Tokyo Ghoul: 10 Things You Should Know About Kaneki Ken

Throughout the series, Kaneki has transitioned from one pseudonym to another. While everyone at this point is aware that Haise Sasaki is his counter-personality, Kaneki has a lot of other nicknames. In fact, he has 16 different aliases known to people close to him as well as his enemies.

Some of these names are One-Eyed Ghoul, Eyepatch, Kakuja’s Egg, Centipede, Black Reaper, Number 240, Shironeki, Akaneki, Kuroneki, Sassan, Sasaki the Sasarious, and One-Eyed King. Despite his different aliases, Kaneki Ken still hits differently.

Kaneki has a habit of touching his chin whenever he’s hiding something; hence, it’s very simple for anyone to catch him in the act. In fact, Hide, Kaneki’s best friend, always knows when he’s hiding something.

Some notable moments include Kaneki lying about the taste of the hospital food he had, Kaneki being ignorant when Hide showed him Hinami’s wanted poster, and Kaneki taking the blame for Touka’s wrong way of pouring coffee.

Kakuja has materialized in Ken Kaneki’s body after his constant and repeated cannibalism in the anime. He also gains a transmuted kagune that covers his body.

To keep you informed, kagune pertains to a ghoul’s destructive organs and body parts which they use as predatory weapons and armor. It is usually bloody red in color, though it differs for each ghoul in the anime.

Kaneki’s Kakuja resembles the red-headed Chinese centipede that Yakumo used in torturing Kaneki. He also gains the pseudonym Centipede Dragon after his kakuja experiences simultaneous evolution.

Related: How Does Quinque Work in Tokyo Ghoul?

Throughout the anime’s run, Kaneki has been part of different organizations. Not that he’s friendly or anything, but he has been through so many things that he obviously needs some companions to accompany him as he transitions from being a weak one-eyed ghoul to becoming the one-eyed-king.

Some of his affiliations include the CCG, Aogiri Tree, Anteiku, Arima Squad, United Front, and Goat. The most notable organization he has been a part of is Goat. He is the Goat’s leader, whose principal purpose is to create a world where both humans and ghouls can peacefully live together.

Related: Tokyo Ghoul Ranks and CCG Ranks Explained

Yep, Kaneki Ken is happily married to Touka. Although they had a rough start from when they first met each other, they both happen to relate to one another as time goes by in the anime. Notably, they became relatively close after the death of Hinami’s mother. The rest is history.

Touka and Kaneki have a daughter named Ichika Kaneki. She is conceived as a natural-born one-eyed ghoul, unlike her father, who was artificially reborn after the fated incident with Rize Kamishiro in the first season of Tokyo Ghoul.

Read: Do Kaneki and Touka Get Together in Tokyo Ghoul?

Apparently, Kaneki Ken’s condition closely resembles that of dissociation rather than PTSD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Schizophrenia.

Kaneki seeks another version of himself in this disorder in order to continue at the moment after losing track of time and/or person. Like Kaneki, who has been abused several times, even during childhood, his dissociation leads to a disconnect from his true self in the world. In extreme cases, dissociation can lead a person to think that they have multiple versions of themselves. However, it is not entirely clear whether he has dissociation or not.

Before Kaneki transformed into a one-eyed ghoul, he was a Japanese literature student at Kamii University. In his spare time, he is often seen with a book in his hand while sipping a cup of coffee. His passion for books started when he was a child after his father left him books authored by Ozamu Dazai.

It continued even after he became a ghoul. Some of the authors he has read include Takatsuki Sen, Herman Hesse, Franz Kafka, Carl Jung, and Eto.

Kaneki’s childhood is not all sunshine and daisies; instead, his memories of it linger with abuse and discrimination. Her mother and aunt often abused him physically, which contributed to Kaneki’s stress and resentment.

For 10 days, Kaneki, after becoming a one-eyed ghoul, is tortured and interrogated by Yakumo Oomori (aka Yamori) under the instruction of the leaders of the Aogiri Tree. He is known to have a strong preference for torture, screams, and anguish. He injected Rc suppressants (drugs used to impede the activity of kakuhou) countless times, repeatedly cut off his fingers and nails, and even shoved a centipede in his ear.

Related: Who are the Owls in Tokyo Ghoul?

Because of the narrative of both anime shows, Kaneki is often compared to Shinichi from Parasyte. Tokyo Ghoul closely resembles Parasyte in terms of its carnivorous and cannibalistic nature, protagonists' turning into monsters, and similar character development.

Though there is a lot of anime that are similar to Tokyo Ghoul’s theme, Parasyte is the only anime that is usually compared a lot.

Kaneki is often associated with the number 12 in the series. This number pertains to the tarot card’s symbolism of The Hanged Man. For your information, The Hanged Man symbolizes sacrifice, suspension, contemplation, and conformism, all of which directly describe Kaneki’s journey in the anime.

Meanwhile, the Chariot has also been related to Kaneki. It has been associated with Kaneki in terms of his conquest, egocentrism, willpower, inflexibility, and bravery. It denotes Kaneki’s struggle but eventually leads to victory.

In case you missed it: Is the Tokyo Ghoul Manga Complete, Finished or Ongoing? Current Status