Warning! Spoilers ahead for Choujin X chapter 21!
Mangaka Sui Ishida’s equivalent to Hideyoshi Nagachika aka Hide from Tokyo Ghoul just fell into a berserker-like state in his new manga Choujin X. This development is quite unexpected, especially since the real Hide is not only one of the nicest and selfless characters in Tokyo Ghoul but in manga overall.
The correlations between Sui’s two series are quite apparent, the most celebrated of which is the parallel between the friendship of Hide and Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul and that of Azuma Higashi and Tokio Kurohara in Choujin X. Aside from obvious nuances, Tokio is like Ken Kaneki in that he was once human and later transformed into his world’s eponymous superpowered beings via grisly means. Like Kaneki, Tokio has a friend named Azuma who, similar to his Tokyo Ghoul equivalent Hide, remains human. But all similarities between both manga essentially end here as Azuma obviously resents Tokio for transforming when he didn’t, especially since he was already a superhero of sorts and actually wanted to become a Choujin when Tokio didn’t.
Prior to chapter 21, Sui Ishida creates the impression that Choujin X‘s version of Hide, Azuma, actually does become a Choujin but dies before realizing this has transpired. But in this latest installment of Choujin X, Azuma reverses his grotesque death by resurrecting into a new shackled form, where his entire head is covered in some sort of covering that resembles a scarf. Although his appearance doesn’t change much, his personality undergoes a violent awakening. Azuma goes utterly berserk, attacking the villain who initially killed him band turning on two friendly Choujin before setting his sights on his friend Tokio.
Before this monumental chapter, fans who were initially excited about the obvious similarities between the two relationships in Tokyo Ghoul and Choujin X absolutely gobbled up the prospect of the latter fixing Hide’s biggest problem by having Azuma resent Tokio. Although touching, Hide’s devotion and concern for his transformed friend Kaneki presents little to no conflict, which, otherwise, would have augmented the storyline. Hide doesn’t suffer from some complex about being left behind, and Kaneki’s transformation into a ghoul just increases Hide’s need to help his tortured friend in any capacity. Chouin X‘s latest chapter now brings the level of excitement that fans have been experiencing to unexpected heights.
Although it was likely that Azuma eventually becoming a Choujin would have a negative impact on him, no one expected that Azuma would essentially fall into a berserker state and turn on Tokio so soon. Aside from presenting darker dynamics to Hide and Kaneki’s relationship, Choujin X is expediting how their relationship eventually changes. In Tokyo Ghoul, Hide doesn’t learn that Kaneki is a ghoul until much later in the manga and doesn’t begin acting accordingly until well after chapter 80. Although Choujin X‘s chapters are much longer than Tokyo Ghoul’s 19-or-so page installments, they don’t more than quadruple the latter series’ page count to make these instances occur at relatively the same times.
In Tokyo Ghoul, everything Hide does is in service of helping or ensuring Kaneki is okay just because of how much being a ghoul complicates one’s existence. Hide would never in a million years feel left behind for remaining a human. Hide especially wouldn’t attack Ken Kaneki if he ever changed. Meanwhile, Choujin X’s Azuma is more concerned about himself to the point where, when he eventually transforms, he actively tries to battle Tokio, possibly even kill him. Choujin X is presenting a fascinating “What if” scenario where fans can see how things could have transpired if Hide went down a much darker path in Tokyo Ghoul.
