A child imprisoned in the night stopped breathing expressionlessly.
The first series of images presenting the Haise Sasaki standing in front of the blue sky with the rest of the Quinxes overlaying him is a reference to two things in the manga. The first is the caption that the manga opens with.
“The sky next to a tragedy is a clear blue.”
Also the role of the Quinxes. They are all meant to reflect components of Haise’s personality. Individual interpretations vary but generally Saiko is his innocent human self, Urie is the part of him that tries to do everything alone and lashes out, Shirazu is his good natured self that tries to support others, and Mutsuki is his trauma which rendered his original eyepatch self timid and then later unstable.
The next images flash by without any lyrics, showing us both which kakugan eye the quinxes manifest in through darkened silhouette.
This is a reference to two things, first this panel of the manga where the Quinx are drawn aligned behind Sasaki in the exact same silhouette, but reverse order. (though funimation could have mirrored it).
The second drawing of Sasaki in silhouette is based off of a tendency of Ishida’s to draw Haise in shadowy silhouette except for his ghoul eye when he’s embracing his ghoul side. This is likely an allusion to the jungian concept of the shadow, which Haise tends to interpret his baser more violent subconscious desires with his ghoul side, and his rational conscious thoughts with his human one.
The title text is kept mostly the same from the manga. I assume the emphasis on the red colon is a nod to the fact that the colon before :re one black one red has always been a symbol a one eyed ghoul, as one of the dots is red like a kakugan.
The next few images in sequence are just establishing which side each Quinx manifests their kakugan eye on.
Urie and Saiko’s are on their left like Kaneki, while both Shirazu and Mutsuki have their eyes on the right. There’s not much meaning behind this but it’s interesting to compare. Kaneki and Mutsuki are extremely direct foils both being eyepatch wearing ghouls and they have their kakugan in opposite eyes and therefore their eyepatches on opposite eyes as well. Whereas eventually as squad leader Urie will take Haise’s place and therefore their kakugan eyes are on the same side.
You’re drowning in a world you cannot change
The anime shows Arima directly over this line. It’s more than likely because Arima is the one responsible for Kaneki’s transformation into Haise, and he’s also the stop gap that prevents Haise from regaining his true self.
The quinque he’s holding is Ixa, which is also the quiqnue which Arima finished off Kaneki and stabbed his other eye with. The shattered glass effect right behind where he is holding Ixa is most likely a reference to that. Shattered glass being symbolic for a shattered visual field.
The next image played over the same lyrics is Haise and Kaneki both moving and then reaching in different directions. Kaneki’s is red and black, once again symbolic for the shadow of the subconscious, whereas Haise’s is white and bathed in light. As long as he remains a dove he believes he’ll have conscious control over himself.
Kaneki’s hand reaching out is a reference to this panel in the manga during the serpent fight. There’s no panel where Haise really reaches out with his hands, but it could be a reference to this moment here. Where he prepares to consciously use his power to combat Seidou and protect Hinami.
because there’s nothing but things that can’t be helped.
This line plays over Juuzou and the rest of his squad which is appropriate because that’s Juuzou’s attitude towards everything.
Juuzou on the rooftop may be a reference to the way he gets rid of his will in both the 20th ward raid arc and the 24th raid arc.
Open your eyes.
This plays over images of Touka, Nishiki, Yomo and Scarecrow which makes sense because all of those are people from Haise’s past who act like the guardians to his true memory.
A sinking shadow.
This lyric playing over Shuu’s appearance could be a reference to his want to bring Kaneki back. Also, his standing on a rooftop facing opposite to Sasaki is a reference to their eventual showdown on top of a tower with the cityscape in the background.
Haise will later on in the opening be shown standing on the exact same helipad which is where his and Shuu’s, as well as his and Kanae’s, and his and Eto’s climactic battle takes place at the end of the Rose arc.
No matter when, this is reality
This is a reference to a manga panel. Hinami only shows one kakugan when she’s using her kagune because she’s thinking of her brother and using them for her sake, thus she shows the same kakugan eye as Kaneki.
The lyrics that play ove this scene may be a reference of Hinami’s acceptance of reality, that Kaneki may have forgotten her but she still wants to protect him.
Alone, I had hoped that the pain experienced by you who is not dead might be love
The quinx flash by using their kagune, the only real substantive image is this one of Mutsuki wearing the eyepatch, which he wears to suppress his true nature but usually falls off when he’s being more genuine.
However, the most significant scene while this set of lyrics is playing is of course the reveal of Furuta’s true nature in the shadow of Kjima.
Unlike Kaneki, or even the Quinx who experience the same effect of the city flashing by, when it flashes behind Furuta’s head the city is dyed blood red. Most likely a symbol of their differing intentions. Sasaki and the Quinx overall genuinely want to protect Tokyo, while Furuta’s ambition is to control the city and dye the streets red with blood (quite literally as we find out later).
The lines “alone I hoped the pain experienced by you might be love” in this context definitely sounds like a reference to Furuta’s one sided love for Rize, who he was separated from and agonized for over the longest time.
Furuta being the only other character as closely tied to Rize as Kaneki, and Kaneki’s true foil and ultimate final antagonist as the one who truly dropped the bars on Rize that night.
The “you who is not dead” may be a reference to the Seidou/Akira/Amon trio who are shown in the next few shots.
Seidou is displayed as looking at the moon and away from both of them. Akira initially looks at Seidou, but then turns around and the screen pans across to follow her gaze to Amon. Seidou also standing on a rooftop is how he was waiting for his fight for Sasaki to begin. Notice the moon clear in the background that’s going to be important for Sasaki’s character later.
Perhaps a small nod to future events, Seidou and Akira are always going in opposite directions whereas Akira and Amon walk the same path. Also maybe a hint to their conflicts, Seidou and Akira are too different and always end up fighting or running away from each other, Akira and Amon are ultimately too alike both loving Mado Sr. and the CCG too much to affect any real change in one another.
“You, who is not dead” is therefore a reference to Seidou and Amon who are both not dead, but also refused to tell Akira they were alive until it was almost too late because they were afraid of being rejected due to being ghouls.
Before that shot we have Mirumo wearing the glasses he wears as a mask as Croquette monsieur. Matsumae is staring at her mask, because later on she will remove the mask before the fight against Hairu as a symbol of her intention to sacrifice herself so Shuu can escape safely.
The roses in the background are a reference to Kanae. Her heart is trapped “in a forest of roses” and it’s also the flashback given as the source for her true affection for Shuu.
Smite me, schaudenfreude is unpleasant.
The clowns standing off against Take’s squad is a reference to their upcoming fight in the auction. Schaudenfreude is a german word for “happiness at the misfortune of others” which is basically the clown philosophy anyway. The shot of Donato immediately afterwards is likely a hint of his association with the clowns.
His eyes shining through the cell an indication that even when restrained and imprisoned, Donato poses a great deal of threat to the investigators interviewing him and trying to keep him contained.
If it’s on purpose, the surprise is frightening. Admire the sound somewhere.
The lyrics are vague here, I’m not going to try to connect them to the images, but we get a shot of all three leaders of the CCG, the Washuu family with a V agent in the background hinting at their true alliance.
If there is a surprise to be found it’s in Eto’s surprise appearance at the end of the Rose arc to fight Haise Sasaki on the rooftop. This transformation right here is a pretty direct reference to a panel of the manga that takes place during their fight.
Finally the opening ends with Haise standing on the same helipad. This time however the moon has gone blood red, and is drenched in shadow.
This is a reference to Haise’s death which takes place on that same helipad at the end of the arc. After fighting Tsukiyama, and Kanae in sucession Eto swoops down and returns Kaneki’s true memories to him causing Haise to fall asleep. The fact that the line is shown tearing through his arm could be a reference to the arm that is lost in that same fight.
It also represents the disconnect between his two selves. As I said above Haise considers his active decision making conscious mind to be his human side, while his uncontrollable subconscious mind to be his ghoul side. He also sees his ghoul side as inseparable from his true memories. Whenever he “borrows” the power of his ghoul side he’s in a way separating himself and compartmentalizing himself further.
The reason Kaneki is shown standing on the helipad is a reference to what is likely going to be the climax of the end of the season. Kaneki’s memories finally returning while he’s standing on that same helipad on the top of the Lunatic Eclipse building. Hence why the moon has turned blood red as well, the moon tarot card is associated with the jungian concept of shadow and Kaneki associates his shadow or his subconscious desires with the violent and bloody world of ghouls.
Anyway, that’s my best interpretation of the visuals of this opening. A lot of it was just characters standing and posing but I tried to give it my best shot. I hope everybody enjoyed the first episode!
Relatable FE Quote or Something 