'Tokyo Ghoul' season 3 release date this year - what to expect

Tokyo Ghoul - Ken KanekiStudio Pierrot

It's been over a year now since "Tokyo Ghoul" season 2 released, and according to a report from Movie Pilot, there will be a third season but it may be the same series that fans have been following for two seasons in. Instead of continuing the story of main character Ken Kaneki, it will be a quasi-reboot that instead focuses on Touka Kirishima.

Kirishima does play a significant role in the original manga and has been established well in the anime as Ken's training partner, but to suddenly shift the focus of the series on him instead of completing Ken's story reportedly does not sit well with fans. 

As a response, fans have launched several online petitions, notably via iPetitions and Change.org, to force the animation studios to reconsider their decision. However, instead of asking Studio Pierrot to alter the story for season 3, they are now demanding for a complete change in animation studios.

The petitions are now asking for Studio Pierrot to give up the responsibilities and to allow Madhouse Productions, the studio behind hit anime series such as "Death Note" and "Claymore," to take over and simply reboot the franchise. The petitions both claim that Studio Pierrot did not properly handle the story of "Tokyo Ghoul."

Until the petitions are granted, season 3 will move along with a new focus on Kirishima as the new lead. The third season is also expected to launch sometime this year, although no specific release date has yet been announced. Fans speculate that the series' third season will drop sometime in summer, although there are no confirmations at this point.

"Tokyo Ghoul" is set in a world where ghouls live in hiding amongst humans. They feed on human flesh to survive and there are now special task forces that handle ghoul-related cases. The main character, Ken Kaneki, was attacked by a ghoul and, in order to survive, was surgically given ghoul organs and now lives as a powerful half-ghoul being.