Tokyo Ghoul Re – S3E4 – MAIN: Auction

Previously on Tokyo Ghoul, “fresh: Eve”

If you had told me I had to sit through a Mutsuki heavy episode, I would have dotted you in the eye (still might), but I have to give some respect. Some, not full. There’s a lot of moving parts to “MAIN: Auction” once the battle begins, which is cool until you realize this is a two-parter.  They left us some meat to chew on, but it’s still a kick in the nuts when you’re coming in blind. Regardless, it’s the ghouls’ week to shine featuring the Eyes Wide Shut aristocrats and Aogiri Tree, with some new and old players making a mark. In a major battle episode, you’d think that would be enough, yet they had to aim a little too high.

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls

Towards the end, O.G. special investigator Ato goes on a long inner monologue about how in the face of transcendent talent you meet God, and God isn’t fair. To accentuate that point, after finishing off a strong ghoul in a feel good moment earned by his whole team, he turns around only to instantly die at the hands of newcomer Takizawa. It’s almost a great point that touches pretty much everyone who’s graced the screen minus the aristocratic ghouls, I figure especially for this cat that I wish was more than just an extra:

The auction itself reminds us that not all is right in the ghoul world, while most strive to survive, the Eyes Wide Shut gang are rolling around in more money, power, and privilege than they know what to do with.  Scrub and high profile humans alike are up for grabs as well as half-breeds like Mutsuki, who go for astronomical prices. Even some hardcore human haters like Ayato look on in disgust but they still have to work for them, unfair. You can apply it to the CCG struggle between the old timers and the young bucks that comes into play again this week, or you can point to Kaneki, Touka,  or Hinami’s journeys to name a few. It sounds nice when they ham fist it in there but it’s too broad. It’s like Sesame Street announcing their big thing today is “learning with Muppets.” Nothing about Tokyo Ghoul is fair, there’s never a clean cut win for anyone. Just being alive is the best anyone can hope for no matter how many pieces you’re left in. It’s flimsy at best and even worse, if you just apply it to fighting, it describes damn near every one on here. At best it’s a reach when MAIN:  Auction didn’t need to get deep the other plates they had spinning.  

And Everybody Say, “I remember way back when.”

One of the great strengths of this episode was the rich history they toyed with, even if a number of them don’t look like they’re headed for a collision course. Juzo, who got to debut out his sweet knife cache fake leg in action, locks eyes with Big Madame, his twisted adopted mother who trained him with torture. It’s a quick moment, but there’s no missing Juzo reverting to that little boy before Ayato managed to make the save. It’s only the second time we see the Juzo hiding behind the facade, but the only time he wasn’t facing death horrifically injured.  Outside, it looks like Mado is about to channel her father vs. Naki, who have unfinished business from Cochlea. Even O.G. Ato flashes back to a young Chief Arima before biting it. In two seasons, they’ve built a rich world TG: re can feast on, but two characters both manage to stand out without much screen time.

Up first is someone soaring up the rankings, Hinami. No longer the scared little girl, she is a great Aogiri Tree general. Her ultra acute sense of hearing would seem to be a minor power except for the skills she has supporting it. At some point in these two missing years, our lil lady became a master tactician, as evidenced by her spending a majority of “MAIN: Auction” assessing situations and countering expertly.

Only needing her hearing, her mask actually seems to block her sight. I love the hardened woman she is becoming, which will make the eventual meeting between her and Sasaki-Ken that more dramatic. I was rooting for it to happen next week, but after he picking up that a “spine user” was attacking Naki’s crew, it looks like we’ll have a reunion of Hinami and Mado’s quinque her Dad made from Hinami’s dad (awww memories). Our other ghoul was easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention, and he takes it back to the beginning.

Can I get some Qs with these As?

Running the auction are the twisted, merciless eyeball juggling clowns. All three are S-rated tough, yet one neck tatt stood out. The nameless MC turns out to be our old mask maker, Uta! Another casualty of Anteiku’s end, he seems to have gotten back to his roots with his fuck the police humans attitude.  The laid back demeanor is still there, however twisted it comes out now. What the hell happened in those two years that everyone from Anteiku took a hard turn except Yomo and Touka? It’s a mystery I hope we get an answer to but at the rate they’re churning out new ones, who knows?

Along with the two years question, we’re left to wonder if there’s a mole in CCG. A-Tree knew about the search for Torso and now knew about Mutty and Juzo infiltrating the auction. The mole can’t be too good though since they didn’t tell’em about Juzo’s leg arsenal or the force waiting outside. It almost feels like Kaneki might be doing something behind Sasaki’s back (ugh this crazy kid) which I hope they don’t since Kaneki wasn’t even really about that life.

Speaking of Sasaki-Ken, what’s the deal with his scent? The Gourmet, Nishio, and Touka didn’t recognize his smell even though they all have it seared into their brains. How deep does this split go and when will we at least start getting hints of how this happened? My biggest fear is we get through this sequence only for nothing to be revealed or happen to him. As it is, the Quinxes were in the backseat this week while Mutsuki took the majority of their usual screen time. We’re a third of the season in, they have to start answering some questions before they hit us with too much more.