Nishiki Nishio
From Tokyo Ghoul
Nishiki Nishio is a supporting character in Tokyo Ghoul, a sharp-tongued ghoul student who first tries to kill Kaneki over hunting grounds, is rescued by Anteiku instead, and drifts into the café's orbit as an abrasive but dependable ally. He is voiced by Shintarō Asanuma in Japanese and Eric Vale in English.
About Nishiki Nishio
Nishiki Nishio is a sharp-tongued ghoul student who first appears trying to kill Kaneki over hunting grounds, and nearly dies to investigator hands for his trouble. Rescued by the very ghouls he attacked, he drifts into Anteiku's orbit as an abrasive but dependable ally. His devotion to his human girlfriend Kimi, who accepts what he is, quietly proves Yoshimura's philosophy long before Kaneki can believe it.
Appearance
Nishiki is a tall, sharp-featured young man with orange-brown hair and glasses, usually in a university student's casual clothes. His expression defaults to a sneer, and his posture, hands in pockets, chin up, projects a territorial confidence that his first appearance backs up with violence. As the series goes on the design softens slightly: at Anteiku he is just another tired young man in an apron, which is its own kind of character development.
Personality
Nishiki is abrasive, sarcastic and fiercely protective of his small patch of life. Experience taught him that other ghouls are competition and humans are food or danger, and he treats Anteiku's kindness as a con until it saves him. Underneath the thorns he is one of the series' most decent ghouls: his love for Kimi, a human who accepts him completely, quietly proves Yoshimura's philosophy, and his loyalty, once given, is stubborn enough to fight investigators for the people he insults daily.
Background & Story
Nishiki is a ghoul studying at Kamii University, where he maintains a human life, classes, a part-time routine and a human girlfriend, Kimi, who knows what he is and stays anyway. His hunting territory in the 20th ward brings him into conflict with the newly made Kaneki, and their fight nearly ends with Nishiki killed by investigators instead, until the ghouls he attacked save him. That debt drags him, complaining the whole way, into Anteiku's circle as a waiter and reluctant ally.
Powers & Abilities
- Bikaku Kagune: Nishiki's bikaku forms a powerful tail-like kagune balanced for close and mid-range combat, no glaring strengths or weaknesses, dangerous in a skilled fighter's hands.
Key Relationships
- Ken Kaneki: The half-ghoul he tried to kill, then owed his life to, their relationship matures from territorial violence to genuine, grumbling respect.
- Touka Kirishima: A fellow Anteiku ghoul whose temper matches his own; their bickering is practically a workplace tradition.
- Yoshimura: The manager who takes him in after his rescue, Nishiki repays the debt in service while denying he is repaying anything.
Quick Answers
What kagune does Nishiki have?
Nishiki has a bikaku kagune, a tail-like kagune known for balance, effective at medium range against most types.
Who voices Nishiki?
Shintarō Asanuma voices him in Japanese and Eric Vale voices him in English.
