Shuu Tsukiyama

Shuu Tsukiyama (月山 習, Tsukiyama Shū) was the infamous Gourmet (美食家) ghoul of the 20th Ward. He was a fourth-year student studying Social Welfare at the Department of Human Sciences at Seinan Gakuin University. He comes from an extremely wealthy and influential family, headed by his father, Mirumo Tsukiyama.

He was a member of the Ghoul Restaurant, known as "MM" until he betrayed them.

He joined Kaneki's group along with Kaneki, Hinami and Banjou with the hidden intention of eating him, obsessed with his scent and taste. Eventually, he came to genuinely care for Kaneki and suffered from severe depression and anorexia after Kaneki's apparent demise.

Two years later, his depression left him emaciated and required constant care by his family servants. His long-time friend, Chie Hori took action to help with his recovery.

After finding out about Kaneki being alive and meeting him, he has recovered for the most part, being able to walk and eat on his own as well as taking measures to help Kaneki regain his memories.

Appearance
Tsukiyama is a tall, attractive, young man. His mannerisms were typically melodramatic, flamboyant and eccentric. He considered himself "fashionable" and usually dressed in European attire, though his sense of style was questionable. His typically wore formal suits or semi-formal dress-shirts and long pants decorated with bold contrasting colours and eccentric patterns such as stripes, flowers or geometric shapes. His brightly blued hair was usually well-kept with a characteristic long fringe neatly swept towards the left. In his first appearance, Kaneki thought to himself that he looked like a model. His mask, shaped like a crescent moon, was a reference to his name.

Two years later, his lengthy depression had significantly altered his physical appearance. As a result of his starvation, he bacame emaciated with visible sternum and sunken facial features. His kagune, when out of control, seemed to wrap him up and gave him a monstrous appearance. Due to his poor health, he had unkempt hair and nails, and wore a plain sleeping robe.

After he found out that Kaneki was still alive, he made a speedy recovery and resumed his pre-depression appearance and flamboyant mannerisms, however in a much more mellow manner. it has been stated by his family associates that Shu inherited intellectual gestures of his father, while his eyes and mouth are like his mother's.

Personality
In the beginning of Tokyo Ghoul, Tsukiyama appeared to be a confident, friendly and intelligent ghoul. However, these were merely acts to lure his "prey" into the ghoul restaurant and to conceal his eccentric, cruel and selfish personality. He considered himself as a strong predator that sought to devour the finest meals he made of his 'prey' and would not hesitate to resort to any merciless tactics in order to achieve his goals. As a result, he was disliked by most ghouls in the 20th ward. His interest in European literature and language was shown in his gestures and mannerisms, often peppered his dialog with random phrases of English, French, and Italian. He showed great anger towards others who disrespect his taste in food (In the Anime). Tsukiyama felt insulted when Rize declined his invitation to join the Gourmet Club, and mocked the "classy" eating habits of the restaurant that resembled the humans. Therefore Tsukiyama bore grudges over Rize and called her a 'pig' for ridiculing his taste for food. He had poor controls over his emotions, with intense outbursts or "meltdowns" especially when it came to losing something important or failing to capture his "gourmet target". During times when he was calm and rationale, he seemed to be quite intelligent and often came up with strategies to help his comrades. He compared himself to a noble 'knight', especially later when in the service of Kaneki. Besides food, he also enjoyed reading, fashion and playing his piano.

In the earlier series of Tokyo Ghoul, Tsukiyama seemed to have little understanding of others' feelings and how relationships worked. He called his only human friend Chie Hori a "pet", in order to rationalise his "lack of interest" in eating her. He also did not understand Nishiki's feelings for Kimi, and assumed that she might also just be a precious pet to him. Although he did not have many friends and generally not being well liked by others, it was reflected during his first conversation with Kaneki that he actually wanted a good friend whom he could talk to share his interests with. However, he failed to acknowledge this and was revealed later in Tokyo Ghoul that he continued to consider his feelings of friendship and care towards Kaneki merely as pursuit of "gourmet food". Despite his poor social skills, he occasionally showed genuine care towards people he valued. For example, he tried to cheer up Kaneki after his breakdown at Kanou's lab, brought flowers to please Hinami when she was feeling down, and gave encouraging words to Kanae when he first joined Tsukiyama's family.

As the story progresses, his personality underwent significant changes as a result of his encounter with Kaneki's group and lengthy depression later on. The deterioration of his physical health took a toll on his mental state, and caused him to suffer terrifying bouts of violence. To address these, his servants resorted to drugging him to keep him calm. When he was calmed, he was somber and deeply withdrawn from the world. He was well-liked by his servants especially Kanae and Matsumae whom he has developed a strong bond with since he was young.

After his recovery from his depression, he shows significant maturation in his character and seems to have become more humble and able to recognize the importance of his family and friends. He is deeply saddened when he learns that his servants went overboard with hunting for the sake of finding food for him, and feels that he should be responsible for Yuma's capture by the CCG. He apologizes to his servants for the problems his condition had caused, and expresses his gratitude. He is also determined to act on his own in order to save Yuma and protect his other servants from further dangers. When he discoveres that Kaneki is still alive as "Sasaki", he admits that he has no longer considered him as "food" for a long time and is determined to help him get back his memories. It is shown that he genuine cares about Hori and friends from Anteiku. He even admits that he is egocentric.

Doves' Emergence
He is mentioned several times by members of the CCG as one the main concerns for the Doves in the 20th Ward, with the bulletin board outside the CCG 20th Ward's Branch Office asking for information and is blamed by Investigators for the loss of one of their men.

Gourmet Arc
After noticing the 'lovely gradation' in Misono Karube's eyes, Tsukiyama stalks her in her home and steals them by gouging them out, then he has them prepared at the Ghoul Restaurant.

Tsukiyama later makes an appearance at Anteiku, where he encounters Kaneki for the first time. After hearing about how Kaneki was able to confront the investigators, then noticing his enticing, unique scent, Tsukiyama takes an interest in him. Aware of his unsavory reputation, Touka demands that he leave. Though he complies, he promises Kaneki that they will meet again.

Tsukiyama enrolls at Kamii University to meet Kaneki and discusses books with him and tells him a little about himself, with an intent to befriend him. He asks Kaneki to accompany him to a coffee shop soon, and Kaneki hesitantly accepts his offer. Before they go to the coffee shop, Tsukiyama plays a game of squash with him, where he notices that Kaneki is not very athletic. He then assures him that the coffee will taste better if they work up a sweat first. At the coffee shop, Tsukiyama tells him about his ideals as a gourmet. As the topic shifts, Tsukiyama gives Kaneki a French Gourmet book as one of his recommendations. After Kaneki gets a paper cut, from one of the pages, Tsukiyama gives him his handkerchief to soak the blood from the wound. However, in the anime, the book is replaced with the teacup that Tsukiyama crushes in his hand in a fit of rage when thinking about Rize; Kaneki cuts himself on one of its ceramic shards and Tsukiyama hands him his handkerchief. After acquiring the bloodied handkerchief, he excuses himself to the restroom where he indulges in the scent of Kaneki's blood. When they leave the coffee shop, Kaneki asks Tsukiyama what he does about food. Tsukiyama, seeing this as an opportunity to invite Kaneki to the Ghoul Restaurant, does so. At the Ghoul Restaurant, Kaneki, yet unaware of Tsukiyama's real intentions, is separated from him so that the staff can 'prepare' him; Kaneki is told to take a shower, dress in a tuxedo and stay in the waiting room.

During the presentation of the night's dishes, Tsukiyama presents Kaneki as the main dish and explains the lengths and efforts he went through to make Kaneki taste his finest. However, after Kaneki reveals himself to be a one-eyed ghoul while defending himself against the scrapper, Taro-chan, Tsukiyama puts a halt to the night's proceedings, killing the scrapper, by himself. He offers Taro as the meal instead, determined to have Kaneki entirely to himself now that he is aware of his extreme rarity. Tsukiyama then asks for Kaneki to forget about the experience.

Later on, Tsukiyama kidnaps Kimi Nishino, Nishiki Nishio's girlfriend, as another trump card to get his way with Kaneki. When Kaneki and Nishiki arrive at his 'altar' to rescue Kimi, whom he had tied up, Tsukiyama reveals that Kimi is the night's "Gourmet Spice;" he planned to eat Kaneki while Kaneki ate Kimi. When Nishiki tries to attack him, Tsukiyama effortlessly beats him down. Kaneki then tries to stand up for himself, but to no avail. When Touka steps in unexpectedly, Tsukiyama is unaffected by the slash she gives him across his eyes. However, as Tsukiyama and Touka battle, the latter loses, therefore coming to a conclusion to eat Kaneki's flesh to energize herself. Shuu becomes enraged by the fact that Touka bit Kaneki, even more so when he sees the scar on Kimi's shoulder. Touka eventually claims her victory, with Tsukiyama left to suffer from his injuries.

Aogiri Arc
It is revealed that Tsukiyama escaped his untimely demise, having to resort to auto-cannibalism in order to recover the wounds he sustained in his fight against Touka, to which he proclaimes that he tasted delicious. Yoshimura invites him to join Anteiku's expedition to save Kaneki, which he agrees but with the hidden intention of devouring him yet again. Although when Kaneki is saved and he offers his service to him as his "sword", Kaneki agrees but whispers that if he shows even the slightest bit of disloyalty, he would not hesitate to kill him. Tsukiyama is quite happy and thrilled that he chose to not eat Kaneki and loyally pledged to serve him.

Annihilation of Ghoul's Restaurant & Raid of Kanou's Lab
Kaneki, Tsukiyama, and Banjou form alliance to search for Professor Kanou. Tsukiyama gives information on Madam A, who provides "experimentally modified humans" as scrappers for the ghoul restaurant and may have connections with Kanou. Kaneki and Banjou's group sneek into the ghoul restaurant and annihilate all members with Tsukiyama's aid. However, their capture of Madam A failes when Nashiro and Kurona intervene. The group next visits Kanou General Hospital, and Tsukiyama pretends that he is having a stomach ache while the rest of the group use this distraction to find out clues from Taguchi, the nurse who formerly took care of Kaneki after his transplant. The same night, while the trio are trying to capture Taguchi for interrogation, their plans are foiled by Shachi and Naki, who easily overpowered Kaneki's group. Thereafter, Kaneki conducts further martial arts training with Tsukiyama as his sparring partner. Tsukiyama helps the group to track down Madam A, killing her scrappers, and threatens her as well. Fearing for her life, she provides information on Kanou's mansion. Consequently they finally discover his hidden lab. When Aogiri Tree appears in Kanou's lab, Tsukiyama fights Naki and later teams up with him to fight the CCG when the as well joined in. After the fight, Banjo's men try to convince Tsukiyama to find their leader with him, only to have him show no interest in that objective. He contemplates slaughtering them for being a nuisance until Banjo shows up behind him. Once over he's seen giving Kaneki books in hope of cheering him up, proclaiming to be "the dagger hidden underneath his pillow."

When Kaneki announces the break-up of their group, Tsukiyama seems to be unhappy with his decision, however proposes in his usual flamboyant manner to be "part of their small family." Kaneki tells him that he still can't trust him, but, unexpectedly to Tsukiyama, allows him to stay around even after disbanding. Tsukiyama is speechless, uncertain how to categorize his fast heartbeat at Kaneki's words.

Anteiku Raid
When Tsukiyama learns of Kaneki's intention of going back to Anteiku to help out Yoshimura, he states those actions to be suicidal, as even Kaneki cannot achieve anything with the whole main force of CCG being there. Enraged and conflicted by his decision, Tsukiyama tries to take Kaneki down and presumably eat him before he meets his inevitable end in the raid, but is easily subdued. He begins to cry on the rooftop, defeated, and begs Kaneki not to go. Kaneki thanks him for the concern, but sets off to his destination nevertheless. In the morning following the raid, Tsukiyama is still seen lying in the same spot and refusing to eat anything with Nishiki warning him that he'll die like that.

Torso Investigation
While he has yet to appear in person, Kanae worries over what has become of him and is seen bringing a massive suitcase to an apartment. Chie likewise mentions that her "model", presumably Tsukiyama, has become boring as a result of his depression. To end this, she contacts Kuki Urie and Ginshi Shirazu, arranging to give them information about Torso in exchange for some belonging that carries Haise Sasaki's "scent". She states she intends it as a present, in hopes of cheering him up. She ends up receiving a pair of Haise's boxers with an elaborate "ENERGY" logo.

Nutcracker Investigation
Kanae delivers the gift to his master, who lies in bed in a pathetic state. Tsukiyama confesses that his sense of smell no longer seems to work, but even so he senses something nostalgic about the underwear and compliments the design. Later, Kanae meets with Chie and returns the boxers to her, claiming that they had no effect. He lies about Tsukiyama's reaction to them, and threatens to kill the human girl before storming away. However, Chie sees through his deception and thinks fondly of the many years she's spent as Tsukiyama's friend. It is revealed she was the one to retrieve him from the rooftop after Kaneki disappeared, and she seems hopeful that her present will make Tsukiyama become "interesting" again.

Kanae is later shown gathering "gourmet ingredients" for his master, while thinking about how Kaneki is the cause of Tsukiyama's prolonged depression and starvation. He decides that if Sasaki really is Kaneki, he will kill him to prevent Tsukiyama from learning about his survival.

Rosewald Investigation
Tsukiyama is briefly seen still confined to his room and in poor health. He complains to Kanae about feeling extremely hot and hungry and his Kagune seems to be enveloping his body. His bedroom is dark and filled with bones.

Tsukiyama is still in terrible condition, but now seems to be binge eating and will eat either human or ghoul. It is revealed that the Tsukiyama family has a genetic disorder due to consanguineous marriages, so as a result, his Kagune has been effected negatively and he seems unable to control it. His father and Kanae worry and wonder what they can do before it's too late.

Mirumo asks Kanae to bring him wine, when suddenly Tsukiyama loses control, his kagune attacking servants and also Kanae, when he tries to stop him. He shouts that he craves good food as he is "the Gourmet" and does not deserve anything less. After a short fight with Kanae, whom he injures, he is restrained by his servants and given a substance, causing him to calm down. When brought back to bed, he seems to have forgotten everything, asking why his servants are in his room. He thanks them for their work and apologizes for being in the state he is in. Then he asks Kanae to take care of his family and caresses his face, to which Kanae breaks out in tears, albeit accepting the request.

Kanae later approaches him and reveals that Kaneki is indeed alive, showing him the first envelope containing a photo of Sasaki which he was given by Chie. Tearing up, he then asks Kanae to explain.

After Tsukiyama finds out that Kaneki is alive, he rushes out of his mansion to see him, though his health condition is still poor, consquently falling. Kanae accompanies him to the CCG office, pushing him in a wheelchair. When Tsukiyama sees Sasaki exiting the office with his squad, he becomes exited and dashes out of his wheelchair towards him, but again falling. Sasaki and the Quinx, with the exception of Urie, help him up. Quickly Kanae rushes in, apologizes to them for the commotion and brings Tsukiyama back onto the wheelchair, leaving in a rush. The group worries for his wellbeing.

Later that day, Tsukiyama is in his room, searching for information on Kaneki on his computer, determined to get Kaneki's memory back. Shortly afterwards, Tsukiyama finds out that one of his servants, named Yuma, was captured as well as tortured by the CCG. Blaming himself but determined to save him, Tsukiyama decides to act on his own by befriending Kaneki, in hopes that he would leave CCG and help Yuma if he could get back his memories. Tsukiyama approaches Sasaki on a later da while said is reading alone in the park. He tries to initiate a discussion on books and Takatsuki Sen, who used to be Kaneki's favourite author. However, Tsukiyama is shocked when Sasaki admits that he does not actually enjoy her books. Furthermore, their conversation is interrupted by Saiko and Mutsuki's arrival. Tsukiyama decides to follow Sasaki wherever he goes in secret, looking for opportunities to speak with him again alone, but realises it is impossible due to the constant presence of his squad. Kanae then shows him picture no. 2, of Kaneki's "MISSING" poster. Tsukiyama decides to use it in his next plan.

Tsukiyama visits :re sometime around when the Quinx squad is ambushed by Kanae and hired Aogiri members. He shows slight irritation and confusion about why Touka and the others didn't inform him of Kaneki being alive as Sasaki, as well as why they won't help him in getting Kaneki's old memories back. They also don't seem to be positively surprised about Tsukiyama's survival. Tsukiyama leaves the cafe pondering on how even though he wants Kaneki back for his own selfish desires too, that selfishness isn't the only reason for him to wish for Kaneki's return. Concerned with Touka's words and Aliza's worrying of Yuuma, Tsukiyama goes to find Sasaki in the park where they previously met, who to his surprise has been waiting for him. Before he has the opportunity to ask anything, he is instead told that their encounters are all strangely coincidental and numerous in amounts. Sasaki then straightforwardly asks if Tsukiyama is a ghoul, which led to confusion and uneasiness on Tsukiyama's part. Sasaki continues on to tell him not to answer anymore, as his reaction has explained it already; he proceeds on inquiring if Tsukiyama knows Fueguchi, Uta, or Kaneki himself. Admitting that he can't take it anymore and that the memories are bound to return, Sasaki pleas Tsukiyama to tell him everything he knows about the former Kaneki whilst breaking down in tears. At this point, Tsukiyama is reminded of the fragile and insecure Kaneki he met first and silently turns his back to the ghoul investigator and apologizes for not answering anything, as he himself doesn't know what to say anymore due to his conflicting desires. At this point, Tsukiyama admits to himself that he did find the days with Kaneki joyful and that he sees him more than as just mere "ingredients", and is unsure if Sasaki can handle his forgotten, tragic past.

Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation
As Tsukiyama rests in his family manor thinking about his servants and Kaneki, he finds his father bringing him coffee. After thanking his father and taking a sip of the coffee, he immediately notices something wrong, but instead cheerfully faces his father to compliment his coffee before being knocked out by the spiked coffee. He is then asked to be taken care of by Matsumae under Mirumo's order. After regaining consciousness in a car Matsumae's driving him with, he asks Matsumae about the whereabouts of his father, and that they need to return to save him. Tsukiyama's pleas are, however, ignored by Matsumae, who tells him that the idea is impossible and that his successful escape as the sole successor is the only factor that will allow the Tsukiyama Family to carry on. Tsukiyama is reminded of the Anteiku Raid where Yoshimura, Irimi, and Koma stayed behind to allow the others' successful escape and the feelings Kaneki had back then when deciding to return to help out. Finally understanding what Kaneki was thinking back then and how he himself begged him to not go, Tsukiyama stops asking Matsumae to return and accepts the fate silently.

After successfully escaping to Lunatic Eclipse Building, the duo is welcomed by various company heads under the Tsukiyama flag, and asked to head upstairs to wait for a helicopter. Shortly after, however, it was noted that the CCG is advancing faster than anticipated, and thus Matsumae informs Tsukiyama that Mairo and her would stall some time for him before returning. Noticing that Matsumae isn't bringing her mask with her, Tsukiyama realizes her intention of not returning, yet still asks her to promise him in returning worrily. Being informed that she can't promise him this time, Tsukiyama heads upstairs to the helipad with a sullen expression after reminiscing Matsumae and his past interactions. Upon reaching the helipad, however, Sasaki blocked his path while the helicopter was downed by CCG's S2 Squad. Being informed that Sasaki did not know he was a Tsukiyama, he is asked to surrender so that Sasaki can ask for ownership rights over him. Tsukiyama however assaults Sasaki off guard and declares that he will never surrender as it is his duty to survive after all the sacrifices his family made for him; he states that he doesn't know anything about Sasaki to have him give up from questioning about the past.

After a brief exchanging of blows, Tsukiyama is soon overpowered by Sasaki and pinned down to the floor. Seeing that Sasaki is hesitating to finish him due to their past, Tsukiyama ends up telling him to finish him off directly before the investigator's right hand is abruptly cut off into the air. Kanae's appearance led Tsukiyama to a temporary confusion, as he wasn't entirely sure whether it was his servant or not. After confirming Tsukiyama's question on whether he was Kanae, Kanae told his master to rest and let him "clean the trash." When Kanae was eventually overpowered by Sasaki and about to face more blows, Tsukiyama crawled and grabbed Sasaki's leg and sleeve, telling told Kanae to run away before the Owl appeared and attacked the investigator.

Tsukiyama later observes as Kaneki awakens and severs Kanae's arm, and watches as Kaneki quickly dispatches him. As Kaneki stands before him, he asks whether Kaneki is truly his old self again. Kaneki confirms this before stabbing Tsukiyama in the chest with his kagune, making him regurgitate blood. After Eto was driven off by Kaneki and additional investigators including Ui reached the rooftop, Tsukiyama is revealed to have survived Kaneki's fatal blow, which results in him dropping Tsukiyama from the top of the building, Kanae following in quick pursuit in a attempt to rescue him, calling out to her master, telling him that she will protect him at all costs. She expresses in German for her final wish for Tsukiyama to call her by her real name just once instead of Kanae, and apologizes to him for falling in love with him. Instead of rejecting her, Tsukiyama comforts her, telling her that no one will punish her for it, even calling her by her real name. Feeling relieved, Kanae pushes Tsukiyama away with her kagune, saving him but falling to her death while Shuu screams for her.

Tsukiyama continues fleeing to survive for the sake of those who sacrificed their lives for him, but he's severely injured and his limbs have gone numb. A few Ghoul Investigators catch up to him, prompting him to wonder if it is the end for him. The investigators are unexpectedly dispatched by Touka and Yomo however, as Chie calls out to Tsukiyama from a nearby van; when Tsukiyama enters, he finds his father waiting there, having had escaped when he heard the helicopter Tsukiyama was supposed to had fled in was shot down and ran into his friends. Chie on the other hand, was the one who went to :re to convince Touka and Yomo to as she didn't know anyone else strong enough for the task. Chie was surprised that Tsukiyama had jumped all the way from the top of the building and survived, however, Tsukiyama reveals that Kanae had saved him and that it was Kaneki who pushed him off. Chie, thinking that there was something more to Kaneki pushing him off, asks Tsukiyama why he would bother pushing him off when he could have easily finished him off on the spot.

Powers and Abilities
The 'Gourmet' is a name feared in the 20th ward, not only for his selective taste in prey, but because he is very difficult to catch. An avid reader like Kaneki, he is also deeply invested in martial arts and fights gracefully with deadly efficiency.


 * Koukaku Kagune: Shuu displays fluent proficiency with his Koukaku, and is able to manipulate it with finesse despite the natural difficulty of utilizing one. He can form a linear metallic ribbon that can wrap into a flexible spiral that doubles as armor to shield his upper body, as well as a spinning drill that can cause devastating damage. To extend his reach, he can form it into a large, sword-like blade that is suited to thrusting and stabbing. Despite his kagune's diverse nature, its weight and size restricts his range and movement to close quarters as the standard Koukaku does. He almost never dodges or evades, likely due the the fact that his kagune is sturdy enough to block most attacks.

Ken Kaneki
Tsukiyama first meets Kaneki in Anteiku and becomes fascinated with his scent. After Kaneki reveals his half-ghoul nature in the Ghoul Restaurant, Tsukiyama becomes completely obsessed with eating him, seeing him as an exotic, one-of-a-kind dish that only he deserves to consume. As a result, he is always trying to find a way to devour Kaneki, which is why he joins the efforts to rescue Kaneki from Aogiri's hideout. After the Aogiri arc, he joins Kaneki's Anti-Aogiri band as his 'sword' and mentor. Tsukiyama is extremely protective of Kaneki, which he himself proclaims as hunger though it is implied that a part of him may have truly seen Kaneki as a potential friend. He cries and begs Kaneki not to join in the fray just before the Anteiku raid, even going as far as attacking him to stop his actions. He questions what's the point of him waiting so long by Kaneki's side patiently (to devour him) if Kaneki is just going to sacrifice his life in vain as Tsukiyama sees the actions as plain suicidal and unable to change anything. He is defeated and the following morning Tsukiyama is still seen laying on the rooftop, refusing to eat or drink.

In the novel Tokyo Ghoul: Kuuhaku, it was mentioned that Tsukiyama provided generous financial support for Kaneki's group. Ishida Sui mentioned that it was probably Tsukiyama who designed Kaneki's battle suit for him.

In Tokyo Ghoul:re, he is shown to still be grieving for Kaneki two years later. This has resulted in a complete withdrawal from the world, falling into a deep depression and losing all interest in food. His lengthy starvation leaves him in terrible condition, with his care-takers fearing that he will die if nothing is done. Chie states the cause of his terrible condition was the "death" of Kaneki, and that evidence of his survival will bring Tsukiyama back to his senses. As such, it is clear that Kaneki is someone that he came to value more than his own well-being and that he was unable to move on after the loss.

When Sasaki informs him that he wants to learn about Kaneki, albeit reluctantly, Tsukiyama hesitates and notes the similarity of Sasaki and the Kaneki he first met - powerless and uncertain. He becomes hesitant at whether if he wants Sasaki to embrace his tragic past and has come to terms with himself that he views Kaneki not as a mere ingredient anymore, but as a person dear to him who he has genuinely enjoyed time with.

Chie Hori
Described in "Tokyo Ghoul-Days" novel, Tsukiyama has been friends with her since they met in Seinan Gakuin University’s attached high school. She was Tsukiyama's first and only human friend who discovered his ghoul identity and captured such evidence on camera. Their mutual obsession with perfecting their chosen interests and unusual morality made them unlikely friends, with Chie showing little concern over his predatory nature. She also seemed totally resistant to Tsukiyama's manipulative tactics, and even threatened to leak his ghoulish photos on internet should he try to kill her. While she was too small and slender for her to be meal to Tsukiyama, he still finds her interesting because of her sly, fearless and sneaky nature; he refers to her as his "pet" or "little mouse". Despite this, Tsukiyama trusts Chie to such an extent that he is willing to share with her his personal life including his obsession with Kaneki, but often ends up getting mocked.

It was mentioned in the Tokyo Ghoul manga and novel (Kuhaku) that over the years, they have stayed in contact and Kaneki must call on her through Tsukiyama to act as an informant for the group. This way, Chie was able to use her skills to help Tsukiyama win Kaneki's trust, and at the same time grant herself enough influence to make even the arrogant and egoistic Tsukiyama listen to any of her requests.

In Tokyo Ghoul:re, Chie has been helping Tsukiyama to recover from his long depression by providing valuable pieces of evidence that Sasaki Haise (i.e. Kaneki Ken) is still alive and now a ghoul investigator. She also manages to skilfully persuaded the once reluctant Kanae to reveal the truth to his master. However, she also understands that she is putting her own life at risk of being persecuted by CCG for helping ghouls. Because of this, Tsukiyama feels very grateful for her help and values her as his good friend.

Hinami Fueguchi
While a part of Kaneki's group, Tsukiyama sees Hinami as a potential key to gaining Kaneki's trust. He seems to believe that endearing himself to her will fool Kaneki into believing that his intentions to eat him are in the past. Although he uses her, Tsukiyama seems to like her as a good friend and treats her with real respect and care. In exchange, Hinami is quite fond of him and even defends him against Touka and Nishiki. It is later revealed in :re that he wishes to regroup with Hinami, along with Kaneki and Banjou's gang.

Touka Kirishima
He originally met Touka in the 20th ward when he had to fight with her and Ayato over territorial rights. He even states that he liked her cold side when she was fourteen and said he was "head over heels" for her back then. Tsukiyama acts friendly towards Touka, despite her low opinion of him. Touka is quite wary of him when he decides to participate in rescuing Kaneki from Aogiri Tree's Hideout.

Nishiki Nishio
Initially, Nishiki feels great disdain for Tsukiyama for kidnapping Kimi and using her in his plot to eat Kaneki. After the Gourmet Arc, he does not appear to be happy to see that Tsukiyama survived. However, while Tsukiyama lays motionless and emotionally drained on the rooftop, he seems to show concern, offering him coffee so that he wouldn't starve.

Kanae von Rosewald
Kanae is the Tsukiyama family's faithful servant (and possible distant relative), and refers to him as "Shuu-sama". It is later revealed that Kanae was taken by Tsukiyama family after  Matsuri Washuu  erased his family. In the past, Tsukiyama appears to be kind to Kanae, and tries to cheer him up by showing him the family's rose garden and giving him encouraging words, and calling him "his distant brother of the same blood". Kanae seems to have taken this to heart, as he still carries a rose with him for comfort.

Kanae bears a striking resemblance to him, with very similar personalities, prone to melodramatic behavior and uttering words in foreign languages (German). Kanae expresses great distress over what has become of Tsukiyama, and often seen crying, talking to roses, or demonstrating intense emotional outbursts.

Kanae places his master's well-being and wishes above all else. In order to help Tsukiyama, he often desperately comes up with secret plans that unfortunately, often end up in failure or exacerbate the problem. He is determined to cheer up his master again by pursuing "gourmet food ingredients", but to no avail because he fails to accept the fact that Kaneki's death is the root cause of his master's depression. Furthermore, because of "over-hunting" he ends up being persecuted by CCG and putting Tsukiyama and his family in grave danger. It is also revealed that he becomes intensely jealous over others that are close to his master and intentionally deceives Chie about Tsukiyama's condition, returning Sasaki's underwear rather than admit it caught his master's attention. Kanae intentionally tries to prevent Tsukiyama from learning that Kaneki is still alive. In his fragile state, Tsukiyama is unaware of how his caretaker is hiding truths from him.

As Tsukiyama's health and mental state continues to deteriorate later in the series, Kanae finally accepts that the only way to help his master is to reveal the truth that Kaneki is still alive. Thereafter, he co-operates with Chie's plans and continues to provide assistant for his master to meet up with Kaneki.

Tsukiyama seems to be unaware of Kanae's strong feelings for him, thus paying him not much attention. Much to Kanae's distress.

Kazuichi Banjou
Their relationship as members of Kaneki's group was a tense one, with Tsukiyama often mocking him or messing up his name. In turn, Banjou repeatedly stated his misgivings about Tsukiyama and found him untrustworthy. In :re, Tsukiyama reveals that he considers Banjou as one of valuable friends whom he wish to reunite with again.

Naki
During the Raid on Kanou's Lab, Naki and Tsukiyama formed a temporary alliance after dueling a bit due to the CCG investigation team's interference. Naki believes Tsukiyama to be a good guy (while Tsukiyama sees him as a trusting fool) but doesn't appreciate him talking in French (mistaking it as English).

Matsumae
A long-time servant of his family, Matsumae has been caring for him since his childhood. As a child, she was the servant he would call when in distress and this relationship continued into his teenaged years.

Mirumo Tsukiyama
At a young age, Shuu was extremely close with his father who dotted on him and constantly fawned over his potential and bright future. They spent a lot of quality time playing sports and music and Shuu even picked-up his love of foreign languages through his father's work. He also wrote a song for his father called "Papa's Glasses". As an adult, as he isolates himself from the household and becomes ill, Mirumo desperately tries to find food that his son will eat to get him back to good health. Mirumo is happy when his son starts to recover, though they haven't been shown spending time together. When Mirumo learns that the household is going to be under attack by the CCG, he drugs his son and asks Matsumae to bring him somewhere safe. This strenghenths the idea that he loves his son dearly. Said love is required by Shuu, who desperately wants to protect and save his father (and employees) from the CCG's attack when he finds out that they stayed behind at the mansion.

Trivia

 * Tsukiyama was ranked third in the character popularity poll.
 * Tsukiyama （月山） means "moon mountain" and Shuu（習) means "practice, study, collection".
 * Tsukiyama likes self-discipline, humans that are tempting (irrespective of age and gender) and new stimuli.
 * Tsukiyama's hobbies are sports, martial arts, playing musical instruments and evaluating prey.
 * When asked about Kaneki's battle suit, Ishida Sui suggested that Tsukiyama made it for him.
 * In the artbook Zakki, Ishida Sui revealed that Tsukiyama was originally intended to be the main character of an entirely different series. However, he ended up using the character in Tokyo Ghoul instead.
 * It is a strange coincidence that Tsukiyama's alias at the ghoul restaurant, MM, also happens to be his seiyuu's, Mamoru Miyano's initials.
 * In the official omakes, Hinami calls Tsukiyama "flower man" or "fireworks man".
 * According to design notes, the library and room he appears in while thinking about Kaneki in episode 5 is his parent's manor.
 * According to the Audio Drama, he has a 73m² bedroom and an excessively large bed.
 * In the same drama, he claims his favorite method to calm himself down as a child was to play Chopin while screaming at the top of his lungs.
 * According to the second Audio Drama, Tsukiyama becomes easily intoxicated when drinking and is (unsurprisingly) a very loud, emotional drunk.
 * Ishida revealed that Tsukiyama could play the piano so well he could make a decent living out of playing in jazz bars.
 * His birthday, March 3rd, coincides with the nationwide festival, Hina-matsuri.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he's featured as the "Ace of Diamonds".
 * As a child, he expressed guilt over eating humans. His father reassured him that any human being eaten by him would feel honored.
 * As a child, he frequently played Football (Soccer) with his father and was apparently a prodigy at the sport.
 * He greatly resembles his mother, who passed away while he was still very young.
 * As a child, he composed as song on the piano for his father called "Papa's Glasses".
 * At the Kotobukiya Event, an exclusive pamphlet was made for his official CCG file. The Gourmet is filed under report number 150919-27004.

Quotes

 * To himself (about his interest in Ken Kaneki): “Kaneki of ‘Anteiku,’ huh? I have a strong interest in that scent.”
 * "After I saw Kaneki-kun, everything looks like plain food".
 * To Kaneki: “Isn’t it arrogant to put a price on whether life is ‘higher’ or ‘lower,’ Kaneki? We are just bags of meat. The weak bow down and the strong devour them. Rather, if you compared them to all living things, it’s humans who have shaved away the most lives. We are different than them.”
 * To Kaneki (when he fails to stop him from going to save Yoshimura): "For dear life, Kaneki-kun... would you please not go?"
 * To Anteiku group (about his recovery by means of self-cannibalism): "I taste pretty delicious".
 * To Kaneki: "You don't need to blame yourself just because you've hurt someone, just like when you're walking you can't really blame yourself to crush some ants...that's what being stronger ones means."
 * To Hinami: "Let's work together to return Kaneki to the "dolce" young man he used to be!!"
 * To Kaneki: "I'm not going to protect you by being your shield or armor, but I'll be the dagger hidden below your pillow".
 * To Hori Chie (In novel "Tokyo Ghoul - days"):  “I was wondering why I could not find you appetizing in the least, but it makes sense if it’s just like a human keeping a pet!  Little mouse, from today on I will make you my pet!”
 * To Hori Chie (In novel "Tokyo Ghoul - kuhaku "): "Oh Chie! Your words are sweet, smooth and delicate as rare cheesecake, but also perturbing that they pierce my heart...well, I've never tasted cheesecake before".
 * To Hori Chie (when she comes to pick him up from the rooftop): "Hori, could you tell me... just what gourmet food is...?"
 * To his servants in :re: "You all went over-board, harvesting food for me again and again, right?"
 * To Kanae in :re about Sasaki: "Kanae, I couldn't believe my ears at first that Kaneki was safe...that he's missing his memories...that he's caught by the CCG...that he's being forced to be a ghoul investigator...but more importantly, he's alive! How wonderful! Tout Va Bien! I'll bring back Kaneki's memories by any means possible!"
 * "Let's spend time together again, Kaneki! Little Hinami, Banjo and those other three can also join! Let's fill this void of time!"
 * About Haise's weakness: "You're showing your vulnerability like that...Kaneki was very strong...But that was not the case at first. A distant long-forgotten weakness...He couldn't...The times he didn't have the strength to choose...You might be the continuation of the Kaneki back then...What a vigorous weakness..."
 * About his depression: "After Kaneki left, I slowly began to die. But inside my heart I was question myself. I...No doubt...enjoyed myself. The days I just gazed at the feast that was served in front of me...I really enjoyed those days."
 * To Sasaki: "I'm sorry, I no longer know...The words I should be telling you..."
 * To Matsumae: "Those words are...Too cruel...Matsumae..."
 * "Fuccccckin' kidding"
 * To Haise Sasaki (after being asked to surrender): "Surrender", you say? I would never do that. My father… and the servants… have all risked their lives to make sure I survive… This body is no longer my own. Are you saying I should surrender, and just sit around carelessly at Cochlea until I get killed? I will fight in order to survive. Mister Sasaki… I don't know anything about you.
 * About Sasaki: "I'm sorry Sasaki. You, who should've been going through life peacefully... I've brought it all to naught. Kirishima... I think I finally understand what you really meant. I am a bit...no, I feel so lonely...now that we've finally become strangers to each other."

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