Tokyo Ghoul:re – 8, 9, 10, 11

「蠢くモノ TAKe」 (Ugomeku Mono TAKe)
“TAKe: One Who Writhes”

「亡霊 play」 (Bourei play)
“play: Departed Spirit”

「ゆれる think」 (Yureru think)
“think: Sway”

「欠落者 writE」 (Ketsuraku-sha write)
“writE: The Absent One”

University exams are now finished, which means I can finally get back to business. Better late than never, right?

There’s a lot to catch up on, and everything is a blur since I marathoned all four episodes in one sitting. But fortunately, the focus has shifted and remained on the Tsukiyama family and their run-ins with the CCG. So what exactly has happened? Shuu has been left in an emaciated and unintelligible state following the disappearance of Kaneki. Unable to fend for himself, his servants indiscriminately hunt down humans to quell his insatiable appetite. All this has led to House Tsukiyama drawing the attention of the CCG, who decide that House Tsukiyama must now be eliminated. First, bait is set out via Furuta, which the servants take hook, line and sinker. Though most escaped, Yuma was left behind and mercilessly tortured by Kijima. And thus began the end of House Tsukiyama.

In the interlude between these dramatic sequence of events, quite a few things have been going on in the background:

– After his numerous encounters with people from Kaneki’s past, Haise grapples with his current loyalties to the CCG, and his past connections with Ghouls as Kaneki. This culminates in a desire to find out more about Ken Kaneki, which seems like a slippery slope with no return. I imagine there’s a great deal of people who would be clamouring for Kaneki’s return, given Haise’s gradual breakdown. However, I wouldn’t wish for the disappearance of Sasaki Haise. Rather, I would like to see Kaneki retain everything he experienced as Haise and have it augment his personality.

– Aogiri Tree decide that they won’t be rescuing Hinami. From the organisation’s perspective, it totally makes sense. Hinami disobeyed orders to try and save an enemy, so she herself is not worth saving. That said, I can’t help but sympathise with Ayato, who has come to deeply care for her during the time skip.

– Shirazu found himself incapable of using the qinque fashioned from Nutcracker, haunted by the similarities between her dying words of wanting to be beautiful – the same words once spoken by his younger sister. I really like how Shirazu was introduced as greedy and money-grubbing, before undergoing a humanising process, wherein his self-sacrificial motivations are made clearer. He is a gentle soul who never wanted any real business in killing ghouls, let alone having his body experimented upon. But he did it for the sake of his younger sister, and as someone with a younger sister myself, it’s really easy to like and empathise with Shirazu’s situation. After receiving a nudge from Urie and with the team in a desperate situation, he manages to overcome this mental block under extreme circumstances.

Will it amount to anything against Noro? That’s really hard to say, given the ghoul’s ridiculous capacity for regeneration. But I’m sure it will play a pivotal role where the Quinx Squad’s survival might be concerned.

Hairu and Kijima meet a gnarly end at the hands of Matsumae and Mairo, having severely underestimated the two vassals of the Tsukiyama family. Though it was interesting to see Hairu’s flashback to younger days, yearning for Arima’s attention, Furuta completely stole the show. Contrary to the goofy impression he gives off, he is a considerable threat from CCG’s side and it’s difficult to discern his exact motive. Seeing how he sacrificed a subordinate, effortlessly blocked Matsumae’s sword with his hands, stepped over Kijima’s corpse, and poked out Matsumae’s eyes before chainsawing her to death, it’s safe to say that Furuta has an utter lack of empathy. I’m excited to see how he develops as an antagonist, because clearly there’s a grander design for his overall bearing in Tokyo Ghoul, given what we’ve just seen from him.

Kanae is the lone survivor from a distinguished lineage of ghouls, exterminated by the CCG’s operative in Germany. Having lost the remaining members of her family on the way to Japan, she reinvents her identity as an individual dedicated to serving Shuu, after his kindness becomes her salvation. Yet she was utterly powerless when Shuu lost his sanity, failing as a servant as her master degenerated into a frothing and psychotic mess. Meanwhile Chie had a pretty good idea of what might get Shu back on track, namely feeding him this idea that Kaneki was still alive and kicking, something which only poured fuel onto the flames of Kanae’s jealousy. Kanae’s personal feelings continue getting in the way, causing her to put a personal spin on what she thinks is best for Shuu, as opposed to what would actually be best for him. This is viciously broken down by Eto, who accuses Kanae of never actually wanting Shuu to get better so that he could continue depending on her. Such a stark accusation rings terribly true in Kanae’s ears, causing her to totally crumble before Eto’s sadistic subjugation.

Though she seems pretty broken by Eto’s brutal torture, both psychologically and physically, Kanae still shows up at Shuu’s greatest moment of need, where it seems unlikely that he can escape from the clutches of CCG. We also must remember that Matsuri gave out the order to eliminate Shuu on sight, so this is pretty much now or never. Next episode will be the one to wrap off the first cour of Tokyo Ghoul:re and I think it will serve as a good break before the intermission. We will likely get closure on the success of CCG’s operation to exterminate the Tsukiyama conglomerate, which is bound to come with a fascinating epilogue. How will the operation conclude, and most importantly, how will the outcome affect Sasaki Haise?

There are many questions to ask, ones that should be resolved by the end of next episode, notwithstanding the second cour itself, which I’m already looking forwards to. But that’s talk for next time. Again, apologies for the extended hiatus I took for university examinations. But many thanks for your patience on bearing with it, and hope to see you next week for the grand finale!

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