“Hira… Hira… Hirako.”
Impression
First, let me explain what this is all about. At the end of every Tokyo Ghoul √A post, I’ve been talking about the canon sequel to the series, Tokyo Ghoul:re. I think it’s a brilliant manga, and so far I’ve covered Chapters 11-21. But the anime ends this week, and I’m certain there won’t be an adaptation of :re for a long, long time – if ever at all. So what I’ve decided to do is to spin off those sections into individual weekly posts, to be made as and when new chapters of :re are scanlated. They will be shorter than my usual posts, but that’s just how it is with manga. Also they won’t be spoiler marked, because if you’ve clicked on this you probably know what you’re getting into.
So the ‘freshly picked pineapple’ turned out to be an Associate Special Class. Damn, that’s frightening. Takizawa really is causing havoc – I mean, the guy could have just been taken by surprise, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was a clean kill of a dove with the same rank as Juuzou. And he hasn’t even used kagune yet, let alone a potential kakuja. Clearly, Eto knew what she was doing when deciding to harvest kakuhous.
I think the major point of interest this chapter was Uta and his brief exchanges with Hirako. We now know why Uta was known as the ‘No Face’ ghoul – it’s because he can literally change his face. This was hinted at very early on when his mask literally didn’t have a face (many ghoul masks reflect the ghoul themselves) but no-one could possibly have anticipated something this outrageous. I don’t know what sort of strange kagune ability that is (it certainly goes way beyond something like Rize’s abnormal regeneration) but I’m pretty sure he’s morphing his actual face, instead of it being a physical mask. Hirako clearly slashes at the ‘Arima face’ without hesitation, and there’s clearly blood along with a writhing mass of what I presume is his kagune. Of course, this raises many implications for… well, the entire series. Because now, during any time when Kaneki or whoever interacted with anyone else, it might not actually have been them – it could have been Uta. We don’t know his limits, such as if he can mimic their voices as well as their face, but it’s still a major game-changer nonetheless.
It’s also interesting that Hirako slashed at the ‘Arima face’ with what is presumably hatred. It’s not surprising. This was alluded to last chapter as well, the notion that Arima is both idolized and despised within the CCG. His incredible strength sets him apart from all the other doves, even those closest to him, and his god-like reputation precedes him to the extent that they don’t view him as one of ‘them’. That’s why he’s always alone, and that’s why the CCG members have such mixed reactions when they realize that Haise’s fighting style is similar to that of Arima’s.
Speaking of Haise, it looks like we’ll be getting at least one fateful encounter between him and someone from his time as Kaneki. Well, sort of anyway. Kanae has a bone to pick, and as far as Haise’s memories go I really doubt anguished and theatrical cries of ‘Master Shuu’ will do the trick. I would like to see Kanae get beaten though, I don’t like him very much.
