Tokyo Ghoul 2 – 08

This is a different kind of episode of Tokyo Ghoul, made clear by the fact the cold open is over seven minutes long, comprised entirely of the sad tale of the “One-Eyed Owl” as told by Yoshimura to Ken, who is curious about him. These seven minutes are a masterpiece of form and emotional resonance.

The last time I can remember being as moved, transfixed, and enraptured in an opening as I was here was in the flawlessly spellbinding beginning of Pixar’s Up. Unlike Carl and Ellie, Yoshimura and Ukina are able to successfully conceive despite being Ghoul and Human.

But they are pursued by other ghouls, and Ukina is killed. Yoshimura sets his infant daughter aside to avenge her mother, but when he returns she is gone. And that infant grew up to be Eto. And now I know their connection!

Honestly, that cold open was about as good as a cold open can get, especially considering how much it opens up the formerly closed mystery that is the owner of Anteiku. The rest of the episode, almost halfway-done, boils down to the Doves’ continued interest in the cafe and in Yoshimura in particular.

There’s a pall over Anteiku as the Doves, who are always cropped out of the frame to accentuate the fact that they are out of place and a looming threat. Watching Nishio and Kimi, acting like ordinary people, being watched closely by anonymous Doves, sent shivers down my spine.

Yoma becomes aware of the increased surveillance, so Yoshimura does what he feels he must and sends Touka and Hinami away into the snowy night, to protect them from what could be an impending CCG raid. This entire sequence of events is subtly and impeccably handled, as it should be for someone of Yoshimura’s past and vast experience. Yes, he’s an incredibly badass ghoul, but he’d rather not bare those fangs, for it was over-exuberance that contributed to Ukina’s death.

Just as Touka and Hinami are out of the picture, the Doves descend on Anteiku, but only one enters: Shinohara, who arrives not as a conqueror or oppressor, but a humble customer. The rapport between him and Yoshimura is steeped in old-school respect and decorum. Neither of them spout a single word of the reality of the situation they find themselves in; they both play it so very cool.

But the reality is, the CCG now considers Anteiku and its proprietor as ghouls, which makes them a threat to civic peace. The encounter we witness is only the calm before the storm. Yoshimura knows it; Shinohara knows it. Even if Yoshimura was able to connect with a human and even allow her into his heart, such a thing cannot be replicated in the current, volatile environment.

Kaya and Koma, Yoshimura’s loyal soldiers, make all the preparations necessary before this impending storm, and are both rewarded with cups of Yoshimura’s sublime coffee, every bean of which was treated with the utmost respect and care; a fact Yoshimura attempts to expound upon Shinohara as a symbol of how Doves should deal with ghouls and vice-versa. It isn’t a black-and-white world; there are bad Doves and good ghouls. But perhaps there’s also too much bad blood for that to matter.

In a dark courtroom, permission is granted to launch an assault on Anteiku. CCG’s instincts aren’t all wrong; Eyepatch did recently visit. One of Ken’s hopes was to protect the cafe and everyone who worked there, but that seems increasingly unlikely after this week. That being said, the people who made Anteiku all remain alive and kicking—for now—so he can’t declare total failure quite yet.