Guts hands down. He's been through a lot of messed up shit, and literally pretty much the whole world is against him. His beloved Casca ravaged and tortured, suffering memory loss, and now with the mentality of a child she comes to dislike him, to say the least, exactly because of your 'reasoning' above after seeing the gore on his face.
Yet he still fights clinging to that tiny shard of hope, a slither of chance in curing her. As one of his travel companions (who possibly shows romantic interest in him) phrases it, he puts his life on the line (literally every day and night) for Casca's sake, and for her sake he's injured time and time again, his whole body now covered in scars. Hardly ever does he catch a breather.
He could have easily let it go right from the beginning,. The world rejects him, nobody wants him near. But he fights on, because who would protect Casca if not him? There are few manga panels more heart-wrenching than instances of him shifting gaze onto Casca. Though times are difficult, you can tell there is so much going through his mind every time he looks at her. Maybe she reminds him of their past, of all the things they've been through, and because they were each other's first. There are probably 500 different emotions all mixed up in his eyes, but one thing for certain and will never change is that, these are the eyes saying "I want you to be happy." The fact he laments on the advice "What you want might not be what she wants" (referring to her regaining her memories) suggests that he might very well be willing to carry the painful memories alone for the rest of his life, if it meant Casca wouldn't have to go through the emotional trauma again. This isn't a burden you can carry with selfish emotions alone, vengeance and whatnot.
He's fighting against destiny, the very thing that dictates the causality of the world, and despite this, despite the fact a lot of people see him as a monster, something that shouldn't belong in this world, there is more compassion and sympathy in him than most other characters in the series. He is also a very prominent father figure to multiple child characters throughout. The kids look up to him, respect him, and love him for who he is. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kaneki turns SSJ3 after receiving a word of encouragement or two from him. There is no doubt if Guts were the father figure to him instead of Arima, things would still turn out fine and dandy, with Kaneki growing equally into an upstanding adult.
Yet he still fights clinging to that tiny shard of hope, a slither of chance in curing her. As one of his travel companions (who possibly shows romantic interest in him) phrases it, he puts his life on the line (literally every day and night) for Casca's sake, and for her sake he's injured time and time again, his whole body now covered in scars. Hardly ever does he catch a breather.
He could have easily let it go right from the beginning,. The world rejects him, nobody wants him near. But he fights on, because who would protect Casca if not him? There are few manga panels more heart-wrenching than instances of him shifting gaze onto Casca. Though times are difficult, you can tell there is so much going through his mind every time he looks at her. Maybe she reminds him of their past, of all the things they've been through, and because they were each other's first. There are probably 500 different emotions all mixed up in his eyes, but one thing for certain and will never change is that, these are the eyes saying "I want you to be happy." The fact he laments on the advice "What you want might not be what she wants" (referring to her regaining her memories) suggests that he might very well be willing to carry the painful memories alone for the rest of his life, if it meant Casca wouldn't have to go through the emotional trauma again. This isn't a burden you can carry with selfish emotions alone, vengeance and whatnot.
He's fighting against destiny, the very thing that dictates the causality of the world, and despite this, despite the fact a lot of people see him as a monster, something that shouldn't belong in this world, there is more compassion and sympathy in him than most other characters in the series. He is also a very prominent father figure to multiple child characters throughout. The kids look up to him, respect him, and love him for who he is. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kaneki turns SSJ3 after receiving a word of encouragement or two from him. There is no doubt if Guts were the father figure to him instead of Arima, things would still turn out fine and dandy, with Kaneki growing equally into an upstanding adult.