Characters / Tokyo Ghoul:re Quinx

Tokyo Ghoul Main Character Index
Ken Kaneki
Original Series: Ghouls | Humans
Tokyo Ghoul:re: Goat | Quinx | Humans | Ghouls
Tokyo Ghoul [Jack] | Spin-Offs

Unmarked Late Arrival Spoilers.

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Quinx

The Quinx are an experimental group, initiated by Yoshitoki Washuu and operating under the authority of Kishou Arima and Akira Mado. Quinx are humans who have been surgically modified to give them the abilities of Ghouls via the implementation of a quinque, with the stated intention of creating an Investigator that can surpass Kishou Arima.

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Quinx Squad

Qs Squad

The Quinx Squad In General

Original: Saiko Yonebayashi, Kuki Urie, Tooru Mutsuki, Haise Sasaki (mentor), and Ginshi Shirazu (Leader).

Current: Saiko Yonebayashi (Deputy Leader), Kuki Urie (Leader), Ching-Li Hsiao, Touma Higemaru, Shinsanpei Aura

The squad itself was a subsidiary squad of the Mado Squad, originally mentored by Haise Sasaki. Their lack of accomplishments and inhuman traits made them unpopular among their peers at first, however, their reputation improved substantially after major achievements during the Human Auction and the Tsukiyama Family Extermination operations.

After the latter operation, the squad refilled its ranks with new Quinx recruits and was assigned to the S2 Squad, under the authority of Matsuri Washuu. The squad solely consists of Quinx nowadays and is the leading squad in the S2 Squad.

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• Almighty Janitor: All members save for Urie started as Rank 3 Investigators, placing them lower than the bottom of the ranks. But the entire team are Super Soldiers and rapidly begin proving themselves more powerful than higher-ranked Investigators.
• Black Sheep: They are initially looked down on by other Investigators and viewed with suspicion. Their reputation is greatly improved after the Auction however, leading to discussion of greatly expanding their ranks.
• Break the Cutie: The entire squad is initially presented as a charming and dysfunctional kind of family. Then, things become progressively worse for them and each member goes through considerable trauma that leaves them changed significantly.
• Cool Mask: Sasaki commissions some for the entire team, for an undercover operation.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: The Quinx succeed in killing the seemingly-unkillable Noro, but at a terrible cost.
• Half-Human Hybrid: The Quinx are stated to be "humans with an installed Quinque", making it unclear where the line between Human and Ghoul is drawn. Their mentor, Haise Sasaki, is stated to be different from them.
• Hour of Power: The Quinx don't seem to be able to use their kagune for very long, especially when compared to true Ghouls. Shirazu and Urie both run out of energy very quickly when fighting.
• Hunter of His Own Kind: They are beings created to hunt Ghouls using the powers of Ghouls.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Averted for the most part. The newly created Quinx can still eat human food, at least as long as their RC levels remain below 1000. After that, Dr. Shiba estimates they will become unable to consume human food just like their mentor Haise can't.
• Power Limiter: The Quinx have an installed system of "Gates", used to regulate the function of their kakuhou. Each Frame unlocks 20% of its function, with their abilities currently set at F2 or 40%. Dr. Shiba warns against unlocking further gates.
• Pro-Human Transhuman: Though modified from their original human state, all are using their powers to protect humanity from Ghouls.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: None of them seem like normal Investigators, being an odd assortment of personalities that leads to difficulty operating as a team.
• Rank Up: After the Human Auction operation, the whole team jumps up one rank, with the notable exception of Mutsuki, who jumped two ranks.
• Superior Successor: The team's explicit purpose is to create a successor that can surpass Arima. Turns out this may have something to do with the fact that Arima is dying.
• Super-Soldier: The purpose of the project is to create Investigators with the abilities of Ghouls, while still retaining their humanity. Actual results are... mixed at best.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: They really aren't good at working together, with Urie and Shirazu in particular prone to running off on their own.
• Tested on Humans: The Quinx surgery is... controversial, to say the least.
• Took a Level in Badass: During the months between the Auction and the Rose Investigation, the team drastically improve both their strength and teamwork.
• Training from Hell: As of the Nutcracker arc, the team begins undergoing combat training with Sasaki. It primarily involves him throwing them around like rag dolls.

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Current Members

Kuki Urie

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Adam Gibbs (English)

The original Squad Leader of the Quinx, a 20-year Investigator that excelled at the Academy. He is highly intelligent and a skilled Investigator, but his abrasive personality makes it difficult for him to work as part of a team. He frequently defies Sasaki, refusing to cooperate with the team and carrying out solo Investigations on targets considered too dangerous for a rookie. Highly ambitious, he isn't above manipulating his comrades to achieve his goals and intends to get promoted quickly so that he can transfer to the illustrious S3 Squad. This leads to him being removed from command, driving another wedge between him and his teammates.

After the Tsukiyama Family Extermination operation, he became once more Squad Leader of the Quinx Squad. After the new Bureau Director took his place in the CCG, Urie was promoted to First Class and became the leader of the S2 Squad.

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• The Ace: Sasaki says Urie was an honor student, intelligent and quick-witted, even skipping a grade.
• All Love Is Unrequited: While he is able to save Mutsuki, his hinted-at feelings are never returned. They stay on good terms, but Mutsuki leaves Tokyo to pursue a career elsewhere.
• Ambition Is Evil: His ambition leads him to intentionally sabotage the team, and after seeing Sasaki's true power, he begins searching for a way to increase his own power.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: After much warnings and repeated strain brought down on his body through the series, he ultimately breaks his final frame by his own volution and turns into a full ghoul, dual-kakugan and all, while facing Donato Porpora. However, his continued status as a ghoul since has remained ambiguous, as Dr. Shiba mentions it is possible for him to go back to normal.
• Arch-Enemy: Like many Investigators, he has a personal vendetta against the One-Eyed Owl.
• Auto Cannibalism: He tears a chunk out of his own arm in a desperate attempt to refuel his kagune.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Non-romantic example. Urie does think of Shirazu as a friend when he begs him not to die after the latter took a brutal injury fighting Noro, even confronting Matsuri about his indifference to Shirazu's death.
• Bash Brothers: With Shirazu, as much as they bicker. Later on, he develops a similar dynamic with Mutsuki and the pair becomes the vanguard for the team.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: During the first phase of a major operation, he wishes the enemy would go wild so he could earn plenty of achievements. Cue a Bloodier and Gorier massacre for both sides, which leads to Shirazu sacrificing himself to save the others. Urie does not handle it well.
• The Berserker: Had shades of this even before his "Frame Removal Surgery", Post-surgery, he mentally degenerates into this whenever he goes "Frame 4".
• Blade Below the Shoulder: He wields his kagune like a blade. Fridge Brilliance, when one realizes that this is exactly the type of kagune (koukaku) that an ukaku (the One-Eyed Owl) would be vulnerable against.
• Break the Haughty: His arrogance leads to the team getting ambushed by Orochi, and badly beaten. When he realizes he cannot win, he begins to come unraveled in his desperation to prove himself. Afterwards, he is further humiliated when Sasaki slaps him in front of the others and relieves him of his command. He doesn't seem to have learned his lesson, though.
  • During the Auction, he's nearly killed by Big Madam and loses control over his powers as a direct result of his arrogance.
• Breaking Speech: He tried to give Shirazu a "The Reason You Suck" Speech so that he could take over as squad leader once Shirazu breaks. It backfired.
• Call-Back: He is given a Break the Haughty speech by Kaneki when Urie starts to blame him for failing to come on time, but Kaneki calls him out saying that those who were present and failed to do anything weren't strong enough. It's similar to speeches Kaneki received from Rize and Jason during the first series (and Akira in the sequel), which are a way for Kaneki to encourage Urie to toughen up.
• Character Development: Urie begins the series as a manipulative, selfish jerk unwilling to work with others and angry at the idea of retreating from battle. He treats his comrades with open disdain, viewing them as in his way, and resents the people, namely Iwao Kuroiwa, (and by proxy his son, Takeomi) who supposedly left his father to die, showing extreme jealousy for their accomplishments, while his achievements do not receive as much attention. However, over the months and several major operations, he begins to thaw towards them all and even begins asking Sasaki for private training sessions. He forms a Bash Brothers team with Mutsuki, and becomes willing to play things cautious rather than recklessly risk the lives of his squad. But it all comes to a head when Shirazu dies, leading to him calling out Matsuri's callous attitude and refusing to pursue his Arch-Enemy because it would mean leaving his comrades behind. In the following months, he seems to have fallen back into his old ways... but is actually focused on getting promoted solely to finance the care of Shirazu's little sister. He also lets go of his unreasonable hatred towards Takeomi Kuroiwa and may even end up leaving the CCG, after Takeomi's wife, Yoriko, has been sentenced to death and Takeomi was arrested for lashing out against Mutsuki, who was the one that accused Yoriko of abetting ghouls.
• The Coats Are Off: He throws off his suit jacket whenever he's preparing to fight seriously with his kagune.
• Conspicuous Gloves: He always wears a pair of black gloves.
• Crucified Hero Shot: Sinister Minister Donato Porpora pins him to the ceiling in this position, while forcing him to watch Higemaru's torture. For bonus symbolism, it's done with a kagune made of Creepy Crosses.
• Did Not Get the Girl: While Urie builds a successful career with many subordinates that adore him, Mutsuki leaves Tokyo and never returns his feelings.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Shirazu dies in his arms, leaving him devastated.
• Due to the Dead: Urie discusses how funerals are really for the ones left behind, to give them comfort. He then vows to retrieve Shirazu's body and give it a proper burial.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Hige finds him hot. Matsuri Washuu thinks he loves Urie... in a very disturbing manner.
• Evil Feels Good: While losing control, he comments that it feels great and his expression is... excited to say the least.
• Fantastic Racism: He has a deep-seated hatred for Ghouls, even treating Sasaki with disdain after learning that he's a Half-Human Hybrid. Which is funny considering he himself is technically half a ghoul.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. While his teammates have learned something from their experiences, Urie stubbornly refuses to learn from his mistakes. However, recent chapters show that he is slowly stepping away from this.
• First-Person Smartass: He frequently snarks and belittles the people around him in his thoughts. He does it less often after Shirazu's death, but it still happens occasionally.
• Foil: To Takeomi. Both are the genius sons of Special Classes that fought the Owl, but Urie is arrogant and selfish in comparison to the humble and kind Takeomi.
• Freudian Excuse: The death of his father still haunts him more than a decade later, and seems to be at the core of his worst tendencies.
• Grade Skipper: Urie was an honor student, even skipping a grade.
• Green-Eyed Monster: He harbors jealousy towards Sasaki, wishing to surpass him and show him up. After witnessing his superior's true strength, his feelings of envy increase.
• Headphones Equal Isolation: He always wears headphones, and does not seem to like working with others.
• Healing Factor: Downplayed. He mentions having very poor regeneration, and as such actually has to worry about being injured in battle.
• Healthcare Motivation: After Shirazu's death, Urie becomes focused on getting promoted in order to continue financing Haru's care.
• Heroic BSoD: Prone to these, when things don't go his way.
  • His has one when the others suggest retreating from their battle with Orochi, which reminds him on his father's death.
  • He has one after his Super-Power Meltdown, curling into a fetal position.
  • He has perhaps his biggest yet in Chapter 55, when Shirazu dies in his arms.
  • Occurs again in Chapter 77, when he locates Torso's lair and finds a dismembered body covered by a sheet. His fear that the body might be Mutsuki's causes him to have a complete breakdown, barely able to function.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: Shouts one to Shirazu, who has sadly passed on by that point.
• Hypocrite: He's technically a Ghoul-Human hybrid, but treats Sasaki with disdain after learning he's a Half-Human Hybrid.
• I Lied: He's prone to deception, lying to comrades and superiors alike without an ounce of remorse. This includes telling Shirazu that Sasaki is just using them, convincing Saiko that she was about to be fired when their contracts include a lifetime financial compensation clause, telling Mutsuki that they were lost so he could look for the missing customers, and claiming that his transmitter was broken to prevent backup from "stealing" his chance at promotion.
• Ineffectual Loner: He consistently refuses to work as part of the team, and looks down on all of them. But while highly accomplished at the Academy, in the field he's consistently needed to be rescued from his own arrogance by Sasaki. This only increases his resentment towards his mentor.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: During his breakdown, his thoughts alternate between resenting Sasaki and resenting that he's just a burden to Sasaki.
• Irony: When the guy he's been plotting against actually dies in his arms, he experiences a Heroic BSoD.
• It's All About Me: He doesn't seem to care what happens to his comrades, only concerned with his own ambitions and thirst for revenge. It's almost gotten the Quinx killed once, with him not seeming to have learned a thing from the experience. Recently averted. This is especially true in the Tsukiyama Extermination arc when, in desperation at Shirazu's state, states that he can have all the credit for killing Noro.
• Jack of All Trades: Described by Hsiao as a high-level allrounder.
• Jerkass: Unfriendly and abrasive, he's primarily concerned with his own ambitions to the extent that he readily manipulates others. He's also driven by his jealousy and rather petty in blaming others for events beyond their control.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After some Character Development. It really shows after Shirazu dies.
• Kill Steal: He views any attempt to help him as this, to the extent he becomes resentful for Sasaki rescuing him. During the Auction Arc, he's furious when he realizes Juuzou has also found the warehouse and lies about having a broken transmitter solely to prevent anyone else from coming to steal his credit.
• Laughing Mad: While losing control over his powers, he starts cackling insanely and making some rather... interesting faces.
• The Leader: He was and is now again the Squad Leader of the Quinx, although Sasaki was the actual leader while he mentored the squad.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: While Urie still clearly loves his late father and respects him, he's made zero effort to be like him, not caring about the welfare of his teammates and openly lying to and manipulating them for his own benefit.
• Manipulative Bastard: He intentionally sows discord among his teammates, manipulating Shirazu's desperation without a second thought.
• Manly Tears: He weeps openly after Shirazu's death, while calling out his superior for his Lack of Empathy.
• The Nose Knows: He's able to identify a taxi driver as a Ghoul based on the scent of blood, even though the driver had washed if off long ago.
• Not So Above It All: It happens only in Omake, but he can barely keep himself from bursting out laughing when Mutsuki asks him how it feels like to use one's kagune and that Shirazu described it like an ass on his back taking a dump.
• Panty Thief: He steals Sasaki's underwear as part of a deal with Chie.
• Parental Abandonment: His father was a Special Class Investigator and leader of the S3 Squad he mentions intending to join. His father died, much like Akira Mado's mother, holding off the One-Eyed Owl so his team could escape.
• Perpetual Frowner: His default expression seems to be "mildly disinterested". But besides looking angry, he's never shown so much as a hint of a smile.
• Pet the Dog: After having a Friendship Moment with Mutsuki, he followed Mutsuki's instructions to pitch in for the Christmas party by buying snacks and food. He also saves Mutsuki during an ambush without any hint of snark or derision in the Tsukiyama arc.
• Pride: He only accepts help when he can manipulate someone else to achieve his own ends and feels humiliated when Sasaki leaps into the fray to save him.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: He is one to Matsuri Washuu. As Matsuri has a high position in the CCG, being in his good graces would further Urie's own position. He doesn't actually think much of Matsuri.
  Urie: There's nothing more useful than a weakened leader. I'll be making full use of you, Special Class. The only one groveling like a dog will be you, Matsuri Washuu.
• The Promise: He gives one to Mutsuki, and for himself, stating that he won't rest until he's found Shirazu's corpse.
• Purple Is Powerful: Has purple hair to highlight his strength.
• Quickly-Demoted Leader: He's relieved of his position as Squad Leader, and tries to argue that no one else on the team outranks him. Sasaki just ignores this, and gives the job to Shirazu.
• Rank Up: As of Chapter 32, he's a Rank 1. As of Chapter 117, he was promoted to First Class.
• The Resenter: He harbors a deep resentment towards Sasaki, and is obsessed with surpassing him. He intentionally turns Shirazu against their leader, causing further problems for the team. After his plans backfire on him and Shirazu replaces him as Squad Leader, he begins plotting against Shirazu.
• Revenge: His thirst for power seems to be motivated by his desire to avenge his father's death. When he finally gets the chance to finally enact his revenge against the One-Eyed Owl, he refuses so that he can mourn and stay by Shirazu's side, who just passed away.
• Revenge by Proxy: He directs his hatred of Iwao Kuroiwa towards his son, Takeomi. He eventually lets go of his hatred.
• Screaming Warrior: Whenever he goes "Frame 4", he succumbs into this.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: At first, it seems like Urie shows No Sympathy towards Takeomi or his wife, Yoriko, for being executed for supposedly abetting ghouls and insists that the Bureau Chief's orders cannot be disobeyed, but Saiko manages to make him change his mind.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Like Saiko, Urie does not approve of what the CCG has become over the last few months ("a slaughterhouse"). He thinks that the CCG has lost sight of what they fight for and may be treated as criminals eventually. He attempts to change this, but he is perfectly willing to leave the CCG if he can't.
• Ship Tease: With Mutsuki. During the Rushima Arc, he's shown constantly worrying about Mutsuki to the extent of having a Heroic BSoD. An omake in Volume 7 also features the two spending an afternoon together, with Urie's inner thoughts focused on how he worries that Mutsuki is working too hard and he wishes he could do something special for the other.
  • It's subtle, but Urie begins to notice and comment (in his thoughts) on the clothes Mutsuki is wearing.
    Urie: A coat today, I see. Coats are nice, I guess.
• Sins of the Father: Urie's father was the Investigator that captured Donato Porpora, leading the ghoul to target him for revenge.
• Smug Smiler: When he does actually smile, it's incredibly arrogant.
• Superpower Meltdown: After being seriously wounded fighting Big Madam, he completely loses control over his kagune. He comments that there are "a lot of him" in his head, and goes completely over the deep end until Mutsuki saves him.
• Super-Senses: He has an incredibly keen sense of smell, far beyond that of a regular Ghoul. His sense tips him off that Mutsuki is biologically female, when he realizes that the blood he smells on him is menstrual blood.
• Super-Strength: As a result of his training, he's beginning to develop enhanced strength. He's benching twice his weight, for extended periods of time, and pleased with the evidence his efforts are paying off.
• Surrounded by Idiots: He repeatedly and bitterly thinks that his team are all idiots, and looks down on them as such. In truth, it's probably because he's something of an Insufferable Genius unwilling to see his comrades' good qualities.
• Swallowed Whole: Big Madam starts eating him like a snake, shoving him into her mouth head-first while he's still alive and wriggling. He manages to escape after losing control over his powers.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's brilliant, sharp-dressed, and always overflowing with bitterness and snark.
• Team Dad: The Volume 6 omakes reveal he's taken over this role for the Quinx, after Sasaki was reassigned. He wonders just how Sasaki managed it all, and refers to him as a monster.
• Teen Genius: He was an Honor Student at the Academy, skipping a grade and earning a Scholar award.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Though Squad Leader, he doesn't seem to play well with the others. This nearly results in him coming to blows with Shirazu.
• Tempting Fate: After having the Frame Removal Surgery behind Sasaki's back, he arrogantly declares that he won't lose control of his new powers like his mentor did. Guess what happens when he finally unleashes his powers?
• Token Evil Teammate: Urie is quickly established not only as the most ruthless member of the team, but perfectly willing to manipulate or stab his own team in the back to further his own agenda. He slowly grows out of this as the story progresses.
• Took a Level in Kindness: After his Character Development, Urie is shown to be a much kinder person that worries about his comrades. He's even revealed to be paying for the on-going care of Shirazu's little sister.
• Tragic Keepsake: His new quinque, Ginkui (銀喰, Gin Eater), is a reference to his deceased squad leader, Ginshi (吟士). It was made from Noro, who was defeated by Shirazu and Urie, at the cost of Shirazu's life.
• Training from Hell: After Urie learns that half-Ghouls become stronger when they heal from serious injury, he begins attempting to damage his muscles during strength training — pushing himself so that his body is forced to regenerate and become stronger.
• Ungrateful Bastard: After Sasaki risked his life to save the team, Urie treats him with disdain and insults him due to his half-breed nature.
• Unwitting Pawn: Matsuri orders him to escort Mutsuki to safety, counting on Urie to disobey orders and go looking for Big Madam. It works like a charm.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 55, he tears into Matsuri for not caring about people dying.
• Work Out Fanservice: In Chapter 37, he gets a scene working out in the gym with focus on his chiseled upper body.
• You Are in Command Now: After Shirazu's death, he's reinstated leader of the Quinx.
• You Killed My Father: While he doesn't voice it, he considers Iwao Kuroiwa responsible for his father's death. He's disgusted that Kuroiwa's son even dares to speak to him, blaming him as well.

Saiko Yonebayashi

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese), Sarah Wiedenheft (English)

A 20-year old rookie Ghoul Investigator, and Deputy Leader of the Quinx. In the original squad, she was the only female member of the squad and extremely lazy. While the others are out working, she mostly stays at their home and neglects her duties in favor of snacking and playing video games.

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• Abusive Parents: Her mother essentially sold her to the CCG, forcing her to undergo the Quinx surgery in exchange for the financial compensation.
• All-Loving Hero: Saiko is by far one of the kindest characters in the series, quick to recognize the good in the ghouls she encounters and ready to forgive others or believe in them regardless of what others say. Her idealism contrasts heavily with the cynical Urie, who calls her out for her compassion. When Hide proposes an alliance between the CCG and Goat, she turns the tide in his favor by shouting that she will accept Goat's cooperation. Her words inspire the other Quinx and Juuzou to support the alliance.
• Ambiguously Gay: During the Clown Siege, she gets distracted by fellow squad member Hsiao doing battle in a skin-tight battle suit.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Her rinkaku is massive, as anyone on the receiving end of it can attest to.
• Berserker Tears: She's weeping while smashing Amon with her kagune, demanding to know why the person that saved her is now fighting her squad.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Oh, you do not want to piss her off. She has the most powerful kagune amongst the Quinx and if she is determined to take you out, she will beat you to a pulp.
• Big Beautiful Woman: Saiko is on the plump side, but isn't treated any less good looking than the rest of the cast. While she does lose some weight following her Character Development, she's still somewhat chubby underneath her baggy clothes.
• Big Eater: She likes to chow down on snacks, and mentioned to be gaining weight as a result.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: The reason her RC levels are so high, even without actually doing anything, is because she was the best candidate for the Quinx surgery. She also demonstrates her natural talent in kagune manipulation when she tries to beat some sense into Urie, who has lost control of himself. Hsiao in a flashback was quite impressed when she saw Saiko effortlessly manipulate the shape of her kagune to the way she wants.
• Character Development: She begins the series as a lazy girl that is mostly the butt of jokes, and The Load of the squad. Over the course of the series, she begins taking her duties seriously and becomes a competent — even vital — member of the team, and something of a Team Mom to the others.
• Combat Tentacles: She's a Rinkaku type.
• Cooldown Hug: With some Marshmallow Hell to calm Urie down, after he opened all his kagune frames and lost control of himself.
  Yonebayashi: Well... men say this and that, but shove a pair of big tits in their face and they shut up right quick.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: She's lazy, childish, and pretty much spends most of her first mission running behind the others comically or panicking over having to actually fight. Then she uses her kagune for the first time, which leaves destruction and a maimed S-rate Ghoul in her wake as well as terrifies the Mauve Shirt with the group. After the Tsukiyama Extermination operation, she has worked on her body and can keep up her kagune for much longer. With a little bit of help from Hsiao, she managed to beat Urie, who opened up all his frames and was in a crazed state, without killing him.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After the Tsukiyama Family arc she cut her hair to around neck length.
• Gamer Chick: She spends much of her time playing video games.
• Glass Cannon: In an interesting take, once battle starts, she really has no contribution and can even be a liability since she's a NEET who barely has any combat training or experience. But if you get her some breathing room, she'll be able to unleash hell.
• The Ghost: She's only mentioned or shown in a single montage until Chapter 10, due to refusing to leave her room.
• Girlish Pigtails: She wears her hair in pigtails which emphasises her childish nature in addition to her role as the sole female of the group.
• Heavy Sleeper: Sasaki notes that when she doesn't want to wake up, nothing can get Saiko out of bed.
• Heroic BSoD: She seemed to suffer from one, after seeing her beloved "Maman" executed by Furuta's Oggai. She recovers, when she learns it was a fake.
• Hikikomori: Urie mockingly calls her one, when she refuses to come out of her room.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In the series, an info box appears beside a character when they are introduced and includes their vitals. When Saiko finally appears, she covers her weight with her hand.
• Lethal Chef: An omake features her attempts at cooking. The results are censored, and Shirazu refuses to even touch it.
• The Load: She starts out as this, supremely lazy and unwilling to do her job. When she's sent out into the field, she lacks the stamina to use her kagune for anything but a One-Hit Kill. She overcomes this later on, with the death of Shirazu and resignation of Sasaki leading to her becoming the 2nd in command.
• Marshmallow Hell: She jokingly credits shoving a berserk Urie's face into her boobs with saving the day.
• Meaningful Name: "Saiko" can mean "highest" or "best" in Japanese. She's shown as having the highest RC rate among the Quinx as well and unleashes hell to a downed Nutcracker in an Offscreen Moment of Awesome.
• NEET: She's called one by the other members of the team, and she seems proud of this label.
• Nice Girl: Probably one of the nicest and laid-back members of the original Squad.
• The Nicknamer: Like Shirazu, she likes to give her squad members nicknames.
• The Nose Knows: Saiko smells human blood on Mutsuki and wants to talk with Mutsuki about the things he's been hiding. Instead, Mutsuki reveals his true sex, which Saiko already knew.
• Not a Morning Person: She complains about having to be awake, and others comment about her oversleeping again.
• Nothing Is Scarier: When she uses her kagune, the scene cuts to the aftermath — massive kagune marks in the floor and walls, a maimed Nutcracker lying on the ground, and a Mauve Shirt staring at her in shock while noting that he isn't even sure who the real monsters are. Also an Offscreen Moment of Awesome for her. Later on, we actually do get to see her Kagune in action and we see why Hayashimura was terrified.
• Number Two: After Mutsuki and Sasaki left the squad and Shirazu died, she became the Deputy Squad Leader of the Quinx.
• One-Hit Kill: Her kagune pretty much devastates anything it hits, but she doesn't seem to have the stamina to do it more than once.
• Otaku: She's a somewhat stereotypical Otaku, incredibly lazy and only interested in anime, manga, video games, and playing around on the internet.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother left her father when she was still young, and later sold Saiko to the CCG in exchange for the money.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: Her go-to move when bringing her comrades back to their senses, usually while offering a Cooldown Hug.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: She begs Sasaki to not go and fight Takizawa, with tears in her eyes. Just like the last time someone did that, he smiles gently and walks away.
• Rank Up: In Chapter 32, she becomes a Rank 2. As of Chapter 59, she is the Deputy Leader of the Quinx Squad.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Yoriko Kuroiwa's, Takeomi Kuroiwa's wife's, imprisonment and ordered execution for supposedly abetting ghouls is the straw that broke the camel's back for Saiko, and she decides to leave the CCG and "become a terrorist" to save Yoriko.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Fed up with the brutal and senseless killing under Kichimura Washuu's direction, Saiko decides to leave the CCG and attempts to sway Urie to her side. She succeeds.
• Shout-Out: An Otaku, she's rapidly collecting these every time she appears.
  • She has a poster from Himouto! Umaru-chan in her room, and talks about Final Fantasy XI in her sleep.
  • She compares Shirazu in drag to the Delmo from Agent Aika.
• Spit Take: She spits her drink out in Ui's face twice, when she hears Kuroiwa proposing to his childhood friend, Yoriko, and her accepting.
• The Squadette: The lone female member of the Quinx (if you don't count Mutsuki as female), at least until Hsiao joins over the second Time Skip.
• Super-Senses: She has a heightened sense of hearing, able to identify the number of approaching people by their footsteps or hear food cooking in the kitchen of a busy restaurant. She also has a good sense of smelling.
• Tears of Joy: She is very happy when Urie assures her, that the "Sasaki" Furuta executed was a fake.
• Tender Tears: Is positively bawling when Shirazu dies before her.
• The Unreveal: She finally uses her kagune in Ch. 28, but the scene immediately changes to the aftermath and the Mauve Shirt staring at her in horror.
• Third-Person Person: Often refers to herself as "Saiko".
• Took a Level in Badass: Come the second Time Skip and she's gotten much more deadly and a lot less lazy.
• Unwitting Pawn: Urie plans to use her to discredit and ruin Shirazu, in hopes of regaining his position as Squad Leader.
• You Are Not Alone: Brings Urie back to his senses, reassuring him that he doesn't need to bear everything alone and is loved.

Ching-Li Hsiao

Voiced by: Maya Enoyoshi (Japanese), Katelyn Barr (English)

A new recruit to the Quinx, from the second batch of candidates. Originally from Taiwan, she is a recruit from the mysterious Sunlit Garden and seems to have prior experience as an Investigator.

---

• The Ace: Her abilities were second only to Hairu Ihei at the Garden.
• Action Girl: She is stated to be an exceptional fighter, and her high rank indicates experience.
• Ambiguously Gay: She gushes about how "cute" and "sexy" Saiko is, before Higemaru cuts her off.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: She's an expert in hand-to-hand combat, in contrast to the typical focus on weapons.
• But Not Too Foreign: Originally from Taiwan.
• The Coats Are Off: She tosses aside her jacket, just prior to charging into battle.
• Contortionist: During her Workout Fanservice, she does a full split and follows it up by standing on one leg while pressing her opposite knee to the back of her head with leg fully extended.
• Cool Big Sis: Hairu was one to her in the past, and now Saiko is one as well. Ironically, she often behaves like the older and more mature of either pair.
• Cuteness Overload: Her response to Saiko being adorable is comical, with her wailing dramatically.
• Ear Cleaning: She enjoys doing this for others, and Saiko takes full advantage of it.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Per Marude's confrontation with Yoshitoki, she's also a Hybrid child.
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: In an omake, Saiko refers to her as the girl with the impossibly tiny waist.
• Most Common Superpower: She's a superhuman with a large bust.
• Ms. Fanservice: Prone to wearing very tight clothing, and showing off how flexible she is.
• New Meat: Subverted. While she is a new recruit to the Quinx Squad, she is already a Rank 1 Investigator with enough kills to earn the prestigious White Wing Award.
• Not So Stoic: When reminded of "Hairu-neesama", she begins wailing dramatically.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: On Rushima, she wears a backless catsuit that is very form-fitting.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Sanpei Aura attempts to pull a What the Hell, Hero? on Hsiao and Higemaru, who cooperate with the ghouls now and oppose Aura when he and Mutsuki attempt to kill Touka, it's turned right back on him.
  Hsiao: [after kicking Aura's face] You "wanted to protect [your aunt]"? Touma's uncle and Hairu are both gone. If you really want to protect her, then what the hell are you doing here?! Wimp.
• Spell My Name With An S: There's numerous ways to write her name, including Ching-Li Hsiao, Genie Hsiao, Jinrī Shao, and Jìng-Lì Xiǎo. Take your pick.
• Spy Catsuit: She wears a form-fitting suit for the infiltration of Rushima.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Alongside Aura and Higemaru, the other new recruits.
• Tyke Bomb: A recruit from the Sunlit Garden, which trains "special children".
• Workout Fanservice: In Ch. 61, she's seen doing stretches in very minimal workout gear.

Shinsanpei Aura

Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese), Michael Jones (English)

A new recruit to the Quinx, and the nephew of the Kiyoko Aura. Unlike his aunt, he is mild-mannered and failed to excel at the Academy.

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• Affectionate Nickname: He is sometimes called Sanpei by the other squad members. His aunt calls him "San-chan".
• Arch-Enemy: He sees Kaneki as this after the latter hospitalizes his aunt.
• Ax-Crazy: His obsession with killing Kaneki is enough to make his aunt worry for him.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Underneath his bangs and his quiet demeanor, he turns out to be a bit unstable. After his aunt is hospitalized, he becomes consumed with his desire for revenge and even shows signs of enjoying violently stabbing his opponents to death. After he catches Mutsuki assaulting a fake "Haise Sasaki", he doesn't seem the least bit disturbed and even offers to help cover everything up. All he wants is to kill the real Sasaki.
• Bullying a Dragon: He goes after Kaneki, trying to taunt and abuse him as revenge. Kaneki quickly reminds Aura just how outclassed he is, mocking him for his rookie mistakes.
• Coat Cape: He wears his jacket like this, over his shoulders.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Taunts and sucker-punches Kaneki when he's getting back to his feet. This promptly backfires, with Kaneki impaling him through all four limbs and pointing out that he should know RC drugs don't kick in that fast.
• Eyes Out of Sight: His bangs completely conceal his eyes. Although underneath his bangs, his eyes are very menacing and disturbing during the Clown Seige operation and his battle against "Sasaki".
• Famous Ancestor: The nephew of the legendary Kiyoko Aura, the first female Special Class and current Chief of Division I.
• Heroes Gone Fishing: He likes to go fishing during his time off.
• Hypocrite: He really has no right to say he fights as a human to kill the hated ghouls, while swinging around his kagune to kill his fellow Quinx.
• He Who Fights Monsters: His desire to take revenge for his aunt starts down him an increasingly dark path, bringing out a violent and cruel side of him.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: When teamed up with Saiko, who doesn't even come up to his shoulders.
• Inadequate Inheritor: In contrast to his aunt, his performance at the Academy was disappointingly average.
• It's Personal: Holds a grudge against Kaneki due to Kaneki cutting off his aunt's legs during his defection from the CCG.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He rapidly goes from showing signs of letting his grudge get to him to actively covering up or assisting Mutsuki in brutal acts. In particular, he takes part in framing a coworker's innocent wife and spirals into indulging in sadistic behaviors.
• Neck Snap: Has this done to him by Yomo and is left for dead afterwards.
• New Meat: A rookie member of the Quinx.
• Playing Possum: After having his neck broken, he simply wakes up and resets his head when Mutsuki pokes him.
• Psychotic Smirk: When the reactions to the execution of the fake Haise Sasaki are shown, he's wearing a deranged grin.
• Those Two Guys: In an omake, Saiko classifies him as this along with Higemaru.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Joins the Quinx alongside Higemaru and Genie.
• Winged Humanoid: His profile reveals him to be an Ukaku.

Touma Higemaru

Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta (Japanese), Kyle Phillips (English)

A new recruit to the Quinx. He comes from a wealthy family, with a history of public service.

---

• An Arm and a Leg: He loses both of his arms to SS-rated Clown, Crown.
  • Subverted after the battle, his arms fully regenerated.
• Affectionate Nickname: Hige, used by Saiko and Mutsuki.
• Big Guy Rodeo: Attempts this on a rampaging Kakuja Amon, and gets smashed into a wall for his troubles.
• Keet: He's nearly as cute and energetic as Saiko, with bright pink hair.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He was fairly accomplished at the Academy, and is a complete Urie fanboy.
• Last-Name Basis: Referred to by his surname, though clearly close to his superiors.
• New Meat: A rookie member of the Quinx.
• Princely Young Man: His family is extremely wealthy.
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: He seems extremely cheerful and fun, with pink hair in contrast to Saiko's blue.
• Tail Slap: His profile reveals him to be a Bikaku.
• Teeth Flying: He loses a tooth during the battle against Amon, after getting back-handed across the room.
• Those Two Guys: In an omake, Saiko classifies him as this along with Shinsanpei.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Joins the Quinx alongside Aura and Genie.

Former Members

Haise Sasaki

See Ken Kaneki

Ginshi Shirazu

Voiced by: Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Daman Mills (English)

A 20-year old Ghoul Investigator that volunteered for the Quinx Project due to financial reasons. He has an unusual appearance and a short temper, tending to take things easy and follow the lead of others. Dim-witted and friendly, he tends to follow Urie around and is manipulated by him to cause problems for Sasaki. Even so, he is quick to defend his comrades and thinks about them before himself. Though he performed poorly at the Academy, he is a skilled fighter and Sasaki expresses confidence in his potential as a leader.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Called "Shiragin" by Saiko. His sister calls him "Gin".
• Awesome by Analysis: He's able to figure out the trick to Nutcracker's kagune traps through observation, and uses his heightened senses to locate them all in the room.
• Badass Biker: He comes to the rescue more than once on his motorcycle, with enough skill to use his kagune while engaging in a high-speed chase.
• Bash Brothers: With Urie, though they're prone to bickering.
• Beady-Eyed Loser: His tiny pupils add to his unusual appearance.
• Berserk Button: Insulting his comrades to his face.
• Big Eater: His appetite makes him a match for Saiko, leaving Hanbee poorer and wondering if it's an unique trait of the Quinx.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He has a tendency to be loud and comical, and loves a good fight.
• Book Dumb: He admits that he's not very intelligent, and received poor grades in school.
• Catapult Nightmare: He does it in Chapter 34, waking screaming from a nightmare.
• Cluster F-Bomb: He does this frequently.
• Comically Missing the Point: He protests about driving faster while pursing a suspect, because then he'll be breaking traffic laws by speeding.
• Could Have Been Messy: He narrowly avoids a Groin Attack by Nutcracker, but that doesn't stop him from screaming in terror at the near-miss.
• Crush Blush: He blushes while talking to Akira, who he describes as the "Holy Mother of CCG". He later starts blushing when he runs into Touka for the second time. When Saiko and Tooru notice how he's blushing when first talking to Hairu they seem to assume this trope is at play again and Saiko teasingly accuses him of being a pervert.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: After helping bring down Noro, he dies in Urie's arms.
• Dragged into Drag: For the Nutcracker Investigation, he's forced to crossdress and complains about not pulling it off well.
• Driven to Suicide: A nightmare sequence reveals his father committed suicide when he was young.
• Dying Alone: While he does have Urie and Saiko by his side at the end, he's too injured to feel or sense anything else, so for him, it was as if he was dying alone. He still keeps talking though, just in case anyone can hear him.
• Face of a Thug: His beady eyes and sharp teeth make him look quite scary, but he turns out to be friendly and something of a dork.
• First-Name Basis: With Mutsuki, who he treats like a little brother. He calls Urie by his personal name in his thoughts, but avoids doing so to his face.
• Flipping the Bird: He's very fond of doing this.
• Foil: Not unlike Nutcracker, he has a desire for money. However, his motives are for more altruistic since his goal is to rescue his ill younger sister from a disease; Nutcracker's motivations are more selfish - a desire to become beautifiul. She also stooped down to doing pretty terrible things to pursue her desire, unlike Shirazu who maintains his moral fiber.
• Foreshadowing: Doing the Nutcracker/Auction arc, he's the only who gives Haise his last will and testament. Of the Q's, he's the first to die.
• Friendly Fire: He doesn't seem particularly concerned when his shots graze Urie, making light of it.
• Friend to All Children: He seems to be very fond of kids, immediately warming up the moment he meets Chie.
• Giver of Lame Names: When fighting Orochi, he gives one of his attacks a name.
  Shirazu: "Point Blank Bomber!"
  Orochi: "Tch, what a shitty name."
• Good Is Dumb: He is one of the nobler of the Quinx and admits to doing the worst in school.
• Hair Antennae: Two short bits of hair stick up like these near the top of his head (and are even present on his speech bubbles to indicate when he's talking off panel) which fits with how he is a Book Dumb dork with very good observational skills.
• Healthcare Motivation: His little sister is hospitalized, leaving him desperate for money.
• Heroic BSoD: After killing Nutcracker, he collapses and is seen sitting against the wall with a troubled expression.
  • It continues during the series, as he can't use his Quinque properly since it reminds him of Nutcracker.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He takes a fatal blow creating an opening for Urie, in order to take down Noro.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He thinks Urie is a great guy and trusts him, while fooled into believing Sasaki is going to stab him in the back. He eventually realizes that was a lie, but continues to be fooled by Urie's false displays of cooperation.
• Hot-Blooded: He's all passionate and energy, in comparison to his more serious comrades.
• I'm Cold... So Cold...: As he's dying, his senses dull and his teeth start to chatter from the cold. He pleads for someone to hold his hand.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In the first chapter, he's run through by a Ghoul's kagune. He initially plays dead, but quickly shrugs it off.
  • Later, he's impaled by Nutcracker's tail. He manages to walk it off.
• Important Haircut: In Chapter 42, he buzzes off his hair to mark his renewed commitment to his squad.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He initially comes across as a violent, uncaring thug. But he's actually a really nice guy beneath his tough exterior and cares deeply for his comrades.
• Meaningful Name: Shirazu （不知) means "Ignorant", in a nod to him being rather naive and Book Dumb.
• Mercy Kill: He asks Urie to let his little sister die, so she won't suffer anymore.
• Missing Mom: He makes a vague mention of his mother being out there somewhere, implying she may have walked out on the family at some point.
• Monstrous Cannibalism: He threatens to eat Urie's kakuhou, an unusual statement from someone that is supposedly still "human".
• More Dakka: His Ukaku-type kagune, which seems to operate on "shoot it until it dies" without much aim.
• Mythology Gag: Motorcycles don't tend to last long in Tokyo Ghoul, though his has yet to explode.
• The Nicknamer: He gives nicknames to his peers, calling Sasaki "Sassan" and Urie "Uliuli Cookies".
• Nightmare Sequence: Chapter 34 begins with one, with him dreaming of finding the body after his father hung himself — the corpse speaks to him, and a dead Nutcracker attacks him before he wakes up.
• Only in It for the Money: He volunteered to be a test subject and seeks promotion because he desperately needs the money. Urie uses this desperation to manipulate him.
• Promotion to Parent: His mother abandoned the family long ago, and his father apparently killed himself. This left Shirazu responsible for caring for himself and his ill little sister.
• Rank Up: In Chapter 32, he becomes a Rank 2.
• Rule-Abiding Rebel: He comes across as a complete rebel, with his piercings and tough looks and his motorcycle. But then he worries about breaking traffic laws, and is kind of good-natured dork.
• Say It with Hearts: When he greets Urie, his speech includes a star symbol.
• Scary Teeth: He has shark-like teeth, adding to his unsettling appearance.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The more aggressive, out-spoken of the pair when he hangs out with the gentle and kind-hearted Mutsuki.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: He's become one after the Auction, showing major signs of trauma over the killing of Nutcracker. Haunted by nightmares and hallucinations of her, he becomes sick when presented with the Quinque made from her and freaks out when trying to use it in combat.
• Ship Tease: He seems to have a crush on several of his female coworkers.
  • He blushes while speaking to Akira, and it seems Mutsuki at least knows about his feelings.
  • When he meets Ihei, he stammers and blushes. Saiko immediately teases him for this.
  • When asked by Uta about whether he likes girls, Shirazu immediately thinks of Ihei, Akira, and Saiko.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: "Fuck" seems to be his favorite word, often shouted multiple times in a row.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: He puts on Sasaki's glasses, and tries to act more intelligent than he actually is.
• Stress Vomit: He ends up getting sick, after months of stressing over killing Nutcracker.
• Super-Senses: He has a heightened sense of hearing, allowing him to overhearing distant conversations or hear Saiko breathing through a door.
• Sympathy for the Devil: He's visibly shaken at Nutcracker's final moments, collapsing in the corner after finishing her off.
• Tarot Motifs: XII. The Hanged Man, seen on his shirt in Chapter 34 while screaming from his nightmare based on his father's suicide and inner conflictions about killing Nutcracker.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Urie, to the point they nearly come to blows.
• These Hands Have Killed: He's seen staring at his hand, after killing Nutcracker.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Shirazu was the most earnest, hard-working, and utterly unselfish guy around. So of course he's the first member of the main cast to die, and goes in a particularly horrifying fashion after sacrificing himself to save the others. And for good measure, his corpse is then stolen by Aogiri so to be used in experiments by Kanou.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: When he goes to pick up his new Quinque, he ends up throwing up due to the stress.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He unleashes on Matsuri when the commander orders the squad to leave Sasaki to fight alone, yelling until another Investigator reprimands him for speaking out of turn to a member of the Washuu Clan.
• You Are in Command Now: Though only a Rank 3, he is promoted to Squad Leader following the battle with Orochi. He immediately protests that he isn't smart enough for the job.

Tooru Mutsuki

Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara (Japanese), Mikaela Krantz (English)

A 20-year old Investigator, noted for his poor health and meek personality. A youth orphaned in a Ghoul attack. Asked to be treated as a male rather than a female when joining the CCG.

After the Tsukiyama Family Extermination operation, he joined the Hachikawa Squad and later on the Suzuya Squad.

---

• Affectionate Nickname: Saiko refers to him as "Mucchan" and "Mutsuko", while Dr. Shiba and Hirako Squad start calling him "Eyepatch".
• Afraid of Blood: He mentions having trouble at the sight of blood, even stating he doesn't like to eat meat if it's rare. This takes a disturbing subtext when we learn the truth.
• All Periods Are PMS: Mutsuki suffers from abdominal cramps in the middle of the Human Auction operation, which only make things worse for him, considering he was not too long ago seriously injured by Kanae and his regeneration isn't working properly. Urie is also able to smell Mutsuki's menstrual blood after Urie accidentally attacked Mutsuki during said operation, which makes him realize that Mutsuki is biologically female.
• Alone with the Psycho: During the Torso Investigation, Mutsuki notices a taxi driver watching a woman in a creepy manner and gets into the taxi to protect her. The driver turns out to be Torso, as Urie and Shirazu discover through their own investigation — they arrive in time to help rescue their comrade. Over a year later, he again finds himself trapped and alone with Torso.
• An Arm and a Leg: During the Rushima mission, he's captured by Torso and wakes to find his limbs have been cut off.
• Ambiguously Brown: He has a much darker complexion than the other characters.
• Ambiguous Gender Identity: It's revealed from early on that Mutsuki was assigned female at birth. While he presents himself as male, not much is made clear about what Mutsuki actually thinks of his gender. There is some implication that he wanted to live as a man because he finds sexual male attention to be disturbing, which could indicate it's not that he identifies as a man, but that living as a man is just more bearable to the alternative (which would mean cis men would look at him sexually) even if he actually identifies as a woman. This becomes even more complicated with revelations about Mutsuki's shattered mind and escalating Sanity Slippage. At its worst, Mutsuki switches Japanese Pronouns in mid-sentence and can't seem to maintain a stable sense of self.
• Arch-Enemy: Clearly becomes one for Touka. Most of her actions later in the series are motivated by her extreme hatred for the woman who has won the heart of the man Mutsuki most desires.
• Ax-Crazy: The "other" Mutsuki, who violently murdered his family with an axe. After regaining these memories, Mutsuki is horrified.
• The Bait: Matsuri Washuu orders him to be sent undercover alone, as bait for the Madam's Auction. Sasaki is not pleased with the thought of sacrificing Mutsuki for the mission.
• Bash Brothers: With Urie, with Sasaki assigning them to the vanguard together. Their fighting styles complement one another, with Urie's heavy Koukaku-attacks and Mutsuki's swifter fighting style.
• Being Tortured Makes You Evil: After being abused by Torso for a prolonged period of time, Mutsuki drops his facade and releases his "other half" which utterly destroys Torso.
• Berserker Tears: While attacking the other Quinx, leading Saiko to point it out as evidence that Mutsuki doesn't really want to kill them.
• A Birthday, Not a Break: He spends his birthday held prisoner by Torso.
• Big Damn Heroes: After killing Torso during the Rushima Operation, he shows up to help Mado take down Takizawa. It's immediately subverted when he declares he'll kill Amon and then uses his kagune to slice Mado's cheek...
• Brick Joke: Has a tendency to get knocked in the face by people he's trying to torment. It's oddly hilarious in karmatic kind of way.
• Bridal Carry: Carried by Sasaki, after the Quinx arrive to rescue him.
• But Now I Must Go: In the finale, Mutsuki chooses to transfer away from Tokyo and leave the other Quinx behind.
• By the Hair: As a child, Mutsuki's father dragged him around by his long bangs. Suddenly, his super-short bangs aren't as cute...
• Cain and Abel: Mutsuki killed his elder brother when he had enough of the abuse at home.
• Call-Back: The Non-Action Guy stops a rampaging comrade through their gentle strength, being impaled in the process but bringing them back to their senses with a Cooldown Hug.
  • Mutsuki as a character is one giant Call-Back to Kaneki's character in the original series. Check out Suspiciously Similar Substitute for details.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: He accepts a glass from a waiter, and quickly ends up completely hammered. Sasaki is horrified.
• Character Tic: When particularly dishonest with himself, he seems to pull at the clothing covering his lap.
  • After Rue island it´s revealed that he has adopted the habit of finger tapping when stressed out, just like Torso...
• Combat Pragmatist: Proves to be one during the fight against the more powerful Takizawa, employing numerous dirty tricks to gain the upper hand. However...
• Combat Sadomasochist: Seems to have become this after his revelation, as he both grinned and blushed when he crushed Takizawa´s balls.
• Conveniently an Orphan: His parents and brother were both killed by Ghouls, leaving him a ward of CCG. Subverted as that "Ghoul" was himself.
• Cooldown Hug: Provides one to Urie.
• Covered in Scars: His torso at least is heavily scarred, much to Torso's delight.
• Cowardly Lion: Though weak and easily frightened, he doesn't hesitate to put himself in danger for the sake of civilians or his comrades.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Mutsuki picks up on Haise's crush on Touka, and eventually this jealousy escalates to attacking her at :Re and kidnapping Yoriko to use against her.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Ch. 73 reveals that Mutsuki's father was a violent drunk, and the entire family seems to have lived in fear of his rages. He once tried to drown Tooru, while demanding to be praised as a good father. This abuse led to him eventually snapping and murdering his entire family.
• Deer in the Headlights: When thrown on stage at the Auction, he was already in a state of panic. Then the Auctioneer takes his eyepatch and exposes him as a rare One-Eyed Ghoul, sending the crowd into a frenzy of excitement. Mutsuki freezes up, barely able to think and sitting in shock until he's dragged off-stage after being sold. It didnt't help that No Face told him that no help would come.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Invoked by the officials from CCG, who suggested that with the loss of his family he was probably desperate to have a place to belong and something to devote his life to. They, naturally, suggest he should devote himself to becoming an Investigator. He doesn't respond either way, leaving unclear whether he truly feels that way or not.
• Devoted to You: After their initial encounter, Torso becomes a violently possessive Stalker with a Crush that tries to rescue him during the raid at the Auction. Suffice to say, Mutsuki doesn't exactly appreciate the attention.
• Didn't Think This Through: Mitsuki's pursuit of Kaneki and frequent attempted murder of Touka was flawed from the start as if Touka had died, Kaneki's sanity would of completely shattered, also considering that Touka was pregnant with his child, this was beyond dumb which would of resulted with Kaneki killing him and everyone else. The final result now was that the Kagune dragon was released which killed thousands of people due to Mutsuki's dumb and selfish desire.
• Disease Bleach: His hair becomes progressively lighter during the weeks he was held prisoner by Torso, finally becoming fully white after he regains the memories of his past.
• Distress Ball: During the Rushima Arc, Mutsuki is somehow captured by Torso in spite of having previously been much stronger.
• Distressed Dude:
  • Mutsuki is briefly kidnapped by Torso, forcing his teammates to rescue him.
  • He's again thrown the Distress Ball at the Auction, where he's drugged and auctioned off to a crowd of high-class Ghouls for an astounding price.
  • During the Rushima mission, he's again captured by Torso and finds himself imprisoned with all his limbs removed.
• Does Not Like Men: Used in a somewhat unusual fashion, when Mutsuki is dressed in a dress. He's shown to be extremely uncomfortable around the male patrons of a nightclub and expresses that he finds the Male Gaze to be disgusting.
• Does Not Like Women: When fighting Touka he expresses on him hating women as Touka has taken Kaneki away from him.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Torso attacks him, tears open his shirt, then finds out his birth sex, and brutally beats him when he fights back.
• Driven to Suicide: Attempts suicide after being confronted by Urie and Saiko, only to be stopped by them and talked down.
• Dual Wielding: Mutsuki uses a pair of Rinkaku-type daggers as his Quinque.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Urie and Saiko manage to talk him down from his suicide attempt and accept him back. In the Distant Finale, the trio are still working together (and join Shirazu's sister in visiting his grave), and it's implied he's made up with Kaneki and Touka.
• Easily Forgiven: Mutsuki's numerous attacks on Touka and mistreatment of Yoriko are quickly forgiven during the greater crisis. By the Distant Finale, Mutsuki seems to be on good terms with Touka and sends gifts to the Kaneki family.
• Enemy to All Living Things: Zigzagged. Mutsuki is revealed to have killed several cats while at the Academy, but has no memories of having committed these acts. When confronted over his actions, he has a mental breakdown and hysterically denies having done it... while cradling a jar of cat tongues.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • Very weird example. Both Mutsuki and Kaneki end up captured during the Aogiri-centred arc and are viciously tortured by an individual shaped by similar experiences, then end up going through a personality shift after recalling their Dark and Troubled Past, defeating their captor and escaping, their hair turning white in the process. The difference is that, while Kaneki became an Anti-Hero driven by a desire to protect his friends, Mutsuki slips into his psychotic Split Personality.
  • Mutsuki is one to Suzuya. Both were abused at home, but Mutsuki always saw violence as something bad, while Suzuya eventually lost that association, being rewarded by his "mother" if he acted violently instead. Suzuya in the CCG openly displayed violence, while Mutsuki hides his and is ashamed of it. This is also seen in both their relationships with Tokage. During his stay in the academy, Suzuya was accused of killing cats and never denied that he did it, when in truth it was Tokage who did it. When Mutsuki was accused of doing the same, it actually was him and Tokage acted as his Evil Mentor. Suzuya used to talk with himself and split his person as "Juuzou" and "Rei" in the past, but they basically were the same person with no memory gaps, while Mutsuki actually has a violent split-personality with memory lapses to hide it.
• Evil Mentor: Tokage mentored Mutsuki at the Academy, encouraging every negative impulse. After Rushima, Mutsuki begins mentoring Shinsanpei as he becomes obsessed with revenge. Later on, Mutsuki is promoted and made the mentor of the Oggai, bringing the cycle of toxic relationships full circle.
• Eyepatch of Power: He wears a medical eyepatch, as a result of his Kakugan. Sasaki later gives him a proper eyepatch as a Christmas gift, and he then switches to that.
• Face–Heel Turn: Mutsuki becomes a more sinister and dangerous character after Rushima, becoming an Evil Mentor to Shinsanpei and expressing interest in killing both Kaneki and Touka.
• Failed a Spot Check: After seemingly taking Yomo down, Mutsuki walks up to him to finish him off, but fails to connect the presence of puddles of water all around them to Yomo's electric abilities, which the latter had already displayed at that point. Walking straight into a trap, Yomo releases an electric current into the area which is conducted by the water to electrocute Mutsuki, leaving him badly charred.
• Finger in the Mail: Presents Touka with news of Yoriko's engagement... and a partial hand wearing an engagement ring. It's later proven to be a complete lie.
• Frame-Up: Mutsuki writes a false report about Yoriko, Takeomi Kuroiwa's wife and Touka's human best friend, supposedly knowingly abetting and sheltering a ghoul (Touka), which leads to her arrest. Takeomi points out to Urie that the report must be plainly wrong, as Yoriko is a Bad Liar.
• Freudian Excuse: Mutsuki grew up in a nightmarish home environment, living in a garbage-stewn home with a violent father that brutally abused him. Eventually, he snapped and killed his entire family before being thrown into the Juvenile system. The authorities handed him over to the CCG, and he was placed into the same Academy that neglected Juuzou. There, he was bullied and tormented by other children and "mentored" by the sadistic Goumasa Tokage.
• Friendless Background: A flashback reveals he was the target of considerable gossip at the Junior Academy, with the other children calling him names and spreading rumors about him killing cats or murdering his parents.
• Gender-Blender Name: Tooru is a gender neutral name, which is quite convenient for him.
• Gender Reveal: In chapter 4, Torso rips open Mutsuki's shirt to reveal bound breasts. Flashbacks in chapter 5 further reveal Mutsuki was born female, but later requested to live as a man.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: He survives being impaled, though his Healing Factor takes a while to kick in. After his "revelation", the delay vanishes completely, allowing him great feats of regeneration such as regaining his limbs in the matter of seconds. He can even shrug off major damage without issue.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: Seeing Sasaki with Touka together in the café makes Mutsuki realize that he loves Sasaki, like a woman loves a man.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Said epiphany also makes Mutsuki want to kill Touka...
• Grew a Spine: After he merges with his "other half", Mutsuki becomes much more self-assertive and confident. Unfortunately, this comes with the downside of becoming more violent and mentally unstable.
• Groin Attack: During the fight with Takizawa, Mutsuki kicks him in the crotch and then stomps on him while he's down.
• A Handful for an Eye: A variation on this nasty trick. Instead of throwing, he spits blood into his opponent's eyes to blind them.
• Hates Being Touched: Mutsuki gets uncomfortable and finds it "disgusting" when it comes to people giving him predatory Male Gaze or attention or when Torso touches him. This is implied to be a result of his father possibly raping him when he was younger.
• The Heart: He does his best to hold his dysfunctional teammates together, smoothing over arguments and offering emotional support. He also seems to be the most morally upright of the bunch, being a gentle and selfless individual. This causes him to snap when he's forced to confront his memories at last.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Mutsuki fought off deranged, Ax-Crazy Ghouls but after being stuck with Torso for nearly a month, he realized he was just like the monsters he fought against, if not worse.
• He's Back!: In Ch. 92, Mutsuki shows up to assist Akira and looks none the worse for wear with fresh combat gear and neatly-trimmed hair. However, when Akira mentions that Mutsuki seems to be alright, he readily admits that he's most definitely not okay.
• He-Man Woman Hater: While facing Touka, Mutsuki flies into a rage and claims to hate women.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Mutsuki initially has issues controlling both his Kakugan and Kagune.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Chapter 154 reveals that Mutsuki's RC cell count could never truly be determined (Dr. Shiba only found an RC cell count of 3), because Mutsuki has been suppressing his cells the whole time. He stops doing that at the end of the chapter and gets serious.
• If I Can't Have You…: Mutsuki takes Kaneki's hesitation and finding him with Touka as evidence of his betrayal, and launches into a vicious attack with drug-laced knives.
• Ignored Epiphany: Mutsuki's horror over past crimes quickly gets thrown aside, in favor of rapidly escalating Sanity Slippage and clumsy attempts to cover everything up.
• I Have Your Wife: Mutsuki arrests Yoriko, Touka's best friend and Takeomi's wife, and Furuta sentences her to death, to lure out Kaneki.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Averted, as the Quinx do not require human flesh to survive. Then played straight, with The Reveal that he ate at least one dead Investigator to heal his wounds during the Auction.
  • The fact that Saiko smells human blood on Mutsuki isn't reassuring.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
  • Kanae impales him with his kagune to try to stop him from escaping.
  • Urie shoves his arm through Mutsuki while out of control, in a call-out to Banjou stopping Kakuja Kaneki.
• Important Haircut: He's shown to have chopped his long hair off, after declaring his desire to live as a man. At the Promotion Ceremony, he debuts a similar short cut in line with his new confidence and higher Rank.
• Impossibly Delicious Food: Just like Kaneki, it seems that his blood is incredibly delicious. One taste of it brings Kanae to tears.
• Intoxication Ensues: He starts drinking during a stakeout at a nightclub, and becomes completely plastered. His obnoxious behavior ends up accomplishing their mission, after which he declares his intention to go "Dance the dance of victory!" with Saiko.
• It's All About Me: Fell into this at the nadir of his sanity. He really didn't care how much damage Kaneki (as Dragon) caused, as long as he was the one with him when it was all over. Subverted shortly after coming to his senses, helping Touka find the comatose Kaneki within the massive beast.
• The Killer in Me: Utterly convinced that a "ghoul" killed his family. Until he remembers that he did it himself with an axe at the age of 12 and a Slasher Smile during the whole thing.
• Laughing Mad: Mutsuki breaks down into hysterical laughter, after seeing Torso's body and realizing the full scale of his past crimes.
• Living MacGuffin: He becomes one during the Auction, with all major parties involved trying to get their hands on him either to rescue or steal him. Big Madam wants him as a pet, Kanae wants to obtain him for Tsukiyama, Torso wants him for himself, the Quinx seek to rescue him, and Nutcracker wants him for his extremely high value.
• Love Makes You Evil: Mutsuki's twisted idea of "love" results in maiming the fake Sasaki and zeroing in on Touka, in an escalating spiral of jealousy and violence.
• Mark of the Supernatural: His Kakugan is permanently active, revealing he isn't completely human anymore. After his "revelation", he loses this trait completely.
• Mask of Sanity: Mutsuki seemed to be the most grounded of the Quinx, always provided emotional support to others. In truth, he is a deeply disturbed individual with a fractured mind.
• Meaningful Name: Tooru means "Seeing Through", hinting at his insightful nature. It doubles as an Ironic Name, since he's pretty good at discovering the nature of other things...except himself.
• Metaphorically True: A ghoul did kill his family. The "ghoul" was him, though.
• Missing Time: Mutsuki mentions that there seem to be gaps in his memories... from the times when he committed violent acts.
• Morality Chain: Even after his revelation, Urie remains this to him.
• Narcissist: Following his Sanity Slippage, Mutsuki begins to not care about what his actions are causing as long as his ends were met as he even started to become more self-centered and hostile towards anyone who got in his way, this began to fade after his Heel Realization.
• Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight: He briefly manages to get the upper hand with his knives, but Torso quickly overpowers and disarms him. A Justified example, since his opponent is a Rinkaku-type with a strong Healing Factor and therefore able to shrug off getting his eyes slashed out.
• Nice Guy: Very kind and so normal one wonders why Mutsuki joined the Quinx. This isn't the entire picture.
• No Kill like Overkill: Mutsuki doesn't just kill Torso. He viciously mutilates him, ripping his body to pieces and leaving his headless and limbless body on display in the cave for the Quinx to discover later.
• Non-Action Guy: He's initially the weakest member of the team, with an RC level barely above the human norm. As a result, Sasaki states Mutsuki wasn't suited to the team's purpose of creating a high-level Investigator. This changes after the Time Skip and time spent training with Juuzou, with him becoming a far more skilled and confident fighter. Considering his true nature, this is quite ironic.
• No Periods, Period: The Human Auction operation doesn't go well for Mutsuki, as he is not only hurt by Kanae (and barely regenerating), he is also menstruating. Urie smells Mutsuki's menstrual blood and realizes that Mutsuki is biologically female.
• Only Sane Man: Mutsuki seems to be the only member that actually follows orders and does what is expected without causing trouble. Except it turns out that he's also the only member with an actual, serious, crime-record as well.
• Playing Possum: After falling for Yomo's trap and getting electrocuted, he's left a charred corpse... until, after everyone else but him and Shinsanpei is gone, he stands up again, alive and uninjured.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Pleads for "Sensei" to not go, while screaming in rage and burning the cafe to the ground.
• Power Copying: Another trait they share with Kaneki. Mutsuki has adopted Suzuya’s knife style and has even managed to copy Saiko’s kagune fist attack and Kaneki’s creepy eye studded kagune form.
• Psycho Knife Nut : He develops into an extremely talented knife fighter, under Juuzou's guidance. Takes a more psychopathic turn in Chapter 79 when it's revealed he killed a cat using a knife under Tokage's instruction, and Torso's death report explicitly states that his tongue was cut out.
• Rank Up: As of Chapter 32, he's promoted two ranks and becomes a Rank 1.
• Rape as Backstory: Implied. In a flashback, Mutsuki's father leers at him after his shirt gets soaked in water. This could explain why he's so disturbed by male attention.
• Rape as Drama: Implied. He's shown sharing a make-shift futon with Torso, who is keeping him prisoner.
• Red Baron: After the Auction and his promotion, Hirako Squad officially dubs him "Eyepatch" in recognition of his deeds.
• Replacement Goldfish: To Torso, who has spent his life trying to find a replacement for his lost childhood friend.
• The Reveal: Mutsuki apparently suffers from a Split Personality, and killed his entire family.
• Room Full of Crazy: In Chapter 123, Urie goes into Mutsuki's room while the other is away. What he finds is a wall that's been repeatedly stabbed, with pictures pinned to the wall by knives. All the photos are of Touka, with the blade going through her face.
• Sadist: Starts to become more relaxed with killing ghouls even having pleasure of killing Touka in the most brutal fashion.
• Sanity Slippage: Oooooh boy. Starting with the events on Rushima, Mutsuki begins a downward spiral of insanity with increasingly violent and deranged acts. It begins with maiming Torso's corpse, and escalates to molesting Uta when he takes on Haise's form, and finally to kidnapping Yoriko in order to kill Touka.
• The Scapegoat: Like Juuzou before him, the staff at the Academy blamed him for the animal mutilations being carried out by an Instructor. Except that he did do it, with Tokage coaching and encouraging him along the way.
• Scars Are Forever: Mutsuki's chest is covered in scars of unknown origin. As a result, he is targeted by Torso.
• Self-Made Orphan: Accused by other children of killing his family. Which he did, with an axe. Mutsuki is horrified when he regains the memories of it.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the kinder, softer-spoken of the pair when hanging out with the more out-spoken and aggressive Shirazu.
• Shadow Archetype: Eventually ends up becoming one to Ken Kaneki. The Trauma Conga Line that Mutsuki goes through over the course of Re: is quite similar to what Kaneki himself experienced in the original Tokyo Ghoul. Not only do they start off with similar personalities but, to add the allusion, Mutsuki ends up inheriting Kaneki's old "Eyepatch" designation and even uses his old mask. They both were also the victims of abuse during the childhood. The primary difference is Mutsuki became outwardly wrathful as a response to his experiences.
• Ship Tease:
  • With Urie, who begins warming up to Mutsuki over time. In an Volume 7 omake, the two spend an afternoon together and Urie spends the entire time internally flailing over Mutsuki's health and his desire to do something nice for him.
  • There was quite a bit of subtext between Mutsuki and Sasaki before the latter regained his original memories and defected. Sasaki ended up becoming his unofficial caretaker, while Mutsuki clearly adored and admired him. Come chapter 114 and Sanity Slippage having already ensued, Mutsuki's attraction to Sasaki/Kaneki has warped into something rather destructive.
• Single-Target Sexuality: He only has eyes on Sasaki/Kaneki. He seems to have no attraction on anyone who isn't his beloved Sasaki/Kaneki. In the epilogue, he still remains single and he never tried to find love again.
• Split Personality: Chapter 79 heavily implies that the abuse Mutsuki suffered by his family lead to him developing a "scapegoat persona" which inherited all the memories and blame from when he murdered his family. This continued later, with him murdering animals while shoving all memories and responsibility for it on the "scapegoat" afterwards.
• Split-Personality Merge: After his experience with Torso, Mutsuki's two sides conjoin, resulting in a much crueler Mutsuki. Saiko begins to suspect Mutsuki, as she smells human blood on Mutsuki.
• Sole Survivor: His entire family was slaughtered by Ghouls, leaving him the only survivor. Turns out that's because it wasn't a ghoul that killed them, it was himself.
• Suicide by Cop: Implied to be the real reason behind attacking Urie and Saiko, injuring them while taunting and threatening them. When neither is willing to fight back, Mutsuki collapses in exhaustion and tries to commit suicide directly.
• Superpowered Evil Side: It seems that Tooru has an inner side of himself fully capable of murder, animal-cruelty, sadism and cannibalism without a hint of a moral compass behind it.]] And guess what? That's just the stuff he remembers.Who knows what else he has done...
• Super-Senses: He has incredibly keen eyesight, even with one eye normally covered. His vision is sharp enough to make out the features of someone sitting far away in balcony seating, while on stage with a spotlight shining down on him.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Mutsuki has a lot of similarities to Ken Kaneki before his capture and torture halfway through the first series.
  • Mutsuki's Kakugan is hidden behind a medical eyepatch.
  • He struggles to control his kagune.
  • He gets captured by an Aogiri Tree associated Ghoul.
  • After narrowly escaping death at the hands of a Picky People Eater, the Ghoul becomes obsessed with him.
  • Associated with The Chariot.
  • During an Aogiri-centric arc, he is captured and tortured. During said arc, he's also forced to confront a horrific truth about himself.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Mutsuki is surprised and a bit disturbed to feel sorry for Torso, after hearing his story. This stops when he gets his repressed memories back, to which he snaps and murders him.
• Tail Slap: A Bikaku, able to use his tail-like kagune for sneak attacks or to pin down opponents.
• Tarot Motifs:
  • X. The Wheel of Fortune. It appears in the flashback, as he states his desire to live as a man.
  • XIII. Death and VIII. Strength, which show up together when Kanae runs him through. These cards, when appearing together, symbolize an unassuming or shy person with Hidden Depths that needs to take command of a situation.
  • VII. The Chariot, which repeatedly appears during the Auction Arc.
• Team Killer: After accidentally wounding Akira, Mutsuki decides that she's a traitor and presses the attack. Amon intervenes, and the other Quinx arrive before Mutsuki can finish the job. Urie is horrified upon realizing what Mutsuki has done.
• Token Evil Teammate: An unknowing one. After a forceful confrontation and acceptance with his past, he becomes this for the Quinx.
• Tomato in the Mirror: Mutsuki is just as horrified and shocked as the audience, upon realizing that he murdered his own family, killed animals as a student at the Junior Academy, and cannibalized at the Auction. He immediately calls himself disgusting, and wishes to die.
• Took a Level in Badass: Initially the Non-Action Guy of the group, after the Time Skip and his promotion to Rank 1, he's become skilled enough to curb stomp an A-rated Ghoul and go toe-to-toe with one of Tatara's subordinates.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: 12-year old Mutsuki killing his entire family with an axe.
• Unfriendly Fire: When Akira shields Takizawa from an attack, Mutsuki takes this as a personal betrayal and continues attacking her until Amon intervenes.
• Villainous Breakdown: After Touka and Kaneki manage to escape, Mutsuki has a complete meltdown and burns down :re while alternating between screaming about killing them and pleading with Kaneki to not leave.
• Walking Spoiler: Thanks to his "two sides" situation.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: Kanae notes that his eyes are very beautiful.
• "Which Restroom?" Dilemma: Averted. Mutsuki is shown in the men's restroom, in one of the few depictions of a bathroom in either series.
• Yandere: Chapter 114 has a series of flashbacks revealing that Mutsuki is one for Haise Sasaki aka Ken Kaneki. To the point of wanting to tear Touka to shreds when he saw her together with Sasaki.
• You Are Not Alone: Comforts Urie during his breakdown, reassuring him and bringing him back to his senses.

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