Tokyo Ghoul - S1E4 - Supper

Previously on Tokyo Ghoul, ‘Dove’

After the information dump that was last episode, The Gourmet Ghoul burst on the scene to get his piece of Kaneki. Toka makes a sacrifice for a friend, and Kaneki sits under the ghoul learning tree.

The Gourmet Ghoul

The mysterious suited ghoul from the previous episode is Tsukiyama, the Gourmet Ghoul. He moves and speaks with an almost french type of smoothness, but Toka doesn’t mince words with her disgust for him. The Gourmet sidesteps her remarks and circles Kaneki. He asks Kaneki’s name before leaning in for a sniff of Kaneki’s “wonderous aroma”. Toka has had enough and Tsukiyama leaves. Toka warns Kaneki that Tsukiyama is one of the parasites of the 20th Ward.

Later, Toka is eating at a fast food restaurant with one of her human friends. Her friend wants her to have a piece of her fried chicken that she changed the recipe for. Toka fakes eating it, but when she has a chance to throw it back up in the bathroom by herself, she forces it to stay in. She seems fine, but worn out.

The next day, Kaneki is reading outside by himself, when the Gourmet Ghoul appears. After being asked, he tells Kaneki that he is here to see him. Tsukyama had heard Kaneki loved to read, which leads into a philosophical rant that impresses Kaneki. Kaneki feels a bond with him after he talks about how books saw him through some hard times. At this point, The Gourmet invites Kaneki to a cafe owned by a book-lover. Kaneki is hesitant until The Gourmet tells him that his favorite author is seen there sometimes. Kaneki has a weak spot, and this is the second time he’s going to be manipulated by it. 

Helping Hands

At Anteiku, Kaneki is getting off work when Yoshimura tells him that Yomo is waiting for him downstairs. The Doves are in their ward, and if things go south, Kaneki has to learn to take care of himself. He’s able to dodge Yomo’s punches, but catches a kick to the head. On the days he works, he’ll be training with Yomo afterwards. He’s a natural at dodging, but worthless at anything else. Before Kaneki can react to that, Yomo takes him to the Helter Skelter Bar.

The owner of the bar, Itori, has been dying to meet Kaneki. Itori, Uta, and Yomo (also called Ren here) all go back a long time. Uta and Yomo used to be enemies in a more dangerous 4th ward than it is now. Yomo get uncomfortable and changes the subject to what Itori really wanted. She pours a glass of blood and throws it in Kaneki’s face before pulling his eye patch. One-eyed ghouls are an urban legend. Ghouls and human almost never get pregnant, and the chances are even lower for a live birth. Eventhough it is extremely rare, the urban legend is that one was born. It is a half human, half ghoul with it’s demon eye on the opposite side of Kaneki’s. It is also said that half breeds are superior to full bloods.

Kaneki asks about Rize. She’s changed his life but he knows nothing about her. Yomo gets touchy, but Itori pushes on to point out to Kaneki that Rize’s death was no accident. People saw someone on top of the building that night, but she laughs it off as rumor after Yomo snaps at her.

The Main Course

At his cafe meet-up with Tsukiyama, Kaneki is still preoccupied with Rize. He questions Tsukiyama who says they used to talk about books and dining, but a flashback shows the truth. The Gourmet had invited her to his members-only gourmet club which she had turned down. She laughed in his face and he still hasn’t gotten over it. In the present, he crushes the coffee cup in his hand. Kaneki cuts himself, trying to help, and Tsukiyama covers it with his handkerchief. As an apology, The Gourmet offers to take him to Rize’s favorite place. Kaneki sees he’s bleeding through it and offers to clean it. The Gourmet quckily snatches it, with trembling hands, on his way to clean it himself. In the bathroom, he gathers himself but can’t help but inhale Kaneki’s blood. Tsukiyama gets so excited by it that his eyes roll back in his head after he orgasms. Yes, you read that right.

Later, Kaneki is in the shower, wondering why Tsukiyama has requested that he take one. They are at “Rize’s favorite place”, but Kaneki is being tended to by mask-faced servants. Kaneki is given a suit to wear and a cup of coffee. After a few sips, the lights shut off and the floor rises. He is now in the middle of a high-class gladiator arena. The ghouls looking on are all masked in what looks like a bunch of extras from Eyes Wide Shut. The crowd has some reservations when it’s announced that the main dish will be a ghoul. The Gourmet appears and explains that this ghoul also smells like a human. He drops the handkerchief and every ghoul that smells it can’t get enough. They all refer to each other by initials, and it will be Madame A’s scrapper that will finish of Kaneki.

Taro, the scrapper, is a giant man-child armed with a saw sword. Kaneki manages to dodge all of his swings and stay on the run, but he has zero offense. Kaneki slips in a pool of blood which allows Taro to kick him into the wall. It’s announced that the drugged coffee is kicking in and Kaneki knows he is running out of time. Taro now is choking Kaneki in the air and he’s about to black out. As he’s beginning to fade, Kaneki ghouls up and hits Taro with an uppercut that sends him flying. Kaneki’s ghoul eye is out for everyone to see and the crowd can’t believe it. The Gourmet gets so excited about this new detail of “his delicacy” that he knocks his 2 girls down before saving Kaneki. He apoligizes to the crowd and offers Taro up as a replacement meal after tearing through poor Taro. Madame A has no problems with this and even berates Taro. With everyone’s attention turned, Tsukiyama leans in next to Kaneki’s ear and whispers that this was supposed to be a joke and asks if they can just forget about it. Being this close, The Gourmet inhales Kaneki again. Kaneki is a rare treasure that he must keep for himself.