It's easy for characters to get drowned out in shows with big casts. With anime like Durarara and Baccano, it can be a challenge to remember very character's name. With Tokyo Ghoul, Sui Ishida excels at making characters feel memorable and unique, particularly those listed below.
10. Uta
Tokyo Ghoul’s man of mystery, there is a lot to like about Uta such as his aesthetic and gentle personality. Uta is introduced early on as a confidant for ghouls, as one who you can go to for a crash course in ghoul-dom, or to get a cool tattoo.
The mask-maker of this world gets a low-grade, however, because of his late-reveal of being a villain. As a member of the Clowns, not much is known about Uta except for his past fights with Yomo, and that he was a delinquent. Still, as a powerful ghoul with one of the most memorable presences in the series, he grabs the #10 spot.
9. Hide Nagachika
Who doesn’t love their best friend? Behind every great anime protagonist is their lovable best friend, and Hide Nagachika fits that bill to a T.
Around Kaneki from the beginning, Hide presents himself as a funny counterpart to Kaneki’s serious demeanour, but that’s not all behind those bright eyes and mysterious mask. Hide, more than anything, is a reliable friend.
Even after running away and Kaneki doing what he did to Hide’s face, Hide is a compassionate and understanding guy who wants more than anything to help out his best friend; which might be why Kaneki is able to ultimately achieve his goals, because he had a good example in perseverance and generally being a good person.
For those reasons, Hide just squeaks into the Best Characters of Tokyo Ghoul.
8. Seidou Takizawa
Of all comedic relief characters in this series, Takizawa’s arc is one that is at times horrifying, funny, or both whenever he shows up.
Takizawa is a reminder of how Kaneki could have ended up, as an insane cannibal without a bit of his former personality due to torture and the overall awfulness of his situation. Although it could be argued that Kaneki became entirely different after being tortured by Jason, but that's just a theory.
The reason why seeing Takizawa become a ghoul is so fascinating (and deserving of the #7 spot) is because he barely registered in your mind before his transformation. He had a basic storyline about jealousy as a human, but that was about it. Seeing a man who was a side-character at best come to the fore as a villain worthy of fear is something that’s thoroughly enjoyable, and worth a reread or re-watch.
7. Renji Yomo
It’s hard not to like Renji Yomo. He’s strong, silent, and loyal to those he decides to protect.
Loyal to Anteiku in the beginning, Yomo was Kuzen’s right hand man, and a mentor-of-sorts to Kaneki, albeit an absent one in some dire situations. What makes Yomo special amongst the rest of the characters is his beliefs.
Yomo stands as a block to Kaneki’s ideology that humans and ghouls can live together peacefully. After his sister’s death at the hands of the White Reaper, he can’t help but blame humanity for the loss. Yomo’s trauma forces Kaeki into a spot where he has to make peace while accounting for all the death along the way. For this reason, and for his awe-inspiring muscles, Yomo gets the #7 spot.
6. Koutarou Amon
Strong, silent, and a cat-person, Koutarou Amon’s arc is a truly wild thing to behold. From CCG prodigy to one-eyed ghoul, Amon is a character constantly at odds yet on the same page as Kaneki.
Amon’s perception of Kaneki is perhaps one of the most interesting in the series. Because of his relationship to his foster father, the ghoulish priestly figureDonato Porpora, Amon wants to believe Kaneki when he says he doesn’t want to eat people; which leads to subsequent disappointment when Kaneki does just that.
On top of being a joy to watch as he fights off ghouls while becoming his own person, his experiences are original to the series. While it would be easy to write a story where every Ghoul Exterminator is bad and every Ghoul is good, Amon is a pleasantly complex man, which is why he gets #6.
5. Hinami Fueguchi
Hinami is a fantastic character because of her relationships. She’s a victim of violence at the hands of corrupt CCG investigators, forming a sibling-like relationship later on with Kaneki and Touka. She’s the epitome of the character type you just want to hug, and that is partly why she is on this list.
Hinami represents the type of person that Kaneki wants to protect; the younger, weaker ones who didn’t grow up in a peaceful world but can be there to see one when it arrives. Her parents were killed by CCG, her foster family was constantly assaulted by other ghouls. If not for her relationship to Kaneki, she likely would have died several times over through the series. It’s similar to the saying where “you save one life and you save a world”.
Kaneki protects her, and he protects the world. Because of all that, Hinami gets the #5 position.
4. Juuzou Suzuya
Juuzou is the favored chaotic son to all Tokyo Ghoul fans. Whether it’s his antics on a motorcycle or seeing him decapitate his enemies, he has been fun from start to finish. He’s a definite comic relief character, but what makes him high-up on this list is his character development.
At the beginning we see him as a blonde, competent but insane kid; he has talent oozing out of him but no way to restrain himself. It isn’t until Shinohara is wounded & goes into a coma that Juuzou grows as a character, becoming more of a mentor figure to the Quinx and those around him. He becomes a man throughout Tokyo Ghoul, though he still retains a hint of his innate chaos, juggling knives & shooting ghouls with his prosthetic leg.
It’s fun to watch his interactions with Mutsuki, and to see him kill everyone with a relatively happy disposition. For those reasons, he deserves his position as one of the best characters in Tokyo Ghoul.
3. Touka Kirishima
Waitress, rabbit, killer, there’s nothing Touka can’t achieve, and little she doesn’t in Tokyo Ghoul. Getting involved in the majority of Kaneki’s early fights, we’re introduced to Touka early-on as a girl who’s rough around the edges but has a heart of gold, with the latter slowly coming to the fore over time.
Touka makes this list because, similar to Juuzou, watching her grow as a character is one of the best parts of the series. She’s a relatable character in the beginning, being an insecure highschooler dealing with a dark secret (as all highschoolers do), but she matures under her own autonomy through her fights with the CCG, developing her relationship with Kaneki, and overall being an emotional center for the series.
For those reasons, she gets the #3 spot for best characters in the series.
2. Eto Yoshimura
Everyone loves a good villain. Especially a psychopath who’s also an author, or maybe that’s just me. Either way, Eto Yoshimura is a great character in Tokyo Ghoul because of the actions she takes and the role she plays in the lore of the show.
It’s safe to say the Yoshimura clan plays the biggest role, family-wise, in Tokyo Ghoul. Kuzen’s Anteiku coffee shop is an initial safe-haven for Kaneki & his friends, and Eto leads Aogiri Tree as the One-Eyed Owl. While ultimately succumbing to the CCG, Eto’s machinations against Kaneki make her a genuinely interesting character to watch.
She’s a similar character to Naruto’s Tobi/Obito, being a character hidden behind a mask who’s revealed to be pulling the strings all along. You’re not supposed to see her involvement until later in the game, and even then they still keep you guessing as to what comes next. For being a well-written villainess who is both unpredictable and pathological, she makes the #2 spot.
1. Ken Kaneki
Everyone also loves a well-written protagonist. It may be rare in this day & age, but Sui Ishida knew what he was doing when he created Kaneki, the handsome and tortured book nerd at the heart of Tokyo Ghoul.
It’s hard to pinpoint what makes him specifically great. Is it the way he fights? Maybe it’s his unhinged smirk. Maybe it’s Maybelline. Either or, one undeniable fact about Ken is that his journey is what drives the bulk of the series as he goes through as many traumatic events as his hair changes
Tokyo Ghoul is a story about achieving peace when the world is against you in every conceivable way, and the fact that that message does not change for Kaneki as he creates GOAT, kills off the corrupt humans and ghouls perpetuating violence, and proceeds to wipe the floor with most of the people he comes in contact with while ultimately achieving his dream of peace is why he deserves the #1 rank of this list for persevering like a champion.
Also be sure to read:
[Top 10] Tokyo Ghoul Best Fights Worth Watching Again
[Top 10] Tokyo Ghoul Best Characters
[Top 3] Tokyo Ghoul Best Seasons
[Top 10] Tokyo Ghoul Best Moments Worth Watching Again
[Top 15] Tokyo Ghoul Best Wallpapers
