Root A’s ending and the message behind it

At first impression it looks like everything went wrong because of Kaneki’s choice to join Aogiri. But I think he wasn’t the only one to make a very different choice: Hide did as well. For example, we see other important characters like Nishiki, Touka, Yomo, Eto and Yoshimura ending up in the same place and way as in the manga. Yet not Kaneki and Hide and I think it was because both never confided in anybody and tried doing everything on their own.



TGRA was to show the what if and emphasize that always acting alone will not lead to good results. The situation with Kaneki and Hide ends up just like Ukina and Yoshimura’s: despite carrying for each other very much, one of them ended up dead and the other – scarred for life, because it was them against the world.



To achieve change both Hide and Kaneki need to learn more about their respective worlds: ghoul and human and also put their trust in and get to know the people who inhabit them. In the TG universe everyone who’s achieved something big works in a fraction. Even the clowns gather at times, which just shows how important and powerful confiding in others is.



In Root A Kaneki and Hide are seen acting on their own throughout the whole season, without sharing anything with anybody, not to mention relying on somebody else. I think this is an intentional contrast with the manga:

Kaneki had the constant support of his gang and he confined in them for help:

ch.79, pg.9

ch.79, pg.10

ch.91, pg.16

ch.92, pg.12-13





They also tried to help him emotionally when he needed it the most, in a state of vulnerability and loneliness:

ch.108, pg.5

ch.108, pg.10

ch.107, pg.11

(I consider this one of the very important moments in TG and for Kaneki. Appreciate Banjou and his wisdom.)





While Hide trusted the Investigators enough to tell them Kaneki and him are very close (when he could’ve lied and say they knew each other somewhat)

ch.90, pg.15





He was confronted by Marude, who along with Katsuya warmed up to him:

ch.123, pg.13





He worked with got adopted by Amon and Akira and they warmed up to him as well:

ch.94, pg.6-7









ch.94, pg.6

ch.84, pg.12 no, seriously, they are like a family



Just as Kaneki got involved with his gang and the matters of the 6th ward, Hide got involved personally with the investigators and the matters of CCG, while both of them were trying to reach the truth.





And in the end:

ch.136, pg.16-17



ch.138., pg.6



In Root A we had a bitter end where Kaneki reconnects with his humanity, but with little to no hope for the future, walking with his closest person in hands and seeing all the corpses and horrors of the battle. While in TG, we have the theme of belief and hope for the future. Hide believes in Kaneki’s strength. Kaneki believes in Hide’s encouragement. And in the end both of them survived and are alive meet me outside if you still think Hide is dead, we are gonna fight . Kaneki had the strength to carry on because he knew Hide will be okay. Now both are very much hinted by their trump cards for being two of the main figures that will work towards a better future.



Neither Kaneki nor Hide are a one man army. Yes, they are incredible, they are strong, they are very impressive by themselves and have done a lot on their own. But they can’t do everything alone. They need the support of others if they want to succeed in something so big as fixing the world and letting ghouls be spared and work in CCG. Confiding in others is what they did in TG and it was a good choice.



TGRA shows us a different route where both of them decided to stay completely alone until the very end and it resulted in one of the worst possible outcomes for the two. They never got to live those days in the 6th ward, with the gang or with the Investigators in CCG. Getting just snips and bits, but never the real feeling of how things truly are in the ghoul and CCG worlds.



I believe Root A’s message is that Hide and Kaneki should never isolate themselves completely from the people that surround them. They need to trust in their fractions for things to work out in the future and to have the support of these people in the upcoming changes. They need to know their ‘territory’: the flaws and strengths of both the ghoul and human worlds, the bond that connects them and how to make it stronger than ever before.

