Episode 3: Dove

Doctor Asaki Fueguchi is treating a patient when Jason intrudes, menacingly ordering him to fashion new pliers before leaving the frightened Fueguchi family with a promise to return. Inside Anteiku, Ken Kaneki settles into his role as a waiter and into being a ghoul. Yoshimura shows him how to brew coffee, though Kaneki feels his own falls short, and describes Anteiku as a special haven in the 20th Ward where ghouls and humans mix and where ghouls must learn to blend into human life. Yoshimura says he likes humans, leaving Kaneki puzzled over his meaning. Downstairs, Hideyoshi Nagachika has dropped by to thank Touka Kirishima for her help after the "accident," showing no sign he recalls the trouble with Nishiki. Once Hide goes, Touka warns Kaneki she would kill his friend if he ever learned they were ghouls. Their talk is cut short when Ryouko and Hinami Fueguchi arrive from the rain to see Yoshimura, and Touka refuses to explain their situation.

At the CCG's 20th Ward branch, Itsuki Marude chairs a meeting on pressing investigations, wrapping up a report about a possible ghoul gang forming in the 11th Ward. Koutarou Amon then introduces himself and lays out his findings on the binge eater case, on Jason, and on the pliers recovered by his partner. Impressed, Marude places Amon and Kureo Mado in charge of the 20th Ward and reminds the room that the CCG exists to wipe out every ghoul in Tokyo. Afterward Mado grows excited at the thought of the dangerous ghouls awaiting them. Back at Anteiku, Yoshimura shows Kaneki how to stomach human food after he vomits on the first attempt, gives him special sugar cubes to blunt his hunger, and asks him to help gather food in Touka's place while she studies. That night Kaneki goes with Renji Yomo to collect it and learns that Anteiku scavenges the bodies of suicide victims.

Roaming the streets after dark, Mado and Amon bait a ghoul into attacking, then subdue and interrogate it about Jason's pliers before Mado kills it for offering nothing. Yoshimura informs Kaneki he requires a mask and has Touka escort him to get one crafted, overcoming her reluctance by mentioning Doves in the area. She brings him to HySy ArtMask Studio to meet Uta, whose unnerving manner and invasion of his space put Kaneki off at once. Uta takes his measurements and asks seemingly odd questions, wondering whether he is interested in Touka, though Kaneki finds her frightening. Uta describes the hard lives ghouls lead, especially those close to humans, and after the fitting Kaneki gains new respect for Touka and the staff. He again presses to help with Hinami, and Touka relents, explaining the girl has to remain separated from her father, which has left her behaving differently. Kaneki also learns the mask is meant to keep his identity hidden from Doves.

During their patrol, Amon and Mado corner two more ghouls and press them about the pliers, and when they know nothing, Mado attacks, leaving one alive. At Anteiku, Kaneki works up the nerve to approach Hinami but catches her mid-meal and flees. His coworker Enji Koma agrees it is awkward and gives him a coffee to bring her as an apology. When Kaneki delivers it and turns to go, Hinami asks what he is; he tries to explain that he belongs to both worlds, and sensing his unease she apologizes too. They move on to her drawings, her family, and her current book, Sen Takatsuki's Monochrome Rainbow, and they bond quickly as he starts teaching her kanji. Away from Anteiku, the ghoul who lived through the encounter with Mado and Amon runs into a companion and gripes about his wounds until the other suggests seeing Dr. Fueguchi and is promptly killed; the two investigators, watching, sense they have found another piece of the puzzle. When Hinami arrives at Anteiku with her mother in higher spirits, the mood lifts, and soon after they go upstairs a man with a powerful presence, Shuu Tsukiyama, arrives.

Jason threatens Dr. Fueguchi over new pliers. Yoshimura explains Anteiku's role and teaches Kaneki to brew coffee and eat human food. Marude places Amon and Mado in charge of the 20th Ward, and the pair kill ghouls while hunting for leads on the pliers. Kaneki visits Uta for a mask and learns its purpose. He befriends Hinami over a shared love of Takatsuki's Monochrome Rainbow. The investigators pick up a clue pointing to Dr. Fueguchi, and Tsukiyama makes his first appearance at Anteiku.

The episode adapts manga chapters 10 through 14. It introduces the CCG's 20th Ward investigation under Amon and Mado, the mask maker Uta, and Kaneki's bond with Hinami, while ending on the arrival of Shuu Tsukiyama.