'Tokyo Ghoul' Has Too Many Characters

I thought I was alone; as someone who came to Tokyo Ghoul exclusively by way of the anime series, I was certain the problem was with me. I would tell myself "Maybe if you read the manga, you wouldn't have this problem," while hiding from discussions of the series with other fans, due to a secret that shamed me to keep:

I can't keep track of who is who in Tokyo Ghoul; there are just too many damn characters!

However, as Tokyo Ghoul season 3 (aka Tokyo Ghoul:re) has been dropping its latest, action-packed episodes, it's become clear that I'm not at all alone in my difficulty: many other fans of the series have trouble keeping track of all these characters, as well:

from discussion [Spoilers] Tokyo Ghoul:re - Episode 4 discussion.

from discussion [Spoilers] Tokyo Ghoul:re - Episode 4 discussion.

As some fans additionally point out, Tokyo Ghoul seasons 1 & 2 were a bit more tight in terms of keeping their respective groups of characters distinct. However, most fans agree that season 3, Tokyo Ghoul:re has blown the gates wide open, and is confusing pretty much everyone with its mob of characters:

Season 3 episode 4, "MAIN: Auction" ended with an epic battle, with the CCG's Quinx Squad and other divisions all converging on a ghoul gourmet auction head by the Clowns. In the midst of that brutal fight, Eto and the Aogiri Tree ghouls look to take advantage of the situation and strike, as well. There are quite a few big fights, and even some tragic deaths - but little of it comes across coherently, or hits with much impact at all, since we can barely keep track of which characters are which, and therefore, it's hard to care about them.

Tokyo Ghoul isn't the only series that has to juggle a massive ensemble of characters: Game of Thrones is probably the closest comparison. However difficult it may be to keep track of every GoT character, the series at least anchors us with a few core characters that fans have become strongly attached to (Jon Snow, Daenerys, Tyrion, Cersei) - and like Tokyo Ghoul, they encompass a range of good guys, bad guys, and those lost in the gray area between.

Tokyo Ghoul:re has done a pretty poor job establishing any kind of core characters - even with some obvious anchors in the bunch. We've barely spent any time with Haise Sasaki / Ken Kaneki, which should be our primary focus point; exciting new characters like Quinx squad member Kuki Urie have been shorted on development or screen time (so far), and when you add in the different Ghoul groups; the convoluted divisions and investigator classes of the CCG; and a whole host of returning characters - some of whom look very different than when last we saw them - and it's pretty much impossible to everything straight. The way that the series simply jumps around from one set of these characters to the next, with barely any reminder of past history, makes matters even worse.

*****

Are you enjoying Tokyo Ghoul:re? Do you find it too hard to follow, or are you keeping up to speed? Let us know in the comments!

Tokyo Ghoul:re airs new episodes every Tuesday at 10:00am EST on streaming services like Crunchyroll and Hulu.