Anti Rwby - Tumblr Posts
RWBY: Start to Finish -
Introduction - What is RWBY without the blessings of the twin gods of fantastic animation, and Halo existentialism? It is a project that should have only survived until the next big thing to distract its creators. But RWBY has taken to life the way Frankenstein’s Monster took it. Not very well.
RWBY can never escape the drama of its famed creators, which in any case gives the show a twist of lemon that zests up the story. Depending, of course, on which side of the fandom one asks. But that begs the question; how does RWBY stack up for someone who is not invested in the legend of its creation?
RWBY -
In a world of Humans, Monsters, and Magic there are four girls. Four well-armed, deadly little girls training to slay monsters known as ‘Grimm,’ to protect a civilization that is a ‘Remnant’ of something greater that was destroyed long ago.
Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Together they form the titular team ‘RWBY,’ and these are their adventures.
A punchy premise. Simple, yet solid enough to build a story upon. Complexity should only be a product of the story, not its selling point, and for the worse RWBY gets complex as the story progresses.
But for now, let’s start with Chapter 1.
Chapter 1; Ruby Rose
While a mysterious couple debates the merits of a Simple Soul and its effect on a ‘victory’ of some sort, we are introduced to Remnant. More specifically, a city in the wider world of Remnant. A very modern city with modern criminals, wearing sharp suits and wielding guns.
A gang of these sharply dressed ne’er do wells attempt to rob a store for its ‘Dust,’ but their crime spree is halted by the show’s Protagonist. A little girl in a red riding hood named Ruby Rose.
Shenanigans ensue, a rooftop chase leads to a rooftop duel, followed by a rooftop magic duel between a ‘Huntress’ and a Mysterious Female in a red dress. The fight ends with the Mysterious Female winning since she manages to escape.
Ruby Rose is a Huntress fangirl though, so she chalks it up as a lucky escape on the Mysterious Woman’s part, and tries to get the Huntress’s autograph.
Ruby gets interrogated instead. With cookies, compliments on her skills, a career talk, and an enrollment form into Beacon Academy. Where Ruby Rose gets a chance to follow in the footsteps of the very people she idolizes.
In the end, we learn that the criminal Ruby fought was Roman Torchwick, the Huntress Ruby first met was named Glynda Goodwitch, there was a civil rights thing for Faunus, and that Ruby could see Signal Academy from the airship she was riding to Beacon Academy.
Thus, the adventure begins.
Problems -
There are several problems from the start of this episode which could all be summarized with a general umbrella under which the show tries to hide from any criticism about its story pacing, and world-building. This singular, lampshade issue could incidentally be resolved with three words.
Keep. It. Simple.
RWBY’s first episode suffers from complexity. The bad kind of Complexity. Now, while both good and bad Complexity makes people think, the good kind of Complexity makes you think about the facts of life.
Bad Complexity makes you rethink your life’s choices.
There are a few points in this episode that illustrate my point on complexity, and I will talk a little about each below:
The Opening Narration -
The opening narration was wordy. Pretentiously so. But more importantly, it sets up a world of fantasy. A world that is a ‘Remnant’ of something that came before, a world where its inhabitants grapple with infinite darkness composed of fangs and claws using primal magic. Magic manifested in Dust, a material dug up from the earth of Remnant. The very flesh of the world aiding its inhabitants in the war against the darkness.
The narration sets up an adventure in a world that is highly fantastical. But the first scene of the episode involves men in modern suits, wielding modern weaponry. Followed by the minimal display of this vital material called Dust, and no sign of the darkness called Grimm.
Okie Dokie.
Huntresses -
A tiny girl in a red cloak pulls out a giant scythe and beats up grown men.
Roman; I sleep.
Older woman with a tiny stick.
Roman: wE gOT a HUnTrESS!
Granted, Glynda does pull off some impressive magic. But what identifies a Huntress from any other fighter with a giant scythe? A Cop pulls out a badge, wears a uniform, and identities himself as a Cop in action. How does Glynda identify herself as a Huntress to criminals like Roman?
The Faunus Rally -
Toward the end of the episode, a few minutes is dedicated to talking about the Faunus and their rally.
This is all I could tell you about them since nothing in the opening narration or the fight with Roman alludes to either the presence of Faunus or their place in the world of Remnant.
Taking each problem together -
Is nearly impossible because each point raised above is individually so distinct, there is no clear way to connect them into a coherent whole.
The opening narration sets up a high fantasy story about people fighting for their survival against vicious monsters.
The fight between Ruby and Roman, where a lone girl with powers battles modern criminals and stops robberies like a superhero comic.
Then there are the Faunus.
There are thus three distinct stories instead of a singular narrative focused around the girl named Ruby Rose, neither of which are properly developed. This is not surprising since there are only 12 or so minutes for the episode.
As a result, instead of an episode and an introduction to the story. I get three separate scenes written by different people. Solely united by the character of Ruby Rose, who is wholly inadequate for the task.
Ruby Rose -
A rose by any other name would be just as dull.
A character’s complexity is something that should not be decided upon at the start of the story. Complexity, and a character in general, develops over the course of a narrative and is fully grown at the end. At this point in the show, all we really need to know about Ruby Rose is her goal as it would be the main reason the audience would follow Ruby’s story. However, Ruby’s goal is not to be a Huntress.
Sure, Ruby says she wants to be a Huntress to help people. But nothing we were shown through the episode indicates that she wants to be a Huntress. Ruby Rose doesn’t do anything to become a Huntress. She fights Roman because of coincidence, her training has nothing to do with being a Huntsman since Huntsmen use Glyphs to fight. If Glynda was any indication. Ruby Rose may idolize the Huntsmen, but that doesn’t show passion toward being a Huntsman in the first place.
A contrast to Ruby would be Izuku from My Hero Academia. Izuku wants to be a hero, so he studies up on the pro heroes in his area. His education is focused on becoming a professional hero once he graduates Middle School. More importantly, Izuku's values and his heart is set on walking the path of a hero, and when given the chance to save his bully’s life? Izuku takes that chance and proves himself to have the heart of a hero.
Altogether, Ruby only becomes a Huntress by chance. While Deku was waiting for a chance to become a Hero. The latter is what makes a Protagonist’s desire and goal interesting for the audience.
Conclusion -
Ruby Rose, both the episode and the character, are kinda dull.
The first episode has set up three distinct story set-ups without formatting them into a coherent narrative. The Protagonist also fails to bring the episode’s three major plot elements together into an interesting story. This is especially egregious since a reasonable audience doesn’t need a very big hook to get them interested in a story. The attention span of the audience of ANY show is equivalent to a shoal of Mackerel. We just need a picture of a hook that says ‘Hook’, and we’d be flapping on the end of a line.
In conclusion, Ruby Rose the episode is confusing, conflicting, and saddled with a very tepid Protagonist who is so bland Gordon Ramsay is waiting in the wings to tear your walk-in apart.
Better shows were canceled for less.
RWBY Review - Start to Finish -
RWBY VOL 1; CHAPTER 2 -
We ended on the line ‘Better shows were canceled for far less unforgivable sins on our last episode.’
There is a second part to this, which goes;
‘But a show has at least one season before something (that) drastic happens.’
I should have qualified that last statement because;
I know, I should have qualified my statement.
Moving on.
Chapter 2: The Shining Beacon -
Picking up from the airship ride upon which Chapter 1 ended, Chapter 2 begins with Ruby Rose taking her first steps onto Beacon Academy and fangirling about the weapons borne by the other students accompanying Ruby to Beacon Academy.
After being abandoned by her sister, Yang, whom we met on the airship. Ruby then meets three characters; Weiss, Blake, and Jaune Arc.
Bonding with Jaune Arc, Ruby makes her way into Beacon proper where the first thing we see of the school is an auditorium. Ozpin gives a speech, and Glynda tells everyone to spend the night in the Great Hall and prepare for Initiation.
During the ‘Slumber Party’ Ruby catches up with Blake, where Ruby then reveals that she loves books. Just like the mysterious, raven-haired beauty Ruby and Yang are attempting to befriend. Despite committing the cardinal sin of interrupting someone while they are reading, Blake seems to appreciate Ruby’s attempts at friendship but decides to call it a night when Weiss appears.
Building upon Chapter 1 -
In the vein of being creative, reviews from this point on will always build upon the last review of the previous chapter. A narrative is not cogent on individual scenes but on how individual scenes build upon each other, and therefore any review of RWBY should be taken in the context of what previous episodes show.
This is especially true since RWBY isn’t a ‘Monster-of-week’ story but a continuous story about Ruby Rose and her adventures.
Chapter 2 chooses to expand on the Huntsman storyline by focusing on Ruby’s entrance into Beacon after she was given a chance to be at Beacon by Ozpin. We learn more about Ozpin and his place at Beacon, we get a clearer picture of what Dust is capable of, and the Faunus issue takes a backseat to Ruby’s character development and relationship building with her schoolmates at Beacon.
However, Ruby Rose’s development is rather inconsistent. Ruby portrays multiple, contradictory character traits which cause Ruby to feel like a blank slate. Adapting herself to reflect the traits of better-developed characters instead of being a character herself.
The dialogue and exposition throughout the episode also make it feel like I’m being reintroduced to plot elements discussed in the first episode, making the narrative so far feel tedious.
In fact, it may be better if Chapter 1 was a prologue or a trailer, while Chapter 2 becomes Chapter 1. This is because most of the plot elements introduced in Chapter 1 were better introduced with a more cohesive narrative in Chapter 2.
What I (genuinely) liked -
Dust -
The scene where Ruby Rose knocks over Weiss’s Dust Cases was my favorite introduction to Dust. The scene was simple and established what we needed to know about Dust for now; It’s volatile, powerful, and produces elemental effects when it explodes.
The introduction also serves multiple goals; establishing Ruby’s clumsiness, Weiss’s schtick as having more than make-up powder in her suitcases, and the relationship between Ruby and Weiss. Ruby’s impetuous energy, and Weiss’s cautious uptightness in regards to her personal items and space.
It is also interesting to see a weapon being introduced in a way that does not involve fighting.
Jaune Arc -
At this stage in the story, Jaune is my favorite character. His simple design is elegant, his weaponry is a breath of fresh air compared to Ruby’s over-designed Crescent Rose, and Jaune feels like the kind of guy you could go out for a beer with. Which is something that writers tend to overlook when it comes to character design. Would your character be someone the reader would go out for a drink with?
Ozpin’s Speech -
Ozpin’s speech raises a question that sets up one of RWBY’s … themes. In the opening narration, Ozpin brings up ‘a Simple Soul’ as the key to victory. Though we don’t really know what is a ‘simple soul,’ it can be assumed that the story of Ruby Rose will tell us as it unfolds. So that’s fair.
In this episode’s speech, Ozpin brings up the question of ‘purpose’. The Huntsmen are at Beacon to get knowledge, but they fail to ask themselves ‘why’ they want this knowledge. Why do you want to be a Huntsman? Implying a question that requires a good answer if one wants to succeed at being a Huntsman.
The purpose is something that most modern stories tend not to explore. Why does a character want to do something? Protagonists and Heroes tend not to have this well established. The Hero fights the Villain because that’s what Heroes do, but why does a Hero want to specifically fight this Villain? How would fighting the Villain help the Hero achieve his goals? Villains tend to have this better explained, which may be why audiences identify with the Villains more.
But in RWBY’s case, this question is not answered yet. But it is a question that the show intends to address, and I think it is a pertinent question.
Another pertinent question is how I’m going to piss off RWBY fans this time.
Problems with the Chapter 2 -
Like Harry Potter, to an extent, RWBY’s main problem is Ruby. A special girl is marked out for a special destiny, and we have to know how special she is at the expense of more interesting characters like Jaune.
One example of this is when Ruby meets Blake and they have a discussion about books.
The conversation is skewed to explore more of Ruby instead of Blake by taking something that is uniquely Blake’s, her love of books, and having Ruby explain Blake’s hobby to her face. We learn about Ruby’s preferred genres, we learn what books mean to Ruby, and how they motivate her to be a Huntress. Forgetting that earlier on, Ruby’s thing was weapons.
Ruby’s thing for weapons was established at the beginning of the episode with a sequence explaining how weapons are an extension of the Huntsman and are thus cool. This in and of itself contradicts Ruby’s first interview in Chapter 1 where she states that being a Huntsman is cool because they are romantic and cool. At the same time referring to weapons a grand total of zero times.
One could argue that this love of weapons and romantic stories about heroes are linked to Ruby’s love of Huntsmen in general. Ruby does state that;
“As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves …”
Which could work, and I like that. So what do weapons have to do with stories? It is a jarring personality thing that takes away from the unique trait of other characters and serves to make Ruby a fence-sitter. A character tries to be like every other character, and in the process loses her character.
Funnily enough, this is why Jaune is a more interesting character than Ruby. He is his own character. A boy trying to live up to his family legacy by becoming a Huntsman, because that is how he would make his mark in a bloodline containing warriors and heroes.
We don’t have Ruby Rose telling Jaune how SHE is part of a family line of ancient warriors, and thus showing how special she is. Jaune is allowed to keep what makes him unique, and he thus maintains the quality that makes him an interesting character at this point of the narrative.
Conclusion -
I like Chapter 2. It interestingly introduces several interesting concepts and is a good start to the narrative of RWBY.
However, Ruby Rose takes too much screen time, and the Chapter would have been better suited to being ‘Chapter 1’ instead.
You can see how jarring the shift is from blacksun to bumblebee. Within one volume Sun is written out and never heard from again (aside from a bad book that doesn't do him justice) then the very same volume hastily pushes bumblebee to the forefront. From then on its cringy bee bait for several volumes and Blake doesn't so much spare a single thought for the guy who was with her thick and thin smh.
Sun did not so much drink the 'Respect Wahmen' juice as he was stuck with a drip and had the juice pumped directly into his veins. Sun got a lot of disrespect.
Sun is the cooler Yang, change my mind.
Oof. I hadn't considered that. Yeah the writing could just gloss over any reunion just to avoid the fallout. I doubt blacksun will ever get the same attention it did in the past now that bumblebee seems to be the endgame. I still don't know why they never went with freezerburn if they wanted a wholesome lgbt couple with a healthy foundation. There would be no need to sink a developing ship like blacksun in that scenario. Even whiterose had better chemistry. Bumblebee sucks but gets all the love?
That is a meta analysis that I can't begin to fathom. But I don't think Weiss and Ruby are as popular as they are made out to be. They are the Main Characters, but Blake and Yang get most of the major character moments and are the ones who serve as the RT's mouthpieces for their ideas. Jaune and Nora are getting into the role of mouthpieces in v7 and v8 too.
Was Ironwood right? Part 2 -
It's difficult to say if Ironwood's plan was the right plan during v8 like it was during v3. v8's theme was about how plans could get ruined due to no fault of anyone's, or perhaps the fault of everyone, and you can't do anything about it.
As it is said; "Man devises, but Heaven decides." Everyone was going to fail in v7 and v8. If RT had not intended it, then the fan outcry ensured it. After Ironwood proved himself more sympathetic than the main characters due to some freak of writing.
Perhaps it is better when discussing whether Ironwood was right in v8, to ask if Ironwood was the villain? Or was he the Hero of the story, in a 'Superman dying to stop Doomsday' kind of way and not 'a Villain is the Hero of his story' kind of way?
Heroism in fiction is selfless action, but must that action be morally right? Our heroes have historically committed acts which we wouldn't consider morally right. Yet fantasy is meant to be unrealistic, and our heroes in our stories should be held to a higher standard.
But ultimately, our Heroes should not be condemned for actions that are immoral. The legends of our historical Heroes are just as fantastic as our comic heroes, and they taught lessons that are as valuable as they are timeless.
So was Ironwood the Hero of v7 and v8? Well since this is a Pro-Ironwood blog ... But to be fair, let's address the two main incidents of Ironwood's 'villainy'.
Ironwood arresting RWBY seems to be a moment that was caused by RWBY. Not in a negative sense, but more in that RWBY were the ones who took the initiative to break the stalemate. There was no right course of action in that situation, and Ruby should have offered to go and evacuate Mantle's citizens to Atlas if Ironwood delayed the launch by an hour. Like any action hero worth his salt would do.
Ironwood would then have said; 'you have ONE Hour, not a second more. Ruby would then reply with a one-liner and shot off to save the world.
But what about Ironwood shooting down the SDC ships heading to save Mantle refugees, and threatening to nuke Mantle if RWBY did not hand Penny over?
First; Ironwood kept his word when RWBY 'kept' theirs, and RWBY followed up the backstabbing streak with a 2-0 score against Ironwood.
Second; Even if Ironwood nuked Mantle, would he be a villain if he did it to save another island city's worth of civilians? Boudica killed three cities worth of innocent Romans for the Iceni Tribe of Britons, and she is still considered a bally heroine today. Ironwood would also have destroyed Mantle for pretty good reasons, as he would have destroyed the key to opening the Vault and would have thus prevented Salem from taking the Staff.
In any case, we won't really know if Ironwood was playing a particularly brutal bluff. I'd say he was bluffing but I like Ironwood so that's a nut and a half. The more important question is whether such a bluff made Ironwood a villain.
I say, no. If Heroism is defined by Selfless, Ironwood in v8 more than fits the bill. Ironwood unironically puts himself on the line to keep Atlas, and in the process Remnant, safe. He is willing to literally tear himself apart to stop Salem. Ironwood is selfless if nothing else.
But if Ironwood is the hero, what does that make RWBY?
Imagine:
It's the final battle and things are looking extremely grim. Sun is having a moment of shock as things go to shit, and Neptune is beside Sun. Trying his best to get his friend to keep fighting.
"I'm a fool!" Sun says, "it's hopeless!" "You're not a fool!" Neptune says, "and I need you to get up!"
"How do you know?!" Sun says, "how do you know I haven't made the wrong choice?!"
"Because," Neptune says while he grabs Sun by his shirt collar, "my mama told me never to kiss a fool!"
Then Blake, Yang, and Velvet hug each other in lesbian bliss as RT adds another gay couple to the quota box.
Can you imagine the awkward cringe when Blake and Sun reunite? Their last moment together was back when blacksun was going strong with the implication they would pick things up when they see each other again. Something dumb like Sun hooking up with Velvet offscreen and becoming a bmblb wingman. Or him being single and accepting Blake moved on from him no questions asked and even though he had every right to still have feelings for her that aren't so easily forgotten. It's going to be a shitshow.
I imagine RT would just make it a throwaway gag during the final fight. Like Blake would see Sun with Velvet and they would just say 'good luck', and head off to fight Salem.
I have a feeling that RWBY is building toward an Avengers Endgame style thing.
It seems like young fandoms these days are programmed to react to buzzwords like 'Gay', or 'Queer'.
Young fans don't recognize good stories anymore or have that part of their tastes wired out by modern cartoons.
Is that just me?
Can you imagine the awkward cringe when Blake and Sun reunite? Their last moment together was back when blacksun was going strong with the implication they would pick things up when they see each other again. Something dumb like Sun hooking up with Velvet offscreen and becoming a bmblb wingman. Or him being single and accepting Blake moved on from him no questions asked and even though he had every right to still have feelings for her that aren't so easily forgotten. It's going to be a shitshow.
I imagine RT would just make it a throwaway gag during the final fight. Like Blake would see Sun with Velvet and they would just say 'good luck', and head off to fight Salem.
I have a feeling that RWBY is building toward an Avengers Endgame style thing.
Was Ironwood right? Part 2 -
It's difficult to say if Ironwood's plan was the right plan during v8 like it was during v3. v8's theme was about how plans could get ruined due to no fault of anyone's, or perhaps the fault of everyone, and you can't do anything about it.
As it is said; "Man devises, but Heaven decides." Everyone was going to fail in v7 and v8. If RT had not intended it, then the fan outcry ensured it. After Ironwood proved himself more sympathetic than the main characters due to some freak of writing.
Perhaps it is better when discussing whether Ironwood was right in v8, to ask if Ironwood was the villain? Or was he the Hero of the story, in a 'Superman dying to stop Doomsday' kind of way and not 'a Villain is the Hero of his story' kind of way?
Heroism in fiction is selfless action, but must that action be morally right? Our heroes have historically committed acts which we wouldn't consider morally right. Yet fantasy is meant to be unrealistic, and our heroes in our stories should be held to a higher standard.
But ultimately, our Heroes should not be condemned for actions that are immoral. The legends of our historical Heroes are just as fantastic as our comic heroes, and they taught lessons that are as valuable as they are timeless.
So was Ironwood the Hero of v7 and v8? Well since this is a Pro-Ironwood blog ... But to be fair, let's address the two main incidents of Ironwood's 'villainy'.
Ironwood arresting RWBY seems to be a moment that was caused by RWBY. Not in a negative sense, but more in that RWBY were the ones who took the initiative to break the stalemate. There was no right course of action in that situation, and Ruby should have offered to go and evacuate Mantle's citizens to Atlas if Ironwood delayed the launch by an hour. Like any action hero worth his salt would do.
Ironwood would then have said; 'you have ONE Hour, not a second more. Ruby would then reply with a one-liner and shot off to save the world.
But what about Ironwood shooting down the SDC ships heading to save Mantle refugees, and threatening to nuke Mantle if RWBY did not hand Penny over?
First; Ironwood kept his word when RWBY 'kept' theirs, and RWBY followed up the backstabbing streak with a 2-0 score against Ironwood.
Second; Even if Ironwood nuked Mantle, would he be a villain if he did it to save another island city's worth of civilians? Boudica killed three cities worth of innocent Romans for the Iceni Tribe of Britons, and she is still considered a bally heroine today. Ironwood would also have destroyed Mantle for pretty good reasons, as he would have destroyed the key to opening the Vault and would have thus prevented Salem from taking the Staff.
In any case, we won't really know if Ironwood was playing a particularly brutal bluff. I'd say he was bluffing but I like Ironwood so that's a nut and a half. The more important question is whether such a bluff made Ironwood a villain.
I say, no. If Heroism is defined by Selfless, Ironwood in v8 more than fits the bill. Ironwood unironically puts himself on the line to keep Atlas, and in the process Remnant, safe. He is willing to literally tear himself apart to stop Salem. Ironwood is selfless if nothing else.
But if Ironwood is the hero, what does that make RWBY?
RWBY Review - Start to Finish -
RWBY VOL 1; CHAPTER 3 -
So ... We meet Nora.
Mother, Mary of God, grant me strength.
The only thing balancing out the horror that is Nora is Pyrrha Nikos. SHE is now my favorite character instead of Jaune.
This is impressive because I generally do not like female main characters, and Pyrrha is obviously the main character of the show now because the title character still hasn't done anything to really impress three episodes in.
Chapter 3; The First Step -
An interesting title since the episode only had enough time for the plot to progress exactly one step.
It is the morning after the 'slumber party' in Beacon Academy's great hall. Now, the aspiring Huntsmen are going through their morning routines in Beacon's locker rooms. Preparing for whatever the Academy is going to throw at them next.
We start with Nora and Ren. But that's a jazz tune I ain't playing until I have to, so let's talk about Ruby.
Ruby and her sister, Yang, have a brief discussion about socializing. Here, we see a little more about Ruby's fixation with her weapon and how her weapon makes it less awkward for Ruby to deal with life in general. Yang tries to convince Ruby that breaking out of her shell would do Ruby a world of good, but Jaune interrupts that conversation, and I suddenly hate him.
Jaune then starts blowing his trombone in an attempt to bone Weiss. Interrupting a perfectly civil conversation between Weiss and a new girl, Pyrrha Nikos. Despite Jaune's hot air initially, Weiss manages to deflate him a little and Pyrrha sweeps him off his feet.
From Beacon's lockers, the Huntsmen find themselves standing on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. After a blatant case of Negligence on the part of Ozpin, the Huntsmen are launched off the cliff, thus taking their 'first step' on their journey to become Huntsmen.
Building on from Chapter 2 -
After the attempt of Chapter 2 to progress the Huntsman storyline, Chapter 3 takes an immediate sharp left off the beaten path to introduce Ren and Nora. Or Nora and Ren, to be precise, because we get far too much of Nora in this Chapter.
Out of a 7-minute episode and a 30-second opening, Nora takes up a minute and a half of the remaining 6 minutes of the Chapter with pointless rambling about sloths, and an attempt by the writers to start a ship between Nora and Ren.
The ship isn't the problem, the inefficiency is the problem. Just keep the part about Sloths and the noises they allegedly make. 19 seconds would have been enough to get across that Nora is thirsty for Ren.
The Chapter attempts to address Ruby Rose's character development. Seemingly, this time, to focus on Ruby's love of weapons. Expressed by the girl in the first half of Chapter 2. Whether the writers would stick to this particular trait would be a bridge to cross when we come to it. This is because Jaune interrupts the conversation between Ruby and Yang so the writers could set up something as equally irrelevant as Nora's ramblings earlier.
Funnily enough, Pyrrha being irrelevant to the story is what makes her such a likable character in this Chapter. There is no attempt by the writers to do too much with Pyrrha at this stage, so Pyrrha is just a polite girl who is endearingly attractive because of it.
Her weapon is also a spear. How elegantly simple!
Jaune is an ass in this chapter though, which is a 180 turn when compared to his character in Chapter 2. I get it, Jaune likes Weiss, but why is he so dismissive of Pyrrha during his conversation with her and Weiss? Jaune wasn't interested in Ruby, but he was perfectly pleasant with Ruby when he first met her.
All in all, Chapter 3 is the first step onto the narrative of Ruby Rose. However, Ruby is not the focus, and we as the audience are taking the first step with the wrong foot forward, it seems.
What I liked -
Pyrrha Nikos. A little simple, but you get more out of a simple dish, I believe.
What I did not like -
Ruby Rose is not the main focus of her own show.
I don't know what noise a Sloth makes, but I'm sure it would come up with its own noise to tell Nora to leave it in peace. Say it with me everyone, "Nora, no talking!"
I do not approve of Jaune being mean to Pyrrha.
No. We don't have to work with the shills who provide SJW content, whether its Disney or RoosterTeeth.
Ideologues can only be ignored, not bargained with.
When an RWBY fan does it, it's inferring from context.
When an RWDE, Ironwood lover does it, it's ignoring Head canon.
Le Gasp, an Autistic dude told me to grow up.
I feel the change. The mutation, building within me.
Something seeks to break out. Emboldened. Mysterious what can it be?
The thing is ready to burst free from the chrysalis, its first words upon transformed lips, a cry of defiance to an uncaring world.
It stands on the threshold, raises its mournful head to an uncaring sky, and says -!
When an RWBY fan does it, it's inferring from context.
When an RWDE, Ironwood lover does it, it's ignoring Head canon.
Its on your tumblr page, sir.
When an RWBY fan does it, it's inferring from context.
When an RWDE, Ironwood lover does it, it's ignoring Head canon.
Are RWBY the baddies?
If heroism is where a character acts to defend higher ideals villainy, perhaps, is when a character acts without thought for anything beyond the acting. Where a character antagonizes other for its own sake, and is careless to the effect their actions have on others.
If such is the case then RWBY's actions in v7 and v8 are the acts of villains.
Beyond the betrayal of Ironwood's trust, the sabotage of Ironwood's plans, and the loss of the staff of creation to Salem, what makes RWBY the villains here is that their actions did not benefit the people they claimed they were helping. Which led to the death of the better part of 2 Kingdoms, and the deaths of those stuck in Vacuo until the Huntsmen there show up to rescue the survivors.
RWBY forced a fight with Ironwood on the wrong issues, and caused the deaths of innocents. Characters have been decried as evil for less.
We literally see the bomb go off, we see Harriet doing her damndest to drop said bomb, we see the ace ops discuss if it’s a bluff and agree it fuming wasn’t,
If you think it’s a bluff you’d need to disregard literally everything the show tells us or shows us,
If you think its not a bluff you'd need to disregard that Ironwood did not order the detonation of the bomb the moment he got Penny in his hands.
You'd also have to disregard the fact that Harriet was about to not detonate the nuke thanks to Vine's advice, and Qrow and Robyn were responsible for escalating the tensions into a brawl that set off the bomb.
In any case, you should not be going off on me, or RWDE in general, for something that is entirely RT's fault.
The writers managed to cement Adam Taurus's villainy back in V5 when they SHOWED him detonating the Haven Academy bombs, but was only stopped by Ilia disarming those bombs.
RT dropped the ball (or bomb) on Ironwood because they had Trump Derangement Syndrome and were so eager to write a story about Political Power gone crazy they forgot to do for Ironwood what they did to Adam.
As it is, RT was so eager to have RWBY 'stop' Ironwood they forgot to actually write Ironwood as a definitive villain.
At this point, based on the writing, Ironwood can be interpreted as either a Hero or a Villain. I, and most of RWDE, choose Hero. Now you have to choose if you are willing to agree to disagree on this point.
That's a fair point, but you could also see it as Ironwood's semblance driving him to be as hardhearted as possible to SELL the Bluff.
Was he about to shoot Marrow? Maybe. But comparing Ironwood's off-handed shooting of the Politician, and the delay of Ironwood shooting Marrow, I wonder if Ironwood was going to kill Marrow. Or was Ironwood going to make a big show about it, then order Marrow to be arrested instead.
We won't know because Winter intervened before anything could happen. But if Ironwood had shot first and missed Marrow, before Winter arrested Marrow though, who knows?
Even if Ironwood did kill Marrow, he did it to save Atlas from Salem.
Jaune onscreen killed Penny to stop Cinder taking the Maiden Power.
We literally see the bomb go off, we see Harriet doing her damndest to drop said bomb, we see the ace ops discuss if it’s a bluff and agree it fuming wasn’t,
If you think it’s a bluff you’d need to disregard literally everything the show tells us or shows us,
If you think its not a bluff you'd need to disregard that Ironwood did not order the detonation of the bomb the moment he got Penny in his hands.
You'd also have to disregard the fact that Harriet was about to not detonate the nuke thanks to Vine's advice, and Qrow and Robyn were responsible for escalating the tensions into a brawl that set off the bomb.
In any case, you should not be going off on me, or RWDE in general, for something that is entirely RT's fault.
The writers managed to cement Adam Taurus's villainy back in V5 when they SHOWED him detonating the Haven Academy bombs, but was only stopped by Ilia disarming those bombs.
RT dropped the ball (or bomb) on Ironwood because they had Trump Derangement Syndrome and were so eager to write a story about Political Power gone crazy they forgot to do for Ironwood what they did to Adam.
As it is, RT was so eager to have RWBY 'stop' Ironwood they forgot to actually write Ironwood as a definitive villain.
At this point, based on the writing, Ironwood can be interpreted as either a Hero or a Villain. I, and most of RWDE, choose Hero. Now you have to choose if you are willing to agree to disagree on this point.
Is Ruby Rose (RWBY) a Mary Sue?
Definition of Mary Sue;
In an earlier post, I described the 'Mary Sue' as a narrative trope instead of a character archetype. A 'Mary Sue' occurs when a character's story overshadows the stories of the other characters.
Example;
Harry Potter in the last four books is a Mary Sue mostly because everything after book four is somehow tied to Harry, no matter how obscure or far removed. As a result, the story shrinks around Harry and the world of Magic becomes less interesting the more it focuses on Harry and his conflict with Voldemort.
Is Ruby is Mary Sue?
Based on my definition, no. She is just a badly written character. While all Mary Sues are badly written, not all badly written characters are Mary Sues.
Ozpin is more of the Mary Sue in RWBY. This is because most of RWBY's plot centers around Ozpin's mistakes and his relationships. Especially with Salem.
Therefore, Ruby Rose is not a Mary Sue.
RWBY Fans can't help themselves
You know what I find amazing? How someone can be this big of a killjoy. You clearly don't like RWBY, so just don't give yourself grief and leave it (and us) alone.
I'm not even bothering you lol everything I post is for people who are sick RT's crappy writing. Your welcome to use the block button buddy anytime.