'Tokyo Ghoul' season 3 release date news, updates: premiere further delayed to early 2018

The last episode of "Tokyo Ghoul" season 2 was aired more than a year ago, and until now, fans of the Japanese manga-turned-anime are still waiting for the release of its third season; in fact, fans are still waiting for a final confirmation from the anime's network, Madhouse.

Initial speculations for the premiere of "Tokyo Ghoul" season 3 was set on the fall season of 2016, then moved to the winter season. However, since the year is almost at an end and no official announcement was made yet, it seems fans are looking at a further delay.

It is now believed that the third season of "Tokyo Ghoul" is set aside because its creator, Sui Ishida, is tapped to temporarily work on "Hunter X Hunter" while the latter's creator, Yoshihiro Togashi, is on break due to health reasons.

Ishida's involvement with "Hunter X Hunter," which is also slated to release its 361st chapter soon enough may have jeopardized the production of "Tokyo Ghoul" season 3, causing further delay for its release.

Most speculations, however, set the premiere date for season 3 on March 2017, while some believe it might be pushed back until the later part of 2017 up to early 2018. The third season is also expected to deviate from the main character, Ken Kaneki, as it would reportedly focus on another character, Touka.

This character shift was hinted by an anime writer known only as Bob. He teased fans that Touka will be the new focus as she is about to face college and the challenges that come with it.

In addition, Bob claims that "This is perhaps the most disillusioning, psychological and darkest plot line that we will attempt to adapt," he said. "We hope to remain as faithful as possible to the source material, although we cannot guarantee that more gory scenes such as Touka's standardized exam test-taking will not be censored."