***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 1. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Some time has passed since the battle at the Anteiku coffee shop in Tokyo’s 20th ward. Many lives were lost that night, but the fight is far from over.
The war between humans and ghouls continues, and both sides have gotten new sets of players.
To give themselves an edge, the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG) has established the Qunix squad to hunt down and eliminate powerful ghouls. This team is unique because they, too, can tap into the strength ghouls use in combat. To lead this group, the CCG has put in charge the young, talented, and mysterious Haise Sasaki (voiced by Natsuki Hanae).
Haise has no memory of who he was before joining the CCG. Although not knowing his past, Haise’s current life is a happy one, and he vows to protect it. However, there is one enemy that threatens to destroy everything he loves: himself.
Deep within the recesses of his mind, Haise hears a voice filled with darkness and suffering, as well as great power. Haise fears what will happen if he lets this side of him take over.
Series Positives
Before going forward with this review, there are two things I need to address.
First, the original two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul – Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul √A – made-up my two-part 200th review special. Those seasons were pretty awesome. Therefore, it kind of goes without saying that I was looking forward to Tokyo Ghoul:re.Milestones aside, that doesn’t change the two-year gap between my 200th special and this review. Thus, it also goes without saying that I didn’t go into this third season with one-hundred percent recollection of the Tokyo Ghoul series.
Second, we need to get organized because things are about to get confusing. This is just going to be a partial review. Tokyo Ghoul:re was a split-cour release. The first half (the one we will be covering here) aired during the 2018 Spring season. The second half, as of the posting of this review, is scheduled to air during the 2018 Fall season.
For the purposes of the two Tokyo Ghoul:re reviews I will be referring to the entire Tokyo Ghoul franchise as follows:
1) Tokyo Ghoul (2014) – Season 1
2) Tokyo Ghoul √A – Season 2
2) Tokyo Ghoul √A – Season 2
3) Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 1 – Season 3A
4) Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 2 – Season 3B
Let's get on with the actual review.
The short answer is, Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 1 was good. The long answer is similar, except it does involve the frequent use of the word “but.”
For example, this story was interesting but complicated. This cast of characters was decent but problematic. The action was cool but only in the moment. And most importantly of all, 3A was definitely good, but it was nowhere near as good as seasons one and two.
Overall, I would be lying if I told you I didn't have fun with this show.
I'm running into difficulties regarding what some of the positive and negative aspects of this series were. Don't get me wrong, there are indeed points I can discuss that were season 3A’s doing exclusively. The real issue comes about when you remember that the larger Tokyo Ghoul:re story isn't exclusively 3A’s story.
This was only a chapter one.
I’m expecting my review of season 3B to be a little more critical than this one. Assuming everything goes as planned, such as season 3B actually getting released in the fall and it being twelve-ish episodes long, that review will be coming out sometime in January 2019.
I'm not about to ignore what season 3A did or didn't do. However, I can't determine, with any certainty, how I feel about a few things.
For instance, there were a couple of main characters from the original seasons who didn't have that prominent of roles here in 3A. Except this season heavily implied that these people will be going on to play much bigger parts in the follow-up.
Although it was disappointing not seeing much of these characters in this season, it's way too early to say if this was a bad move or not. Perhaps this story didn’t need these people at this point, and thus, isn’t it better that they weren’t forced in for familiarity's sake? Alternatively, if 3A was just being a massive tease, that’s not going to be fun later.
What the future may bring is a problem for future Odyssey to deal with. For now, let’s focus on the aspects that 3A absolutely got right; such as the fascinating conflict between Haise Sasaki and Ken Kaneki.
Ken versus Haise
Spoilers for the end of season two. Our main protagonist, Ken Kaneki, lost his memories and was taken into custody by the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG).
Ken didn't have any recollection of who he was, but he still retained many of his ghoul abilities. The CCG used Ken’s broken state of mind to form the Quinx squad. Ken was then given a leadership position on this team, as well as a new identity: Haise Sasaki.
What I’m saying is Ken, the person who we spent two seasons getting to know and the person who turned into a frightening badass, was not the character we were dealing with in 3A. If someone had told me that before I went into this show and they didn’t give me any more information, I know I would have been worried.
However, although it was Haise on screen, Ken was not gone. There was always a voice whispering in the back of Haise’s mind, and it was Ken trying to come out. This setup was incredibly cool to see unfold because this was Tokyo Ghoul’s calling card.
Yes, there are a lot of awesome action moments in this series, and fights were prevalent in the first two seasons. More than that though, Tokyo Ghoul has been the story of Ken’s descent into darkness.
When we first saw him in season one, Ken was your average kid: nineteen years old with his whole life in front of him. He then had a nightmarish encounter with a terrifying ghoul. In a twist of fate, that ghoul didn’t kill Ken but instead became a part of him.
Yes, there are a lot of awesome action moments in this series, and fights were prevalent in the first two seasons. More than that though, Tokyo Ghoul has been the story of Ken’s descent into darkness.
When we first saw him in season one, Ken was your average kid: nineteen years old with his whole life in front of him. He then had a nightmarish encounter with a terrifying ghoul. In a twist of fate, that ghoul didn’t kill Ken but instead became a part of him.
As the first two seasons progressed, Ken had to push back the monster that was lurking within him, and he was struggling. Following the events of the season two finale, Ken’s mind hit one last wall. This is where Haise came in. Haise was Ken’s final defense before he crossed a perilous line.
Unlike Ken, Haise had only ever known peace and happiness. Thus, every time Haise heard Ken’s voice telling him to let go, it was scary. Haise was afraid of what he might lose if he acknowledged Ken’s existence.
As 3A went forward and Haise learned more about Ken’s (a.k.a., his) past, it grew much harder for Haise to ignore the truth.
As 3A went forward and Haise learned more about Ken’s (a.k.a., his) past, it grew much harder for Haise to ignore the truth.
In addition to that, Haise kept facing more and more powerful opponents. The more damage Haise’s body took, or the more danger the people he cared about were in, Ken’s voice grew louder. Sometimes Ken got loud enough to take back some control. Whenever this happened, the ensuing fallout led to some of the best moments of 3A.
It’s no exaggeration to say that this inner fight between Ken and Haise was the thing that carried this half of Tokyo Ghoul:re. As I see it, season 3A needed to accomplish two goals.
One: Season 3A needed to keep the Tokyo Ghoul story going in an intriguing enough way.
Two: When it was over, season 3A needed to stir up hype for season 3B.
On both accounts, it was because of Ken and Haise that the first chapter of Tokyo Ghoul:re succeeded.
Series Negatives
There are three reasons why Tokyo Ghoul:re, thus far, has failed to be as good as the first two seasons. In addition to that, these are also the three reasons that are giving me the most concern regarding what season 3B may be like.
First, there were way too many characters. This season reached the point of obsessiveness when it came to how many people this chapter expected us to keep track of.
Not only were there characters from the original seasons to recall, but there were as many, if not more, people who were introduced here. Within the first few episodes alone, there was a never-ending stream of names, titles, and positions.
Imagine how insane this got by the end.
Imagine how insane this got by the end.
Speaking of which, although there were a ton of characters by the time season 3A reached its finale, there were only as many characters as there were because this story did an extensive job of killing a bunch of people off.
You know you're dealing with a lot to remember when a show loses an entire cast’s worth of characters and it's still overcrowded.
Second, and thanks in large part to how many people there were, season 3A had one of those kinds of stories that was incredibly difficult to follow.
Haise, the Quinx Squad, and the rest of the CCG were either preparing for a raid on a ghoul compound, or they were in the middle of conducting one. This season may have successfully emphasized the direness of these missions, too bad it would often forget to make it clear what some of the more crucial details were.For example, I usually didn't know who the main target was until the fighting was about to or had already started.
I'm not going to lie, I think these two problems are going to plague season 3B. Except I don't believe they will be as prevalent. I will go as far as to say these two issues may even be tolerable provided the third problem dies here and now.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe the first two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul were anywhere close to being as silly as 3A was. The amount of lightheartedness in this season was jarring.
It is okay for dark stories to employ comedy. However, this season took this well beyond the point of what this story needed. Some scenes got downright goofy.
I never imagined I would be using such wording to describe Tokyo Ghoul.
I never imagined I would be using such wording to describe Tokyo Ghoul.
Fortunately, I’m guessing this is not going to be as big an issue in 3B because the last episode of this season pretty much put an end to it.
Should season 3B retain the type of humor of its predecessor, that's really going to be a problem.
I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
Do I recommend this series? Can I recommend this series? For this review, both are the wrong questions to ask. Instead, I should be letting you know if it is worth getting excited for part two.
If you're expecting a return to form with the first half of this third installment, you might be in for a surprise. There are going to be points where you will think to yourself, “Am I even watching the same show?”
That said, there will also be as many points where you'll realize you totally are.
The elements that made the first two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul great were still there, and I have no reason to think they are going anywhere.
We will return to this story soon enough. In the meantime, though, Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 1 is worth checking out.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? What would be your advice concerning Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 1? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.
I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
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