Itori is a
fascinating shadow of a character. Almost always away from the narrative with
very little central focus she does bring us new information each time we get to
meet her. Not only that, like the rest of the clowns she seems to have found
value in being on the sidelines, then stepping onto the centre stage not to
alleviate any boredom, but to not go mad.
But why
would Itori go mad? A ghoul that we know so little of yet someone who dares to
give us so much information about the world as a whole… I’ve got an
interesting theory about Itori’s lost innocence, so let me make an assumption
first and then try to back up my thesis.
The theory
in question?
Itori used to be a breeding machine like Rize,
became pregnant with a one-eyed ghoul and that child died in her womb.
This meta post, however, is a character study
of Itori as a whole, to further explain why I do believe she was in a similar
situation to Rize, why she might have gotten pregnant with a half-ghoul and lost the child and why I believe that she sticks with the Clowns because the
One Eyed King of old (Uta) saved her.
The first time we meet Itori, she is sitting
in the Helter Skelter bar. The bar’s name is hereby a reference to a song by
the Beatles of the same name, whose meaning can be summarised as “using the
symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom; the rise and
fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise”. It also, in its
lyrics, very clearly talks of a woman:
“Look out,
helter skelter
She’s coming down fast
Yes, she is
Yes, she is
Coming down fast”
Itori is a Ghoul whose backstory we do not know, but
who we can be certain of has suffered much and lost her innocent outlook on
life through it, something that she tries to feel an illusion of by sticking
close to Yomo.
One of the first things that Itori realises is that
Kaneki still holds an innocence that she has already lost. She also comments on
him being the “first one eyed ghoul she has seen”. It is extremely important to
know that Itori knows way, way more than she says.She’s playing coy
all the time, to seem approachable and normal. At the same time she gives
Kaneki hints upon hints, as if indulging in the fact that she can toy around
with him as much as she pleases.
Her comment about the “other one eyed ghoul” becomes a
lot more eerie if we take the Uta as the One Eyed King theory into
consideration and if that is true, then her remark can be seen as a direct question
towards him.She looks his way, too, despite addressing Yomo instead. At the
time of this Chapter (36 of the original Tokyo Ghoul) though, we simply think
she is referring to Eto as the other one eyed ghoul. Given the fact that Furuta
was the one who pushed the beam onto Rize however, and Furuta was/is a clown no
less, would make it lot more intriguing were she to talk about Uta instead,
especially given the fact that the clowns have been looking at this whole
spectacle for a long, long time.
I mean, she gives Kaneki so many hints to chew
on!
The meat of this theory comes down to Itori being the
one to introduce us to the biology behind One Eyed Ghouls in the first place,
though. Because Itori tells Kaneki what happens when ghoul and human genes mix,
how extremely unlikely such a pregnancy is and how risky it is for both child
and mother.
She also tells us this:
Itori then goes on to claim it all as nothing but a
rumour, looking at Uta while ranting about possibilities, while affirming that she has never heard of happy stories concerning one eyed ghouls. If she was
used like a breeding machine like Rize was, living through countless rape
attempts to bear kids that could grow up in the sunlit garden, maybe even being
made to bear a half-ghoul child, then she certainly wouldn’t be in favour of
any stories concerning one eyed ghouls.
If Uta is
indeed the One Eyed King and the one who freed Itori (if she is older than she
looks, like Roma) from the claws of the Washuu, then her attachment to Uta is
also made clear. It should be known that Itori knows a whole lot about Rize
herself, too, to the point that she gives Kaneki the clue of ‘Rize’ not
existing (under that name, at least). We know that Rize stems from the Sunlit
Garden and that Furuta is the reason for her escape. No wonder, then, that Itori knows a whole lot
about Rize.
(Do note
that all of this takes place in the first half of the original Tokyo Ghoul! And
Itori has already let us in on so many facts: Ghoul biology, she leads Kaneki
onto the trail of Tsukiyama as the Gourmet, she knows who Furuta is, she knows
who Rize is, she most likely refers to Uta as a One Eyed Ghoul. To put this
into perspective, this all happens before Kaneki is being tortured by Yamori.)
The next
time Itori becomes relevant is when she shares information about Kanou, of all
people. She reveals to Kaneki that he used to be an autopsy doctor who worked
for the CCG. This is also where she lets Kaneki know that he seems to get a
grasp on the value of information. Considering the fact that Itori is a clown,
one who sends Ken on wild goose chases, it isn’t wrong to assume that, as
someone who values information, Itori gets a sense of almost morbid fascination
of seeing others learn more about the world that she inhabits. Remember, she
knows about Rize, and Furuta, and most likely the Garden. She knows so, so much
and has no way to share this knowledge with the world freely. Seeing others
gain information that she herself holds close is not only entertaining, it
gives someone like her purpose when there is none that she finds in herself.
Because as
she says in the most recent chapter herself, she’s seen a lot, she’s heard a
lot. She knows exactly that the views of a Ghoul are not important to humans as
a whole. The world is against Ghouls, so it is against her. And it is
entertaining and oh so stimulating to see a man made ghoul go on a wild goose
chase trying to learn more about her world.
Keeping this in mind her advice to
Kaneki that he should take Nico’s story about Aogiri tree and the One Eyed King
with a grain of salt, because free information should always be looked at with
a keen eye, makes triple sense if she is old enough to know what really went
down with the One Eyed King back in the day.
Kaneki then
leaves Itori after she has told him that a rabbit masked ghoul has been
murdering people. But that he should take this story with a grain of salt, too.
The next
time we meet Itori is at the end of Tokyo Ghoul, where she is celebrating a
hollow evening of fun with her fellow clowns. This is also the moment she if
officially outed as being a clown and having the last laugh (within the tragedy
that is Tokyo Ghoul).
The next
time we meet Itori after that isn’t until Chapter 148 “Where is the Stone” of
Tokyo Ghoul :re!
Here she riles the Ghouls up by suggesting to watch until the
end to honour their King.; because he saved them by becoming a monster. Not
only that, she re-iterates that humans hurt them. Itori is, of course, wrong
here. Kaneki become dragon out of a selfish wish to protect Touka at all costs
when he had already railroaded himself into despair and while her words should
be taken with a grain of salt, Itori despises humans, which is made entirely
clear in the most recent Chapter (Chapter 169).
Itori does
not state this just to rile up these Ghouls to have fun; she does so because
she fully believes that Ghouls are not loved, so you should honour those who
save you by sticking with them to the bitter end, even if that end is bloody
and nothing but ungraceful bloodshed. Because if you bleed, if you hurt and
hurt others, you can feel warmth, you can feel alive, you can change something
in the world even if this change is nothing but negative. You have to watch on
the sidelines until you have to play the Fool on the stage yourself to keep yourself
from going mad.
So, here’s what I think about Itori:
She is older than she looks, similar
to Roma
If Uta is the One Eyed King of old,
then she sticks to him because he most likely saved her
Similarly, she sticks to Yomo because Yomo still has the innocence that she couldn’t hold onto
She knows who Rize is and is
interested in her because she has probably suffered similar trauma
Considering her knowledge of ghoul
biology, perhaps she got pregnant with a one eyed ghoul, who she then lost due
to the risks of ghoul-human pregnancies
Assuming Editor-san’s line is actually relevant this time, I’m just super excited about the prospect of knowing more for different reasons.
First of all, the one who founded the Clowns was Roma, but she also said that…
…the others might not know it was her. Whether she meant Itori, Uta, Nico, Donato and Furuta or small fries who joined the gang, that’s not certain. As a side note, the “grand party” she’s talking about might be referring to the conflict between the second OEG of the timeline and V, since we know Roma ended up being defeated by Tsuneyoshi in his youth.
Anyway, if the others really don’t know Roma was the founder though, then it may mean that…
the reason they all ended up joining is not necessarily closely related to Roma’s own reasons for founding the gang (which mainly was fearing getting bored), which is logical if Roma actually was the youngest out of them all (not counting Furuta) and even if Itori’s description of the Clowns does encompass Roma too.
Secondly, in the new chapter, Donato said this…
… just before Itori rambled about their group while watching Yomo and Uta fight, and precisely as Kaneki was meeting with Furuta.
In other words, it’s a perfect lineup to understand what’s exactly linking all of the remaining Clowns and why they finally decided to step forward onto the stage after (what was implied to be) so many years of staying in the background and pretending to be the audience.
In fact, we even got a little hint a while ago that the Clowns had some sort of leading figure who had a plan about Kaneki, thanks to Uta:
And while I’m aware that Uta is a real troll and taking him seriously shouldn’t happen, at the same time, it still makes sense for Uta to have been talking about Furuta in ch31.5.
After all, the Clowns are currently playing for time for Furuta, they helped him overthrow the main Washuu family, they followed his directions during the Clowns’ raid arc, etc, and besides, Roma also said this in ch135:
…which is a direct throwback to the current arc, since Furuta purposely recreated a situation (using Kaneki amongst others) that paralleled what had happened with the Nagaraj 100 years ago because he seemed to have been seeking the same results.
In other words, either the “raison d’être” of the Clowns is directly linked to Furuta’s goal of “super peace” or, more simply, Furuta offered them a way to “keep cracking jokes on stage so that they wouldn’t go crazy”, which is why they’re helping him.
Personally
I’d rather buy the latter than the former, even if we’ll see next week, because Uta expressed that he didn’t understand “his boss”
more than once…
…which would mean that he probably doesn’t understand the finality of his goal either, so whether there is “super peace” or not, Uta literally doesn’t care.
Then again it’s logical, since we already know why Uta is in it thanks to ch116 (”I’ve always been quite the reprobate and that’s why I want to stay in the thick of it. Because it’s lonely on the edges”). That’s why he can still refer to Kaneki as a “special customer” and kinda root for him, even if he’s currently helping with Furuta’s plan, because ultimately he’s only after fun.
Same for Roma, which is another example making me think that Furuta simply gave the Clowns a reason to look forward cracking more jokes on stage to avoid going crazy because…
and mostly, we know that if “super peace” is really about Furuta turning humans into ghouls, well, Roma would also give 0 fuck about it:
I’d also say same for Nico for similar reasons as Roma:
because “a society with ghouls at the very center” (Aogiri’s goals) looks to be what Furuta is after as well (if you forget that the toxin in higher rate is also dangerous to ghouls).
For Itori and Donato, it’s slightly trickier. Donato denied being the same as Uta in ch116, because he’s not “as sentimental” as him, while also having a past that’s made of constantly being deprived of what he held dear:
…so whether he’s like the others (cracking jokes to avoid going crazy) or truly looking forward to “super peace” (like V, I guess?) is not so evident, at least to me. Whichever allows him to get “another place of tranquility”, maybe?
Finally, about Itori, she’s a complex one too, but I wouldn’t be surprised if what she said about the Clowns was literally the last shield she had to herself:
…which would mean that every joke is really nothing but a way to counter going crazy out of being tired of despairing. After all, there always seemed to be an existing contrast in her words and attitude, as if to imply that she isn’t sure where she stands:
using Kaneki as a toy to get info vs still giving him genuine heartfelt advice;
calling the Clowns “the ones who’d watch this play come to an end from the box seats” vs “the ones cracking jokes on stage to avoid going crazy”;
having a mask that’s hinting at a strong/deadly/rampaging ghoul when she was never ever seen fighting (and doesn’t even seem to enjoy it?)
TL;DR the Clowns all have sad backstories, that’s for sure, so when it comes to how their (personal or collective) “raison d’être” aligns with Furuta’s plans, it may not be with Furuta’s goal of “super peace” directly (rather I think that’s V, except maybe for Donato, tho’ I’m not sure), but because he’s providing them with more occasions to seek what they enjoy or feel so lonely about.
Sorry for rambling,
keep in mind that it’s just my take on it and for all I know it’s going to be wrong next week, but still
I hope it made sense. I’m just loving these chapters. xD
really does imply the clowns, or at least itori, are all older than they seem like roma. since uta has a kakuja seems more and more likely the cannibalism extended his lifespan
So here we have it finally stated in text. If the scenario is following Furuta’s plans, and the humans and ghouls have teamed up together in order to create a better future then why are the clowns still fighting on the side of V.
It’s important to remember that clowns are entirely nihilistic ghouls, so much so they were willing to watch their own extinction as a species as long as they got a front seat to it.
Nico’s words here, Itori’s words here.
Donato and Itori’s own implications in this chapter.
That they’ve seen this all play out before in some form or another, tragic comedy after tragic comedy. So when Renji is called warm warm, I can’t help but believe he’s being called naive.
That Renji’s worldview, his hopeful one comes not from having glanced at the madness of the world and overcome it by himself, but rather from not looking. That Renji himself is so straight forward and simple he doesn’t try to stray from his expectations. He hasn’t come to understand the wold and decided to trust it anyway, but rather his own reaction comes from a lack of understanding. A blind faith.
Renji basically says even agrees to as much with Take in “101″, ironically while the clowns are attacking in the background.
“Mutual understanding doesn’t require sharing everything with one another.” very convenient for Take who hates telling anybody anything, until everything’s already exploded in the background to say. It’s also the exact opposite of what Uta says in what the beginning and end title reference.
Mutual understand is difficult because everybody thinks differently vs Mutual understanding doesn’t require sharing everything. Both of those are opposite philosophies, but I think it’s no coincidence one comes from a human and the other comes from a ghoul.
Uta’s words sound entirely pessimistic, even perhaps foolish considering right now he’s claiming to fight because the world has no place for ghouls when he’s fighting for a human and ghoul alliance, but to some extent ‘This world loves but humans” is right.
The human ghoul alliance does not care about ghouls at all, we’re shown signs of this again and again.
The human ghoul alliance was not born out of mutual understanding, just like Take said they didn’t choose to share everything with one another, but rather to put their faith in different entities, the CCG and Kaneki Ken.
They all worked together to save Kaneki Ken, but even Kaneki himself doesn’t actually care that much at all about a world where humans and ghouls get along, just one where he’s personally accepted.
Hide himself doesn’t believe in a cooperation of humans and ghouls beyond it’s use to help save Kaneki. Do you know why I know this? Because Hide knew where Goat’s headquarters were all along, and he could have avoided this entire dragon mess if he just went to see Kaneki when Kaneki was leading a rebellion for ghouls, who needed a rebellion since they were at their highest time of persecution but he didn’t. The fact that he didn’t is telling. He’s a so called terrorist, but he didn’t even join in the rebellion that was challenging the established order.
Amon and Akira had their change to join Goat too when it was challenging the CCG and they were both rejected by it, as both of their arcs had them realize that the CCG was holding them back from personal growth but neither of them did anything at all until a scenario presented itself where they could conveniently walk back into the doors of the CCG.
The thing is also, Kaneki in no way has moved past only fighting because everybody around him needs him to, for various vague definitions of “everybody”. He even said “Everybody…” repeatedly the last time he used his kagune.
Nobody in Goat cares for the peaceful coexistence for humans and ghouls not really, they’re either fighting to survive or because Kaneki. Nobody in the CCG cares that much about what will happen with ghouls after this conflict is resolved. They’ve made absolutely no plans about it, they haven’t even tried to discuss it.
Even if they somehow magically all defeat the clowns and purge the remnants of V, there’s absolutely no guarantee that the world won’t simply return to the status queue, because nothing has been done on either side to actually understand each other. They’re only working together out of pure necessity and eventually if the entire world doesn’t end, that need will crumble, and nobody’s actually done anything to anticipate when it does crumble.
And that’s why Uta laughs at Yomo’s pure and simple faith.
Because as he admitted a chapter ago, Yomo doesn’t even understand Uta. So why does he so badly want to end this conflict without death, with a person he does not even understand. What’s the reasoning for that? How is he going to trump Uta’s reasoning? Why does he want to be friends so badly with somebody he doesn’t know or understand?
He hasn’t thought of it at all though. There’s a curious parallel in the fight as well, Uta says this.
Yomo says it’s stupid to only try to reach him through violence.
But this move by Uta parallels the beginning of the fight.
Amon stabs Donato straight through his heart, but it’s pointless because Donato just heals a moment later.
It’s an explicit set up parallel. Yomo says it’s pointless trying to reach him through violence especially when they’re mutually friends. Donato and Amon mutually love one another as well, no matter how twisted their relationship is. Yet Amon has only ever tried to comprehend Donato through violence.
Amon says while punching another ghoul who doesn’t even know who Donato is in the face.
So, Yomo’s own rejection of Uta’s want to fight is on a flimsy basis in the first place, because the other person in his alliance is completely gung ho about fighting. In fact, Amon himself probably thinks that piercing straight through Donato with his spear, and then heroically triumphing over evil and returning home without even having to bother to think about him anymore is in fact the best ending possible for him.
The two fights contradict one another. Donato actually does want to talk with Amon and understand him, but Amon only meets him with violence. Yomo doesn’t want to fight Uta, but Uta only meets him with violence and the ugly parts of ghouls.
Neither Yomo nor Amon though understand at all the people they’re fighting. Yet, they’re both people who claim to represent the hope that humanity and ghouls will someday get along.
Whereas the clowns who have looked at and understood the world with a critical eye, have decided there’s only despair in it for them. So, how exactly can they be overcome by people whose hope is only born out of blindness?
The only way to overcome them is to look honestly at the world and draw a different conclusion, but neither Amon nor Yomo have done that. In fact Amon’s explicitly been called to do that multiple times but he still doesn’t. He’s a ghoul who still fights mainly with a quinque, and who has yet to call himself a ghoul once.
Yomo puts all his faith in Kaneki, and truthfully he does understand Kaneki’s inner strength and struggle because he’s been watching all along, but he doesn’t understand Kaneki’s shadow.
Yomo lives to protect his niece and nephew but… Who the fuck is Ayato?
There is however one character who has seen the darkness of the world, but still decided to live on without feeling the need to blind himself.
The black and white pattern collar around his neck even resembles a classic clown collar. Google it yourself because if you try to google clowns you get about 100 creepy and not helpful results.
There is a character who had a strong prejudice against ghouls, and then battled with it, came to terms, and accepted himself as a ghoul and it’s not Amon, it’s not even Kaneki.
So either Amon will defeat Donato, with no build up or attempt to understand ghouls, his self as a ghoul, or Donato even for basically the entirety of Re: (boo) or Amon will lose due to his lack of understanding and his simple world view. However, the side of coexistence won’t lose because there is somebody out there who is similar to the clowns and has suffered similarly to them, but unlike them hasn’t gone mad. Seidou even ends up saying a clown phrase at the end of his fight.
However, even Seidou’s conclusion is a temporary measure. After all despite saving both of them and supposedly living for them, neither Amon and Akira have even mentioned Seidou once, even though a return to the CCG, and a human ghoul alliance would be a perfect time to go looking for Seidou and remind him that there’s still a place for him.
Both Amon and Yomo see the world in idealistic terms but it’s more out of a choice to take everything at face value, not out of genuinely seeing the darkness and choosing to see the light.
That’s why point of view is so important. If you look at Kuzen and Ukina’s romance from Kuzen’s point of view for example, it’s a love story. If you look at Kuzen like Yomo or Kaneki does, he’s an extremely kind old man that saved them, but a lonely one because the big mean world got in the way of his miracle romance with Ukina.
From Eto’s point of view she was an accidental product of an investigative report and a sad emotionally desperate man who didn’t care about his kind, or even his daughter over his own comfort.
And she’s not wrong.
She’s not entirely right either, and there’s definitely an element of Eto’s complete inability to comprehend healthy love because of the entire lack of it she’s received her whole life, but that doesn’t make her perspective wrong either.
Mutual understanding is difficult because everybody thinks differently, that’s the point. Amon and Yomo take way too many things at face value in order to overcome this at this point. Yomo still sees Yoshimura as somebody who took care of him and took him in out of the kindness of his heart, not because Yoshimura was using him as a substitute for the daughter he should have been taking care of.
I’m belaboring the point of course, but I want to make it clear there’s a difference between what blind idealistis like Yomo and Amon perceive which is mainly just people’s projected image of themselves, Kaneki is a kind and understanding person who has friends on both sides, Kaneki is somebody who fights for his friends, and the shadow that the clowns implicitly understand. That’s why Amon’s reaction when Kaneki claimed that he was fighting only for his friends, and he didn’t care about the vast majority of people was to smile and see the nobility in it.
And Seidou’s was to call him out right away… like maybe half assing this kind of thing was a bad thing…Seidou’s callout produced something closer to the truth for both of them as well in a much shorter conversation. Seidou did not really want to give up responsibility and the weight of that cross, Kaneki only wanted something to fight for because he was empty inside. However, Amon and Kaneki’s much longer conversation really only reaffirmed their equally delusional beliefs.
Anyway, that’s the conclusion to my essay on why I only stan Seidou. (This is a joke). (Ps. Laugh, it’s fun!)
Unless I can’t recall for Furuta and Nico we have yet to see them expand on their own wish from ch143 but it will most likely be expanded on soon since every Clown or so is involved in the three battles currently going on.
and since they’re a Clown, that is why Itori’s words about “playing the fool on stage to prevent ourselves from going mad” do fit for Nico too :))
…Though I still think that Itori, Nico and Uta won’t “become mad and die”, unlike it happened to Roma and might happen to Donato and Furuta. :3
GUYS I’M SO MOVED, seriously I wanted this insight for years, because the veil has finally lifted and the truth came out!!
All the times we heard the Clowns talking about their group, it was always…
…as them pretending to be the audience, as if they were pulling the strings or observing the show rather than having any role on stage, but Itori literally dropped the mask and admitted otherwise.
They always belonged in that big play that is TG, just like everyone else. Obviously they would, since they all agree that it’s boring and lonely to remain on the side, it’s just that since it’s hard for them to find warmth along with the rest of the cast, they’d rather act as if they were the audience in the first place.
As for the “Clowns’ raison d’être” line for next week if Editor-san wasn’t pranked by Sensei, I’m 100% convinced that this has to do with what happened 100 years ago (or with the second OEG of the timeline & V), because Roma made a similar allusion just before dying…
So whatever the reason is that Itori said that she’s seen and heard too much to forget that this world would never accept them (implying she’s indeed an “old lady”), it’s probably leading us back to what started it all:
And actually it’s super funny when you consider how the chapter literally ended up with Uta going kakuja on us, I mean, it’s not like there aren’t some mysteries around his character at all.
Ishida can draw beautiful expressions. Itori’s face is just amazing and it would be good to get confirmation about her losing someone. As soon as it’s become apparent Uta was a Washuu (yes I am dying on this hill) it also became apparent Itori might well have been of a similar status to Rize. So that should be interesting, if explored.
But I just wish Uta wouldn’t express this particular sentiment in the middle of Donato’s battle, who really can’t use it, like, at all. Boo fucking hoo, Uta, he ate a churchful of children.
@randomthoughtpatterns oh she most likely lost someone, this was made rather clear from her first introduction onward, but I’m still thinking that a part of her own involvement currently is related to Uta himself, hence another reason for the expression she had when she heard him say that (especially after something she said in ch148).
Not to worry about Uta being a Washuu, I’ve been agreeing for a year or so, same for Itori being a parallel to Rize (the breeder theory) and possibly Touka, depending on what exactly she meant in ch148 and the nature of her knowledge about hybrid babies (in my opinion).
Anyway, when it comes to Donato, I 100% agree with you that the timing seems a bit too ironic, but then again, from where I stand, this seemed like the perfect moment to bring that up. It was implied during his fight against Urie that Donato lost what he held dear more than one time, so on that aspect he fits for the description of the Clowns that Uta gave.
On the other hand though, the fact that Donato’s horrible actions were barely ever touched upon until now is what creates the irony in Uta’s Itori’s statement, because it hints that Donato might as well pay for it at the end of his fight against Amon
(amongst other hints), just like Roma already did and Furuta might.
In the end, amongst the Clowns, Itori, Nico and Uta are the only ones who really showed that sentiment that Uta Itori echoed on. Roma almost did, but not enough to have a reason to survive going all out and since Donato sees himself to be not “as sentimental” as Uta on this subject, well, he might as well not have any way to be forgiven for what he did.
Uta, definitely, if he were to put sentimentality to the side (but he won’t) – we still haven’t seen him properly fight but I’ll physically eat all 28+ volumes of this manga if he’s not stronger and smarter in battle than his buddy. I do think everyone’s grossly underestimating Renji though, I’m fully expecting Uta to struggle a little. He’ll still come out on top though. I violently do not want him to play his trump card; if I see arata!Uta or touka!Uta, I’ll never recover.
For what it’s worth though, I don’t think either will ‘win’ per se, and I definitely don’t think either will die. Best guess? Rough battle, really sad dialogue that will have my heart bustin’ out my chest, hopefully an origin story or massive Uta reveal, both left bloody messes, Itori intervenes and ends it, #TeamPierrot take off.
I wanna see two (2) horrifying, beautiful kakuja monsters.
….WHAT ABOUT KANEKIS EYE IN V14?????????????????!!!!!!!!!
Honestly I’m 100% convinced those are Itori’s kagune at this point. First they show up directly behind her in panel where they’re not shown behind the heads of any of the other clowns besides the first group shot. They also seem to kind of move with her head, as if Itori is the one controlling them.
Second, there’s the Tokyo Ghoul trump foreshadowing. Basically all of the suits had ghouls consistently placed their depending on their kagune type. Hearts are rinkaku, diamonds koukaku, spades bikaku, and clubs Ukaku.
The clubs suit feature Ukaku ghouls like, Ayato, Touka, Yomo, Eto, and Yoshimura. (Really the only person who breaks the pattern is Amon who is included in spades and not clubs, but as we’ve been over in the past Amon’s kagune is really weird.)
Itori herself is a club which seems to suggest that she’s an ukkaku ghoul too.This is also pretty consistent for even the clowns, Donato is listed among the Koukaku diamonds and he’s the only clown with a confirmed kagune type. Roma is in the bikaku spades, and it seems that she has a bikaku from her last fight with Urie.
So if the pattern holds it’s deducible that Itori herself is an Ukkaku, not only that but we’re also shown in the panel that Itori mentions that eyeballs are clusters of RC cells near Kakuhou, it forming on an ukkaku kagune that Touka herself produces.
So if each of those kagune are ukkaku that Itori creates then remotely controls, it’s likely they have dense clusters of RC Cells in them, and therefore eyeballs would manifest as well on the opposite side.
midnight-in-town 