Talk:Re: Chapter 74/@comment-119.74.29.232-20160423142214/@comment-10733658-20160423144215

I think you're wrong, Anon #2.

The butterfly scene fits neatly with previous information about how disconnected from normal things Arima was. And there's likely a lot of symbolic elements as well, since the Japanese believe butterflies carry away the souls of the dead and Arima is the "god of death".

In terms of his behavior fighting Kaneki, I think you need to read between the lines. This entire arc, we've seen that Arima has been pushing him for a long time. Encouraging him as Haise to over-come his limits, and now he keeps pointing out that Kaneki isn't really trying. He finally confronted Kaneki about his suicidal wish, both through provoking him (if you die, I'll kill your friends) and through forcing him to decide if dying was what he REALLY wanted.

Him stating that he wasted his time is also a call-back to the Tokyo Ghoul Flip Calendar, which has two days with quotes from the novel "The Little Prince". Arima's quote is, "It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important."