Akihiro Kanou

Akihiro Kanou (嘉納 明博, Kanō Akihiro), often referred to as Professor Kanou (嘉納教授, Kanō-kyōju), is a physician responsible for Ken Kaneki's transformation into an artificial one-eyed ghoul, using him as a prototype for his ghoulification surgery. In the past he was employed by the GFG, the CCG, and was later a physician at Kanou General Hospital before joining the ghoul terrorist organization Aogiri Tree. He has also been referred to as a "good friend" by members of the Clowns.

Appearance
Kanou is an elderly, grey-haired man who wears the typical attire of a physician: white coat, white shirt, and black necktie.

Personality
Kanou appears as a benevolent physician whose purpose is to ensure the health of his patients. He will disregard regulations if it allows him to save the life of his patient. However, behind this facade lies the mind of a disturbed mad scientist. Kanou considers ghouls, or more specifically one-eyed ghouls, as a way for humans to evolve in order to escape the "birdcage" that is encasing the "world." He is a misanthrope who perceives humans as weak and believes they possess no potential for the future. He has stated that he has lost all hope in living in a world with humans. He has shown no remorse for the test subjects of his ghoulification experiments, dismissing them as stepping stones for his ambitions. Kanou exploits the loneliness of naive people, manipulating them for the progress of his clinical research.

Surprisingly despite Kanou's loathing of the human race, he can admit there are individuals among them whom he respects for their abilities. This is seen when he compliments Dr. Kouitsu Chigyou on his modification and refinement of the kakuhou transplant surgery to create the Quinx.

Background
Kanou graduated from Teihou University's School of Medicine at the top of the class and traveled to Germany to become a researcher with the GFG. After spending three years in the GFG's lower ranks, he joined the CCG for four years. There, he was involved in research on integrating the bodily capabilities of ghouls into the human body. His research, however, received a large amount of criticism out of ethical concerns. Due to this, his project was forcibly terminated, and he was driven out of the CCG and resigned.

Prologue
After Ken Kaneki was mortally wounded by Rize Kamishiro, Kanou performed the kakuhou transplant surgery on Kaneki using Rize's kakuhou, turning Kaneki into a one-eyed ghoul. This caused an organ transplant scandal since Kanou did not ask Rize's family for permission.

Doves' Emergence
After Kaneki was released, Kanou continued performing Kaneki's regular medical examinations. Kaneki questioned if Kanou figured out what had happened to his body because he should have an elevated Rc factor. Kanou instead told Kaneki there was nothing unusual.

Aogiri Arc
Tatara revealed that Kanou was aware and responsible for Kaneki's transformation into a half-ghoul. Supposedly, Kanou transplanted a kidney into Kaneki, but in actuality, had transplanted a kakuhou. Kanou escaped from Aogiri Tree's clutches.

Raid of Kanou's Lab
Kaneki finally discovered Kanou at the very core of his lab. He called Kaneki his "ultimate creation" and explained his reason for turning him into a ghoul. Kanou felt that the world was trapped in a "cage" and decided to create artificial one-eyed ghouls to become that "ray of hope" to finally break free from that cage. Kanou nearly persuaded Kaneki to join him and Aogiri Tree so he could show Kaneki the "true form" of the world, then shared that Yoshimura was responsible for creating Aogiri Tree. Kaneki struggled to decide on what to do when Yomo suddenly appeared and rescued Rize. Yomo told Kaneki to follow his own path and warned him of the approaching Doves. Kanou escaped with Shachi, not before releasing all of his failed experimental subjects after Kaneki, adding that he would look forward to seeing him again.

Afterward, Kanou watched events unfold from a monitoring room alongside Eto. When Kurona Yasuhisa arrived, he noted her poor condition but advised her to abandon Nashiro as a lost cause, reassuring her that she would make plenty of new friends at Aogiri and later departed through a back entrance to the facility.

Post-Owl Suppression Operation
Kanou appeared in a new laboratory, accompanied by Tatara and Eto. He discussed how investigators had stronger bodies than normal people and was pleased that Aogiri had provided him new materials for his experiments. The doctor admitted Kaneki was only ever intended to be a test of his procedure, but turned out to be far more than he had ever imagined. Eto suggested that, since Kaneki was gone, they should make a "new Kaneki" using the captured investigators and Yoshimura as the new donor.

Experimentation
Of the sixty-three investigators Kanou subjected to the ghoulification process, Seidou Takizawa was the only one considered a successful product being given the designation "T-OWL." Kanou's research data noted that Koutarou Amon being transformed with the ghoulification surgery eventually caused an unusual Rc cell level increase of over 10,000. Amon was designated as A-OWL and a floppy. Kanou mused how much of a disappointment Amon's conversion was and the possibility of him developing a kakuja. Some time after Takizawa's surgery, he was imprisoned in a cell and visited by Kanou. Rather than answer his questions, Kanou removed his clothing and showed Takizawa his regenerating left arm. Horrified by the deformed limb, Takizawa panicked while Kanou explained the stages of the transformation to him. As Takizawa vomited, Kanou was fascinated by the beginning stage of ghoul transformation occurring in Takizawa's body. He informed him further testing would be conducted later before he left Takizawa alone in his cell.

In the time following his initial transformation, Takizawa was repeatedly subjected to extensive torture at the hands of Dr. Kanou. Kanou explained it was a part of the process intended to force the development of new Rc pathways in order to strengthen Takizawa's body and remove any lingering human weaknesses. Kanou's repeated torture eventually shattered Takizawa's mind and diminished his life span.

Auction
Dr. Kanou remained a member of Aogiri, and observed the battle at Zeum hall from a room filled with monitors. He advised Eto it was time to send the "Owl." The first of his new artificial ghouls to be debuted was Seidou Takizawa.

Rose Extermination
Kanou was discussing Gagi and Guge with Naki, hoping to gain his consent to use the twins' kakuhou for experiments. He simplified his words to Naki due to the latter's lack of proper education, telling him that he would definitely revive the twins. Naki thanked him and shared his joy with other fellow White Suits. Kanou expressed his interest in the Quinx, describing Dr. Chigyou as a genius and hoped to have a conversation with him. Kanou then wondered what his "beloved prototype" — Ken Kaneki — was doing at that moment.

Kanou was given the body of the former Quinx Squad Leader, Ginshi Shirazu, after Aogiri Tree attacked a vehicle containing it. Kanou examined Shirazu's body and was impressed by the CCG's ingenuity of gradually accustoming a ghoul's kakuhou into a human body through frame technology. He was certain that by implementing Quinx technology into his ghoulification experiments, he could increase the success rate and decrease any adverse side effects. Kanou later asked Tatara for a new body to use for his experiments and expressed his wish to speak to Eto, only for Tatara to inform him that she was "busy."

Rushima Landing Operation
Kanou managed a hidden lab on Rushima when suddenly an injured Kurona arrived at the lab, greeting him. Kurona revealed a deformed figure on her abdomen and requested Kanou to help Nashiro, to which he replied that he was not Dr. Frankenstein and could not raise the dead. Kurona argued that Nashiro was alive because she could breathe, eat, and speak. Kanou pondered and concluded that the sounds produced from the deformed figure on Kurona's stomach were actually gas escaping from the body, not speech. He also stated the reason she saw Nashiro's face was because she was imagining it, explaining it as the phenomenon known as Pareidolia. Kurona then decided that she wanted to kill Kanou, so the latter immediately introduced a product of his Quinx surgery, Okahira.

Kanou commanded Okahira to attack Kurona but she managed to break a pipe which released a blistering steam that wounded Okahira. Kurona mentioned there was once a tragic accident in which the pipes malfunctioned and incinerated various researchers, boldly saying it would happen again. Kanou released another batch of Quinx while asking them what they thought. After Kurona escaped Okahira, who tried to snap her neck, she told Kanou she knew what he was, declaring him a crazy mad scientist, which Kanou was only relieved to hear. Unexpectedly, Nishiki Nishio arrived, and held Kanou in midair with his kagune, telling him he had been looking for Kanou, who commanded his Quinx to kill Nishiki. At the arrival of Shikorae and Roma Hoito as a request from Furuta, he was freed and taken away by Okahira. Afterwards, he was later with Okahira and his assistants, one being Kimi Nishino who had brought him research material.

Ken Kaneki
Their initial relationship is that of a kindly doctor and his patient, though the truth complicates things greatly. Kanou never intended for his patient to become anything more than a test of the procedure but is extremely pleased to witness his growth. He attempts to persuade Kaneki to join him and is disappointed at the harsh rejection. After news of Kaneki's apparent death reaches him, he expresses derision for his "ultimate creation" dismissing him as an unusual prototype. However, after discovering he survived and that he was able to battle his Owl upgrade equally he changes his mind designating him as his beloved prototype.

Rize Kamishiro
Rize is a victim of his experiments, a donor he captured and farmed to create his artificial half-ghouls. He considers her a valuable resource but allows her to suffer incredibly mentally and physically while being used and does not seem to care about her in the slightest, keeping her restrained and naked in a glass tank whilst starving her, driving her progressively insane.

Maiko Abe
She lived in poverty, wishing for money, quality meat and things only upper-class ghouls received and became indebted to Kanou when he gives her a better life after she attempted to kill and eat him. She is a valuable ally to Kanou and cares for his less-successful experiments. However, she is merely a pawn and he throws her aside without a second thought.

Nashiro and Kurona Yasuhisa
Kanou approached the twins and convinced them to become his allies by revealing the truth about their parents' deaths. He used them for his experiments after testing the procedure on Kaneki to ensure its success. They are his second and third successful experiments and become his fiercely loyal servants, as well as Madam A's bodyguards. He manipulates them both to the extent the girls refer to him as their father, but when Shiro is fatally wounded, he refuses to do anything further to help her. During the Rose investigation, Kanou states they are failures, labeling them as "floppies." During the Landing Operation, Kurona tells Juuzou that she is confident that Kanou can restore Nashiro, who has been absorbed by Kurona.

Eto
The two see each other as important allies with similar goals and believing the same concept of the "twisted birdcage". He frequently interacts with her most out of all the members of Aogiri and respects her.

Tatara
Kanou expresses his gratitude to the ghoul for providing him with excellent facilities and materials for his experiments. Though only a human, he seems to be useful enough to be treated decently by the second-in-command of Aogiri.

Seidou Takizawa
Takizawa is one of the investigators captured by Aogiri and given to him for his experiments. He seems pleased with the results of the experiments, and eagerly unleashes his creation.

Yoshimura
Yoshimura becomes the second ghoul to become his donor, farmed for kakuhou for the next stage of his experiments.

Nimura Furuta
Before the events of the story, Furuta was hired by Kanou as a bodyguard and collected people for Kanou's experiment for unknown personal reasons. They still maintain contact, as it was how Aogiri came to know about the corpse transportation after the Rose Extermination.

Koutarou Amon
During the raid of his lab, Kanou knew plenty about Amon, including his upbringing as a ghoul's foster son and his reputation as an excellent investigator. He immediately deemed his as a good subject. Later after Aogiri captured him he performed the kakuhou transplant surgery on Amon from Yoshimura's kakuhou, however, how long they may have been in each others' company is unknown. Seidou Takizawa notes that Kanou dismissed him as a failure after the experiments on the captured investigators were completed.

Powers and Abilities
Keen Intellect: Kanou has proven himself to be a highly charismatic intelligent man, from being able to convince loyal CCG cadets, such as Kurona and Nashiro, into joining his cause and permitting him to perform ghoul experiments on them.

Medical Expertise: Despite his disregard for human life, Kanou is a surgeon whose medical skills and knowledge of the body are astonishing, allowing him to perform operations capable of converting a human into a one-eyed ghoul or Quinx. Proof of his knowledge is in his ghoulification research and he has created several successful artificial one-eyed subjects, such as Kaneki, Furuta, Kurona, Nashiro, Takizawa, and Amon. He also has much knowledge in ghoul anatomy and how to create Rc pathways, as shown when torturing Takizawa. Nico has mentioned his knowledge of humans equates to his extensive knowledge of ghoul biology.

Quotes

 * Thinking about Kaneki: "I wonder how you're doing... my beloved prototype..."
 * To Amon: "You will die."

Trivia

 * Kanou's role in changing Kaneki into an artificial ghoul and his role in Kaneki's character development mirrors the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster in Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.
 * Kanou states that he experimented on a total of 1,200 people, using Rize Kamishiro as his base. Of those experiments, only three resulted in an artificial one-eyed ghoul. It is known in :re Chapter 90, that sixty-three investigators were experimented on using Yoshimura as his base, but he claims to only have one success from those experiments.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he is featured as the "Seven of Clubs."

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