Tokyo Ghoul:re – 07 – Congratulations and Recollections

The sheer number of players big and small in the Tokyo Ghoul universe can make darting from one group to another a daunting task, especially for one not versed in the manga upon which :re is based. Still, the sight of all those myriad faces, most of them familiar, lend the world a lived-in, oddly comforting atmosphere.

Then there’s the new faces, our Quinx Squad, who come out of the great Auction Raid not only none the worse for wear (relatively), but having distinguished themselves to a man (and in Saiko’s case, to a woman). The raid ends abruptly—which I was hoping for. Sasaki takes Hinami into custody (after Arima allows it), and Rabbit and the other members of Aogiri Tree retreat.

Most of the surviving CCG investigators are promoted in a ceremony, with Tooru jumping from 3rd to 1st class for his conspicuous valor (no doubt irking Urie, who probably wishes he outranked his Quinxmate) Their leader Sasaki becomes a Senior Investigator at a very young age.

As the Doves celebrate their victory, Akira visits her father’s grave, eager new members join a “cursed” squad, Tooru is coached in knifesmanship by Juuzou, and a familiar green-haired lady leaves something in the Quinx Squad’s house’s mailbox.

The celebrations continue when Sasaki invites Akira and Arima over for a dinner party, preparing a sumptuous feast for them and his squad, and giving everyone gifts to commemorate their promotions (or in Arima’s case, just ’cause). After so much peril, blood, and death, I liked the return to the warm and cozy home life of the squad.

Even stick-in-the-mud Prince Urie, who manages to be both insufferable and sympathetic, chips in, while the higher-ranked investigators seem happy for the respite; there’s no other motive for Sasaki inviting them except perhaps to show them  how much his ragtag squad has gelled.

Then Sasaki opens the package addressed to him. It contains Kaneki Ken’s mask, as well as a novel by Takatsuki Sen (who also happened to be the deliverer of the package). If this is an effort by her to help Sasaki remember more about Ken, it seems to work in a very specific and poignant way.

As Shirazu visits his injured, unconscious sister in the hospital (something Urie also happens to see) Sasaki ends up in a cafe being served coffee by Touka at the Cafe :re, and thinking how familiar the coffee, the waitress, and the other patrons of the cafe feel.

Then walks past Anteiku in its prime, with Yoshimura looking on before walking in. Sasaki looks again, and the cafe is gone, replaced by a cleared lot and orange cone barriers. He must have been seeing through Ken’s eyes.

Kekkai Sensen & Beyond – 03

Just after daydreaming about that horrible day Michella went blind, an out-of-it Leo bumps into a big bully who takes his wallet containing Michella’s allowance. Chain witnesses Leo in a bind, but apparently has other matters to attend to.

Steven and his maid Veded prepare a super-classy dinner soiree, while Zapp is recruited by Tracy to find her oriental shorthair cat Mizaria…or she’ll cut his dick off with magic.

So yeah…lot’s going on this week! But hey, it’s not Hellsalem’s Lot if every day that ends in “-day” if a lot’s not going on. Did I mention Count Gigagigafutmassif is on the move…and that he’s taller than any skyscraper in the city?

What has always enhanced the already lush texture of KS&B’s great variety of stories is how they intertwine in interesting ways, much like Durarara!!. The fortunes of the various Libra POV characters this week also vary wildly as the episode progresses.

Zapp immediately runs into problems trying to find Tracy’s cat, and while Leo arms himself with a stun baton to get his wallet back, the bully just slugs him and uses his own baton on him. Of course, Leo can defeat him at any time with his eyes, he just doesn’t feel right using them for self-serving purposes…even when failure means Michella going without.

As for Steve, his snobby dinner party goes positively swimmingly…until he goes into the kitchen alone, turns around, and every one of his guests is pointing a biological gun at him. Fortunately, Steve is not one to get so easily ambushed, and took steps to ensure he could use his ice magic to get the upper hand anytime he wanted.

Steve also doesn’t bother handing his guests over to Libra, instead relying on his own special squad to “take care” of them in ways of which Libra’s leader wouldn’t necessarily approve. Bottom line: You come at Starphase, you best come correct.

These amateurs did not. Steve also rethinks whether he’s been enjoying ordinary life too much, considering his duties and the nasty enemies those duties can sometimes create.

Chain clearly saw Leo getting tossed by the bully, but takes a backdoor approach to getting Leo’s wallet back: she turns on her charm (wonderful stuff from Kobayashi Yuu here), promises a good time if the brute can beat her in shots, then drinks him under the table with ease, grabbing not just Leo’s wallet, but the bully’s toady.

It was nice to see a baddie put in his place with something other than brute force, even though Chain could have obviously dropped the guy anytime she wanted. This way was more fun for her!

Alas, Chain did Leo’s work for him, which means he never managed to get one over on his bully. It’s just as well; considering the handicap he demands of himself (no use of the eyes), he’s just not a fighter, nor should he be.

Since his toady was robbed by Chain, the two have to pay their bar bills with…their bodies, leaving them as nothing but heads hopping about in glass bulbs, to be attacked by…Mizaria!…who is then picked up by…Veded!, who finds her way back to Steve just as a united Leo and Zapp pass by.

Speaking of fortunes, we never see Zapp actually retrieve the cat and return it to Tracy, leaving the status of his manhood in tongue-in-cheek doubt. The closing shot—of Chain paying for her big night with a long prayer to the porcelain god—was pitch perfect way to close this fun, diverse outing.