Ken Kaneki/Synopsis

The story of Ken Kaneki, the main protagonist of the manga/anime series of Tokyo Ghoul, as well as its successor, Tokyo Ghoul:re. This follows the chronological timeline of how Kaneki started off as a simple human, before becoming the iconic one-eyed ghoul he is today.

'''NOTE: This synopsis ONLY follows the canon storyline from the original manga series. As such, non-canon material such as √A are excluded from this section.'''

Background
When he was young, Kaneki enjoyed eating burger steaks, since his mother always cooked them when she was still around. He lost his father when he was four years old, and because of that, he has a vague memory as to how his father actually looked like. One thing he knew, however, was that his father enjoyed reading books and had a collection of them. Kaneki soon began to read these books, which would help calm down his mental state. Eventually, he would develop a hobby of reading literature.

Meanwhile, his mother struggled hard to provide the family support. She was extremely overwhelmed, due to the amount stress put on her from Kaneki's aunt, who was demanding money. Because of the stress, Kaneki would sometimes be abused by his mother. His mother eventually passed away from overwork and the Asaoka family took in Kaneki and raised him.

Kaneki's life with his aunt was nowhere near better, however. His aunt initially treated him with care, but soon, she began to see the major difference between him and her son, Yuiichi, who did not do well at school, which lead to her disliking Kaneki. She also noticed the similarities between him and his mother, saying how they are same. Her feelings of inferiority/lower regarding Kaneki's mother were turned on him as spite. As the time passed, the family did not give the same comfort to Kaneki as they did before.

Later, during his elementary school, Kaneki had no friends, but eventually, he met a young boy named Hideyoshi Nagachika and befriend with him, becoming best friends. Hide would be the one person that would provide support for Kaneki throughout his school life.

Introduction Arc
Kaneki and Hide are first seen in Anteiku, listening to the news about ghoul attacks in the 20th ward. At the same time, Hide was trying to hook up a date for Kaneki, as he told him there's a girl he liked. Hide first thought it was waitress nearby, Touka Kirishima, due to her cute looks, but Kaneki stated it was Rize Kamishiro. Hide understood and soon left, leaving Kaneki be with Rize. Kaneki was soon able to arrange a date with her and offered to walk with her one night. However, Rize turned out to be a ghoul that was deceiving him this whole time. She planned to eat him and was close to succession, until she was suddenly killed by steel beams that dropped on her. After the incident, Kaneki was soon taken to the hospital, where he was treated by Dr. Kanou, who saved his life by transplanting Rize's kakuhou inside him. This surgery transforms him into an artificially made one-eyed ghoul.

Afterwards, Kaneki returned home, only to find the horrifying truth of his current state. Once he struggles to eat regular food and is unable to kill himself with a knife, he soon realizes he became a ghoul himself. Desperate for help, Kaneki wandered around the streets, until he came across Touka once more, who had just finished killing a human in front of him. He ran away in shock, but eventually returned back to her for his help to keep his hunger in check. Touka refused, but the Anteiku manager, Yoshimura, was glad to assist him and offered him human meat.

Nishiki Arc
Kaneki refused to eat human meat, however. He began to search for other things he could consume. He soon discovered that he could still at least drink coffee. Kaneki soon went out to buy more, in which he came across a man named Nishiki Nishio, who told he could buy more at a place called Blondy. Once Kaneki got what he needed, he soon head off home, only to be attracted to the scent of nearby food. He followed the source, only to find out it was a human corpse. Kazuo Yoshida, the ghoul eating the corpse, was soon killed by Nishiki, who turned out be a ghoul himself. Nishiki soon prepared to kill Kaneki, stating that he was trespassing his feeding grounds, until Touka came to Kaneki's aid. Touka was eventually able to defeat Nishiki then she proceeded to force Kaneki to eat the human meat. Kaneki refused, stating that he was different from ghouls. Touka was greatly angered and soon told him that he was indeed different, in which he was neither ghoul nor human and that he does not belong here.

Kaneki and Hide later visited Kamii University, in which they came across Nishiki once more. Nishiki wanted the two help him get a disk he had left home, when in reality, he was planning on killing the two of them. Once the two were outside, Nishiki soon knocked out Hide and began attacking Kaneki. Kaneki was eventually able to defeat him, however, by unleashing his kagune and stabbing right through him. Kaneki soon began to lose himself and was prepared to eat Hide, until was he stopped by Touka.

Doves Emergence Arc
Kaneki was taken to Anteiku, where he started to work there as a part-time waiter. Hide had thanked Touka for treating him after the "car accident" (in reality, that was all a lie to hide the true incident). Touka made sure Hide doesn't find out about the fact that Kaneki is now a ghoul. Soon, Yoshimura helped Kaneki how he could play off being human by teaching him how to eat sandwiches. Though Kaneki struggled, Yoshimura decided to offer him sugar cubes to ease down his hunger. Around this time, Ryouko Fueguchi and her daughter, Hinami were visiting Anteiku, as they were on the hunt by ghoul investigators of the CCG.

With the news being spread around, Touka decided to take Kaneki to Uta's mask shop, where he would receive his very own ghoul mask. Later on, Kaneki assists Renji Yomo in bringing food supplies, which turned out to be human corpses that have jumped off a cliff.

One day, Kaneki enters in Hinami's room to see how she's doing, only to find her eating human flesh. He eventually came back in, apologizing for entering in without permission. During this time, Kaneki would share his fascination of books with her and would improve her vocabulary by teaching her new words she's not familiar with. Soon, Hinami had left with her mother and thanked Kaneki for the help he offered. The two then ran into two ghoul investigators; Kureo Mado and Koutarou Amon. While Hinami was able to escape and meet up with Kaneki, her mother was left to be killed by Mado.

After the incident, Kaneki soon found Touka, who was injured after attempting to kill Mado and Amon. Though Yoshimaru advised him not to do so, Kaneki decided to treat her wounds. While Kaneki believes that the CCG play a role in the existence of ghouls, he does sympathize with Touka, stating that if she were to die, he would feel upset. Kaneki then trained with her, in order to learn how to fight and defend for himself and for others.

The two then later sneaked into the CCG where they exchanged false information about Hinami's whereabouts. Before they could leave, they are confronted by Kureo Mado, who suspects them to be ghouls. Kaneki is then forced to pass through the Rc Scan Gate in order to confirm this, but to their surprise, there was no reaction.

Meanwhile, Hinami was at Anteiku, where she remained in one of the rooms provided upstairs. Hinami soon left the cafe when she was given a newspaper from Touka about Ippei Kubasa's death. Kaneki and Touka soon head to find her. Touka eventually found her, but she and Hinami are attacked by Mado, while Kaneki faces up against Amon.

While Touka fights off Mado, Kaneki tries to fight off Amon, who eventually gets the best out of him. Amon takes the time to reflect on those that have fallen by his side and curses the ghouls for their violent nature. While Kaneki understood his pain, he felt that humans were no more different and that both sides have suffered the same fates. It was from here that Kaneki realized that he is able to see the world from both the perspective of a human and a ghoul.

Kaneki was able to defeat Amon, but his hunger for human flesh began to take over him. Kaneki then begged Amon to leave before he gets killed, in which Amon does. Kaneki then goes berserk and stabs someone from behind, who turns out to be Yomo. Yomo gives him a package of meat to cool his hunger down then the two rush off to meet with Touka and Hinami, who had just finished killing Mado.

Kaneki later went to the hospital the next day to see his condition and wonders if Kanou had knew anything about his current state as a ghoul. He then later met up with Hide at the university, in which Hide shares him the news about two ghouls being killed by the ghoul known as Rabbit. Hide then joked around that he wanted to join the CCG, only for Kaneki to refuse that idea. Kaneki let went to Touka's apartment to see how Hinami was doing, only to find Touka eating human-made food from her friend, leaving him quite surprised.

Gourmet Arc
One day, Kaneki receives a vist from Shuu Tsukiyama, who was interested in Kaneki after receiving his scent in Anteiku. The two sat down near his university where they shared a discussion and talk about their love for literature. Kaneki soon returns back to Anteiku where he meets Yomo. Yomo then takes him to the Helter Skelter bar in the 14th ward, in which Kaneki is greeted by one of Yomo's old friends, Itori, along with Uta. While they exchanged a conversation, Itori noticed his one-eyed kakugan, which got her excited to see a one-eyed ghoul in person. Kaneki was curious to know what was so special about a one-eyed ghoul, so Itori changed him info on them and how they function. Kaneki then brought up the Steel Beam Incident, as he believes it was all set up and wanted to know more about it. Itori then made a deal with him, saying that if he receives any info out of the Ghoul Restaurant, she will gladly exchange the info he needs.

Kaneki agrees then he soon leaves the building. As he walks around the city, he comes across a couple of ghouls beating up Nishiki. Kaneki defeated them then soon helped out Nishiki, returning him to his apartment. Before he could leave, Kimi, Nishiki's girlfriend, charges towards Kaneki, but Nishiki tells her not to cause any harm as he was not responsible for his state.

Kaneki then meets up with Tsukiyama in a cafe the day afterwards. After accidentally cutting Kaneki's finger, Tsukiyama wiped up the blood with his handkerchief. He then went into the bathroom to take a sniff of it, which drove his hunger insanely. After regaining his sanity, Tsukiyama leaves the bathroom then invites Kaneki over as a guest to the Ghoul Restaurant.

Kaneki eventually arrives, but soon finds out it was all a set up, as Tsukiyama had plans of devouring Kaneki, due to him being a one-eyed ghoul. He then sends out Taro to butcher him up, but Kaneki was eventually able to defeat him after a hectic battle. Tsukiyama then proceeds to rip out Taro's organs, leaving him heavily injured. He then allows Kaneki to leave the restaurant.

Kaneki made his way back to Anteiku, where he would sleep there for the night. He did not sleep well, however, as he had nightmares of the events that happened at the Ghoul Restaurant. In the morning, Hinami chesk to see how Kaneki's doing. Kaneki then comes downstairs with her and tells his friends his experience at the restaurant, stating how he saw a lot of ghouls laughing and cheering on for his death. Soon, Kimi arrives to Anteiku, in which he asks for Kaneki's help as Nishiki has not been feeling well recently. While Kaneki leaves to aid Nishiki, Kimi is left alone in the streets, only for her to be kidnapped by Tsukiyama.

After receiving a letter from Tsukiyama and finding out what he had done, Kaneki and Nishio decide to team up and save her. The two confront him in a church, but they were no match for him, as Tsukiyama was able to dispatch them with ease. Touka arrives in the battle, but even she was not enough to beat Tsukiyama. Heavily injured, Nishiki tries to keep Tsukiyama stalled, while Touka decides to take a bite out of Kaneki to regain her strength. Soon, she became more powerful than before and was able to defeat Tsukiyama, saving both Kaneki and Kimi.

Aogiri Tree/11th Ward Battle Arc
Banjou and his group arrive to Anteiku, in search of Rize under Aogiri Tree's. When he catches the scent of Rize on Kaneki, he gets upset, thinking that he's in a relationship with her. He attempts to beat Kaneki up, but fails miserably as Kaneki ends up knocking him out. Once he got up, Kaneki explained the situation and that it was not what he was thinking. The group are soon interrupted by the arrival of Ayato Kirishima, Yamori and Nico. While Ayato deals with Touka, Yamori proceeds to brutally beat Kaneki. He was then taken away by the group of villains.

Kaneki was brought forth by Tatara, who decided to let the others do whatever they wanted with him. Before he could be taken away, Tatara reveals to him that Dr. Kanou was indeed aware of Kaneki's situation and that he's responsible for the current state he is in.

Afterwards, Banjou soon got the chance to speak with Kaneki in private, in which he reveals that he plans to free Kaneki from this mess as he's currently forming a rebel group against Aogiri. Kaneki was then taken away by Yamori, who had personal plans of his own with him.

Kaneki was then taken to Yamori's torture room, in which Yamori shows him all of his tools, as well as the blood and dead corpses around the area. Yamori places him on a chair then proceeds to begin the torture by first injecting a syringe in his eye, drugging him. Yamori then proceeded to use different methods that would break both his mental and physical state, such as cutting off his toes repeatedly, dragging a centipede in his ear and killing a mother and her child in front of him. The constant torture brought Kaneki close to snapping to the point where his hair became fully white and his skin was growing pale. Eventually, Kaneki began to have hallucinations of him and Rize, who taunts him for how weak his current state is and that if he were to remain like that, his friends will suffer the same fate as the mother and child that died.

Kaneki finally understood and soon began to go through a psychological change in his personality. Yamori eventually returns back to Kaneki, who had plans of devouring him in order to fuel up his kakuja. Kaneki was able to free himself, however, and took a bite out of Yamori. From there, Yamori began to unleash his kakuja and engaged Kaneki in a battle. Kaneki was able to defeat him and proceeded to devour his kakuja.

Kaneki then encounters Ayato on a rooftop, who had just finished beating up Touka. After saving her life, Kaneki places Touka down and tells Ayato that the only reason he joined Aogiri was because it was the only way to make sure that Touka would be safe and that he would be able to protect her. Ayato refused to accept this truth, however and instead attempt to kill Kaneki. Kaneki was able to subdue him and proceeded to break 103 of his bones, only wanting to "half kill" him.

Afterwards, Kaneki eventually left the area with Touka. While Touka wished for him to come back to Anteiku, Kaneki reveals to her that he has no intentions of coming back, but instead form his own group to put an end to Aogiri Tree. Touka wanted to help, but Kaneki refused, fearing of her safety.

Post-Aogiri Tree/Timeskip Arc
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Laboratory Raid Arc
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Disbanding Arc
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Owl Suppression Operation Arc
Kaneki rushed off to Anteiku, after hearing the plans of the CCG raiding the area. He is confronted by Amon, however and engaged in a battle with him. Kaneki was able to break through his quinque, but Amon soon receives his trump card from Kouitsu Chigyou and engages Kaneki once more in the Arata prototype armor. Kaneki was able to cut through his armor by cutting his arm off, though at the cost of having a large portion of his waist being cut off. Nevertheless, Kaneki was able to make his escape in the sewers, in which he encountered Hide. Hide knew that Kaneki was a ghoul this whole time, but still wished he could aide him. Hide allows Kaneki to take a bite of him for him to regain his strength, in which Kaneki proceeds to do so.

Kaneki soon found himself outside, wandering in the streets. He came across Kishou Arima, who had finished slaying the ghouls around him. Kaneki proceeded to fight him off, but Arima was too much for him. Arima stabbing through his back and stabbing his kakugan eye out. Kaneki began to lose his mind and proceeded to finish off Arima in one hit, but Arima was able to block his attack. Arima was impressed to see that Kaneki was actually able to damage his quinque, but nonetheless, he begins to stab him once more through his head, as Kaneki laid on the ground.

Epilogue
Following the destruction of Anteiku, Kaneki was captured by Arima and his squad, and he was placed in Cochlea as Prisoner #240. From here, Kaneki soon began to lose his sanity once more. He was constantly demanding to be released, as he would claw the door, cry during night and among many other things. On top of that, he was suffering from amnesia, which only put him in a worse situation.

Arima soon helped him regain his sanity, starting off by allowing him to read books. Kaneki's mental health soon began to improve, but at the same time, he had lost his memories of who he even was. Arima then told him he would need a new name and that he was being planned to be put as part of the CCG now. Kaneki then came up with the name "Haise", based on two words he liked; coffee and world.

Later on, as Akira was outside visiting her father's grave, she was approached by her new pupil; Haise Saski.