Alright, let’s begin this in a way that will head off both angry commentators who will
undoubtedly make remarks without first watching the video, or those who really don’t
even care at all.
Tokyo Ghoul... [Pause for effect]
...Has a manga!
SHOCKING! I know, it's true.
It’s probably really good and you should go read it!
Like every manga to anime adaptation out there, the manga readers will tell you that theirs
is the superior version.
They might be right, they might be wrong, I wouldn’t know.
I didn’t read it, as I prefer to judge an anime on its own merits (or lack thereof)
without the manga being there in my mind as a constant comparison.
But if you really like Tokyo Ghoul, you should go read the manga.
Viz has it, so you can go and check that out over there.
But with that out of the way, let’s get to the start of this new season to see if
it can recover from the dumpster fire that season two left us.
SPOILERS!
It doesn’t.
Tokyo Ghoul:re is a currently airing anime for Spring 2018 by Studio Pierrot.
The Tokyo Ghoul franchise is one of their more well-known shows from the past number
of years, but historically they are known as the animators of Boruto, Bleach
and Boruto’s Dad.
I also know them personally for being the studio that helped popularize the use of idols in magical
girl anime back in the 1980’s, but Kanaki is not a magical girl, so that’s neither
here nor there. Just something I wanted to slide in there.
If you are curious as to my general thoughts on this franchise thus far, I do have reviews
of the first two seasons.
You can watch those at your leisure, but – long story short – they have many redeeming qualities
to them that make them worth the watch for a great number of people.
...just not me.
The first season's opening for example will be replayed and covered to death,
though that’s fine, because it’s really good.
Unfortunately though, the ending of season two, and some would say season two as a whole...
SUCKSSSS.
I’ve been told that this is because the anime for Root A decided to go off and do
its own thing away from what the manga did, but ultimately Root A took what was good about
the first season, then threw it into a grinder and hoped for the best.
SO LET’S IGNORE ALL THAT AND START OVER MMMMK?
When I said Root A went anime-only, I do mean it.
Virtually none of that was from the manga, so now that we are back to the manga again, it’s somewhat
confusing for us anime-only watchers.
We now have to decide what was and was not retconned as this third season is continuing
on with the impression that we knew what happened.
Not a good sign.
So with the actual plot thus far, how does that stack up?
Kanaki is back and is still the main character, but now he has amnesia and – for the third
time in the anime’s history – has swapped sides…again.
Man, this boy’s loyalties are completely wacked.
So he’s now in charge of a new unit of ghoul/human hybrids, the creation of which…is
not yet explained.
These new characters seem to be trying their hardest to be unlikeable, what with the one
guy so full of himself he thinks he can do everything on his own, the other dunce who’s
happy to be there, and the one who really should be in a more powerful and responsible position, but
they can’t use their powers.
Oh, and the blue-haired girl that didn't have had any screen time in the first two episodes
and that's like a sixth of the way through the show. So we don't know what her deal is really.
I guess unless you read the manga.
Not a good sign.
I’m really not sure who this series was meant for, to be honest.
It’s not for the manga fans, unless someone seriously misjudged what that group would
want from a re-adaptation.
Although, perhaps the Japanese fans might be a little bit more lenient on the series than fans are here
in the West. That could be.
It’s certainly not for anime-only watchers because there are unexplained continuity errors
all over the gosh-darn place.
Not.
A. Good.
Sign.
So should you watch this series? That's the ultimate question.
I probably should not be the person you ask.
You know who is the person to ask?
Yourself.
Did you enjoy Tokyo Ghoul AND Root A?
Then you’ll probably find some enjoyment here.
Did you NOT enjoy either one or both of those?
Then perhaps this show will not be redeeming itself, in your eyes, anytime soon.
True, it could pull itself out of the muck by the end of its run, but using the previous
two series as points of reference, it seems quite unlikely.
But hey, if you are one of those individuals who really want to see more of this series,
I'll put down links in the description for you to check it out, as it’s available
from Funimation.
They are even Simuldubbing it, which means the dub comes out at the same time as the sub, so that’s good.
Shame it wasn’t for a series I could recommend more, but hey
They are also doing it for we’ll be getting to Hero Aca. Because that's surpriseing. /s
That’s it from me for today.
A very special thank you to my patrons who support my videos and allow me to continue
to do what I do.
You guys are amazing!
And to you, my gentle viewer, thank you for watching.
Until next time, stay frosty.