Rereading the manga for a totally different reason, I ended up gathering clues about the main conflict in the world Ishida created, hidden behind Kaneki’s story. Seeing how the fandom is quite big, I have no idea whether or not someone already wrote a similar theory, so forgive me if people already did.
Warning: lengthy post and spoilers for TG’s plot (panels in this post were taken from chapters 34, 87, 95, 99, 103, 107, 115, 119, 125, 140).
First of all, it’s important to remember than since the beginning of the story, four different forces were introduced: the CCG (human organization, directed by the Washuu family, their goal is supposedly to protect humans from ghoul predation), Aogiri Tree (ghoul organization, directed by Tatara and Eto, their goal is “to uncover the liars” (ch87)), the Clowns/Pierrots (ghoul gang, goal completely unknown) and V (goal more or less unknown, supposedly ghoul organization).
–
Now, the explanation can start either with Kanou or V but I’ll go with Kanou. The doctor was affiliated to the CCG in the past and he’s currently in Aogiri, siding with Eto and very taken by his experiments of producing half ghouls, using first Rize and now Yoshimura. He’s best known for being one of the major actors behind Kaneki’s tragic life.
About his goal…
So Kanou is trying to find a way to free himself from this world that he sees as a prison, and to do so he decided to side with Aogiri. The important question is, why would he, a human, join a ghoul organization?
The answer is simple, because they have the same goal and that means the same enemies. And also because Kanou probably can’t win on his own.
Kanou’s addition to Aogiri is vital in their fight against the “liars” they wish to uncover since the very beginning, as already mentioned by Nico in chapter 87.
I’ll come back to that part later, but please remember that Kaneki was taken by Aogiri because they were looking for Rize and Kanou in the first place.
–
Now let’s jump to V. As readers, we only know them through Yoshimura. I’d have a lot to say about Yoshimura’s past with them but I’ll stick to the present, namely their visit to Anteiku right before its destruction.
They’ve been looking for Eto, because “it’s Aogiri tree’s fault that the equilibrium [they] had maintained for so many years is on the verge of being broken” but Aogiri is not their only concern. Her existence in itself is a bother to V and that’s definitely because, so far in the story, she’s the only one being naturally born of a human and ghoul’s union (and she’s insanely strong because of that).
As a result, we can say that V don’t agree to one eyed ghouls’ existence because they’re links between humans and ghouls and because they’re causing the balance to tilt: humans and ghouls are two different species, two differents worlds, and V is responsible for the equilibrium between these two worlds (it’s interesting to notice in that case that Ukina’s character can take on a whole different meaning).
Anyway, after Yoshimura denied his link to Eto…
There is that mention of the cage again, except that this time it’s used to tell Yoshimura that no matter what he does, he’ll never be able to get out of this situation and the guy is right. V could have his head if they wanted (as long as they brought many people along) but it’s not necessary because the CCG is coming on the same night and they’re both aware of it. I think what the guy from V meant here was that if somehow Yoshimura was able to survive the CCG’s attack, then V would still be here to end him.
This world is a prison, but while Kanou hates the cage and wants to break free, it seems that V is the responsible party behind that caged world, especially since they’re maintaining “the equilibrium”.
With all I wrote above, it’s easy to deduce that Kanou and V are enemies, since V are responsible of the “distorted cage” that Kanou desperately wants to open, especially since Kanou said…
I pointed out above how one eyed ghouls are V’s enemies because they’re threatening the “equilibrium”, so obviously by creating more of them, Kanou is causing damage to V’s work which means they can’t be on the same side.
By the way, Kanou joined Aogiri because they have the same goal. Logically that means Aogiri and V are enemies but I don’t think I needed to point that out, especially since V have been looking for a way to take Eto down.
What about the CCG and the Clowns, what are their roles in the conflict?
Let’s start with the CCG. Does the name Yasuhisa Nanao ring a bell? He was Kurona and Nashiro’s father and also the director of a trading company called “Sphinx”.
So Sphinx was selling to the CCG and do you remember how that director died?
So as readers, we know that a ghoul killed the twins’ parents and that got them sent to the CCG academy to become ghoul investigators. However, we have Amon’s knowledge to consider as well…
As of today, we still don’t know whether the CCG organized Yasuhisa’s death, but he was certainly sheltered by the CCG because he was dealing with important ghoul products.
And yet he was killed by a ghoul.
I should also point out that the way Ishida drew that black silhouette (especially the eyes), it reminds me greatly of…
…And as far as we know, V is a ghoul organization (there could also be humans in the organization but as far as readers know for the moment, they’re ghouls).
This is one of the rare links between the CCG and V so far because Yasuhisa was supposed to be protected by the CCG (important as he was to them) and yet a single ghoul found his way in and killed the one responsible for trading ghoul products. Fishy.
To be honest, that’s Amon’s reasoning right there and I don’t think he’s wrong. Considering that the house was the CCG’s place and that Yasuhisa was under their protection, a single ghoul shouldn’t have been able to kill him.
Besides, Kanou is definitely aware of the identity of the murderer of the twins’ father…
“The true meaning of who killed your parents? Who is the one you should take revenge on?”
He was a part of the CCG before leaving and choosing Aogiri’s side and he’s V’s enemy due to his actions, so by tempting Kuro and Shiro with the answer, it’s obvious he intends to unleash their fury at the responsible party. Which means the guilty party has to be an enemy of his, (so there is a high chance that V is involved in their father’s death but if we follow Amon’s reasoning and consider he’s right, then it’s highly possible for the CCG to be guilty as well).
Which would mean that somehow V and the CCG can see eye to eye sometimes (as illogical as it should be, since technically the CCG fight ghouls and V are ghouls, but it’s not really unexpected since the CCG are doing weird experiments themselves and the Washuus are shady).
By the way, Yasuhisa was definitely not the only human killed to maintain the equilibrium V likes so much.
I think Ukina can also be mentioned here, as a journalist erased because she was researching on them (amongst other things).
–
So that only leaves the Clowns and their unknown goal.
While I believe Aogiri and Kanou are against V and that there is a chance the CCG is cooperating with V behind the scenes, it’s very hard to place the Clowns on the chessboard.
The first thing to consider about them is…
Aogiri was looking for both Rize and Kanou for a long time (since Nico was with them for quite some time) and catching them would have been linked to a huge progress in Aogiri’s goal. And what did the Clowns do?
They “eliminated” Rize.
Oh, I know, the Clown gang is hard to see through, because they often act on their own, but somehow, just by creating the incident with Rize, Souta allowed Kanou to create a half ghoul (Kaneki) before running away and Aogiri never was able to have Rize and it took them a longer time to get to Kanou. An incident creating such an important disadvantage to an organization like Aogiri was more of a strategical move and in my opinion, Souta didn’t act on his own. Itori is the one managing the information, telling people what she wants and manipulating as she sees fits, so there is no way Kanou getting his hand on Rize and disappearing isn’t something that was well thought in advance.
[I can’t say why Kanou ran away for a long time before joining Aogiri around chapter 100 though, maybe because he got false information about Aogiri’s desire and he was trying to stay safe, or because he thought he could fight V on his own?]
Also we can wonder if Kaneki’s transformation into a half ghoul was planned by the Clowns or not. I mean, they planned Rize’s accident and she had Kaneki with her at this moment, but did they know Kanou would operate on Kaneki and turn him into a half ghoul? Well, I think the answer is yes, because Itori probably knew about the doctor and his experiments and it’s hard to see Kanou operating on Rize as a coincidence when they were both searched by Aogiri at that time, and also because…
The incident was planned so carefully that Souta knew exactly where Rize would pass by, which means the plan was perfect and since Rize was the binge eater, it was not hard to be sure she would be bringing a prey around to eat.
Now did Kanou have a link with the Clowns, did they tell him what they planned to do? That I can’t say. It’s possible they knew each other and planned the surgery together, but the Clowns could have also just known about his intentions and if he already had his eyes on Rize at that moment, then they used these two information to create an incident they knew he wouldn’t be able to resist using for his experiments.
All that to say, are the Clowns linked to V?
It’s impossible to say. Why?
– The Clowns acted against Aogiri by creating the incident with Rize but at the same time, it resulted in Kaneki’s transformation, and V and one eyed ghouls don’t do well together (so no, if we consider they planned Kaneki’s surgery as well) – Itori mentions how she collected a lot information about both humans and ghouls (and V erase both humans and ghouls getting in their way), and Uta was a strong, violent young ghoul that could have caught V’s eyes just like Kuzen once did; but at the same time, the Clowns were too famous and the CCG ended up annihilating them because they were a pain while V are acting more in the shadows. – Uta’s neck tattoo could be in reference to V’s “equilibrium” and Ishida drew him in what looks like a V outfit after Root A episode 8. – Itori was the one who introduced the “other one eyed ghoul” for the first time in TG and she was also the one who told Kaneki to go investigate the 11th ward, probably knowing very well that Aogiri had settled there. So since Eto has been wanted by V for a long time, if Itori was a part of them, why didn’t she tell them about Eto in the 11th ward?
There are probably a few more examples showing a possible link or going against that theory, but if I had to decide based on what I wrote above, I’d say the Clowns aren’t a part of V.
The final question is, while Aogiri and Kanou take on both V and the CCG, and if the CCG has an agreement with V that’s only known by a few of the highest members, can the Clowns represent yet another group on the side of neither?
Judging by what we saw of their philosophy of life, it’s possible, and maybe that’s even why they’re following Kaneki’s development with such interest, after guiding him several times into dark paths (they’re definitely a group to be feared) but nothing can be said with certainty. The Clowns are still very mysterious to us readers, and even :Re’s last chapter is causing confusion since Itori doesn’t appear with the others (more on that here).
.
Thanks for reading and feel free to add/ask anything.
Thanks @midnight-in-town for linking me to this post of yours last night. It’s a great read and really thorough. And in light of the most recent chapter and the reveals about Arima and Furuta’s connections to V as well as a one-eyed-ghoul 100 years back being involved with the current state of CCG, all of this is even more compelling and important.
(I’m curious if you have any thoughts or insights into what could be going on there.)
Everyone should take a look at this post, if only for the background for any of the numerous reveals we are heading towards. This is a great primer in the background politics of the Tokyo Ghoul universe that seem to be finally, finally, making their way to the forefront of the plot.
Thanks for reading 🙂 Um, considering the new chapter (translation by normally-normal here):
Eto: “Aogiri tree’s goal is to create a world suitable for ghouls, where ghouls can have their life here. Our enemy is the doves, and my wish is to wipe out the “twisted source” behind. Kanou describes this world as a “twisted cage”, I think its very fitting so I use it. Break the “twisted cage” means to make the world regains balance again. The existence of CCG is the cause of the presence of an One Eyed Ghoul 100 years ago. Humans had no choice but to form an organisation to fight. Since the past, the presence of one eyed ghoul is signaling a huge change.”
I think V and the CCG are apparently definitely involved with each other behind the scenes. And as someone was theorizing last weekhere:
This is speculation, but the way I see it, V is an organisation of the most powerful ghouls that rose to the top of the Ghoul world in the early days of TG universe. They then established a structure to stay there, at the cost of the lives and happiness of other Ghouls. They established a co-operative deal with the most powerful humans (Washuu > CCG) to keep BOTH parties in their power positions indefinitely. Thereby suspending their useless war against each other, which given the strength of these respective parties, would have resulted in a long drawn out conflict and endless casualties. […] This established accordance between V and CCG I think, is the ‘birdcage’ that Aogiri wants to crush. Because they believe in a free meritocracy and the rule of the strong. And that strength is not necessarily centered on race (ie. not purely related to Ghouls).
And all these new info are totally highlighted by a peculiar moment with Washuu Yoshitoki in vol 14 that I discovered after writing my initial post (ch133):
So yep, there is a definite link (or agreement) between the Washuus and V, now canonly and obviously proved by Eto with the last chapter.
The only thing I am wondering about is Furuta’s actual place as well as the Clowns’. 🙂 (Since I have an exam tomorrow though, I’ll concentrate on that with the new chapter starting on Tuesday haha. If I make a post on it, I’ll let you know)
If you have some speculations once the chapter is out, feel free to send me the link(s), I’ll be happy to read it 🙂
Relatable FE Quote or Something 