I don't know, I can't decide whether he's alive or not. I went back and reread 140 and "I already know what will happen to me the next time I wake up." line throws me off a bit. That's not exactly the line someone makes before they die unless you intrepret "wake up" as waking up in the afterlife or what not. As far as we've seen, he hasn't woken up again. Also the fact that the 14th tarot card, which was thrown around everywhere in that chapter, isn't about death. In fact, it's just the opposite, it's about bringing together opposites and recovery (from my google search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_%28Tarot_card%29). Going back to the tarot cards, #12 which is the card which is often associated with Kaneki, is often also associated with Odin and Jesus, which coincidentally both have resurrection in common after death. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hanged_Man_%28Tarot_card%29)
It's also a smidgen odd with his character progression. After the incident with Jason, Kaneki was described as having the gentle side that can become ruthless at the flip of a switch, which was describe on more than one ocassion as "unstable". Chapter 140 felt like the resolution to that inner turmoil, and we see the two halfs coming together, but we never exactly see the results of that transformation and there isn't a satisfying conclusion to his character arc. But, I might be grasping at straws here. He could just be dead, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Kane-comeback in the future.
Wait, Odin has one eye doesn't he? Just like Kaneki. And seeing as Odin attained enlightenment after sacrificing his eye and dying, it would be a great parallel for Kaneki to lose his eyesight, die a metaphorical death, and come out the other side with newfound wisdom and inner peace.
Also, fun-fact, according to wikipedia, one tarot deck represents the high priestess as Frigg, Odin's wife. Though that's probably just an unintentional coincidence since it isn't really related to the original potrayal. But the shippy metatext is still there.
Edited by rutilation, 13 September 2014 - 05:17 AM.