Prediction Blog: Ken Kaneki vs Shinichi Izumi

"Today I'm the butcher,

tomorrow I might be the cattle."

- Augustina Bazterrica

Ken Kaneki, the one-eyed king of Tokyo Ghoul.

Shinichi Izumi, the Parasyte infested alien hybrid.

Humanity. Our normal. We take certain things for granted in our society and psyche, there are strict rules and facts to regulate what we are. We fear what lies outside of that, the dark corners of humanity that tethers on the edge of what we know. All it really takes is one encounter with it to change the course of our lives forever.

And with enough time, who knows, what we fear may just become our new nature. Our new normal.

For these two, that exactly happened. They were forced from their normal everyday human lives and thrusted into a supernatural nightmare. Yet, they pushed through and persevered. But in a horror showdown of ghoul and parasite, who will come out on top? Let's find out!

Before we begin...

This blog will analyse these characters solely from their series' official mangas; Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul:Re, and Parasyte, as well as their respective anime adaptations. Thats it, no obscure video games or Netflix live action movies.

On a more detailed note, Kaneki's powers fluctuate during Tokyo Ghoul due to his instable mental psyche, which makes determining his exact abilities difficult. Due to this, I will be including all of his different power showcases and label them accordingly. Consider it a split psuedo-composite of the character within the canon material, and thus the bulk of his detailed information will be in the "Forms" segment.

Source Citations

Ken Kaneki

obligatory Respect Thread

Shinichi Izumi

obligatory Respect Thread
Shinichi vs Pepsi Man blog by Corp

yeah that's it I actually read through both series this time. novel concept, I know.

Background

Ken Kaneki

"I’m not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I’m just a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But... if, for argument’s sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be... a tragedy."

Ghouls. For most, the word means nothing, it's simply another monster mankind has manifested for nighttime horror tales. But there's a world out there where that's different, where these beasts blend into society, the only thing setting them apart from humans being their insatiable hunger. Hunger for what, you ask? Why, human flesh of course.

When Ken Kaneki was growing up, he had no idea that ghouls existed, let alone that his encounter with one would change the world forever.

Kaneki grew up in a less than ideal household. His father died when he was young, leaving his grieving mother struggling to provide for them, something she expressed to Kaneki with emorional and physical abuse. Adding to that, his aunt would frequently hound his mother for money she did not have, ultimately leading to her death from stress and overworking. He would be adopted by his aunt, where his life did not take a turn for the better. In fact, the sole positive influence in his life was his childhood friend Hide, perhaps the one reason as to how he was able to cope with his trauma.

Flash forward a couple years, and Kaneki is a student, studying Japanese literature at Kamii University. One day, he and Hide were hanging out at the local café, where he just so happened to bump into his at the time crush, a girl named Rize. Much to his joy, the two began to bond, and went out together. There, his joy shifted to horror as Rize revealed herself as a ghoul, ready to feast on her new prey.

But in what appeared to be a stroke of luck, before she could fatally wound him, Rize was crushed beneath a series of falling steel beams, leaving Kaneki dying, but alive. In order to save his life (and for absolutely no other reason don't worry about it), a doctor by the name of Akhiro Kanou decided to implant Rize's organs into Kaneki, turning him into the first ever artificial one-eyed ghoul.

From then on, Kaneki's life was thrown off the axis and straight into a real horror story. He found himself unable to eat normal food, and when he figured out that the organ transplant had began his transformation into a monster, he was unable to harm himself to prevent it. Convinced that any semblance of a normal existence was over, he found an unexpected solace in the staff of the very cafe that had lead to his change. Turns out, cafe manager Yoshimura and waitress Touka were both ghouls, who would begin to ease Kaneki into his new non-human life.

He went through a lot. The moral dilemma of being forced to devour human flesh for survival, the non-stop torture at the hands of the Aogiri terrorist group, the complete loss of his identity and memories, Rize's resurrection haunting his every step, and his horrible painful transformation into a world-ending monster.

But it ended in a way he hadn't anticipated. Thanks to humans and ghouls working together to stop an event that threatened both sides existences, Kaneki with both Hide and Touka on his side was able to venture into the depths and do a final battle with both Rize, and the man behind everything, Kichimura Washuu.

If you asked Ken Kaneki about his life, he would describe it as a tragedy. But if you asked anyone else, it would be told as a tale of a shy, small boy finding his place in a world that doesn't want him, a champion of the group that took him in, and... well, the saviour of the world. In the end, Kaneki pushed through his trauma and came out the other end not just a hero, but also a husband, and father too.

Ken Kaneki's new normal is the joyful life he never could have had before.

Shinichi Izumi

"Perhaps nothing will change, no matter how far I go. If I'm to stop my journey, that is fine, too. Even if I were informed that everything has reached its end, I'd just accept it. But even so, I found an answer to yet another of my questions today."

Parasites. A real group of animals that exist in out world today, yet a horrifying concept all the same. The idea of something foreign forcing themselves inside the body of another creature, taking over their mind to leave only a piloted shell behind... it gives you the chills, doesn't it?

For Shinichi Izumi, this nightmare became a reality... but not in the way anyone could have anticipated. As the alien parasites rained down from the sky and infected numerous humans in their sleep to take over their brains, Shinichi was one of the lucky few to awake before it could happen. And with the alien stuck lodged in his arm, it was unable to enter his brain.

So the next day when he awoke... his arm had changed. Well, it's more appropriate to say his arm had vanished, and in its place was an entity now stuck to his person thanks to the failed takeover attempt. And it wasn't long after that other, actually properly infected entities began to kill humans, forcing the unlikely duo of Shinichi and Migi to work together for their survival.

And that fight for survival came with its own challenges, and not just the ones inherent from your arm being replaced with a shapeshifting alien. Of course, there was the issues of tragedy, despair, and the death of his loved ones, but the thing that weighed more on Shinichi's mind was the meaning of humanity, and for Migi, wether or not it mattered.

And it came to a finish against the parasite leader Reiko Tamara, or rather her experimental parasite fusion, Gotou. With Migi's selfless sacrifice (dw he got better) and Shinichi's refusal to give up the fight, they kept the world safe enough for parasites to actually meld with society, leading to peace, as odd as it may sound.

So, what is Shinichi Izumi's new normal? Well, it's hard to say. But perhaps, it doesn't even matter. Humanity moves on, and so does the rest of the world, all part of a greater environment. Some would say that's what the normal always was, and it just took a shakeup of the status quo to realise it, and some would say there wasn't a lesson in there to begin with. But Shinichi Izumi lives on, and the world does so with him.

Equipment

Ken Kaneki

Masks

The thing that made him such an icon with 14 year old fangirls who didn't watch the anime, Kaneki has a couple of really badass looking masks. Outside of offering a slight increase in facial protection, it's real usage is simply to hide his identity. I guess you could say that's what the point of the

Yukimura 1/3

A sword that Kaneki used as Haise Sasaki, Yukimura 1/3 is a quinque, a weapon crafted from an enemy ghoul's kakuhou (more detail in a bit). This makes it far more durable than any ordinary man-made sword, allowing it to cut up even S-Rank ghouls with no issue. Kaneki's skills with it have been described as "like he's controlling water". Neat!

Shinichi Izumi

Misc. Weapons

If you're not familiar with Parasyte, don't worry about the blade fingers, we'll get there

While usually, Migi does the heavy lifting for Shinichi when they're fighting someone, the two are at their best when both are able to attack. Being a normal human, Shinichi often relies on various weapons he simply happens to find laying around in order to do so. These include a knife, a hatchet, a metal rod, a wooden spear, and the likes.

Powers and Abilities

Ken Kaneki

Ghoul Biology

In Tokyo Ghoul, ghouls are human-like entities of unknown origin who are only capable of feeding upon the flesh of humans or other ghouls. Although not explicitly supernatural, ghouls do possess abilities that humans do not, such as a massively enhanced physique, and the ability to morph their bodies to specific degrees.

This is due to their Rc cells, of which they usually possess 10 times the amount of ordinary humans. Rc cells are unique bodily components that flows like a liquid but can become as solid as bone and are stored within a special ghoul organ, the kakuhou. If a human were to be injected with a surplus of Rc cells, they would evolve to develop ghoul-like traits.

Kaneki specifically is what is considered a "one-eyed ghoul", or a human-ghoul hybrid that possesses traits from both sides, and thus has both an unique scent that ghouls can pick up on, and supposedly better-tasting flesh. Fun!

Feeding

Like mentioned, ghouls can only safely devour the flesh of humans and othe ghouls, no other exceptions. Well, technically they can do it, but it won't provide them with any nutritional values... and it'll taste like rotten cheese and vomit. Not fun!

While Kaneki was, understandably, against the idea of cannibalism at first, he eventually caved in and began partaking in it. Good for him, because not only does human flesh fill his stomach, but it will also speed up his regeneration process, allowing him to heal wounds in short timeframes. Even just taking a single bite from his opponents mid-battle is enough to instantly refill his energy reserves and allow him to turn the tides.

Superhuman Senses

Compared to humans, ghouls possess heightened senses. After just getting his powers, Kaneki was able to smell a corpse from several blocks away, and his senses grew after there and after getting specialised training to gain dynamic vision, leading to him being able to sense trouble just by his intuition alone.

Melee Combat

To harness his newfound ghoul abilities, Kaneki was mentored by some of the ghoulworld's best fighters, making him a formidable opponent in unarmed combat. With his inhuman physique, he can keep fighting while impaled or after getting his limbs twisted off, even being capable of fighting without thinking of it and dodge attacks with his sheer instinct alone.

Technique Mimicry

Adding to that, Kaneki possesses a special talent for turning his opponents moves against them after just a glance at their combat skills. He did this against Matasaka Kamishiro, one of the best trained martial artists in the ghoul world.

Note that this doesn't extend to abilities that Kaneki doesn't already possess. Obviously.

Regeneration

Back to proper ghoul powers, Kaneki heals fast. Real fast. At the very beginning of the series, his body could heal small cuts instantly and broken bones in less than a day, and as it went on his healing only got better, to the point where he could survive implement to his torso and brain, and regenerate shattered limbs with ease. Of course, his regen will only keep him moving as long as his body has the energy to replace his Rc cells, so if he isn't careful, it can be overtaxed. That's why he can always kick-start it again by taking a big old bite of human flesh (even his own, in a dire situation!).

Kagune

Now we're really getting into the... meat, of it. The Kagune is essentially a ghoul's predatory organ, similar to the stingers of animals like wasps and scorpions. The Kagune is entirely composed out of Rc cells, allowing a ghoul to harden and soften it at will, as well as conceal them within their normal body.

There are four standard types of Kagune which are determined by the Rc type of the ghoul possessing it, and they work in a sort of rock-paper-scissors dynamic, with one generally having the edge over the other in a combat scenario (Though, of course, it isn't a guaranteed victory). Thanks to the organ transplant, Kaneki possesses Rize's Rinkaku, which manifests as chaotic tentacles that can extend or form the likes of swords and claws, and generally beat out the Kokaku shoulder-blades, but lose to the tail-like Bikaku.

For more specifics on his Kagune through the series, see his "Forms" section.

Shinichi Izumi

Melee Combat

In order to survive and do battle against the Parasites, Shinichi had to get good at fighting, and he did! In fact, he got really good. With Migi enhancing his strength, especially after their deeper fusion, Shinichi was effortlessly tossing people around and catching blows like they're nothing. He is even capable of dodging around close combat from parasites without Migi's aid.

Migi

Speaking of the devil, here he is! Migi (literally meaning "right") is an alien creature we only know as "parasites" who's purpose is to infect humans and blend into their world. Migi failed to properly infect Shinichi's brain and instead got stuck as his right arm (get it?), forcing the two into a weird symbiotic relationship.

Migi functions independently of Shinichi, able to control his right arm to do whatever he wants. At any time, he and Shinichi can interact via verbal communication, which is their go-to in combat to strategise plans. He can also sense any subtle changes in Shinichi's blood and hormones for... various purposes... such as detecting enemies!

Should he need to, Migi can also detach from Shinichi's body. While this will be fatal for him in the long run as he relies on Shinichi's circulatory system to sustain himself, it's an useful ability for sneak attacks and taking foes off guard. Migi is also capable of splitting into smaller duplicates, albeit the more he does so, the less advanced they are.

Parasite Shapeshifting

Migi, like the other members of his kind, possesses the innate ability to transform his body any way he chooses, allowing it to range from being as flexible as rubber, to as hard as steel.

This allows him to do things like creating bladed weapons, morphing his appearance into the faces of others, extending long distances to grab onto objects from several yards away, or turning Shinich's arm into a giant penis (True story) (NSFW, obviously). He can even increase the muscle mass of Shinichi's arm, massively increasing his physical power.

A cover art also depicts Migi transforming parts of himself into animal parts and plantlife, which given his other abilities, is far from out of the question.

Superhuman Senses

Parasites possess the ability to sense others of their kind, allowing Migi to inform Shinichi of approaching enemies beforehand, with a limit of 300 meters. Although the more people there are around them, the harder it is to pinpoint their location.

Shinichi himself also began to grow superhuman senses as the series progressed, increasing his hearing to the point where he could pick up on everything from distant conversations to the sound of someone's heart beating.

Regeneration

After their bond, Migi had spread his cells through Shinichi's entire body. Mainly, this increased their physical attributes, but it also gave Migi a greater control over Shinichi's body, allowing him to heal small wounds.

More impressively however, Migi was able to not only patch Shinichi up after being speared completely through the heart, but bring him to full recovery within only a few days by transferring cells from all over his body to his chest. Following this, Shinichi and Migi both grew in abilities, meaning they could potentially replicate this feat with less time and effort.

Infection & Possession

Migi, just like his fellow parasites, Migi came from outer space with the intent of entering a human host and eating their brain to replace their bodies. Parasites are able to infect any animal, but they usually go for humans, and if they fail to reach the brain, they will get stuck in whatever body part they're inside.

And while Shinichi and Migi haven't shown this specific skill, Reiko was able to use a discarded part of her body to take over the body of not just another parasite, but an ordinary human as well, and use them as puppets capable of fighting by themselves. And if Migi were to do this to someone, he could slice apart their internal organs when inside them, like he did when absorbed by Gotou.

Fear Manipulation

As the series went on and his power increased, Shinichi seemed to almost give off an aura of fear, causing people to flee from him even is he's shown no hostility towards them, even so intently that they begin to hallucinate (only reasonable explanation for what's going on here). And when he does show hostility, a single second of eye contact is enough to stunlock most people.

Forms

Ken Kaneki

Human Kaneki

Before getting Rize's organs implanted into him, Ken Kaneki was a normal boy.

yeah

BoS, Pre-Aogiri

Shortly after receiving his powers, Kaneki joined the Anteiku coffee shop, secretly serving as a way into the ghoul underworld. There, Yoshimura and Touka eased Kaneki into the ghoul life.

During this time, Kaneki's powers were unfocused, and he wasn't able to properly control his Kagune. Still, at this point his body was durable enough to bend knives and shrug off getting impaled, and he could easily send people flying with a single blow. Although he couldn't control his Kagune yet, it would still come out to instinctively protect him from danger.

Post-Aogiri

Easily his most famous appearance, following his capture and torture by the Aogiri for 10 days straight, Kaneki embraced his ghoul nature.

Alongside his psyche shattering and his hair turning white, his power skyrocketed, to the degree where he could now outspeed someone who could previously blitz him. At this point, he could manifest a much more powerful Kagune, sprouting up to six tendrils at once. His regeneration also recieved a boost, letting him survive getting riddled with dozens of shards, or even being pierced through the brain.

Haise Sasaki

Probably Kaneki's mental state at his lowest, leading to the full loss of his memories and identity, taking on the name and appearance of Commissioner of Counter Ghoul (ghoul hunters, basically) member Haise Sasaki. The CCG would proceed to mould Kaneki into their expert investigator.

Of course, Haise uses a sword, Yukimura 1/3. Alongside that, his lack of recollection allowed for his Kagune to evolve, making him capable of forming it into different shapes. He could mold it into a sword-like shape and several tendrils at once, or one single tendrils that can smash through solid stone.

One-Eyed King

Following a brutal beatdown from Arima, Kaneki gave up on living, only to be motivated by a vision of his old friend Hide. With his hair turning white once more, Kaneki rose as more powerful than ever, now recognised as the One-Eyed King of all ghouls. Oh, and he got his memories back.

With this new, precise control of his abilities, Kaneki could form his Kagune into a set of armour, or even create mouths on the end of his tendrils to distract foes. At this peak, he could form his body into a centipede-like shell, and instantly regenerate from being torn to shreds.

Dragon

Following a plan laid by Kichimura Washuu, Kaneki consumed too much Rc cells from a squad of soldiers, and the nucleus within Kichimura's body. This caused his body to morph, painfully mutating and growing into an unstoppable behemoth of flesh and kagune, unable to control himself as he laid destruction through Tokyo.

This "Dragon" is Kaneki's ultimate state of being, growing over 20 kilometres long in a matter of moments, with the potential for becoming much larger over a short time. Although mostly immobile, the Dragon can lash out with dozens of kagune tentacles, as well as produce meat golems made out of human flesh to fight for him. In addition, it passively emits a type of airborne poisonous gas that threatened the existence of both all humans and ghouls alive.

Current, Post-Dragon

After some time, Kaneki was finally extracted from the Dragon in his last ghoul evolution, a more mutated state than his prior to the point where his anatomy is unrecognisable by medical professionals, but with all the control the Dragon lacked. As what is presumably his most powerful, Kaneki's control over his abilities is better than ever.

Specifically, his ability to shape his kagune was fine-tuned, allowing him to utilise other, non-Rinkaku kagune from the likes of Nishiki, Hinami, Tsukiyama, and Touka, letting him to create the likes of massive swords, shields, and wings. In this state, he is essentially unkillable, having regenerated entire limbs in seconds, and even survived being completely crushed.

Shinichi Izumi

Human Shinichi

Before being infected by Migi, Shinichi Izumi was a normal boy.

yeah

Pre-Fusion

Shinichi and Migi started out the series as two separate entities who were simply attached to each other, as opposed to the more fixed state they would later take on. At this point in time, the two had difficulty properly working together and using their powers to their full potential.

Post-Fusion

They're fused now.

After Shinichi got a bad case of dead mom, and an even worse case of no heart, Migi was forced to merge with him on a deeper level, regenerating his body. This spread Migi's cells through Shinichi's entire body, increasing his physical capabilities drastically.

Feats

Ken Kaneki

Overall

Actually got a happy ending.
Withstood 10 days of nonstop torture by the Aogiri.
Ensured a safe existence for both humans and ghouls.
Fought on both sides of the CCG.
Survived both the transformation into the Dragon, and being forcibly extracted from it.
Became the Dragon.... and then defeated the Dragon.

Strength

Even the weakest of ghouls are way stronger than any human.
Sliced open the floor in his fight with Shachi. (0.6 Tons of TNT)
Punched Shachi through a steel wall. (0.81 Tons of TNT)
Stopped Eto's charge.
Decapitated a clown ghoul with ease.
Blocked Arima's attack with his bare hands.
Slammed Ayato through a roof.
[Dragon] His transforming into the Dragon caused a massive earthquake. (88 Kilotons of TNT)
[Dragon] Caused massive explosions as the Dragon. (26 Kilotons of TNT)
[Dragon] The Dragon rose from below the earth up to skyscraper heights. (2.21 - 8.81 Megatons of TNT)
Destroyed the Dragon's tentacles. (3.54 Kilotons of TNT)

Speed

Durability

Bend a knife when trying to stab himself week one of having his powers.
Took a blow that caused a crater. (19 Tons of TNT)
Was slammed through a thick rc cells floor.
Was unphased by a massive hit from Dragon Rize.
Tanked two Kagune attacks when drugged on an Rc cell suppressant.
Was monched on by the Dragon and almost completely splattered.

Shinichi Izumi

Overall

Also got a happy ending.
Together, killed at least 14 enemy parasites.
Moved for four hours straight (a lot of it by running) without tiring.
Stronger and faster than any olympic level athlete.
Taught Reiko Tamara about humanity.
Defeated A, Hiro, Gotou, and several other unnamed parasites.
Fought and eventually defeated Gotou, a combination of five parasites.

For a decent amount of this fight, Shinichi was down an arm and fighting using a rusty cleaver and metal rod.

Canonical baller.

Scaling

Ken Kaneki

Ghouls & Ghoul Hunters

Kaneki is the One-Eyed King, the Dragon, the... you get the idea, he is without a doubt at the top of the Tokyo Ghoul food chain, especially at the peak of his power post-Dragon. Even before then, he was considered practically untouchable by the other ghoul and ghoul hunters in the series meaning that anything they can do, so can he.

Touka can move faster than the eye can track, and dodge both electricity and sound waves.
Ayato can move fast enough to cause a sonic boom.
Shachi destroyed a bridge. (0.08 Tons of TNT)
Eto destroyed a steel compactor. (424 Tons of TNT), and can move at FTE speeds. (Mach 0.4 - 13.5)
Saiko punched Urie hard enough to cause a crater. (0.14 Tons of TNT)
Gungi and Gagi intercepted machinegun fire. (Mach 2.8)

Shinichi Izumi

Parasites

While Shinichi isn't the strongest parasite per say, he is still powerful enough to fight with the big leagues consistently. Very rarely was he considered weaker than his foes, and even when he was, he always managed to pull through the fight. It's reasonable to assume his yet to be unlocked maximum potential is higher than showcased in the series.

Hideo was able to fight and kill people in tandem with gunfire.
Reiko picked up a guy one-handed and tossed him across a room, rolled up a metal spoon with her tongue,
A obliterated a lion's head so thoroughly it was mistaken for an explosive attack.

A's mangled body was still... somewhat intact after being at the epicentre of an explosion. (0.3 Tons of TNT at best)

Gotou could withstand shotgun fire (4,000 Joules), a rocket launcher (1,840,960 Joules), and being sandwiched between two cars (0.8 Tons of TNT).

Gotou was able to avoid point-blank gunfire. (1,250 m/s | Mach 3.6).

Weaknesses

Ken Kaneki

When it comes to discussing Kaneki's weaknesses, there is one very obvious starting point: his mental instability. It's literally a plot point at numerous times during the series that Kaneki's uncontrollable mental trauma messes with his ability to properly utilise his powers. Sure, at the end of the series he comes to terms with his dark past and reaches his max potential, but that trauma is still a part of him that he cannot be rid, and could potentially rear it's ugly head up again.

And while his healing is pretty damn good, it isn't too hard to overwhelm it. Critical damage to organs such as the heart or lungs are difficult to heal quickly, and a precise strike through the brain could leave him with total memory loss.

Shinichi Izumi

While they are in theory the perfect duo, and their teamwork is unparalleled when they agree on something, Shinichi and Migi often have different thoughts on how to handle situations. Migi is always focusing on the path most clear to victory, which often gets in the way of Shinichi's... yknow, humanity and morals. When they get into a disagreement, it sometimes takes them a while to figure out a plan they will both be okay with.

And while it's unlikely to come into effect in a neutral grounds battle, Migi is forced to go dormant for four hours every day, during which time Shinichi loses full access to him and his abilities.

Summary

Ken Kaneki

"I won’t pull back, I will press forward, like a centipede."

people who haven't read Tokyo Ghoul are going to be so confused on how that's a cool quote

Advantages:

Takes the stat trinity.
Harder to kill.
Better training.
Can feast on Shinichi at any time.
Greater battle experience.
Between stats, summons, and sheer size alone, the Dragon would guarantee a victory.
got the best ending you can dream of.
Sex chapter

Disadvantages:

Can theoretically be possessed by Migi.
Leaves himself more open in combat.
Has specific exploitable weak spots that Shinichi would likely target.
Dragon is incredibly difficult to attain mid-fight and unlikely to be considered standard.
shitty anime adaptation

Shinichi Izumi

"Human life is precious... isnt it?"

Advantages:

Migi could potentially possess Kaneki and kill him from the inside.
More versatility with his powers.
Better tactical thinking, furthered by his and Migi's coordination.
A good sneak attack could certainly take Kaneki off guard.
Longer reach and better flexibility.
You should read Parasyte it's really good and just 60 chapters.
Penis arm

Disadvantages:

Loses in the stat trinity.
Less trained and composed.
Doesn't stand a chance without Migi.
Lacks many ways to reliably kill Kaneki.

Before the verdicts

About the Dragon

Hey, do you like the Dragon? Yeah, it's pretty cool right? It's also non-standard as hell.

Long story short, the Dragon required not only a long and complex plan laid by Kichimura Washuu (as well as the consumption of his nucleus), but also for Kaneki to devour dozens upon dozens of ghouls. That simply is not a feasible possibility in a battle like this without involving a LOT of outside help or setting the fight in a non-neutral territory, since that would only benefit Kaneki.

Parasyte - ...Fairy Tail scaling?

Yep. It's legit. Deal with it.

(it's from a cute little crossover one-shot. thanks Chris for recommending this valuable and nessecary information. couldn't have made the blog without it)

Verdicts

Loka

Alright, Kaneki vs Shinichi! Quite the different blog experience from... the last one I made, but I still had a lot of fun with it, and doing it got me into two really great manga that have become all time favourites of mine!

Now, let's be frank. A single glance across the feats section tells tells everything there is to tell about the stat comparison of this matchup, which is that Kaneki takes them all, eight ways to Sunday. Shinichi's highest estimates get him at around 0.8 tons and Mach 4. Definitely impressive in his home series, but Kaneki easily gets into the dozens of kilotons and up to Mach 40 casually.

Now, Shinichi and Migi hold his their advantages in battle tactics and versatility, but Kaneki's sheer and plain stat lead means it'll be difficult for him to take advantage of it. Even if he did, Kaneki's regeneration far outpaces anything Migi is capable of, meaning that any damage landed won't last long.

Now, there is one way for Shinichi to get a win here, and that is by having Migi either enter Kaneki's body, or take control over it. Kaneki wouldn't really have a counter to either of these, making it a real possibility. Unfortunately, the speed gap makes this unlikely, as Kaneki is rocking feats at least 10x higher than what Migi is capable of. And as a final nail in the coffin, Migi loses power quickly when detached from Shinichi, making this way too risky of a tactic for him to use.

In the end, although a formidable opponent in his own right, Shinichi really doesn't have that much going for him in this debate. But hey, let this be an example of a matchup that, while a stomp, is still as fun as can be.

The winner is Ken Kaneki.

Pit

This is the first time in a while I’ve had to talk about this matchup without gushing excessively about why it’s my favourite matchup of all time. Look at me branching out.

So, surprise surprise, Kaneki holds most advantages in this fight. He takes the whole stats trinity plain and simple, and his Kagune is a lot more of a versatile tool than Migi is. However, I want to use this to explore in more detail what Shinichi is able to do and how favourable his own wincons are, rather than just reiterate Kaneki’s boons.

Between the two, Migi is a lot more of an on-the-fly critical thinker than Kaneki. Not only are he and Shinichi… usually more mentally well put together, but their fights against Parasytes that physically outmatch them has trained them to use their skillset to think outside the box and win through finding an opening. Kaneki has historically been jumped on numerous occasions by foes with more skill or planning abilities than him, even late into his career, and while his own ability to form a plan of attack on the spot has gotten him out of a bind in the past, such as in his final fight with Arima, it cannot hold a candle to Migi and Shinichi’s strategic prowess.

On top of that, though less versatile, Migi’s shapeshifting abilities are nothing to scoff at, allowing Shinichi to adapt to Kaneki’s approach options mid-combat. If Kaneki came at him for melee combat, either hand-to-hand or with his Quinque, Migi’s claws or blades would let Shinichi keep up. Against Kaneki’s main Kagune, Migi has the range to keep up the fight at any distance. Even when mimicking other Kagune, Migi can generally adapt.

More importantly though, Migi can pinpoint key weak points to strike at. Sure, a ghoul’s physiology isn’t exactly the same as a human’s but all the same vital areas apply. Getting through them with brute force is… well, obviously not gonna happen, Kaneki couldn’t even pierce his own skin with a steak knife, but just like when they fought Gotou, another foe with an impossibly durable hide, there are entry points they could exploit… y’know, like through his mouth… because he’s a cannibal. While Migi himself has never taken control of another person and has hesitated before on doing so (not out of attachment towards Shinichi mind you, more contemplation over how beneficial it is to his survival), he has still exploited being inside of his opponent (ew) in the past and likely could just do that again. Having the capability to take over Kaneki’s body as a last resort is just the cherry on top.

So, Shinichi does absolutely have his win conditions and advantages over Kaneki. Make no mistake, he isn’t nearly as washed as he’s made out to be, at least in my opinion. With that said, it is still pretty clear Kaneki wins out in the end. While Shinichi did beat Gotou, he did not do so through taking him head-on. In fact, he got his ass handed to him when he did. While Shinichi and Migi rarely ever go for a full frontal assault anyways, that does eliminate a big potential route for them to go down to win against Kaneki given his leagues greater strength and endurance, not to mention Kaneki’s healing factor. While it can be overtaxed, especially through hitting certain vital areas, you have to actually do enough damage to overtax it, and Shinichi and Migi do not have the strength to match Ken “physically sturdier than someone he piledrived through several floors of a building, even disregarding Kakuja armour” Kaneki.

Even if they were strong enough, Kaneki at the end of the day has leagues better training and skill than Shinichi. Migi may have studied countless books and articles, but that was mostly for learning the world around him, whereas Kaneki was trained in direct combat both at Anteiku and the CCG. Kaneki being faster too just makes landing a precise hit on him even harder.

Similarly, while Kaneki’s lapses in sanity may impede his strategising, he’s still very intelligent. He successfully beat people more dangerous than him like Arima through clever use of his mutated Kagune and while not showing as much proficiency in doing so in the heat of the moment, he’s no less of a planner than Migi is, so Shinichi’s tactics likely wouldn’t be working more than once.

Shinichi has all the pieces needed to win, just not the means to put them into place. He can outmaneuver Kaneki in a mental chess match, he can exploit an opening in Kaneki’s defenses, he can let Migi go to town on Kaneki’s insides… but it’s just making all that happen that’s too tall of a task for him. Kaneki’s own adaptability and smarts, combined with his superior physicality, makes his path to victory more straightforward and as such, more likely to succeed. Just as Shinichi and Migi have surpassed the odds, Kaneki has more than done so on many occasions in his own series, and through his own trials.

In the end, the One Eyed King has his para-sights on a victory most ghoulish.

Gman

I love doing matchups with characters with lower stats, Charlie!

Before I go into any advantage, I am going to say outright just, I'm not using Kaneki's Dragon form.

Starting off with strength, both characters are already stronger than any peak human, but Kaneki was able to punch this guy Shachi through a steel wall. If that wasn't enough, Kaneki was also able to destroy Dragon's tentacles. These two feats eclipse Shinichi's best strength feat of...throwing a rock through a parasite and cracking a cement wall. It was across a city block though, I shouldn't downplay that. Anyways I believe Kaneki takes strength.

Speed should also go to Kaneki, really easily at that. He was able to intercept lightning from a device similar to a Tesla coil. While Shinichi's showings of speed just...don't get even close to that. At all. Like sure he can fight Gotou, who can avoid point-blank gunfire...but Kaneki can do that too, and as mentioned earlier that's not even the fastest thing he has going for him!

Durability should about the same as the last two categories. Shinichi was sent flying by this guy Gotou, and with three days of rest and the aid of Migi, he was able to heal from his heart being destroyed. Kaneki, in comparison, was able to tank a blow hard enough to create a crater. As such, Kaneki takes durability as well.

Tertiary advantages, no Kaneki takes these too. Shinichi and Migi's teamwork is nothing to sneeze at, but like, Kaneki is more experienced, a better fighter, he's much harder to kill especially post-dragon, and to top it all off, he can just, eat Migi whenever. Damn.

How was this more one-sided than Deadshot vs Bullseye oh my goodness- I mean it looks like Shinichi wasn't able to avoid a ghoulish demise, the winner is Ken Kaneki

Tsar

This fight isn’t exactly my favorite for either, but I still like it either way. I think a certain someone’s script for it really hammered that home for me.

Anyway Kaneki VS Shinichi. I think it’s a solid victory for the One Eyed King.

Stats are easy, Kaneki takes it pretty easily, he’s also better trained, and can just

well

eat him.

Migi could theoretically fuck him up from the inside, but Kaneki’s regeneration would patch that up pretty handily. Migi is certainly more versatile with his shapeshifting but all of that is moot when Kaneki is stronger, faster, and much harder to put down.

Dragon is also kind of overkill. With Kaneki already taking the stat trinity, the summons and size are just way too much for Shinichi to handle. I just don’t see how Shinichi can get off his one wincon before he’s devoured by either the dragon, jumped by golems, or Kaneki himself. I’m not the best with verdicts so I’m sorry if this is short compared to the others 😭.

Anyway the winner is Ken Kaneki

Results

Team Kaneki: 4 (Loka, Pit, Gman, Tsar)

Team Shinichi: 0 (oof)

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