Mangaka Sui Ishida of the renowned Tokyo Ghoul series just launched a new manga called Choujin X, which follows the same basic premise that made his earlier work so popular but takes everything to the next level.

In Tokyo Ghoul, a normal student named Ken Kaneki acquires the powers of the manga's titular monsters when a ghoul's organs are transplanted into his body. Although Ken survived the initial encounter, he was left in critical condition and could only be saved through the aforementioned transplant. As a half-ghoul, Ken acquires not only their voracious hunger for human flesh but grows their predatory organ called a kagune. Ken's kagune consists of tentacles that he can manipulate into three-fingered claws or a sword.

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In Choujin X, a regular student named Tokio Kurohara lives in a world of the series' eponymous super-powered humans. As per the first chapter, it's assumed people become Choujin through natural means, but a mysterious organization has created a formula that, when injected into people via a syringe, can transform them into Choujin. And when Tokio and his friend Azuma are attacked by a thug who has acquired these powers in this very fashion, the two boys find the syringes in the Choujin's briefcase and inject themselves.

As of the first chapter, the powers that Tokio acquires are unknown, though, he seems to have taken on the shape of an anthropomorphic vulture, which is not only awesome but plays on an earlier pivotal moment, as many of his classmates refer to him as such.  The powers and syringes aside in Choujin X, what stands out in stark contrast to Tokyo Ghoul is Tokio's mentality as opposed to Ken's. Ken struggles a great deal to keep his identity as a half-ghoul a secret and rejects his fate for most of the series until he's tortured so mercilessly that he eventually snaps.

Meanwhile, Tokio chooses his destiny in Choujin X, though readers are led to believe that he will embrace his fate because of his complex friendship with Azuma. Unlike Tokio, Azuma is naturally an incredibly strong and gifted fighter despite his small stature. He's even stopped crime on occasion. Although Tokio enjoys hanging out with him and even claims he feels popular as a result of Azuma's popularity, Tokio is often teased by his sister and classmates for how he follows Azuma around. Tokio once even earns the nickname of vulture because, like how vultures always hang around to steal prey, he's always hanging around Azuma.

While this might lead some readers to expect that Tokio would jump headlong towards becoming all-powerful, he doesn't. In fact, it's Azuma who first mentions that he will inject himself, which terrifies Tokio. The only reason why Tokio eventually decides to do the same is that he feels that he could lose Azuma as a friend if he doesn't. So while Choujin X borrows the same basic formula as Tokyo Ghoul, mangaka Sui Ishida deviates from his original series by having Choujin X's hero choose his destiny, unlike Ken. But what's so masterful here is that Sui Ishida doesn't attempt a complete 180. Tokio faces all of the right factors that should have compelled him to seize this new opportunity. But, remarkably, Tokio only approaches his fate hesitantly and for a nobler reason than achieving power: Friendship. It's ironic, too, that Tokio's power manifests in the form of the very animal that was used to mock his relationship with his then more powerful friend. The real question that's on everybody's minds, however, is if Choujin X will replicate the incredible torturer/victim dynamic between Ken and Yamori in Tokyo Ghoul. Only one way to find out.

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