Choujin X

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Small spoilers regarding a scene in chapter 35.

After two and a half years of publication and 43 chapters, Choujin X has become one of my favorite ongoing manga, and is tracking to be Ishida's greatest work yet. Masterfully executed from head to toe, it's a work clearly borne out of genuine passion from an experienced and incredibly skilled author.

The story revolves around Tokio, an unmotivated kid who comfortably exists in the shadow of his talented best friend, Azuma. This all changes when circumstances result in Tokio becoming a choujin, a special being that manifests powers borne out of an individual's own insecurities and ... complexes, forever changing the nature of their relationship and forcing Tokio to be more independent. Although this setup may ring familiar, it never falls into the realm of cliché and the story quickly distinguishes itself as Ishida builds on the scope and intensity with stellar pacing.

There are so many subtle nuances that make Choujin X feel unique. The way it seamlessly transitions in tone, shifting from cartoonish chase sequence to tense psychological drama, all without a hint of dissonance. There's a beautiful minimalism to the story. You'll get a huge, character defining moment in a flashback, but just for a single page because it's all you really need to understand the character's state of mind. It continually expands on the setting and lore of the world in a way that feels so natural, never falling into the territory of dull, inconsequential exposition dump.

There's also that distinct Ishida style that fans will recognize, with grotesque body horror and character designs where all you can think is, "Uh, Ishida, everything going all right?" Artwise, Ishida is at the top of his game, sporting some of his greatest pages and spreads yet. This is a series that could exist purely off aesthetic. Like Tokyo Ghoul, fight sequences are secondary and mostly serve to advance the story and character development, rather than the story existing to introduce new action set pieces.

However, the greatest strength of Choujin X lies in its characters. You have so many wonderfully fleshed out characters with fascinating relationships that are constantly being recontextualized as Ishida introduces new information or expands on a previous flashback. The main trio in particular, Tokio, Azuma, and Ely, each beautifully complement one another as they continually evolve and elevate each other over the course of the story. The nature of choujin being the crystallization of a person's psyche lends well to the incredibly human feel of the characters.

One of my favorite scenes is towards the end of an arc in chapter 35, where Tokio is contemplating his future and struggling to decide what he wants to do with his life. In a quiet moment in an empty park near dusk, Tokio is having a conversation with Shiozaki, a character he helped in an earlier arc. While talking about aspirations, Shiozaki expresses his desire to live an ordinary life, a sentiment that Tokio initially echoes before falling silent and staring at the sky, a melancholy expression appearing as he slouches down and stares at the ground.

It's a small, poignant moment that I think truly encapsulates the manga. At its core, Choujin X is all about these character interactions, exploring its cast's insecurities, fears, hopes, and dreams. I really, really like this series. I think it's a modern classic in the making, and while there's so much to discuss and theorize over, for now, I just want more people in the west to give it a chance.

Finally, after three years, I have my cats on one side, my coffee on the other, and a new Ishida Sui manga, this is heaven to me, this is what heaven feels like, or maybe... hell? Who knows...


This is one my first reviews and probably some will say I’m being biased, but this story seems very promising for now, actually, speaking of Ishida’s previus work, which is my favourite anime and manga, he got really stressed at the end and quite depressed actually so yeah, maybe Tokyo Ghoul ended abruptly for some because of this reason, but this time maybe if he takes his ... right time, all the time he needs actually, to write this one, things could get better than last time, and maybe some people can change their minds about his work.


To me again, he is a very talented mangaka not just for the stories he can come up with, but also because of the many symbols he kwows how to put in the right places always. This story may even be more emotional than his last one, and I have the feeling that is going to grow bigger and better in the future.


With this being said, I think many people should give the story a chance, trying not to give many spoilers... the characters smeem very relatable, their friendship is the kind of relationship that I admire so much in these kind of stories, I really hope nothing bad happens to them in the future tho... but based on this very first chapter things already got... worse we could say since the first moment.

On the other hand, art is definetly one of the greatest things here, no one can lie about that, everything is so detailed and beautifully done, in fact, everything seems very well made to me. I really, really hope that Ishida can find the time he needs to give us a beautiful, emotional, mind-changing and well-written story.


So, my score will be an 8 of course, time will know if it has to change or not, but being the happiest person in the world right know and having so many emotions after being three years waiting for this new chapter in my life, literally... My score will be an 8. Hopefully, could be a 10 when the series end.

Mild spoilers for the first chapter in order to outline the premise

Review of chapter 1

I'm personally very excited to see Sui Ishida come out with something new again after having such a bad time with tokyo ghoul:re but, also being a fan of tg, I'll try not to be biased going into this very short review based on the first chapter.

Story: 6/10
(includes spoilers for chapter 1)
It's not easy to tell in which direction this will go but so far we have a pretty basic shounen-esque premise about two friends, one being very popular while the other one is the quiet type. ... This world is inhabited by mankind and the so-called Choujin, posessing individual supernatural powers reminiscent of superheroes, except using it, as far as we know, mostly to cause evil.
Our two mcs, being the naive high schoolers they are, like playing the hero and get into a fight with such a Choujin, eventually leading to one of them being transformed into a Choujin.
This might seem very reminiscent of tg to many people but so far the story has a different and more light-hearted tone than tokyo ghoul to me and even with the stories sharing similarities there are many ways to build upon this concept.

Art: 9/10
This is obviously subjective but I loved the art in tg and this is equally as good so far, having multiple detailed double spread pages in only one chapter.
The fights feel very lively and dynamic, character designs are recognizable, there's really not much to dislike.

Characters: 7/10
(includes mild spoilers for chapter 1)
The dynamic between our two mcs Tokio and Azuma is already being built up and can only get better from here on out. Having them not be on equal footing makes their friendship more interesting and leaves a lot of room for development on both sides.

Enjoyment: 8/10
What can I say, this was a solid first chapter to me and I can only hope for even better ones in the future, whenever that may be (This won't have a structured release schedule due to Ishida's experience with that while working on tg).

Overall: 7/10
Hard to judge a story by only a first look at it but this is promising so far.

this was written on a whim btw feel free to disagree if i am talking bs

ChoujinX is setting up to be an incredible story I think every character is likable, and Sui Ishida really knocks it out of the park with the visuals. The action is well paneled and the character power progression is impressive and satisfying.
This and Dandadan are the new generation dark "shonen" manga I am most excited for updates about.
Give it a shot, the clean manga covers should convince you to read a couple pages. If you are staying, it will be like soaring as you are witnessing Sui Ishida at his peak creativity and having so much fun!

The story is relatable to me because the main ... character Tokio starts off with imposter syndrome and feeling like he is inadequate compared to his friend. But as he becomes braver and more powerful with his new ability, he becomes a formidable force to his enemies and brings more drama to the prophecy tied to his ability.

I'm gonna be real with you. I'm not reading this for the story. This is your basic wimp and star-kid best friends get thrown into some weird shenanigans when the wimp gets hit with out-of-this-world powers. I'm imagining Sui Ishida went about this manga like so: "what if I made a re-take on Tokyo Ghoul but I'll do whatever I want, take any artistic liberty, take the story wherever I feel like." And I'm loving it. The classic tropes that ensued appear as the perfect neutral medium for Ishida to dish out on the art.

The story is keeping me hooked, the cast is likeable ... and has cool powers. It's not a particularly original tale but f*ck the magic of it is beautiful. It's an enjoyable aesthetic project where Ishida pushes the boundaries of their artistic skills, and I'm here for it!

(9/10. So far, only 2 chapters have been released as of today)
Absolutely love this manga so far, can’t wait for more.

Let’s start with the plot. Since there’s only two chapters I can’t quite get into too much detail about the plot yet, but from what I’ve read, I can tell Ishida has put lots of effort and planning into this. The biology references are really fun to analyze and research and you can see foreshadowing take place in many moments that seem minor. The entire story feels like a fever dream, but in a good way. It’s one of the most unique, crazy stories I’ve ... seen in a while.

The thing that stands out the most in this story is the art. Ishida is my favorite artist and I love everything he makes, so of course I’ll be slightly biased towards him. But you can’t go wrong with his art, everything from the expression, to the precise hand drawn details of his landscape panels, he puts his heart and soul into perfecting every page, and it shows.

Now, the characters are very unique, focusing on two seemingly different, yet very similar protagonists. I personally have never read a manga with two different protagonists, but I’m liking it so far.

The western theme of this manga is very different from what I’m used to, overall, this manga has already become a favorite of mine and I’ll be keeping up with every character.

Full disclosure: I liked :Re's ending and, whilst I know that's probably an unpopular opinion within Sui Ishida's fanbase, maybe that perspective will help some people's perceptions of what to expect with this new series.

Also, I will be comparing this series a lot to Tokyo Ghoul as I feel that's where a lot of the most interesting points are in the early discussion for this series.

Story 7/10:

It's hard to say with this type of thing when there's only one chapter available, but thus far the set up is intruiging whilst also feeling pretty familiar. The basic elevatory pitch is very similar, as many people have ... already pointed out (superhumans in a society where they don't belong), however the similarities become thin beyond that point. Notably, unlike the Ghoul of Tokyo Ghoul, the superhumans aren't some underground group but active terroristic threats that leave visible destruction that scars the city, and the specifics of being a superhuman feel less focussed on the necessary evil inherent in being one as much as it does the naturally corrupting nature of the powers it gives you.

As far as the story so far, this is pretty comfortable territory for Sui Ishida fans, but it's pretty clear that not only is the direction Sui Ishida's taking it radically different, but fundamentally incompatible with the themes and general plotline of Tokyo Ghoul.

Art 9/10:

Fun fact: Sui Ishida is a good artist. But I guess I should probably just do that thing where I compare expectations to his last series, right?

Art is great, but distinctively evolves off of his more experimental :Re style with quite a bit of what I detect as Mob Psycho flare? It's hard to tell, but the point is that if you're looking for gorgeously detailed and experimental artwork, it's right here as expected. If you're looking for attractive character designs, it's here too. But the introduction of a more cartoonish approach to the overall world design might not be your thing and tonally may put you off when compared to his previous works.

Characters 7/10:

There isn't much to discuss here past the setup, but that setup is solid. The protagonist has a strong design and personality split off from Sui Ishida's usual 'pathetic hero' trope, notably in his relationship to his best friend and their follower/leader characterization. The dynamic between the two is fun and genuine in a way that Tokyo Ghoul fans will feel familiar with, but their contrasting personalities are much more apparent in this case. The final moments between them as of chapter 1 are a legitimately sweet moment of expectation breaking that really emphasize their relationship as a focus rather than a plot element for this series, and I can see a lot of directions for them to take it in.

Enjoyment 10/10:

Still don't really know what 'enjoyment' means but I'm gonna use it as an opportunity to wax over the overall manga quality.

It's great. Sui Ishida's not rusty at all despite the break from publication and still presents his experimental style not only in the artwork, but in the layout, use of speech bubbles, and other technical elements. He has and continues to be someone who's really pushing the format's construction in really interesting ways, and for that reason it makes every page of his newest series feel like something to get excited about. You never really know what to expect with Sui Ishida's layouts and that's a bonus to his otherwise solid presentation.

Overall 9/10:

It's a great manga so far, and it's a shame to see a general sourness coming entirely from his last work rather than the merits of his current work. Choujin X is not Tokyo Ghoul (as much as others would profess otherwise) and whilst it could possibly develop its own flaws, pre-supposing them does a disservice to what so far has been a great opening chapter.

Currently been reading since release and figured now would be an apt time to review this. For context, Tokyo Ghoul is one of my absolute favorite mangas. Sui Ishida's art and knack for storytelling through expression and exploration of concepts such as despair and fighting past existential dread ring true through his works. Choujin X included.

At first I was not entirely sold on the series. The art was sublime but I was (and still am to a degree) not entirely latched onto the characters present. However since chapter 18 or so and into chapter 22 (the time I am writing this) it seems Isihida has ... truly hit his stride. The characters that matter are finding a deeper entrenchment into their identities, the world of what Choujins are seems to be expanding into a more tangible manner, and the art in the most recent chapters have been spectacular.

As of now, I am still unsure if Choujin X will surpass Tokyo Ghoul, but I do think that it has certainly stepped out of the shadow of Ishida's previous work at this point. If it continues in this direction I truly think that Choujin X has the possibility to become Ishida's peak. The way Choujins are more free as a concept rather than Ghouls (i.e. not simply based off RC cells and organs, but rather how the character of who someone is impacts their Choujin form. I see this similar to cursed energy from JJK.)

As for anything else, I can't say much as the story is still in its infancy and I do not see it going anywhere anytime soon (unless Jump decides to axe another great manga like they did to Ayashimon...)

8/10 as of 5/29/22

This manga is still in its early days but I think it is well worth the read, story, art, and characters are excellent, the world is thought out and full of mystery as the lore unfolds it paints a very realistic take on superhumans ( Choujin ) and how they'd live alongside us the way they would be treated, regulated and the hardships they would face.

The story is told from the perspective of Tokio a pretty average introverted high schooler and his not-so-average extremely intense go-getter all talented friend Azuma, at first this kind of pair-up is pretty common in these kinds of stories.

Still, ... both characters are actually way more varied and complex than their first impression, Tokio is actually quite capable but is crippled by his own lack of motivation paired with constantly living in the shadow of Azuma, while Azuma himself despite his extreme talent is actually very insecure he clearly cares for Tokio but fears his potential creating quite a complex dynamic between the two and ties nicely into their powers.

The power system is what I think will grab most people I love it personally. "Choujin are bequeathed the form and power most becoming to them" there are many ways to become a Choujin, you can be born one, you can be infected or artificially made into one, whatever the cause, their powers are based on themselves what they want to be or what worldview they have, an obsession or complex.

All the abilities are very personal and reveal something about the character, Tokio is a vulture Choujin which is connected to a core memory from his childhood where the other kids bullied him for acting like a vulture always hovering around Azuma the more lion-like metaphorically picking his scapes, Azuma then flips this perspective saying vultures fly higher than any other bird which really ties into Tokio's want to rise higher than he is and be more.

The powers are more like concepts they can be expanded and the only limit seems to be the user's own creativity leading to every sort of power you can think of being on display, some more typical and some downright weird and surreal.

There are some abilities all Choujin share that acts as a good way to balance everything.
The power to "Raise", Choujin after being extremely injured or having a so-called pseudo-death can do what is called a "Raise" basically regenerate or come back to life but most Choujin can only manage about 2-3 "Raises" which makes fights a lot more fun while still making the risk of death possible and gives some characters with less attack focus powers a chance to shine and not be instantly killed.

This manga is my favorite currently running manga it takes what worked from Tokyo ghoul and learns from its mistakes you can tell Ishida is having a lot of fun making it and coming up with some really interesting things I highly recommend it the first 2 or 3 chapters are a lot goofier but it really comes into its own after that perfect balance of drama and comedy I hope more people will give it a chance and join in on the discussion.

Absolutely amazing work from someone who had never read any of Ishida's previous works, he manages to make such a relatable main character to a gay neet loser idiot (ME!!!), so it really helps when Ishida also writes amazing gay angsty romance (ME!!!), and provides an interesting power system alongside it to keep the reader invested in the fights. The Sinker Choujin Arc was great, however the true best arc so far has been the Moon Beast arc. Azuma and Tokio's relationship is so painfully beautiful and tragic that it tears away at the readers heartstrings, yet also asks the question of whether it's selfish ... or not to want to be someones number one forever.

Ishida is a masterclass writer for this one, and not only can I not wait to see what he cooks up for the rest of Choujin X, but I also can't wait to see what he cooks up in Tokyo Ghoul. 9/10.

I have read manga for about 3 years now and love it. My first ever anime/manga series I read was Tokyo ghoul and fell in love with it, I’ve read the entirety of Tokyo ghoul and re and was upset that it ended I came across Choujin x through a friend of mine saying this is Sui ishida new work and I was stoked I search it up online to find it was out it hasn’t come out in English so I would have to read it online. From the first chapter I knew I was gonna collect this series it has characters that are ... easily remembered and the story sucks you in straight away, it gives off some Tokyo ghoul vibes with the Choujin aspect which are similar to ghouls in Tokyo ghoul. I would highly recommend this for first time readers due to it only having 4 volumes so it isn’t going ti break your money bank.

Choujin X from no other then the creator of the famous series called "Tokyo Ghoul"

I didn't really have expectations sitting down and reading the series, but in the ended up liking it.

Story : 7/10
It's okey. It's not a story that makes your head spin crazy, or catches you off guard. It's decent, but it shows promise to be actually good.

Art : 10/10
Of course, I mean it's Sui Ishida's artwork. Really amazing panels with full of detail.

... Characters : 6.5/10
Now this is where its a bit weird for me. Some characters are good, some bland and some just outright unbearable.

I didn't want to write a long review, this is just my first experience so far.

I gave this manga a high rating and would definitely recommend it anyone, and have very high expectations from it. The story may start off as somewhat generic, but let that not trick you into thinking it's your typical run of the mill shonen affair. The author's imagination and understanding of the medium helps the story to quickly become more than the sum of it's parts (obviously given a mangaka of his stature), with the familiar plot beats actually serving to heighten the story telling experience, along with top notch world-building, versatile and creative powersets, clever power interactions and some damn good characterisations. The manga ... is fun to read for the most part, but it easily shifts tones to be sombre when it needs to be, thought provoking or gut wrenching at times, and the fights are always fluid, dynamic and well thought out. The characters are three dimensional and feel real, acting in a realistic manner for the most part, their actions and decisions feel organic and not just wholly driven by the where the plot needs to go.
Things to like: Cool, consistent world-building with very versatile power system, great fights with creative power usage and a fun and engaging plot.
Things to not like: The body horror aspects might put off some people.

This is going to be a short review since only the first chapter has come out.

So far from the first chapter, the pacing of this manga is incredibly fast. The amount of beats (as in plot points) plus the amount of time between each beat makes it feel very rushed. And because of that, there's not enough time given to each significant plot point. If you stop and look at the amount of stuff that happened in this chapter and the time difference between each point of where they gave important information, you'll see what I mean.

I can't really say anything about the story yet ... of course since we don't know exactly where this manga will go yet. And as for the art, it looks pretty good as expected from Sui Ishida, and there'll definitely be some mouth-watering panels soon to come.

As a major Tokyo Ghoul and Sui Ishida fan I really hope this becomes something unique and succeeds but so far it looks like it'll have a rough start.

I am a big fan of Tokyo ghoul, its my all time favourite manga. So as a die-hard fan, I will try to provide an unbias review. So I will be a bit harsh on it.

I just read the first chapter of Choujin X (23/6/21). Now I really don't know if it actually will be a continuation of Tokyo ghoul or whole new story. Well Sui Ishida originally posted something like "Kaneki came in my dreams" while posting the teaser of Choujin X on twitter.

The Story-

The story is one of the most important aspects for me. I am not going to lie, ... I am kinda disappointed where the story is heading. It feels like a generic shounen, (again, its pretty early to judge as only one chapter released as of now). But it kinda feels like I am reading Chainsaw Man again but...much more weird. I didn't like how suddenly the Main Character- Tokio, got his powers. Its like a mix between Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and MHA. It could have been more interesting, if ghouls continued to exist. I am not really a big fan of this.

The Characters-

All I can say about the characters is that they just seem like kids or teens (not that I had a problem with it), but it just seems a bit odd that the kid just beat up a bunch of thugs. The characters don't have the same spark that the characters in Tokyo Ghoul had.

But its too early to judge so amma write an update review when at least 10 chapters come out.

Coming from tokyo ghoul author it so much different from his previous series!it feel refreshing~

It not just any superhero story... conflict between the two factions it not black and white, they fight for what they believe is right... Every characters is so great you gonna have hard times choice your sides! I love three protagonis and love the villains too.

It less edgy and sometimes goofy and can become dark really fast too, it so much fun because lot time you try guessing what gonna happen next and Ishida-sensei really is unpredictable.

Lot improved from author previous series such paneling and fight scene now easy to read ... and it lot mores lore drop and worldbuiding, it very fascinating~

Keep in mind first 24chapter are prologue,it slowburn but after prologue it start picking up

For me it must read~

I'm currently 5 chapters in and I'm finding it to be quite enjoyable, it gives me some Chainsaw Man vibes in the way it grounds a supernatural/Paranatural story within a urban setting emphasized by the stunning art.
Looking forward to see what'll become of this series going forward, I see the potential for it to become part of the "new generations" of shonen mangas currently coming out like Dandadan.
The designs of the Choujins are probably my favourite aspect so far and I'm eager to see what will come next.
Anyway I'd recommend you giving it a shot, especially if you enjoyed works like Dandadan, Chainsaw Man ... or other works of the like

Tokyo Ghoul was one of the first manga I've read, so when I saw a new manga by Sui Ishida, I had to check it out.

So far, it's a pretty decent manga; as of writing this, there are only 7 chapters out, so I can't comment much on the story. There are a few cliches at that start that are especially noticeable if you read many shounen mangas, but I won't fault the story for that. The power system in the manga feels very similar to other mangas, but I'm hoping that when the power system becomes more flushed out, it will become more ... original.

The art style is gorgeous as usual, sketchy but not lazy. The character designs are nice; they all have a "cute" look, which I like.

One of my biggest fears for this manga is that it will become another Tokyo Ghoul. There are already elements in this manga similar to Tokyo Ghoul, which isn't necessarily bad, but I'd like to see Sui Ishida takes risks with this story and do things differently.

Overall I think it's worth a read, and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the future.

story: in the simplest of terms, everything above chapter 25 is up there with JJK and chainsaw man. the first 25 seems like a messy complicated pilot barfing all concepts, backstory, and lore to catch you up. after that drudgery, it reads like JJK or CSM's "when everything went wrong" arcs, and its pretty dope. i guess the keyword similarity is how they pace.

art: it gets messy with who says what bubble, but the style is great and stands out. i already used this comparison above, but this style of messy outstanding art is pretty par for the course for JJK, CSM. makes it dynamic ... and interesting to flow through. however, if you dont like those, youll have trouble.

overall: if you like JJK, CSM, jagaaan and need another similar beast, push through the 25 chapters. it gets good, and i look forward to what happens next.

!SPOILER FREE REVIEW!

Story[5]:
Pretty mediocre and nothing special so far. I didn't expect Sui Ishida would out-do his masterpiece TG with ease and I was right. The plotline is very predictable and you wouldn't really be surprised by anything. That said, it is Sui Ishida we are talking about, so I'm expecting much more.

Art[8]:
Aside from some very abstract panels, which come off as very chaotic and disorganized, everything is very beautiful. The choreography is nicely done, as expected. You can follow through with what's going on for the most part and feel satisfied. There is a "different" feel to this style, perhaps Ishida took a slightly ... different route from TG.

Character[7]:
Not the most redeeming quality of this manga. The character tropes themselves are - cliche. But that doesn't really take away from them. There is some ingenuity to their appeal but maybe they are meant to be late bloomers. Keep in mind that doesn't apply to all characters. That said the protagonist himself is nothing more of a recycled product as of the 15th chapter. He does have some genuinely intriguing motives and perhaps will develop into an amazing character at some point.

Enjoyment[9]:
As a fan of Ishida's previous work, TG, I'm loving this one too. It started off as "goofy" and with a touch of "ridiculousness" to me, especially with how the main characters are handling themselves and are being handled but I'm loving it so far. The hype definitely is real where it's due and the comedic moments made me burst out laughing. Having a great time!

Overall[7]
Afterword:
Let me tell you - don't expect too much right off the bat. I have a premonition that this too, will be great at some point, but not now. Either you're patient enough for it to eventually happen or turn away disappointed. This has big potential, but so far it's still in its "incubating" period. Still, though, I encourage you to give it a try, especially if you were a fan of TG.