Ken Kaneki

Ken Kaneki (金木 研, Kaneki Ken) is the protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Formerly, he was a Human studying Japanese Literature at Kamii University and living a normal life. However, everything soon changed after he had Rize Kamishiro's kakuhou transplanted into him and became a One-Eyed Ghoul. After joining Anteiku as part-time waiter, he learned how to live as a Ghoul and became known as Eyepatch (眼帯, Gantai).

After being captured by Aogiri Tree, he underwent a drastic personality change, forming a team with the goal of protecting the ones precious to him and exterminating people who threatened the place he belonged to. Because of his Kakuja's distinct appearance, the CCG gave him the nickname Centipede (百足, Mukade).

He is currently living under the identity of Haise Sasaki  (佐々木 琲世, Sasaki Haise), an Associate Special Class Ghoul Investigator that formerly served as the mentor of the CCG's Quinx Squad. His memories were initially lost to him, but regained during the Tsukiyama Extermination Operation. Six months after the operation, ghouls have come to know him by the moniker of Black Reaper (黒の死神, Kuro no Shinigami).

Appearance
As a child, Kaneki had all the same features he has now as an adult with black hair. As a normal university student, Kaneki was a scrawny young man with little to no athletic background who preferred to read books. In his free time, he wore casual clothes.

At work, he wore the standard Anteiku waiter uniform, consisting of black trousers and a grey waistcoat over a white dress shirt and a brown necktie. Because he couldn't properly control his single Kakugan that manifests in his left eye, he wore a medical eye patch to cover it.

His ghoul mask resembles a leather gimp mask with an eye patch. It bears a lipless mouth that shows large, gnashing teeth, much like restrained asylum monster. The bolts sticking out of his neck and the fact that he is an artificial ghoul remind a Frankenstein theme.

After being tortured by Yamori, his appearance changed drastically. His hair became completely white, and his nails were blackened. He began to favor monochrome clothing, and wore a form-fitting black bodysuit with cutouts when going into battle.

In the years since adopting the identity of Haise Sasaki, his hair began to develop black streaks growing out from the crown. He wore the standard business attire of a Ghoul Investigator, favoring black dress shirts and pinstripe pants with a knee-length white trench coat. After the events of the Auction, his hair slowly began to revert back to its original color with almost no white remaining.

The return of his memories has resulted in another drastic change of his appearance. His hair has completely reverted to its original black color, and he has begun to wear a pair of round eyeglasses similar to those worn by his mother and Eto. He wears a black version of the Arima Squad uniform, pairing a black dress shirt with black slacks and a long, black trench coat. In contrast, he wears a pair of red gloves.

In the Oneshot, Kaneki's appearance is relatively the same, except has more muscular build, and instead of leather mask with an eyepatch, he wears a plan white mask with exaggerated teeth and lips with one eye in the form of a plus, and the other a heart. It strangely resembles a clown mask.

Pre-Aogiri
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 is extremely gentle and appears to be optimistic most of the time. Influenced by his mother and a true testament of modesty, he willingly takes blame and punishment from others so that he can be someone who doesn't hurt people, but rather absorb the torment. However, this lack of assertiveness normally gets him bullied and taken advantage of.

However, beneath his altruistic and gentle nature, is an underlying fear of being alone that was aggravated by his mother's death. He despises the idea of solitude; hence he tries to protect those dear to him so he would not have to face his fear of being alone in the world. Kaneki also has a habit of rubbing his chin whenever he is hiding something.

This is 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 is also why Kaneki seems to reject the notion of "living", because watching others die reminds him of those lonely days without anyone beside him.

After he was turned into a half-Ghoul, he clung onto 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 that he could protect the people close 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 wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line.

Post-Aogiri
After being held captive and undergoing intense torture by the hands of Yamori; Kaneki’s personality changes drastically. He trashes his previous ideology of ‘being hurt rather than hurting others’, pledging to crush those who dare threaten his place of belonging. He adopts the habit of cracking his fingers from his torturer, Yamori. In his subconscious, Kaneki eats ‘Rize’, the image of his ghoul self. This displays that he now accepts the ‘ghoul’ within him. Instead of being influenced by it, he seems become the one who surpass it. Kaneki becomes ruthless and brutal in order to protect his friends, yet he manages to maintain complete composure. He no longer fears his ghoul side and becomes more violent during battles; As shown when he fought against Yamori or Ayato. By embracing his ghoul nature wholeheartedly, Kaneki gave up on being ‘Human’.

Kaneki is still capable of showing his gentle nature in front of people he cares about, but can instantly turn merciless against his enemies. He yearns for strength and power, therefore becoming more arrogant. His new creed that as ‘the strong’ he has the right to ‘devour the weak’ was originally an ideology held by Yamori. Banjou assumes that Kaneki developed some form of mental instability during his torture in the 11th ward, and that this would gradually wear him down.

Whenever he is near starvation and losing control of his Kagune (or half-Kakuja), he begins behaving in a way that emulates another person’s, like Rize or Yamori. He would begin speaking in a crazed disorganized manner, further implying his mental instability during these periods.

After raiding Kanou’s lab and attacking Banjou, Kaneki begins to revert back to his pre-Aogiri personality. He enters a period of soul-searching. He seeks to reclaim his lost ‘human’ side and becomes uncertain about the path he has taken to become stronger. He starts to question and seek answers from individuals such as Uta, Yomo, and Yoshimura in order to understand the incidents that have happened around him since he turned into a ghoul.

Pre-Tsukiyama Operation
While living under his new identity as Haise Sasaki, he became self-contained and good-natured individual who is shown as loyal, devoted, and possessing a good work ethic. Haise is very cooperative, as he prefers working in a group rather than working alone. He also shows mercy, as he believes that an Investigator should not annihilate ghouls unnecessarily. Haise enjoys reading books in his free time and has a habit of using puns, shown by his conversation with Akira Mado in the Naan restaurant. He tends to scratch the back of his head when he is thinking hard or feeling uneasy. He still has his old habit of scratching or rubbing his chin whenever he is hiding something or lying.

He shows appropriate respect and great concern for his colleagues, especially his underlings. He complies with orders assigned by his seniors and carries them out without hesitation. However, Haise’s gentle nature often leads his subordinates to constantly disobey him, rendering him ineffective in controlling their actions; he is left to worry about their safety.

In contrast to before his memory loss, Haise rejects his ghoul side and seems to be disgusted by it. When analyzed by Arima after his capture, Haise appears to retain his introverted nature and lack of assertiveness as Kaneki, along with his yearning of a motherly figure.

However Haise is still prone to losing control as shown when he fought the Serpent, where he started cracking his fingers during the fight, a habit that he had originally developed as Kaneki in the past. Donato notes that Sasaki is curious about his memories, but also afraid of them as he worries that he can no longer keep his current life in CCG should he ever recover his memories. Sasaki fears that relying on his ghoul side would make him disappear. After being rescued from Seidou by Hinami, Haise’s perspective on his ghoul nature changes. He concludes that the Kaneki of the past must have been a good person because Hinami cares for him a lot, even though he does not remember. He eventually accepts this ghoul side in order to protect Hinami and Saiko, with the risk of his personality disappearing. He learns a bit about Kaneki who appeared in his subconscious as a mental construct where "Kaneki" admitted that he was also scared and asked Haise to not erase him.



After the auction, Haise was friendlier towards his Ghoul side. However, "Kaneki" said that this relationship cannot last forever, as they were two beings fighting for one body. Haise was told to ‘not erase him’, but misheard it as ‘disappear’. He then remains conflicted about his past, actively searching for information about himself.

Post-Tsukiyama operation
During the Exterminate Tsukiyama Operation, Haise recalls a certain memory of his past as Ken Kaneki where it was revealed that he had been physically abused by his mother in the past. The trauma of these beatings resulted in Kaneki repressing his memories, so that he thought of his mother as purely a kind and gentle woman. He also realized that he unconsciously wished to die and had been glad to see Arima. However, that failed, so he believed that burying his past was his salvation, so he chose to forget and live as Haise. Upon realizing this, Haise accepted his past, resolving to stop "dreaming".

Just after regaining his memories, Sasaki became a colder and much more violent person, in sharp contrast with his gentle personality earlier as it shown when he immediately brutalizing Kanae shortly after. He also stabbed Tsukiyama through the chest, although his motivation in stabbing Tsukiyama were not clear yet.

After his fight with the Owl, he immediately proceeded to ensure both his position and allegiance to CCG to Koori Ui by proposing to exterminate the Ghoul by throwing him off the building. His methodical and strategic nature remains intact as well. As Urie was accusing him of not being there when Shirazu needed him most; he lashed out, assuming Urie was about to blame him for his death and turning it on Urie instead as he was the one fighting alongside Shirazu and his own weakness was the reason his comrade's life was ultimately lost. This leaves Urie shocked. He then proceeds to grieve for the death of Shirazu together with Mutsuki and Saiko, showing that though his memories had returned, his feelings stayed the same.

Psychological Issues
Kaneki's mental state particularly undergoes extreme changes over the course of the series.

He appears to internalize his negative feelings to an extent that, while being tortured by Yamori, these feelings materialize as a mental construct existing within his mind. This construct takes on the form of Rize Kamishiro and taunts him about his weakness. She explores his past with him, and forces him to confront the feelings of resentment he experienced over his mother's inability to refuse her sister. By "consuming" this projection of "Rize", he embraces far more brutal view of the world.

The next time he encounters this alternate self is at V14, after being mortally wounded by Arima. Within his mind, he encounters a child version of himself that he feels the desire to protect. As he comes to accept his failings and similarities to his mother, this self transforms into a version of Kaneki as he existed at the beginning of the series. This more innocent Kaneki accepts him, and thanks him for all that he has done to protect them. The two vanish together, resolving to "sleep" for a while.

In Tokyo Ghoul:re, it's revealed that he now suffers from psychogenic amnesia, most likely as a result of intense physical and mental trauma received during the fight with Arima. He lacked almost all knowledge about previous identity. As he embraced his "Haise Sasaki" identity, the mental construct took on the appearance of Kaneki, often appearing as Yamori's prisoner and wearing his Kakuja mask. This "Kaneki" torments him, demanding to be accepted and given back his body. Sasaki believed this to be his former self, and strictly divided them into two separate beings in his mind. When he is finally forced to accept his past and honor the request to "look" at "Kaneki", the being appears to him as a white-haired child that he feels the need to protect.

In the months following, Sasaki and "Kaneki" regularly converse with each other. Sasaki continues to treat this mental construct as a completely separate person, hallucinating the child going through normal activities such as reading. Though they seem to have reached some sort of accord, the child "Kaneki" tells Haise that the two of them cannot continue to co-exist and one will eventually vanish.

During Sasaki's bout with Kanae, the damages dealt to him once again brought back the "Kaneki" in his mind, as well as fragments of his original memories. It is shown that Kaneki as a child was abused by his mother in contrast to how he previously thought of her as purely a gentle and loving mother. The trauma of this caused him to repress his memories of it so that he had only warm memories of her. As the original feelings came back to him, he expressed his desire to die in style all along during the events at V14. He also desired to be loved by everyone that knows him, regardless of how his actions may obtain the desired result, be them with good or bad intentions, which the mental child Kaneki perceives as salvation. Haise regards himself as a "dream", caused when he began to desire. After Haise accepted his past, he resolves to quit "dreaming".

Background
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's son, Yuuichi, who she always compared with him since Yuuichi did not do well at school. This greatly angered her. When comparing her son with Kaneki, she also compared 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 began to ostracize him, which really saved him from loneliness.

Prologue
In the first chapter, Kaneki and Hide listened to the news about ghoul attacks in the 20th ward while in Anteiku. Hide wondered if Touka was Kaneki's new crush that he wanted to show him, but Kaneki denied it. Instead, He pointed to Rize as she entered the café. After Hide had left the place, Kaneki ended up being arranged to a date with Rize. However, Rize turned out to be a ghoul targeting Kaneki, which she revealed after tricking Kaneki into entering a isolated alley. During her attack, Kaneki was wounded in the abdomen by her kagune, but steel bars fell on her and apparently killed her before she could kill him. To save his life, the staff of the Kanou General Hospital under the direction of Dr. Kanou decided to transplant Rize's organs into him. From then on, Kaneki became a half-human, half-ghoul.

After the accident, Kaneki hid the fact that Rize was a ghoul. He found everything he ate tasted disgusting and he was hardly able to eat normal food, so he started to live only on water for days. Around that time he realized that ghouls were also unable to eat normal food, his hunger struck him. Unable to find anything to satisfy his hunger, he wandered the streets. At that time, he found out that the waitress, Touka, from Anteiku was also a ghoul when she killed a human in front of him. In terror, he ran away. He soon saw that he could barely keep himself in check. Since he thought the organ transplant was the reason for his transformation, he tried to get rid of the transplanted organs, but was unsuccessful. Desperate, he turned to Touka for help. Touka refused to give assistance to the former human, but Anteiku's manager Yoshimura kindly gave Kaneki human meat to satisfy his hunger.

However, Kaneki was still repelled by the thought of having to eat human meat, so he decided to continue rejecting it. Instead, he looked for other digestible food frantically. He discovered that he was still able to drink coffee. Drinking coffee calmed him down, so he went off to buy more. In a store, a man revealed to be Nishio advised him to buy the instant coffee "Blondy". As Kaneki was returning home, he noticed the smell of delicious food. He traced the smell's source, which turned out to be a human corpse. The ghoul Kazuo Yoshida was eating the freshly slain body, but he was immediately killed by Nishio. Asserting that this was his feeding ground, Nishio attacked Kaneki too. At that moment, Touka appeared and declared that this place wasn't Nishio's feeding ground, but Rize's. Nishio retorted that this was originally his feeding ground until Rize came, but Touka, unfazed, responded that the feeding grounds would be re-allotted among the weaker ghouls and that it was his own fault for being too weak. Angered, Nishio attacked Touka, but was immediately defeated. Touka tried to force Kaneki to eat some of the meat, but Kaneki hysterically screamed that he was human and different from ghouls. Angered, Touka retorted that Kaneki was neither human nor ghoul and no place where he belonged, but she also warned him that a ghoul's hunger was hell.

When Kaneki and Hide visited a senior student from the university to get the DVD of the previous year's college festival, they disturbed him and Kimi when they were making out. Kaneki realized that the senior student was Nishio, the ghoul that attacked him shortly before. Nishio told them to help him look for the material, but then claimed that he took the disk home. He proposed that they should go to his home. In reality, he deceived Kaneki and Hide, knocked Hide out and started fighting Kaneki. He provoked Kaneki by puking on Hide than standing his face with his foot, but angered Kaneki was no match for Kagune-wielding Nishio. However, when Nishio tried to kill Hide, Kaneki made his kagune come out. With his kagune, Kaneki heavily injured Nishio. As Kaneki started to lose control and was about to eat Hide, Touka stopped him.

Later, Kaneki woke up and found himself inside Anteiku. The manager led him to the sleeping Hide. Kaneki wanted to approach Hide, but stopped. Before, he had already noticed blood inside his mouth and his diminished hunger, so he asked Yoshimura what he had eaten. The manager told him that he already knew what the answer was, since there is only one way to satisfy a ghoul's hunger. Kaneki cried out that he was neither human nor ghoul and there was no place for him, but Yoshimura replied that he was wrong and that he belonged to both worlds. Yoshimura proposed that Kaneki to work at Anteiku. Yoshimura would teach him how to live as a ghoul so that Kaneki could keep his place as a human.

Doves' Emergence
After Kaneki had started working part-time at Anteiku, his friend Hide visited him there. Hide thanked Touka for nursing Kaneki and him after the "car accident", the lie the manager used to cover up what had really happened to Kaneki, Nishio, and him. After they had left Hide, Touka told Kaneki to make sure that Hide won't find out about him being a ghoul: she would kill him to protect the ghouls' identities if that were to happen. Afterwards, the manager showed Kaneki how to eat sandwiches like a human. After Kaneki gave it a try, the manager gave him special sugar cubes that he could use to curb his hunger, but warned him that he might have to eat meat when the time would come. During Kaneki's working time, Ryouko Fueguchi and her daughter Hinami came to Anteiku. Touka told Kaneki that these two ghouls did not hunt themselves.

Ghoul investigators from CCG entered the 20th ward looking for Ryouko Fueguchi and her daughter Hinami. As the news spread in the ward, the manager asked Touka to guide Kaneki to the mask shop HySy ArtMask Studio in the 4th ward, where Kaneki became acquainted with its owner, Uta.

One day, the manager asked Kaneki to obtain "food supplies" with Yomo, i.e., they looked for humans who committed suicide. Afterwards, they picked Ryouko up, who was warned by Yomo that the investigators came because of her and that she should move more prudently for Hinami's sake. Ryouko agreed and said she would stop relying on her dead husband so that Hinami could depend on her. Kaneki thought that a parent's concern for their child was strong in any world.

Few days later, while Hinami was eating human flesh in a room on Anteiku's second floor, Kaneki suddenly entered the room without knocking on the door. After he apologized, she asked if he is ghoul or human. To answer her question, Kaneki explained his situation. He noticed that she had one of Takatsuki's books, so they started to talk about the stories. Kaneki also tutored Hinami how to read some new kanji to expand her vocabulary. Before she and her mother left, Hinami thanked him and asked him to teach her again next time. When she and her mother left, the ghoul investigators encircled them. Ryouko gave her daughter the chance to escape while she fought the investigators. During her escape, Hinami ran into Kaneki and asked for help, but just as they arrived, Mado killed Ryouko. Kaneki participated in Anteiku's meeting after Ryouko's death. Kaneki considered Ryouko's death his fault for being too weak to save her.

The next day after Touka's attack on the ghoul investigators, Kaneki noticed Touka's injuries. He intended to treat her wounds, but Yoshimura stopped him, because Touka would have to carry the responsibility for her actions herself and Anteiku didn't have the power to oppose CCG. Even so, Kaneki still chose to treat her wounds. Kaneki told Touka that he believed the ghoul investigators' existence was necessary and that he considered her actions wrong. Nevertheless, he would mourn her were she to die, and asked her to teach him how to fight, so that he would be able to act next time. The next day, they entered the underground, tunnels originally built by ghouls, to practice. By threatening his life, she forced him to use his kagune. After training, Uta delivered Kaneki's mask.

Later, they went to CCG's branch office in the 20th ward to spread false information on Hinami's whereabouts. Before they could leave, Mado suspected them to be ghouls, so he forced Kaneki through the Rc scan gate, but the gate didn't react to Kaneki. While Hinami confined herself in Anteiku's room on the upper floor, Touka visited her and gave her a newspaper that contained Kusaba's death notice. Realizing what Touka was doing, Hinami ran away. When Touka and Kaneki noticed Hinami was missing, they split up to search for her. Touka found Hinami and informed Kaneki, but before they could leave, Mado attacked them. Kaneki was relieved they had found her, however, he overheard investigator Amon's phone conversation with Mado. As Amon set off for Kasahara River where Hinami and Touka were, Kaneki, wearing his mask, stood in Amon's way to try to buy enough time for Touka and Hinami to flee.

Kaneki initially underestimated the investigator until Amon was easily able to overpower him. After taking down Kaneki, Amon paused to talk about the recent death of a fellow investigator, the orphans and demonized ghouls for corrupting the world with their gluttony. As a former human, Kaneki couldn't deny that ghouls had brought violence to the world and caused tragedies because of their consumption. However, after remembering Ryouko's sacrifice for her daughter, he finally realizes the truth to Yoshimura's earlier comment, that he is the only one who can see both the human and ghoul worlds in their entirety. That they could manage to get along due to their similarities if they would sit down and talk.

Convinced that he has a reason to fight, Kaneki won using his reluctantly-used kagune. After defeating Amon in battle with his ghoul instincts excited, Kaneki starts losing control of his powers. Desperately, he asked Amon to leave so that he didn't have to kill someone. Shortly thereafter, Kaneki lost control and he started acting like the binge-eating Rize. Yomo appeared and stopped Kaneki from rampaging. Yomo and Kaneki rushed to Hinami's and Touka's whereabouts and afterwards left to go back to Anteiku. On their way back, Hinami asked if it was right for her to live and Kaneki answered that he believed Hinami's mother told her to live in her last moments.

After Mado's death, Kaneki went to Kanou General Hospital for a checkup. Kaneki heavily questioned if Kanou knew what had happened to his body. Afterwards, Kaneki went to university. During class, Hide brought up the news about the death of two ghoul investigators. To Kaneki's concern, Hide had mostly figured out the Rabbit case through deduction. As Kaneki asked Hide why he was interested in this matter, Hide pulled out Hisashi Ogura's new ghoul book that he found really interesting. Hide toyed with the idea of joining the investigation to which Kaneki heavily objected.

Later on, Kaneki went to Touka's apartment because he was worried about Hinami who had started living there. To Kaneki's surprise, Touka ate all of the home-made food by her classmate Yoriko, making him wonder how important Yoriko was to Touka.

Gourmet Arc
The day after Touka and Kaneki practiced underground with Yomo, Tsukiyama, nicknamed the Gourmet, came to Anteiku during their work time and was attracted to Kaneki's smell. On a later date, Tsukiyama approached Kaneki in his university as Kaneki immersed himself in a martial arts book. Tsukiyama persuaded Kaneki to meet him at a cafe the next Sunday. Lost in thought, Kaneki went to Anteiku despite it being closed and met Yomo in front of Anteiku. Yomo invited Kaneki to meet someone who asked for Kaneki. Together, they went to 14th ward's Helter Skelter bar and met Yomo's old friends, the bar owner Itori and Uta. After they had talked about the relationship between Yomo, Uta and Itori, Itori spilled a glass of blood on Kaneki to uncover his sole kakugan. Itori was excited seeing a One-Eyed Ghoul and wondered if the other "One-Eye" felt as self-conscious about his eye as Kaneki. Kaneki wanted to know about the other one-eyed ghouls, so Itori told Kaneki about hybrids, pregnancy of half-ghouls and the rumored "One-Eye". Soon, the conversation turned about Kaneki and Rize's mysterious death, and Kaneki discovered that the accident was likely set up by someone. Itori proposed a trade to Kaneki: if Kaneki uncovered information on the Ghoul Restaurant from the Gourmet, namely Tsukiyama, she would share information on the accident.

After the meeting, Kaneki, immersed in thought, got lost and ran into a group of ghouls that were attacking Nishio. Kaneki saved Nishio from the ghouls that planned to eat him and returned him to his apartment, while Nishio was cursing him. As Kaneki was about to leave, Kimi attacked Kaneki to protect Nishio, thinking that Kaneki was the "narcissistic man"; however, Nishio asked her to stop.

The following Sunday, after Kaneki and Tsukiyama played Squash, they visited the café. After Tsukiyama cut Kaneki's finger accidentally with his finger nail, he used Tsukiyama's handkerchief to soak up the blood. Unbeknownst to him, the scent of the blood would further intensify Tsukiyama's obsession with him. As Kaneki asked Tsukiyama about the ghoul restaurant to gather information, Tsukiyama invited him as a guest to the ghoul restaurant. However, this was a trap set by Tsukiyama, because he was not meant to be a regular guest, but instead was meant to become the dinner together with Kobachi and Ami. The restaurant's scrapper Taro-chan made quick work of the latter two, leaving Kaneki to fend for himself. He manages to get a few hits but is soon subdued by Taro-chan. In desperation, he pushes his limits, causing his one kakugan eye to reveal itself. Realizing he is a one-eyed ghoul, Tsukiyama realized that Kaneki was an even rarer dish than he had thought and came to the conclusion that he didn't want to share with the other members, and he killed the scrapper as Kaneki's replacement.

Kaneki, frightened of Tsukiyama, slept at Anteiku for the night. The next day, Hinami, also bringing along the cockatiel Loser, Yomo, and Yoshimura, visited Kaneki. Kaneki told them he saw lots of ghouls and commented at how they laughed behind their masks as he, Kobachi, and Ami were injured. Yoshimura commented that they were ghouls who killed their emotions and forgot the value of life. After Yoshimura and Yomo left, Touka called Kaneki because a girl was waiting downstairs for him. Kimi begged Kaneki for help since Nishio's state had worsened further. Kaneki promised to help her. As she was returning home, Tsukiyama kidnapped her to set the next trap for Kaneki.

After Kaneki had found Tsukiyama's letter about Kimi being kidnapped by him, Nishio came looking for Kimi. Kaneki and Nishio decided to face Tsukiyama together to save Kimi but Kaneki and Nishio were no match for him and Tsukiyama quickly defeated both of them. Touka arrives to help, and for a few moments she and Kaneki manage to hold their ground against Tsukiyama, but was eventually incapitated because Tsukiyama was the only one who could use his kagune. As Tsukiyama prepared to finish them both, Nishio stopped him, prompting Tsukiyama to stomp him repeatedly. This provided enough time for Kaneki to come up with an idea. As the only one with a chance to beat him was Touka, he let Touka eat a small part of him to regain her strength. This allowed Touka to fight evenly with Tsukiyama and eventually defeat him. When Touka decided to kill Kimi, Kaneki frantically begs her not to do it, but is left stunned when Touka decides not to.

Aogiri Arc
Banjou and his followers came to Anteiku to search for Rize by orders of Aogiri's leaders. Touka and Kaneki decided to hear his story, and Banjou began to talk about his time with Rize in the 11th ward. However, Banjou soon realized that Kaneki smelled like Rize. Because he suspected Kaneki to be her boyfriend, he attacked him, but Banjou was easily knocked out by Kaneki. When Banjou woke up again, Kaneki tried to clear up the misunderstanding. He told Banjou that Rize had moved somewhere else, hiding from him that she had died. Banjou asked Kaneki to tell her that she should run away because he feared that Aogiri would try to gravely hurt her. At that moment, Ayato Kirishima, Yamori and Nico raided Anteiku. They announced that they were ordered to capture Rize herself or "the person who smells like her". As Ayato quickly incapitated Touka, Kaneki is similarly overpowered by Yamori, who beats him savagely. Kaneki is then taken away by Yamori.

After Kaneki had regained consciousness, he asked Ayato about Touka's condition, but in response, Ayato taught Kaneki the rules of the place while kicking and beating him. Kaneki was brought before Tatara. To make Kaneki reveal his kakugan, Tatara pierced his abdomen. Tatara realized that he could not use Kaneki the way he originally planned, so he granted Ayato the right to do whatever he wished with Kaneki. Tatara revealed to Kaneki that the escaped Doctor Kanou was aware what had happened to Kaneki's body and that Kanou didn't transplant a kidney into Kaneki, but a Kakuhou.

After the meeting, Kaneki was approached by Banjou, who proposed that they should escape together.During the meeting, he meets Banjou's resistance group who were also subdued by Aogiri. Banjou proposed that because the Aogiri superiors take turns leaving on different days of the week, they will make their escape when security is light.

On the night of the escape, the Anti-Aogiri group attempted to escape. However, the Bin brothers were alarmed by their escape and went after the group to intervene. When Banjou stayed behind to cover their escape, Kaneki and the gas mask followers came to his aid to confront one of the Bin. Amidst of fighting, Yamori and Nico joined them along with several of the resistance members, revealing that they have overheard their plan and proceeded to ambush them. Despite knowing that death is the penalty for betrayal, Yamori instead proposed to Kaneki that he will overlook this event in exchange for his cooperation as an assistant because he possessed Rize's organs and had 'potential.' Kaneki hesitantly accepted, knowing that they would be killed otherwise and was taken by Yamori and Nico into his "hobby room".

Ten days before the CCG stormed the Aogiri hideout, Yamori showed Kaneki his "hobby room". Kaneki is shocked when he sees a dead person sitting on a chair, whom Yamori reveals to be his former underling who is tortured for making a mistake. Yamori showed Kaneki Rc suppressants and explained that they are used to weaken ghouls and forcibly injected the drug by stabbing Kaneki's left eye with a syringe. After the injection, Kaneki's body was weakened so that Yamori could torture him for pleasure. Days of torment took a toll on his physical and mental state. Trivially, Yamori reveals to Kaneki that Kanou had known he was surgically making him into a half-ghoul and that Rize's kakuhou was "special" for it's abnormal vigor.The torment had made his hair whiten and he begins to wonder what has happened to his friends. In a state of despair, he begins to hallucinate Rize and began to reminisce over his tragic past. Rize called him and his mother weak, but Yamori appeared with Kei and Kouto before she finished. Enraged that Yamori didn't fulfill his end of their bargain, Kaneki was given another ultimatum: Who of the two will he spare? Unable to comply to Yamori's twisted pleasure, Kaneki refused as Nico protested against Yamori's distasteful violence. The aggravated Yamori ultimately killed both the mother and child ghoul and he and Nico left Kaneki in despair. Rize's illusion spoke to Kaneki, taunting him that it was his weakness that lead the two to their grisly demise. 'Rize' reasons that if more brutal ghouls like Yamori and Aogiri were to come to power, then his friends will eventually suffer similar fates. Realizing that in order to prevent this, he must become a ghoul full-heartedly and learn to control his kagune.

During the CCG attack, Yamori returned to Kaneki. He told him of a rumor that if a ghoul were to cannibalize one another, they will become stronger but ghoul meat was considered disgustingly distasteful. When he motioned to carve out Kaneki in order to eat him, Kaneki bites him and agrees with his latest notion. Freeing himself from the chair, he attacks Yamori and bites him, jeering that ghouls were indeed made to compete and that it can't be help that Yamori could be devoured, too. The two fought with their kagunes, but Kaneki eventually overpowers him and proceeded to eat Yamori's kagune. After feasting on his kagune, Kaneki reminded him, before leaving, that the CCG will come to the hobby room and kill him while he has been wounded and disarmed. Kaneki later fights Ayato. During the fight they had a brief conversation about Ayato's motivations in Aogiri. Kaneki concludes that Ayato joined Aogiri in order to protect Touka because he had impeded Yamori to "play" with her. The fight is even, but it ends when Kaneki breaks through an entire building using Ayato as an battering ram. The fight ends when Kaneki "half-kills" him by breaking 103 out of 206 bones in Ayato's body as revenge for Touka.

When the fight is over and Kaneki and his friends are safe, Kaneki states that he will not come back to Anteiku. He accepts the help of Banjou and Shuu, even Hinami, but he does not allow Touka to follow him.

Raid of Kanou's Lab
After the invasion of the Aogiri hideout, it is rumored that he was the one to single-handedly destroy the Ghoul Restaurant and kill about 50-60 members.

The annihilation was an attempt to capture and interrogate Madam A, a collaborator of Kanou. Tsukiyama's position in the society allows Kaneki to be sneaked in disguised as the meal that night. Banjou's group were positioned at the exit to prevent any members from escaping. The attack commenced when Tsukiyama presented the meal: everyone. Kaneki pursued Madam A, killing many of the guests who were in the way. Just as he was about to reach the Madam, Kaneki was confronted by Kurona and Nashiro, two one-eyed ghouls with the same kagune from Rize, which were later confirmed to be newer products of Doctor Kanou. Kaneki failed to accomplish his goal since Madam A fled while he was held back by Kanou's one-eyed twins.

Later, while investigating Rize's life before coming to the 20th ward, Kaneki's group came across a name with the same family name as Rize: Matasaka Kamishiro. Also known as Shachi, he was the leader of the ghouls in the 6th ward. Back at their quarters, Kaneki cuts Hinami's hair as promised. Upon receiving data gathered by Chie Hori concerning Cochlea's escapees from Tsukiyama, he tells Hinami that he has to go somewhere and heads to Helter Skelter bar in order to exchange it for Kanou's whereabouts from Itori. However, Itori states that she does not have such information and gives him those about Kanou instead. There, he learns that Kanou was previously affiliated to CCG. He then questions what is Kanou trying to accomplish by transforming people into ghouls. Nico visits the bar, meeting the two. This causes Kaneki to suddenly turn aggressive. He asks Nico why he was at the Aogiri Tree hideout back then. Nico simply answers that it was for Yamori's sake. In order to gain Kaneki's trust, he offers him certain intel about the Aogiri Tree. He states that the Aogiri tree is an organization composed of militant ghouls let by the "One-Eyed King", many of them being from the 24th ward in Tokyo underground. Kaneki asks Nico as to why is Aogiri chasing Kanou and Rize, and what is the actual goal of Aogiri tree. Nico says that the goal is to "smoke out a liar", words he apparently cited from Tatara. Finally, he whispers the information to Kaneki about who the "One-Eyed King" really is. Kaneki then tells Itori that he now has a "mental image" of the enemy, and if he indeed leads the Aogiri tree, he only needs to crush him, though, not before he talks to Kanou and figures out why is the said organization chasing after him. For that means, he says that he needs to talk to Madam A, but is also worried about the One-Eyed twins guarding her. Itori mentions several accidents happening recently,and that the ghoul with the rabbit mask is being involved in all of them.

Kaneki is later seen training with Banjou, easily overwhelming him each time they fought. He informs everyone that he only got the intel about Kanou being former CCG's coroner, but that he unfortunately failed to obtain the information about his whereabouts. Banjou suggests coming to the 20th ward again, due to them having a secret hideout in Kanou's hospital previously, and that there is a possibility that they left some kind of trace there. Kaneki agrees, also wanting to confirm whether or not the "Rabbit" that goes on a killing spree is actually Touka. Once he comes there, he meets a nurse that he met in the past, right after his surgery. After asking about Kanou's whereabouts, she says that Kanou is involved in a foreign research, located in Germany. He sends a gift to Touka, and when Banjou asks him whether or not he wants to see her, he gives a quick answer that he doesn't want to involve Touka in the ghoul world. He also states that he checked the traveler list before they spoke to the nurse, and says that Kanou's name was not there. He theorizes that either Kanou or the nurse are lying to them.

His group decides to pursue the nurse in order to dig out Kanou's whereabouts, and when doing so, they encounter Aogiri members, also having the same goal. He gets into conflict with Naki and is suddenly attacked by Shachi, who has apparently joined the Aogiri Tree for an unknown reason. When Shachi quickly charges at Kaneki, he fails to properly block Shachi's first strike. Breaking his arms in the process, however, he gets hit by the second punch, knocking him back. He swiftly gets up, and quickly heals his broken limbs. Kaneki reveals his four-tailed kagune. He then proceeds to run at Shachi .He tries to strike Shachi, missing the first time, he quickly changes the direction of his kagune piercing Shachi threw the back. Shachi then activates his kagune, breaking away from Kaneki's hold. He then begins to persistently attack him. Kaneki fails to dodge, and gets hit by an immensely powerful strike, right at his abdomen. He falls to his knees, constantly coughing blood. After the fight, Shachi and the others leave with the nurse, Kaneki then begins to angrily curse at them.

He and his group wait for the opportunity to ambush and capture Madam A when she was only with Kurona at the time, they followed her into the cargo docks and they succeed in ambushing Madam A, causing Kurona to flee and leave her behind. Due to his defeat at the hands of Shachi, Kaneki begins to train in order to get stronger. He then proceeds to ask Tsukiyama to train with him, and go all out to help him with what he's trying to do.

Later on, Madam A leads them to a mansion where Kanou is supposed to reside. While investigating the house, Banjou finds the basement and informs Kaneki about it. He asks Madam A if that place really is Kanou's mansion as she previously said. She says that she is positive, and Kaneki threatens her with attack, accidentally crushing the wall and exposing a strange organic structure revealed to be the "RC Cell Wall" also known as "24th Ward's Wall". While going further into the Mansion's underground, they encounter various remains of Kanou's failed experiments, finally encountering the twins, again. Kaneki simply states that he has no time to deal with them, and jumps over them, further rushing into the mansion's base, while leaving others to deal with Kurona and Nashiro. After leaving his comrades, he eventually encounters Shachi, who goes to attack him immediately. He is successful in dodging many various attacks Shachi throws at him, and sees the opportunity to charge at him swiftly and blind him temporarily. However, Shachi dodges it, and seeing that he has no chance in close combat, Kaneki activates his kakugan, as well as his kagune. He briefly cuts Shachi, although his wounds heal almost immediately. He then proceeds to stab him consecutively, and finally downs the ghoul. Believing he had incapitated his opponent, Kaneki approaches him, intent on cannibalizing Shachi. However, Shachi quickly gets up, grabs Kaneki by the head, and pummels him into the floor.

He gets up, questioning how powerful Shachi really is, only to see Kanou, standing at the top of the kakuhou farm chamber, revealing Rize in it. He learns about Kanou's ideals, how he wants to "free" the mankind trapped in the cage, the only salvation being ghouls. Kaneki angrily states that no sane man could do such thing, and that his life was hell after Kanou made him what he currently is. Kanou says that he gave up in living in a world of man, and that if Kaneki wants to live in the ghoul world, it would be prudent to join hands with ghouls. Kaneki immediately questions the offering, but Kanou says that he will show him the "true world" that is out there, before stating that the actual reason for the Aogiri tree's formation is a ghoul named "Yoshimura". Kaneki, shocked, looks helplessly at Kanou, while he tries to convince him to join his side. Their conversation is soon interrupted by Renji, who breaks in and grabs Rize, saying that Kaneki should follow the path he's decided upon, and escapes after informing him that "doves" tracked Kanou and are coming into the mansion. Shachi quickly overwhelms him again, saying that he's no match for him, and grabs Kanou. Kanou lets failed experiments attack Kaneki, and says that he looks forward to the day they meet again. Confused, broken and hurt, Kaneki proceeds in cannibalizing the experiments, saying that all this time, he was trying to hide his weakness in order to protect what's important to him, but no more.

When CCG breaks in and enters the underground, Shinohara encounters Kaneki, now in a centipede-like half-kakuja. In this form, Kaneki quickly turns to him and immediately charges at the said investigator. Shinohara prepares his blade sword quinque, evades, and activates Arata's armor. While he does that, Kaneki mumbles mindless words due to the effect his kakuja has on him. He continues in jumping around walls looking for a chance to engage Shinohara, and when he finally does so, Shinohara cuts the right side of his abdomen with his quinque. Kaneki falls to his knees, and while his kakuja was cut, he activates his 6 tailed kagune, and swiftly charges at Shinohara once more, catching him off guard and completely immobilizing him. When Amon enters the room where Shinohara and Kaneki are in, he sees Kaneki feasting on what appears to be Shinohara's corpse. Angry and confused, Amon fiercely charges at Kaneki, while the latter blocks his quinque with kagune. After more investigators arrive, they label Kaneki as SS-rated ghoul, deciding not to drag Amon down whilst in fight and join it if needed. Juuzou arrives, cutting Kaneki with his quinque as well, followed by Amon's final strike at Kaneki, finally bringing the half-ghoul to his knees. Instead of continuing to fight, Kaneki simply says "I don't want to eat anymore." and runs away. He's later seen to have successfully escaped the fight, and when Banjou offers help to Kaneki, he immediately stabs Banjou through the chest. He again enters the mindless state, questioning why he strived to become strong and why did he have to throw away his humanity, constantly uttering "I'm sorry". He finally calms down, with his kakuja mask falling off his face.

After an unknown period of time, he is seen in his room, depressed. Hinami interrupts him while he reads a book, asking if he's read "The Hanged Man". She also informs him that Takatsuki Sen has a book signing meeting, wondering if he will go to it. Kaneki says that he needs some mood change, and asks Hinami if she will go with him. At the meeting, they have a brief conversation with the author, the author being surprised at how dedicated Kaneki is when it comes to reading her books, also noting his sharpness when it comes to noticing things related to her books' characters. He happily leaves the meeting with Hinami.

Some time later, he is seen having a conversation with Uta, listening to his story about how he and Yomo became friends, and how Yoshimura saved Yomo's life during his encounter with Arima, out of revenge for his sister. Not long afterwards, he visits Yomo, and expresses a wish to see Rize once more. Yomo firstly disagrees, but Kaneki insists on it, running to the container that he heard a sound from, finally meeting with Rize. He tries to interrogate with her, but witnesses her maniacal behavior. Yomo informs him that he's feeding Rize nearly enough to keep her alive, but not enough for her to break free. He claims that his strength was just an illusion, to which Yomo responds that his strength was his alone, and no one else. He tells Kaneki that he should walk his own path from now on, with his own strength, and apologizes for not telling him this sooner.

After his encounter with Rize, and finding out that Yoshimura is covering for the real One-Eyed Owl, and his original life story from Yomo, he visits Anteiku again, to have a conversation with the manager. He explains how he came to know his story, and claims that his child is the One-Eyed King that is currently leading the Aogiri Tree. Yoshimura then says that only Kaneki can understand both ghoul and human worlds, and that the thing he's trying to throw away makes a half of him. The manager states that it's only a matter of his choice, but he hopes that in the future, Kaneki saves a lot of people, as well as his daughter.

He leaves Anteiku shortly after, only to be intercepted by Touka. He tells her that the manager told him to return to Anteiku, and she asks him what has he decided upon. Kaneki says that he's not sure, and that he wants to protect everyone dear to him, no matter the cost. This angers Touka, as she claims that the truth behind that is that he doesn't want to be alone, and that he's afraid of that happening before finally telling him that he should stay out of Anteiku, while trying to hit him. Hearing this leaves Kaneki shocked, as he receives a hit from her that makes him fall on his back. Touka sits on him, asking why he had to change like that shortly before leaving him.

At the group's headquarters, Kaneki claims that he wants to disband the group, the reason being him wanting to return to Anteiku. He invites everyone else to join as well, while others happily accept the invitation. Meanwhile, CCG's Bureau Director Yoshitoki Washuu requests permisson from Chairman Tsuneyoshi Washuu to carry out the Owl Suppression Operation that aims to suppress the Owl at Anteiku.

Anteiku Raid
After overhearing CCG officers' plans to raid Anteiku, Kaneki decided to head there as fast as possible to help out Yoshimura. During his way in the 20th Ward, Amon appeared in his way and began fighting him with Kaneki retaliating unwillingly. With a new quinque, Amon held an advantage over Kaneki. However, Kaneki chose to activate his Kakuja and overwhelmed his opponent easily, even when Amon received a newer quinque made for him mid-battle. Slashing off Amon's left arm but losing a chunk of flesh on his waist, Kaneki retreats into the sewer paths to continue on. In the sewers he gradually begins to lose his mind due to his incomplete-Kakuja's side effects until Hide appears. Trying to convince himself that Hide couldn't possibly be there and what he's seeing is in fact an illusion due to his madness, Hide confronts him and tells him he knew Kaneki became a ghoul but still wants to aid him. After being told that CCG has surrounded the entire place, Kaneki is asked by Hide if he can go all out once more to escape the raid.

Kaneki passes out and wakes up with a sweet taste in his mouth. Hide is nowhere to be found so he continues to wander to the route V14 only to run into Kishou Arima in what he first believes to be a flower field, later found to be a field of Ghoul corpses slain by Arima. He instinctively knows who Arima is but is nonetheless drawn into a battle with him, getting pierced in the back and stabbed through his one kakugan eye. He starts freaking out and losing his mind, and after he gets 8 claws on his kagune, they start battling while Kaneki shout nonsensical sentences. However Arima surpasses him, so he finally decides to finish Arima with one hit thinking that because Arima is a human he would die, but was instead blocked by Arima's quinque Ixa's, defensive barrier. Then Arima revealed that he knew who Kaneki was by calling him by his name and saying that he was impressed that Kaneki managed to damage his quinque. Arima then went on to pierce Kaneki through his body with Ixa which raised him from the ground before dropping him in front of the man. After stating how he hadn't expected Kaneki to damage his quinque, he stabs Ixa through his head before mentioning he needed a new quinque.

Post-Anteiku Raid
Some time later, as Akira was visiting her father's grave to tell him of her promotion to Rank 1 and how she is being assigned to oversee the training of a junior who is said to be an oddity among investigators. At that moment, that pupil approached her and introduced himself as Rank 3 Investigator Haise Sasaki.

Root A (Anime)
Soon after Kaneki defeats Yamori, he saves Touka from Ayato which led Kaneki to clash with him. The fight is stopped by Noro, whom takes away Ayato with his kagune. After the building starts collapsing, Kaneki is stalked by Eto. Kaneki comes back to Touka saying he will no longer return to Anteiku and instead says he will join the Aogiri. He is later seen with his new outfit, walking towards Tatara, Noro, Ayato and Eto, while he is surrounded by Aogiri soldiers, hailing his arrival. His new journey starts.

He is later seen attacking a CCG convoy along with Ayato, during which Kaneki is assaulted by Nashiro and Kurona, two one-eyed ghouls, but they leave shortly after their attack. Naki, Yamori's subordinate is unable to reason due to the death on Yamori. Kaneki later helps Naki by writing Yamori with the correct kanji leading Naki to thank him. Kaneki is later seen along with Ayato again, watching over Cochlea.

The attack starts and the Aogiri's forces infiltrate Cochlea, where a giant helix is put on the roof. Kaneki starts descending into the lowers levels along with Ayato and other Aogiri's ghouls. During the descent they are split up and Kaneki goes to the bottom alone. There he finds that one of the cells has not opened. Inside he finds Matasaka Kamishiro, nicknamed "Orca". The ghoul attacks Kaneki at view because he smells like Rize. They fight, but Kamishiro is a superior fighter that does not fall even when Kaneki pierce him with his kagune. At the end Kamishiro wins due to his knowledge of martial arts and his uncanny speed. Matasaka gives Kaneki a final blow with his kagune, sending him crashing into walls. Kaneki is last seen in a room, where he contemplates and reveals his reason for joining Aogiri; to become stronger. He then unleashes his Kakuja for the first time. After this, he fights against Shinohara. Kaneki has superiority from the beginning of the fight and gives Shinohara and the Arata armor a hard time. Shinohara manages to give Kaneki a quite dangerous blow, making the one eyed ghoul's kakuja to disappear, but Kaneki, instead of losing the match, he is able to release both is kagune and his kakuja at the same time, while talking stuff related to his torture at the hands of Yamori. He quickly puts him behind Shinohara and gives him a powerful blow that knocks the investigator unconscious.

Later on, Kaneki is found by Amon and Akira eating Shinohara's Arata armor. This enrages Amon and attacks Kaneki, while asking him why he let him go that night. Amon manage to cut off both his kagune and his kakuja, and Kaneki cannot regenerate them because of the CRc gas. Kaneki lies kneeling in the floor due to Amon's attacks. Amon, after Kaneki had not answer his questions, states that Kaneki is just an ordinary ghoul after all. This seems to touch Kaneki because the one eyed ghoul stars crying and says that he does not want to eat anymore. At the end, Kaneki is saved by Eto, who pick him up and take him away of the investigators.

After the incident, Kaneki is seen back at the hideout, trying to drink coffee, only to later drop the cup with his Kakuja emerging and lashing about wildly, with Kaneki screaming hysterically and covering his face. Afterwards, he is on the couch, trying to rest, but his Kakuja is seen trying to manifest until he pierces his body, calming himself down for the time being. He is also mentioned by Roma Hoito after watching the news while cleaning up the broken mess of a glass cup with Hinami, curious about the One-Eyed Ghoul that has been causing CCG so much trouble in the 23rd Ward.

He eventually goes to see Yoshimura to question him about the One-Eyed Owl, and learns the manager's tragic past. As he leaves Anteiku, he is confronted by Touka with their confrontation turning emotional and violent. Afterwards, he stands alone on a rooftop attempting to process everything.

Kaneki is wandering the streets of the city when he witnesses news of the battle in the 20th Ward, and makes the decision to go attempt to save Yoshimura. He meets with Nishiki and Tsukiyama, bidding his farewells and deciding that he is tired of not being able to do anything. He fights his way through the CCG troops swarming the 20th Ward, ambushing and defeating Mougan Tanakamaru to rescue Koma. Later, he ambushes Chuu Hachikawa and defeats his squad in order to rescue Irimi from them. Learning the situation from his former coworkers, he heads off to attempt to save Yoshimura from CCG's forces but comes across Amon. The long-time rivals engage in one final battle, with Kaneki removing his mask and asking the Investigator's name before launching a final attack that leaves them both critically wounded. Injured, he manages to make his way to the alley behind Anteiku before passing out. He awakens in the cafe, and is greeted by Hide. The old friends share poorly-made coffee, and reminisce about the past. He learns that his secret was known the entire time, and finally makes peace with Hide after months of lying and avoidance. The friends share a moment of laughter, but this is broken when Hide collapses and reveals a fatal injury. As the cafe begins to burn around them, Hide dies in his arms while requesting that they go home. Kaneki agrees, and carries his friend's body back to CCG's main base camp. He observes the aftermath of the battle, with human and Ghoul corpses everywhere and survivors struggling to deal with their losses.

He finally comes face to face with Arima, setting down Hide's body in the snow before facing the legendary "Reaper". Arima draws his Quinque, and is later seen standing with it driven into the snow.

Torso Investigation
At the CCG main office in the 1st ward, Haise Sasaki is revealed to be the mentor of the Quinx Squad. He became distraught at the fact that his team mates went out to conduct an investigation without him. Haise and Mutsuki decide to consult Team Hirako, a group of higher-class investigators, only to face nothing but prejudice and inequity, as Sasaki was labeled incompetent and dishonorable for not being able to control his squad independently. Later on, Sasaki arrived at the scene of the investigation, ordering Urie to spare Akashi Kobayashi’s life; for he might have some sort of helpful information. He also scolds his members for trying to exterminate ghouls needlessly. However, Sasaki was forced to face criticism once again, being accused of following the “Torso” case blindly by not putting any sufficient efforts into his work.

Sasaki visited Shiba in his office, and the two conversed about the fate of the Qs' diet being affected by their Rc levels. He then attended a meeting held among Team Mado, Team Hirako and Team Shimoguchi. When he was singled out for being slack about ghoul extermination, Sasaki began to argue with Shimoguchi. However, much to his dismay, he was forced to co-operate with Team Shimoguchi. After the meeting’s dismissal, Sasaki met with a colleague, Kuramoto Itou, whom provided him with information on Serpent. When he arrived home, Sasaki found out yet again, that Urie and Shirazu have gone on an independent mission. He later tried to teach them about working together, but after they left without listening to what he had to say, Haise became serious about his work, and asked Mutsuki to accompany him on a mission to pursue Torso.

Haise and Mutsuki visited the SS level of Cochlea, where they spoke to Donato Porpora to gather information about Torso. Haise was told that ghouls often blend into society to maneuver their way for hunting, and that most of them take the method of driving taxis. Sasaki realized that Urie had been ahead of him in the Torso Investigation all along, but Donato requested Haise to pay a visit once more, for there is a special case that involves Sasaki himself. Recently Haise had recurring nightmares of a young man seen pondering in despair and hopelessness, trying to persuade Sasaki that he is worthless and will never rise above his weakness, but Haise paid no heed to the dream.

Sasaki soon immersed his interests into the Torso case; studying Torso’s pathological possessiveness since the ghoul has an abnormal habit of cutting off the legs of victims who subsequently acquire scars from surgeries; which may have a meaning. Before the deadline of the Torso Investigation, Haise, along with Mutsuki, visited a few surgical clinics within the area.

On the night Torso's identity was exposed, Sasaki decided to request a barricade of police cars in order to halt the taxi which contained Torso and Mutsuki, being chased by Urie and Shirazu. Moments later, his team are faced with a sudden appearance of Serpent. After noticing that Urie, Mutsuki and Shirazu are weakened by Serpent’s combat skills, Haise suddenly intervened, using the blade quinque Yukimura to slice Serpent’s Kagune in half. However, this did not affect Serpent, who consequently ridiculed Haise’s abilities and effortlessly beat him down. While thinking of a combat strategy, Sasaki abruptly entered his subconscious, whereby the same young man from his recurring nightmares, Ken Kaneki, was seen brooding in Jason’s Hobby Room. He tried to persuade Haise that his squad members would die if he didn’t have the courage to be strong for them. However, Haise dismissed this, deciding to think on his own.

He asks Mutsuki to call Akira Mado, and as his Kagune started to manifest itself, he cracked a finger and generated his kakugan; getting ready to battle Serpent. Haise was pierced through the torso by Serpent’s Kagune, and concerned for Haise’s safety, Mutsuki and Shirazu ran to his aid, but he ordered them to stay back as he quickly revived from his injuries. When Sasaki began to taunt Serpent menacingly, Mutsuki was shocked at this sudden change in demeanor. Serpent, after being impaled by all the tentacles of Haise’s Kagune fell weak, and was told by Haise that this was his payback. Haise pulled off his mask, and Serpent, revealed to be Nishiki Nishio, berated him by openly pointing out that wherever Sasaki went, or whatever he did in life he’d always be “helpless.” Nishiki then called Haise by the name “Kaneki,” and as an automatic response, Sasaki absentmindedly muttered “Nishio-senpai,” becoming confused and puzzled afterwards. Nishiki escaped, and out of frustration, Haise started screaming as he entered a state of mental and physical instability. Take Hirako called off the Serpent Investigation, implying his team’s new target to be Haise himself. Akira then arrived at the scene, and using a Sniper, she shot Haise with a Rc suppressant bullet, telling him to rest for a while. Akira then treated Haise, and asked him to interpret his current situation. Akira later explained to the Qs that Haise was the victim of a Kakuhou transplant done by Akihiro Kanou, Aogiri Tree's scientist. Despite this, the CCG treated Haise as a human, but would treat him as a ghoul if he were to lose control and might eventually exterminate him if there were no other way to deal with him.

Several days after Haise’s failure to capture Serpent, he was requested to attend an S3 meeting to have a private conversation with Kishou Arima.

At the Quinx’s living quarters, Haise berated Urie for jeopardizing the lives of his comrades for his own selfish needs. He then relieved Urie of his duties as Squad Leader, therefore appointing Shirazu instead. Urie insulted Sasaki, calling him a “ghoul,” and Haise in turn, jokingly threatened to eat Urie if he should ever call him a ghoul again. Sasaki was then seen in his room, weeping over the contemplation of fighting for the CCG. He then visited Arima, and the two had a minor spar. Arima returned the book he borrowed from Sasaki as they conversed about the story. Sasaki then told him that he was forced to exceed his boundaries and use his Kagune, but Arima calmly dismisses the issue. When Haise was asked about the auditory hallucinations he frequently got, he mentioned that Kaneki wants to consume his body; concluding that Ken Kaneki was the person Haise use to be. Sasaki also mentioned that he remembers absolutely nothing about the first twenty years of his life, and therefore respects Arima and Akira as his own parents, rendering his superiors and the rest of the Quinx Members to be his “make-believe” family. Haise also stated that he was happy to be affiliated with the CCG, while at the same time, he was completely uncertain about this statement.

Nutcracker Investigation
He later accompanied Akira to the hospital to visit a critically injured Shimoguchi. Akira explained to him about the SS rated Black Rabbit ghoul of Aogiri Tree, and the motives of Torso to blend in with the organization. When Akira showed sadness over Shimoguchi's loss, Haise was taken by surprise. Together with Mutsuki and Shirazu, Haise discussed their new target, Nutcracker, since the Torso Investigation was put on suspension. He also mentioned his first encounter with Juuzou Suzuya, whereby the latter gave him money randomly upon seeing him. Sasaki suggested that they visit a new cafe before heading home. He approached a coffee shop named re. Upon entering the cafe, Haise was immediately drawn by the smell of the delicious coffee, but later looked on in confusion as the shocked waitress stared at him.

After leaving the coffee shop, Haise began to space out, rendering Mutsuki and Shirazu to feel worried. The next day, Haise, Urie, and Tooru met with Hanbee Abara to discuss the Nutcracker case. However, Haise was not attentive, as he reminisced over his experience at the coffee shop. Sasaki grew startled when Yomo scrutinized his facial features. After the coffee was delivered, Haise took a sip and began to tear up. While drying his tears with a handkerchief Touka gave him, he mentioned in an internal monologue that the waitress gave a troubled but sad smile, and thought to himself that someone this beautiful really does exist.

The meeting is stopped when Juuzou Suzuya arrives at the reunion. As soon as he sees Haise, he checks his pockets in order to find snacks, which Haise had prepared the day before. The meeting is stopped again when Shizaru enters, carrying Saiko at his back. Hanbee decides to sum up the meeting, telling that Nutcracker is part of a human trafficking network related with Madam. Haise and his team has to spy her in disguise but the mission is a failure because Nutcracker caught wind of the investigation. Later, Urie asks Haise to sign a letter in order to release one of his Kagune's frames. Haise remembers how director Washuu begged him to be the Quinx Squad mentor and responds Urie saying that there are more improvement aside of the Kagune and that they are not guinea pigs. Finally, he asks Urie for a little time to decide.

At the next meeting, the teams discuss Nutcracker's role in finding humans for an upcoming auction. After the meeting, Sasaki excuses himself and heads to the Ghoul Detention Center to meet with Donato Porpora. The subject turns to Sasaki's memories, and his changing attitude towards them -- Donato advises him to seek them, and reveals to him the identity of a "certain Ghoul" of personal interest to him that may hold one of the keys to Sasaki's lost memories. The Ghoul calls him his friend, while Sasaki recalls visiting :Re again on his own. There, he looks over the many books on a shelf and is asked by Touka about what he does for a living.

Later that evening, he meets with his squad to discuss the next stage of their investigation. Looking over the "ingredient" list for the Auction, Sasaki declares that the team will be going undercover as women. Nutcracker's latest targets have all been young women, being recruited under the guise of "a part-time job" and lured to the Auction to be sold. The team go to a nightclub in the 13th Ward while in disguise, and Sasaki jokes that a previous investigation with Akira involved spending time at a club. He mentions that she cannot hold her liquor, and became a problem.

Shirazu is unhappy with the results of their disguises, criticizing Saiko's job of disguising him and how he compares to the others. Sasaki -- dubbing himself "Sasako" -- chides him for his previous mistake and advises him to do his best. Unlike the others, Sasaki studied how to apply makeup and stuns the others with how convincing he looks as a woman. The group settle in to observe Nutcracker, and Shirazu confronts him over his overly-permissive attitude towards Saiko. He admits to being easy on her, revealing her difficult past and his sympathy for being forced into the Quinx. Shirazu then brings up his lost memories, and asks whether Sasaki will leave should his memories return. Though uncomfortable, he tries to play things off with a joke and reassures his subordinate that he won't be going anywhere.

Their conversation is interrupted by Mutsuki, who has gotten drunk and approached Nutcracker alone. He manages to get offered the part-time job, and brings back the information about the Auction. With the mission a success, the others head off onto the dance floor to celebrate. Sasaki watches them, and worries about whether the return of his memories will mean the death of his current self. He is unaware that Nico and Roma Hoito have spotted him, and started talking about him.

During the next meeting, he is called along with Juuzou to meet with Matsuri Washuu, the head of Division II. The commander is hostile towards him, and insults his use of cross-dressing to carry out the mission. Sasaki is horrified when Matsuri orders Mutsuki to be used as bait for the operation, and sent in alone without any backup. His protests earn a harsh rebuke, but Juuzou intervenes and offers to join Mutsuki undercover. With the matter settled, Squad Leaders Akira Mado, Shimoguchi, and Take Hirako join them. The final plans for the operation are made, and afterwards Sasaki thanks Juuzou for his help. He attempts to congratulate Shimoguchi on getting out of the hospital, but gets a harsh response. Akira advises him that everyone in CCG has lost someone, and tells him that he must get stronger in order to not lose anything.

Akira's advise continues to haunt him later that night, as he advises Mutsuki about the mission and collects Shirazu's mislabeled Will.

In the next couple of weeks leading up to the operation, Haise trains Mutsuki, Shizaru and Saiko in preparation for battle.

Auction
Taking full command of the Quinx Squad, Sasaki anxiously awaits the signal to begin with the operation with the others. He advises his subordinates to flee should they encounter something they cannot handle, annoying Urie with what he considers an overly cautious approach. The group make jokes about Mutsuki and the need to rescue him quickly, attempting to lighten the mood and deal with the worry that consumes most of them.

As the raid begins, he leads the Quinx and Atou squads into the main building, effortlessly defeating numerous Ghouls without pause. Daisuke Atou and his squad gossip upon finally observing the mysterious leader of the Quinx, with Atou making note of how similar Sasaki's movements are to his mentor, Arima. The group encounters the bald Ghoul that had previously been with Nutcracker during their stakeout, and engage in a fierce battle with him. Sasaki manages to rescue one of Atou's squad members, and takes on the powerful Koukaku-type Ghoul, managing to parry blows strong enough to shatter pillars. Before he can continue fighting, however, Matsuri orders him to continue advancing through the building -- he protests this initially, but accepts Atou's reassurance that his squad can handle things alone. Sasaki leads the rest of the Quinx deeper into the building, while his thoughts turn to worry over Mutsuki.

The team come across Kanae von Rosewald attacking Mutsuki, and Sasaki carries him to safety while Urie and Shirazu attack the Ghoul. Upon recognizing him, Kanae flies into a rage and attacks Sasaki but is quickly overwhelmed by the combined efforts of the three men. Matsumae intervenes in the battle, rescuing Kanae and using her kagune to seal the hallway behind her. Unable to advance any further, Sasaki radios command to report that they had successfully rescued Mutsuki. They are informed that the Ooshiba squad had been wiped out by Nutcracker, now an S-rated Ghoul. The Quinx are ordered to eliminate her and secure the Administrative Building, but Sasaki requests that Mutsuki be allowed to retreat to receive medical treatment. Matsuri agrees, and requests that Urie lead the retreat. When Urie resists, he pleads with him and leaves Mutsuki in his hands. Along with Shirazu and Saiko, he heads for the Administrative tower.

Along the way, the group encounters Naoto Hayashimura, a survivor from the Ooshiba Squad. They are ambushed by Seidou Takizawa, and Sasaki loses Yukimura in the struggle after it is embedded into his shoulder by the force of the blow. As he regenerates, the Aogiri member realizes who he is and charges in for a second attack. Without any other options, Sasaki brings out his kagune and is shocked to see that his opponent is another One-Eyed Ghoul. He orders the others to retreat and radio for help -- Matsuri assigns a temporary rating of SS~ and orders Sasaki to fight alone as a decoy. When Shirazu protests, Sasaki orders him to carry out their primary mission and protect Saiko. He prepares to face Takizawa alone, as his counterpart requests that they "share secrets". However, Sasaki is overwhelmed by his opponent and the next time they are seen, he is being strangled.

Takizawa then explains the necessity of weakening an enemy before talking to them, and throws Sasaki into a wall when he starts trying to break free. Takizawa begins talking again, recalling his past feelings of inferiority and resentment for having always second best stating that this simply means they're a loser. He calls Sasaki Dr. Kanou's masterpiece, and wonders whether this is true anymore, expressing the desire to prove himself. Once again, he throws Sasaki into the air and impales him with his kagune. Sasaki then thinks to himself that he only has to two options; to die or to disappear. Kaneki once again appears in Sasaki's mind and begs his current persona to look at him and say his name, but Sasaki repeats to himself that if he uses Kaneki's power to deal with Takizawa, then he will disappear.

Takizawa then runs along the building while dragging Sasaki's beaten body along with him. Once they reach the top Takizawa throws Sasaki through the ceiling and he crashes into the stage where the auction was being held prior to the raid. Takizawa continues to brutalize his opponent, berating him by calling him weak and expressing his disbelief that he was ever compared to him, but Sasaki just mentally notes that it's not that he is weak, but Takizawa is just too strong. Takizawa asks Sasaki why he is hesitating, but corrects himself by addressing the latter by his true name, Ken Kaneki. This causes Sasaki to begin to mentally break down as he tries to assert his identity as Haise Sasaki and denies even knowing who Ken Kaneki is. Takizawa uses the buildings PA system to broadcasts Sasaki's pain-filled screams across the entire premises. Takizawa proceeds to torture Sasaki a little longer, and when he decides to eat him, Hinami appears, saving Sasaki just in time.

As Hinami engages Takizawa, Sasaki regains consciousness and questions why Hinami is protecting him. He then asks her to leave as he is no longer the person she once knew, and that even though he has Ken Kaneki's body, he is still Haise Sasaki, but he says that Kaneki must have been a great person for Hinami to remember him like this. Saiko appears and tearfully begs Sasaki not to go. Sasaki glances at her and then turns away saying that it's okay if he disappears and asks Kaneki to give him the power to protect. He cracks his fingers and his two personalities seemingly accept one another.

Sasaki and Kaneki engage in a dialogue within their subconscious while their body re-engages Takizawa in a heated battle. During this Sasaki explains that he feared Kaneki because of his strength but Kaneki rebuffs this by saying that he isn't all that strong. Kaneki then takes on the form of his child self although with white hair and tearfully begs Sasaki not to erase him. After seeing his past-self's tears, Sasaki realizes that Kaneki was just as afraid of disappearing as he was. Sasaki claims that he will save Kaneki  as he and Takizawa inflict serious injuries on each other.

Arima and Squad 0 arrive and corner Hinami, who can no longer fight due to her injuries. But before any harm comes to her Sasaki intervenes claiming that he cornered Hinami and asks for rights over her, which Arima grants.

Post Auction
Sasaki is seen along with Saiko decorating a Christmas tree, asking Mutsuki and Shirazu to help them out. He then greets Kuramoto and Kuroiwa when they arrive for the party and asks where Hirako is. He later greets Juuzou and Hanbee, and is surprised when Juuzou asks him for a trick/treat. He is then seen at the table eating along with Arima, Akira and others where Shirazu questions whether or not Arima killed a ghoul with an umbrella. Haise then hands out presents to his team, Akira and Arima saying he's indebted to him. He then sits wondering about Ken Kaneki and thinks he can investigate about him if he knew how to write his name. He then wonders what Touka is doing,wondering whether she's on a date. The following morning, Haise receives his old mask from Uta as a present, with Kaneki saying that mask is an Eyepatch. He also receives a birthday present, "The Hanged Man's Macguffin" addressed to Kaneki from Sen Takatsuki, making Haise realize how to spell his former name.

Months later, Sasaki is among the Investigators recognized for their accomplishments and is granted promotion to First Class. He watches as the members of the Quinx Squad are also promoted, and Juuzou is made a Special Class Investigator. Afterwards, he speaks to Akira during the reception and congratulates her on her own promotion to Associate Special Class. He jokingly requests a hug from her, and is shocked when she embraces him and praises him for doing well. Later on, the two discuss the situation with Fueguchi and the on-going efforts to gain information about Aogiri from her. He praises her as a valuable source of information, notes that she has been extremely cooperative with them so far. Sasaki discusses wanting more time to work with her, but Akira warns him about taking too much time. Though he doesn't say anything, Sasaki acknowledges the situation with Fueguchi has been difficult for Akira -- who is unable to do anything, with one of the Ghouls responsible for killing her father so close. He admits to hesitating, as a result of Kaneki's connection to Hinami.

A flashback to the time when Kaneki and Touka encountered Kureo Mado shocks him, and he returns to the restroom to recover. Looking in the mirror, he notes that these flashbacks have become more common since the Auction causing him bouts of excruciating pain behind his eyes. The vision of the childlike Kaneki appears before him, telling him about the Cordyceps, parasitic fungi that infect  Caterpillars. He compares their situation to how the fungus and Caterpillar struggle against each other, noting that it is impossible for them both to continue to exist. He asks that Sasaki (disappear) not erase him.

Rosewald Investigation
Sasaki attends a meeting of several Investigators where they are discussing a series of mass kidnappings. Matsuri concludes that among the culprits is a survivor of the Rosewald family judging from the similarities of the kagune used by the Ghouls involved and the Rosewald family that he had faced before but since there is only a 27% match between the two, the survivor is not closely related to the original Rosewalds but is more likely a blood relative of theirs living in Tokyo.

After the meeting ends, Sasaki explains to Mutsuki that genetically parents and siblings are 50% identical with identical twins being over 90% identical and that lower numbers usually mean an inadequate trace. Sasaki then uses this fact to explain how the kagune traces from the past Rabbit attacks suggest that Rabbit is actually two separate twins rather than one person. He goes on to say that if there is no pattern applicable to this then the Ghoul in question has cannibalized.

Later, Sasaki pays a visit to Hinami in prison and brings her several books. She thanks him and refers to him as "Big brother", which bothers him. He insists that he is a different person from Kaneki, something Hinami admits may be true. Even so, she states that his personality is still somewhat similar to Kaneki. She tells him that she, and the many others that loved Kaneki, are all probably feeling the same confusion.

As he departs for the day, Sasaki remains troubled by his growing attachment to Hinami and how this conflicts with his duties. He is then approached by a diminutive man with a face covered with scars who notes how Sasaki is affectionate towards Ghouls. Sasaki asks the man how he knows his name and he responds by saying that the young man is very famous. An acquaintance of the man arrives and tells him that the interrogation is over, the man then introduces himself as Shiki Kijima and that he'll be working with Sasaki in the "Rose case" before departing with his associate named Furuta, who bids Sasaki farewell.

Sasaki is later seen with squad at a briefing in the S1 conference room for those involved in the investigation. There he once again meets Kijima and Furuta where he exchanges greeting with the former. He then greet Kuramoto who arrives with Hirako's squad and supportively pats Mutsuki on the shoulder when he sees the improvement of the squad's opinion of him. Koori Ui then arrives along with Taishi Fura and a young female Investigator and introduces himself as the leader of the investigation, he then proceeds with the meeting.

After the meeting ends the young woman from earlier approaches the Quinx Squad and introduces herself as Ui's partner, Hairu Ihei. Sasaki explains after she leaves that Ihei being an Investigator as well her status as a member of Squad 0 and her involvement in the Owl Suppression Operation. He later offers words of comfort and encouragement to Shirazu after he breaks down upon seeing the Quinque made from Nutcracker. At some point, he is seen talking to Kuramoto about Hirako being transferred to Arima Squad after Ui's promotion with Kuramoto expressing his misgivings about it. Afterwards, Sasaki contemplates to himself about how he can use the Quinx's unique abilities to try and get a leg-up in the Rosewald Investigation as he looks at the mask that Uta had sent him. He then visits HySy ArtMask Studio, asking Uta if it was still open. Sasaki inquires Uta about the mask and novel sent to him back in Christmas. Uta claims that the mask was a gift for a regular customer and that he must have sent it to the wrong address; Uta also states that the book wasn't sent by him. Haise then asks Uta if he could order some custom-made masks.

Shortly after, Sasaki gives a lecture at the 2nd Academy. As he was leaving, he was approached by the class's instructor, Goumasa Tokage. Tokage inquires about the students as well as Mutsuki, whom he considers a problem child, and expresses dark amusement upon hearing that Mutsuki is training with another of his former student, Suzuya. Sasaki senses something dark emanating from Tokage as the latter walks away.

Upon returning to HySy ArtMask Studio, Sasaki brings along the other members of the Quinx squad to get measurements for their custom mask; he intends for the squad to masquerade as actual ghouls in order to rise up the ranks in the ghoul world to obtain information the CCG cannot. Visiting Koori Ui to be granted permission for his idea, he was flat out rejected with the reason of it not fitting the image of CCG as heroic figures.

Later, Sasaki watches the video uploaded by Kijima. He tells Shirazu that Kijima's method was cruel and completely wrong and there should be another way.

When Sasaki was sitting on a bench in the public park reading a book, Tsukiyama appeared in front of him thanking him for helping him the other time. Tsukiyama then sat next to Sasaki and got into a conversation with him about books. Sasaki mentioned that contents of books written by Sen Takatsuki are a little heartbreaking. Later, Saiko and Mutsuki came, so Sasaki had to leave Tsukiyama and go back to work with them. Some time later, Sasaki and the Quinx are investigating a parking garage when Kanae appears before them, and lures Urie and Shirazu away. The remaining Investigators are ambushed by a group of White Suits, led by Hooguro and Shousei. Sasaki orders Mutsuki and Saiko away, realizing they have fallen into a trap. After the Quinx successfully drive off their attackers, they hurry back to help Sasaki. However, Sasaki has managed to kill most of his attackers and is completely overwhelming the remaining Ghouls. The sight of him fighting with his Quinque and kagune shocks the three, who can only watch him. Realizing that he is too strong and fearing they will be devoured, Hooguro and Shousei leap off the building to escape. Sasaki watches them go, before leading the others towards where Saiko was hidden. They are surprised to find her relatively unharmed, as she informs them that she was saved by a huge man.

Afterwards, the Quinx reported on Aogiri Tree and Rose's ambush in a meeting. As Koori Ui berates Kijima for recklessly escalating the investigation without any intel, Sasaki states that the key is to determine the scale of cooperation between Aogiri and Rose. He asks Ui to reconsider his plan to go undercover amongst ghouls to acquire intel, which Ui puts to a vote among the S1 squad leaders. With the majority on his side, Sasaki and his squad launch Operation Mask. The Quinx don their custom masks, and Sasaki wears the eyepatch mask he received.

The operation proved successful; Sasaki's squad were able to gain detailed information about ghoul movements throughout Tokyo. However, his own investigation was less fruitful. Ghouls who saw him would run away in fear, calling him the Eyepatch ghoul.Sasaki heads over to file storage to research on the Eyepatch ghoul. He fails to find any official documents, and happens upon investigator Amon Koutarou's draft file which briefly summarizes his three encounters with the Eyepatch ghoul. Reading the file, Sasaki begins to realize that the Eyepatch ghoul is most definitely his past self's identity as a ghoul. Interested in the investigator named Amon, he inquires about the investigator's whereabouts from a desk worker; however, all he learns is that Amon Koutarou is KIA from the Anteiku Raid, and that details on the case are classified.

Yearning to learn about his past, Sasaki waited around the area he last met Tsukiyama in and succeeded in finding said man. Before the conversation goes anywhere, Sasaki begins talking about how their encounters are numerous yet all coincidental, which made it suspicious. The investigator then directly asks Tsukiyama if he is a ghoul, much to the latter's surprise. Understanding the answer from his reaction, Sasaki asks him again to not answer, and instead asks if he knows of Uta, Fueguchi, or Kaneki himself. He then begins talking about how he recognizes the inevitable outcome of remembering the past, and as result wants Tsukiyama to tell him anything he knows about the Kaneki from before despite his own reluctance. Seeing Sasaki asking for the favor whilst breaking down in tears confuses Tsukiyama and he decides to leave. Sasaki is surprised and asks what he's doing, only for Tsukiyama to reply that he doesn't know what to say anymore.

Sasaki is caught by Akira searching for files in the file storage room and she inquires what he is searching for. When he asks about her participation in the 20th ward, she replies that what Sasaki wants to know about is her former co-worker, Amon Koutarou, who died in the battle to subdue Owl. She is also asked about the Eyepatch ghoul, which she dismisses by telling Sasaki that he doesn't need to know. Angered by her answer, Sasaki yells at her, which shocks Akira. He asks why he cannot to know who he was, the feeling of not knowing his identity frustrating him. When she tried calming him down, calling him Haise, he angrily shouts that that is not his name. Now in tears, Akira hugs Sasaki, telling him that he is himself regardless of names.

Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation
Haise participates in the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation after discussing with the Quinx squad about their battle formation, where he was shocked to learn that Mirumo Tsukiyama surrendered without any resistance. Believing something to be off, he learns that the Tsukiyama family's successor has already escaped, and tracks them to the LE building. Fighting their way inside, Haise finds the aftermath of Ihei's battles, commenting that he disliked her brutal nature. As the Qs push through remaining Ghouls, he notes that the opposing Ghouls this time are so weak that any squad could take care of it. When asked by Ui to secure the rooftop first, he orders Shirazu to take care of the team before climbing up the business building from the exterior using his kagune. While finding nothing on the rooftop initially, he suddenly experiences yet another headache after wondering the consequences of a huge company's sudden downfall. He later finds Tsukiyama emerging from within the building, shocked that the Tsukiyama ghoul who appeared is the one he had met before, as well as an acquaintance of his past self. Haise offers that Shuu surrender so he can have ownership rights over him, but Shuu refuses and the two fight. Haise overpowers him after a brief bout, pinning the ghoul on the ground. Tsukiyama tells him that he is indeed strong, and that he should finish him off. Voices inside Haise's head screams at him to not execute the ghoul; but before Haise can come to a decision, his right hand is abruptly severed from his arm by Kanae.

With his arm severed, Sasaki yells in pain and then struck away from Tsukiyama by Kanae's kagune. He briefly loses conciousness from the blow. However, when Kanae decides to just drop him off the building and let the fall kill him, a memory or hallucination enters Haise's mind. In it, he sees Arima urging him to quickly stand up and begin killing like he does, before threatening him by holding IXA right in front of his eye and asking him if he'd rather "die again". This causes a shock to the investigator and he quickly counters by decapitating Kanae with his legs in one swift movement. Shocked by his vision he rambles about his existence being entirely his own property and the phrase "kill Arima," and engages Kanae after the latter regenerates. He easily takes down Kanae but was prevented from finishing him by Tsukiyama, who clung to his clothes, causing a momentary feeling of profound sadness to overwhelm him. He remembers a quote from Takatsuki Sen's "The Black Goat's Egg" and was caught unaware by the Owl, who strikes him a powerful blow to the head. As Eto "motivates" Kanae, she continues her assault on an injured Sasaki while Eto watches from a distance. While Kanae continued to beat his head mercilessly, he enters his subconscious once more. There he meets "Kaneki", who taunts him, asking him if that's how he's "protecting" him like he had promised. Strangling "Kaneki", his previously suppressed memories came forth, and he recalls the memories of his mother's abuse to him as a child. The image of Kaneki also reveals that his desire had been not to live, but to actually die, becoming some sort of a happy memory for the people who knew and loved him. He also reveals it was not actually fear he felt when he first met Arima, but joy. He thought of him as the "reaper" that had finally come to claim him. He curses his own incompetence to just die back then. Afterwards, Haise asks if that would be his real salvation. After Kaneki answers positively, Haise finally accepts his past and resolves to stop "dreaming".

As Sasaki recovers his senses, he immediately fights back. His hair, now drenched in blood as a result of Eto's and Kanae's earlier cranial assaults, takes a darker color. He slices off Kanae's right arm, which causes her to scream in pain. He follows up by "shutting her up" and shoves a metal bar in her eye with his kagune. This makes her go completely berserk, uncontrollably trying to hit him using the destructive force of her new kagune, but Sasaki dodges every attack and jumps right behind Kanae before mercilessly impaling her with his kagune. He begins moving towards Tsukiyama, whom he now remembers when the latter questions his identity. As Eto begins to merge back into her Kakuja, Sasaki recalls a memory of when he exchanged information with Itori and Nico. Nico whispers to him that Aogiri's "One-Eyed King" could be "the little girl covered in bandages". He then stabs Tsukiyama in the chest, telling him it's okay. Moving to face Eto, she comments on this action, calling him cold for shedding blood right after "waking up" and openly wonders who is the stronger between him and Arima Kishou. Sasaki bluntly retorts that she is the cold one and to just "go die already" as they engage in combat.

As Sasaki avoids Eto's projectiles, he inquires the purpose of her appearance, to which she replied she was passing the time by watching the situation unfold between Tsukiyama, Kanae and himself. Sasaki recalls the time he visited and spoke with Yoshimura in Anteiku about the latter's past and his wish that Kaneki can save his child. He informs Eto of her father's wish, which she mockingly laughs at. In a swift movement, he tries to kill her by slicing off the head of her Kakuja, aiming for her real body, which he barely misses. He then proceeds to question why it is that he has to save "trash like her".

As Eto reforms her kakuja and goes berserk, he continues to dodge Eto's attacks. Her assault drives him off the side of the building, prompting him to use his kagune as a grapple to swing himself along the side of the building while Eto gives chase, unknowingly being seen by Matsuri Washuu and his team on the way up. Making his way back to the rooftop, Sasaki positions himself on a steel frame. He waits for the Owl to reach him before brutally piercing her with his kagune, striking her with enough power to force her real body out. When she falls onto him she licks his left eye and expresses her continuously increasing fondness for him, thinking of him to be the same as her. He immediately cuts her in half afterwards causing the latter to fall from the building, while remarking he feels honored by her words.

Exhausted from the fight, Sasaki devours part of the Owl's kakuja, which catches the attention of Koori Ui as the latter arrives at the rooftop. After a brief explanation as to what had happened, Sasaki quickly turns his attention to Shuu Tsukiyama, stating that the Owl and the Tsukiyama family are connected in some way, and informs Ui that Kanae is also a member of them. As Shuu utters his name, Sasaki stabs him and hangs him out of the building, glancing at Kanae before throwing him of the side of the building. As Kanae jumps to rescue Shuu, he watches the two free fall before bidding his former comrade farewell.

Some time later, he meets with the Quinx Squad, coming face to face with a grief-struck Urie. Urie berates him for not being there when Shirazu wanted to see him, but Sasaki reminds Urie that he was the one by Shirazu's side at his time of death. He tells Urie that all the loses in the world are due to the lack of ability and suggests that he should blame his own weakness for Shirazu's death. He then holds and mourns Shirazu with the rest of the squad, leaving Urie speechless.

Post-Tsukiyama operation
After the Tsukiyama extermination operation, Sasaki is promoted off-season to an Associate Special Class for his accomplishments in battling the One-Eyed Owl, and willingly left his position as the mentor of the Quinx squad. As an Associate Special Class, he joins the CCG's efforts to eliminate the members of Aogiri Tree, and has become known among ghouls as "The Black Reaper".

Six months later, Sasaki has not been visiting Hinami for months, thus leaving her depressed and withdrawn. He and Nimura Furuta approach Sen Takatsuki's manager Shunji Shiono to question him about her whereabouts, but have to discover that she is absent. Sasaki takes Shiono into custody and interrogates him. Sasaki reminds him that if he doesn't cooperate with CCG, and Takatsuki turns out to be a ghoul, he will be charged of concealing the whereabouts of the ghoul. He informs him that the most severe punishment for said crime is death before kicking a table flying into the wall, terrifying Shiono, and leaves the interrogation room. He contacts Furuta and orders him to play the good cop in front of Shiono.

Some time later, he attends a special class conference, serving as a substitute of Arima. He explains to his fellow investigators about all the information they have gathered about the executives of the Aogiri Tree, as well as their respective ratings. He explains the general strategy to weaken the fighting strength of Aogiri tree, which divided into two main objectives:
 * 1) Taking down the leader of Aogiri by finding the "One Eyed-King". Sasaki states that the work is being done with a minimal number of investigators, due to "One-Eyed King" possibly being socially influential.
 * 2) Striking the suspected Aogiri stronghold located at Rushima at the Tokyo Bay, which is currently being investigated by the Hachikawa Squad.

Afterwards, he asks Furuta about the progress they have on the suspect. Furuta warns him about not getting permissions from CCG before processing the investigation, but Sasaki replies that time is precious, and that he personally doesn't mind getting demoted or punished for the goal of this investigation. Furuta then briefs him about his former team and the new members of the Quinx Squad. Later, he crosses out dates on a calendar in his office, revealing his scale-like arm.

Sasaki manages to get Shiono to testify against Eto. He then brings Eto inside the interrogation room and tells Shiono he can go home. As Shiono kneels and begs forgiveness to her, Sasaki tells her that he has testified to finding human parts in her apartment, and officially declares her arrested for being a ghoul.

With Eto under custody, Sasaki keeps Eto under his constant watch. He accompanies Eto to her conference about her last work, granted by the CCG and her management. Sasaki notices she has cut her hair, noting that it's his first time seeing a suspect do this while being followed by an investigator, but all the same suited her. He warily accompanies Eto to her conference at her request, though he initially hesitates. Later, he stands beside Eto during the conference when the latter reveals the nature of her last work. Sasaki is then shocked as she publicly outs herself as a Ghoul on live television.

Hideyoshi Nagachika
Kaneki's best friend, who he calls by his nickname, Hide. The two of them have been close friends since childhood. Although Kaneki would lack the assertiveness to speak to others, Hide would often speak in his place as his "voice". Kaneki is willing to fight to the death for his friend, and Hide is able to perceive Kaneki's emotions. The strong connection between Kaneki and Hide earns Kaneki the capability to refrain from human meat even when driven by ghoul instincts. He cares for Kaneki immensely, and did not falter to help him even after finding out about Kaneki's transformation into a ghoul.

Touka Kirishima
Before his transformation, he was indifferent towards her. After turning to a ghoul, he is beaten up by Touka, who was confused to see a half-ghoul and refused to show any compassion to him, as he is a former human. When Kaneki joins Anteiku, she bosses him around and shows little patience for his mistakes and lack of knowledge of ghoul related affairs, much to his dismay. However, their relationship improves after he assists her in avenging Ryouko's death. She becomes friendlier towards him, though she still maintains a tough attitude towards him. Kaneki in turn views her as someone important to him and tries to put her out of harm's way. He responds aggressively to someone who has hurt her, shown when he breaks Ayato's bones for hurting Touka, holding back from killing him because doing so would hurt Touka more.

As Sasaki, he seems to experience a sense of deja vu when meeting her and behaves in a distracted fashion. The taste of the coffee she makes him brings him to tears, and he thinks of her as someone that is very beautiful.

Shuu Tsukiyama
When they meet at Anteiku, Kaneki's first impression of Tsukiyama is that he looks like a model. Even though the others try to convince him that Tsukiyama is bad news, Kaneki still thinks that he seems like a person who he can trust. He goes along with him to have coffee, then plays a game of squash with him without realizing that Tsukiyama is priming him as a meal. After Tsukiyama's plot is exposed, he feels betrayed by him and becomes wary of him.

After escaping from the Aogiri hideout, Kaneki accepts him into his group, believing that Tsukiyama would make for a powerful ally. It is shown that his advanced strength makes him stronger than Tsukiyama, so he uses that to threaten him into knowing his place. He is still aware that Tsukiyama wishes to eat him even if he tries to hide it, but Kaneki never shows concern for his own safety, trusting that his strength will intimidate Tsukiyama and keep him in check. In order to prepare himself for upcoming confrontations, he asks Tsukiyama to help him train and develops a tentatively friendly relationship with him, though he is always careful to maintain his distance.

Before the Anteiku Raid, Kaneki is attacked by Tsukiyama in an attempt to stop him. He however thanks him for his concern, and apologizes for having to go, recognizing Tsukiyama's true feelings.

In :re as Haise he meets Tsukiyama in a fragile and sickly state, as he has starved and isolated himself after Kaneki's disappearance. He doesn't seem to remember him, although meeting him a few times. Later he asks Tsukiyama to tell him everything about his past as he could not stand avoiding 'fate' anymore, having figured that he was one of Kaneki's friends. During the Tsukiyama Operation, he was reluctant to fight Tsukiyama and hesitated killing him when his inner "Kaneki" repeatedly yells at him not to do it. Shortly after his reawakening, he stabs Tsukiyama in the chest, in order for him to appear seriously wounded and in danger of dying. When Ui arrives at the scene, he decides to give Shuu a chance to escape or die by hurling him off the building, glancing at Kanae in order for her to go save him. Through this, it can be assumed he still holds some regard for Tsukiyama as an individual, but not enough as to actually care about what happens to him ultimately.

Yoshimura
Kaneki looks up to Yoshimura, and is grateful to him helping him survive being a ghoul. Yoshimura acts as a mentor to Kaneki. He would often provide Kaneki with information regarding the ghoul world and assists in his development. In turn, Kaneki diligently serves and runs errands for him at Anteiku. He provides advice to Kaneki when the latter faces a crisis, and told Kaneki the truth about the One-Eyed Owl when Kaneki inquired him about it. He believes in Kaneki to the extent that he entrusted Kaneki with saving his daughter. When Kaneki heard that the CCG was going to attack Anteiku he immediately decided to go despite the overwhelming number of CCG forces. Even while he was critically wounded by Amon, Kaneki forced himself to go save the manager.

Four years later, Kaneki still hasn't forgotten his last meeting and talk with the manager, hinting at the importance Yoshimura held for him as an individual. He even reveals he remembers Yoshimura's last wish, even though he sees no reason to fulfill it whatsoever.

Renji Yomo
Initially, Yomo is distant and indifferent towards him when Kaneki first cooperates with him in a body scavenging mission. However, he grew interested in Kaneki's development after Kaneki's fight with the doves. He provides guidance to Kaneki, teaching him how to fight and offers him advice in times where he is conflicted. Yomo played a crucial role in Kaneki's decision to return to Anteiku, reassuring the latter of his own strength.

Enji Koma
Kaneki has a relationship with Koma as colleagues. Kaneki also feels most relaxed working with Koma than working with any other members from Anteiku.

Nishiki Nishio
At the beginning, Nishiki starts enmity toward Kaneki just because he thought that Kaneki was invading his feeding ground, and as the way he shows his strength to weaker ghouls.

After helping him rescue his girlfriend in the Gourmet Arc, he became more like a close friend to Kaneki. When he was taken by Aogiri, Nishiki showed concern for his well-being and wanted to rescue him. When they met again as enemies, Haise subconsciously recognized him when his mask fell off, triggering an outburst as he temporarily lost control of his kagune, indicating that Nishio was an acquaintance of his former self. Their encounter sparked the mental struggle for dominance between Haise and his former self and has caused Haise to reflect on his position at the CCG.

Hinami Fueguchi
Hinami looks up to Kaneki as a big brother. She's aware and interested in his half-human nature as she may had a few or no interaction 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.

Alongside Banjou and Tsukiyama, she joins Kaneki's group of ghouls. While he often goes on his missions, he still manages to smile and be there for her when he's around, even accompanying her to places such as Sen Takatsuki's book signing.

As Haise, he showed concern for Hinami's safety when he learned she was acquainted with his past, and he asked her to leave while she was protecting him to prevent her from being hurt any further by Takizawa. Haise also managed to convince Arima to let her be taken captive instead of eliminated on the spot, showing that he still cares for Hinami. After her capture, he shows her the same kindness he did in the past by bringing her books and asking about her condition. While he tells her that he is not the same man she knew in the past, he admits to himself that he is growing attached to her, which troubles him greatly.

After Tsukiyama operation, Kaneki seems to have become distant towards Hinami as he has not visited nor talked to her for six months after the operation. This leaves Hinami in a depressed state as her execution is coming close.

Kazuichi Banjou
Banjou considered Kaneki as a close fellow during their attempt to escape the Aogiri hideout. After Kaneki defeats Yamori and makes his resolve to protect everyone, Banjou gratefully and grasped by Kaneki's strength, decides to become his follower. They become close friends during their time together, often sparring with each other and going together on trips and missions. Kaneki also helps Banjou improve his reading comprehension. When Kaneki decides to return to Anteiku he states that he hopes Banjou will come with him.

Rize Kamishiro
Rize was attracted to Kaneki because of his delicious appearance and himself. Both of them shared many interests. After their date, Rize tried to hunt him down, but failed. At the end, she died and he, heavily injured, went to a hospital, where Dr.Kanou decided to transplant her organs into him.

In Kaneki's mind, during his time locked in Yamori's hobby room, she appeared before him. They had a sensitive conversation about his past and personality. He attributes her to his ghoul side, as she was the cause of him. Although she was a figment of Kaneki's imagination, she supported him and strengthened his resolve.

A hallucination of Rize appears to Kaneki earlier in the anime, representing the subconsciousness of Kaneki's ghoul half. She usually haunts Kaneki when he is hungry and needs to eat human meat.

Kaneki was shocked to learn Rize was still alive in Kanou's lab as an experiment during the lab raid. Later, while contemplating his previous ideals, he visits Rize in Yomo's place. Seeing the once strong ghoul in a starving weakened state made him question his own motives for gaining more power.

Koutarou Amon
Their initial meeting left a strong impression on both, and they serve as foils to each other in the story. It was because of Amon's passionate speech that Kaneki first began to realize the futility of the endless cycle of revenge trapping humans and ghouls, and determined that his half-breed nature gave him unique insight into both points of view. He has great respect for Amon, and in their final meeting he asked the Investigator to allow him to pass -- something he knew would not happen. Before they fought, he asked for his long-time rival's name and wished for him to survive the battle. Amon shared this sentiment, desperate to learn the story of the strange Ghoul that spared his life.

Years after Anteiku Raid, Sasaki, after finding Amon reports about his past self, sees Kaneki in his mind weeping because of the belief that he killed Amon.

Yakumo Oomori
Yamori saw Kaneki as a good "toy" for his hobby of torturing. He sees him as a weak morally-guided boy and makes use of his powerful regenerative ability to satisfy his sadistic pleasures. Ironically, Yamori who initially believes he had weakened Kaneki was then overpowered and defeated by him, being the catalyst for his transformation.

Mrs. Kaneki
Kaneki initially looks up to his mother, believing her as a hard worker who never fails to help others. He always tried to be a kind person like her, even after her death from overwork. After being tortured by Yamori and influenced by Rize's manifestation, Kaneki blamed his mother for choosing to financially support her sister - resulting in her death from overwork. He viewed this action as abandoning him, choosing his aunt rather than himself. Kaneki also sees his mother's actions as those of selfishness and cowardice. He realizes that both of them try to help and protect others just because they both do not want to be alone.

In :re, however, it was revealed that Kaneki's mother had physically abused him. The trauma caused him to warp his memory so that he believed her to be nothing but a gentle woman.

Uta
Uta helped him in making his mask. Seeing Kaneki as one of his valued customers, Uta aided Anteiku in rescuing Kaneki from Aogiri Tree. He is fond of Kaneki, and shares both advices and stories of his past with him. Despite Uta's hedonistic nature being revealed in the end of the manga, along with implications that he enjoyed his suffering, he does care about Kaneki. Uta mentions that during their "encounter" in the Auction Raid, he noticed that he hasn't changed, and that he is still a valued customer of his.

Kishou Arima
During their initial encounter, Kaneki is both frightened by and fascinated by the legendary investigator. He suffers a brutal defeat, resulting in his subsequent capture by CCG and loss of identity. Arima was given "ownership rights" over him, and was allowed to select a new identity.

As Haise Sasaki, it is suggested they have a close bond as teacher and student. Haise highly respects and admires Arima to the point he feels that it would be impossible for him to ever surpass his teacher. Akira suggests that Arima has a parental love for him, suggesting an especially strong bond between them. This is later confirmed, with Sasaki even referring to Arima as his "father" -- the person that saved him and helped him create a new life. They share a love of reading, resulting in them loaning books between each other. Haise also inherits a quinque which Arima used as a teenager, Yukimura.

His lie concerning Hinami seems to have created some strain in their relationship, although by Christmas time things seem to have calmed down. Arima attends his Christmas party, and Haise privately gives him a gift in gratitude for taking care of him.

When Haise was beaten by Kanae, he either remembered or had a hallucination of an event that happened during his training with Arima. As he was struggling to get up from being hit, Arima told him to stand up and kill like he does, and calls him his "quinque", pointing IXA to his eye and asking if he would like to die all over again since the events that took place in V14.

Akira Mado
Akira served as his mentor, responsible for training him in the field and helping shape him as an Investigator. He has great respect for her, and over the years of working together they have established a strong friendship. When out of the office, he enjoys teasing her with his puns and she responds to them with playful annoyance. However, as his superior she can be harsh to the point of giving him a "Mado Punch" to the stomach to correct his behavior. She warns him that he is too naive, and that his showing mercy towards Ghouls will result in his downfall. As her subordinate, he works hard to meet her expectations and describes her as an excellent superior. She is also shown to be someone charged with keeping him under control, as he requests that she be notified prior to using his powers. Because of this, he jokingly refers to her as his "mother", something she doesn't seem to appreciate much.

Tooru Mutsuki
Among the Quinx, they have the closest bond and work together on the Torso case after the team becomes splintered. He treats Mutsuki with respect, but also behaves in a somewhat motherly fashion towards him. After Dr. Shiba expressed concern over the young Investigator's health, Sasaki made a point to cook him dinner with plenty of meat and lectured him about needing to strengthen his body. In turn, Mutsuki has great admiration for his mentor and is quick to offer praise or reassurances. If the Quinx team is a family, it could be said that Mutsuki is the good child that always respects and listens to Sasaki.

Kuki Urie
During Urie's time as the squad leader, their professional and personal relationship is tense, as Urie is prone to challenging Sasaki's leadership on all fronts. He frequently acts on his own without bothering to consult the rest of the team, leaving Sasaki in the dark about things and deeply frustrated as a result. When the team becomes fractured as a result of Urie's manipulation, Sasaki calls him a brat and swears to teach him a lesson. Even so, he acknowledges that his troublesome subordinate is highly-skilled with exceptional intuition. That he refuses to cooperate with others, and so frequently criticizes him in front of others, is a great source of frustration for Sasaki. After the Auction Raid, their relationship seems to have improved. Urie shows more trust in Sasaki's decisions and even comes to him to train. However, during the Tsukiyama Operation, he was about to tell him off for not being there for Shirazu, only for Sasaki to immediately lash out and turn the blame on him for not being strong enough.

Ginshi Shirazu
Like Urie, Shirazu is prone to disregarding orders and doing whatever he wants. Sasaki is frustrated by this inability to control his team, and confused when Shirazu argues with him before storming out. He remains seemingly unaware of Shirazu being poisoned against him, but this does not last long. After saving his team from Serpent, their relationship is vastly improved. He recognizes Shirazu's ability to consider his surroundings and prioritize his comrades, having faith in his potential as a leader. To this end, he makes Shirazu the new Squad Leader and encourages him to excel. He also helped Shirazu in dealing with his guilt over killing Nutcracker. After his death, Kaneki mourns him together with his remaining squad mates but he does not attend Shirazu's funeral.

Saiko Yonebayashi
They have a very close, familial sort of relationship. He feels great sympathy for her situation and admits to going easy on her as a result even when her actions cause problems for the team. He acts as a surrogate parent to her, affectionately referred to as "Maman". They have a warm and intimate bond, as evidenced by her cuddling with him and asking him to clean her ears. Sasaki is protective of her and often tries to keep her out of battles despite their jobs as ghoul investigators. However, he is aware of her destructive power in battle and brings her along on missions where it is needed.

Nobu Shimoguchi
Their professional relationship is strained, with the other Investigator not even bothering to hide his disdain for Sasaki. Though well aware of how Shimoguchi looks down on him, Sasaki treats him with politeness and professionalism. Shimoguchi however, does not hesitate to humiliate Sasaki when he gets a chance. He takes these actions with minimal response, doing his best to remain professional and courteous. However, when at home he expresses annoyance at the other man and looks forward to the chance to show him up. After Nobu lost his squad however, Sasaki was quick to offer condolences to the man.

Donato Porpora
Donato serves as an informant and adviser, offering insight on investigations and personal advice to Kaneki. He uses the Investigator's personal name, a sign of the close and cordial relationship between them. Donato even refers to him as his "friend", speaking kindly to him and wishing him well during moments of doubt. Though imprisoned for many years, Donato seems to know many secrets about his past and offers hints about Kaneki's lost memories and possible future.

Juuzou Suzuya
As Ken Kaneki, Kaneki does not know of Juuzou. Juuzou however, apparently knew by instinct that the Eyepatched Ghoul was the same person as Kaneki even though by that time Kaneki's hair had already turned white, along with the fact that he was donning his mask and Juuzou was observing him on ground running whilst on top of an Aogiri building. This is evidenced by when Juuzou sees him and attempts to remember his name (failing to do so though, as he only remembers that the name starts with a 'K') while dragging Yamori's body around.

As ghoul investigators, both of them are considered unusual in their own ways, and became friendly through prior collaborations. Juuzou is still aware of his true identity, as he repaid the money stolen from Kaneki's wallet long ago. Sasaki always prepares for meetings with Juuzou by hiding treats in his pockets, letting the other man frisk him as a greeting.

Seidou Takizawa
Seidou learned about Haise through Kanou and Eto, as he was "modeled" after him. As a result of being modeled after a mere test subject, which Kanou referred to as his masterpiece, he wishes to surpass Haise, still possessing feelings of inferiority as he did with Akira, who was ranked first, and him second. Seidou is also aware of Haise's true self, even calling him by name when he hesitates. He does however, show Haise a little bit of acknowledgement as a leader, even stating Sasaki was a better leader than his own boss.

Koori Ui
Koori and Sasaki appear to have a professional relationship, knowing each other from their days in S3 squad. Ui however secretly distrust Sasaki and is wary of both his mental state and his abilities as a ghoul.

Rio
In Tokyo Ghoul: Jail, Kaneki encounters Rio as he is searching for the Ghoul called Jail, who Kaneki is also searching for. The two meet while Rio is following a lead on Jail, believing the area Kaneki is in to be his turf. Rio comes across Kaneki while he is devouring powerful Ghouls in order to become stronger. Seeing that they share a common goal, Kaneki and Rio work together to find Jail. It is through Kaneki that Rio is also introduced to Anteiku.

Hairu Ihei
Sasaki and Hairu used to be in the Zero Division under Arima together. They get along as co-workers, but Sasaki did not like her violent methods on handling ghouls.

Eto
Even before becoming a ghoul, Kaneki admires Takatsuki Sen greatly, as she is his favorite horror novelist and relates himself to her works, unaware of her true identity. As Haise Sasaki, he still considers her his favorite author, but speculates that she is a woman filled with despair and hatred towards the world and has completely abandoned hope long ago.

After regaining his memories, he becomes one of the few aware of her true identity and considers her as an enemy that needs to be eliminated, and seriously wounds her during the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation. In the following months, he is pursuing and investigating her to bring her down.

Powers and Abilities
As a human, Kaneki was weak with a feeble body that has neither muscles nor flexibility. He had poor reflexes, reflecting his terrible athletic skills, which did not improve during his early days as a ghoul. Despite this, he is shown to be very adaptive and a quick learner. He is highly intelligent, having the ability of learning martial arts in a short period of time through instructional books and strict training from Touka and Yomo, making him a competent fighter above the average level. Despite the surgery, Kaneki seems to lack the sense of smell other ghouls have that can differentiate between humans and ghouls; he is also shown to be unaffected by Ghoul-Detecting machines.

After being tortured by Yakumo Oomori and accepting his ghoul side, all the knowledge and skills he learnt are put to use. Kaneki became capable of easily dodging and countering quick attacks with his greatly enhanced reflexes and strength. Such abilities made him capable of defeating Yamori, a half kakuja, and Ayato with relative ease despite both being S-Rated ghouls. His regenerative ability was greatly enhanced as well, being able to heal a broken leg or large flesh wounds in a matter of seconds. Kaneki is also a tactical combatant and uses his intelligence and improvisational abilities to allow him to challenge foes far more powerful than himself.

As Haise Sasaki, he is a skilled Investigator -- having managed to climb the ranks from Rank 3 to Rank 1 within as few as two years with only minimal use of his Ghoul abilities. He has received training from Kishou Arima and Akira Mado, both considered exceptional Investigators that have molded him into a talented individual. Akira describes him as an Ace, and his skill earned him the illustrious White Wing Medal. As an Investigator, he shows great competence in criminal investigations and is a strong combatant in battle. Haise was noted by Associate Special Class Ato to have similar movement with Arima, which is likely due to their sparring sessions. After accepting his original identity, he is able to fight on par against Seidou Takizawa, an SS-rated ghoul and incomplete Kakuja. He has also been able to wield both his Kagune and Quinque with amazing efficiency, shown when fighting against Hooguro and Shousei. He is shown to be able to fully control his kagune without losing control after accepting original Kaneki personality. After recovering more memories he was able to effortlessly defeat Kanae despite the modification she gained from Eto. He is shown being able not only to damage, but to pierce Eto through her kakuja, cutting her in half right afterwards. Besides Arima, he is the only character up to date capable of besting Eto in combat.

Master Swordsman: As Described by Takeomi, Haise's swordsmanship is considered to flow as swift as water, as he is able to go toe to toe with Serpent with minimal use of his kagune and is able to slice Ghouls with considerable skill while using a B-Rated Sword quinque such as The Yukimura.

Quinque

 * Yukimura 1/3 : This Koukaku type Quinque was presumably passed down to him from Arima, and resembles a long blade without a hilt. He wields it with considerable skill, easily slicing through the kagune of a Ghoul with minimal effort.

Kagune

 * Rinkaku: After the organ transplant, Kaneki inherited Rize's kagune which is special because of its abnormal regenerating factor even among the Rinkaku types. While his body is soft and fragile, his Kagune focuses on providing enough brute force to take down even the toughest enemies. The amount of tentacles that Kaneki can create and control increases over the course of the series, being able to create three at the start of the series, four after being tortured by Yamori, six during the raid of Kanou's lab and since his battle with Arima Kishou, his Kagune can produce up to eight tentacle claws that provide him with blades strong enough to cut or pierce a Kakuja. Notably, Kaneki never used more than four tentacles at a time while mentally stable. Years later the number has increased to six. After the timeskip he was shown to have more control over his kagune as he could combine them to form a three clawed hand and command at least five to do different tasks independent of each other, as shown in his fight against Serpent. He has also been shown using his kagune to rapidly scale large buildings. Kaneki has been noted by Koori Ui as having better control over his kagune than natural-born ghouls. After he "awakens" during his fight with Kanae von Rosewald, Kaneki has shown the ability to shape his kagune into more intricate forms, such as a skeletal arm or a mass of branching limbs. After partially devouring the Owl's kakuja, his kagune can now form eyes and mouths which have the ability to speak much like the One-Eyed Owl's.


 * Kakuja: After consuming Yamori's Kakuja and various other ghouls and their Kagune, Kaneki obtained an incomplete-Kakuja after his confrontation with Doctor Kanou. Kaneki's Kakuja armor are twin centipede-like tails protruding downwards from his back. The massive tails also have sharp talons on the side. In this form Kaneki's kakuja forms a mask that features a hole for his left eye and a bird's beak over the middle of his face. They provide Kaneki with enough power to even overwhelm Shinohara's Arata β 0.8. In this form Kaneki was strong enough to fight on par against Amon who was using Arata proto two and managed to severely injure him by ripping his arm off. As an incomplete kakuja, Kaneki's loses all aspects of his personality when using this form and as a result fights like a psychotic berserker. Due to this, Kaneki only uses his Kakuja form in the direst of situations. In Tokyo Ghoul √A, he can deploy his Rinkaku alongside it, albeit in a deteriorating form. However, it seems Kaneki cannot control the kakuja and sometimes releases it unwillingly, causing him a great amount of pain in the process.

Trivia

 * Kaneki (金木) means "golden tree" and Ken (研) means "to grind/polish" or "study".
 * Sasaki (佐々木) means "wren". Haise (琲世) means "halsband world".
 * Kaneki has a habit of touching his chin with his left hand when he's hiding something. Hide was the one who told Touka about it.
 * Kaneki was ranked second in the latest character popularity poll, 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).
 * Kaneki's role in the story is a parallel to the Goat's child in Sen Takatsuki's book "The Black Goat's Egg".
 * Kaneki's finger cracking was inherited from his torturer Yakumo Oomori.
 * When asked about Kaneki's battle suit, Ishida Sui suggested that Tsukiyama made it for him.
 * As Sasaki, he has a RC level of 2753, which is the highest compared to the other members of the Quinx Squad.
 * His Quinque, Yukimura, 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.
 * According to his profile, Sasaki has been awarded two medals in his career as an Investigator -- the Single White Wing Medal and the Golden Osmanthus Medal. The golden osmanthus is also known as the orange fragrant olive, a flower associated with Kaneki due to being alternate readings of the same kanji.
 * He has been given several nicknames by his subordinates in the Quinx. Shirazu refers to him as "Sassan", while Saiko affectionately refers to him as "Maman" -- French for "Mama". While in disguise as a woman, he jokingly refers to himself as "Sasako".
 * In √A, Kaneki is shown to write upside-down.
 * The sudden whitening of Kaneki's hair caused by torture is a condition known as Marie Antoinette Syndrome. This is a sudden whitening of the hair, caused by extreme stress or emotional trauma and named for the last Queen of France, whose hair turned white during the imprisonment prior to her execution.
 * 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.
 * For the anime, a part of the audition for Kaneki's voice actor was to: "scream like you're suffering".
 * Nishiki, Yamori and Banjou noted that Kaneki smelled just like Rize. However, Tsukiyama noted that he smelled just like a human.
 * Both Kaneki and Yamori went through similar torture method which they come out of it completely changed from their previous selves. Yamori turned into psychotic killer that kill more for fun than to eat while Kaneki turned cold and ruthless, but retained his desire to protect his friends.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, Kaneki and Sasaki are each featured as "Aces of Heart" and Kaneki is also featured on the "Queen of Hearts" card alongside Rize. In a redistributed version, he's also featured as a "White Joker".
 * In Root A, according to 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.

Quotes

 * To himself: "I’m not the protagonist of a novel or anything…I’m 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 (asking for help): "Please help me! I know you may not believe this, but I'm human. And yet, I want to eat that. I want to eat it so bad I can't help it. But if I do, I won't be human anymore!"
 * 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 Touka: "If you were to die, I would be grieving, you know."
 * To Amon (after defeating him): "I'm begging you, don't make me a killer!"
 * To himself (after Mado’s defeat): "This world is wrong."
 * 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 Rize (in his hallucination): "Then I'll just control it."
 * To himself: "I am a ghoul."
 * To Yamori (after pinning him down): "What is a thousand minus seven?"
 * "All the liabilities in this world are due to the inadequacies of the person involved."
 * 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: "I wasn't the one eating 'ghoul'. The one being eaten was me."
 * To himself in a lucid state in Root 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...?"
 * 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 Haise (in Haise's hallucination): "You’re weak Haise. At this rate, he will kill your Squad. You can’t protect anything. Look at me… you’re so cold. You know you need me. You want this right? Just accept me.”
 * To his squad: “As ghoul investigators you have to run… even when your limbs are torn off! As long as you live, you will have another chance. It’s game over when you die.”
 * To himself (questioning his affiliation with the CCG): “Tch! Is it really alright for me to be fighting with them?”
 * To Arima: “I’m really happy living like this.”
 * To his squad: "We'll become... girls."
 * To himself: "I... might die today. No... to be correct... it's either I die, or I disappear. The power I need to deal with him... is way too much... if I have to resort to him... I will... disappear."
 * To Hinami: "Even though I might have Ken Kaneki's body... I am Haise Sasaki."
 * To his squad: "We're becoming ghouls."
 * To Akira: "Why, why are you hiding it?! Is.. Is it because I'm the eye-patch 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 Tsukiyama: " "I will fight in order to survive"..."You're surrounded by the CCG, your guards are pretty much all dead...in this situation...How exactly do you plan to survive by yourself? This choice is pretty much...Suicide!"
 * To Kaneki: "No. No! My body, it's all mine. My eyes, my arms, my eyes, my soul."
 * To himself: "I've had enough with dreaming."
 * To Eto: "Why do I have to save trash like you?"
 * To Eto: "I'm honored, Ms.Takatsuki.
 * 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 Furuta: "It's fine. Truth be told, I am a kid. Adults give me the creeps, can't stand 'em."
 * To himself: "Takatsuki don't think for a second that I'm going to let you get away."

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