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| “ | ...Oh, I see... You're... It's raining. I don't know what the weather outside is when I'm below the surface. My sense of time also gets dull. But I know if it's raining outside from the sound of water... It'll be over soon. We're in V14. No 'ghoul' can pass through here. You can't go any further than 14. | „ |
| ~ Arima as he confronts Ken Kaneki. |
| “ | 645 times. 645 times I could have fatally wounded you. 645. 645 times I decided not to. It would take me two seconds to kill you. Your eyes are the eyes of a dead man. The dead cannot stop me. | „ |
| ~ Arima as he battles Haise Sasaki. |
| “ | I... I've... always... hated it. I hated myself, who only ever stole from others... I feel like I was finally... able to leave something behind... | „ |
| ~ Arima's dying words. |
Kishou Arima is a major anti-villain in the manga/anime, Tokyo Ghoul, and its successor, Tokyo Ghoul:re. He also served as the main protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul Jack, alongside his former partner, Taishi Fura.
He is a Special Class Investigator of the CCG and is infamously known as the White Reaper. He has served the CCG for over eighteen years and is widely considered to be the most skilled among the other investigators.
Unknown to them, however, Arima is actually the One-Eyed King, cooperating with Eto Yoshimura and Aogiri Tree. Together, he and Eto plan to raise Ken Kaneki as Arima's successor as the One-Eyed King.
He was voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in the Japanese version, and Alex Organ in the English version.
Appearance
Arima is depicted as a man with a muscular physique. He is always seen wearing glasses and one of his common physical traits is his white hair. He is commonly seen wearing a white trench coat in battle.
In the past, he had a slightly slimmer built to him and his hair had a dark shade of blue.
Personality
Kishou Arima can be described as being a man with a simple, but menacing personality. No matter the situation he's in, he always displays a calm, emotionless expression. He was a very strict mentor to his students, expecting them to meet his expectations perfectly.
Combined with his talents and skills, he came off being cold and terrifying. The ghouls he's faced off against take note of this, as he never once shows any sign of fear in combat. On top of this, he was a very strategic combatant, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents and knowing how to approach his enemies.
Despite this, he was also a friendly man. He has shown to be able to express genuine and caring emotions, and even display a smile. He was able to form a good friendship with Taishi Fura, who used to be his partner during the Lantern Operation. Haise Sasaki also admired him greatly, not only respecting him as his mentor, but also looking up to him as a father.
History
Tokyo Ghoul: Jack
Kishou in his teens.
In the past, Kishou Arima was a young teenager who was later promoted as a 3rd Class Investigator by Tsuneyoshi Washuu in the CCG. He would often do assignments that not even regular investigators could do by themselves, due to his remarkable talent. One day, he was assigned the task to eliminate the ghoul known as Lantern and was assigned as the partner of Taishi Fura.
The two would later meet Uruka Minami, who would participate in their ghoul hunting activities. It was later revealed that Minami was actually the ghoul the two were hunting down, known as Lantern. While Taishi had to face off against Yamori, Kishou was left to deal with Minami, who he eventually defeated with ease. Taishi would then be the one to finish her off.
Post Jack
As time went on, Kishou Arima continued out his task of killing ghouls. At one point, he came across Renji Yomo's sister, Hikari, and killed her. The death of Hikari made Yomo both regret not being there to save her and detest his brother-in-law, Arata, not being there to do anything about it.
Kishou later took part in the One-Eyed Owl operation where he would face off against the One-Eyed Owl. At the end of this battle, he would obtain a new quinque using the kakuhou of the Owl. This quinque would be known as Owl.
Arima meets Eto.
Kishou would later encounter the One-Eyed Owl again, but this time, he got the chance to see the true identity of the beast, who turned out to be Eto Yoshimura. Eto revealed to him her goal of wanting to change the world of ghouls for the better, which caught his interest. Together, the two would secretly work behind the scenes from this point on.
Tokyo Ghoul
Doves' Emergence Arc
After Kureo Mado was killed, he was later given a funeral among the CCG. Kishou Arima was one of the known investigators to attend his funeral.
Aogiri Arc
After the raid on Aogiri's base, Itsuki Marude came in contact with Kishou Arima and informed him about the CCG's success of raiding the base. This allowed Arima to come in contact with Aogiri Tree and inform them the location of Cochlea, where ghouls are being kept.
Owl Suppression Arc
Arima defeats Kaneki.
During the Anteiku raid, Ken Kaneki confronted Kishou Arima himself. Without hesitation, Arima proceeded to destroy Kaneki without giving him the chance to fight back. Kaneki soon began to break down into insanity and attack Arima with rapid attacks, but Arima was able to evade his attacks with ease. Arima soon began to fight on the defensive part and relied on using his two quinques; Narukami and IXA. With Narukami, he was able to blast projectiles at Kaneki and block his attacks with IXA's defense. Kaneki was able to break through his barrier, but nonetheless, was stabbed through the skull by Arima with IXA.
Arima later confronted the One-Eyed Owl and engaged in battle. He had the most advantage doing the most damage done to the beast, causing the One-Eyed Owl to retreat with Yoshimura. In reality, their fight was merely an act and Arima allowed Yoshimura to be captured.
Post Owl Suppression
After the raid on Anteiku, Kaneki was captured and taken to Cochlea, where he would suffer from amnesia, among other things that drove his sanity away. While he begged for them to let him see his friends, Arima told him coldly that he had killed all of them. As time went on, Arima noted the state that Kaneki was in and if he were to continue on like this, chances are he would die pretty soon. Arima decided to help recover his mental health, starting off by giving him books to read. Arima would later discuss with Yoshitoki and Tsuneyoshi, in which he decided to take ownership of Kaneki.
Arima would then return to Kaneki and help give him a new name. Kaneki would eventually give himself the name "Haise Sasaki", based on two words he had liked; coffee and world.
Tokyo Ghoul:re
Torso Investigation Arc
Arima and Haise sparring.
Some time afterwards, along with Akira Mado, Kishou Arima was in charge of supervising Haise Sasaki and his Quinx Squad. After the Torso investigation, Arima had a meeting with Haise, where the two did a quick sparring with each other. Haise later apologized to him about engaging the Serpent with his kagune, but Arima had no issue with it. He then listens to Haise as he looks up to him like a father.
Auction Mopping-Up Operation Arc
At one point, Arima had given Urie permission to proceed with the frame release surgery, in order increase his Rc cell output on his kagune.
Arima and his squad later arrived at the auction where they encountered Hinami Fueguchi, after her fight with Seidou Takizawa. He was prepared to kill her, until he was stopped by Haise, who decided he would be the one responsible to take ownership of Hinami. Arima agreed with no reluctancy.
Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation Arc
Arima stops by to see Koori after hearing his promotion as a Special Class Investigator. Before Koori could reply in return, however, Arima was called back to take care of another situation.
Arima meets with Furuta to discuss matters regarding V and Ken Kaneki. The two reported in Eto's location and the rumour about her being the One-Eyed King. Kaiko then gave Arima the task to monitor Rize for the time being.
Arima vs Shachi.
Arima later confronts Shachi, with the intentions of capturing him. Shachi took care of his squad and was left to face off only Arima. Arima was a greater threat for him, however. Arima was able to evade his attacks then land a hit through his eye. He then slices through his neck with his quinque, causing great injury towards Shachi. Shachi was left laying on the floor and as he watched Arima, he admired how strong his opponent truly was.
Third Cochlea Raid Arc
Arima vs Ayato.
As Cochlea was being raided by ghouls, Arima took part in the mission of managing the situation. Arima would later confront Ayato Kirishima and engage in battle with him. While Ayato was able to block his projectiles from his Narukami, Arima was also able block Ayato's attacks with his quinque, as well as evade his attacks. Arima soon lands a hit in Ayato's legs, causing him to lose his footing. Before he could finish him off, Renji Yomo steps in to prevent him from doing so. Touka then tried to attack him from behind, but was able to block her attacks with IXA. After a brief battle, Yomo, Ayato and Touka were able to escape.
Arima begins to chase them down and eventually separates the group from each other once he's caught up with them. The three ghouls try once more to defeat him, but Arima proved to be too much for them to handle. Soon, Sasaki enters in the battle, preventing Arima to cause any more harm.
While the three ghouls escaped, Sasaki faces off against Arima. Sasaki did his best by attacking repeatedly with rapid attacks. Despite this, however, Arima continuously evaded his attacks then proceeded to land a hit on him. The two would then exchange blows with each other back and forth, before Arima proceeds to chop his limbs. He then proceeds to land multiple stabs on him. Despite the damage, Sasaki manages to heal himself and break through Arima's defense. From this point on, Arima pulled out his trump card, the Owl.
Arima slashes through Sasaki.
Arima then takes off his coat, revealing the battle armor he's been wearing. Sasaki jumps in to land his attack, in which Arima proceeds to clash with him. Soon, Arima was able to end the clash then slash off Sasaki's arms once more. Sasaki soon began to recover, this time, with his memories fully back as Ken Kaneki. He looks upon at Arima with a smile, who in return looks at him with a smile as well.
Kaneki begins to fight Arima strategically, knowing how much of a disadvantage he is at right now. He was able to bait Arima into a trap and grab him with his kagune. Arima manages to free himself, however, with the Owl, but Kaneki soon heads straight towards from behind. While Arima was able to block his attack, the Owl was destroyed in the process.
Nonetheless, Arima continued on the battle with his broken quinque. While Arima continued on to slash through his kagune, Kaneki attempted to convince Arima to stop the fighting. Curious, Arima asks if Kaneki truly has intentions of killing him, in which he assured him that was not case. At this point, Arima came to the conclusion that this was never going to come to an end and thus he decided to end it by killing himself.
The death of the White Reaper.
Arima soon collapsed down onto the floor, while Kaneki rushed to him and held him. From here, Arima reveals everything that was kept from everyone; that he was a half-human born in the Sunlit Garden and was on the verge of death, due to his accelerated ageing. Before he dies, he asks Kaneki to grant him the wish of taking the blame for his death and that he always hated his very own existence, as he felt that he would take the lives of many, yet he would not give anything to the world in return. Arima hoped that Kaneki would not make the same mistake he did and that he would be able to leave a gift behind for everyone. Kishou Arima soon lost his breath and was laid to rest by Kaneki.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Half-Human Physiology: Being born a half-human, Kishou Arima possesses inhuman traits that makes surpass both humans and ghouls. While he does not possess the abilities of an actual ghoul, his natural skills and talents make up for it.
- Superhuman Agility: Arima has demonstrated to be one of the fastest characters in the series. He has shown to evade attacks from Kaneki and Eto, as well as taking out an army of ghouls in a short period of time. Even in his weakened state, his speed was still a match for Kaneki during their last battle, who had already entered in his kakuja state.
Abilities
- Keen Intellect: Arima is cunningly intelligent. He has been very calculating since his teenager days, where he has shown to be able solve cases from little evidence in his possession. Because of his deduction skills, he was the first one that was able to discover the identity of the One-Eyed Owl and Eyepatch, though he kept this as a secret.
- Swordsmanship: Arima is very skilled in swordsmanship. He wields a variety of quinque that requires him to engage in a variety of different offensive and defensive positions.
Weaknesses
Due to his half-human physiology, Arima has significantly gotten weaker as time has passed. He developed white hair in his late 20s due to his accelerating age, which was a sign showing that he was going to die soon. He also developed glaucoma, which began to mess up his eyesight. As such, Arima was not as strong as he was back in his prime, but nonetheless, he remained as one of the strongest characters in the series.
Quinques
Arima wielding Owl.
- Yukimura 1/3: A koukaku-bladed quinque that has been used since Arima's younger days.
- IXA: A koukaku quinque that both serves as an offensive lance-like weapon and a defensive barrier, equipped with a shield.
- Narukami: An ukaku quinque that is capable of firing bolt-like projectiles by condensing the Rc cells stored inside. It acts as both a firing weapon, as well as a sword as it is armed with a blade.
- Owl: A quinque made specifically from the kakuja of the One-Eyed Owl. It is the most powerful quinque in Arima's possession, combining traits from the Narukami and take them at a higher scale.
Gallery
Manga
Anime
Miscellaneous
Trivia
- Before the reveal, it's been hinted for awhile that Arima was actually the One-Eyed King. Certain artwork, such as the volume 13 cover of Tokyo Ghoul, have depicted Arima with his right eye being hidden, indicating that Arima was indeed the One-Eyed King.