After an extremely divisive season two that skipped over key material from the manga, it didn’t seem like a season three of Tokyo Ghoul was ever going to happen. If it did, what would it look like? A fresh adaptation of the Tokyo Ghoul:re manga or something else entirely? With the Tokyo Ghoul:re premiere, it’s clear that this is most likely a straightforward adaptation. “Those Who Hunt: Start” not only acts as a faithful recreation of the opening chapters of :re, but also defiantly distinguishes itself from what came before by significantly changing up the tone of the story and focusing on an unfamiliar cast of characters.
For starters, the white-haired elephant in the room that must be addressed is the new protagonist, Sasaki Haise. Voiced by the same actor as previous hero Kaneki and sporting the iconic white hair, the similarities between the two largely end there. Whereas Kaneki was a soft-spoken, tragic character who I found was easy to relate to, Sasaki is a laid-back and comedic leader who doesn’t seem to take anything too seriously when it comes to managing his Quinx squad, a group of half-ghoul, half-human investigators tasked with taking down rogue ghouls.