Warning: Spoilers for Choujin X chapter 32.2Mangaka Sui Ishida just reimagined the critical moment from his manga Tokyo Ghoul when Aogiri captures Ken Kaneki by having his three new protagonists get kidnapped in his new series Choujin X. Although their relationships are different, Choujin X‘s trio is essentially the equivalent to Tokyo Ghoul‘s Kaneki, Hide, and Touka.
One of Tokyo Ghoul‘s most memorable moments occurs when Kaneki gets captured by the terrorist ghoul organization known as Aogiri. Although he initially goes with them willingly, the hybrid soon finds himself held there against his will when the terrifying Yamori starts torturing Kaneki relentlessly. It’s during this time that Kaneki’s character changes dramatically, not only adopting his torturer’s mannerisms but embracing the more violent nature of his ghoulish side.
Now in chapter 32.2 of his new manga Choujin X, Sui Ishida is essentially asking what would have happened if Aogiri had captured Hide and Touka in addition to Kaneki. In the first part of the chapter, Ken Kaneki’s Choujin X equivalent, Tokio, watches from the sidelines as the mysterious antagonist known as Noh Mask begins to transport both Tokio’s comrade Ely and childhood friend Azuma to some unknown destination. Not wanting to lose them, Tokio jumps into the portal that Noh had created and finds himself in a place that Noh refers to as the Tower of Mourning.
Choujin X Could Ken’s Tokyo Ghoul Capture So Much Worse
Although no torture has taken place, the Tower of Mourning shares some unsettling similarities to Aogiri’s lair. Noh is also acting oddly hospitable to his prisoners just like Yamori was with Kaneki before his terrifying 180. If comparisons are to be made, Azuma is clearly Choujin X‘s version of Hide as Tokio and Azuma are childhood friends. And while Ely is much more friendly toward Tokio than Touka was to Kaneki, Tokio only befriended Ely after becoming a super-powered being. By only having to deal with Kaneki getting captured, Tokyo Ghoul readers only had to worry about him while wondering how his incarceration would affect Touka and Hide. And, of course, Touka is part of the rescue party that seeks to get Kaneki back. Choujin X is approaching this type of situation more dynamically since all three of the series’ main characters now find themselves in their own unpleasant predicament rather than only one. Although Tokio and Ely appear to be safer than Azuma is at the moment, all of them are in danger and will have to be rescued by their more powerful and experienced superiors who are also secondary characters.
In addition to amplifying the stakes he originally set for himself in Tokyo Ghoul, Ishida is also subverting the trope where either the protagonist or deuteragonist must save the other from capture. Of course, getting captured affects the victim, but the spared hero only has to experience intense worry that normally involves them suffering from survivor’s guilt or the fear that their friend’s life is in jeopardy. Regardless, Ishida is once more challenging the status quo through another well-executed plot twist, which is especially ironic since Tokyo Ghoul’s creator recently trolled fans into believing that an earlier time when only Choujin X’s Tokio got captured would eventually result in him getting tortured when that obviously never took place.
Choujin X and Tokyo Ghoul are available to read at Viz.com!
