Warning This article may contain spoilers for Tokyo Ghoul
Ghouls, death, cannibalism – it’s no wonder that Tokyo Ghoul is one of the most popular anime TV shows worldwide. Based off of Sui Ishida’s manga, Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternative world where ghouls inhabit the human world, living in secrecy on Earth.
Student Ken Kaneki is attacked by a ghoul and in an effort to save his life, he is transformed into a half-human half-ghoul hybrid with new powers and strengths. Gory and violent, this anime is packed to the brim with action and horror to satisfy your anime needs.
Just one issue – which order should you watch the show? With all the prequels, OVAs, and even two live action spin offs (yes, not one but two of those), it can be a bit confusing to work out what you’re meant to watch and when.
So, here’s a neat guide for you to work your way through all the Tokyo Ghoul content available so you don’t miss out or end up confused.
The most conventional way to watch a show would be in the order each season and spin off was released. That way, you’re getting the same experience as watching it live with all the twists and turns in the order they were meant to be revealed.
We recommend this viewing if this is your first time watching Tokyo Ghoul, as details can be spoilt in OVAs before they’re revealed in the show itself. To get the full first-time experience, it would be best to watch the show as though it were airing on TV for the first time.
The list starts with the original two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul, released 2014 and 2015 respectively. Then in September 2015, the first OVA ‘Jack’ was released, closely followed by another OVA ‘Pinto’.
These OVAs followed two secondary characters in prequels set before the original series, but as they were released after the first two seasons, they come later in the release order list.
The first live action movie was then released in 2017, and was well received – a nice change from other live action adaptations of anime and manga.
Although it is just a live action retelling of the first season of Tokyo Ghoul, we have decided to include in these listings for the die hard fans who want to watch everything.
Then, the anime continues with the sequel series Tokyo Ghoul:re. The first season was released in 2018, with season two continuing after a few months break.
And finally, in July 2019, another live action movie was released theatrically in Japan: Tokyo Ghoul S. The movie follows the Gourmet Arc of the original series.
Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1)
Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2) Tokyo Ghoul: Jack (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul (Live Action Movie)
Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 1) Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2) Tokyo Ghoul S (Live Action Movie)
Watch Order Two: Chronological Order
Now that you have watched the show and know all the storylines and characters, you can now try watching Tokyo Ghoul in its true chronological order.
Starting with the prequels first, it’s a fun way to watch the show as each event unfolded within the story and ending right up to where the show is currently at.
This way, you can watch the OVAs first and know who Jack and Pinto are, saving you the confusion of watching them first without a clue on what’s going on.
Tokyo Ghoul: Jack (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto (OVA) Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1) Tokyo Ghoul (Live Action Movie)
Tokyo Ghoul S (Live Action Movie) Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2) Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 1) Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2)
Watch Order Three: The Ultimate Fan Canon Order, Or The Manga Order
So, if you have any knowledge of Tokyo Ghoul going into this, you may have heard that Season 2 ‘Root A’ is…controversial to say the least.
And by that, I mean that the director made so many changes from the original manga’s plot, that a lot of die hard Tokyo Ghoul fans have dismissed Season 2 as non canon.
Certain changes to character decisions and fates have been slapped as out of character and unrealistic.
To save spoilers, we won’t go into much more detail, but if you have read the manga and you like your adaptations to be pretty loyal to the source material, then it is most likely you’ll want to skip Season 2 (sorry, fans of Season 2)
Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1)
Tokyo Ghoul (Live Action Movie) Tokyo Ghoul S (Live Action Movie)
Tokyo Ghoul: Jack (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 1)
Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2)
Addressing The Live Action Movies
If you’re just looking for anime-exclusive viewing, then you’re safe to just watch the anime seasons and the OVAs, leaving out the live action movies. They’re pretty low budget and while they’re not awful, they’re just not anime.
They also don’t introduce any new storylines, characters or themes, so you’re not going to miss anything if you leave them out of your Tokyo Ghoul viewing experience.
We have included them for the sake of including all Tokyo Ghoul related content, but they’re not mandatory to understanding nor enjoying Tokyo Ghoul.
If you want to skip them, go for it.
Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1)
Tokyo Ghoul: Root A (Season 2) Tokyo Ghoul: Jack (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto (OVA)
Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 1) Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2)
Future Tokyo Ghoul Installments
So are there any more seasons of Tokyo Ghoul we can expect to add to these lists in a few years?
Well, unfortunately not. More Tokyo Ghoul content looks unlikely right now, as the manga was completed in July 2018 and the anime is completely caught up. So, no – there are no plans right now for a Tokyo Ghoul Season 5.
However, seeing as the franchise was so popular, it could be that we see a spin-off or a sequel show announced to be in the works.
The series could always be rebooted or maybe the studio will decide to redo that controversial second season, this time following the manga more closely.
Until we get that announcement, you can always pick up the manga to read or just mix and match all the Tokyo Ghoul content available into wacky watch orders for some fun.
We wonder what watching the series backwards would be like? Who knows – you might want to give it a try.
