I wanted to ask a question that might either be controversial or very fucking dumb. Why do so many characters, but particularly the aces love Kaneki so much? Of course aside from him being the main character that it. Thanks for the amazing meta-analysis, hope this wasn't a silly question.
No, it’s absolutely not a silly question! Thank you anon!!
I’d say the overwhelming reason is that he’s kind. In a world filled with so many broken people desperate for love, someone as accepting and dedicated to others as Kaneki is a godsend.
Touka saw herself as an unlovable monster - we can see this with her shock at Kimi calling her beautiful in the Gourmet arc. Kaneki saw past the violent ghoul and cared for the kind, damaged person beneath. For someone to bring out that repressed side of her again meant the world to Touka; it gave her the sense of security that enabled her to be herself rather than constantly having to be on the defensive.
For Shuu, Kaneki was someone who managed to make him feel happiness in a healthy way, having an experience of friendship and camaraderie that, he comes to realise, was far more pleasurable for him than any flesh he’s consumed. His life before then was based simply around the domination of others.
Even in his family he was elevated above everyone he talked to as the rich heir and he was more comfortable calling Chie a pet than a friend. But in finally being brought down a peg by the stronger presence of Kaneki, he was actually able to rediscover what his power made him forget; the value of life.
He still has a certain degree of ruthlessness that can be seen when he suggests Kaneki ought to be killing investigators. But now, rather than pleasure in slaughter, it’s to protect his loved ones. Kaneki most of all, who taught him how to be human. It was his offered arm and willingness to give him another chance that made all of this possible for Tsukiyama - and he feels the effect.
Hide, meanwhile, loves Kaneki because like him, he was once lonely.
It was their friendship that comforted the loneliness of their childhoods for both of them. Despite some obvious differences, their core is alike - their kindness, focus on their loved ones, and self-sacrificing nature. Hide seems to have needed a constant friend as much as Kaneki, given how close they remained over the years. Until we get deeper insight into Hide’s mind we won’t know for sure, but I think the reason Hide thought to look out for the kid who wasn’t talking to anyone was because he can relate to being an outcast himself, possibly being like Kaneki in the past or just because of his eccentric personality.
Similarly all of Mutsuki’s flashbacks of Haise in Chapter 114 are of him showing kindness to her, providing the stability of a peaceful home, and acting as the benevolent father figure she never had. In 142, Hinami remembers him smiling at her and how happy it made her. Despite how his experiences change him and despite what they drive him to do, Kaneki is, at heart, a fundamentally decent and considerate person. It’s a blessing in a violent world.
These features are also what make him ideally suited to the role he was thrust into. As a half-ghoul, and one who can bridge the two worlds, it’s his all-embracing attitude that is essential to uniting these two warring factions. Nishiki, Tsukiyama, Naki and Miza all became his friends this way, and now his salvation - his rescue from Dragon - has only been made possible by the co-operation of ghouls and CCG; a co-operation that could not have happened without the love of Kaneki that brought the ghouls to the CCG, nor without the beginnings of sympathy for ghouls that Kaneki inspired in the doves. His incredible capacity for forgiveness is the quality that will save this resentment-stricken world - and his love is repaid. Despite the horrors it took him through, despite his attempts to discard it, it is Kaneki’s kindness that ultimately saves him.
Love hurts, but it’s worth it.
