Thread:Blue Luna/@comment-27247962-20160817200420/@comment-25047329-20160902005903



Ahhh, I came back from the dead! I took a sudden semi-hiatus that took longer than I thought. Sorry I suddenly left for so long. Now for a (probably) disappointing response aaaaaayyyyyyy!

Onto Arima, with all the crazy stuff we've just learned about him, he's a guy that really needs to be revisited on a reread. My feelings might change after a reread with the stuff I know now, but as for now...my feelings are complicated. They've always been complicated because he was such a mystery before, but now it's for different reasons. There's still a lot we don't know really.

Overall, he's a character I like, but have some problems with. Since he was raised in the Garden I can only imagen he has a myraid of problems that haven't been entirely addressed yet. Like throughout the series it's been implied his treatment of Kaneki was dubious, but the story sort of tries to "erase" (not sure if this is the best way to put it, but it's the word that's coming to me right now) that by saying that "he was a good guy all along" and "he did what he had to do, but had the best intentions". Something is kind of off in the way his story ended this arc, and I hope it's intentional. Ishida sometimes likes to deconstruct and this arc reminds me a bit of the 11th Ward battle Arc. Things ended deceptively well all things considering. Kaneki was badass-defeating Yamori while flipping him off and looking cool, saving The Girl, forming his own gang with loyal followers, etc. As time goes on, we learn that things aren't as straightforward as first presented. Kaneki eating Yamori set him on a     path of self destruction, his attitude scared his friends, The Girl wasn't happy that he took it upon himself to be hers' and everybody elses protector, and his gang wasn't so much concerned with following his ideals than keeping an eye on him.

Arima's death and his resolution with Kaneki somehow feels incomplete. Kaneki has a habit of brushing bad things under the rug and this feels like it again. I think Arima truly cared about Kaneki, but he put him through some shit to get results, and the more we learn about him and his connection with Aogiri, the worse it gets. The story is framing things, at least through Kaneki's perspective, as if Arima was a huge sacrificial hero, but there are clearly problematic elements. Ultimately, I hope that Kaneki (and the story and other characters) can come to the conclusion that Arima was a deeply flawed person. Kaneki can still love him, but like with his mother, if he hasn't already I think he needs to come to terms with the fact that his methods were extreme and damaging.

TL;DR Arima's a really interesting character, but a deeply flawed person who hurts the people he loves "for the greater good". Like with a lot of characters, he too suffered throughout his life which caused him to turn out the way he did, but since he's dead, the least that I hope for is that his loved ones acknowledge he did some messed up things.