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"Living at the chateau helped me stitch myself back together."— Tooru Mutsuki, Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 156

Tooru Mutsuki (六月 透, Mutsuki Tōru) is a Special Class Ghoul Investigator in a rural branch office of the CCG, a Quinx, and a former member of the Quinx Squad and the TSC. Following the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation, he was re-assigned to Support for other squads during their missions. He has served as a temporary member of the Hachikawa and Suzuya Squads during major operations.

He acts as a mentor to the Oggai Squads and supported their mission as the Zero Squad until his department from the CCG alongside Shinsanpei Aura to personally seek out his former mentor, Ken Kaneki.

Eventually, Mutsuki returns to the CCG amidst the guidance of Urie and Saiko before ultimately departing from the TSC (née CCG) again to transfer to a rural branch office alongside Shinsanpei Aura and Ayumu Hogi.[4]

He is nicknamed Eyepatch (眼帯, Gantai) by Dr. Shiba and the Hirako Squad.

Appearance

During the beginning of Tokyo Ghoul:re, Mutsuki is a slim, bronze-skinned young adult with dark ivy-colored tresses, although as the series progresses, his hair becomes lighter and he attains a more athletic build. He has pale, olive-colored eyes; however, at the time, his right eye possessed a permanently active kakugan with a dark gray sclera. As a result, he wore a medical eyepatch to conceal it, although eventually, he switches it to a leather one he's given by his former mentor Haise Sasaki as a Christmas gift.[5] During his time as a ghoul investigator, like most of his peers, Mutsuki usually wore formal clothing commonly paired with a short, white trenchcoat. Moreover, he also wears a cropped, strapless binder to flatten his chest, though it more resembles a compression panel wrapped around his torso and held in place by a pair of clips than a standard binder.[6][7] Due to past traumas, he has a large scar across his upper left pectoral and another one across his right side.

Initially, Tooru had his hair styled in a mid-length bob haircut with a short fringe.[8] After being promoted, he chops his hair into a chic pixie cut.[9]

While being held captive by Torso, his hair gained a lighter color.[10] After Mutsuki regained memories of his past, his hair grew to shoulder-length and turned white.[11] Afterwards, he cuts his hair short once more in a way that's similar to how they wore it during the beginning of the series — chin-length with a longer fringe.[12]

As Mutsuki intervened in the battle between Takizawa and Amon, it's revealed that his kakugan is not in a permanent, activated state anymore. Furthermore, after the Rushima Landing Operation, Tooru begins to wear plain white clothing more frequently.

After the Clown Siege, his hair appears to have grown a bit along with being slightly dishevelled and an even fairer shade of ivory.[13] During the Dragon War, Mutsuki is shown with hair nearing shoulder-length.[14]

Subsequent to the Dragon War, Tooru appears with a classic, short nape undercut including a mid-length fringe; concurrently retaining his blanched hair color.[4]

Before the events of Tokyo Ghoul:re, Tooru wore his hair in a collarbone-length and fashionable haircut during his preteen years. Moreover, his eyes appear to have been darker in color, in contrast to how they are shown as an adult.[7]

Manga Depiction

Anime Depiction

Personality

Mutsuki is kindhearted and gentle but starts off as shy with little self-confidence. Having constant bouts of anemia, ironically, Mutsuki feels repulsed by blood. Due to being sickly and his low self-esteem, he faces discouragement as a ghoul investigator to the point where he feels as though he is not even needed for the job. He expresses frustration with his own weakness, feeling anger at his lack of ability compared to his comrades. However, he is reliable and hard-working, always following orders in contrast to the more troublesome or lazy members of his team. Though lacking in confidence, he shows a strong desire to help others and does not hesitate to place himself at risk to protect the innocent. He eventually gains a boost in confidence and becomes much more assertive. He takes a more active role in having his teammates work together and begins to branch out to other people.

A flashback reveals that he was born female, but was unable to reconcile his feelings of discomfort towards his gender. As such, he began living as a man and uses highly-masculine personal pronouns, even when such informal language is not socially appropriate. It contrasts strongly with his gentle personality, and his consistent respect towards others. He shows great respect to Sasaki and Dr. Shiba, as well as other investigators even when treated poorly by them. He is also a confidant to his superior, as he always reassures him when he is feeling down, thus showing a great fondness and admiration for Sasaki.

It is eventually revealed that Mutsuki suffers black-out episodes, leaving gaps in his memories. During these episodes, his personality traits significantly change and frequently involve extreme acts of violence. Afterward, he retains no memory of these actions and denies any accusations involving them. After hallucinating the events of those lost memories, Mutsuki reacts with horror and disgust. However, during his battle against Takizawa he becomes merciless and cruel, expressing arousal when he crushes the latter's testicles. He also severely wounds Akira when she protects Takizawa from his attacks.

After the Clown Siege, Mutsuki becomes highly unstable to the point of violence as he becomes obsessed with killing Touka, even willing to harm an innocent citizen associated with her.

Plot

Main article: Tooru Mutsuki/Synopsis

Relationships

Haise Sasaki

From their first meeting, Mutsuki recognized Sasaki as the part-time instructor from the CCG Junior Academy, therefore Mutsuki refers to him as sensei. Mutsuki looks up to Sasaki as his superior, and even views him as a close friend. Though he may be timid around other ghoul investigators, Mutsuki is often very comfortable around Sasaki. Unlike the other members of the Quinx Squad, he is very loyal, to the point where he prefers to accompany Sasaki on a mission, rather than to do it independently without his mentor’s consent. Mutsuki is also shown to have concern for Sasaki's well-being, but would not hesitate once an order is given. He respects Sasaki to a great extent, as seen when he becomes furious after witnessing Urie insult Sasaki. Mutsuki admitted that he is afraid after seeing Sasaki losing control; not because he fears his superior but rather he fears losing control the same way.

Even after Sasaki leaves the Quinx Squad, Mutsuki still cares for him, as shown in his conversation with Hogi.[15] Hogi reminisced about Hachikawa and said that if you had one beautiful memory of a person, it is hard to feel disgusted for them. Mutsuki thinks about how much Sasaki has changed, saying that he possibly understands Hogi's feelings.

After learning of Sasaki's defection from the CCG, Mutsuki never expresses any ill-will towards him, believing that he has his reasons. In truth, Mutsuki secretly harbors pathologically intense romantic feelings for his former teacher. He is extremely jealous simply witnessing Touka hand Sasaki her handkerchief to dry his teary eyes. In a fit of madness he sexually violates Uta after frantically stabbing him in the face and throat, blinded by a delusion that Uta is Sasaki. His obsession grows to the point where he declares that as long as Sasaki doesn't belong to anyone else, he doesn't care about what happens in the end.

Kuki Urie

Mutsuki and Urie were often not on good terms, due to their differences in approach towards Sasaki. He often grows worried whenever there is a dispute between Urie and Sasaki, and is outright angry to see Urie insult Sasaki. However, Mutsuki still holds some concern for Urie, as shown when he insists that they retreat during the battle against Serpent, and even asks Shirazu to apologize for kicking Urie. During the auction, when the two end up paired together, Mutsuki comforts an out-of-control Urie at the risk of his own life. After this incident, they are shown to work alongside one another more frequently.

Ginshi Shirazu

Before Shirazu’s passing, he and Mursuki poses a close friendship, frequently joking around and spending their free time together. Mutsuki's subdued and observant nature complements Shirazu's hot-headed aggressiveness, allowing them to balance out each others’ personal weaknesses. He frequently acts as a mediator between Shirazu and the other Quinxes when Shirazu lost his temper, helping to smooth out disagreements before they could cause problems within the team. When Shirazu is promoted to squad leader, faced with increased responsibility, Mutsuki serves as his primary confidante, listening to his worries and offering reassurances and advice. Shirazu shows a protective streak towards Mutsuki, while Mutsuki himself can’t help but see his own weakness reflected in Shirazu’s comparative martial prowess. Like the rest of the squad, Mutsuki mourns Shirazu greatly after he passes.

Saiko Yonebayashi

Mutsuki and Saiko have worked together on an investigation in the past, and appear to be on good terms. When her actions cause friction in the group, Saiko looks to Mutsuki to act as a mediator and defend her from Shirazu's wrath. Mutsuki expresses concern over how her actions frequently create problems for the squad, and wonders if there is a reason for their mentor allowing Saiko to slack off so much beyond his characteristic gentleness. For her part, Saiko once mentions smelling human blood on Mutsuki. According to an omake, he spies on Saiko's Twitter account to find out when she is ditching work, and is often the one to pass news about her to the others.

Karao Saeki

Karao, known to the CCG as Torso, attacks and attempts to kidnap Mutsuki, eventually resulting in the ghoul's identity being exposed. Mutsuki notes that Torso's expression was that of a predator, and has an instant sense of unease upon seeing him from a distance. His intuition proves to be correct, and he is forced to fight for his life against the ghoul. Upon having to be rescued by his comrades and unable to help them in combat, Mutsuki expresses distress at his own weakness. Following their initial encounter, Torso becomes obsessed with him, oscillating between hysteria and extreme violence when he sees Mutsuki in danger. Later, when Torso captures Mutsuki, he goes as far as to claim they are getting married.

Juuzou Suzuya

As Mutsuki uses a dagger-like quinque, Suzuya acts as a mentor of sorts to him, being highly proficient in dagger use himself. Their relationship begins as strictly professional, but over time, Suzuya's surprisingly poignant wisdom helps Mutsuki to improve his confidence, fostering friendship between them. Mutsuki’s trust and care for Suzuya increases even further in the wake of the much-needed emotional support and promises of safety that Suzuya provides him during the Auction Mopping-up Operation. Suzuya and his squad appear to be among the rare few that Mutsuki associates with recreationally aside from the Quinx Squad.

Chuu Hachikawa

The leader of the Hachikawa Squad. He does not seem to have much respect for Mutsuki, dismissing his abilities and becoming easily frustrated with him.

However, after Hachikawa is killed by Shikorae and Takizawa, Mutsuki admits his own admiration for him.

Ayumu Hogi

The two seem to work well together and respect each other on a professional level. Mutsuki listens to Hogi after she lost Hachikawa and did his best to comfort her.

Shinsanpei Aura

Mutsuki acts as a mentor to Aura. When Aura begins to take on a more brutal edge in exterminating ghouls, driven by a festering resentment for Haise and how his defection resulted in his beloved aunt’s injury, Mutsuki encourages and tutors him in his actions. Mimicking the sanguine advice he received from Goumasa Tokage upon being caught killing an animal, Mutsuki instructs Aura to "cut deeper" when delivering a strike. Aura admires Mutsuki, and when he discovers Mutsuki’s rape of Uta, he covers for him and keeps the act secret.

Touka Kirishima

Mutsuki harbors a grudge towards Touka due to his romantic feelings for Sasaki, jealous of her relationship with him. Takeomi Kuroiwa asks Mutsuki to find Touka as a favor to Yoriko, and gives him a photograph of Yoriko and Touka; Urie enters Mutsuki's room and finds copies of the photograph stabbed into the wall with knives, with the blade through Touka's face. Mutsuki tracks down Kaneki to Touka's coffee shop, where he attacks them. His hatred for Touka only escalate when he discovers that she and Kaneki are married.

After Mutsuki finally resolves his feelings towards Kaneki with the help of the other Quinx members, his loathing towards Touka eventually dissipates as he realizes his mistakes. Six years after the Dragon event, Mutsuki sends fruit to Touka as a gift for her and her family, implying that they have finally reconciled.

Powers and Abilities

Like all members of the Quinx Squad, Mutsuki received preliminary training in combat and investigative procedures. His body surgically modified with the intention of granting him abilities similar to a ghoul. In the beginning, he was unable to use his kagune and lacked the superior physical abilities of his peers nor could he wield his quinque well. He did, however, show a decent level of regeneration. A short time after being stabbed through his arms by a kagune, he used them without significant impairment. He possessed exceptional eyesight, able to make out details from long distances even though his right eye was usually covered by an eye patch.

After the Auction Mopping-up Operation, he is able to summon his kagune properly and has become all around much more skillful. Some time after being promoted to Rank 1, he learned to control his kagune and improved on his dagger wielding after being taught by Suzuya. He improves so much that Sasaki, who at first was concerned that Mutsuki was not cut out to be an investigator, now defends his status and places him in the front of formations with Urie. Considered very agile and is relied on to close in on dangerous enemies quickly.

Quinx Physiology: After his body was surgically modified, Mutsuki possesses a bikaku kagune and increased physical abilities.

  • Bikaku Kagune: His kagune possesses several segmented edges. He is able to extend it to long distances and use it to block, make powerful attacks, or to bind an enemy. At first, he was only able to manifest a single kagune, but after his experience with Torso, he is now able to produced several kagune tails. During the Goat Wipeout Operation, he displayed his ability to shape his kagune into a cocoon as a form of insulation against Yomo's electrokinesis. During the Defense of Tokyo, it is revealed that he is able to trace the kagune formations of others and use their own kagune against them.
  • Kagune Detachment: Mutsuki has shown to be capable of detaching fragments of his kagune, applying his knife-throwing skills.
  • Superhuman Durability: Mutsuki was able to take Urie's attack directed at his abdomen without flinching.
  • Superhuman Regeneration: After receiving critical wounds, Mutsuki displayed the ability to regenerate and recover from them at an inhuman rate.
  • RC Control: Mutsuki has developed a method of concealing RC levels within the body, causing standard methods of detection to fail. Dr. Shiba theorizes that this ability involves suppression of the RC cells, as blood tests gave back an impossible RC level of 3; even for humans, the average RC cell count is 200-500.[16] As a result of this ability, CCG researchers are unable to make an accurate assessment of Mutsuki's physical condition. [3]

Manga Depiction

Anime Depiction

Ifraft and Abksol: These quinques are a pair of daggers made from rinkaku kagune, and wielded together. Though they lack range, in close quarters they are shown to be extremely sharp and capable of easily slicing through a ghoul's flesh and bone. After receiving guidance from Suzuya, Mutsuki has shown to utilize the same knife tricks efficiently, albeit to a lesser extent.

Scorpion 1/56: This quinque is a small, flat-tipped switch blade that can be used for multiple purposes, they are deadly and efficient. Mustuki is able to throw this quinque at from a far distance with quite amount of potiency to make the likes of Seidou Takizawa scream and curse in pain upon being stabbed in his eye. It is unknown if Mustuki possesses the full 56 set.

Black Linshing Nut 16/16 and White Loosting Nut 16/16: A quinque in the form of a pair of thirty two koukaku utility knives. Mustuki is able to throw this quinque from a far distance without decreasing its strength.

Manga Depiction

Anime Depiction

Trivia

  • Mutsuki was ranked twenty-second in the latest character popularity poll.
  • Mutsuki has numerous traits in common with Kaneki in the first series.
    • Both originally had a meek personality and experienced difficulty in controlling their powers. After their respective tortures, they each become much more cold and ruthless.
    • The two share a similar past experience. Kaneki had an abusive mother, and it was implied that she beat him out of pure stress when he was asking for things or otherwise nagging her. Mutsuki's father abused him by hitting and drowning him and is hinted to have sexually abused him.
    • Kaneki's hair turned white as a result of the torture he received from Yamori. Mutsuki's hair began to whiten after having been held captive by Torso and having his limbs cut off, and turns completely white after regaining his memories about the black-out episodes.
    • Others refer to him as "Eyepatch-kun," the alias once given to Kaneki.
  • During Mutsuki's time as Torso's captive, he began to sympathize with Torso after hearing his history, this is a sign of a psychological phenomenon known as Stockholm Syndrome.
  • His kakugan was permanently activated.[1] In :re Chapter 92, his kakugan is no longer permanently activated.[12]
  • He dislikes rare cooked meat.[2]
  • In contrast to his gentle personality, Mutsuki uses the personal pronoun ore (俺), usually reserved for male characters that are tough or aggressive but can also be used by girls with a tomboyish nature, which is referred to as Ore Onna. This is fitting for Mutsuki to use as he is a transgender male.
  • When nervous or upset, he has a tendency to grab onto the fabric covering his lap and wring his hands.
  • He is ambidextrous, and one of the few investigators shown dual-wielding.[1]
  • According to Shirazu, he is the only member of the Quinx that can cook when Sasaki is unavailable.[17]
  • Mutsuki has been associated with the Tarot cards The Wheel of Fortune[7] and The Chariot.[17][18]
  • Mutsuki was rumored at the Academy to have killed a cat, something people said Suzuya had done as well.
    • This was confirmed in :re Chapter 79, having stuffed the cat's remains in a jar and later buried it.
  • For his contribution to the Auction Mopping-up Operation, Mutsuki is awarded a two-rank promotion. The only other known instance of such a promotion is Arima's promotion after defeating the Owl as a teenager.
  • In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, Mutsuki is the "Three of Spades."

Quotes

  • To Dr. Shiba: "I'm hopeless... Ugh... Seeing blood makes me..."[8]
  • To Haise about Donato: "Sasaki... why does the CCG let someone like that live? When I look into that ghoul's eyes... it sends shivers down my spine."[19]
  • To unnamed CCG officials: "I don't really know why, but for a long time now I've only had unpleasant feelings about living as a woman. I want to live as a man from here on out."[7]
  • Internally: "For me... it's not a fact that I 'have' the [heart of a man]. But... I hate them. Men's eyes are so disgusting.[20]
  • To himself about his life: "If I could have run away to the sky, or to the sea, I'd have gone in a heartbeat. I guess this is my destiny. Always stolen away by men. Completely helpless..."[10]
  • About Sasaki: "Thinking of their face, whispering 'I love them' under your breath, feeling, in the depths of your chest, a warmth, and yet a tightness... That's what love is, isn't it?"[21]
  • To Kaneki: "Sensei, you've become very strange. Come back. I will remove everything that stands in your way."[22]
  • To Kaneki: "After them! Don't go. Please. I'll fucking kill you! I will! Sensei..."[23]
  • To Urie: "Did any of us... ever get the chance to taste such happiness?[24]
  • To Urie: "Why? Because I love him. I love inspector Sasaki. And there's nothing I can do about it. If there was, I'd do it. Come what may."[24]
  • To Urie: "I couldn't care less, if you die."[3]
  • To Saiko and Urie: "We're not a family! My family consists of... My shit-eating dad, my shitty mother and my shitty brother!"[25]
  • To Urie and Saiko: "This is hopeless... It would've been better if I was dead. When I was taken by Torso, when I underwent the Quinx surgery, when I grasped the knife, when I was born into that house... I should have just died. But, then... living at the Chateau helped stitch me back together. I wanted to bring things back to the way they were before... he wouldn't even had to look back at me. I just... I just... It doesn't matter anymore... I don't want to hurt anyone more than the two of you. I can't keep deluding myself any longer. I was a human who should've died. I'm sorry for all of this."[25]

References

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