Ken Kaneki

Ken Kaneki (金木 研, Kaneki Ken) is the main protagonist of the Tokyo Ghoul series. He is currently Touka Kirishima's husband, the father of Ichika Kaneki and an unnamed son and the adoptive father of Shouta Magatsuchi. Previously, he was a student who studied Japanese literature at Kamii University, living a relatively normal life. However, this quickly changed after Rize Kamishiro's kakuhou was transplanted into him and transformed him into a one-eyed ghoul. Kaneki is the first known artificial one-eyed ghoul. His unique half ghoul state is what later inspires the idea of the Quinx. After joining Anteiku as a part-time waiter, he learns how to live as a ghoul and eventually becomes known as Eyepatch (眼帯, Gantai).

After being captured by Aogiri Tree, he underwent a drastic personality change and after escaping, formed a group with the goal of protecting those precious to him and exterminating individuals threatening his place of belonging. His kakuja form's distinct appearance earned him the alias Centipede (ムカデ, Mukade).

Two years following his defeat against Kishou Arima, he lived under the identity of Haise Sasaki (佐々木 琲世, Sasaki Haise), a Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator who served as the mentor of the CCG's Quinx Squad. His memories were initially lost to him, but regained during the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation. Six months after the operation, ghouls came to know him by the moniker of the Black Reaper (黒い死神, Kuroi Shinigami).

After defeating Arima and Eto having unveiled their joint plan to raise a one-eyed ghoul who could stand as the hope for all ghouls, he calls himself the One-Eyed King (隻眼の王, Sekigan no Ō). Kaneki has since then formed the organization he named Goat.

As a result, of an orchestrated plan carried out by Nimura Furuta, Kaneki morphed into the Dragon (竜, Ryū), a huge, uncontrollable kagune that destroyed Tokyo. He was later extracted from the monstrous appendage by a collaboration between the remaining members of Goat and the CCG. When the remnants of Dragon began releasing a toxin that threatened humans and ghouls alike, Kaneki ventured down into the depths of the oviduct and nullified the threat after a fierce battle with Kichimura Washuu and Dragon.

After the Defense of Tokyo, Kaneki and Touka currently live happily married, with a daughter and a son, with humans and ghouls finally united together.

He died during the ghoul incident, murdered by Kasuka Mado.

Appearance
Kaneki trimmed his hair back to its original length, and the flesh patterns under his eyes have faded slightly. Along with this, he possesses a large scar running from under his left eye all the way down the left side of his face. He wore a white shirt and black long pants together with shoes that consist of grey shoelaces.

As Haise Sasaki, his hair began to develop black streaks growing out from the crown. He wore the standard business attire of a ghoul investigator, favouring black dress shirts and pinstripe pants with a knee-length white trench coat. He also wears a pair of round eyeglasses when reading.

Personality
Starting from when he was a child, Kaneki was a shy and reserved person, with Hide being his only close friend. He usually spent most of his time reading books, mostly novels. He was extremely gentle and appeared to be optimistic most of the time. Influenced by his mother and a true testament of modesty, he willingly took blame and punishment from others so that he can be someone who does not hurt people, but rather absorb the torment. However, this lack of assertiveness normally got him bullied and taken advantage of.

However, beneath his altruistic and gentle nature was an underlying fear of being alone that was aggravated by his mother's death. He despised the idea of solitude, hence he tried to protect those dear to him so he would not have to face his fear of being alone in the world.

This was perhaps his greatest weakness. Since Kaneki was always trying to protect others, he was essentially trying to protect himself from ever being alone again. Therefore, to escape that scenario, he would shoulder the task of protecting others onto himself, without relying on anyone else. This was also why Kaneki rejected the notion of "living," because watching others die reminded him of those lonely days without anyone beside him.

In his late teens after he was turned into a half-ghoul, he clung to his human side. To keep living in the human world, he began to work at Anteiku and established relationships with the ghouls there. He started to develop an interest in becoming stronger and began reading martial art books so he could protect those closest to him. However, he was still troubled with the fact that he was a half-ghoul and wanted to search for a place where he could belong. As much as he treasured his life, if people close to him were threatened, he would not hesitate to put his life on the line.

History
As a child, Kaneki liked eating the burgers that his mother made when she was still alive. He lost his father when he was four years old. He barely remembered his face and was awfully curious as to what sort of person he was. He knew that his father was an avid reader and had loads of books. Kaneki followed the sentences in the books his father had been reading, saying he felt like he was having a conversation with his father which calmed him down. This developed his hobby for reading and interest in literature.

When he was a child, his mother struggled to provide for them. All the work that she had to deal with was too overwhelming and the one who put the most stress on her was Kaneki's aunt (his mother's sister). His aunt was tight on money and hounded his mother for cash. Being left with nothing but burden, his aunt can be seen as the one who drove his mother to her death. Kaneki's mother, in turn, turned her frustration towards Kaneki, abusing and beating the boy. Kaneki, however, repressed these memories and convinced himself his mother treated him kindly. His mother finally died from overworking when he was 10. Now orphaned, Kaneki was then adopted by his aunt's family, the Asaoka family.

However, Kaneki's life with his adopted family was no less hostile. His aunt always compared him to her son, Yuuichi, who did not do well at school, which greatly angered her. When comparing her son with Kaneki, she also likened Kaneki with his late mother, saying how alike they were. Her feelings of inferiority regarding Kaneki's mother were turned on him as spite. As time passed, the family became a place that did not give Kaneki any comfort for long because nobody in the family would look after or care for him.

He barely had any friends during elementary school. During that time, Hide approached Kaneki, most likely because he noticed that Kaneki had trouble dealing with his classmates. Since then, Hide and Kaneki have been best friends. Hide was his only support during the time the Asaokas ostracized him, which really saved him from loneliness.

Tokyo Ghoul (Root A and :re)
See more of Kaneki's synopsis here.

When Smoke Meets Rain arc.
On the next day after the incident of a "half-ghoul half-conduit" occured, Kaneki visits Shouta in JR Tokyo General Hospital. He states to Shouta that he was once like him before. As it is heard that his friend Hide was murdered by a "Ghoul Hunter", Kaneki is filled with anger as he starts causing rampage across the city and hunt down Ghoul Hunters for what they did to Hide. Kaneki subsequently leaves his wife and daughter behind to avenge Hide's death and built a nest in one of the city's largest billboard, though he would use others to store in amputated limbs of Ghoul Hunters for him to regain energy. In a place where Hide was killed, he also set up a memorial dedicated to him.

Over the next two weeks, Kaneki tracked down and assassinated 21 of Tokyo's Ghoul Hunters, using his Ghoul abilities to set up elaborate tributes to her brother at each crime scene. The D.U.P used this to their advantage by manipulating news agencies to portray him as a relentless killer that randomly targeted innocent civilians. As a result, unrest among the populace spread, with activists using him as an example to protest against Ghouls, which leads to Ghouls being accused for dangerous were locked away in Cochlea under the D.U.P occupation.

Kaneki was eventually tracked down by Shouta and Hodaka, who sought to learn more about Brooke Augustine, the head of the D.U.P. Spotting Shouta snooping around the crime scenes of one of her latest victims, he doesn't want him to know about his doing and fires him kagune shards at him from his nest and subsequently ran when he attempted to pursue him. Thanks to the limbs that he stores in the billboard, Kaneki was able to escape easily. However, when he later went to one of the city's neon signs to recharge, he was confronted by Shouta, who grabbed him, allowing him to acquire more Rc cells to have a kagune.

Briefly stunned, Kaneki managed to recover and ran away, believing Shouta wasn't just a kid but thought to be a D.U.P spy. However, as Shouta now possessed his ghoul abilities, he was able to chase after him, despite her attempts to stop him. Eventually cornered atop an abandoned ghoul restaurant, Kaneki saw an opportunity and shattered the glass roof on which he and Shouta stood, causing them to drop down into the main hall.

Kaneki engaged Shouta more directly but found his powers to be weakening after using so much energy. He was subsequently forced on the defensive when Shouta developed his Rinkaku kagune, with which he eventually defeated him. Collapsing on the stage, Kaneki tried to fight back against Shouta, who once more took hold of him to fully absorb his powers. The pair then passed out, with Hodaka appearing shortly thereafter to help Shouta up and take Kaneki into custody.

Thanks to Shouta's intervention, Kaneki was not arrested and instead taken under his wing, that way that he could learn self-restraint in hunting down the Ghoul Hunters. He subsequently agreed to help Shouta in gaining more control over his newly acquired powers by tracking down some flesh to devour in order to become a powerful ghoul. While they did so, Shouta attempted to convince him into taking the hunters alive and acting more responsibly if he wants to ghouls to coexist again.

This sparked an idea in Kaneki's mind, in which he decided that, instead of going after the hunters themselves, they should be going after the stolen quinques. He subsequently procured information on a large weaponry shipment that was stored at the marina. Together with Shouta, he destroyed the boats carrying the quinques, then assisted him in tailing the spooked suppliers to a remote alley. There, Kaneki and Shouta subdued the last of the hunters and freed their hostages before retiring for the night in :re where Kaneki apologized to his wife for what he did in which she agreed to let Shouta stay for the night.

Following Shouta's acquisition of the Video power in Koto City, Kaneki called him to ask about the rampage left behind downtown, believing he was behind it, as the destruction involved the use of Smoke manipulation. He later met with him to discuss his connection with Taiko, a Half-Ghoul Half-Conduit, being suspicious of the Smoke Conduit's motives. While Shouta went to find Taiko, Kaneki was once again captured by Augustine, alongside with young Conduit Makoto Shichiro, and the two were brought to a makeshift D.U.P prison camp on an artificial island off the coast of the city.

Although restrained during the confrontation between Shouta and Augustine, Kaneki was still able to escape when the island collapsed. Later, he joined Shouta as he ascended Augustine's headquarters, opening up several vents for him to use, as well as aiding him in combat. Once they reached the roof of the building, Kaneki used his kagune to cut open an entrance, that way Shouta could end Augustine's hold over Tokyo and dismantle the D.U.P.

After Augustine's operations were shut down, Kaneki reunited with Shouta and Makoto, with their names cleared from the propaganda that had previously been spread about them. He then aided his fellow Ghoul friends in jump-starting a new era in which humans, Conduits and Ghouls could co-exist. Shortly after Shouta heals Hina from her injuries, Kaneki meets Shouta once again with his wife. Kaneki reveals to Shouta that he told his wife about his good deeds he had done in Tokyo and his tragic life as an orphan. He and his wife made a decision to adopt Shouta and raise him as their oldest son.

Hideyoshi Nagachika
After his childhood best friend whom he calls 'Hide' passed away, he is still capable of remembering him after raising a family. He is seen telling his adoptive son Shouta about his adoptive maternal uncle. It is also stated by Shouta that he wants to see Hide if he was still alive.

Touka Kirishima
Kaneki is in love with Touka as they are eventually married, raising their daughter and son. After that, Kaneki and Touka adopted and raised Shouta as their oldest son.

Shouta Magatsuchi
Kaneki first met Shouta when he was in JR Tokyo General Hospital, he eventually spoke to him that Kaneki was like him before. Soon when Shouta was heading off on a quest to get ghoul powers, they both fought as Kaneki didn't clearly recognised him after draining his ghoul abilities. After that, Shouta and Kaneki agreed to team up to hunt down Brooke Augustine, the woman that killed Shouta's former parents in interrogation.

When Kaneki heard about the rampage in Kōtō city, he thought it was Shouta. However, it was Taiko Ryuunosuke. Shouta plans to go after him in which Kaneki told him to be careful as if he doesn't trust Taiko. However, it led him into a trap, he found Kaneki and another Conduit, Makoto captured, in which Shouta and his friend (Now close brother) Hodaka to release them.

After Hodaka's death and the battle between Shouta and Augustine, he and Kaneki reunites as he helps Shouta get to Augustine. Shouta, upon returning to Hina to heal her with concrete power, met Kaneki and his wife Touka. Kaneki revealed to Shouta that he told Touka about his bravest acts. Learning that Shouta was an orphan for six years and wishing to have a family again, both Kaneki and Touka plans to adopt Shouta and raise him as their oldest son, which led Shouta burst into tears for finally being adopted and being welcome into his new family.

Hinami Fueguchi
Hinami looks up to Kaneki as a big brother. She is aware and interested in his half-human nature as she had few or no interactions with human society. They both share a passion for reading, especially Sen Takatsuki's works, and he often tutors her in new vocabulary to learn. After her mother's death, both Touka and Kaneki have been very protective of her and treat each other like family.

Tohru Kobayashi
Not much interaction is seen as Kaneki, but he offered Tohru while getting groceries to bring his daughter and youngest son to his brother-in law Ayato Kirishima's house to play around. As Haise Sasaki, Tohru met him while she is training. Haise keeps pressuring her to train as hard as she could. After Tohru successfully slices a metal dummy with just a Bōkken (Wooden sword), Haise starts admires and congratulates her, stating that she is 'ready'.

Kobayashi
He doesn't always interacted with her but she is seen introducing herself to Kaneki upon reuniting with Shouta after their break up five years ago.

Mr. Magatsuchi
They don't interact a lot, but he is seen appreciating Mr. Magatsuchi's thanks for taking care of his son.

Powers and Abilities
Ghoul Physiology: After inheriting Rize Kamishiro's kakuhou, Kaneki has displayed a unique healing factor, as well as a rinkaku kagune consisting of tentacles and increased physical power. Due to the hybrid vigor, Kaneki's abilities are said to be more potent than those of a natural-born ghoul.


 * Rinkaku Kagune: Kaneki's kagune is portrayed in the anime as bright red, becoming a darker shade as it neared the tips. In the Tokyo Ghoul:re anime, it has changed to a red-violet color. Kaneki initially displayed his kagune in his fight against Nishiki Nishio, possessing three tails which repeatedly impaled Nishiki before throwing him, saving him and Hide while having little control over them. After his torture, Kaneki was able to produce four tentacles in his battle with Yamori, which were capable of pinning down and overwhelming an incomplete kakuja. During the raid on Kanou's lab, Kaneki's kagune further developed into six tentacles, albeit in an unstable mental state, and while he fought Kishou Arima, Kaneki was able to manifest eight tentacles which are able to be shaped into small hands, which have an enormous range and destructive force enough to damage V14's pillars. As Haise Sasaki, he is able to control and manipulate the shape of his kagune at will, and command the tentacles to process different tasks at once. He is also noted to have a better control over his kagune than natural-born ghouls. In his fight with Karren von Rosewald and Eto Yoshimura, Sasaki was able to shape his kagune into more intricate forms, and his kagune is greatly larger, with the potency of neutralizing Owl's kakuja. After devouring Eto's kakuja, his kagune is able to form multiple eyes and mouths. By the time of his final confrontation with Furuta, Kaneki's kagune had grown to a massive size, it's thickness dwarfing that of a human being, in addition to it's length growing as well.
 * Rinkaku Kakuja: After constant cannibalization, Kaneki has developed into an incomplete kakuja. In this form, Kaneki was able to easily overwhelm Yukinori Shinohara, who wielded the Arata armor, and to fight on par with Koutarou Amon while the latter was armed with Arata proto, as well as fatally injure him by ripping his arm off. While using his kakuja, Kaneki goes into a mindless state, losing all aspects of his personality. His fighting style becomes that of a berserker, fighting without any regards to personal injury. In his last confrontation with Kishou Arima, Sasaki's kakuja was capable of completely destroying IXA and Owl, while maintaining his personality and sanity. In the fight against Suzuya and Abara both clad with Arata armors, he was still able to inflict extensive damage on both investigators, requiring Abara to execute a suicide attack in order to create an opening against Kaneki. When fighting Furuta, Kaneki's kakuja is able to turn the fight on its head and overwhelm Furuta, who only a few moments before, was beating him in a one-sided brawl, forcing him to activate his own kakuja. Kaneki's first kakuja takes the form of two large tentacles resembling centipedes and a beak-like structure on his head. His second kakuja forms a carapace covering on his whole face, and a kagune-like claw where his hand is. His third kakuja encases his upper half and forms a koukaku-like blade. The fourth version of his kakuja manifests as bulkier body armor with claws, and the carapace covering his face becomes similar to a one-eyed dragon with a fully fanged jaw. Upon being rescued from Dragon, Kaneki's kakuja takes the form of a more form-fitting body armor, with intricate designs decorating it, in addition wing-like structures on his back. He also has massive cross-shaped blades attached to them that he can swing around as close range weapons or extend long distances. In addition, he can use these as shields to defend against even the strongest of attacks. Their defensive power are great enough to withstand an attack from Dragon with Kaneki sustaining little to no damage.
 * Dragon Form: After consuming the entire Oggai squad and the nucleus embedded in Furuta's body, Kaneki undergoes a large-scale transformation where his body expands into a ever growing mass of flesh, teeth and eyes that consumes everything in its path. Eventually this mass grows to such an extent that it erupts from the underground 24th ward and overflows into the streets of Tokyo, where it consumes scores of people and destroys everything in its path. Eventually the mass assumes a centipede-like shape with an armored shell, multiple eyes and a head that vaguely resembles a dragon. At this point, its size is big enough to coil around a skyscraper. In this form, Kaneki can generate kagune tentacles that can cut through tanks and upturn portions of concrete. Its armored shell is durable enough to resist artillery fire. It can also generate lifeless husks from its body, which is apparently a trait shared with the King of the Underground at the height of his power. Among other countermeasures, Kaneki can produce golems out of his body in order to defend himself against foes while he is stationary. These golems are capable of killing investigators and ghouls alike, as well as pressure even the most experienced fighters with their large numbers.
 * Superhuman Strength: As Banjou paid a visit to Anteiku, Kaneki accidentally knocked him unconscious with an elbow kick. Kaneki was able to rip a lamp post from asphalt and strike one of the Bin brothers with it. When fighting Ayato Kirishima, Kaneki forcibly smashed Ayato through multiple floors of the 11th ward building. During his sparring sessions with Banjou, Kaneki threw the ghoul around without much effort.
 * Superhuman Speed: Kaneki was capable of evading Narukami's condensed projectiles, while assaulting Arima. While he engaged Yukinori Shinohara in a fight, Kaneki was traveling at immense speed, quick enough for Shinohara not being able to track his location. In his fight with Karren, Sasaki was able to maneuver and dodge her rapid kagune attacks, swiftly approaching her from behind towards the end of the motion. Sasaki has also shown the ability to parry Arima's numerous Owl attacks while facing him in Cochlea. On his way to meet with Takizawa, Ayato, and Kurona for their infiltration of the CCG laboratory, Kaneki was pursued by V agents and he dodged their attacks with extreme ease and swiftness while making his escape at the same time. In his conflict with Naki, Kaneki effortlessly dodged Naki's attempts to assault him.
 * Superhuman Endurance: During his second encounter with Nishiki, Kaneki was able to endure multiple blows from the ghoul in his weakened, starving state. When he was fighting Shachi, Kaneki maintained consciousness after being smashed through the floor and walls of Kanou's Underground Laboratory. After being pierced through the abdomen by Amon, Kaneki was still able to survive and recover from his injuries. During his encounter with Arima at V14, Kaneki continued fighting despite his critical head injures, which would be fatal even to a ghoul. As Sasaki, he survived being pierced by Serpent's kagune, and eventually overpowered the ghoul despite being grievously wounded. Sasaki overpowered Karren von Rosewald and Eto with a severed hand, gradually using his kagune as replacement. He seemed unfazed when Kishou Arima stabbed him multiple times through the abdomen, as he also took countless severe cuts to his body in his fight with Owl and was still able to keep fighting. Even after prolonged fight against Suzuya and Abara which saw Kaneki taking critical damage, getting dismembered and losing his healing factor, he was still able to manifest his kagune and killing Hajime Hazuki and after that, slaughter the rest of the Oggai squad. Later on, Kaneki was able to withstand the onslaught of Furuta and Rize in two consecutive fights.
 * Superhuman Regeneration: During his torture at the hands of Yakumo Oomori, he continously regenerated his fingers and toes for ten days. He easily recuperated from the injuries inflicted by Shachi, and recovered from a hole he received upon fighting Amon. He survives his fight with Arima, and heals his injuries, albeit with the cost of losing his memory. In :re, he recovers from being consecutively pierced by Nishiki's kagune, as well as surviving an attack from Takizawa. In his final battle with Arima, he had rapidly regenerated his many fatal wounds whilst fighting the investigator. By the end of the Dragon Arc, Kaneki was able to regenerate wounds from Furuta's kakuja, and later on heal his wounds from Dragon in rapid succession, allowing him to continue on fighting.
 * Kagune Manipulation: After his confrontation with Eto, Sasaki is able to manifest his kagune as the form of his hand, controlling it willingly. During his fight with Arima, Kaneki was using his kagune as replacements for his arms and legs in order to recover more quickly to counter the investigator. He also can create complex structures involving traps and nets, and command his kagune to speak as well. He was also able to form a quinque from his kagune and use it to fight against Kichimura Washuu . In addition to forming a Rinkaku kagune, he has also been seen using his kagune to mimic the characteristics and abilities of an ukaku, bikaku, and koukaku in his fight against Dragon.
 * Immense Pain Tolerance: Kaneki possesses great tolerance to pain, evident during his fight with Naki when he twists and breaks his own leg in order to land a kick, his only reaction being a faint smile. He is even able to power on through losing all of his limbs and devour the Oggai. When fighting Dragon, despite his prior battle to the death with Furuta, as well as being overwhelmed by Dragon's defenses and nearly dying, Kaneki was able to push through the pain and end the threat of Dragon.
 * Expert Hand to Hand Combat: Kaneki is extremely skilled in close combat. With his four-tailed Kagune, he can easily match Yamori's attacks but soon overpowers them. This is also proven when Kaneki twists and breaks his own left leg after Yamori grabbed it to land a hard right knee strike from his right leg to knock him back.
 * Ghoulification Toxin Immunity: After being extracted from Dragon's body, Kaneki has shown an extreme resistance, if not outright immunity, to the ghoulifying toxin carried by the creatures spawned from Dragon's oviducts. It is theorized by Kimi Nishino that this is a result of the multiple new organs Kaneki has displayed since his rescue.

Swordsmanship: Using his quinque, Sasaki has been described to have movements as swift as water, being able slice through a ghoul's kagune and also use it efficiently with his own kagune.


 * Yukimura 1/3: A B-rate koukaku quinque passed down from Arima to Sasaki and from Sasaki to Tohru, having a considerably long blade which can easily slice through objects.

Keen Intellect: When facing adversaries, Kaneki often used his intellect and careful planning to quickly and efficiently take out his foe. Kaneki comprehends Takatsuki's in-depth work, and also understands martial arts moves and styles just by reading about them in a book.

Trivia

 * The name "Haise" was created by combining the kanji from "coffee" and "world". The kanji used for "Ken" is the same one used for "to sharpen" i.e. sharpen one's fangs.
 * "Kaneki" translates as "gold tree" while "Sasaki" translates to "Helpful Wood".
 * Kaneki has a habit of touching his chin with his left hand when he is hiding something. This habit appears to be subconscious, as he still does it even after his memory loss.
 * In the first character popularity poll, Kaneki was ranked first. In the latest, he was second while Haise Sasaki came third.
 * Kaneki shares the same birthday with Kishou Arima.
 * Kaneki likes reading, beautiful language, intellectual women, and hamburgers.
 * Beginning with the Aogiri arc, Kaneki has been repeatedly associated with the number "12" in panels. This is a reference to the tarot card The Hanged Man (XII).
 * His quinque, Yukimura 1/3, has been used by both Kishou Arima, as a teenager, and Take Hirako, when he was partnered with Arima.
 * Kaneki compares himself to Gregor Samsa, the unfortunate protagonist of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. In the sequel, he briefly discusses Kafka's A Crossbreed with Arima — another story with strong parallels to his situation.
 * The sudden color changes in Kaneki's hair are caused by the suppression of his Rc cell activity which has caused temporary melanin production that causes his hair color to change.
 * His surname is a reference to novelist Osamu Dazai, who was born in Kanagi (金木) and most famous for his novel No Longer Human. When they meet at the book signing, Eto briefly discusses this with him.
 * The relationship between Sasaki and his mental projection of "Kaneki" is akin to his relationship with his projection of "Rize" in the past as Kaneki. "Rize" would often tempt Kaneki to give in to his ghoul self, while "Kaneki" tried to have Sasaki accept him. Both projections represent the ghoul side of himself.
 * Both Kaneki and Yamori went through similar torture methods and were both completely changed from their previous selves. Yamori turned into psychotic killer who killed more for fun than to eat, while Kaneki became cold and ruthless, but retained his desire to protect his friends.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, Kaneki and Sasaki are each featured as the "Ace of Hearts" and Kaneki is also featured on the "Queen of Hearts" card alongside Rize. In a redistributed version, he is also featured as a "White Joker."
 * In the anime, Kaneki joined Aogiri at the beginning of the second season, which differs greatly from the manga in which Kaneki forms a group with Banjou, Hinami and some other ghouls.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul √A, according to Sui Ishida's rough drafts, Tatara insisted that Kaneki eat Taguchi to prove his loyalty to Aogiri Tree. However, Noro ate her before Kaneki and Tatara had finished arguing. This scene was cut out from the finalized work.
 * Because of Tooru Mutsuki, Ishida has stated that he often forgets over which eye he needs to put the eyepatch on Kaneki.
 * In the official English translation of :re Volume 1, Haise Sasaki's birthday is incorrectly given as April 22nd.
 * Kaneki joined Aogiri because they were the only group who posed a threat to Anteiku.
 * Kaneki never actually ate Jason. In the manga, he only ate his Kagune and left him for dead.

Tokyo Ghoul

 * To himself: "I'm not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I’m just a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But... if, for argument’s sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be... a tragedy."
 * To Touka (desperately clinging to his human self): "Why... Why am I doing this? I-I was wrong to eat that meat after all. That was what I thought, and I desperately looked for another way. Even so, this is not what I want. This is not the way! H-Human meat... there is no way I can eat it. How can I possibly eat it, because, I'm human! I'm different from you monsters!"
 * To himself: "In exchange for the pleasure of living as a person that ghouls can have... we receive this instead. We're overwhelmed by our appetites. I understand the feeling of sinking into pleasure. In some ways, it's only natural that... some ghouls like Rize-san exist. However... I'm not going to lose sight of myself. That's my way of fighting."
 * To Nishiki (about human and ghoul relations): "I know... there are ghouls who only see humans as targets to be preyed upon — and on the other hand, there are humans who have decided that ghouls are only inhuman monsters... But I don't think either of those are correct. I think what's necessary is the 'right distance.' Instead of mutually tramping on each others' existence we should just respect each other a little more."
 * To Rize (in his hallucination): "I won't let that happen. Not just Aogiri, anyone who dares to take away my place to be. I won’t forgive anyone who threatens the peace in my life. It’s just like hand-picking coffee beans. For the sake of a good cup of coffee, we pluck out the ones that are trash."
 * To himself (while cannibalizing Kanou's failed experiments): "In this world, the strong devour the weak. Who are the strong? I am. I fucking am!"
 * To himself: "Mother, mother, heey~ I'm distorted. Me? Me? Mememe. Because I'm going to protect everyone..."
 * To himself in a lucid state in Tokyo Ghoul √A: "M-my fingers... on the plier... C-centipedes... i-in my ears... [laughs] A thousand minus... A-A thousand minus... s-seven... seven is what...?"

Tokyo Ghoul: Days

 * To Hide: "Cain used to be seen as evil, you know. Well, I mean, he can be understood as being 'evil' now, too. But if you just think about Cain, you can kind of see that he had to do what he did to be able to carry on, I think. It would've been unbearable for him, you know?"
 * To himself (internally): "I want to be a bridge, telling ghouls how people feel and letting people know what ghouls think and feel. Because there's nothing but hatred between the two groups now, but if each had an understanding of the other, I think that could change. Even if my presence is unwanted, I still want to be involved with both humans and ghouls."
 * To Touka: "Fiction books give the reader a chance to step away from their own reality and into the shoes of the characters, and they show you a world that isn't the one you already know. And sometimes the story's not so different from you own, and it lets you get closer to your own feelings. So when you close a book you've just finished reading and return to reality, all the pain and sadness you couldn't put into words before are still there on those pages. And that can be comforting."
 * To himself (internally): "Sometimes you're confronted with the ugly parts of yourself that you don't want to see, but books can also tell you a lot about the things you didn't notice when you're just trying to get through somehow."

Tokyo Ghoul:re

 * To Haise (in a dream): "That excellence right now is a nuisance. That's right. Donato has to keep proving himself. He wants to prove just how valuable he is. Isn't that the case with you as well? Because you are the same as Donato. All you're doing is indulging in this twisted self-value that you have to yourself. And if you don't, you won't last. Eventually, you will break and become useless. Once that happens, you'll break and become discarded. Right, Haise?"
 * To himself: "I... might die today. No... to be correct... it's either I die, or I disappear. There's only two options. The power I need to deal with him... is way too much... if I have to resort to him... I will... disappear."
 * To Akira: "Why, why are you hiding it?! Is... Is it because I'm the Eyepatch ghoul? Is it because I was the one who killed Amon Koutarou? The fear of waking up and knowing nothing. Do you know what that's like? How I can only cling onto what's given to me... How I don't even know my own parents... Where did I even come from...? I... I... Who am I? I'm not Haise!! I am... I am..."
 * To Eto: "Actually, I wonder... Why do I have to save trash like you?"
 * To Urie: "All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability. If you want to curse something, curse your own weakness."
 * To Hide in his thoughts: "...Hide. I... just like you, I want to give my life for someone else (I want to die in style)."
 * To Hide (in his mind): "Hide... You know... I... I'm so lonely without you..."
 * To himself (accepting himself): "Black and blue, turning and over-turning the things I'd chosen countless times, forever repeating the same actions... Ungainly. Awkward. Indecisive. Weak. Endlessly useless. That is what I am."
 * To himself: "At Death's door, I finally stumbled upon the twisted truth. Rize, Hide, it was always all inside me, after all. They were nothing but an extension of myself. The people I want to meet. The things I want to be told. 'Hide'll stop me for sure.' As soon as I began to think that somewhere inside me, I myself began wishing for it. Wishing that I'd live."
 * To Kiyoko and Mougan: "I am the One-Eyed King."
 * To the ghouls: "I will carry on the last wish of the previous King, and create a world where ghouls and humans can understand each other."
 * To the ghouls: "'Ghouls are to be exterminated.' 'In order to live, we must kill and eat humans.' The reason our mutually destructive relationship has never changed is because we have never, together, made an attempt to [make] even the smallest step forward. Ghouls and humans can understand each other... The fact that I, who was once a human, stand here before you is proof enough."
 * To Amon: "It's because we're the same. Isolated from society, able to consume a few specific things... They remind me of myself. I really believed I was a kind hearted human, but... I was mistaken. There were a few humans that were important to me, but I couldn't care less about the majority of them. I don't care about taking the side of those I cannot see. I fight for those close to me. And it just so happens that they're mostly ghouls."
 * To Shinsanpei: I'm not that much of a pushover, greenhorn."
 * To himself: "I won't pull back, I will press forward, like a centipede."
 * To Furuta: "Furuta, I was the sort of human you'd find anywhere. The kind that just loves reading. But on that fateful day with Rize, I was sundered from the human world. And everything began to change. My life was threatened. I was horrifically tortured. unable to achieve what I wanted, I even lost. But I found a new place I belonged. Allies. Friends. People I could call my teachers. People I love. and even though I have erred so much, and hurt so many, I simply don't believe that it was all for naught. And that's why even if I were to know everything that'd happen after, I still would have gone to meet Rize that day. To me, all of it was necessary. This world... This world isn't wrong. It just is. And even if "eventually" everything will come to naught, I'll still strive like I did today, Furuta."
 * To himself: "If, lets say, you were to write a story with me as the main character, it would certainly be a tragedy. No. Everyone’s the same, in fact. He’s the main character of his novel, and she’s the main character of her movie. All those that walk this earth are the main characters of their own tragedies. All steal, and from all, something is stolen. We can’t help it. That’s who we are. Steal, and be stolen. Imprison, and be imprisoned. Follow, and be followed. Do, and be done. Affirm and negate over and over. We fight ceaselessly to save ourselves from loss. And yet the people and places we love will one day surely be lost. We will all surely be forgotten. Life is sad. Empty. But, despite knowing we will one day be bereft, despite knowing we will one day disappear, we still strive in wretched ways. We still wish to be beautiful. And I consider. “Which one?” I choose. “This one.” Forever choosing, forever being chosen. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Tokyo Ghoul: Dragon Quinx

 * (To Tohru) "Tohru, in this twisted world, new people die everyday. Make sure my son is ready for what you're about to encounter."
 * (To Tohru as Haise) "Amon may have trained you hard, but he didn't trained you much harder! Come on, Tohru! Feel that tension, that anger and the rush of adrenaline in you, that's the feeling of wanting to kill! But that kill is no ordinary kill, is to avenge those closest to you who had died!"