Tokyo Ghoul Watch Order: A Complete Guide
Tokyo Ghoul is a sensational anime that took the world of anime by storm when it first came out in 2014. It is a one-of-a-kind horror anime that mixes elements of supernatural, action, and fantasy and brings out the perfect Seinen anime with dope fight sequences, explicit gore and bloodshed, heart-wrenching emotions, and gut-gnawing scenes. Based on Sui Ishida’s manga, this anime series is a total banger and with every season, its popularity only increased.
If you want to get into this bomb of an anime, you need to know what to start with and how to watch the series. Worry not, as I have the perfect Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide for you, where I will be taking you through the complete map of the anime – the series, episodes, and OVAs.
So, let us not waste any more time and get straight into the Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide and get enlightened with all the basic info and details!
How to Watch Tokyo Ghoul in Proper Order of Release
| Name | Available On | Our Rating |
| Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1) | Crunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation, Hulu | 9/10 |
| Tokyo Ghoul (Live-Action Movie) | Netflix, Funimation | 5/10 |
| Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2) | Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, VRV | 8.7/10 |
| Tokyo Ghoul OVAs: Jack and PINTO | Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV | 8/10 |
| Tokyo Ghoul: re (Seasons 1 and 2) | Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, VRV, Hulu | 8.2/10 |
| Tokyo Ghoul S (Live-Action Movie) | Funimation | 6/10 |
Tokyo Ghoul Watch Order
- Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1)
Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1) appears first on our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide as it kick-starts the series and lays down the main events that would eventually bloom into the whole story. The first season narrates the tale of Kaneki Ken, a regular high-school student who loves reading. During this time, the city of Tokyo was being attacked by strange humanoid creatures called Ghouls who feed on human beings as their main source of sustenance. Kaneki Ken gets attacked by one such female ghoul called Rize and ends up sucking in some of her powers and re-emerging as a half-ghoul, half-human.
The entire season deals with Kaneki coming to terms with his new identity and going through traumatic torture at the hands of Jason, the stress of which turns his hair white and triggers the blood-thirsty side of his personality.
Available On: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation, Hulu
Review:
You can watch Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1) episodes in subbed and dubbed versions on almost every anime streaming site. The first season is extremely gripping and the cliff-hanger will keep you wanting more.
Rating:
MyAnimeList gives it 7.8/10 stars and we give it 9/10 stars
- Tokyo Ghoul (Live-Action Movie)
Next in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide comes the Tokyo Ghoul live-action movie. This movie covers almost the entire season 1 and all the story arcs present in it. The live-action movie does not live up to the reputation that the original season 1 created. It is good, yes, or maybe I’m just biased towards live-action versions of anime in general. However, you can still check it out if you are into live-action movies.
Available On: Netflix, Funimation
Review:
You can watch the live-action movie in English subbed version on a number of websites in high quality. I did not like the movie as much but if you love live-action movies, you would definitely like it.
Rating:
IMDb rates it 5.7/10 and we give it a rating of 5/10
- Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2)
I will go over to Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2) for the next category in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide. This is a sequel to the first season and picks up where it left off in the last season. In this season Kaneki Ken is a full-fledged human-ghoul hybrid, and the story covers almost the entire second half of the manga. However, Season 2 is a little out of the box. Rather than adapting all the intricate details in the manga, it picks and chooses various plotlines and combines it into one whole story, together with an anime original story penned by Sui Ishida, the author of the manga himself.
In Tokyo Ghoul: Root A, Kaneki Ken joins Aogiri Tree, a ghoul organization, and prepares to fight against the CCG who are on a mission to eradicate the Ghouls.
Available On: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, VRV
Review:
You can watch all the Tokyo Ghoul Season 2 episodes in subbed and dubbed versions on a number of anime streaming sites, in high-quality videos. I loved this season just as much as the first season. And I loved the fact that Ishida sensei came up with a completely new anime exclusive story for this season. That just made it even more special.
Rating:
IMDb rates it a 7.6/10 and we rate it 8.7/10
- Tokyo Ghoul OVA: Jack
This is the first OVA in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide. This OVA gives us insight into the backstory of one of the main characters in the story, Kishou Arima, and how he spent his younger days. The story opens with Taishi Fura, a former baseball player turned teenage delinquent witnessing one of his classmates getting brutally murdered by the Ghoul named Lantern and another one getting heavily injured. Before he could do anything, his other classmate Kishou Arima appears and makes the Ghoul flee. Kishou Arima is actually an undercover investigator for the CCG. Thirsty for revenge for his friends, Fura joins hands with Arima to exterminate the Ghouls in the 13th Ward and slaughter Lantern.
Available On: Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV
Review:
This is quite the thrilling Tokyo Ghoul OVA that you can watch on any anime streaming service online. I loved this OVA as Arima is one of my favorite characters in the series and getting a glimpse into his past was obviously a fangirl moment. This OVA is available in both English subbed and dubbed versions.
Rating:
IMDb rates it 7.3/10 and we rate it 8/10
- Tokyo Ghoul OVA: Pinto
This is the second OVA in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide. This OVA gives us a sneak peak into the life of one of the side characters, the flamboyant and boisterous ghoul, Shuu Tsukiyama. When Shuu is caught devouring the bloody corpse of a human he murdered by a young girl named Chie Hori, who captures this moment in a photograph, he takes it upon himself to sort out this issue and to prevent the exposure of his true identity. As he gets closer with Chie, who attends the same school as him, he dives deeper into the conflict between his world and Chie’s and promises her that after this situation concludes, she will have a picture that will topple all the rest.
Available On: Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV
Review:
This OVA is quite enjoyable as we get to know a little bit more about one of the most popular side characters in the series. I loved this OVA and I will ask you to check it out if you are planning to get into this series. You can catch it at any anime streaming platform in English subbed and dubbed versions.
Rating:
IMDb has given it a rating of 7/10 and we give it a rating of 8/10
- Tokyo Ghoul: re (Seasons 1 and 2)
This is the last season of the series that appears in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order. However, this season is subdivided again into two seasons – Seasons 1 and 2. These two seasons are set almost 2 years after the events of the first two seasons took place. It narrates the story of Ken Kaneki, who has assumed a new identity, Haise Sasaki, and is living as a member of the CCG and the leader of the Quinx Squad. They are a group of human-ghoul hybrids who use their skills and powers to defeat pure-blooded ghouls. Tokyo Ghoul: re (Season 2) is based on the last arc of the manga and concludes the series.
Available On: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, VRV, Hulu
Review:
Tokyo Ghoul: re (Seasons 1 and 2) together for Season 3 of the entire series and is a must-watch if you want to figure out the conclusion to the story. This season cooks up the perfect ending to the original story and will keep you on your toes till the last episode.
Rating:
MyAnimeList has given this season 6.4/10 stars and we give it an 8.2/10 stars
- Tokyo Ghoul S (Live-Action Movie)
This is the second and the last live-action movie to make an appearance in our Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide. The movie essentially represents the showdown between Shuu Tsukiyama and Kaneki Ken. Shuu Tsukiyama is on a murder spree and plans to eat Kaneki. However, this plan backfires when he discovers that the latter is also a half-ghoul, and is soon attacked by the CCG moments later. Will Shuu be able to fulfill his desires to devour Kaneki? If you want to find out, you should watch Tokyo Ghoul S today!
Available On: Funimation
Review:
Although I’m not big into live-action movies, I found this to be interesting, especially since it did not blatantly recreate the plot of the original series (unlike the first live-action movie) and tried to come up with its own story.
Rating:
IMDb has given it 5.3/10 stars and we give it a 6/10 stars
Final Thoughts
Tokyo Ghoul is an extremely popular seinen horror series and one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. Although I still feel that it has its own flaws and could’ve been better especially the last season, it still lives up to all my expectations. The Opening theme of the first season (Unravel by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure) is a banger and has gained quite some popularity since the season came out. Overall, I would say that this anime is definitely worth the watch if you are into supernature and horror genres.
I hope this Tokyo Ghoul watch order guide helps you get into the series and check out each and everything it has to offer. Let us know how you feel after watching the anime, in the comments!
