It should also be noted (though this could be a stretch) that Uta’s conveniently asking Shirazu about any girls, and Shizaru the “do no evil” monkey is often seen crossing his arms or covering his genitals.
Ghoulification by poison in the air has been introduced as a concept, but it’d be no fun if the only characters that really got ghoulified were Saiko, and some one off character from one chapter of og tg. It’s likely more recognizable characters are going to get ghoulish as the fight continues to complicate things further rather than simply finding and retrieving a save all cure in one fell swoop.
So with that being said, I present to you my predictions on the most likely characters to be turned into ghouls among the human cast.
Yoriko Kosaka
The entire point of Yoriko’s character is that she’s an innocent right now dragged into this conflict by her association with both Takeomi and Touka.
Touka also made a deliberate choice not to confront Yoriko’s execution. The fact that she was pregnant also at the time becomes less and less of an excuse considering that once Kaneki was in danger, Touka did such bold things as walk in front of the CCG and remove her mask, and climb on top of Dragon’s back to retrieve him.
Touka made a deliberate choice to ignore Yoriko’s predicament and prioritize Kaneki over her. I’m not saying that this is the wrong choice, but it is a choice and choices should have consequences. Especially since Touka’s choice was made not out of a discussion, but rather Kaneki and Touka who are both avoidant people of uncomfortable things once again avoiding the topic all together.
Yoriko even says this came about because she didn’t try to understand Touka at all. My point is, this is a consequence that makes sense as a resolution in a story.
It’s a consequence for Bujin prioritizing his job as an investigator over personal feelings which is what everybody in the CCG does, it’s a consequence for Yoriko being pretty much forgotten in all of the dragon fuss, and for Yoriko herself not understanding what the conflicts ghouls and her ghoul best friend was going through.
As far as resolutions go it would be a way to keep Yoriko involved in the plot, rather than having her off somewhere sipping momosas on the beach waiting for this all to be over.
Suzuya Juuzou
This one is the most obvious foreshadowing, but Juuzou really does have yet to face any kind of consequence for what he did during the 24th ward raid. His blatant disregard for life is something he gets away with because he’s a human.
It makes almost little to no sense to give Juuzou all of the power and prestige of being Arima, to draw the comparison between the two characters, if there is not some kind of drawback. Something has to teach Juuzou to value life, and for Arima it was the awareness that he was part ghoul so no matter what he did he really was no different than the people he was slaughtering. He was a murderer to who could not live a normal life.
Amon Koutarou/Urie Kuki
These ones are longshots, but Urie already has the poison inside of him. Both Urie and Amon are also the ones who are extremely close to becoming ghouls but completely in denial of their ghoul nature.
Considering that Urie’s already activated both of his Kakugan before on his own, it’d be interesting to see him turn all the way this time, but unlike last time there’s no Saiko around to reverse it for him.
Fura Taishi
This one is just a minor guess but this panel seems so suspicious to me.
To be honest though I don’t really expect Fura to be relevant until the CCG finally gets hit with the revelation of who Arima truly was all along.
Kimi Nishino
This one is just wishful thinking but it’d be nice to see Kimi face some kind of consequence for her reckless use of ghoulification and victimization of ghoulification experiments for her own personal agenda.
Kimi’s also the one who specifies over and over again that the only reason she never became violent is because she so happened to be born a human.
Anyway, those are my guesses at whose going to be ghoulified. I’ll let @chan take it away from here with hers -> @midnight-in-town
Thanks for tagging me Spooky-chan! Tbh you already mentioned most of the characters I had considered going down the ghoul path, as you already know, which is to say Juuzou, Yoriko, Saiko and possibly Amon and Urie. :))
There is only one more I’d consider going down the ghoul path, maybe, and the rest will be characters I am not vouching will become ghouls.
Aura Shinsanpei
Master of irony best summed up by @eto-when-and-wherehere, he’d be an ideal candidate to experience a ghoulification in my opinion, if just because it might also trigger a slight development for his aunt Kiyoko as well (who’s one of the few remaining “old” investigators, with Marude and Mougan).
I don’t have as many arguments as you did for the others and maybe I’m biased, but that’s how I think for now.
Not Kimi
We disagree on her and my opinion is that she won’t become a ghoul because both her character and path in :Re are based on wanting to find a way for coexistence to work, so that she (a human) would be able to live with the man (a ghoul) she loves.
Granted that she took part in horrible things by following Kanou, but her motivation is what drove her to move forward all this time + she has no problems with ghouls in general, so ghoulification wouldn’t teach her much, besides immediately solving the problem that she has about not being able to live freely with Nishiki, which is counterproductive in my opinion.
So Kimi stays human and will have to find a way to solve this whole mess as her redemption, before she can be able to have that future that she wants with Nishiki.
Not Akira
Same as for Kimi, in my opinion, ghoulification will teach Akira absolutely nothing, because her issue lies with acknowledging that
her parents were also in the wrong
that she’s not a horrible and despising person if she admits that
(+ we can see that ghoulification DIDN’T help Amon on these exact same points until now, so you know, why bother?)
As a woman who fell for two OEGs and remained supportive of Kaneki despite claiming before that she hardly had anything to do with him since he wasn’t Haise anymore, Akira’s main dynamics are either with OEGs or with ghouls (Touka, Hina).
In other words, if that’s not enough to teach her that it’s important that she walks out of her father’s shadow, then I doubt ghoulification will help her further (again, same as for Amon who’s stuck in “no ghoul + Mado Kureo” mode despite being a OEG for at least 3 years), especially when she already threw out the whole system to save Takizawa.
We already discussed that in another post, but confrontation (and hopefully, realization) for Amon is definitely coming now that Donato showed up again. So maybe the same will come for Akira at approximately the same time, which is why now is a good time for Seidou to show up again in order to help them.
Not Ui
What’s left of his development comes from confronting (zombified) Arima and Hairu, who both came from the garden and thus have ghoul lineage, something that apparently totally flew over his head until now so, again, ghoulification in itself wouldn’t bring him much because his issues aren’t about the ghoul kind but about being left behind.
Arima didn’t tell him about his plans, Hairu fancied Arima and not him, but becoming a ghoul won’t help him acknowledge why, especially when he already moved on from Take and Arima “betraying” the CCG, in my opinion.
EDIT: I forgot, NOT HIDE either
Hide is great as a very intelligent human who managed mostly on his own so far. Not gonna expand because he literally has no issues with ghouls whatsoever, so ghoulification would bring him nothing for his development (except a new throat I guess, but that can be solved if medicine and science improve, like Kanou expected them to, thanks to new ghoul biology knowledge).
It seems the current objective of the clowns is to buy time for whatever Furuta’s next objective to seize is. Considering that all of the major clowns (with the exception of Rio) are united and leading this attack.
I can’t help but think their strategy is going to be more complicated then, sick the v investigators on the CCG Ghoul alliance, and then if that fails sick the giant monster on them.
All remaining clowns have shown to be intelligent and thinking fighters, as Roma herself seems to have been purged from the ranks and lost due to being too much of the opposite, going too crazy, and having too much fun and therefore relying more on brute strength than thoughtful strategy. They’ll most likely play to exploit the weaknesses of the current characters fighting so here’s some thought as to what those weaknesses could be.
I think Furuta managed to craft a pretty interesting trick with the kagune monsters. For years the tactic that was used by the CCG was the slaughter of ghouls. They were killed and then turned to weapons, but it seems that a ghoul populace of some sort should always remain, since the Washuu needed an a reason to validate their position, need and reason in society.
However, what Furuta has done is that he seems to have turned this basic tactic upside down. The more you kill and use violent means (at least by normal people who are affected by the poison), the more ghouls are produced into the world.
It`s the amount of humans that will actually decline. It`s like this makes the earlier method of dealing with the ghouls seems like a complete laughing stock. Maybe this is a problem that is not solved by killing? Of course if Kaneki is not affected by the poison as it seems, and since these creatures pose a threat, then maybe this matter needs to be dealt with old fashioned ways. Still, I feel like Furuta is mocking the old militant approaches the CCG and Washuu took against ghouls.
Also, while I think Furuta was just kidding and playing around, I find it interesting that he seems to treat these monsters like people on some level. The people in the hospital treating people who are turning into ghouls, seemed to avert their eyes when the person turned into a ghoul. I might be overthinking this, but I just find it amusing and interesting that Furuta is interviewing a monster like it was the average joe from the street, while some folks seem to stop treating people as persons and normal, as soon as they are turned into ghouls.
A bit like how Urie was ready to kill that person in the last chapter because she was a ghoul, but stopped when it was realized that her origin was human.
Of course it`s possible that my interpretation of that scene is totally incorrect, and the nurse is not averting her eyes, and in reality that angle is really just from behind her. Someone is reaching for her, from her behind, and that is probably the biting incident that Kimi described.
Hello Anon and this is a good observation, but while I can’t be sure, I’m not really worried. 🙂
This is what I was explaining here and here: normally ROS is a human’s disease because they don’t have a kakuhou to regulate the oversecretion of Rc cells.
Knowing that, it does appear to be strange that Saiko got affected and Urie almost was too (since as Qs, they do have a kakuhou), so I don’t dismiss the idea that even ghouls might be endangered. However for now it makes more sense to think that the Qs were at risk simply because they’re still humans despite having an artificial kakuhou.
Besides, the whole plan seems to be about turning humans into ghouls…
so it would be logical for ghouls to still be okay, because their kakuhou is natural and thus their regulation abilities probably are more efficient than those of the Qs.
About Touka herself now, frankly I doubt that ch160 was enough to get her poisoned if that’s even possible since she’s a natural ghoul, first of all because she didn’t trigger any explosion (unlike Saiko and Urie did) and secondly, because even Urie who got more in contact than she did with those things will be okay according to Kimi.
I do agree with you though that these…
got a big focus in ch160 and so might be about more than exhaustion, especially since we know she’s been generally weakened lately due to eating human food for her baby, but still, her kakuhou should in theory be enough to deal with elevated Rc cells amount.
If anything, I was thinking this might be something that will turn out to be relevant for her baby instead as you also proposed, maybe, if just because it’s still a huge “?” on every aspect and will surely need to get addressed at some point.
This is 100% theoretical, but I proposed before that the only way for Hybrid Baby not to die in Touka’s womb…
would be if it were to develop a kakuhou and thus to be born as a natural OEG, following this concept:
We know Hybrid Baby at least has the gene for it thanks to Touka, so what’s left to trigger its kakuhou’s development (according to my long reasoning I explained in that link above) would be for the maternal environment to present a high Rc cells rates, so that Hybrid Baby will need to regulate those Rc cells and thus will develop a kakuhou in order to do so.
It’s like a mechanism of “up regulation” as long as you have the gene for it and I’m hoping that’s where Ishida is leading with this arc and future biological explanations, since we’ve seen with the recent chapters that some humans can develop a kakuhou if needed (that lady from the CCG in the previous chapter) but some others couldn’t (all those patients we saw with ROS disease).
So maybe Sensei intends to expand his explanation of kakuhou development in these humans-becoming-new-ghouls and make it relevant for Touka’s pregnancy, which would explain the focus on those veins on her hands as she was digging for Kaneki in ch160. Maybe. xD
TL;DR BECAUSE ACCHAN NEVER STOPS RAMBLING, three possibilities:
Touka will be 200% okay and the current crisis is irrelevant to her character because she has a kakuhou and thus is doing fine
in that case, those veins from ch160 were just to show how exhausted and desperate she was getting while trying to rescue Kaneki.
Touka might get affected because this crisis somehow also affects ghouls or because she’s weakened by all the human food she’s been eating lately
in that case, I’m sure both her and her baby will be alright eventually even if everyone will be scared for her sake in the meantime.
Touka will be 200% okay but the current crisis will turn out to be 200% relevant to her pregnancy
in that case, those veins could indeed have been about her getting in contact with what triggers oversecretion of RC cells in humans,
but this will only matter for her baby and most likely trigger its kakuhou development in order to regulate all these RC cells, thus making sure that it will safely be born as a natural OEG.
I hope it helps and that it’s understandable! Have a nice day Anon. 🙂
So I’ve complained a lot about Saiko’s a habit of sleeping:
And being unable to act until it’s
almost too late:
…And now she’s confined to a bed and can’t act. 😭😭😭
What’s also interesting is that of the original Qs, Saiko is the only one who is probably not a full ghoul at this point. Mutsuki and Urie both pushed themselves to become stronger and are probably full ghouls (which I personally think may be part of why Urie is not exhibiting the same symptoms). But she’s been a participant in this war and raised no protests until her friend was arrested.
Even though she sympathized with ghouls (which Urie and Mutsuki did not), she continued to participate in fighting them however unhappily. Which leads to the question TG always asks us: what makes a person a monster? Does her reluctance absolve her? (The answer would seemingly be no, since TG is all about personal responsibility which Kaneki brings up this chapter too.)
Every other Q has become consumed by their flaws. Shirazu died bearing the burden. Urie framed out and vented exactly what he really felt when confronted with his true feelings by Donato. Mutsuki lied and lied and lost sight of who he was (the Qs’ family) chasing a lie (Sasaki). Saiko slept and slept, and now she has to sleep.
It’s tragic, and now I’m sad. But the way forward is through the paths Urie and Mutsuki and Kaneki are fumbling down: personal responsibility. But it’s not entirely up to her, because she’s ceded her agency so many times and now it’s been taken from her (like Kaneki as Dragon). People are going to have to work to save her and the others dealing with ROS and ghoulification (Juuzou’s probably next). I absolutely think they will succeed and Saiko is going to be saved, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
I guess the Qs are also at risk (as we saw with Saiko and even if they’ve got a kakuhou), probably because their transformation is artificial and as such they don’t have the same highly developed abilities to regulate an oversecretion of RC cells, compared to ghouls whose kakuhou is natural. 🙂
Of course, nothing is certain so take everything with a grain of salt, but that’s how I understand it for now!
Have a nice day Anon!
Hi again 🙂
The “poison” is in those clone thingies. So if you kill ‘em and they explode…
it’s how the poison is released, goes airborn and humans can get affected once they breathe it in because it leads to an oversecretion of RC cells inside their body.
Keep in mind that both humans and ghouls have Rc cells initially, ghouls have just wayyy more than humans, which is why they developed a kakuhou to regulate their elevated rates.
From there on, there are several possibilities once you breathe the poison in:
for a ghoul: well, they have their kakuhou, so they should be able to regulate that oversecretion of Rc cells and be just fine
for a human: either they have the potential to develop a kakuhou (and thus they will become a ghoul) or they don’t, probably because they lack the gene or another unknown parameter that conditions the kakuhou’s development (and in that case, it’s ROS disease).
For Saiko and Urie, the difference is that they do have a kakuhou (because they’re Qs) but because it’s artificial (and for maybe other unknown reasons), it’s probably not as efficient as a ghoul’s when it comes to dealing with that oversecretion, which is why Saiko got in such a bad state.
We only saw one explosion when Kaneki was still inside his Kakuja and it was the one Saiko triggered and which got only her to be affected.
I hope it’s clearer? Of course, this explanation is based on what we were told so far, it can still change with future chapters so take it with a grain of salt, as always. Have a nice day Anon!
that Amon was most likely being experimented on in the CCG labs before he was brought back home by Seidou and Kurona in ch115, with Kanou’s team probably researching an equivalent to this using him:
That’s why Seidou experienced from up close the explosion part of Amon’s kakuja several times whenever he tried to stop him:
The question remains now as to why Seidou was okay: because Amon wasn’t complete and didn’t carry any “poison” that would trigger a ROS condition? Or because Seidou was in his kakuja form?
Or maybe because he’s special too and, just like Kaneki, resistant against the poison?
I wonder if the reason why Kaneki isn’t susceptible to the poison is because it’s (partially) his? Amon and Seidou both got their kakuhou from Yoshimura, so whatever poison Amon might carry may not be able to infect Seidou…
@kingkishou Yes exactly! I do wonder about if that factors as well because the whole thing is coming from the 4th ward and…
Kaneki’s kakuja (aka Rize’s kakuhou) definitely expanded until there + Furuta seemed unharmed and he’s got Rize’s kakuhou as well.
The thing is though, we have yet to see if ghouls are affected by the current crisis and so far ROS was presented to be a human’s disease only, simply because humans don’t have a kakuhou to regulate an elevated amount of RC cells.
And that’s exactly what I don’t really understand, because okay it looks like this airborne “poison” from the clone thingies is causing Rc cells to proliferate, but Qs like Saiko and Urie do have a kakuhou…
…it’s just that it’s coated in quinque steel. So why would they be affected? Maybe Saiko was poisoned despite being a Qs because she hasn’t broken through her F5 frame, but what about Urie?
Is it that the current crisis is leading to such an oversecretion that even living beings with a kakuhou (OEGs, ghouls and Qs) are at risk now? Or is it just that the Qs’ kakuhou being artificial is less efficient than ghouls’?
Anyway, that’s why I still think there might be more to Seidou not being affected by Amon’s kakuja back in ch114/115 than just sharing Yoshimura’s kakuhou…
because he was referred to as Kanou’s success like Kaneki and I really enjoy @coromoor‘s idea that, more than just sharing the same kakuhou, it’s possibly also about a good tolerance/usage of Rc cells by their bodies.
besides Seidou’s character arc is partially about wanting to become a hero so it would fit if he could help with what’s going on because he’s got innate resistance
TL;DR it could be a mix of both:
Kaneki isn’t affected because this poison (so to speak) could be partially coming from him (since it was either his kakuja or Rize’s and he’s got Rize’s kakuhou anyway)
but Kaneki is possibly also not affected because his body is able to regulate Rc cells overall better than most people
Hi Anon, I’m sorry for the delay, I wanted to gather my thoughts about the newest chapter before answering you! :3
So, about this scene:
if Furuta was thinking of Rize only when talking about “Dragon” (and not about Dragon’s different nuclei, one of them being Kaneki), then this may not have been foreshadowing about the Qs playing an important role into rescuing Kaneki as we could see in ch161.
So I’m going back to my initial thought about this scene, which was that the first generation of Qs have two main roles in the story:
And the interesting thing is that they did stop Kaneki with ch161, just like their group saved first Urie and then Mutsuki from losing themselves too, which means that the ones left to possibly stop/help at some point are Saiko…
and possibly Shirazu (which makes sense if you consider @mawjaw’s theory about who the different nuclei Kimi mentioned in the new chapter could be [x][x]).
Remember, Kanou was very impressed by the Qs surgery Chigyou performed on Shirazu and besides, I think Shirazu is still plot relevant considering that…
He still wasn’t buried properly (+ that little part above “I don’t wanna die at the end of my friends” kinda sounds ominous if zombie!Shirazu is really coming back as one of Dragon’s nuclei).
So that’s how I see things for now about this scene:
so maybe Saiko + Urie + Mutsuki, after saving Kaneki, will have to stop/save zombie!Shirazu too.
Considering that Furuta’s plan still wasn’t explained so clearly, I’m sorry that I can’t be certain of what exactly he meant to say in ch128. Nonetheless, the Qs have always been about stopping/saving Kaneki or each other, so after this turning out to be relevant for Urie, Mutsuki and Kaneki, it may as well become relevant for Saiko and zombie!Shirazu in the future.
Just some thoughts, nothing certain as always. :3 I hope it answers your question, have a nice day Anon!
midnight-in-town 