Personality ken kaneki From Anime Tokyo Ghoul
Personality
Pre-Aogiri
Kaneki was a shy and reserved person, with Hide being his only close friend. He usually spent most of his time reading books, mostly novels. He was extremely gentle and appeared to be optimistic most of the time. Influenced by his mother and a true testament of modesty, he willingly took blame and punishment from others so that he can be someone who does not hurt people, but rather absorb the torment. However, this lack of assertiveness normally got him bullied and taken advantage of.
However, beneath his altruistic and gentle nature was an underlying fear of being alone that was aggravated by his mother's death. He despised the idea of solitude, hence he tried to protect those dear to him so he would not have to face his fear of being alone in the world.
This was perhaps his greatest weakness. Since Kaneki was always trying to protect others, he was essentially trying to protect himself from ever being alone again. Therefore, to escape that scenario, he would shoulder the task of protecting others onto himself, without relying on anyone else. This was also why Kaneki rejected the notion of "living," because watching others die reminded him of those lonely days without anyone beside him.
After he was turned into a half-ghoul, he clung to his human side. To keep living in the human world, he began to work at Anteiku and established relationships with the ghouls there. He started to develop an interest in becoming stronger and began reading martial art books so he could protect those closest to him. However, he was still troubled with the fact that he was a half-ghoul and wanted to search for a place where he could belong. As much as he treasured his life, if people close to him were threatened, he would not hesitate to put his life on the line.
Post-Aogiri
After being held captive and undergoing intense torture at the hands of Yamori, Kaneki's personality changed drastically. He trashed his previous ideology of "being hurt rather than hurting others," pledging to crush those who dared threaten his place of belonging. He adopted the habit of cracking his knuckles from his torturer, Yamori. In his subconscious, Kaneki ate "Rize" the image of his ghoul self. This displayed that he accepted the "ghoul" within him; instead of being influenced by it, he appeared to have become the one to surpass it. Kaneki became ruthless, cruel, and brutal in order to protect his friends, yet he managed to maintain complete composure. He no longer feared his ghoul side and was more violent during battles, such as when he cannibalized Yamori's kagune in order to strengthen himself, and mercilessly broke 103 of Ayato's bones. By embracing his ghoul nature wholeheartedly, Kaneki gave up on being "human."
Kaneki was still capable of showing his gentle nature in front of people he cared about, but instantly turned merciless against his enemies. He yearned for strength and power, therefore becoming more power-hungry and superficially arrogant. His new creed—that as "the strong" he had the right to "devour the weak"—was originally an ideology held by Yamori. Banjou assumed that Kaneki developed some form of mental instability during his torture in the 11th Ward, and that this would gradually wear him down.
Whenever he was near starvation and losing control of his kagune (or half-kakuja), he behaved in a way that emulated another's, such as Rize or Yamori. He would speak in a crazed disorganized manner, further implying his mental instability during these periods.
After raiding Kanou's lab and attacking Banjou, Kaneki reverted back to his pre-Aogiri personality. He entered a period of soul-searching. He wished to reclaim his lost "human" side and became uncertain about the path he had taken to become stronger. He started to question and seek answers from individuals such as Uta, Yomo, and Yoshimura in order to understand the incidents that have happened around him since he turned into a ghoul.
Auction
While living under his new identity as Haise Sasaki, he was a self-contained and good-natured individual. He was loyal, devoted, and possessed a good work ethic. Sasaki was very cooperative, as he preferred working in a group rather than working alone. He also showed mercy, as he believed that an investigator should not annihilate ghouls unnecessarily. Sasaki enjoyed reading books in his free time and had a habit of using puns, shown by his conversation with Akira Mado in the curry restaurant. He tended to scratch the back of his head when he was thinking hard or feeling uneasy. He still had his old habit of scratching or rubbing his chin whenever he was hiding something or lying from his days as Kaneki.
He showed appropriate respect and great concern for his colleagues, especially his underlings. He complied with orders assigned by his seniors and carried them out without hesitation. However, Sasaki's gentle nature often led his subordinates to constantly disobey him, rendering him ineffective in controlling their actions; he was left to worry about their safety.
In contrast to before his memory loss, Sasaki rejected his ghoul side and was afraid of it. When analyzed by Arima after his capture, Sasaki appeared to retain his introverted nature and lack of assertiveness as Kaneki, along with his yearning for a motherly figure.
However, Sasaki was still prone to losing control, as shown when he fought the Serpent, where he also cracked his fingers during the fight—a habit that he had originally developed as Kaneki in the past. Donato Porpora noted that Sasaki was curious about his memories but also afraid of them, as he worried he could no longer keep his current life in the CCG should he ever recover his memories. Sasaki feared that relying on his ghoul side would make him disappear. After being rescued from Takizawa by Hinami, Sasaki's perspective on his ghoul nature changed. He concluded that the Kaneki of the past must have been a good person because Hinami cared for him a lot, even though he did not remember. He eventually accepted this ghoul side in order to protect Hinami and Saiko, with the risk of his personality disappearing. He learned about Kaneki, who appeared in his subconscious as a mental construct where "Kaneki" admitted that he was also scared and asked Sasaki to not erase him.
After the auction, Sasaki was friendlier towards his ghoul side. However, "Kaneki" said the relationship could not last forever, as they were two beings fighting for one body. Sasaki was told to "not erase him" but misheard it as "disappear." He then remained conflicted about his past, actively searching for information about himself.
Post-Rose Extermination
During the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation, Sasaki recalled a memory of his past as Ken Kaneki where he had been physically abused by his mother. He also realized that he unconsciously wished to die and had been glad to see Arima during the Owl Suppression Operation. However, that failed, so he believed that burying his past was his salvation, so he chose to forget and live as Haise Sasaki. Upon realizing this, Sasaki accepted his past, resolving to stop "dreaming."
After regaining his memories, in sharp contrast to his previously gentle personality, Sasaki became colder and much more violent. He fought with more brutal force and was willing to put Tsukiyama's life at risk, despite already remembering his old acquaintance. He did, however, ensure that Kanae would rescue Tsukiyama before throwing the ghoul off the building. He displayed his cold nature to Urie when the latter blamed him for Shirazu's death, calmly telling him that it was his fault as he was the one fighting beside Shirazu. He then mourned together with Mutsuki and Saiko, showing that despite his cold demeanor, he still felt sad about Shirazu's death.
Third Cochlea Raid
During the Cochlea attack, Sasaki displays his deep unhappiness for his own existence, constantly engaged in inner monologue. As he rescues Hinami from her cell, he reveals his own motives that have not changed since the Tsukiyama Investigation. That he wanted to "go out in style." Meaning to act as a sacrificial pawn with no care for his own life, Sasaki displays regret when Touka tells him to see her later, stating that it is all so unfair and that Touka is a cruel one.
While being torn apart by Arima, Sasaki gives up on living altogether, stating his task was completed. He is interrupted by a projection of "Hide" who tells him to stop being a fool and to listen for once. Once Sasaki realizes what Hide actually meant back in V14, his hair turns white once more due to the stress of being ripped apart by Arima and rises with a newfound will to live wearing a smile on his face.
Goat Wipeout Operation
During his reign as king, Kaneki displays his growing maturity upon taking up the mantle of the "One Eyed King". When meeting with the soon-to-be members of Goat, he addresses all of their concerns, even persuading Naki to join him after a brief scuffle. When dealing with the Clown's attack on the CCG, Kaneki shows his ability to direct his forces, doing so in a calm and orderly fashion, while at the same time, selecting members to join him in their attempt to obtain the RC suppressants needed to heal Akira. After Goat was forced to move underground as a result of Furuta's oppressive plan to eradicate the population of ghouls in Tokyo, Kaneki has become more morose. He's more driven and has a tunnel-vision mentality of wanting to protect the ghouls on his lonesome. This comes back to bite him as he returns to the base by himself in an effort to stop Furuta, only to be beaten in a fierce battle by Juuzou and Abara.
Dragon Arc
While trapped inside the massive appendage known as the Dragon, Kaneki experienced a mental simulation of himself trapped inside a temple, accompanied by an emulation of Rize. She taunted him for being responsible for the deaths of so many civilians, along with being so responsible for the hunting of so many ghouls. She mocks his idea of trying to get the CCG to cooperate, stating that people keep dying because Kaneki keeps doing things, despite him saying that he's never able to do anything.
It became clear that while Kaneki convinced himself that he wanted to live for others, he only wanted to die a beautiful and fulfilled death. He stated that if he kept on fighting, he would feel needed, and yet never considered the death which would come from it. Upon recognizing these flaws, Kaneki states that despite all of the death that he's caused, both directly and indirectly, he'll continue on his path and try to bear the weight of them.
When he's released from Dragon, Kaneki is regretful upon seeing the damage that he did to both Tokyo and Hide. Despite this, he remains determined to stop Furuta and save both ghouls and humans. However, after losing to Juuzou and Abara and being shown his flaws by Furuta, Kaneki has decided that he'll do so with the help and support of his friends and family, rather than tackling the issue by himself.
During his final confrontation with Rize, Kaneki reflects on his life. He recognizes that everyone is their own protagonist, and that his tragedy doesn't make him anymore special than anyone else. He knows that the world is a harsh and unforgiving place, but despite it all, people will still strive to be loved and chosen by those around them. As a result, he'll carry on and choose and be chosen, nothing more, nothing less.
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