‘Tokyo Ghoul’ Season 3 Release Date For ‘Re’ Confirmed For 2016, OVA ‘Jack’ Set For 2015: Read The English Spoilers [Video]

The Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 release date has officially been confirmed for 2016, but the question remains on whether or not the anime will be based upon the Tokyo Ghoul: Re manga. In addition, the OVA Tokyo Ghoul: Jack release date has been set for 2015. Whatever the future holds, we can definitely give you some English-based spoilers based upon what is known so far about the story.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, any anime fan is probably interested in the latest news about the plot for Sword Art Online Season 3. We’ve created an article explaining what Project Alicization means for SAO Season 3. While Sword Art Online Season 2 was set mostly in Gun Gale Online (GGO), the Sword Art Online: Underworld story arc for the anime version may even extend all the way up to Sword Art Online Season 4 and 5 since the story is so long. In addition, we have created a spoilers guide for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 2.

Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 Release Date

The announcement of Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 actually came bundled with a press release statement for an upcoming mobile video game. CEO and President of FUNimation Entertainment Gen Fukunaga just only barely mentioned how they were planning on continuing the anime series as he discussed the mobile game.

“Ever since we began simulcasting the anime series last year, fans of Tokyo Ghoul have been clamoring for a mobile game,” said Fukunaga, according to Game Samba’s press release. “With Season 2 now finished and Season 3 set for 2016, the anticipation for the game has only grown higher.”

Unfortunately, the FUNimation leader did not specify the exact Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 release date, but it may be safely assumed we’re looking at spring of 2016 at the earliest, although the fall of 2016 seems more likely. FUNimation also confirmed with Anime News Network that they are “anticipating a 2016 release,” although they did not clarify whether that meant the anime or the mobile game. In addition, the Tokyo Ghoul English dub for Season 1 was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 22, 2015.

Tokyo Ghoul: Jack Release Date And Prequel Spoilers

Based upon the Japanese description given with the Tokyo Ghoul: Jack trailer video, the Blu-ray and DVD release is set for September 30, 2015. Unfortunately, the details provided for the Japanese release of the Tokyo Ghoul OVA does not provide any information about an English sub, although presumably this feature will be made available over the long term.

As for the spoilers, we are assuming that the Tokyo Ghoul: Jack anime will closely follow the original written version considering the relative shortness of the story. The story takes place 13 years before the events of Tokyo Ghoul Season 1 and focuses on several characters within the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG). In particular, the story highlights Kishou Arima, the so-called reaper of CCG, and Taishi Fura, a high school student who eventually becomes a ghoul investigator.

The events of Tokyo Ghoul: Jack occur when Arima takes an undercover assignment as a transfer student in the 13th ward. Although only 16-years-old at the time, Arima is a 3rd class investigator already, and he has been sent to eliminate a ghoul calling itself Lantern. While undertaking this mission, Arima saves Taishi from death, and the two form a partnership to hunt the ghoul Lantern down, which soon draws the attention of other ghouls since it’s unheard of for high school students to be killing ghouls.

While this spoilers guide could list off the identity of Lantern and how the confrontation ends, we don’t want to ruin the ending completely. You will just have to wait another few days to find out yourself. However, it should be obvious that Arima and Tashi survive considering their future appearances in the plot.

Tokyo Ghoul: Re And The Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 Spoilers

First off, this spoilers guide is not intended to be a point-by-point comparison between the Tokyo Ghoul: Re manga and the eventual Tokyo Ghoul anime. Some fans were disappointed in the anime version since it abandoned a considerable amount of material, although it could be argued that the anime creates a parallel version with a slightly different focus.

In any case, both the 143 chapters of the manga and the two seasons of the anime conclude with the Anteiku raid by the CCG. There are numerous key differences along the way, but the biggest outstanding difference is the ending.

In the anime version, Ken Kaneki slowly carried Hide’s body past the staring eyes of the CCG forces, and when Kishou Arima confronts him, the battle in the snow is heavily implied instead of shown. The manga version specifically has Arima lunging with his sword-like quinque to stab Kaneki all the way through his skull, piercing his eye. Even then, Kaneki still fights back, managing to damage the CCG Reaper’s quinque, a result which surprised Arima. Regardless, Kaneki is stabbed through the body and the head once again, and it seems certain he met his demise.

The transition to the next part of the story is also made more blatant in the manga version. When Arima discusses the results of the attack, the director is shown holding a piece of paper with Kaneki’s profile crossed out and marked as “erased.” Arima is given the “ownership rights,” and he is entrusted with handling the name.

A special epilogue for the manga version also shows Akira Mado visiting her father’s grave. As a first class investigator, she will be part of a special team headed by Arima. She has been given the responsibility of training a man who is “different from the other investigators,” and that is when the new main character, Haise Sasaki, is first introduced.

The anime version also makes a specific reference to Tokyo Ghoul: Re based upon the sign at Touka Kirishima’s new shop, but anime fans are given very little hints on what happened to Kaneki.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!

The answer is that Ken Kaneki did not die. Assuming that Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 follows the Tokyo Ghoul: Re plot in regards to basic plot details, Haise Sasaki is in fact Kaneki. The half-ghoul has been resurrected in order to join a group of CCG investigators who have been surgically altered to be half-ghouls capable of using ghoul weapons. But Kaneki also suffers from amnesia and does not remember his former self, although he occasionally hears a voice that speaks into his mind.

Needless to say, Sasaki is going to have issues. The story is likely to focus on the dark and light aspects of his mangled personality, and even his hair color offers symbolism since the darker roots show that Kaneki’s humanity is growing back.

At this point, even manga readers do not know for certain what has happened in the two-year gap between the series. This has led to some speculation that Ken Kaneki did, in fact, die, with some claiming a plot twist will reveal Haise Sasaki as a clone.

Wild theories aside, what do we know for certain is that the Tokyo Ghoul: Re manga has only released 46 chapters so far, and the fifth volume is not even due until December of 2015. Considering the relative lack of source material, the anime producers have the choice of sticking to the manga more closely and slowing down the pace. Considering the history of the anime so far, it’s more likely that Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 will diverge from the manga once again and create its own storyline.

The question is, will anime fans like Tokyo Ghoul Season 3 if it strays too far from the story being created by writer Sui Ishida — what do you think?

[Image via Tokyo Ghoul]