Because she heard the voice.
Impression
I think I’m tearing up a little ;_; Hinami is such a goddess. She became so strong and beautiful. And yet, at the same time it’s really relieving to know that she hasn’t changed too drastically – after all, she joined Aogiri over the time-skip, and whilst her co-operation with the same group of ghouls who tortured Kaneki could be explained by her desire to find out exactly what had happened to him, we could never be sure. A lot must have happened to her, and people do change – look at Takizawa! And up until now, Hinami has always appeared as a sombre and composed young lady. I think it’s clear where her loyalties lie though – it’s the second time we’ve ever seen her use her kagune in the entire series, and this time it’s to protect her precious and dying onii-chan while she hugs him close to her. Hinami, you’re too perfect ;_;
It seems like a chapter of reunions. Apart from Hinami and Haise, we also had Juuzou and Big Madam finally meeting face-to-face. And Urie met reality, I guess. I did feel really sorry for Urie this chapter. I think there’s been a general shift in how Urie has been portrayed recently, marked by him being eaten by Big Madam. A lot has been done to make people dislike Urie, and now all that pent-up distaste is quickly being transformed into pity – it’s really tragic that he’s been so fixated on promotions and nothing else. He’s far too bitter over it, but at the same time he is trying his best, and has been denied over and over again. I also gained a new fondness for Mutsuki for reaching out to Urie in his crazed, Kaneki-like state – I do want them to form a proper friendship after this, especially as Urie has been looking down on Mutsuki all this time out of a perceived weakness.
At least he’s not dead, right?
So what happens now? Saiko is hiding from Takizawa, and for good reason. I know she cares for Haise just like Hinami does, but she must be both terrified and confused right now. She was never there the last time this happened to Haise, when he met Nishiki – so what she’s witnessing is one ghoul saying some strange things and torturing him, before another random ghoul goes up and protects him from the first one. It really would be safest if Saiko stayed where she was – it’s looking more likely that Haise might be abducted in the near future, and she could get hold of the clues the Quinx Squad need to go after him. Hinami may very well take him away, either to Yomo or elsewhere – certainly not back to Aogiri. Takizawa was about to kill him before she intervened, and this is pretty much tantamount to standing against Aogiri. I doubt Ayato has much love for him anyway, even if he is a little more mature now.
Before anything, it’ll be Pineapple vs Yotsume, and if Haise wakes up I hope he remembers her. There’s also Akira – who has cut the phone line with Washuu and is presumably heading over with a Fueguchi quinque that looks identical to Hinami’s rinkaku. It spells trouble, but given that she has connections with all three of Haise, Takizawa and Hinami, it’s impossible to predict how she’ll react. All I know is that it’ll be big – because next week’s chapter will be the last of Volume 3. I hope Hinami will be on the front cover, like Touka and Haise were for Volumes 2 and 1 – it’d be a direct parallel to the original Tokyo Ghoul volume covers.
It’s chapters like these that make me all the more glad you wanted to cover :re! I don’t always have something to say, but it’s really nice to see a well-thought-out and enthusiastic expression of someone’s thoughts at these times, from fawning over Hinami to pitying Urie and praising Mutsuki!
I actually only read chapter 28 and 29 today and I must say I’m saddened to know ‘Nutcracker’ had such a mournful past after all. I knew there had to be something wrong if a Ghoul of all people was going to sell herself in that way for money, when being a hitman or just a flytrap like Rise would work just as well.
Me too! :re has been really exciting lately, so I too am glad that I decided to continue covering it after Root A ended.
Apparently some people think Nutcracker isn’t completely done for, and that Shirazu never killed her with his stab – I can see why they might think that, given that Nutcracker got a tiny bit of development at the end after having appeared as a remorseless villain throughout. Though of course, a similar thing is just what happened with Urie this chapter. I myself do think Nutcracker is dead, especially after this week – Saiko and Shirazu have been awarded the credit for bringing her down. Poor Urie.
It was almost unbelievable that she died right there, but I think I can see why Ishida would ‘take her out’ after revealing small portions of her past. It really does carry more impact as a story element if a powerful, but not major-to-the-plot enemy has their past shown and then doesn’t just get away.
That said, perhaps she is still alive but as a prisoner of the CCG. Ultimately the revealing of her past continues the theme of ‘the world is wrong’ just like Urie’s fall did, even if both are accountable for their actions beyond a certain point, but I wouldn’t mind Shizaru going to talk to her in the prison to widen that new perspective he gained upon defeating her.
Speaking of new perspectives I wonder how Mutsuki will take Urie’s recognizing her as a woman, especially if he really bonds with her first out of the Quinx. It just may be the first time ever that being recognized as a woman felt good to Mutsuki. It’d certainly be interesting to have segments start up where we see Saiko bonding with Sasaki (if your prediction about her Kagune is correct), Urie with Mutsuki and Shizaru with Nutcracker. One can hope!
Planning a special double-feature for HIS return, right? :3
Almost done with :re Chapter 30! I’ve actually had exams the past few weeks, but my last one was today! I’ll be working to catch up on all my Shokugeki and Nanoha posts over the next few days – and of course, this week’s Oregairu and tomorrow’s :re.
I wonder if ‘he’ really will return. A third party is about to arrive, and if they’re significant enough it may well be enough to disrupt the battle and keep Haise as Haise.
Exams huh? This time next year I’ll probably being singing the same tune. Good on you for covering what you could and congratulations on making it through! Summer comes to Vantage at last.
That is a very good point and I think that people would be satisfied either way. Saiko’s desperate look at the end certainly lends itself to the story allowing the Quinx family to stay together longer. Still, I do miss Kaneki. Ah well! I actually received the Tokyo Ghoul Zakki illustration book yesterday, so that’ll tide me over if Kaneki doesn’t return, as well as makes the waits between chapters more bearable! Do you have a copy?
Thanks! I’m free of all study-related obligations until October now!
Ah, I’ve seen the Zakki book for sale in anime-related stores near where I live. I was going to buy it, but was very suspicious given its seemingly exorbitant high price. I was right – on Amazon.jp it costs about as much as a normal manga volume, and that store was trying to sell it for 10x the price!
That’s really strange! If I may, I’d like to offer a solution:
Well, if you want to get it free of shipping costs, just ask a friend who has an account with Tokyo Otaku Mode. If you sign up with their referral link you get $10 USD in addition to the usual $5 welcoming coupon, effectively cancelling the $15 dollars for shipping :3
They’re even doing the gift wrapping for free right now! Think of it as a present to yourself for finishing exams 😀
It’s their way of making a profit off fans who aren’t as well-informed, I guess. I might just get it when I next order from Amazon.jp – the shipping costs with them aren’t /that/ bad if you buy in bulk, or find a deal where you get many manga volumes in a ‘set’ as one item!
Oh, now that’s a smart idea! I had no idea it worked that way with Amazon.
I actually forgot to tell you, but my main purchase was actually this Kantai Collection Admiral’s Pocket Watch! They were convention exclusives at one point, so I was surprised to see them in store.
During my pre-purchase research I actually saw a few different Shimakaze themed pocket watches and I know how much you adore her. If stylish timekeepers are your thing, you might want to look into that!