Ken Kaneki is a university student who is attacked by a ghoul and ends up in a hospital where he receives an illegal organ transplant from one of the strongest ghouls to save his life. Ghouls need to feed on human flesh to survive, so they kill people or find the bodies of suicides. Due to this organ transplant, Kaneki becomes only half a ghoul, but he still needs to feed on human flesh like everyone else. Kaneki strives to preserve his humanity by trying to maintain a connection with the human world by immersing himself in the ghoul community.