Before we start, if you don't know Tokyo Ghoul: Jail, then you might wanna check out the spoiler:
Spoiler: Tokyo Ghoul: Jail - General Information
This theory first came up in December 2015 with the release of the Tokyo Ghoul: Jail (scenario book) as this very book contained a strange, hidden page at the very end of the book under its cover.
This very image potrayed the body of a person that resembles Shikorae very much. Something very strange, as the book itself was like a book version of the game and the game has no connection to Shikorae at all. (this kinda made the small spark of a theory into a wildfire) Something that added to this is that the book features Rio's character profile that says that he likes striped patterns and, well, look at Shikorae's shirt.
Additionaly to that did the book reveal that there is s sub-scenario in the early game where Rio meets a strange person, before he reaches Anteiku, that talks to him in a style like we know it from Eto when she is manipulating people and this person makes Rio go with them.
| General hints and consistencies |
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These new facts added very well to things we already knew by then, as some paralells were already shown in the manga. These parallels would be that we saw Rio's Rinkaku Mask when the Quinx visited the HySy Artmask Studio so that Uta could make masks for them. Furthermore was the existence of Shiki Kijima already a big deal, as he was initially introduced in the game as well. On top of that is Kijima's Quinque, Rotten Follow, made from Rio's brother and the ghoul Jail was the individual who deformed Kijima's body (at least in the game, though Kijima's character profile from the Manga revealed that he has a deep hatred for [i]Jail[/i] in the Manga as well) and the very last words from Kijima could be a mispronounced version of Jail as well. Except for that is it a fact that Shikorae was once a ghoul who was held in Cochlea, just like Rio/Jail. Another similiarty they share is that both of them broke out of Cochlea during Aogiri's attack on Cochlea that was held simultaniosuly to the 11th Ward raid and as Jail's rating is unknown does this add up as well. Spoiler: Pictures |
| Kakugan and Kagune |
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The more recent chapters of Tokyo Ghoul also revealed something quite interesting: Shikorae's Kagune and Kakugan marks. The Kagune of Rio is player determined in the game; so he has no fixed Kagune type, but can actually have any of them, while each Kagune has three versions in total, a standard version and upgraded versions. Shikorae on the other hand has a dual Kagune; an Ukaku-Bikaku combination. It might be that he has two Kagune types to compensate with the inconsistency it would create if Shikorae turns out to be Rio, but doesn't have the Kagune the person played. Some people speculate because of that that Shikorae actually has a quadruple Kagune, but that goes a bit too far for me personally. Though Shikorae's Kagune looks similiar to that of Rio. Another thing to notice is that the marks that Shikorae gets when he activates his Kakugan are very similiar to those of Rio and it is also to notice that they have a very distinct shape; being much bigger and more present compared to other ghouls, where they aren't that or even barely visible. The look of thoes marks is also (part) of the reason as to why Rio was called Jail. Spoiler: Kakugan and Kagune |
So it might very well be that Shikorae is, in fact, the canoncial version of Rio.
We have many hints pointing towards it and it would be very unlike Ishida if they were simply there to mislead us.