How Does Quinque Work in Tokyo Ghoul?

Tokyo Ghoul is a dark fantasy manga by Sui Ishida that was adapted into an anime. It was set in a world where ghouls, creatures that look exactly like normal people but they can only eat human flesh, exists. They try to socialize with humans to hide their true nature. Aside from eating human flesh, these creatures have regenerative abilities, enhanced strength, and has a special predatory organ that they use during battle.

A federal agency called CCG or Commission of Counter Ghoul is tasked to deal with crimes that are related to ghouls. The agency is tasked to develop firearms that can oppose ghouls. This is where the quinque enters. It is a weapon made from a ghoul’s kakuhou or a sac-like organ that stores the RC cells of ghouls. But how does a quinque work?

How Does Quinque Work in Tokyo Ghoul?

A quinque was invented by Yoshiu Washuu and Adam Gehner. It releases electrical signals that can control and stimulate the kakuhou. Quinques can be in a form of a ranged weapon or melee. Most of the time, it retains the original characteristics of the kagune, the ghoul’s predatory organ that is used as a weapon.  Take note that quinque cannot store and absorb RC cells, aside from what was harvested from the ghoul. It cannot change shape as well.

Basically, a quinque serves as a weapon to combat ghouls. These are transported in suitcases or bags brought by Ghoul Investigators. Only rank 2 investigators can use a quinque. The name of the quinque is usually derived from the ghoul’s alias or name.

There are two special quinque types: Chimera Quinque and Kakuja Quinque. A Chimera Quinque is a type of weapon that was made from multiple kagunes. The most popular is the Amatsu used Akira Mado. It is a combination of bikaku and koukaku styles. It is ideal to use against different types of ghouls.

Meanwhile, a Kakuja Quinque is made from ghouls that cannibalized and transformed into a mutated kagune or kakuja. Most of the time, this type of quinque is used as armor that can enhance the skills of the user. However, this type of quinque has a drawback: it can slowly bite the wearer's vigor to conserve energy.

There are also quinque that are edible for ghouls. This was seen when Kaneki ate Yukinori Shinohara’s Arata. Kaneki did not get any side effects after he ate the said quinque. Some of the well-known quinque are Yukimura, Doujima, and Kura, among others.

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