Warning! Spoilers ahead for Choujin X chapter 20!
The mind of Choujin X‘s hero Tokio Kurohara snaps in a visually disturbing way in the aftermath of his best friend Azuma Higashi’s gruesome death, completely obliterating a common manga trope in the process.
Choujin X is a series from Tokyo Ghoul mangaka Sui Ishida. The series follows a young man named Tokio as becomes a Choujin, a human with supernatural abilities. For Tokio, those abilities grant him the skills and appearance of a vulture. Though Tokio initially has very little going on for him until he gains his powers, his friend Azuma is the complete opposite. Azuma is a genuine hero who tries to help people whenever possible. Tokio’s absurd powers in Choujin X make him obsessive, and that obsession extends to his best friend. Despite their differences, Tokio still cares for Azuma, which makes Azuma’s death all the more heartwrenching.
When Tokio sees Azuma’s corpse mutilated in front of him in chapter 20, the grief causes him to unleash the full power of his Choujin Beastification form. The immensity of the moment is further underscored by how, unlike Tokyo Ghoul’s Ken, Tokio has struggled using his powers successfully, especially in contrast to his much younger friend Ely who he’s been forced to rely on. But this stereotypical moment comes to a sudden end when a Choujin named Ricardo Teller unleashes his power for the first time, which involves taking the form of what his target most dreads. The dread instilled in Tokio is so immense that the hero reverts back to his normal self and falls into a catatonic state.
In addition to this being the first time that Tokio ever unlocked the full capability of his Choujin form, his relationship with Azuma is crucial to realize to truly appreciate this moment. Tokio not only depended on Azuma before he became a Choujin, but even afterward. This put an additional strain on their relationship, which was likely exacerbated by Azuma not becoming a Choujin himself, which he obviously desired and wanted for himself. Although a convincing theory, the previous chapter of Choujin X finally confirmed Azuma’s actual feelings on the subject. Though Azuma is similar to Tokyo Ghoul’s Hide in many ways, Choujin X fixes a problem with that character. Although Azuma didn’t appear to resent Tokio for achieving what he sought himself, he did feel left behind, as confirmed by his actions and inner thoughts. Had Asuma survived in chapter 20, his and Tokio’s relationship was expected to deteriorate further, creating additional conflict that every story always thrives from. But this latest development has pretty much dismissed this possibility just based on the extent to which he was mutilated.
In yet another ironic spin that mangaka Ishida has proven himself to be quite proficient in capturing before Choujin X, the previous chapter also suggested that Azuma did actually possess Choujin powers because he spoke with a hyena. The fact that this mirrors Tokio’s ability to converse with vultures is troubling because Tokio’s Choujin powers clearly stem from his personality. There’s nothing really positive about hyenas let alone being associated with these voracious predators. Regardless, the twist of Ricardo’s dread power causing Tokio to fall into a catatonic state after just unlocking his true Beastification is a perfect development, not just for Choujin X, but shonen manga as a whole.
Tokio obviously cares a great deal about Azuma, even struggling to find a purpose as a Choujin outside of serving Azuma, adding even yet another layer to Azuma’s overall effect on Tokio. Despite some similarities to Tokyo Ghoul, Choujin X’s Tokio is a hero unlike any other in shonen, and that’s proved by this new chapter.
