Tokyo Ghoul is one of the most beloved anime series of today. Thanks to its unique narrative, impressive visuals, and nonstop action it quickly rose to popularity when it began airing in 2018.
The show has a massive roster of characters both Ghoul, human, and hybrid alike, all with unique abilities and personalities to make things interesting. It can be hard to figure out which characters you should be paying attention to, because within the series as there are really only two focal characters.
Despite this, we’ve narrowed down 10 characters from Tokyo Ghoul you should know whether you’re new to the franchise, or just reminiscing.
Ken Kaneki
The protagonist of the series, Ken was once a normal student, however, this all changed when an altercation saw him transformed by Rize Kamishiro, turning him into the one-eyed ghoul. Throughout the series, Ken’s skills evolve drastically, and by the end masters the Rinkaku Kagune to complement his superhuman attributes and regeneration. Fans will recognize Ken in his iconic eyepatch mask which has transcended the show itself.
Touka Kirishima
Touka is the other focal character in Tokyo Ghoul. A ghoul who has done well to keep her identity under wraps, Touka attends high school while working as a waitress in Anteiku and ultimately becomes a mentor and training partner for Ken after he receives his ghoulish power. Touka is one of the most skilled fighters in the series and a dangerous match for most foes.
Rize Kamishiro
One of the more powerful ghouls and the very first viewers meet in the show Rize Kamishiro meets her fate quickly after luring Ken out on a date, where she intended to eat him. The pair then fell victim to a construction incident before she could eat him and to save Ken’s life parts of Rizer were transplanted into him, gifting him some of her power and setting off the rest of the series. While it may have seemed like this was the end for Rize, as fans of the show will know, it wasn’t the case.
Shuu Tsukiyama
Another Ghoul, this time from the richer side of things, Shuu is a well-respected Ghoul Restaurant member who has some series connections to the government. While he may have seen Ken as food initially, the two develop a friendship, which sadly doesn’t last. Shuu is a skilled martial artist and quite an athlete, some of his most useful attributes are his cunning, power, and impressive sense of fashion.
Yoshimura
Yoshimura is the manager of small neighbourhood cafe Anteiku and a caring person through and through. Despite being a ghoul himself, Yoshimura has provided aid and food to those that aren’t capable of doing their own hunting. While Ken is struggling to deal with becoming part Ghoul, Yoshimura takes him in to teach him the ways that Ghouls can blend with humans. Don’t let his kindness fool you though, Yoshimura is a skilled fighter with a powerful Kagune.
Hinami Fueguchi
Hinami is a young ghoul who went to Anteiku seeking refuge after her parents were killed by ghoul investigators. During her time here she becomes connected to Ken after he teaches her how to read. Hinami also has a greater sense of smell than regular ghouls. Alongside this, her most unique aspect is that she has two Kagune, unlike other ghouls who only have a single one.
Nishiki Nishio
While blending in at the same university as Ken, Nishiki is still one of the more arrogant and territorial ghouls in the show. Most ghouls avoid an altercation with Nishiki due to his impressive strength. However, he had his hunting grounds stolen by Rize after losing a battle with her prior to her disappearance. After the time skip Nishiki’s powers grow immensely making him a tough out for most of the characters in the series.
Hideyoshi Nagachika
Hideyoshi (or Hide for short) is one of Ken’s best friends. His sharp intuition led him to believe Ken was hiding something while he was doing his best to keep his ghoul identity undercover. With this suspicion and following Ken’s disappearance, Hide joins the Anti-Ghoul forces attempting to find Ken himself.
Kichimura Washuu
Kichimura is the main villain of the Tokyo Ghoul series. Along with his father, Kichimaru planned the incident that would remove his half-sister Rize from the equation while simultaneously gifting Ken his ghoul powers. This, among other events in the series, was all orchestrated at the hands of Kichimura. To the surprise of nobody, he is also extremely powerful. Boasting Rinkaku Kagune and Kakuja, Kichimura’s ghoul powers perfectly compliment his superhuman strength and regeneration. He is also an extremely gifted swordsman.
Kishou Arima
When it comes to fighting prowess, it’s hard to beat Kishou Arima. Having failed as a half-ghoul, Kishou retained superhuman agility and keen intellect, which come in extremely helpful with his position as a Special Class Ghoul Investigator. Kishou loves to gamble so much so that he was willing to sacrifice half his life for his powers. Quinque’s offensive power and mastery of Kaku and Ukau-type Quinque allows Kishou to wield all kinds of weapons – even lightning.
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