So, Kaneki declares, straight from the very first chapter that “if you were to right a story with [him] in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy”. The chapter’s even called tragedy.

There are a lot of ideas about what a “tragedy” is, and the meaning has definitely changed too over the centuries. But, if we’re talking about classic, Aristotelian tragedy, it’s usually* something along the lines of an inevitable downfall due to a fatal flaw in character - a hamartia.

“…the character between these two extremes - that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty.”

- Aristotle on the nature of a Tragic Hero.

Another key element of Aristotle’s model, is the peripeteia - a sudden change of events, reversal of circumstances. For Kaneki, I believe this was probably his change in the Aogiri arc that took him from one unwilling to harm others to willing to do anything to “protect” the people he cares about.



Kaneki’s “hamartia”, is one he shares with his mother - he overextends himself under the guise of “protecting” the people he cares about, but it’s really rooted in a selfish fear of loneliness. He’s not really helping them. Touka calls him out on this first:

It drives him to cannabalise to “protect” his allies.

But he ultimately harms them as a direct result instead:

Even when in his insane kakuja mode, the mantra of “protect” is still what drives him:

…and you can see that this desire to “protect”, that started off sounding like your typical mc speech, is sounding more and more like a mantra of madness, and is what’s driving him to his downfall. It’s inevitable that it’ll lead to his ruin; that’s the nature of tragedy.

Then comes the fatal mistake, the one that leads to his “death” at the end of Tokyo Ghoul- his decision to fight in the raid on Anteiku despite literally everyone warning him not to, again, as a result of his selfish, unrealistic desire to protect.

They were right - it was futile. He didn’t really help anyone - he didn’t make it to help the manager, despite his efforts Irimi and Koma died anyway at V14, he severely injured Amon, and very possibly Hide, his best friend, too as a result. He screwed up, again, and achieved nothing.

Again, his crazed ramblings to “protect”, entwined with his desires to kill and the mistakes, showing again that the two are inexorably linked, and leading to his ruin.

And then, of course, the downfall: he meets his own death at the hands of Arima in V14.



And finally, lying dying on the floor with holes in his brains and both his eyes stabbed out - he realises Touka was right all along. This moment of realisation, anagnorisis also fits into the classic Aristotelian model of tragedy.





Only, it’s all too late now - right?

(From Chapter 139). And so ends the tragedy.

As quick a side note: I also recently realised how the Clowns so resemble the Witches in Macbeth, a classic Shakespearian tragedy - they yearn to see the downfall of the protagonist and help engineer it like puppeteers behind the scenes, taking pleasure in it and are almost an audience proxy.



For the most part, Tokyo Ghoul was a tragedy in the classic sense of the term. However, I believe Ishida said that Tokyo Ghoul:re was not a tragedy, but a the story of a legend.This may be why he made :re it’s own sequel, and maybe - so he could stay true to his original promise of a “tragedy”, while not ending it as a tragedy - he story of Kaneki Ken may have been a tragedy, but the story of Sasaki Haise may not be.

Now, tragedy!= pain and suffering - Sasaki will almost certainly go through his fair share of suffering before the series ends. Inevitability is a key part of tragedy, it doesn’t look like Sasaki has escaped Kaneki’s fate:

Sasaki’s already shown Kaneki’s line of thinking, obsessing over “protecting everyone:

He’s got 4 subordinates to protect now - in some ways, he’s even more walking in his mom’s shoes more than ever, acting like a single parent, he’s in the perfect position to overwork himself like her.

I think the difference between the two that will make Sasaki’s different will be that Sasaki will realise his mistake - he could break the pattern and end the tragedy. I still think :re could very well have a “downer” ending, and end in Sasaki’s death, I just don’t think it will be one caused by the same, inevitable fatal flaw that has driven him so far.

*It’s been a while since I studied English Lit, and I’m just a comp sci student, feel free to tell me about any errors I made. Or just share your ideas or thoughts on it or whatever