Season 3 of the psychotic, gore-filled anime, Tokyo Ghoul—titled Tokyo Ghoul:re—was finally released on April 3. The intensity of the horror-fantasy show has captured hearts from all around, from the eye-catching aesthetics, the psychotic, troublesome characters, and crazy (literally) plot line.

For those who do not know, Tokyo Ghoul is an action-packed manga and anime series by Sui Ishida. The anime is set in Tokyo, Japan where ghouls live—-exact duplicates of normal people, but must consume human flesh in order to survive, because everything else is inedible, excluding coffee. Ghouls must live in secret in order to evade the CCG (the Commission of Counter Ghouls, basically ghoul police for human safety), and do so by blending in by living human lives.

The story starts off with Ken Kaneki, a 19-year-old introverted bookworm in college. He goes on a date with Rize Kamishiro, a girl who has similar tastes in books as him. But, turns out Rize is a ghoul and attempts to eat Kaneki, but he survives miraculously. When he wakes up from undergoing surgery, as he was in critical condition. Kaneki discovers that the surgery ended up transforming him into a half-ghoul–Rize’s organs were put into his body, and now his life is forever changed. He must find a way to live in both worlds, human, and ghoul while keeping his new identity secret. Tokyo Ghoul:re, the series’s long-awaited season 3, has finally arrived. As the second season ended on a cliffhanger, fans are ecstatic about its return.

Two years after the CCG raided on Anteiku, the CCG has an increased influence on Tokyo–but even so, ghouls are still lurking around. For this purpose the Quinx Squad was created, a special team of CCG investigators who have surgically implanted quinxes, which give them immense strength and ability no normal human would have. A comedic young man with adoring charm, named Haise Sasaki, is the squad’s leader. Yet, Haise is a half-ghoul, half-human who has been trained under the care of Kishou Arima, a famed special class investigator. Unknown to Haise, he is actually Kaneki underneath it all. As memories of Kaneki’s begin to unravel, his true identity slowly reminding him of who he used to be.

The first episode aired on April 3. The manga of Tokyo Ghoul:re has long been out, and hopes that the season would capture the series much more similar to the manga, unlike the previous season, Tokyo Ghoul Root A.

There are a lot of new characters throughout, and the episode, as Cody Perez from IGN says, “lacks necessary focus by attempting to do too much all at once.” The opening scene introduced spectacular designs and animation, along with eye-catching action, which immediately captures the viewer’s attention. The episode did end on an exciting yet surprising note, though.

On the other hand, the second episode left me absolutely speechless. The action scene from the first episode forces Haise to get involved, as his team members stand no chance. The stunning revelation of the identity of who the ghoul, Orichi, truly is causes Haise to lose control–making everything take a whole new turn. As the first episode left many loose ends, the second one tied them up, giving a more open view of the rest of the Quinx Squad, and introducing the Squad’s final member, Saiko.

The psychological struggles of Haise become more clear as the show continues. Haise wants to be the light-hearted, laid-back leader, but the shadow of Kaneki in the back of Haise’s mind tugs at him, shown through the Orichi encounter and through discussions between other characters. Haise is obviously struggling with the two clashing natures–comedic Haise and despair-filled Kaneki. Especially at the second episode’s conclusion, where Haise comes into contact with someone he doesn’t know but Kaneki has a troubled past with.

In all, Tokyo Ghoul started off pretty shaky but is slowly starting to show some promising content. Although the season only has a total of 12 episodes, which doesn’t seem like enough to fully cover everything that the manga has, you can definitely say that I’m strapped in for the rest of whatever Tokyo Ghoul:re has in store for us fans.

The latest episode of Tokyo Ghoul:re was released yesterday! Check it out! You can watch Tokyo Ghoul:re on www.kissanime.ru, www.animeshow.tv, or on www.animefreak.tv.