Chapter 1

Tragedy (悲劇, Higeki) is the 1st chapter in the manga.

Characters

 * Ken Kaneki
 * Hideyoshi Nagachika
 * Hisashi Ogura
 * Yoshimura
 * Touka Kirishima
 * Rize Kamishiro
 * Yoriko Kosaka
 * Akihiro Kanou

Summary
The chapter opens with humans who are considered the top of the food chain, but there are also beings who hunt them as a food source, monsters called ghouls.

The story starts with Ken Kaneki and Hideyoshi Nagachika at Anteiku listening to the news report, that a person's remains have been found along with fluid from an "eater species" at the Takada building on the 28th.

Hide remarks that it's off-putting and that Ken would be eaten in a second being a scrawny bookworm. Ken remarks that he's never seen a ghoul and questions if monsters like this could really exist. He goes on to mention that the common understanding is that they disguise themselves as humans, but what if that's not so? Hide remarks that Ken might be a ghoul and Ken points out that Hide wouldn't be sitting there if he were.

Then Ken poses the thought: What if they weren't disguised as humans but were actually "monsters in the shape of man"? Ken submits a drawing from something out of an alien movie as a depiction of what the ghouls might look like. Hide submits his own drawing of a rather plain but rotund looking man.

Hide then shifts the conversation away from ghouls and asks Ken which one of the people in the shop was "the cute coffee shop girl" that Ken has had his eye on? Touka Kirishima comes around and Ken thinks that Touka is cute after denying that it's her to Hide.

Hide then calls Touka over for an order and begins hitting on her. He even asks her if she has a boyfriend causing her to become embarrassed and run away after saying she doesn't.

Ken then chides Hide for being so rude and asks him what if he gets banned from the only place he can meet the girl. As Hide is apologizing Rize Kamishiro walks in to Anteiku. She looks like a dainty prude and Ken, with his head lowered in embarrassment points her out to Hide. Hide tells Ken to give up on her because she's out of his league. Ken says he gets it, but keeps getting attracted to her because she smiles at him when he glances at her. He's confused as to whether she reciprocates his feelings. Hide says he's delusional and then leaves to go to work.

Ken thinks about how, like him she is reading, The Black Goat's egg, a psycological novel on depravity, by his favorite author, Sen Takatsuki. She suddenly comes towards Ken and falls down dropping the book. Ken picks it up and a conversation starts.

Soon Ken tells Hide that he is going out on a date with Rize, to enjoy books. Hide comments that he doesn't understand the fun of a date in a bookstore but wishes him luck anyway. During the date, Ken stares at Rize's breasts and she asks him what is wrong, embarrassed he mentions that she isn't eating much, just sandwiches. Rize replies that she is on a diet, then she goes to the bathroom.

After the date, Ken and Rize walk the streets back, and pass Touka and her friend Yoriko Kosaka. Touka stops walking and glances at Rize and Ken. Yoriko asks her what is wrong and she replies, it's nothing. Back to Ken and Rize, Ken says they both should head home but Rize stops him saying she is scared after the news about the ghouls and asks him to walk with her more, soon she starts flirting with him in a seducing way, commenting that she knows he was watching her, and as she tells him she was watching him too, she bites him and reveals her ghoul and real nature and "her claws".

She starts talking about a literary scene that makes her "shudder" along with Ken. Ken gets shocked after that and tries to run away. Rize goes after him and wounds him a fatal injury in the abdomen by "her claws". As she starts to continue hunting him while "teasing him", steel bars suddenly fall on her from far up. Rize also gets a more fatal injury and her last words were "Why... You...". Injured Ken loses his consciousness and people soon notice the injured Rize and Ken and call for an ambulance.

At last in a hospital, Ken slightly wakes up while the doctors do  surgery on him. They transplant Rize's organs in him and Ken survives. After that Ken wakes up again and opens his eyes. He notices his left eye is turned red and takes on the eyes of ghouls.