern injuring one of his old friends and murdering one other. Before more damage was dealt by the Lanturn, Fura’s classmate, Kishou Arima, forces the ghoul to flee the scene. It turns out that Arima is an undercover investigator from the Commission of Counter Ghoul.
Fura decided to join Arima after witnessing his friend’s tragic death, wanting to avenge his fallen friend. However, by the end of the short OVA they discover Uruka Minami as the main culprit of the ghoul attacks.
The series focuses on Fura and Arima. Arima is a Special Class Ghoul investigator who gets introduced in Tokyo Ghoul’s first series. Meanwhile, Fura is also present in the Tokyo Ghoul manga as a minor character.
Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto
Similar to the previous OVA, Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto also features supporting characters from the original Tokyo Ghoul series. Chronologically, you should watch this after Jack, but a fan can also watch this after seeing the anime’s first season.
The story in Tokyo Ghoul: Pino follows the adventure of the odd pair of Shuu Tsukiyama and Chie Hori. In their backstory, Shuu is revealed to be a ghoul, a creature who eats human flesh. However, unlike other ghouls, Shuu likes savoring his meals. In addition, Shuu is also under the disguise of a regular human being.
One evening, right before Shuu could enjoy the first bite of his meal, he was interrupted by a sudden flash of light. It turns out the light came from a camera that belonged to Chie. The schoolgirl shows Shuu the photo she has taken of him, and to his horror, the image captures Shuu’s true nature as a ghoul.
Chie threatens Shu, however after Shuu treats her to ice cream and dinner, the two form a strange partnership. Shu and Chie soon learn about each other’s worlds.
In the Tokyo Ghoul series, the two are present again, with Chie acting as his informant and trusted friend to Shuu.
Tokyo Ghoul
After the two OVA’s, the start of the series finally happens. Viewers can opt to watch this first instead of the two OVA’s and then watch the special after completing the first season.
Tokyo Ghoul begins with a weird but sinister threat invading Tokyo. Ghouls have mingled with humans, taken their forms, and live alongside them. However, these ghouls will eventually murder and eat someone from the crowd. The story follows a reserved college student by the name of Ken Kaneki.
While walking his date home, he realizes that his date is not something she appears to be. Instead, it seems the date was made to trap Kaneki to be her next meal. After a hard struggle, Kaneki wakes up in a hospital bed only to discover he is now a human-ghoul hybrid. How will he adapt to his new life and retain what’s left of his humanity?
Tokyo Ghoul √A
It looks like Kaneki has gone over to the ghouls’ side. Kaneki has eventually come to accept that he is a monster and finally allows the ghoul side of him to take over. After escaping captivity and torture, Kaneki decides to join Aogiri Tree, the militant ghoul organization that kidnapped him. This act causes his friends to question his motives.
The government is now put on high alert, causing the Commission of Counter Ghouls to intensify its efforts of purging Tokyo of its ghouls. This causes the peace Kaneki has witnessed in the Anteiku coffee shop to crumble. So whose side will Kaneki eventually fight for?
This season of Tokyo Ghoul is considered non-canon. This is because while some of the events do happen, they tend to stray away from the anime towards the end. But viewers should still continue to watch it because Tokyo Ghoul: Re makes a few references to events that happen in this series.
Tokyo Ghoul: Re
It’s been two years since CCG raided Anteiku. While the militant group managed to dwindle the numbers of ghouls, the fight is far from over. The Ghouls still cause problems in Tokyo as their presence has never left. Moreover, it’s been harder to track them down because they are more cautious of the CCG.
The terrorist group Aogiri Tree has been taking extreme caution with their plans since they acknowledge CCG as a serious threat to their existence. Meanwhile, a new group called the Quinx Squad was formed to help put a permanent end to Tokyo’s unwanted residents.
The Quinx Squad is a group of humans who have undergone surgery to make themselves human-ghoul hybrids in order to use the ghoul’s abilities against them. Haise Sasaki is the leader of this group, and there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Tokyo Ghoul: Re 2nd Season
After the end of the operation to exterminate the Tsukiyama family, the CCG has become one of the strongest forces in Tokyo. The group decides to extend their operations into thoroughly exterminating all the ghouls in Japan.
Meanwhile, Haise Sasaki has resigned from his position in Quinx Squad and continues to lifelessly do the bidding of the CCG regardless of the difficulty. Despite his seemingly vacant look, Haise is dealing with Kaneki Ken’s memories resurfacing within himself.
With how Haise is, the Quinx Squad are left in shambles. The members not only have to deal with the loss of their leader, but they are also missing a member.
Tokyo Ghoul Live-Action Film
Due to its huge success, Tokyo Ghoul made a live-action film. This is something you don’t have to watch as it’s similar to the first season of Tokyo Ghoul. However, even if it’s a retelling of the original start of the story, it’s one of those Live-action films that actually did well, which is rare.
While the film might have been able to do better with a higher budget, it has definitely exceeded expectations for what it was given. The movie might have been intended to invite new fans into the Tokyo Ghoul fandom.
Given that the film is only an adaptation of the first few chapters and episodes of Tokyo Ghoul, you can watch it at any given time you would want. You can even watch it before jumping into any of the animated titles.
