A small observation but it’s interesting how this year’s Amon illustration looks in comparison to last year’s.
He’s shed his robes, and not only that but the cross around his neck as well. If you look in both pictures his ghoul eye is revealed by the red coloring of his iris, but in the first one it’s much more obvious than in the second.
I wonder if it’s a reference to the fact that Amon has now thrown his across away and Seidou has taken it instead.
However, considering that Amon’s ghoul side is more concealed in the second picture and he’s gone back to wearing the exact same clothes he did when he was in the CCG, mirroring his trump card’s outfit even almost exactly.
It makes me wonder if the new birthday art is a sign of his regression. The last twitter art that Ishida drew of Amon, as well as his volume 9 cover both show an Amon that’s much closer to his ghoul side.
There’s even a shining red in the eyes of this one as well. The Amon drawn this year however on the surface looks like a return to his normal form, his robes have been shed and he looks much better put together.
In a way Amon’s received exactly what he wanted, he got to return to the CCG and fight for the right cause again.
Having found the right cause to finally fight for, it seems that he’s rid himself of his emptiness and is able to fight once more without losing control as he did against the Q’s, and during the lab raid.
As I’ve said many times in the past though the sin that the cross symbolized for Amon was ignorance.
Perhaps, mirroring Kaneki’s own arc when he was presented with Re: as an illusory return to Anteiku which later turned out to be false as :Re fell, and Irimi and Koma the two people Kaneki saved died far out of his sight once more we’ll witness the same thing with Amon in the next few chapters.
Amon, wearing a suit again just like he did in his days as a dove, allowed to fight on the side of the CCG that’s now fighting unquestionably for the right thing is shown an illusory return to his days as an investigator where he knew what to fight for and was not plagued by the emptiness he had on the inside.
However, that illusory return should fall apart the same as all the others have. Amon’s no longer carrying the cross that is the symbol of his sin of ignorance, he’s marked with it in one drawing and free from it in the other. Without the cross it’s easy for him to fall back into the illusion.
Anyway, this was my daily dose of overanalysis but as I said with the appearance of Donato it’s likely we’ll get something from Amon in the next few chapters.
Which is why Ishida’s decision to draw Amon looking almost exactly like he did in og tg, instead of his slightly changed appearance in :Re was so interesting to me.
When I first watched/really read Tokyo ghoul, although I shipped Touken to get together eventually by some point; I didn’t really understand why they fall so hard for each other at first. Upon looking back however, a lot of that could be attributed to the very nature of both characters. Touka with a harsh/lashing out and violent exterior due to the violent past in which she grew up in as a ghoul, whilst still having a gentle interior and being selfless in most cases wanting to help others even whilst getting herself hurt.
Kaneki with a gentle exterior, yet a violent interior due to his own past and misgivings that we all know of as a human and being selfish in wanting to be needed by others and unconsciously hurting others by trying to burden everything upon himself and not fully rely on others.
I’ve noticed how Ishida likes portraying the values of Yin and Yang between the two (depicting them as polar opposites attracting and being complementary/interconnected/interdependent with some similarities as well, he did explicitly say they are characters of a set after all when he came up with them). Passive/ Active. Strong/Weak. Black/White. Direct/Indirect. Selfish/Selfless. Human/Ghoul. Harsh/Kind.
These terms aren’t purely static stances but rather semblances of self that each saw/admired/invoked in the other, both positive and negative.
Kaneki said human relationships are like chemical reactions, if you have a reaction, you can’t return back to your previous state of being.
Touka was there and saved Kaneki numerous times in Part 1 when he desperately needed someone the most aside from Hide and the others, while Kaneki also saved her several times.
What I love is the evolution of their feelings and relationship that started out pretty horribly with both seeing each other in a negative light as human (living a good peaceful life) and ghoul (being an evil killing monster).
The fact that a human becoming a half ghoul developed to be able to care and fall in love with a full ghoul that hated herself, the world, struggled working and living life as a human and ghoul is really phenomenal narratively speaking. Kaneki saw past all of Touka’s violent exterior anger issues and looked at the gentle interior she possessed when it comes to how much she cares about people other than herself, even as a murderer. “If you died Touka-chan, I’d probably be sad”.
That line is so simple, yet for Touka it created a lasting impression since no one in her life really in viewed that kind value upon her, also count in her abandonment issues in always being left alone (Hikari, Arata, Ayato, later the Anteiku crew at the end of part 1).
Even if she had the Anteiku crew, no one truly gave that emphatic value about her life having importance and worth as a ghoul trying to LIVE in the human world amongst all the killing and violent predicaments of murder in the world, not even her uncle Renji or old man Yoshimura, even though they did look out for her. Meanwhile for Kaneki he felt like he belonged somewhere, again his most desperate desire. He felt needed as their friendship grew in training, fighting and working together, he wasn’t alone anymore.
Even after getting separated after the Aogiri arc (about 6 months) and the Re time skip (about 3 years) you could always notice the subtle mentions of how much both thought of each other, Touka wanting to see him again and especially from Kaneki’s perspective even after each personality change in always mentioning Touka and Hide separately from every other important person in his life.
All personalities have mentioned her separately from everyone else (yes even centipede), “The others, Touka-chan and Hide”.
Even with the infamous bridge scene in part 1, Hide entrusted and helped Touka to expose Kaneki. And she did, however she unfortunately fell back on her violent anger issues and communication problems in truly conveying what she felt to Kaneki due to what can be seen as her fury at him being just like Arata and even Ayato to an extent. Kaneki promised never to leave her, yet he lied and left her to become stronger and shoulder all the burdens of everyone by himself in some tragic hero manner. Yet this time Kaneki genuinely believed his own lies, wanting to sacrifice himself to protect others when he said he wouldn’t leave them.
However, unknown to Touka at that time, that encounter made Kaneki want to go back to Anteiku. “Touka, can I come back?”.
Haise sees her after 3 years at the second Anteiku home “Re” and cries after seeing that Touka was still alive after all this time and the encounter is titled “Inherited feelings”. Not for the person he knew the most in terms of time span, but for the beautiful person that created such a huge impression on him at the most vulnerable periods of his life after becoming a half ghoul and not having a true grasp on both worlds and companionship.
Is it unrealistic that Touka waited over 3 years for him and still had feelings only for him? “Even if time has passed, even if our bodies have changed, even if he had forgotten me completely… As long as he comes back home, things will be alright”.
Mostly yes for the majority but not strictly no… I view everything as not strictly one way with this; the main thing is about deep impressions that both instilled in each other, kinda like Star Crossed lovers, “I have faith in him, he will return”.
Touka was even willing to prioritize Kaneki’s own happiness and well being over hers as Haise in not forcing him to come back, but waiting for him come back of his own free will, even with all the new relationships Haise/Kaneki developed with other characters like the Qs family.
Time, change and distance never stopped them from still yearning to see the other, even amongst them both living different lives with different people and settings in part 2 of Re, most notably Haise/Kaneki with the Qs, CCG, Juuzou, Akira, Arima, Eto etc. Haise often visited Re just to look at her like he did with Rize even with his suppressed memories, even at times wondering what that girl(Touka) was up to. “I wonder what that person is doing today, on a date maybe?”.
Fast forward later to Touka also wondering about what Kaneki was up to in their 121-122 conversation… “Are you a virgin?”.
Black Reaper, the most savage,harsh and suicidal personality even changed his whole stance on dying simply upon looking at Touka in Cochlea.
This was also reinforced by Arimas threats in killing his ghoul friends, and the Hide inner dialogue about eventually finding a reason to live. I viewed this as a reverse of “If you died, I’d be sad” from part 1, both were scared at the very thought of the other dying. This time Touka is the gentle and kind exterior, Kaneki the violent harsh exterior not caring about his own life until someone reminded him the value of his life and the people that still care about that life. “Your life has MEANING, to us and to ME” type of thing, and as ghouls, they are hardly given any true instances of happiness, care and love that lasts before meeting a tragic end, some fuckery or death due to the harsh nature of the world.
The fact that they got together so quickly and yes rushed, after losing cafe Re and both feeling lonely and taking comfort in each other in 125 I found really emotional.
Touka asking Kaneki “Why are you crying?” was such a sweet gesture when you remember Haise crying when he first saw her in Re, but also how Kaneki felt that he was always beat a lot by the people he loved the most. And yet he was able to fully expose himself and have an extremely intimate moment with the woman that he’s in love with, and to find out that she also loves him back and didn’t hurt him at all this time.
Additionally was finding out that Kaneki was “dying” and how quickly they married after finding out about Touka’s pregnancy and her even CHOOSING Kaneki and their child over saving her best friend Yoriko (one of Kaneki’s biggest flaws in choosing), for me only reaffirmed how desperate and strong each others feelings were for each other. Touka chose a life with Kaneki, something he wanted his mother to do… Choose him.
It’s kinda like… “We lost each other before so many times, let’s just confirm everything while we’re still alive (The marriage Bite mark and ring) because who knows when we’ll lose these moments and our time together,” especially at how unforgiving shit can be with most TG relationships (AKA Eto’s parents Ukina and Kuzen, Touka’s parents Arata and Hikari and so forth).
Their love is flawed, rushed and has several problems yes with the time development and communication issues in execution… (I truly wish Ishida gave Touka more screen time and development in most of Re although she has developed and changed from Part 1 in her own way); but they are still growing and learning, nothings ever perfect. In fact even with that time discrepancy and change, its one of those relationships that’s so genuine and loyal AF to me. Both can see the dark horror in each other, yet still love each other regardless and show genuine care to go through such lengths to make sure the other is okay in a world where such a thing for ghouls and humans is extremely rare. Especially during all the fuckery in the previous Underground and Dragon arcs. ALL of the Kaneki personalities agreed to literally kill and eat the Oggai children along with humans and ghouls just to see Touka again in fear of her death and hopefully to name his kid one day, repeatedly chanting her name over and over.
Touka played a prominent role and went out to save her husband with the CCG, Hide, hell even the Qs… incurring so much damn physical damage via all the fighting and all the mental/emotional stress concurred spanning days to weeks whilst fucking PREGNANT, starving herself with human food, and weakened as a ghoul.
Again, love is complicated, and it’s not exactly “healthy” per say from that point of view… I’d say these two need some damn marriage counseling or some shit😂, but it is MUTUALLY genuine given the fucked up circumstances. (I’m also glad it didn’t fall under the common anime/manga trope of “Will they? Won’t they? shipping game that stalls for time… Just do it! Especially when TG isn’t a romance manga, although it has romantic elements)
Personally for me, Touken represents an overall symbol of coexistence and hope for humans and ghouls (the positive core message of TG, even though yes I know it’s not the main focal point outside all the story fuckery as a whole). It illustrates breaking past the species barrier of mutual understanding along with other ships to a degree like Ukina x Kuzen, Nishiki x Kimi etc; and I find it beautiful that Kaneki finally has a tangible reason to LIVE, with his Best Waifu Touka… And now also his Best Bro Hide and everyone else.
I wish I could add more insight, but as you can see… I’m a Touken boy through and through😅
So I know people like to have this anti narrative when it comes to any ideas they don’t like about their favourite characters, but I don’t think the Hide traitor theories should be so easily discredited. In fact, I think they’re quite substantive, just maybe not in the same way that others do, so let me give you my take on it.
I want to start off by saying that I have no doubts that Hide cares greatly for Kaneki. In my opinion, it’s really indisputable; I just don’t see how someone could go to such extreme lengths for another person and dedicate so much of their life to them just to gain their trust so they can betray them. It just seems completely nonsensical to me considering everything that Hide’s gone through for Kaneki, however, I don’t think that’s enough to discredit the idea that maybe he has a part in some sort of betrayal.
Aside from all the obvious implications that Hide seemingly has more knowledge on this whole clown situation than we may think, there has been so much tying him to the clowns in one way or another previously, that I’ll honestly be very surprised if that doesn’t end up going anywhere.
The links that Hide has to Uta by themselves are extensive. I made a post about their potential association here (this post addresses things like the headphones that Uta owned as well as a couple other things, thanks to @midnight-in-town for their contribution), and now that it’s confirmed that Hide was the one who sent Kaneki “The Hanged Man’s McGuffin,” I think we can file that away with the rest of the evidence since it was sent along with the mask from Uta.
Actually, the fact that Hide sent that book sort of feels like he was slipping Haise some hints about his old identity, which is interesting considering the fact that that’s obviously something the Washuu wouldn’t want him to find out about. This seems to be one of the earliest implications of Hide’s opposition to the Washuu.
We know that the Washuu were after Hide for whatever reason, and if we make the assumption that Uta is the original OEK just based on all the evidence we have so far, then we know that he too is in direct opposition to the Washuu. So, it’s not difficult to picture them conspiring if they share(d) an agenda.
In fact, if Uta is a Washuu and Hide has some sort of conspiracy with him, then that would explain why Hide knows so much about them in the first place when there didn’t seem to be anyone outside of the clan with that knowledge at the time.
Now, let’s not forget the main source of this whole traitor narrative either: the play that he and Kaneki performed in as children. (I think this is a very significant tool when it comes to Hide and Kaneki’s relationship, especially because of the fact that it was such a key focus in the original draft of the last episode of root A.)
We have very explicit clown imagery here, potentially tying him to them again, and not only that, but the role he’s in involves him betraying the prince (Kaneki) under the witch’s influence.
(Just as a quick side note,the general candidates for the witch seem to be:
Eto — potentially under the control of the Clowns if we assume that monster in recent chapters is her.
Itori — obvious link with the clowns and there’s also the fact that the mother of Hide’s counterpart in “The Penisman” very clearly resembles her.
Roma — again, very obvious link with the clowns.)
Now, here’s the important part that I feel gets overlooked when it comes to discussions about Hide’s potential betrayal — in the play, the witch’s servant is tricked into betraying the Prince under the guise that what he’s doing is for the Prince’s benefit.
I know Hide’s smart and manipulative, but so are Uta and Eto, or whoever else you want to believe had their part in this. It’s possible that Hide’s betrayal is not intentional and that he’s manipulated into it instead without his knowledge, or under the impression that he’s helping Kaneki.
Maybe Hide’s suggestion in chapter 165 (that he made with the intention of helping Kaneki) actually ends up getting Kaneki into a tight spot and that’s one aspect of betrayal that the play alludes to?
Going back to his potential conspiracy with Uta for a minute, I’m seeing some speculation that one of the Clowns’ goals is to take Hide out since they’re heading for HQ. Though I’m not 100% sure just yet, it’s possible that if this is true, it could be as a result of Hide turning his back on them (Uta) now that the Washuu are gone and they no longer share a common objective. After the Washuu’s demise, Hide no longer had any use for Uta or the Clowns and, obviously, Hide knows WAY too much to just let him run around with that knowledge when he’s no longer to be trusted. They’ll want to take him out for sure, so why not kill two birds with one stone and attempt to manipulate him into luring Kaneki to his demise as well?
Either way, giving the traitor narrative some credence by no means negates Hide’s love and dedication to Kaneki. After all, the play ends with the witch’s servant showing great remorse for his actions and he asks the Prince for forgiveness, which he eventually gives once the witch’s servant promises never to betray him again and fight by his side.
It would be an interesting direction to take, and all the foreshadowing that play does is going to prove to be significant for sure, certainly in the development of Kaneki and Hide’s relationship (they still have obvious issues that need sorting out and that just isn’t happening yet). So I wouldn’t so readily dismiss theories about Hide’s betrayal, but I also wouldn’t worry about such a narrative playing out; Hide’s care and dedication for Kaneki are genuine, without a doubt, and I believe they’ll prevail in the end, just as the conclusion to the play suggests where the Prince forgives his friend and puts all his faith and trust in him once more to be his strength and fight by his side.
@hidewari Can I just say that, while you know I totally agree with you when it comes to Hide having an agenda and not betraying Kaneki, I really really doubt that Hide possibly having a link with the Clowns is equal to currently having a falling out with them (and them trying to take him out).
It’s my and @linkspooky ky‘s little theory here (the last reblog) and actually, it’s something I feel is often misunderstood because Clowns =/= villains (contrarily to what most readers seem to think), at least not all of them. Roma acted as a villain (and she died), Donato and Furuta also are presented to be villains (and will most likely also die) but these three…
are different for reasons I explained here (namely having an agenda that isn’t just about Furuta’s plan and almost always making up for any nasty joke of theirs previously), and thus were foreshadowed to survive this and have their last laugh about how great this play was.
Anyway, in the post I linked above, @linkspooky and I discussed Uta’s gift of ch31.5 possibly being intended for Hide (who’s the one who then sent it to Kaneki with the book), just like it’s possible Hide lent him his headphones and played chess with him, so tbh I don’t really understand why people automatically think that Hide and Uta (or the Clowns in general) are now enemies, simply because the situation presents them to be on opposite sides.
I mean, it’s not like the Clowns ever played straight by the rules or according to our expectations before, and again, we saw that specifically with Uta. xD
After all, didn’t Uta, Itori and Nico help Kaneki in the past? So why should this be erased from their record, simply because they’re also helping Furuta? So why can’t Hide have a link to the Clowns that is/was beneficial to everyone on several aspects (trading information, helping Hide to hide from the Washuus…) and that didn’t necessarily end in them “choosing to be on opposite sides and thus enemies”?
In my opinion, this never was as simple as that: Kaneki’s group and the CCG are the ones who think this is about taking a side (though V must believe in that as well, since Furuta is using them too), but the Clowns overall? They’re literally just stalling for time….
and there is nothing personal as to why they’re helping with Furuta’s plan…
…except for Donato (most likely) who has some beef and an upcoming confrontation with Amon (who’s standing firm on the opposite side).
TL;DR
Hide having a link with the Clowns? Possible.
Hide betraying Kaneki as a result? Not happening.
The Clowns and Hide being enemies then, because they “chose different sides in the current conflict”? Not necessarily (and in my opinion, nahhh).
I’m aware the Clowns (and Hide) are really complex characters and the fact we don’t know much about them isn’t helping with understanding their motivation, but they’re not impossible to read through either after 29 volumes of TG. That’s why personally I believe the notion of “choosing a side” besides their own enjoyment/interest in different things is something that flies completely over their heads. xD
Sorry for rambling, I’m aware I’m way too fond of the topic, so I hope you don’t mind. :3 Happy Easter!
Hello! Well, to be honest, I’m not so sure we will get so much focus on Nico, for reasons I already explained here.
Of course we will get a backstory (since Roma got one) and a few explanations, but this late in the plot, whatever answers we will get will be related to what’s left to find out about V, the Washuus, ghoul biology and possibly what happened 100 years ago, but in my opinion that’s it.
Same for Itori and Uta, still in my opinion. Just keep in mind that their agenda seems to go beyond just Furuta’s plans, they have other goals in life than fulfilling whatever it is that Furuta wants to achieve, so I doubt we will see these three go all out and fight like Roma did (or like Donato or Furuta might do soon).
Besides, we already saw Nico fight…
and again, there wasn’t a lot of focus given to it, so I’d say this won’t go further than that this time again.
You’re laughing now Anon, but what if I told you that every mask of Uta so far apparently meant something, huh? You still sure you wanna call his mask something it’s not? :p
More seriously though, I’m extremely curious about the fact it seems to be an half-mask…
…especially since he always wore full masks in the past.
Also when it comes to the pattern on it, I’d say it’s a cross, which is 200% relevant when you see the latest chapter and the fact that Uta, like Donato, have been associated with this pattern before (Donato => kagune, Uta => tattoo).
What it means exactly I don’t know, but just like his previous masks, there is most likely a precise reason he chose to wear this one:
his very first mask without eyes (flashback of TG vol 12 or TG ch143) was probably about his nickname by the CCG: “No face”
his mask when facing Juuzou in the Clowns’ raid arc was probably about being No Face again, but it also was literally a target, which is “funny” when Juuzou uses knives as favorite weapon (it was like Uta was saying “please hit here on my face so I can transform into Shinohara and trick you”).
So the half mask and, mostly, the cross pattern are probably meaningful in some aspects but personally I haven’t figured out how exactly yet. 🙂
Have a nice day Anon!
@donatoporpora an excellent point when we know there is probably something up with one of his eyes because one most likely isn’t supposed to show a kakugan :))
So yeah the mask is most likely supposed to be meaningful in some ways. :))
You’re laughing now Anon, but what if I told you that every mask of Uta so far apparently meant something, huh? You still sure you wanna call his mask something it’s not? :p
More seriously though, I’m extremely curious about the fact it seems to be an half-mask…
…especially since he always wore full masks in the past.
Also when it comes to the pattern on it, I’d say it’s a cross, which is 200% relevant when you see the latest chapter and the fact that Uta, like Donato, have been associated with this pattern before (Donato => kagune, Uta => tattoo).
What it means exactly I don’t know, but just like his previous masks, there is most likely a precise reason he chose to wear this one:
his very first mask without eyes (flashback of TG vol 12 or TG ch143) was probably about his nickname by the CCG: “No face”
his mask when facing Juuzou in the Clowns’ raid arc was probably about being No Face again, but it also was literally a target, which is “funny” when Juuzou uses knives as favorite weapon (it was like Uta was saying “please hit here on my face so I can transform into Shinohara and trick you”).
So the half mask and, mostly, the cross pattern are probably meaningful in some aspects but personally I haven’t figured out how exactly yet. 🙂
BTW, I forgot to mention that earlier during the week, but @linkspooky and I discussed the idea that the Clowns might still have a little agent inside the CCG who is leaking info and thus responsible for their perfect timing in the latest chapter!
And since Furuta is not in the CCG anymore in the current arc, it means it’s most likely someone else (a character we know?) who’s been leaking these info.
We’ve had another hint before about an unknown little spy during ch143 of TG actually, when Itori said…
because Furuta was there in the same scene, so the way she explained it to the rest of the gang makes me think that she possibly got this information from another person who had their way into the CCG.
Same for the Auction arc, since Uta didn’t bother hiding to Mutsuki that he knew the details of the operation:
even if this time the info could have also come from Furuta.
So who could this agent be, if they’re real of course (and if we know them)?
I also considered Ito Kuramoto because… well, he’s pretty irrelevant so far amongst all the other recurring investigators so maybe Sensei has something planned with him + he kinda has a fox face and that generally means the character is cunning/sly xD
Someone from Suzuya’s personal squad? Hanbee and Nakarai aside, the others two are like Kuramoto, pretty irrelevant despite being recurring characters…
That’s all I’ve got. Maybe the explanation to the impeccable timing is entirely different and there is no spy, but…
…I’m really trying not to underestimate Itori’s information network. xD
While talking with acchan we came up with the possibility that the spy among the CCG might actually be an unwitting one.
Remember, there was somebody else present at the meeting besides Kimi, Touka, Nishiki and Hideyoshi. Kaneki was there as well, and the attack started the moment the he suggested he go to find the source of the poison.
Kaneki himself might be the informant for the clowns, though entirely unaware of it.
Remember we still don’t know the full explanation of what happened in V14, and when Hide and Kaneki were on the rooftop talking abot it and confirming that Kaneki was indeed the one who scarred Hide’s face, it would have been the perfect time to finally elaborate on that whole scene…
Unless… there was something we are still not meant to know about it. Both Nikki and Shar @kingkishou and @mawjaw respectively have put forward a theory for awhile that during V14, there’s something suspicious about the empty eye underneath Kaneki’s eyepatch. [1,2].
Basically the theory goes, before Kaneki has his eye gauged out by Arima, we’re shown an eyepatch covering one of his eyes and his mask missing. Then the eyepatch is removed and the eye is already gaged out and looks like an empty socket before Arima even struck there.
However, afterwards suspiciously Uta is shown holding an eye while musing about the fate of Kaneki.
If that’s indeed Kaneki’s eye that he’s holding, removed by Uta himself that would put Uta present at the scene, as a third party besides both Kaneki and Hide.
Before I go on, here’s what we do know about V14.
Hide found Kaneki and either brought him too or found him inside of the sewers and told him to flee through V14.
Hide knew ahead of time somehow that Arima would be there waiting for him.
Hide told Kaneki that he would have to “prove his worth” to Arima.
Hide offered himself for Kaneki to eat up to replenish himself. Kaneki was indeed the person who ate Hide and scarred him.
However there are still several missing pieces that we do not know, and really cannot solve with just inference and occam’s razor.
We still do not know:
Who saved Hide when he was lying in the sewers half dead with half of his face eaten off.
Who gave Kaneki the eyepatch that covers half of his face.
Also, who took Kaneki’s mask after that point. As he was still wearing it after the fight with Amon, and is shown still wearing it when crawling around in pain before Hide found him.
Considering the fact that Hide lived, therefore it’s logical to infer that there was a third party. We also now have an explanation for who sent Kaneki the book, but not who sent him his mask back.
I mean, presumably it was Uta.
We don’t know exactly though his reason for sending it. Unless it was bait for Kaneki to return to his shop. However, if Uta knew that Kaneki was missing his mask becase Uta was the one who removed it from him due to him being the third party in the sewer than the reasons behind the two presents would click together.
Uta as a third party, removed Kaneki’s eyeball, either saved or facilitated the saving of Hide, and then placed a microphone behind Kaneki’s eyeball, or some similiar device to the one on Hajime Hazuki’s tongue in order to further track him as the main character in the clown’s play or for some other weird Uta related reason.
We are given several hints that there’s something behind one of Sasaki’s eyes that is giving him chronic pain. Specifically a pain in the back of his eyes.
In a recent color illustration, Kaneki is also shown as bleeding from that exact same eye which has caused people including myself to speculate he might need to rip out his human eye at some point rather than his ghoul one as a symbol of accepting his ghoul side.
Anyway, that’s all food for thought. Here’s my takeaway from what acchan put forward. There’s a microphone behind Kaneki’s eye still and Uta’s the one who put it there because he’s sneaky the clown.
@linkspooky THANK YOU! I had forgotten to mention this precisely but this is indeed another possibility (and I just love the sewer theory, because it also gives an agenda to Hide, as I explained in one link I added above)!
Hi Anon and thanks for reading! 🙂 Well, it’s because Kuramoto is rather recurring as an investigator and yet he has 0 arc or development (unlike Ui, Takeomi or even Kiyoko) that I’m suspecting him. I mean it’s Ishida-sensei we’re talking about here and he even gave him several birthday arts, so I simply think there could be more to his character. xD
As for Hide, well, you said it, there is indeed something about his outfit in that childhood’s play to be remembered since Ganbo (a Clown) had a very similar makeup. I proposed other ideas in the link I added above, so please check them out because there is more than one I’m suspecting a link between Hide and the Clowns!
Just to precise though, Hide possibly having a few interests in common with the Clowns doesn’t mean that they’re 100% agreeing on everything or that he’s a villain (since not all the Clowns are villains in the first place, in my opinion). I mean, this is just a theoretical example, but since Hide motivated Kaneki to go find a cure in the latest chapter, if he’s actually the person who informed the Clowns, you could see this as him making sure that the Clowns would act up precisely so that Kaneki would get moving.
Anyway, it’s all theoretical and I also really like the idea that Spooky-chan proposed just above 😀 so this should give us plenty to think about until we can see which explanation it is. 🙂
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! Have a nice weekend Anon :3
…OKAY, you sound like you want the whole thing Anon, so I and @linkspooky will deliver. 😉
For the record though, let me just say I really enjoy Hide’s character (and I think his friendship with Kaneki is 200% genuine) but I can’t stand fans who make it sound like he’s only about Kaneki. Taking away a character’s agency when he was given so many warning signs of playing a bigger game is just the worst you can do as a fan, because Hide is way more compelling as someone who has other goals besides just Kaneki (and besides Kaneki himself really doesn’t need people revolving just around him, be it Touka, Hide, Tsukiyama or anyone else).
Anyway, “am I suspecting Hide”? Why, yes I am. I even gave a link above to a recap post about why I think there might be a link between him and the Clowns + Spooky-chan just wrote above too why there might be a strong link with Uta. If you need more to consider that Hide possibly has an agenda though, then how about the latest crack theory thought up by @linkspooky?
It’s about ch31.5 and Kaneki’s two gifts for Christmas. We know that Hide definitely is the one behind the book (:Re ch164) and Uta the one behind the mask (:Re ch36). The remaining question is who, out of them both, sent the two items since they arrived at the same time?
One could think it’s Uta, but…
…he denied it. Obviously Uta is not above lying (he’s a troll for a reason), but @linkspooky pointed out to me that Uta literally said that he “intended [the mask] as a present for a regular customer” precisely as we get a panel focusing on the headphones he was listening to and…
guess who is often associated with headphones?
Besides, didn’t people point out that Hide’s wound totally has a similarity to Kaneki’s very first mask? Which means that Kaneki’s first mask would be ideal to cover Hide’s wound:
So @linkspooky’s latest idea is that Uta actually sent Kaneki’s old mask to Hide as a present and he’s the one who then sent both the mask and the book to Kaneki for Christmas, which would mean that 1) Uta didn’t lie in ch36 and 2) Hide and Uta totally have a link in that case (and as I also proposed a while ago, maybe Hide even was the one Uta was playing chess with in ch38).
You can add this to the sewer theory that Spooky-chan explained just above, as well as my own recap post that’s proposing a few other ideas of the same ilk.
Finally, if you or anyone else still don’t think that a link between Hide and the Clowns is likely at all, then how about some early foreshadowing instead?
Because this is definitely about the current arc + it says “controlled by magicians” right above and Hide…
…was strongly associated with being a magician from a long time ago already.
Anyway, you have to understand that I’m not calling Hide a villain. However, he’s an extremely cunning character about whom we know almost nothing and, most importantly, he was being a thorn in the Washuus’ back according to his own words, which means that strong allies (like the Clowns) could have been useful and thus I’m totally calling him out on having an agenda that isn’t revolving just around Kaneki.
TL;DR I totally suspect Hide of having a link with the Clowns (Uta and Itori specifically), just like I suspect him from possibly being the one who made sure that the Clowns would start shit up the moment they did so in the latest chapter (possibly because he’s a part of Itori’s info network), so that Kaneki would hurry up and leave to find a cure.
And if not him, then it’s Kaneki who doesn’t know that he has a microphone behind his right eye ever since V14. Or it’s Kuramoto.
As always though maybe I’m wrong, but frankly there isn’t a lot of things we know almost nothing about besides V, the Clowns and Hide in the plot, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all linked one way or another.
I hope it answers your question! Have a nice weekend Anon :))
Hi Anon, aww so sorry for the delay, but since the new chapter was near when you sent your ask, I wanted to see what would come up first, just in case. :3 So:
Clowns
As showed with the newest chapter, they’re supposed to be stalling for time, even if we don’t know why exactly for now.
I personally don’t worry about them, because Nico, Itori and Uta at least were foreshadowed (in my opinion) to watch the series coming to an end and share one last laugh about it, thanks to ch128…
…without mentioning the fact that these 3 aren’t exactly true villains or antagonists amongst the Clowns’ gang (compared to Roma, Donato and Furuta) because they almost always made up for a nasty joke of theirs with an advice or favor, at least when it comes to Kaneki himself.
In other words, they should be fine compared to Donato or Furuta who might end up following Roma’s example before the end of the series, since the three of them definitely were strongly depicted as villains/antagonists.
Besides, Nico, Itori and Uta were shown to have an agenda that isn’t solely about the Clowns or Furuta’s plan (the friendship with Yomo for Itori and Uta, Itori saying that Nico only cared about finding a boyfriend and Nico helping Kaneki’s side with the great wheel act…), which is yet another argument about them enjoying this “play” but not actively supporting one side in particular.
I’d love to expand, but I’m unstoppable on the subject + you asked about other characters so I’ll just end it there. xD
Takizawa
Gosh, another topic and character I love to ramble about, so to make this simple there again, let’s just say that Donato’s return is vouching for a confrontation between him and Amon and this is what, I hope, will lead to Takizawa’s return.
The initial issue is that Amon, as the OEG he is now, is unable to face Donato and immediately win an upcoming confrontation, because he’s held back by too many aspects of his past he never learnt to address correctly. So the only way for him to win against Donato who’s a strong ghoul would be to accept the OEG that he was forced to become and fight using his whole strength instead of trying to remain as human as possible.
However, the second issue is that he’s unfortunately currently unable to do that, because he doesn’t hold ghouls in the same regard as humans and that’s why he’ll probably need to be saved by Seidou, because Seidou…
…is the one who accepted his fate as a powerful OEG.
Of course, the whole point is not to have Seidou win against Donato for Amon’s sake, because it’s something Amon needs to do by himself, but saving Amon is also important for Seidou’s own development, as Amon and Akira are the two people who matter the most to him and he believes…
The whole narrative where Seidou is concerned always was “being able to become a hero”. It’s something he expressed many times (namely through the wish to be seen and valorized by Akira)…
before recently giving up on it:
…which is precisely why it might finally happen.
To quote @hamliet who definitely has a better way with words than me: “Akira and Amon have not been heroes–they’ve needed rescuing from Takizawa, who saved both of them, because he is the hero in their story, as he always wanted to be. He just hasn’t realized it yet”. [x]
I better stop there once more, because I could ramble for 5 hours since Seidou is one of my absolute favorite characters and I will definitely scream when he shows up again (btw, I kept on mentioning Amon, but Takizawa will probably have the same role towards Akira’s own need of acknowledgement towards her dead parents’ actions).
Kurona (and Shinohara)
Tricky girl, but her dynamics with Amon and mainly Juuzou aren’t completely written out and finished in my opinion, so I’m expecting more of her in one way of another, even if I don’t exactly know how yet.
Generally, I think that if Juuzou really was foreshadowed to become a ghoul before the end, then maybe she’s going to be the one who helps him adjust to his new life, since she went through the same thing a few years ago.
And actually, same when it comes to mourning someone you love: Kurona had a hard time learning how to do without her twin sister who was a very important person to her and Juuzou…
is not there yet when it comes to Shinohara. ://
So I’d say that what’s left of Kurona’s development is linked to Juuzou, just like what’s left of Juuzou’s is also linked to Shinohara.
Hanbee basically confirmed that Shinohara was dead in ch128 and, even if I know some people are expecting him to come back as a zombie or something else, I honestly think the whole point of Shinohara in :Re is to lead Juuzou to the realization that…
…
he’ll have to let go eventually (I literally cried as I wrote this, I mean I love the narrative between Juuzou and Shinohara so much and it’s one reason ch143 of TG was so harsh on me). ;_;
I’m not entirely sure for this part, so take with a grain of salt, okay?
V (Kaiko)
Finally, about them…
We still don’t know what they’re about and what they’re up to, if Furuta is just using them to discard or destroy them later or if they’re really allies, but I’d still call them the big bad regardless of how they’re supposedly currently following Furuta’s every order, because that’s what they were foreshadowed to be.
More is coming, hopefully, so mostly I’d love new hints to refresh all the theories about them. :3
Whew, there you go! Thank you so much for the nice words and for reading ❤
I’m sorry that I ended up rambling and that it got long but I hope it answers your question! Have a nice day Anon and sorry again for the delay :33
midnight-in-town 