English Dub Review: Tokyo Ghoul √A “New Surge”

I feel pretty lost right now.

I have been hearing a lot of good things about Tokyo Ghoul. It’s another fantastic looking show, brought to you buy Studio Pierrot, the same studio who is responsible for Bleach, and half of season two of The Legend of Korra. Like I said, it looks awesome. The problem here is the story, and it’s pretty big here.

For someone like me, everything that came from Funimation about Tokyo Ghoul √A made it seem like it was a complete series from Tokyo Ghoul. Considering Funimation decided to dub Tokyo Ghoul √A first, and leave the first series to dub at some later point. It’s not the smartest, and if you’re like me, it got really confusing since I didn’t watch Tokyo Ghoul.

I am going to try and piece together what I can. Tokyo Ghoul √A picks up exactly where the first season left off, with a bunch of fighting between Touka and Ayato, with Kaneki getting involved so that Touka doesn’t get killed. The episode finishes up with the fight between the One-Eyed Owl and Yomo, Tsukiyama, and Uta. There was nothing explaining what was going on before, and since Funimation’s press releases were misleading, some people may go in thinking that they can jump right in, like Dragon Ball Z to Dragon Ball. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, because Tokyo Ghoul √A drops you right into what looks like a season finale from the first season. I am just confused now.

That being said, if Funimation dubbed the first season of Tokyo Ghoul first, I would know what is going on. With how they were advertising, as well as only dubbing the second part of Tokyo Ghoul. I am going to have to go back, and watch this subtitled, just so I know the whole story of what’s going on. Tokyo Ghoul is a beautiful looking show. There’s no denying that at all. But, like previous Studio Perriot efforts, the story is what burns the show. And this time it’s Tokyo Ghoul, with an assist from Funimation. I can only imagine how pissed viewers were if the first episode of the second season just cut before the fights that mean anything.

That said, hopefully something can happen next week to explain what’s going on to counteract the lack of plot from “New Surge.” I just have this overwhelming sense of being lost, and it’s not a good feeling.

All of this said, Funimation confirmed on their god awful post show that Tokyo Ghoul is undergoing the dubbed production, and should be out later in the year. Now, let me pose a question to show how great the hosts of Dubbletalk are. Justin Rojas was talking about Sonny Strait, and laid down a bombshell. He told the audience that Sanji was played by Sonny Strait. I didn’t know that Sonny was so talented.  How does a company not know who plays what characters on their shows?