The new series from the creator of Tokyo Ghoul, Choujin X sees two schoolboys who volunteer to help clear up a plane crash site, getting more than they bargained for, as they come away with Choujin superpowers - the ability to shapeshift into ultraviolent animal forms. Vol 1 focuses on introducing the characters, in particular the two schoolboys and their complicated relationship. Interested to see how this develops.

As someone who loves Tokyo Ghoul I was excited to read something else by the same author. This book, although a bit confusing at times, was absolutely phenomenal. They did trick me into thinking I was getting a fully colored graphic novel, but the art style still didn't disappoint. I enjoyed this tremendously and can't wait for the second volume.

Thanks NetGalley and Viz Media for access to this arc.

1/5 Stars, but I'm clearly not the target audience for this manga, which is absolutely teenage boys lol.

In the skies above Japan, a passenger plane starts to free-fall. But, somehow, everyone on board makes it to the ground safely! In this uncertain time after major forces in the world have made their wars, super-human Choujin have made their marks as heroes and villains, wreaking havoc or saving everyone. As is the case with the passenger plane, a choujin saved everyone. But when high schoolers Tokio and Azuma are accosted on their way home and forcibly made into choujin, they now have to navigate their new powers and decide for themselves who they will be.
This is a wacky horror story that is nothing like Tokyo Ghoul, Ishida's more popular work. Readers looking for another rich world might be disappointed with the zany and rather slap-dash feel of this world. Within the first volume, there aren't many characters to invest in, as the two high schoolers aren't given a lot of page-time nor are they yet developed as two individual characters. Fans of Dandadan or other campy comedy-horrors might enjoy this story, but it probably won't enjoy as wide a readership as Tokyo Ghoul.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

A good start to this horror manga with a similar style of Tokyo Ghoul. The plot might be a bit complex at times but I enjoyed the ride and looking forward to vol 2.

This series has potential. Like Tokyo Ghoul, humans turn into superhuman mutants, sometimes against their will. The main character has to learn how to deal after turning into a Choujin. Its not easy to hide. The reluctant protagonist has the potential of becoming a hero. I'd like to see more.

This was an interesting take on a horror manga. I think I need to read a few more volumes to really decide how I feel about this but this first volume was a really solid start. I'm very excited to see where the story goes from here.

I was excited to try this because i enjoyed Tokyo ghoul by the same creator. But I found this to be very underwhelming I really struggled to make sense of the story and connect to what was happening.

Choujin X, the newest series from Sui Ishida (best known for the Tokyo Ghoul series), began serialization in 2021, but what better time to take a look at it than now, when it is finally getting a physical English release? If you’re familiar with Ishida’s previous works you’ll rightfully assume that it focuses on introspection, personal growth, and overcoming obstacles from within. But, this is not Tokyo Ghoul and while they do share some similarities, it is a completely different story.

The story of Choujin X is set in an alternate universe in the 1990s: mysterious creatures called choujins wreaked havoc in the world and Japan now has a completely different government. The first character we meet is Ely Otta. She’s a teenager who helps her grandfather with his farm and she is on a plane when a choujin attacks it and the passengers.

As the plane goes down, a teenager named Tokio Kurohara sees it from his classroom. One thing about Tokio is important: he spends his days living in the shadow of his best friend, Azuma. So after his teacher pays him no mind, Tokio heads home and sees a woman who is being harassed. Of course, he calls his best friend to help and Azuma chases the thugs away. But the thugs come up with a sinister revenge plan: they will become choujin and pay Azuma back. As the two groups clash, Tokio is able to do something he hasn’t been able to do before: protect Azuma. He awakens the choujin power by injecting himself with a mysterious serum and is able to defeat the thugs.

But, now he is stuck looking like a bird: a vulture, to be more precise. Tokio, who was once compared to a vulture standing next to a lion (Azuma), subconsciously took on the form he most desired. Much to his surprise, Azuma pushes him away, forcing him to think for himself at last. Left alone, Tokio spends his days trying to figure out how to turn back to “normal” but is unable, until he gets attacked once again. During the fight, he learns new things and runs into Ely…

So what makes Choujin X stand out? For me, it’s Tokio. He is the imperfect protagonist, not someone to look up to, but someone weak and perhaps even annoying at times. In some regard, he is similar to Kaneki Ken just with less angst. Choujin X also has something Tokyo Ghoul seldom did: absurd humor, especially when you don’t expect it. Tokio’s interactions with pigeons, zoo birds that place bets while using feed as money, and the scooter chase (with Ely’s tractor skills) all helped make the story flow smoother. These moments are also in stark contrast with the biblical names and titles, as well as the art that borders on disturbing.

It is obvious that Choujin X is aimed at an older audience that is not fully ready to let go of common “shonen” style tropes. And that is a great thing because you can get the best of both worlds: enjoying the silly action while questioning the meaning of life and existence.

Choujin X Volume One is a new manga series from Sui Ishida, the creator of Tokyo Ghoul.

Choujin X Volume One
Written by: Sui Ishida
Publisher: Shueisha
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: February 21, 2023

Choujin X is set in 1998, in what is obviously an alternate timeline to our reality. Over half a century earlier, monsters known as Choujin brought about chaos that caused nations to collapse and left locally governed prefectures in their wakes. While there are some respects where people’s lives feel about as normal as ours, there are others where it’s more dystopian.

The main character of the series is a teen boy named Tokio Kurohara. He was bullied as a child but always had his friend Azuma Higashi to stand up for him. Azuma is the son of a police officer, and has always had drilled in him the concept that “shirking justice is an act of cowardice.” Tokio and Azuma team up together to take down criminals they find, with Azuma using his martial arts skills to take down the criminals. Unfortunately, Azuma takes it a little too far one time and breaks both of the villain’s arms. A man wearing a mask approaches the villain and his gang, and injects the villain with a drug to turn him into a Choujin.

When the villain goes out for revenge against Azuma, he uses his new Choujin ability to overwhelm Azuma. Unfortunately, the villain also kills his own buddies, who had had their own Choujin injections in hand but had not used them before they were killed. When Tokio and Azuma realize that they’re outmatched, they decide to take the injections and use them on themselves. It doesn’t affect Azuma at all, but Tokio turns into a Choujin wearing a mask with a beak on it. A lot of the volume spends its time on Tokio as he tries to figure out how to control his Choujin power, as well as trying to hide the fact he has turned into a Choujin from his family.

Right at the beginning of the volume, the reader is also introduced to a farm girl who is on her way to a fair for a crop competition. The plane she’s on is hijacked by a Choujin and crashes near where Tokio and Azuma live. Amazingly, there were 200 survivors, including the girl. She discovers that she acquired some of the hijacker’s Choujin power, and she is taken in by Hoshi Sandek, Yamato’s Choujin Protector in order to train. Tokio and the girl cross paths near the end of the volume, when Tokio is under attack from another Choujin.

I have some familiarity with Ishida’s Tokyo Ghoul series, and while Choujin X bears some similarities to his other title, it feels like this one (at least in its first volume) isn’t quite as dark as Tokyo Ghoul. I felt like there was a little more humor included in Choujin X than in Tokyo Ghoul, but depending on how this story moves forward, this balance of drama and comedy may not last.

I thought that Volume One did a great job of establishing the world the series is set in, the concept of the Choujins, as well as the important characters in the series. I have to admit that at first, I thought the girl on the plane at the beginning of this volume was going to be the main character, but it turned out she wasn’t. Yes, she turns out to be an important character, but she’s not the main character. After being introduced to Tokio and getting to know him, the series makes it perfectly clear that he’s going to be the protagonist.

When it comes to the pacing of Choujin X Volume One, I thought that there was a good mix of exposition and action scenes. For the most part, I found this volume to be a relatively quick read. I also appreciated that Ishida included some bonus content at the end that gives a timeline of the Choujins’ uprising in this alternate timeline, as well as basic information about Choujins. Ishida could have tried to squeeze this information into the actual story, but it would have easily bogged things down. As a reader, I appreciated getting this additional information and not feel as if I was getting hit with an “info dump” in the middle of the story.

When it comes to the art, I can tell that Ishida drew it. That’s not to say that he copied any character designs or elements from Tokyo Ghoul, however. It’s just the basic look of the characters as well as some nuances in the art have enough of a similarity to Tokyo Ghoul that you can tell it was the same artist behind both series.

Choujin X Volume One sees the series off to a good start. Even though this series may not quite be as dark as Tokyo Ghoul, I think that readers who enjoyed that series may potentially find that they also appreciate Choujin X. I know that if VIZ Media makes the next volume of the series available as a review copy, I will gladly read it in order to find out how Choujin X continues.

Unfortunately, I did not like this title. I really enjoyed reading Tokyo Ghoul, so my expectations were high and, based off the cover and description, I was expecting a similar sort of story/vibes. Choujin X has a lot of silliness and shonen manga style hijinks, as to be expected when the protagonist is a sixteen year old guy. I did like Tokio and I think he has a lot of potential. His meltdown post-transformation was both relatable and kinda sad. I'll probably check out the next volume since it sometimes takes a couple volumes before a manga fully captures my interest. However, based on this volume alone, I was confused by a lot of what was happening, annoyed by the antagonists, and didn't care about any of the characters except Tokio

Super fun horror action manga by the author of Tokyo Ghoul; a lot lighter at that, too. There are clearly hints of darker things occurring behind things but it is not as front loaded as Tokyo Ghoul was, and is probably more accessible for casual fans to read!

Choujin X Vol. 1 begins a mutant power story focusing on teenage boy Tokio. His personality at present is largely defined by his best friend, Azuma. He is turned into a choujin and now his life will likely never be the same.

This story ahs a lot of the base tropes typical of Shonen manga stories. It starts off a bit confusingly, but gradually improves as the volume progresses. I enjoyed the story and am curious about where Tokio's story will go next.

What an interesting story. I loved the dynamic between Tokio and Azuma, and can see their friendship and the potential deterioration of it becoming the main driver of this story. I did wish that the author held off introducing Ely until later in the series to better explore Tokio and Azuma as characters. I liked the concept of the Choujin, but it is similar to other shounen series like Chainsaw Man and Kaijuu #8. It's mostly an already overused shounen trope. It was a great cliffhanger to end the volume on, and I am interested in how Tokio will develop from a sidekick into the main protagonist. There is enough here to explore and I'm looking forward to reading volume 2.

This volume appears to be setup for the series as a whole, and there are some interesting aspects to it! Our cotangonists are Ely and Tokio two children who have mysterious encounters with the creepy and somewhat kooky Choujin. Like Ishida's previous series, the art is really fun and expressive, with a more horror edge to it. Right now, it's a little hard to pin down, but it has my attention!

It's always hard to rate the first volume in a continuing series, but so far I am thoroughly enjoying the path of this story. If you're a horror fan and enjoy beautiful illustrations I would highly recommend this new series from the author of Tokyo Ghoul.

While the concept had promise, the execution left me whelmed. The content in this first volume did not provide enough hook me as a reader. While I recognize the potential, it did not leave me with an overwhelming urge to continue on. If presented with volume 2 I might read it, but would not go out of my way to seek it out. Characterization was okay, the art style was a little a-typical from other manga I've read, but not in a stand-out or remarkable way, the story was very reminiscent of several other series that do it much better. Completely mediocre...

In Ishida's previous series, monsters were born, not made. The opposite is true here, and the story feels like it may owe less to Mary Shelley and more to Stan Lee as the protagonist struggles with how to use his great power. It's good, but not as driven as <i>Tokyo Ghoul</i>, which may actually work in its favor in terms of finding an audience.

"Choujin X" is creepy, action-packed, dark and a bit traumatizing. It is a strange tale about a super-human serum and those that it turns.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this horror/action manga. The characters were pretty well developed for a volume 1 (in this genre), and the fundamental idea behind the choujin is certainly engaging. Here's hoping it's the next JJK-style fighting manga.