Talk:Kishou Arima/@comment-28129688-20160524085321/@comment-27204325-20160526215424

Arima doesn't lack empathy. He's withdrawn, stoic and alienated from his peers because of his overwhelming talent, but he does develop bonds with others in his own way. He befriended Fura and went out of his way to help him carry out his revenge while putting himself at completely unnecessary risk. Most of the subordinates of his that we know of (Take, Koori, Hairu) were unquestionably loyal and genuinely admired him. To this day, even in the midst of battle, Kaneki considers him a father figure, which is partly Kaneki's own desperate need for parental validation, but also Arima's often awkward, sometimes brutal, but earnest attempt to "raise" him to be strong.

And it doesn't make sense to use his treatment of ghouls into it, since he carries that out with far more efficiency than any other investigator. We never see him take sadistic pleasure in it, or attach any kind of special weight to the act; it's just a job. Kaneki was awarded for slaying hundreds of ghouls in the same fashion, but we wouldn't accuse him of lacking empathy.

Arima's personality is the result of an obviously abnormal upbringing combined with the natural isolation many genuises experience, especially child prodigies surrounded by bitter, jealous adults. And he almost has to be autistic.