I also hope Arcanist is the "Puppetmaster" of this game, but a magic Puppetmaster instead of melee. With crowd control and protective barrier type spells.

I can't see Arcanist turning into Red Mage because they also had a plan for a Fencer class, and THAT would for sure be a better fit for Red Mages. People forget that Red Mages are supposed melee-mages and not buff whores.