Is it even possible to talk about RWBY without talking about
shipping? I don’t know. Can you talk about any story without talking about shipping?
I don’t know.
I jumped on the RWBY train so
late that I had to solve a Dan Brown-style mystery just to find the
station. There’s a lot of ground I need
to cover in terms of the fanbase, but I’m not 100% sure I’m ready to take the
plunge. There was apparently a
“Lettergate” controversy recently where a scorned employee tried to slander
Rooster Teeth/the production crew, and…well, not a lot of people came out of it
clean. But even without that, there’s
still too much to catch up on. Opinions,
theories, reactions, and who knows how many in-jokes; the most I can hope for
is to enjoy the fan art that pops up on the subreddit. Most of it, I’ve found, focuses on the
relationships between the characters -- well, give or take.
I’m not complaining about it or saying that it’s
wrong. It’s hard to pretend like RWBY doesn’t lend itself to a shipping
bonanza, given that there’s literally a
mini-arc that has all the cute boys and cute girls getting together for a
school dance. But still, you’d think
that with the sheer preponderance of fan art featuring two characters snuggling
up or flirting with each other, the show was actually a romance instead of an
action series. Or…is it a comedy
series? Or…is it a drama?
I might be thinking too hard
about this. Let’s move on to
something else.
There’s a point where it SPOILS
There’s a point where it SPOILS
There’s a point where there are lots and lots and lots of
SPOILERS in this post
Yeah. Nailed those lyrics.
So there’s been something on my mind for a good
while with this show. In the world of
Remnant, there are Hunters and Huntresses who use weapons and superhuman
abilities (their Semblance) to fight off bad guys like the monstrous
Grimm. Fair enough. And there are schools throughout the world
that help those with sufficient talent become even stronger. Also fair; as RWBY has taught us, even if you’ve got natural talent or intense
training, you can still get mollywhopped by someone who’s got even more talent or training. (See: Yang vs. Neo.)
Sometimes the line blurs, to be perfectly
honest. Pyrrha’s apparently an ace
Huntress who’s already skilled enough to take on multiple opponents at once,
not to mention her past successes elsewhere -- which led to her becoming a
celebrated figure with brand deals to her name.
Why the hell does she need to
go to Anime Hogwarts? In all but one or
two instances, she’s demonstrably a cut above the rest. And even then, some of the fights in the show
are so slick it seems as if these characters are already as well-trained as
they need to be. One of Pyrrha’s
teammates, Ren, shows that he’s basically a gun-slinging kung fu master that can
go toe-to-toe with a giant snake demon in
his first training exercise, so where do you go from there?
I guess one of my issues with the show is that I
wish there was more of it -- which to be fair is as much a compliment as it is
a complaint. I wouldn’t mind seeing more
episodes per volume, because there’s plenty to explore. I remember getting extremely frustrated when
Ruby mentions offhandedly that she and her teammates had been practicing and
training extensively up to that point…but there were only a couple of scenes showing
off their training. And more pressingly,
it’s training that doesn’t correlate with the action.
There’s a cool action scene where Team RWBY shows
off the fruits of their labors, attacking with a series of coordinated attack
formations based on their colors (Blake + Yang = black + yellow =
Bumblebee). It’s nice to see that
they’re working together, but how much more potent would it be if we got to see
them stumble through learning those attack formations instead of them suddenly
capable of working in perfect sync?
I suppose it’s all in service of establishing the
girls (and the boys, on occasion) as a bunch of anime badasses. But that feeds into my bigger point: what
happens when you live in a world full of anime badasses?
How do you regulate a world where superhumans walk
the streets? Can you even do that? It’s interesting to note that Ruby is a
furious fighter with her scythe, but without it she’s significantly less
dangerous. With that in mind, I’m under
the impression that, even without her scythe, she’s still technically a
murderous half-pint; she doesn’t need it to create a sonic boom that flattens
her foes. She just needs a running start
to wreak havoc. Not to throw shade on
the police -- fictional or otherwise -- but they might not be of much use if
someone like Ruby ever went rogue.
I’d imagine that stuff like the X-Men comics have
tackled that issue pretty well by this point.
The Civil War comic is probably another good example, and I’d be
surprised if DC didn’t have some kind
of equivalent in its annals. In a series
where superhumans run rampant (and are the main characters), then inevitably
they’re going to go up against superhumans -- which means that there are
not-so-nice superhumans out there. Later
on in the story, the military flies out to play overseer to Beacon and a big
whompin’ tournament -- and they feel compelled to bring in droves of armored
soldiers, warships, and even mechs, because of course there are mechs. Granted that’s as much a safeguard against a
Grimm invasion as it is a means to stop criminal Hunters and Huntresses
(probably more so), but how do you keep the peace when even a single teenage
girl wields phenomenal powers?
Believe it or not, I think RWBY has a good answer. My
theory is that its world is geared to preemptively stop crime via brainwashing.
It’s a safe bet that Ruby does what she does
partly to pay tribute to her mother, the late Summer Rose. Even so, she’s completely in love with the
idea of being a Huntress. Having been
raised on the ideas and tales of heroes past, she wants to take up her scythe
and fight because…I don’t know, I guess because it’d be cool. She’s not wrong for thinking it, I suppose;
if you live in a world littered with superpowers and besieged by monsters ripe
for the slaying, then I’d bet droves of teens (and children, and adults, and
senior citizens) would line up for the chance to fight for justice.
Is Ruby really the only one who’s so hyped about
becoming a Huntress? She’s the most
nakedly honest about it, but everyone has their reasons for wanting to take up
arms. For her teammate Weiss, becoming a
Huntress means securing liberation from her father and his sprawling
corporation. For Yang, it means having the
freedom to live a life of fun and adventure.
Then you’ve got Jaune, who basically lies and cheats his way into Anime
Hogwarts because he wants to live up to the family name (to the point where he
uses the traditional weapons). Those
that become a Hunter or Huntress can make the romanticism of the job -- of
scores of anime series in general -- into a reality. Fame and fortune await those who take up arms
and fight for a noble cause! There’s
literally no drawback…except for the fact that the world essentially thrives on
its “warrior culture” to mask its failings and concerns.
An interesting quirk of the Grimm is that they
thrive on negative emotions. Or to be
more precise, they’re actively attracted by it.
As far as I can tell, there’s no upper limit to the attraction range of
negative emotions; so, if the people feel fear (or presumably, sorrow, or
anger, or anything of the sort), then whole armies of the monsters might rush
toward the source. Given that we’re
talking about creatures that wouldn’t look too out of place in a Kingdom Hearts game, they’ve got more
than enough potential to make a bad situation worse. And they do, by virtue of two major incidents
in the area around (and in, ostensibly) Anime Hogwarts.
It’s like…do you remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer makes a time
machine out of his toaster, and ends up changing the present into a world where
Ned Flanders is the
undisputed ruler of the planet? And
he uses his influence to create a dystopian nightmare scape that forces
everyone to dress like him, smile like him, act like him, and think like him
unless they want a chunk of their brain removed? RWBY reminds
me of that. Maybe the measures taken
aren’t so extreme, but they don’t have to be.
You either sell people on the promise of being sick anime heroes -- and
the bourgeoisie having sick anime heroes to make all their problems go away --
or let the natural culture and mindset take root. That is to say, “If you let fear and negative
emotions get the better of you, then you and everyone you love will die.”
So I guess that explains why the majority of
Volume 3 is built around a big whompin’ tournament. Gotta give people all over the world a
heaping helping of soma. Then again, as a
quasi-anime, it was only a matter of time before RWBY had a tournament arc, wasn’t it?
One of the things that annoyed me throughout these
first three volumes of RWBY is that
they keep paying lip service to “dark times ahead” and “danger incoming”. I mean yeah, headmaster Ozpin -- playing the
role of Anime Dumbledore -- is eventually proven right, but damn does it take a long time for his
ominous words to pay off. Up until about
the back half of Volume 3, RWBY is
still deeply rooted in stylish action and sugar-addled comedy; even when the
threat is supposed to get in gear and the villains are supposed to be making
their move, you still get scenes like Weiss and Yang vs. Flynt and
Neon. It’s not as if there aren’t
threats that need to be taken care of, but when they do show up, they’re on a
smaller scale than the ominous tones of the headmaster and crew suggest. It actually starts getting frustrating after
a while.
I’d chalk that up to what I consider to be RWBY’s weak point thus far: its
villains. Well, let me run that back a
bit; one of the earliest villains, Torchwick, is actually pretty good. He’s a sleazy, sarcastic asshole who has
enough skills to go up against Ruby and crew, but would rather resort to staying
on the sidelines or using the help (and the occasional mech) to wreak havoc
while he sets up for a big score. He’s a
character that fits into the context and tone of the show. The problem is that in the end, he’s
ultimately superseded by Cinder.
Oh, if only.
It wouldn’t be an anime without a “just according
to keikaku” character, so here we have Cinder Fall…and I’m not going to lie, I
find her unbelievably boring. To be clear, I don’t hate her because all of
her plans come to pass. That doesn’t
help the situation, given that part of what makes Torchwick better is that he
has the capacity to fail and struggle without losing his credibility. She doesn’t
struggle. She’s capable of infiltrating
Anime Hogwarts, stealing critical information, hacking into the tournament’s
proceedings, spying on everyone, rigging matches, and instilling fear amongst
the populace by breaking their trust in the establishment/warrior culture
without anyone finding out who she is or what she’s doing. Like, I feel as if all it would take to shut
her down is a decent security camera.
But whatever.
She carves out a big win, and nobody can stop things from going just according to keikaku. Fine.
My issue is that she’s utterly dull.
All she really does for most of the show is slink around, sit with
crossed arms and/or legs, remind her cronies (and the audience) that
“everything is going according to the plan” or “it’s just a matter of time” and
put on her smug anime
face. That’s it. Again, and again, and again, save for a
couple of fights. In a show full of
endearing, changing characters, she has about as much appeal as a brick wall
covered in makeup.
I mean yeah, she ends up succeeding in the end and
gains (more) power from one of Remnant’s four legendary maidens. But minutes afterward, she immediately gets one-shot by Ruby once
she taps into her hidden Protagonist Powers.
Cinder’s status is unknown for now, but I honestly hope she’s been
removed from the story. She did her part,
and now it’s time for her to say goodbye…in a method that Nappa’s no stranger
to.
But let’s get back on track. I think Cinder’s pretty lame (and Mercury and
Emerald aren’t much to write about, either), but the idea behind her plan isn’t
wrong. The timing is, given that she
gives a Bane-style speech
seconds after a major event, ousting herself as the conspirator…but whatever. She’s shaking up the establishment by
breaking down its fantasies -- showing that they’re not safe just ‘cause, and that their champions
are as fallible as any mortal man. Given
that her schemes end up having Yang look like a psychopath and turn Pyrrha into
a murderer, I’d say she makes Hunters and Huntresses look more fallible than any mortal man, maybe because you can’t trust superhumans to do the right thing.
And she shows that the government -- or any
authority figure -- can’t be trusted, either.
Ozpin points out that when Ironwood (a military official and a fuckin’ sick badass) brings in an army to protect the area,
he’s scaring people with their presence.
It’s a reminder that violence, villainy, and peril still exist in the
world; the fighters from fairy tales aren’t enough to protect anyone from the
Grimm -- and the criminal underworld, and terrorists on the losing end of
racial abuse -- and they’re a liability in their own right.
And the military seemed to agree with that
assessment even without Cinder’s input.
They opted out of trusting the Hunters and Huntresses and put their
stock in armies. Machines. Mechs.
Raw military force. They tried to
pretend like they could trust Hunters
and Huntresses by introducing Penny, a combat android disguised as a teenage
girl (because of course it’s a teenage girl), but when their lie was
exposed…well, what did they think was going to happen? That people would laugh off the idea of the
military trying to supplant traditional flesh and bone with loyal automatons?
Remnant is (or was) a world built on
illusions. It needed those tales of
heroes, and the warrior culture, to survive.
People needed to believe that anime badasses would solve all of the
world’s problems, and that danger didn’t push inward with every waking
moment. But now the illusion’s been
broken. Cities are in shambles, people
have died, the military’s scrambling, the Grimm are out in full force, the
terrorists are gaining steam, and the panic of pedestrians all over the planet
are only serving to make things worse in a vicious cycle of fear and
discord. How the hell do you bounce
back, knowing that some smug teenager may have pulled the trigger on a complete
societal breakdown in a thwarted bid for godhood?
*shrugs* Iunno.
But to reiterate?
I might be
thinking too hard about this. So
let’s move onto something more fun.
The true strength of RWBY isn’t necessarily its action, or its comedy, or even its drama
(which to be fair is actually pretty effective, but more on that in a
bit). It all starts with the
characters. And it should; characters create opportunities, after
all. They’re the ones who go on
adventures, experience every plot thread in person, and give the story its
quintessence -- that je ne sais quoi you can’t do without. The shipping RWBY’s endured is a testament to that; it’s not just because people
want to see Blake and Yang together, but because their relationship -- real,
imagined, and everything in between -- means something to the fans. The characters themselves mean something to
the fans. It’s the optimal storytelling
state.
Or part of it, at least. The other part is that, in the best case
scenario, you can’t decide which character is your favorite -- or if not that,
then you have to struggle to give top
honors. I went through that struggle
with this show. It’s true that Jaune
takes it for me because he has the most comprehensive arc (no pun intended), he could
potentially be the main character if prompted (though I’m kind of glad he
isn’t), he’s basically what would really happen
if someone from the real world tried to become a Hunter/Huntress, and…well,
he’s a comedic dynamo. But when it comes
to choosing between Team RWBY’s characters, that’s a true test of will. And courage.
I did ultimately settle on Blake, and I’ll explain
why. But first, let’s go through the rest…with
the proper music, of course.
Ruby Rose!!
This show wouldn’t be what it is without the cheer
and energy of Ruby. It just wouldn’t. Now, if you were like me and hadn’t seen any
of her in-universe and properly contextualized, then you might have never
guessed that; how many bright individuals do you know that would dress up like
something out of a gothic novel and use a giant scythe as their weapon of
choice? It’s a weird juxtaposition, is
what I’m trying to say here.
But is it really, though? Now I can’t help but wonder. Despite her chummy exterior, Ruby’s actually
reluctant to bond or work with others -- at least in the early goings. She grows out of it once she becomes the team
leader and meets the other characters, Penny chief among them. It’s not as if Ruby has some massive epiphany
about the power of friendship and trust, but I don’t think she needs that. Maybe she’s fine as-is, knowing that she goes
from someone clinging to Yang’s shadow (her older sister’s shadow) to a
would-be Huntress that can stand on her own, work with others, bond with
potential allies, and earn the respect of her peers.
And that’s kind of what makes the Volume 3 tonal
shift hit her hardest. There’s a part of
me that’s ready to say Ruby changes the least (or at least the most subtly)
over the first three volumes, but the groundwork is there for some HUGE developments
going forward. She made some good
friends over the course of the show’s run, but now two of them are dead. Her comrades are scattered across the
globe. Her sister’s a broken shell. And she has a certain boring villainess to
thank for it all.
If she was going to make a slide to the dark side
-- or become The Anime Punisher -- I wouldn’t blame her.
Weiss
Schnee!!
Weiss isn’t nice, but she’ll suffice. With her ice, don’t think twice, since she’ll
entice with her vice that…uh…shit, that’s all I’ve got. I tried, though.
You know, the more I think about RWBY, the more tempted I am to say that
its characters are startlingly reminiscent of the guys from Yu Yu Hakusho. Or if not that, then at least they match on a
superficial level. Ruby is Yusuke, the
leader who -- despite being an unconventional hero -- has the skills and will
to get the job done (even if it means going against authority). Yang is Kurama, in the sense that they’re
nice people that you don’t want to make angry.
Blake is Hiei, a cool-headed fighter with extreme speed and a sharp
tongue. So by the process of
elimination, that makes Weiss Kuwabara -- the rival to the leader that’s the
butt of several jokes and ousts him/herself as an ass, but believes strongly in
a personal code of honor. Or dignity,
such as it is.
I’m not complaining, though. Weiss is cool because she’s such a stark
contrast to most of the other characters; she’s willing to play the wannabe
queen bee, and it’s great. Even when her
character develops and she becomes a nicer person, she’s still got that edge to
her -- which to be fair is justified when it’s basically confirmed that she
suffered from abuse (mental and emotional, at a bare minimum) at the hands of
dear old dad. Her lifeline is basically
her greatest enemy. That’s gonna create
some tension.
It’s weird, though. When she’s around most of the cast, she acts
as if she’s an audition away from nailing a part in Mean Girls. When she’s
around her family -- her sister, primarily -- she basically turns into Ruby.
You are what you hate, eh Weiss?
Blake
Belladonna!!
Blake is my favorite, because she’s basically an
anime edgelord done right.
I know I just compared her to Hiei, but that’s an
unfair pairing. Like, Hiei’s fine for
what he is, but speaking personally, it seems like his coolness has an
expiration date. He’ll get some moments
to show off how “badass” he is, but after that?
Ehhhhhhh. And of course, there’s
Sasuke from Naruto, who’s long since
become legendary for being a “badass”, a genius, a troubled youth, and just the shittiest person imaginable. There are other examples, but you know the
type. Blah, blah, blah, traumatic
backstory. Blah, blah, blah, super
skills. Blah, blah, blah, I show nothing
but contempt to everyone around me. How
dull can you get?
Blake circumvents those problems. As a Faunus -- a beast-man, as well as
someone long since subjected to prejudice -- she’s been through some rough
stuff. She started out as a freedom
fighter looking to secure basic rights, but things spiraled out of control and
she bailed. She’s out for redemption, to
the point where she’s turned her back on her past. At least, she tried to. Not only do her old foibles remain, but she’s
also picked up a couple of new ones.
She’s out to do the right thing, but she’s basically killing herself
over it -- becoming obsessed with justice and peace, and taking out the bad
guys. It even reaches a point where she
works so hard, she’s got bags under her eyes -- to say nothing of her life at
Beacon suffering as a result. It’s
nothing a stern talk from Yang can’t solve, though…complete with the two of
them hugging it out.
The resident cat girl manages to keep her edge
with her natural stoicism and cynicism -- which is entirely justified, because
she lived through a life of misery the other students would’ve never thought
possible. So basically, she’s not cool
because of her sweet moves or her dark past or even her cool exterior. She’s cool in spite of them -- because there’s more to her than just an effort
to impress an audience. She shows a
range of emotions, she struggles with her faults (by her own admission, she’s a
coward constantly on the run), and she has an arc. How can you not love that?
Yang Xiao
Long!!
If not for Blake, Yang would be my favorite -- and
even now, I’m tempted to swap out their places.
I guess I have to give it to Blake in the end, because she develops a
bit more and a bit sooner than Yang. For
what it’s worth, though? Yang’s got one
of the coolest weapons in the entire series.
Shotgun gloves? Hell yes.
I wonder what it’d be like hanging around Yang if
she was a real person -- powers and all.
If she’s basically the Hulk and Bruce Banner rolled into one, then does
that mean that people have to walk on eggshells around her? Would they even want to get close to her,
knowing that it wouldn’t take much for her to blow a gasket and make with the
murder? It’s hard to say. I suspect that those who make the effort will
never have to worry about Yang climbing aboard the murder
train, because she’s fiercely devoted
to protecting her friends/family and keeping them happy. For strangers, the line’s a lot
blurrier. And who knows what Volume 4
means for Yang, seeing as how she’s basically shattered into pieces by Volume
3’s end.
She may not be my favorite (by a tiny margin), but
Yang is one of the show’s most important characters. Why?
Because she’s emblematic of the drama that RWBY can offer when prompted.
The idea is to create scenarios where you care about the characters --
when you want to see them happy and succeeding, not wrought with despair. So while Yang swings between a grinning joker
and a brutal brawler, no one can call her heartless. She goes WAY out of her way to support her
friends, Blake in particular. She pulls
the cat girl out of her fever thanks to the bond they share…and when Blake
doesn’t return the favor -- when she’s the only one to not believe that Yang
broke Mercury’s leg on accident -- you can see the betrayal written all over her
face. The tears go a long way toward
that.
It’s not just a one-and-done, easily forgotten
moment, either. Blake gives her reasoning
behind her continued distrust for Yang, but it’s not enough to change the
latter’s opinion of the former. She
still leaps at the opportunity to save Blake when she’s facing certain doom --
and Yang’s reward for her loyalty is losing an arm.
And then, adding insult to injury, Blake ends up
bailing on Team RWBY, presumably because she feels responsible for what
happened. Given that Blake explained
prior to her exodus that she was a coward with a penchant for running away
(that’s the principle on which her Off-Brand Shadow Clone Jutsu works), the
evidence was there beforehand -- even if the audience couldn’t see it coming
until it played out onscreen.
I guess that’s what makes RWBY such a strong show.
Everything matters.
The characters matter. The action matters. The comedy matters. The drama matters. The world matters. The ideas, themes, and messages matter. It’s trying its hardest to be an anime, but
there’s more to it than that. It’s
willing and eager to pay tribute to the medium rather than make fun of it, or
try and show how little it matters, or how bad it is. The crew behind it knew what they were doing,
and went for it. They still are,
presumably. They won’t stop, presumably.
And I don’t want them to. I want to see more of these characters. I want to see more of this story. I want to see Ruby take charge as the lead
heroine. I want to see Weiss find her independence. I want to see if Blake and Yang reconcile --
and hell, I’m actually hoping they become an official couple. I want to see Jaune in any capacity. I want to see
Volume 4, 5, 6, and however many installments it takes to see these Hunters and
Huntresses earn their happy ending.
I’m a fan of this show. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Plus, think about it. If this is truly following the trajectory of
an anime, then they’re probably gonna
do a time skip. Worked for Naruto, didn’t it?
Forget I said anything.
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