Ken was a normal college student until his encounter with Rize Kamishiro left him transformed into a Ghoul. Following this, he would become a member of Anteiku, a small neighborhood cafe run by Yoshimura, that serve as a safe haven for Ghouls. He lived under the identity of Haise Sasaki, as a Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator, serving as the mentor of the CCG's Quinx Squad and a member of Team Mado. His memories were initially lost to him, but regained during the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation. Although being the main protagonist, Kaneki gradually becomes more of an anti-hero, ending up committing a variety of terrible acts over the course of the series as his more ruthless and troubled personality traits show themselves.