Episode 2: Incubation

Ken Kaneki still rejects what he has become and refuses to eat human flesh. When Touka Kirishima tries to force it on him, he recoils and calls ghouls monsters, earning a beating; she has no patience for his suffering and dismisses it as lesser than her own. Yoshimura intervenes, reminding Touka of Anteiku's purpose, and invites Kaneki for coffee, the one thing besides humans that a ghoul can take in. Since it cannot fill the void, he hands Kaneki a parcel and welcomes him to return. Afterward he explains to Touka the recent Steel Beam Incident from the news, revealing that Kaneki and Rize Kamishiro were the ones involved and that Rize was pronounced dead, and he suspects the transplant is turning Kaneki's body ghoul-like.

At home in the dark, Kaneki fights the urge to eat the meat he was given. As his hunger swells, he begins to see Rize, who mocks his half-ghoul state and eggs him on. A message from Hideyoshi Nagachika, his closest friend, breaks the spell, and he throws the meat away. Back at Kamii University the next day, Hide greets him warmly, and Kaneki recalls being welcomed the same way in childhood after long absences. Hide brings him to meet an upperclassman, and they walk in on the student and his girlfriend Kimi Nishino in an intimate moment before she flees. The upperclassman turns out to be Nishiki Nishio, the ghoul who had earlier menaced Kaneki. Nishiki plays it casual and invites Hide to his home, and a fearful Kaneki insists on tagging along.

As they walk, Nishiki treats them to a meal, and Kaneki marvels that he can eat human food and pass so smoothly among people. The friendly mood ends at an overpass, where Nishiki attacks the pair, kicks Hide beneath it, and demands to know Kaneki's intentions toward him. He wounds Kaneki, vomits his earlier meal onto the unconscious Hide, and taunts him with threats. When Nishiki moves to finish Hide, Hide grabs his pant leg despite seeming out cold. As Nishiki prepares to kill him, Kaneki's memories of their first childhood meeting flood back, and for the very first time his kagune erupts. He beats Nishiki but is consumed by hunger, hallucinates Rize again, and nearly devours Hide before Touka steps in, and with reason failing, the two come to blows.

Kaneki comes to inside Anteiku, the taste of blood still in his mouth. Yoshimura looks in on him and brings him to the resting Hide, but relief gives way to dread over what he nearly did. Yoshimura admits Kaneki was fed in his sleep so he would not kill his friend. Feeling utterly alone, Kaneki starts to break down, yet Yoshimura assures him he belongs to both worlds and invites him to join Anteiku, hoping he can come to understand ghouls. Kaneki agrees and is shown how to brew coffee. Once by himself, Hide cracks his eyes open and smiles quietly. Meanwhile, Koutarou Amon reaches the 20th Ward alongside his partner Kureo Mado to investigate the binge eater and Jason, and Mado uncovers a first major clue, the pliers Rize took from Jason and discarded.

Kaneki refuses human flesh and Yoshimura explains the Steel Beam Incident, confirming Rize's death and Kaneki's transformation. Kaneki hallucinates Rize and resists his hunger. Nishiki is revealed as Hide's upperclassman and attacks both friends, prompting Kaneki to manifest his kagune for the very first time and defeat him. Touka fights Kaneki to stop him from eating Hide. Kaneki accepts Yoshimura's offer to join Anteiku, and Amon and Mado begin their 20th Ward investigation, finding Jason's discarded pliers.

The episode adapts manga chapters 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. It marks the first appearance of Kaneki's kagune and establishes his entry into Anteiku as well as the CCG's arrival in the 20th Ward.