#tg analysis

Hi anon, sorry for the delay. I'm going to answer these questions out of order for ease and flow.

Was it ever explained why Nishiki was killing ghouls and was after Torso at the start of :re?

;re 150

Yes. Nishiki said he learned that Kimi was kidnapped and being held hostage by Aogiri Tree. It's never explicitly stated how Nishki learned of it, but the source was most likely the Clowns. Most of the information the Clowns gave out is partially true at best, and it's entirely in character for the Clowns to try to get Nishiki to go after Aogiri and Eto. Telling Nishiki that Kimi was with Aogiri (which is true) because they kidnapped her (which isn’t true) is 100% in character for them. They did that in TG with Kaneki; they helped Yamori commit treason against Aogiri to torture Kaneki, and then they gaslit Kaneki when confronted about it.

TG 43, ;re 4

A bit of an aside, but related to the Kimi point. I think early on, Touka’s visit to the hospital, and the reveal of Torso’s love for women with scars, was meant to be a red herring about Nishiki’s motivation. I believe this was to give the impression that Nishiki was hunting for Torso specifically because Torso got Kimi, and I've seen quite a few people argue that this was 100% Ishida's original intention until he changed it in the Dragon Arc.

;re 98

There are a couple problems: first, Kimi shows up on Rue Island. Also, it doesn’t make sense from Nishiki’s end. He'd abandon the one who went attacked Kimi to fight the Quinx? After everything he’s done for her on panel? Letting Torso go at that point makes sense because Torso isn't a member of Aogiri, just forced to cooperate with them, so his value would be limited to Nishiki; meanwhile, rumors about new OEGs would be of emotional interest to Nishiki because of their relationship to Kaneki, even if Nishiki didn’t know about Haise.

But on to other questions:

At the heart of the etoneki conflict/drama is nothing more than culture clash.

Eto may be amazing at studying others and have replicated humanity well enough to be a respected author among humans without anyone finding any clues to her ghoul nature, not even Haise in RE: - but she is still someone who was raised by ghouls. Her base nature is as a ghoul, from the 24th ward specifically. Naturally, there’s going to be some confusion between her and Kaneki, who was raised by humans.

But that leaves the good good question of what those differences should be. Clearly, some should be tiny, but there NEED to be huge misunderstandings bc I live for that kind of drama. Also, it’s a slowburn, so. that’s how it is.

this is long, and tagged for spoilers for a good reason. nothing specific, but if u like being surprised by the plot in ur grapefruit, go no further as of chapter 5

I just want to compare Kaneki and Touka’s relationship with Kaneki’s relationships with other characters in the series. Basically, I’m just saying the latter is the better one.

Take for example, Hinami, Tsukiyama, and Hide.

Hinami blamed herself when Kaneki witnessed the death of her mother, something she had no control over.

Tsukiyama had ruined his own life and went on a rampage on multiple occasions because he felt like Kaneki’s sufferings were his fault, thinking that he could’ve stopped Kaneki and prevented him from making mistakes.

Hide in canon saved Kaneki even before his life changed and became a ghoul. He literally sacrificed his life for him and always did everything he could in his capacity to help Kaneki and make sure he lives. And yet he still felt that he hasn’t done enough for him.

And, Touka? What has she done? I’m sorry but I just feel so bad for these characters (who make so much effort in making Kaneki’s life better) get overshadowed.

What Itori had said throughout this chapter pretty much sums it up. She was basically directing the blame to Touka for leading Kaneki down this path. And it’s true. Did Touka truly ever think about Kaneki’s well-being when she married him? Because imo if it was Hinami, Tsukiyama, or Hide in her place, they would not at all attempt to pursue a relationship with Kaneki. What they would do, and what they have always done, is to watch out for Kaneki’s back - because they had always prioritized Kaneki’s well-being than theirs. They always focus on helping Kaneki solve his problems - not alleviating his problems by offering him company and sex.

Most importantly, they certainly wouldn’t put themselves in a position that will further burden Kaneki. Hinami, for instance, refused to be a liability to Kaneki so she made it her goal to become independent and went to join Aogiri. Tsukiyama, although not at first, did what Kaneki always asked of him whenever he needed his help and never complained. Don’t even get me started on Hide.

These three never put a hand on Kaneki. And they never made him feel bad about himself. But did Touka, after hearing what Itori said, felt bad about herself? No. She was angry and perhaps she refused to acknowledge that it was her fault. Some may argue that it’s not her fault and that it was Kaneki’s decision to become like this but I don’t buy it. Because this is exactly what Hinami, Tsukiyama, and Hide always tried to avoid. They don’t want Kaneki to worry about them because they had already recognized that Kaneki’s weakness is that he always tried to protect the people that he loved, which harms him in the end.

That’s why when Kaneki distanced himself from Hide for his friend’s protection, Hide didn’t complain and instead just watched out for his back - because that would ease Kaneki from his worries.

Touka, on the other hand, left Kaneki behind when he fought Arima in Cochlea, saying that Kaneki would just worry about protecting them if they stayed with him - thus, holding him back. Well, she attempted to avoid that but that’s exactly what happened. They left Kaneki, he heard the noise on the route that they had taken, and then we can see from his subsconscious thoughts through his conversations with Hide that he was worried. And if Touka recognized that they would just burden Kaneki then why the heck did she go to Cochlea in the first place and even made sure to let Kaneki know that they were there? She even told Kaneki she’ll be waiting for him! And then she says she knows she’s a burden. It’s so hypocritical of her, really. Hats off to Itori for calling her out on it. Call Itori a bitch for being like this but she’s right - she’s not even on Kaneki’s side yet she knows this stuff. I would honestly not be surprised if Tsukiyama’s rampage in the next chapter is directed to Touka. I mean, if these three could do it, then why can’t Touka?

This is the phrase that heads the color cover of chapter 144 in which we observe Kaneki wrapped in a grayish atmosphere, which is often associated with sadness or melancholy, and which in turn could be a reflection of Kaneki's emotional state after the events occurred in the 24 ward.

Before the operation in 24 ward began, Kaneki experiences a brief period of happiness as a result of his new relationship with Touka, who accepts him, shows her affection towards him and becomes in his family. 

All this as a result gives Kaneki the vision of a promising future full of opportunities (which is linked to his strong will to live), and which gives in turn to him his determination as the leader of Goat, whose position he held more as an obligation than for his own will. 

Having hope in the possibility of a world in which both species have room through the coexistence, and in which his family can reside.

This would represent the iridescent world to which reference is made in the phrase on the cover, since an iridescent world would represent one capable of reflecting multiple colors (a world full of color), which is a symbol of hope, opportunity, life and inspire emotions such as joy.

However, that brief period of happiness comes to an end when Furuta attacks Goat's base, killing its members, endangering the lives of his loved ones and definitively dissolving Goat by defeating their leader. Thus destroying all hope and possibility (from Kaneki's perspective) to create a world in which both species could live peacefully.

That's why, as the phrase says, the colours are dying out, since these are a reflection of Kaneki's emotions and feelings, which become sad as a result of a hopeless world that lacks of opportunities.

No, Kaneki, but you are the protagonist of a manga.

From the very first chapter Kaneki displays semi-awareness of the fact that he’s fictional, and boy, is that rough for him. Because he’s been landed in the worst possible genre to be the protagonist in - a tragedy. 

Kaneki loves to read, and it’s this hobby that makes him halfway savvy to the way his world is written. He draws parallels between his story and other stories that he’s read; the meta-writer is spared the effort, because we have a meta-thinker for our protagonist (Thanks Kaneki!).

He uses stories as his lens to understand the world, and because he himself is in a story, that’s really not a bad approach.

And 98 chapters later...

However, his self-awareness is still limited (even if someone notices thematic trends in their life, no sane person is going to seriously reach the conclusion that they’re made-up), and so despite correctly recognising his story’s genre and predicting his future, when tragedy happens, it’s still unexpected to him...which is all the more tragic. Kaneki and the people close to him undergo a string of harrowing events completely at the mercy of the author. The world he inhabits is dead set against him - for him, the world itself is wrong.

He is both unable and unwilling to do anything to stop his misfortunes because he’s already accepted that his life is a tragedy, and so tries to nobly accept that burden for the sake of others in imitation of his mother. But everyone has their breaking point, and Chapter 63 is when Kaneki says “Fuck you” to the tragedy, symbolically turning the tables on his torturer and using his own methods against him to render him utterly helpless.

This is Kaneki’s revolution against the story. He knows he lives in a tragedy; he knows the world is ‘wrong’ and out to harm him and the people he cares about; but he’s not going to take it lying down anymore. He will revolt against the narrative itself to keep his loved ones safe, and, looking through literary glasses again, become the kind of person Dazai Osamu could believe in.

But little does he know he’s just stepping into the role the author had set out for him from the start.

As a meta character, Kaneki’s fatal flaw is not that he doesn’t understand that he is in a story but that he misunderstands it. True tragedy relies on complicity; the tragic hero must dig their own grave - it doesn’t count if someone else digs it for them - due to their own sins and deficiencies. For Kaneki, his sins would be his mass cannibalisation, and his deficiencies would be his fear of loneliness and his hubris in his belief that he could fix the world alone - and in the metasphere, his hubris in trying to rebel against the story he was written for. These are all pivotal after Kaneki’s change of heart, not before. Because the ‘tragedy’ of Tokyo Ghoul only starts when Kaneki begins actively rebelling against it - what Kaneki conceived as ‘tragedy’ beforehand was really just horrible misfortune. Kaneki choosing to pursue a darker path in an attempt to escape the confines of his story only leads to him to stumble blindly right into their vicious grasp.

But who is Kaneki really fighting here? Who is the author of the tragedy that he finds himself in? Obviously Kaneki can’t lash out against Ishida Sui - he has to find the author responsible in his own sphere of existence. Kaneki has always been eager to know anything he can about Rize since the tragedy seemed to start with her, and though he believes her dead, that’s the lead he takes at first. The scent of Rize eventually leads him to Kanou, who he then marks as the creator of his misfortune, but his conviction is quickly shaken when Kanou mentions Yoshimura’s connection to Aogiri, presenting another lead to follow to find the source. And where will this lead take him? Who does he discover to be the author of his tragedy?

‘The Black Goat’s Egg’, a clear parallel to Kaneki’s story, was written by the hand of Takatsuki Sen. She is a writer of horror tragedy, and that is exactly the kind of story she has written for Kaneki.

 If Kaneki’s tragedy (beginning proper after Yamori’s torture) stems back to the Aogiri Tree, you’ll find Takatsuki - or as we better know her, Eto - at its roots. Even before then; after all, it was Takatsuki’s writings that caused Kaneki to become interested in Rize in the first place.

Eto is the only one to draw a connection between Kaneki and Dazai Osamu other than Kaneki himself, through Kaneki’s name and Osamu’s place of origin.

As she should, since Kaneki it’s her story Kaneki is trying to rebel against. The reason Kaneki connects so deeply with her works is due to their shared life experiences - a half-Ghoul abandoned by their parents who lashes out against a world that seems stacked against them - but while Kaneki is still experiencing that story, Eto is now writing it for him - something that will be expanded upon in :re.

And just as her first book, ‘The Black Goat’s Egg’, symbolises the first half of the manga, Takatsuki’s latest book, ‘The Hanged Man’s McGuffin’ symbolises the second half.

Kaneki’s connection to the Hanged Man is hinted later on with the number 12 on his collar - the number of the Hanged Man’s tarot card.

Kaneki’s demise at the end of the manga is hinted through the perspective of death row prisoners, and indeed, Kaneki is in a prison of his own; the prison of tragedy. He’s been sentenced to death by the author from the start.

He sounds like a ghoul because he is one, Kaneki. That’s you. And of course this is the book that picks him up out of his post-Banjou-stabbing slump and allows him to continue down his tragic path.

A Tragedy can only end with the death of the hero, and that’s just how Tokyo Ghoul ends. In true tragic fashion, Kaneki is warned over and over again about the path he’s walking on - by Yoshimura, by Touka, by Nishiki, even by Shuu - yet he refuses to heed them, sticking to his values to the bitter end. 

And in the final chapter, the world remains wrong. The words are repeated like a death toll for all the characters lost. Kaneki was unable to defeat the tragedy he was written into.

But is this really the end?

The final chapter plants seeds of doubt in our minds. Eto wasn’t the only writer to this story. And the Clowns aren’t satisfied with the story ending just yet. Similarly, Eto’s aim in rewriting her own story with Kaneki has not yet been revealed. And there is a whole other writer to this story still concealed, whose input will change everything.

Kaneki, and his story, has died. But they’re ready for a :rebirth.

This scene means absolutely everything. 

After years of being put through things they never would’ve imagined, not knowing if the other was alive or dead.. Here they both are

Finally, together, on the same side. In the same place. Able to be themselves.

And able to have the conversation they’ve been waiting for and wanting ever since their first meeting. They can finally get to know each other, hear each others’ stories. And turn the understanding they’d reached into a path towards achieving their goal- to change their wrong world. 

Just look. Look at the way Amon turns toward that familiar voice, how he looks at Kaneki

He looks at him with his entire soul in his eyes. (Seriously what a gorgeous panel.) He’s finally seeing his full face for the first time :’) but you know he recognizes those eyes, that voice, that white hair. His eyes are so gentle, and tired, and full of emotion. A little haunted. But he looks so beautiful.

And he calls Kaneki by the only name he knows him by.. Eyepatch :’) Just like old times. If that doesn’t bring a smile to Kaneki’s face I don’t know what will. 

He still doesn’t even know Kaneki’s name, but here they are. Finally able to have the conversation that’s been led up to for years. With this, so much can change, including each other. I’m sure Kaneki will help Amon to accept what he is now, and control his new strength and grow into it. And Amon will be able to give Kaneki the same guidance that he has ever since their first meeting.

On this little bench is where I’m guessing their conversation will happen. On the rooftop of the building, under a night sky (something that was always associated with their relationship).

In the last chapters Touka seems to always be wearing the same white T-shirt, however, depending on the time and situation, Ishida decides to emphasize the forms that are include on the top:

In chapter 122 Touka wants to have time alone to talk with Kaneki, therefore the shirt that she wears consists of shapes similar to those of an hourglass

Hourglasses are often used to symbolize '' time'', even at windows computers one can set the mouse so that the waiting icon takes that form.

In chapter 125 Touka wears the same t-shirt but with Y forms at the top, this could be linked to the chapter title "X:"

In genetic, the masculine gender consists of XY chromosomes, this could be indicating two things to us: first that probably the son was conceived that night (good job Kaneki), and second that probably the child will be a boy.

In chapter 135 Touka wears the same T-shirt with four-leaf clover shapes at the top

As i explained in an earlier post, the four leaf clovers are representative of good fortune and hope, indicating a possible positive result to the conflict that is happening right now.

The cover of volume 11 featuring Mutsuki has some similarities with another Touka color illustration launched by Ishida around the same time:

This far from being for chance is done with premeditation. If we look at the circular forms located behind Mutsuki, we will see that there are written some letters that form the word "aktor"

Aktor is an Indonesian word that in english means actor.

Mutsuki just like Touka feels a deep love for Sasaki, which being aware of the type of relationship that they both share leads him to suffer an intense jealousy towards her. This is reflected in this illustration, in which we can see how Mutsuki tries to act as if he was her:

Mutsuki tries to be someone who he isn't, imitates both her body posture and her facial expression, covering the same eye as her, placing a crown on his head (clearly alluding to the fact that Touka having married with the king acquires the queen status on a symbolic way),  arriving so far as to change the color of his own skin

or putting a "wing" where is frequently represented Touka's kagune

This wing-shaped figure was used before in the cover of volume 3 (from Tokyo Ghoul) to reflect that Hinami's kagune had in its upper part the form of butterfly wings:

and also in the illustration of Tokyo Ghoul Past novel to reflect that the kagune of Touka had the shape of a wing:

However, as we know, Mutsuki doesn't have a kagune whose shape has the form of a wing, that's why it's represented by a black liquid emerging from it, indicating that it has been put there forcedly.

Despite Mutsuki's efforts to resemble Touka, some differences still remain. As we can observe in the diferent illustrations, despite tilting their head in the same way and having the same look, they do it in opposite directions; while Touka's smile is itchy, Mutsuki's smile seems to be malevosy;  even though he wears the same clothes as her in this illustration:

We continue visualizing them from different perspectives, while we see Touka from her back, to Mutsuki we visualize him from the front. 

Meaning that for him is impossible to totally be her.

These differences that are contrasted in the two illustrations with Mutsuki's one, can have in turn the purpose to make us compare both forms of loving Kaneki, because despite sharing the same feelings towards him, Touka would sacrifice her happiness for Kaneki, meanwhile Mutsuki for the sake to make him return to the Chateau, would sacrifice Kaneki's happiness for his.