The fourth Story Arc of the Tokyo Ghoul series consisting of chapters 31 - 46 from the original manga, and episodes 3 - 5 of the first anime season. The arc revolves around Kaneki dealing with the threat of the Gourmet ghoul, Shuu Tsukiyama.
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Short Summary
Continuing his life and training at Anteiku, Kaneki is befriended by a ghoul named Shuu Tsukiyama, who everyone warns Kaneki to watch out for due to being the infamous Gourmet ghoul that has always stirred up trouble in the 20th ward.
Yomo then introduces Kaneki to a friend of his, Itori, who claims to know information regarding what was behind the cause of the steel bar incident that changed his life. However, he will only get it if he provides information on Gourmet. During his search for Tsukiyama's Gourmet restaurant, Kaneki comes across a wounded Nishiki, who he decides to help, and learns that there is more to him than he originally thought, such as being in a relationship with a human-girl named Kimi.
Later on, Kaneki is brought to said restaurant by Tsukiyama himself as the Gourmet ghoul had been plotting to have Kaneki eaten. As a result, Kaneki is thrown into a trap amongst ghoul spectators who also wish to have a taste of him. Tsukiyama had originally planned for him to be hacked apart and served amongst the ghouls, but upon witnessing his one-eyed ghoul form in battle against his restaurant's scrapper, he decides to call the show off in the hopes of one day having Kaneki all to himself.
Kaneki returns to Anteiku, but is lured out to leave once more upon learning that Tsukiyama had taken Kimi hostage. However, through the combined efforts of Kaneki, Nishiki and Touka, they are able to defeat Tsukiyama. Afterwards, Despite Touka deciding that Kimi needed to be killed since the human knows of their ghoul identities, she runs away after Kimi compliments her kagune.
Long Summary
At Kyomi High School, Touka keeps thinking of Mado’s last words before his death, but is broken out of her trance by her friend, Yoriko. They both go for lunch, but upon seeing Touka eating a jam sandwich twice in a row, Yoriko offers her a piece of fried meat, to which Touka pretensively gulps down. In the bathroom, Touka struggles to pass the piece of meat, but to no avail.
Touka goes home, only to meet up with Kaneki, who mentions that he wanted to help set up Hinami’s room. Though, he was secretly worried about Hinami. Yoriko also visits Touka; showing concern for the way she acted during the school hours. She also gives Touka a pot filled with meat and potato stew she had cooked for her. Touka and Kaneki eat it together, and Kaneki marks numerous descriptions which implied that he truly repelled the food; the onions were like bug wings, the potatoes like chalk, the soup stock like mud water and the overall flavor like that of pencil’s lead. Since Touka goes out of her way to eat all of the food, Kaneki begins to think that Yoriko means a lot to her, for she went as far as downing all the stew.
At another location, a man breaks into a young woman’s house, which he may seem to have known for a long time.
Kaneki and Touka are seen training, where Touka reminds him that he needs more muscle, and that the ghoul investigators will be even more dangerous from now onwards. Touka also advises Kaneki that he should begin using Rize’s Kagune, to which he said that he’d rather do without since he can’t even control it. Yomo approaches them, and compliments Kaneki’s dodging, but criticizes every other aspect of his fighting skills. Yomo decides to train Kaneki, but realizes that the blows are too light, so he decides to let Touka join in as well. Both Touka and Kaneki turn out to be no match for Renji.
The young woman from earlier is seen walking on the streets, and both her eyes have been gouged out.
On the news, it is made known that “The Gourmet” has been active since the death of Rize. The same man from earlier enters Anteiku; noting the atmosphere within the coffee shop to have a nice smell. He seems to know both Touka and Irimi, and commends Kaneki for his stand against Amon. Touka orders him to leave, which he obediently does, but promises Kaneki that they’d meet again to have some coffee. Touka also advises Kaneki not to get involved with The Gourmet, for he’s troublesome and a nuisance to the 20th ward. At his supposed dinner table, he is revealed to be Shuu Tsukiyama, the Gourmet ghoul, and has a strong interest in Kaneki’s scent.
Tsukiyama tours the campus of Kamii University, where he approaches Kaneki as he was reading a book. He introduces himself, and admits that meeting Kaneki was the reason why he enrolled in the first place. Kaneki grows apprehensive but befriends him anyway. He reveals to Tsukiyama that he has been reading a martial arts book due to the dangerous times they’re living in. Kaneki and Tsukiyama both share their love and opinions on the context of literature and reading. Tsukiyama then tells Kaneki of a personal café he knows since Kaneki’s favorite author, Tatatsuki, goes there too. Kaneki suspects that Tsukiyama may be plotting against him; concluding that he must not trust Tsukiyama completely.
However, Tsukiyama tries to persuade him that he’s simply not the person people perceive him to be, because all he ever wanted was to talk with someone whom he had things in common with, and according to him, since Rize was that one, he has been lonely ever since she died. The two then make a date to meet and talk to each other on Sunday. Kaneki goes back to Anteiku where he meets Yomo unexpectedly. Yomo asks Kaneki to accompany him to a place since someone had randomly requested to see Kaneki.
At the 14th ward, Yomo takes Kaneki to a bar. At first, Kaneki is pranked by a woman whom he comes to know as Itori, a friend to both Uta and Yomo, and the owner of the Helter Skelter Bar. Itori first refers to Kaneki as Kanekichi; mentioning that Uta and Yomo talk about him very often. Itori also identifies Kaneki as very kind hearted and innocent, telling him that she had been acquainted with Yomo and Uta ever since they all resided in the 4th ward. It is made known that when they were in their teens, both Uta and Yomo caused wreckage for the 4th ward.
Itori gives Kaneki a glass of blood to drink, but when he resists, he splashes it in his face. This immediately earns her the opportunity of ripping off his eye-patch to expose his one kakugan eye. Kaneki learns that there are other one-eyed ghouls besides him, and that a one-eyed ghoul is highly superior to a full bodied ghoul. Kaneki is warned to not get involved with the One-Eye, for it is rumored that he practices cannibalism and is extremely dangerous. It is revealed that the current rumors are about Kaneki himself, and the death of Rize. Itori tells him that Rize was killed deliberately, and because he was bait for her death, he was dragged into turning a one-eyed ghoul by chance. Kaneki begs Itori to tell him who had killed Rize, but Itori makes a deal with him. He must trade her information on the Gourmet, Tsukiyama Shuu’s restaurant.
Kaneki is requested to gather secret information from Tsukiyama on his Gourmet Club. He searches the city for the restaurant, but gets lost. Kaneki suddenly comes up to a fight scene in a distant corner, whereby the victim is Nishiki. He starts to wonder if he should call the police first, but unthinkingly steps in to stand up for Nishiki. The gang starts to interrogate him, explaining that the only reason they wanted to cannibalize Nishiki is because of his weakness and injuries. After attempting to bludgeon Kaneki, they realize that he is the one-eyed ghoul that killed the investigator, though this wasn’t true. They therefore flee from him immediately.
Kaneki brings home Nishiki, where Kimi takes charge of him. Nishiki reveals that Tsukiyama has been searching for him, and warns Kaneki to stay far from the Gourmet. It is made known that after Rize’s death, a lot of strange things have been happening around Tokyo. Kimi confronts Kaneki about being a ghoul, to which he begs her to not say a word about his identity. She in turn asks that he keep quiet about her harboring Nishiki, for it’d be dangerous if the CCG found out. Kimi mentions that keeping a ghoul is worse than keeping a criminal, for which one could suffer severe penalties.
Kimi admits that she isn’t scared of being with Nishiki and prefers to stay by his side. Kaneki then concludes that she is blindly devoted, and that if humans and ghouls are able to co-exist, it would be a good thing.
Tsukiyama and Kaneki go to play Squash where he noted Kaneki to be inept at playing sports. After that, they went to the coffee shop which Tsukiyama had spoken about. He orders iced coffee, and begins to critique Kaneki on what his clothing style should look like according to his physique and personality. Tsukiyama then takes out a French Gourmet book which he had recommended for Kaneki. They converse about the book, when Kaneki suddenly gets a paper cut on his finger. Tsukiyama gives him his handkerchief to stop the bleeding. When asked about his relationship with Rize, he reveals that she worked for his club, but despised the fact that he fussed over flavor and foods; comparing him to the stupidity of humans. Tsukiyama therefore bears a grudge over Rize, calling her a pig for ridiculing him.
Tsukiyama takes the handkerchief to the bathroom, where it is disclosed that he has an obsession with the scent of Kaneki’s blood, labeling him as his ultimate feast. After they leave the shop, Tsukiyama makes a request to introduce Kaneki to top class taste via his Gourmet Club. Kaneki is reluctant at first, but decides to go just for the sake of gathering information for Itori. When they arrive, Tsukiyama allows one of his club members to take charge of Kaneki. It is revealed that Tsukiyama is indeed plotting against Kaneki.
Kaneki is asked to take a shower, but is also shocked at the fact that he is surprised with a suit and tie. He then enters a waiting room where he meets Kobachi, an editor of the Tokyo Gourmet magazine and Ami, his acquaintance. The three share with each other what they were all told; to take a shower, dress formally and then wait while the room for them was being prepared. A waitress suddenly arrives, giving them some snacks and coffee.
They are taken to another room where they are told to wait once again. Ami tries to open the door they came through, but to no avail. Suddenly a voice is heard on the speaker, announcing the night’s dinner. Suddenly lights flood the room, revealing crowds of people on the above platforms. The three are fully introduced as subjects of the night’s ultimate feast; Kaneki being the main course of the meal. Kaneki is shocked to see Tsukiyama as the host, and soon comes to the realization that it was all a setup. He is forced to look on helplessly as a scrapper, Taro, steps out of the shadows.
They decide to take down the scrapper, but Kobachi is killed when his arm is sawed off and thrown into the crowd. Kaneki decides to protect Ami by asking her to stay behind him, but instead she kicks him right to the feet of the scrapper; saying that Kaneki should die as the decoy if he really wanted to protect her. Taro then begins to chase Ami, whom is surprisingly fast as running though she is obese. It is revealed that the coffee from earlier had poisoned Ami, thus weakening her in the legs. Taro opportunistically tackles Ami to the ground, but is distracted by Kaneki. He then tries to saw through Kaneki’s arm, but the blade does him no harm, as he is a ghoul. After unlatching a suitcase, Taro large hacksaw quinque, much to Kaneki’s fright.
Learning that Tsukiyama had kept the hacksaw quinque as a souvenir, Kaneki wonders if Taro’s skills can compete with an investigator from the main office. He notices that Taro only has strength and not speed, and Tsukiyama on the other hand, advises Kaneki that he’d better use his kagune, for he’d be killed soon enough anyway. Kaneki makes a plan to escape; indicating that he must first defeat Taro. Tsukiyama notices when Kaneki goes by the teachings of his martial arts book, successfully cracking Taro’s arm.
Kaneki falls to the ground, suddenly feeling weak, but it is made known that they prepared a special gas for inhalation as there were people who did not drink the poisonous coffee. Since the effects of the gas are slow, Kaneki decides to give his all for the moment. He exposes his kakugan. However, Kaneki falls even weaker this time giving Taro the opportunity to finally kill him.
Upon noticing that Kaneki is a One-Eyed ghoul, Tsukiyama concludes that his dinner cannot be spoiled, and decides to take down Taro, tearing him to shreds. Instead, Madam A decides that Taro would be the night’s dinner instead. Tsukiyama apologizes to Kaneki; asking that he forget about the whole thing.
Kaneki starts getting nightmares about the dreadful experience he had at Tsukiyama’s Gourmet Restaurant, but wakes up in Anteiku. He is introduced to a bird which Hinami has found and decided to take care of until the rightful owner showed up. They decide to name the bird Loser.
Yomo mentions that Kaneki should not have gone to the restaurant in the first place, and that he shouldn’t take the things Itori says too seriously. Kaneki remembers seeing the ghouls and how they laughed as humans were being injured to be left bleeding. Yoshimura explains how a ghoul truly feels about killing humans; comparing it to when humans eat meat or fish.
Touka tells Kaneki that he has a visitor downstairs, to which Kaneki gets anxious, wondering if it is Tsukiyama. It turns out to be Kimi, who asks Kaneki for help-for Nishiki’s wound had not healed. Kaneki promises her to get into contact with someone he knows.
On the way home, Kimi is abducted by Tsukiyama, asking her the favor of just cooperating with him for a little while. Kaneki suddenly finds a letter with a rose on the patio of the coffee shop, whereby he suddenly finds out that Tsukiyama has taken Kimi hostage.
Kaneki suspects that Tsukiyama abducted Kimi just to get a chance near him. Nishiki, still in his critical state, manages to reach Anteiku in search for Kimi, only to find out that Tsukiyama took her. When Kaneki hesitates to take Nishiki with him, Nishiki insists; saying that he couldn’t even sleep if he were to go home.
Kaneki and Nishiki visit Tsukiyama, where they see Kimi tied up and surrounded by candles on what was believed to be Tsukiyama’s altar. Nishiki loses his temper; swearing to not let Tsukiyama interfere with Kimi. Tsukiyama mentions that Kimi would be his dinner spice for the night, and that he wants to eat Kaneki at the maximum level of freshness; in that he’ll eat Kaneki while Kaneki eats Kimi. Nishiki in turn labels Tsukiyama as perverse, but the latter blames Kaneki for making him behave this way. Nishiki charges towards Tsukiyama but is quickly thrown to the ground, leaving Kaneki to fend for himself. To no avail, Kaneki’s combat skills are compared to that of a baby bird taking tottering steps. Tsukiyama eventually defeats Kaneki, but later succumbs to a surprise attack by the hands of Touka.
Tsukiyama has been grazed across the eyes, but seems to be unaffected by it. Touka reveals that she has been secretly following Nishiki and Kaneki, but is deciding to beat Tsukiyama for the sake of saving Kaneki. Tsukiyama concludes that since Touka’s surprise attack had no effects on him, she has become far calmer than she was at fourteen years of age. The two begin to fight, and Kaneki takes the opportunity to kick Tsukiyama in the face. Shuu also notices that Touka and Kaneki’s fighting skills have been synchronized.
He subsequently cracks Kaneki’s arm, shoving a hand through his torso. Tsukiyama then decides to taste Kaneki’s blood, and describes the taste as something that he’d never experienced before; claiming it was better than he had expected. Touka suddenly attempts another attack on Tsukiyama, but is pierced through the stomach by Tsukiyama’s kagune; being told that she is interfering with dinner.
Kaneki begs Tsukiyama to kill him immediately, but when he delays, Kaneki decides to save Kimi with his kagune. Since he is unable to send any power to it, Tsukiyama approaches Kimi, but is immediately appalled by the scar she had on her shoulder.
Nishiki starts remembering his entire past. He and his elder sister were left alone by their parents, and were forced to hunt and fend for themselves. His sister decided to act in place of their mother. She desired to go to school and live a life like humans do, but since she’d be found out, she decided to take on a part time job so that she and her brother could wear nice clothes and sleep on a fluffy bed. Unfortunately, Nishiki’s sister got fired from every part time job she took. She also met a shop owner whom she admired, but one day she was killed by ghoul investigators when the shop manager sold her out.
Nishiki was forced to go on living alone, as Nishiki Nishio, and used her savings for survival. One day, at a vending machine in college, he met a girl whom he came to know as Kimi. The two began to hang out, consequently entering a relationship. Kimi came home one day to see Nishiki in a state of starvation and near death. She allowed him to eat her meat, therefore accepting him as a ghoul. Kimi reveals that her family had died in a plane crash on the same day she met him, and that Nishiki basically saved her from her sadness. Though Nishiki found it hard to trust humans, he mentions that it would be okay if he were to be betrayed by Kimi.
Back to the present, Nishiki finally musters up the strength to try and stop Tsukiyama from hurting Kimi. Tsukiyama laments that he has been fasting for the sake of eating Kaneki, and is therefore very hungry. He beats down Nishiki; adding that Nishiki lost to him because he is unable to bring out his kagune. Tsukiyama also compares kagune to engines, and human meat to gasoline; implying that he needs the highest class of human meat, that is Kaneki, so that his powers can elevate.
Touka wakes up, and advises Kaneki that Tsukiyama could take on them both empty-handed, and that the only reason for her weakness at this point is Yoriko’s cooking. She suggests that they eat Kaneki for energy, but Kaneki desists. Nishiki stalls Tsukiyama once more, but is brutally battered up by his kagune yet again. Nishiki vows to kill Tsukiyama even if he dies. Kaneki contemplates on consuming Kimi’s meat, and he also finds out that long ago, both Tsukiyama and Touka were an even match at full power. Kaneki comes to a conclusion that since human meat is gasoline for a ghoul’s kagune, Touka must eat his flesh in order to have the strength to stand up against Tsukiyama.
When Touka bites Kaneki’s arm, Tsukiyama gets ravenous upon seeing this. He charges towards her, and Touka stands at her full power, telling him that nothing in the room belongs to him. Touka’s kagune begins to shoot bullets and Tsukiyama is eventually knocked to the ground. Kaneki is surprised at how far Touka’s kagune threw Tsukiyama. However, Shuu is disturbingly giddy to see this side of Touka, saying that he cannot forgive her for eating Kaneki’s flesh.
Tsukiyama’s kagune then takes the shape of a blade as he declares to shred Touka to entrails. Touka blocks his attack, and eventually shatters his kagune. Tsukiyama becomes weak but is still determined, insisting that he cannot be stopped. Tsukiyama heads over to Kimi, only to have his tie pulled by Nishiki, much to his annoyance.
Tsukiyama demands Nishiki to let go of him, but is surprised to see that his arm has completely vanished. He then tells Kaneki that all he needs from him is one bite of his flesh. Before he could take one step further, Tsukiyama tumbles to the ground. Nishiki successfully unties Kimi, but is told by Touka that since both his and Kaneki’s identities have been revealed, Kimi must be killed.
Kaneki confronts Touka, comparing Hide to how Kimi is to Nishiki, and how Yoriko is to Touka. Touka disagrees, and starts to attack Kimi with her kagune. Nishiki blocks Kimi, taking all the bullets for her. When Kimi immediately sees that Touka is a ghoul, she notes her kagune to be very beautiful. Touka is shocked at Kimi’s reaction, and runs out of the building, berating herself and her dreadful kagune.
Gourmet Arc Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight:
- For Shuu Tsukiyama, who the arc centers around.
- The reader also learns more about Nishiki.
- Arc Villain: Tsukiyama.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Big Madam as a spectator at the Gourmet Show. She goes on to play a much larger role later in the series.
- Heel–Face Turn: Nishiki helps Kaneki this time around.
- Killed Off for Real: Kobachi, Ami, and Taro. Tsukiyama looks to have died as well, but is discovered to have survived in the following story arc.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: For the anime adaptation:
- Similar to what was already mentioned on the previous arc page, Doves' Emergence was switched to occur after the Gourmet arc. The most likely cause of the switch was because the anime wanted to introduce Tsukiyama earlier.
- The Gourmet show against Taro was reduced greatly due to Kaneki being the only meal. The other two meals, Kobachi and Ami, do not appear. Similarly, Itori does not ask Kaneki to investigate the Ghoul Restaurant in exchange for information about Rize, which has the effect of making Kaneki seem more hapless and passive than he is in the manga.
