#rwby minor character spotlight

[eviltomb]

you ever wonder if Dee and Dudley,

were to show up in vol 1/2 how many 2v2s they would beat. like they're low end huntsmen, and that's generous, but they're still huntsmen. like even if theyre in the lower 10% of huntsman, thats still in the upper percentile of fight experience.

[sytokun]

A lengthy thought wall about the recent RT shutdown and DillonGoo Studios' interest in acquiring RWBY - I speculate and entertain some hopium about the pros that could come with it and why all in all, impossible it may be, it's probably the best shot we have for RWBY.

Some rwde cause it mentions Shane's letter and nobody likes that.

I've been reading a lot, a lot of the various discussions around RWBY's fate and Dillon Goo Studio's (henceforth shortened to DGS) interest in acquiring it. Here's my overall evaluation everything so far:

This goes without saying but this is obviously an optimistic take on the matter, I wanna talk moreso about the pros rather than the logistics of whether DGS can afford it, whether you think it's just clout-chasing, etc.

Dillon's a former RWBY animator and a fan of Monty's work. No matter what you think of Monty's style of action, in the greater public sphere, RWBY is known and liked precisely for that and largely that alone, period. Only RWBY fans who are already invested in the show will mention story or characters - for the majority of people, i.e. future RWBY fans, the action is the main selling point, and DGS clearly can deliver on this.

Dillon himself is at least amicable with most of CRWBY and likely open to negotiate with them given prior work history. For any other media corporation, consulting the old IP holders of a defunct company is a minor formality at best or even a laughable waste of time. And if you want to bring up a certain almost 10-year-old letter and the person working with Dillon who wrote it, there are plenty in the comments section who would agree with me that it's not as big a dealbreaker as one might think, given the company the letter largely condemned is well dead and buried. I won't go further into that matter.

DGS is very community-oriented - they're very intimately familiar with 3D animation and produces creator-friendly content like the Goo Engine which helps future animators inspired by RWBY to make similar anime-style 3D content. Every single RWBY fan animator whose work we enjoyed benefits from this acquisition - all of whom can grow into future animators for the series, intimately familiar with its trademark action style.

DGS is probably the only genuine fan of RWBY that has a remote chance of acquiring the IP with the express motivation of using the IP creatively. This can be clearly seen in the steady improvement of their animation content over the years and desire to push the medium. All other candidates are corporations whose motivations with RWBY are, more likely than not, going to be entirely financial (not necessarily a bad or unhealthy thing, but it's a factor).

If RWBY stays under WB or given off to Crunchyroll? They have no stake in RWBY beyond pure business. They have no interest in what's best for RWBY or its growth, only how it will be most profitable or recoup the losses from RT. The only companies I can see being more creatively invested in RWBY are ArcSystem Works who implemented RWBY in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, or Shaft that animated Ice Queendom, but those are both Japanese companies unlikely to go all-in on a foreign IP - especially given that these studios usually adapt other IPs, not buy them outright.

DGS is invested in RWBY. Their entire studio's style is built on RWBY-esque action animation. Acquiring RWBY more or less guarantees it'll become their main flagship series and their main investment, whereas with WB, Crunchyroll or other big platform, RWBY is nowhere near prolific enough to be much more than another shelf-filler in their library. At worst, Warner archives RWBY for eternity and at best, they only bring RWBY out for tie-ins and crossovers to prop up their larger DC properties. Why give RWBY the spotlight when they own the likes of Justice League and Looney Tunes?

DGS may not be the most plausible choice, but it's clear that unless some big company like ArcSystem Works or something throws their hat in the RWBY ring, DGS is far and away the people's favourite, even gaining approval from JJ Grelle (Tyrian's VA), who quite notably refused to reprise their role for Rooster Teeth.

DGS is still very much an indie studio which IMO RWBY has flourished the most under, the time period where it retained a certain unpolished energy that made you invested in watching it improve and grow. I don't want to watch a RWBY that uses its precious time under a new studio to just go by the numbers and coast by on its existing fanbase. I want to watch a RWBY that grows, innovates and takes risks, that impresses and draws new and old fans in the way it does for every single person that has watched the Red Trailer for the first time.

I think a lot of folks have a preconceived notion that RWBY has to continue on the exact same production value as V9 left off, but that never had to be the case. I think a return to a much more subdued production with smaller teams focusing on strong individual episodes over large overarching narratives will be healthy for RWBY and more easily invite new fans, which it sorely needs if it wants to stay afloat this time around.

Whether this means a continuation to V10 or a reboot I don't know, but I know I'd rather take a RWBY that a new studio respects and will produce in a way that fits their strengths and limits, over trying and overreaching themselves to make something work that even Rooster Teeth failed to, or over no RWBY at all.

That's the crux of it: the worse alternative is no RWBY at all. CRWBY and especially us as a fandom are in no position to be picky when that's the alternative. There's no such thing as a perfect deal, but this is about as sweet as they come. If the only hurdle is WB's refusal to sell, then that's on Warner. If the only hurdle is affording the IP, I, many others and no doubt other associates Dillon Goo Studios knows are likely to help them meet that price.

I do wanna stress, despite my optimism, I'm not asking to stake all our hopes on DGS as the saviour of RWBY, god no - the last thing I want is a weirdo Monty 2.0 cult and I doubt Dillon would want that either. I'm not saying the RWBY they'd make will be perfect or be equitable for everyone either - some compromises must be made and professionally speaking, whoever owns RWBY next has no legal obligation to make V10 or bring back anyone from CRWBY. Any such action is solely on the graces of the new IP holder and at the end of the day, I think whatever creates a healthier, longer-lasting future for RWBY should take priority over our sentiment or attachment.

But as things stand right now, if DGS isn't just farming Twitter likes and is honest-to-god serious about acquiring RWBY, and no better candidate presents themselves, this is about the best option we have right now, and I myself will be ready to help and contribute in whatever little way I can. Because I know the very real alternative is either a complete gamble on yet another faceless media subsidiary, or watching RWBY rot behind a vault for the next decade or more.

[nogoawaytism]

My second thingy for Nitpick November, because I'm not gonna do this consistently the way God intended.

It's just so... interesting to hear RWBY stans bitch about any sort of criticism regarding how certain male characters are treated. Apparently if any of us commit the unforgiveable sin of saying something like "I wish Sun/Adam/Mercury/Ironwood was treated better by the narrative + explored the unique themes that are a part of their identity as characters." rwby stans freak the fuck out and start whining about how RWDE only wants a show about a white male character. And I'm like

*looks at the vast majority of the cast, especially the heroes*

*looks at V9*

It's just so... interesting how these double standards work, because I guess a white male character getting the spotlight is ok when it's Miles's self-insert.

Meanwhile, Sun has a Chinese allusion despite being a blonde, Ironwood was modeled after Jason Rose who is half Asian (Oh wait, I bet we don't count mixed people). Interesting.

Also, Sun is an established, in-universe minority, an abuse victim thanks to Blake, which is frequently downplayed because Blake is a girl and a main character, and is therefore perfect, and Sun is evil because he isn't psychic, and expressed attraction to a main character. How evil.

Also, Ironwood is a veteran with PTSD facing a horrible situation, a triple amputee, and the only one of the cast who actually has a feasible plan. Oh wait, losing his arm made him lose his humanity, what an evil bastard. He probably lost over half his body on purpose.

Also, Adam is an established, in-universe minority, a former child slave, who has the SCHNEE FUCKING DUST COMPANY logo burned onto his fucking face. Adam should be a good faunus, and not complain at all about faunus oppression, otherwise he's a fucking nazi.

Also, Mercury was trained for an extremely dangerous job as a young child, and abused so badly to the point where he LOST BOTH LEGS. Man, white men really do be the worst.

Yes, two of these characters are villains, and yes, we should hold people accountable for their actions instead of inborn characteristics. Oh wait, y'all already did that when you bitched about them being "white men", while almost every important non-white character has been presented as a villain at some point, and the two non-white characters in our main cast, Ren and Oscar get treated so poorly compared to the other heroes. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while Ren's mental state and feelings are invalidated at every turn. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while Oscar the literal child that got dragged into this war is constantly the one bearing the brunt of physical abuse that we haven't seen our other characters experience + half of that physical abuse is by characters who ARE heroes and by Hazel who got the last-minute redemption treatment. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while y'all treat this show like the best shit to happen to media since Charles Dickens when *checks notes* it's written by white men, which isn't inherently bad in my opinion, but in this case they write every fucking issue in this show in such an insensitive light, and are still horrible xenophobic people. Miles and Kerry ARE stereotypical horrible white men, but y'all still defend their stupid writing while bitching about white men abused by the narrative.

Oh, and might I add: the fuckers saying this stan Coco. I wonder what her allusion is.

So you mean to tell me, that expressing just a little bit of tact about Adam being a branded child slave, or Ironwood losing three limbs and being traumatized, or Mercury being abused and losing his legs, is super duper evil, but this Nazi insert is an absolute slay queen. Y'all really made a doodoo with this one, whoopsies!

Anyway, take the historic moment before Mercury rightfully whooped this Discord light mode-looking mf who's also a Nazi:

[waheelawhisperer]

Fuck marry kill, any and all fictional characters. But you only get to pick one character per. The character you'd choose to marry above all others, the character you'd choose to fuck above all others and the character you'd kill above all others.

Marry: Margaret Nearl (Arknights). Come on. I'm Mr. Nearl's Husband for a reason.

Honorable Mentions: Medusa (Fate series). Not only is she hot, but I think we're legitimately compatible in terms of interests and personality. Both of us would quite enjoy spending evenings cuddled up on the couch with a good book.

Yang Xiao Long (RWBY): Yang might've edged Nearl out before Volume 9 butchered her character for the sake of uwu GIFable Bee moments, but then Volume 9 butchered her character for the sake of uwu GIFable Bee moments. Lol lmao etc.

Rias Gremory (High School DxD): I would like a hot devil sugar mommy with huge tits and a willingness to share me with other attractive women, thank you.

Fuck: Scathach (Fate Grand Order). If we're going for a night or weekend of no-strings-attached passion, idt she can be beat. She's hot, athletic, canonically a skilled teacher, and has plenty of experience instructing dumbasses who have no idea what they're doing. When she was done with me, I'd be wrung dry, covered in scratches and bitemarks, unable to walk under my own power, and a minimum of 4x as good in bed as I am now.

Honorable Mentions: Esdeath (Akame ga Kill). Her show sucks ass but she has boobs the size of my head, terrible taste in men, and a taste for some freaky shit

Yoruichi Shihouin (Bleach): see Scathach.

Barghest (Fate Grand Order): Barghest snu snu would kill me but it would be worth it.

Kill: Jaune Arc (RWBY). There are a large number of characters in fiction that I hate enough to gun down without a second thoughts, so I decided to make the winners/honorable mentions for this option characters that specifically made the stories they were in worse by existing. Jaune warps the narrative around himself and takes screentime away from the supposed main characters, regularly screwing over everyone else so Miles Luna's Specialest Boy gets his time in the spotlight.

Honorable Mentions: Mandragora (Arknights). I actually hate Platinum more, but she at least does something useful for the Kazimierz storyline, whereas Mandragora is indelibly associated with the shitshow that is Chapter 9 and makes me wish the story was focusing on something else every time she's on my screen. I hope she died in the fucking sewer.

Kisuke Urahara (Bleach): He's a creepy weirdo and I got really tired of the narrative jerking off to how he's so Smart and Special. I was frankly done with him long before his fight with Askin, but everything about that infuriated me beyond belief. We get it Kubo, you think women are Fleshlights that cook your dinner, you don't have to remind us at every opportunity.

Jack Danvers (Ted Lasso): Ted Lasso ended so badly that I forgot it existed for a while and apparently so did the rest of the world, but I remember Season 3 doing very little of value with Keeley's screentime and Jack was a large part of that. Other than confirming Keeley as bi, she mostly just dragged focus away from the AFC Richmond cast and storylines and her role could've been filled by Rebecca with minor rewriting.

[dragynkeep]

Controversial opinion. Oz was an amazing character and people just hate him for what Osma was forced to do by the Gods. He wasnt responsible for anything that happened. He was living a normal life for lets say 25 years. Then suddenly a voice is in your head telling you that you need to fight your technically crazy ex wife and also you cant make any mistakes or everyone dies. Like uh... OF COURSE HE MADE MISTAKES CAUSE HOW DO YOU HANDLE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

i do get a lot of the criticisms of ozpin; he’s made a lot of mistakes & not all of them can be excused with his trauma even though it does explain most of his actions. ozpin has had the weight of the world on him for literal centuries, millennia even & has managed to keep things running relatively smoothly. even with a murderous, abusive ex wife who controls man eating murder monsters snapping at his heels every moment of every day.

for comparison; rwby had a taste of that same responsibility for less than a month & crumpled like a piece of wet tissue. & the worst thing is that they had the choice ozpin didn’t. ozpin was put into this role knowing nothing about the entire situation from the gods, after dying & being brought back to life like a plaything repeatedly. whereas team rwby had dragged out all of that trauma callously & cruelly against his will, had all the answers, put themselves into that position of power of their own free will & then still had the audacity to complain it was hard.

like yes, girls. of course it’s hard. that’s why ozpin made the decisions he did, because he learned from past mistakes that he had to suffer the consequences for. mistakes & consequences we literally see in the show in leonardo that ruby then completely ignores to throw faunus’s collaboration with salem into the spotlight, that if the writers were actually competent, would have serious negative ramifications against an already oppressed minority.

as much as i can understand some frustrations against ozpin, i really wish there was more leeway & sympathy given to an abuse survivor who had to make the choices for everyone. y’know; kind of like there is for the other abuse survivors like blake, weiss, qrow, etc.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Hot take: I never really felt that any one character, major or minor, ever truly "hogged the spotlight." They might get a boost in a form of a story arc but that just goes to show that the story doesn't stop or end with Team RWBY. I honestly feel like no amount of "balance" with the characters will satisfy anybody because somebody's always going to feel something is off. It's more of a personal matter than some of the FNDM feels it is.

100 percent. Everyone's taking turns and I'm fine with that. Most of the complaints are just personal preference of "I like to see this character more than this character", and that's completely valid, but don't go around saying that it's bad writing.

[itsclydebitches]

Any thoughts on the new sexy genie RWBY merch they released officially? The body pillow and mouse pads? one one hand its equality using both of them, but on the other it's a bit strange to lewd official merch

I'm pretty indifferent tbh. Sexy body pillows and mouse pads aren't my thing, but if other fans like them, more power to you. It's not hurting anyone. Any issues I have with the genies applies to the show as a whole, not just their use in merch – namely, the choice to design the enslaved beings in literal chains as almost naked sex symbols - but as you say, as least they're fair about it? Back in Volume 6 I absolutely wondered if only Jinn would be sexualized like that, or if the issue would be avoided by conveniently only having female presenting genies, so I was pleasantly surprised when Ambrosius arrived and he was just as blue, naked, and chained as she was. (Even if she does lack his muscles. RWBY's designs definitely steer towards binary ideas of beauty with characters like Yang lacking muscles and being just as petite as her teammates, despite being the hard hitting brawler. It doesn't surprise me then that the meant-to-be-hot-and-male genie is deckedout in a six-pack, just like Sun) Plus, in regards to the merch itself, at least our genies are immortal beings. Ngl, when you have a cast of young adults and two minors in the spotlight, there are definitely worse characters to make body pillows and boob mouse pads out of. Especially since the fandom already had Miles tweeting with a Volume 1-2 Ruby body pillow all those years ago, with the reception primarily being, "Now we're REALLY anime... where can I get one😏" Personally, I'll take Ambrosius and Jinn over more of that, even if the characters are older now.

[kitkatopinions]

Since only 1/2 of CFVY and SSSN actually matter, my guess is come v10 only Sun, Neptune, Coco, and Velvet will have voiced roles and appearances. The absence of the others will be explained as being spread out elsewhere on Vacuo or killed off in the presumed timeskip.

Not gonna lie, this is kinda the preferred solution for me, or at the most having the side characters of teams CFVY and SNNN shown once or twice, but never really speaking or interacting with others. It's not because I hate them... Okay, well, I hate Scarlet because of the books. Fox is terrible and a sadistic bully, but there is interest to his character for me, so idk if I can say I hate him, and Yatsuhashi is on thin fucking ice but I at least don't hate him either, and as for Sage, he's pretty much a nothing character but I have been inventing him from the ground up and like my headcanoned version of him, so yeah. It's not because I hate most of them. And I also want Coco out of here immediately, too, because of her allusion and the fact that I hate her (seriously, Coco is quickly becoming one of my absolute least favorite characters in the whole of RWBY right up there with Port, Hazel, Cardin, and Cinder.) But I doubt she's gonna get cut.

Really, it's a character bloat problem. With main characters like Ruby, Nora, Blake, and Oscar still needing development, plus side characters who are more currently relevant who arguably deserve more plot relevancy like May, Whitley, Mercury, and Robyn (I don't like Robyn, but she is more relevant,) and probable new additions from Vacuo like Theodore... There just isn't a lot of room to bring in very niche side characters who haven't been in the show since their very minor volume three appearances who got only a few lines each if any lines at all.

In my opinion, Velvet, Sun, and Neptune are the only ones out of the group we should be seeing past a brief cameo appearance, and Neptune and Velvet should both only get minor roles. Sun's the one who was just as much if not more of a main character than Nora from season two to season five, he's the one who should still be treated as significant to Blake, he's the one born and raised in Vacuo but would have reason to trust Team RWBY JNOR right away and could therefore have an easy narrative role. That's not to say that I'd hate it if Neptune and Velvet got storylines, because I do like them and if they were done well, that'd make me happy. But trying to look at what the show needs, I already feel like they need to quickly scramble to eliminate some of their bloated cast, and giving a spotlight to minor side characters - even if they're more featured like Velvet or Neptune - feels like a step in the wrong direction.

[davidmann95]

holy fuck, four part grant morrison superman/authority mini (bonus points for DILF grey temples superman in the modern day), launching into a tom taylor jon title, pkj action comics, and tom king supergirl? i dunno' about you but this is the most excited i've been about the superman line in ages

Anonymous said: Hilarious that Taylor is finally writing Superman just as you’ve started to fall out of love with him. Also holy shit Morrison writing Superman IN-CONTINUITY AGAIN FUCK YES and he’s using Ultra-Humanite! I always thought it odd that his Golden Age inspired New 52 run left out Superman’s first supervillain. And oh man did you see that variant for Action in July? DC acknowledging Morrison’s t-shirt and jeans Superman again!

adudewholikescomicsandotherstuff said: So Tom Taylor on Superman?

Anonymous said: Taylor writing Jonathan Kent??? No main Superman title???

Anonymous said: Fuck it if ai’m Morrison and I’m writing an in-continuity Superbook I’d fold as much of my Action run back into canon as I could. If Jurgens got to, they do.

cheerfullynihilistic said: So, Jon's promotion is happening bizarrely soon (or bizarrely late, depending on how you want to look at it) after the soft-reboot. Thoughts on the Superman family titles in July?

Anonymous said: What's your take on today's newly announced BOLD NEW DIRECTION for the Superman line?

apocryphist said: so, how about that Jon Kent news that's trending on Twitter?

Anonymous said: With the new Tom Taylor Son of Superman announcement, I have to say that I'm really suprised that DC is really sticking to the new and interesting directions with Future State and the Superman characters. You think they would have backpedaled, especially with the reactions to the Bendis run. What do you think is the reason that DC's finally doing interesting things with Superman now ?

After years of “so they’re gonna make Jon Superman, right?” it comes at last...via Taylor, right after he's delivered his first couple books to really disappoint me. Still, between his enthusiasm, the presence and fanbase he brings with him, and that the pressure on him to give it his all here is surely entirely different from any project he’s taken before, he might just be the guy to put over Jon in the cape as a long-term prospect in a way some preferred choices of mine wouldn’t have been. A Fraction for instance would have done more to blow me away, but in doing a single brilliant run there might have been more of an impetus in the aftermath to go “well, we saw the idea done well, that’s nice, now back to normal”, while it solidly purring along for a good long time with continuous support might do more as a running start to actually put fandom and ultimately higher-ups behind the idea of this as a desirable semi-permanent state of affairs that could lead to way more good stuff later. Put another way, Morrison Batman got us two years of Dick in the cowl, while Ron Marz gave Kyle Rayner a decade of uncontested stature as Green Lantern. Time will tell, but I think Taylor’s often been at his best when writing Superman - the earnestness and awe tends to short-circuit some of his worst instincts, as opposed to how Nightwing is feeding them - so I don’t really doubt this’ll be fun. I enjoy Timms too, and that cover (which thankfully is apparently not necessarily an accurate representation of the page/price ratio) rules. Kinda odd though neither Taylor (nor Morrison for the below) had any quotes to go with these announcements.

As for the other books (other than Supergirl, which doesn’t really have anything to announce):

Good lord that Tedesco Action Comics variant, make a grown man wanna cry. T-shirt Superman getting some proper love! More importantly, glad to see Lois on the main cover and in the solicit apparently ready to throw down with some Warworlders; I got an ask I was going to get around to before today changed the landscape asking about my thoughts on her absence in PKJ’s run. I was going to say that given his space-focused focus that didn’t bother me too much - yes, Ignition would have solved that problem, but you can’t blame someone for not having a game-changing brainstorm and convincing DC to go through with it as the status quo - especially with her playing a big role in Checkmate starting in June, and that I was more put off that the Tales of Metropolis backup specifically intended to spotlight everybody who wouldn’t fit on the cosmic side wasn’t doing anything with her. But now it seems after his initial arc she’s coming into the fold properly, so happy about that.

And hilariously buried in the announcement because it was already leaked so I guess they figured there was no point hyping it up any harder than everybody already had, Morrison’s presumably no-I’m-serious-this-time-you-guys final DC book. Aside from what I had to say when this first leaked, my main two thoughts are:

* Four issues rather than two oversized ones, huh? I said at the time this was avoiding Superman Beyond-style segmentation; ah well. Wonder whether Janin’s doing 30 pages per issue or if there are backups, and if so what those will be (please god, PLEASE, let Morrison finally do the Superman Squad story they once talked about here so I can finally rest in peace). And given this being a little more spaced out, along with notes that elements from this will play into Son of Kal-El as well as Action, I suspect/hope we might end up seeing some of Morrison writing Jon as Superman in here after all.

* This seems...shockingly minor? Not only is it apparently not in the future the way I’d assumed (even if I think the themes I envisioned for it will still largely be the case), but rather than a relatively standalone epic that PKJ’s Action would then draw from it’s instead this that’s explicitly a spinoff of that. Even given Morrison might conceivably want to take a backseat to the new guard, it’s shocking DC would go with it; the only particularly Morrison-y aspect in the description is that, as their final DC project, this is pitting Superman against his first villain in Ultra-Humanite (notably a baldie genius who ended up supplanted, wink-wink nudge-nudge).

Between these, the aforementioned Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Superman: Red and Blue, Superman ‘78, Batman/Superman, Justice League, Justice League: Last Ride, RWBY/Justice League, and the newly announced as I write this Justice League Infinity, that’s a damn stacked lineup for everybody with the S, quantitatively and creatively (Superboy being relegated to Suicide Squad notwithstanding) - you can even throw Project Patron on top if you’re feeling greedy. As for why this push is suddenly happening as the last anon asked, I think it’s entirely a matter of the new ownership: it’s easy to picture a fresh suit sitting down with DC’s upper brass and shitting a diamond-hard brick on the spot when told that there was a time not that long ago where their #2 property was being regularly outsold by this guy. Mass-media moves may be expensive and risky (and even his prospects there have clearly changed), but they can throw a couple bucks at their print division to keep churning stuff out in bulk until something sticks to reboot the franchise around in a decade.

[kob131]

Geez, this person really went all out with this BS rant against the show/staff. www(.)reddit( lcom/r/RWBY/comments/kiqatg/why_rwby_will_always_be_an_okay_show/

... You know I have been trying to step away from directly addressing RWBY bullshit. But...fuck it here.

If you ever talked to me about how I felt about RWBY, I would say that RWBY pre-Volume 8 has been a touchy subject for me. I felt very validated by two videos, "Why RWBY is Disappointing" and "The White Fang Problem".

Yes yes, and people with parental issues feel validated by their abusive spouse. That means nothing, especially given that one of those videos you mentioned is riddled with bullshit.

"Why RWBY is Disappointing" validated my criticism of RWBYs writing. The fact that Miles and Kerry can't and refuse to take any kind of criticism that doesn't hurt their feelings is complete [insert bad word here]. All criticism is going to hurt your feelings. Yes, you should probably ignore the long winded rants that make themselves out to be self important- why is there a mirror here? But there is truth to all criticism.

And there’s a kernel of truth in the best lies- they’re still LIES.

Not to mention the video you mentioned here (which I am assuming is Hbomberguy’s) pulls the SAME SHIT it calls out. Like say...decrying critics pesonally attacking the writers...while proclaiming Jaune and Neptune as self inserts even though Miles AND Kerry is on the record saying that at least Jaune isn’t written by his voice actor.

I'm currently learning about Branding and how important it is to know your audience. Take self.care breaks, talk with someone you trust. Someone who isn't Miles or Kerry! If your reading this. An outside perspective can help. The reason I say that is because if you two constantly talk to each other you're going to end up in an echo chamber. TALK TO FIONA! She's literally your target audience!

Because hey, a man who contradicts himself numerous times and made personal attacks on the creators that only the most malicious and self righteous do is SOOOO trustworthy right? 

Remember that tweet Hbomb brought up in his video as an example of criticism the creators should listen to? The one that demanded Miles get back to work and tried to use the catchphrase of his dead friend to manipulate him?

What a fucking target audience.

I know they mentioned ‘Fiona’ (likely the character’s voice actress) but there’s a supposed fan, one that pretty much sums up the critics, and a perfect example why it gets tossed out.

Moving on, the other video validated something I wish it didn't. "The White Fang Problem" brought to light something I knew was there but either ignored or I wasn't thinking. The White Fang has always made me a little uncomfortable. As a minority, it didn't translate well in my head. The minority are the bad guys. The Civil rights group were the bad guys. I brushed it off for a long time but after that video I couldn't.

Ah huh. So uh, the existence of Blake, Ghira, Kali, Sun, Illa, Velvet, Neon ect. is just incovienable to you huh? And don’t give me that ‘But civil rights group!’- The first episode had them break up a peaceful protest and it’s repeatedly hammered home that the current White Fang doesn’t give a SHIT about equal rights. And no, that concept is not racist- Judging from a story I read, that happened to the New Black Panthers in REAL LIFE.

It became a moral issue. Watching RWBY became a moral issue. RWBY is still pushing right wing talking points.-

Being right of you is not right wing, Especially given how you just acted.

I dont believe Miles and Kerry are racist. I do believe that Miles and Kerry both hold skewed beliefs in what right and wrong is.

Projection.

The way Miles and Kerry treat self defense and protest shows that they know nothing about being Black. They didn't do their research. They didn't talk to minorities about how they were being portrayed. They simply believed that they were right and we were wrong.

Ah huh, ah huh, ah huh-

Monty wrote the White Fang this way. You know, the ASIAN man of FOUR NATIONALITIES. So uh, congrats on saying at the absolute most- Nothing.

Now these two videos are old news. They've been posted on this very same subreddit. But you can't go around and say how much of a progressive and open minded individual you are when the fact that RWBY is a racist show and treats minorities very badly. So no one talks about them.

Or that, as I showed: these videos are bullshit.

Also its kinda homophobic too, not because of Bumblby but because despite Tera and Saphorn being a happy married couple they never kiss on screen. Have you seen happy married couples? Have you seen gay happy married couples? They literally do nothing but kiss. Its cute and adorable and deserves to be spread as far and wide. Despite the show having two straight couple kisses, granted one was in Volume but still, they couldn't get the married couple to kiss? Just saying.

... And not all gay couples are the same, even if I’m sure you’re thinking of TEENAGERS.

You know, judging people based on a preconcieved notion (AKA stereotyping) is pretty fucking bigoted itself...

Watch people be in the comments typing away that this isn't a romance show and how I shouldn't expect romance in an action adventure show despite the long list of evidence to the contrary.

Ah yes, that long list of ONE kiss by a TORPEDOED SHIP.

Such convincing rhetoric.

So you can see I was not coming into Volume 8 with my rose colored glasses. I'm sure many of you hate me because of all my comments, but I don't care. I was ready to leave RWBY. I didn't care. RWBY had taken up so much of my life but I don't care. I was not going to support a show that didn't improve.

Ah huh-

You just came in with jade-colored glass and accepted anything that validated you instead of questioning yourself. You talk about branding but that’s ALL you’ve branded yourself as.

So I watched. And something happened. Something strange. RWBY was moving in a direction I didn't expect it to. Oscar got what he deserved. The Heros were oblivious to the danger that is Salem. Things were headed in the direction that would change the characters forever. It'll be just like Beacon but better. And then they had to ruin it.

Oh we are about to get some real bullshit.

Oscar somehow convinces Hazel to betray Salem. What could have been an avenue to a multi season story arc for Oscar that included the stories villains became a shitty uninspired redemption arc. Kill me.

No he didn’t and this has been something hinted at since Volume 4.

There's still hope for the season but at this point I lost all hope. 

This is the scene that killed Volume 8 for me. Oscar should not be the one who defeats Salem. In fact he should be an avenue to learn more about the villains. He served his purpose with the heroes, now he has a new arc with the villains. Oscar doesn't turn evil, but he's like a conscious. Salem doesn't want to kill him because he can be useful in finding the last remaining relics and maidens.

Assumptions.

Oscar has a heart to heart with all the villains including Salem. Oscar learns to be his own man and accepts he's now one with Ozma but he doesn't have to be another Ozma. He doesn't have to make the same decisions.

Its a great Arc for Oscar. It also makes sense for his character. Ozma feels Salem is pure evil but Oscar can learn for himself.

Headcanon.

But they won't do that. Instead they're going to take the easy way out. Like always.

Bias getting in the way.

Miles and Kerry love wrapping up each season in a little bow. This is why RWBY is so okay.

They say as every RWBY Volumes ends in a cliffhanger.

This is Beacon but if Miles and Kerry thought that RWBY should still be in Beacon. This is Beacon but without major character death. This is Beacon but the main villain loses because the heroes can't lose. Cinder isn't threatening. None of the villains are. Salem is in a Grimm! She should know everything! Why is there no creativity? Why is she not an over powered mess in A GRIMM!? Her own domain?! Why are the writers writing her not as a powerful goddess reaffirming her as a threat but as a human being. Yes I know what that sounds like but hear me out.

‘None of the villains are threatening!’

‘WHY IS THE MAIN VILLAIN NOT BEING TREATED AS THREATENING LIKE I THINK SHE IS!’

‘Why is there no creativity?’

‘DO THE MOST UNCREATIVE THING POSSIBLE!’

How about I keep mocking you?

If Salem can be out smarted by a 10 year old boy, why did it take Ozma so long to defeat her? Oscar should fail. RWBY should fail. They should go through character arcs that help them better understand Salem. Because that's how you defeat Salem.

Pushing your own thoughts onto the show. Also assumptions AGAIN.

I always believed that Ozma and Salem are very similar to Ruby and Weiss. Yes I know how it sounds but it makes sense.-

Too bad your AU fanfic doesn’t matter.

But they won't. Miles and Kerry will use Oscar to defeat Salem. Why? Who knows at this point. I dont know why Miles and Kerry keep pushing Oscar into the spotlight. Its exactly how they treated Jaune Pre-Volume 7. Jaune had to be the focus so often we hated him. And they're doing it again with Oscar

Ah huh. You know, the whole NOTHING Jaune did in Volume 6 was SOOO spotlight stealing, along with his REMOVAL FROM THE CAST FOR SEVERAL EPISODES.

Wanna bet this is another case of ‘penis on screen, me hate’?

They refuse learn and they refuse to improve. If Volume 8 doesn't improve im leaving RWBY. It doesn't matter to any of you. I'm saying it more for myself. So I don't continue with a show that constantly disappoints me. But more so, I don't support a show that views people like me as lesser. If the writing improves it proves that they can grow and get better but if it doesn't it means they will continue to treat Faunus as misguided and horrible characters. And I refuse to support a show that uses my likeness to get brownie points from people who are unaffected by such messages.

A. No, that’s who refused to do self reflection and improve.

B. Should have done that in the first place.

C. No, once again- You blind yourself from the shit that disproves you.

D. You heard him- Treat the Fanaus like shit and make the humans in the right. You know, the opposite what the show is doing now since it’s SOOO horrible.

E. You are not the center of the universe.

[talktalktalk]

Penny Polendina: Robot Rep

Robots as representation has seen a lot of use throughout media, to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it is fairly explicit in the narrative, others it is more subtle. Often it is borderline impossible to determine whether intentional or not, such is the popularity of this trope. 

RWBY has made attempts at representing marginalized groups over its run, similarly to varying degrees of success. One character, the focus of this post, is Penny Polendina, a robot girl who, while not explicitly confirmed by the writers of the show, is seen by some fandom members as a source of representation, most commonly as neurodivergent or transgender (usually nonbinary), but also as aro-spec or a-spec. 

This post will be a collection of my thoughts, as a member of multiple of the above mentioned demographics, against Penny as a source of representation, as well as a few reasons behind these thoughts. 

Contents

Who is Penny Polendina? (a summary of her story from Volumes 1-7)

Robots as Representation (in general)

Case-specific Additions (for Penny in particular)

Closing Thoughts

Who is Penny Polendina?

Penny is introduced fairly late in Volume 1 when Team RWBY quite literally runs into her. The group exchange greetings and names, though not before Yang asks her if she’s “sure she didn’t hit her head.” As they leave, Ruby offhandedly calls her “friend,” leading Penny to ask her curiously if she truly is a friend. Ruby agrees (to her teammates’ dismay) and Penny grows very excited at the confirmation.

Subsequent meetings with Penny, many of them by pure coincidence, reveal more about her character. She states that she doesn’t have a lot of friends, that she has never been to another kingdom before, and that her father, worried for her safety, did not want her to venture out too much during her time in Vale. Perhaps most notably, she tells Ruby in confidence that she is “not a real girl,” but rather a synthetic person built by her father (later revealed to be named Pietro Polendina). Ruby insists that she has both a heart and a soul, to which Penny becomes overjoyed and hugs her tightly.

In Volume 3, Penny is competing against Pyrrha in the Vytal Tournament when tragedy strikes. Emerald uses her semblance to trick Pyrrha into destroying Penny, slicing her into pieces with her own weapon, killing her and revealing her secret to the whole world. The villains use Penny’s death to incite panic and fear, and the Fall of Beacon ensues.

Penny is not seen for a long time following her death, but in Volume 7 she has been brought back, her robotic core recovered and a new body built. Her chassis and weapons are upgraded, and, remarkably, she shows little initial change in personality from her brutal death in Amity Arena. Penny remains largely the same earnest, slightly-naive girl who she was before the events of the Fall, still just as curious and excitable as ever.

Penny continues to play a part of multiple major events in Volume 7, namely the Council Election and Winter Maiden plotlines. 

The former sees her framed for murder by Tyrian and Watts, and subsequent scenes reveal new things about the nature of her construction. When Ruby asks why Pietro is concerned for Penny’s safety, stating that “[e]ven if the worst does happen, [he] can always reactivate her,” Pietro reveals that her aura is actually given from his own reserves, and as such, with every reconstruction she grows more difficult to rebuild. 

The latter plotline features her in relation to Winter, who is slated to take on the Maiden powers after the current holder, Fria. Winter states in previous scenes that she dislikes how she allows her emotions to get the better of her, at first stating that Penny wouldn’t understand but then attempting to apologize and clarify her poor wording. Later, during a battle with Cinder, the Winter Maiden surrounds herself in a whirlwind of freezing air, fast enough to rip Winter’s gloves from her hands and cold enough to leave ice burns on her fingers. Penny, seeing this, decides to dive in, relying on her leg-mounted rockets and synthetic skin to soldier through the dangerous conditions. This, combined with Winter’s efforts to hold back Cinder, allow Penny to secure the Maiden powers, taking them up herself.

Robots as Representation

Robots are a powerful tool for tropes because they are in most cases created as imitations of life, most commonly humanity. Combined with sentience or even simply heightened degrees of knowledge/adaptability compared to real world robots, this allows for many philosophical questions to build off for subplots (what is a person, what is emotion, etc.) However, the same factor that makes a robot such a good exploration into what defines humanity simultaneously makes them such a poor allegory for marginalized groups. 

Real world bigotry is between humans, from one group of humans to another based on superficial differences. All parties involved are the same species with the same key makeup. Bigots often insist that groups are different in some fundamental way that makes them the enemy or the outsider, a strategy to rationalize their bigotry when in reality, no such fundamental differences exist. All people are all human, all people deserve the respect and dignity of a human being.

With a robot, however, the definition of “human” can get blurry. Robots are, at their core, imitations. Depending on the media, this could mean, for instance, operating on different logical principles, or that possessing physical traits, internal or external, that mark them as definedly not human. This blurring of the lines is good thing for “what is humanity” plotline, but an incredibly bad one for representation. This is in especially poor taste when the groups that said robot is often supposed to be representing (a-spec, aro-spec, neurodivergent, and/or nonbinary) are frequently referred to as “robotic” as an insult. It is used to dehumanize us, to insinuate we are lacking in something that would otherwise make us more. 

There is also the issue of context. This trope being as widespread as it is, some traits in a robot are markedly “human” while others are markedly not. Generally, these traits include the ability to articulate emotion, the ability to take things figuratively, feelings of attraction (platonic, romantic, sexual), and others. These, coincidentally, all line up with the very same groups robots are most often coded to represent. Some neurodivergent people have difficulty articulating their emotions or understanding subtext. Some aro-spec or a-spec people do not feel romantic or sexual attraction, respectively. Robots like the Terminator, who shows little emotion and frequently takes things too literally, are generally seen as less “human” than a robot who clearly articulates their emotion (i.e. Transformers, the Iron Giant, Wall-E, etc.)

Allegories, for all their versatility, always go both ways. Comparing a real-world minority to a definedly inhuman character may grant said group some much-needed spotlight in media, but it can just as easily lead to the audience drawing conclusions that said minority can be likened to robots, or at the very least that the author/showrunners believe said minority can be likened to robots.

Case-Specific Additions

Penny Polendina’s plotlines lend themselves to some specific facets of the allegory for marginalized groups. Firstly, her arc is primarily about what makes a “real girl.” This is a point in her direction, as it puts the idea that she is a person front and center. 

Unfortunately, this is likely the only point in her favor. Starting from her very first outing, Yang refers to her as “weird,” Weiss voices skepticism about her ability, and Ruby is urged by all of her teammates to deny that Penny is a friend. The issue here is, first and foremost, that none of these reactions are framed as bad by the story. If anything, they are barely acknowledged at all. This lends itself to the notion that it is okay to treat people who are different than you in such a way, which is not a good message for representation.

In Volume 3, perhaps the most egregious instance, she is quite literally ripped apart on live television, her secret revealed to the world against her will. This not only results in her death, but in the deaths of many others due to the Fall of Beacon. Beyond the brutality of this scene and the message it sends through the lens of representation (being unwillingly “outed,” violently murdered, and used as a tool for further violence and death), it also created the Volume 7 conundrum of her being brought back to life.

Morbid as it sounds, mortality is one of the things that ties all humans together. Death is permanent and tragic, but one could argue it is integral to the human experience. Penny, however, defies this with her resurrection, not by magic nor miracle, but by virtue of her robotic core being retrieved and a body being rebuilt around it. The story tries to rectify this by saying that Pietro can’t restore her forever, but this does not actually put a hard limit on the number of times she can be brought back. It simply puts a limit on the number of times Pietro alone can bring her back; anyone with a reserve could theoretically donate the needed aura to rebuild Penny should she be destroyed again (provided her core is retrievable).

Finally, the end of Volume 7 sees her claim the Maiden powers. While it seems the narrative attempts to frame this as a confirmation that she is a real girl, the context surrounding that same scene shows otherwise. The howling vortex of freezing wind was shown to be too strong and too dangerous for a flesh-and-blood human to reach through, tearing apart Winter’s gloves and freezer-burning her fingers when she attempted. Penny’s ability to penetrate this whirlwind was not thanks to her supposed humanity, but thanks to the upgrades to her chassis that included both strengthened synthetic skin and rocket boosters on her legs. Both were only added during her reconstruction, which was only possible due to her robotic nature. Penny’s storyline in Volume 7 renders the foundations of her humanity-based plotline shaky at best, contradictory at worst. Unfortunately, this leaves her with more negatives than positives.

Closing Thoughts

In summary, robotic characters are generally a good way to explore what it means to be a person, but due to the dual-edged nature of allegory, they often make poor allegories for marginalized groups. Ways to rectify this would be making an explicitly human character also a member of the demographic(s) the robotic character is a part of, though that requires at the very least some form of confirmation from the writers, which as of now, has not been given.

Of course, these are just my opinions on the matter, but if you have not scrolled past or clicked away already I hope that you take my points into consideration when making your own opinions and/or headcanons. Please also note that my thoughts on Penny as poor representation do not reflect my thoughts on her as a character, nor are they intended as an attack on those who like her. Finally, please remember that Penny is not (as of yet) canonically confirmed to be a member of any of these groups.

As much as I would like to see myself and my demographics represented in the show, I simply believe that Penny Polendina is not the best way to go about it. 

[kikimora-apologist]

Ben 10 vs Green Lantern Death Battle

Now that it’s finally here, I want to get my thoughts out about this. Unfortunately, not many of them are good.

Positives:

Just having Ben in Death Battle at all is great. Samurai Jack, Goliath and the Ponies are the only other characters from Western Animation (Transformers originated in Japan, I think) to appear on the show, so it’s nice that they’re getting as much spotlight as other mediums.

The sprite animation was excellent. It was very fluid and there was even hand-drawn at times. They even created an entirely new sprite for Grey Matter, and the up-close shots were great.

The battle itself was action-packed and really fun to watch. Bits of humour were put into it too, like Hal using a Lantern fire hydrant to fight Heatblast. And as per usual, the episode itself had provided laughs courtesy of Wiz and Boomstick.

@twilightvolt Your brother did a great job! The voice acting for Ben was excellent, especially with the aliens. Way Big in particular sounded very much like he did in the show. However, the voice would fit a lot better for Teenage Ben than Kid Ben. I understand that they probably chose that version because it be easier to recognise, but the voices just don’t fit. Doesn’t make his voice work any less good though.

A kind of separate tangent, but it’s nice that RWBY is getting another fight with Weiss as a combatant. I’m not a fan of RWBY, but it’s nice to see another representative other than the main character Yang.

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE EPISODE YET.

Negatives:

Ben lost the fight. This isn’t the problem by itself for me. Characters I prefer have lost their respective Death Battles before such as the Power Rangers, Classic Megaman, and Twilight Sparkle. The problem was the fact that he shouldn’t have lost in the first place, they didn’t research Ben fully, and that the reasons they did have for him losing were flawed. I’ll explain it in my other points, but it’s essentially a repeat of Bowser vs Ganon (Which Bowser wrongfully lost for reasons just as stupid as the ones here).

They had some major errors in the recap. They used a clip of Way Big fighting Malware when talking about him fighting Diagon (Which are two completely different characters. It’s like if Darkseid was called Doomsday or Freiza being called Cell), and said that “Overuse of the Omnitrix can horribly disfigure a users DNA” (This has never been stated before, not even as a joke or a rumour). They also credited Derrick J Wyatt as one of the shows creators, despite him just being an art director for Omniverse.

Not enough aliens were used. They stuck to aliens from the original series, with Alien X being the only exception. Some of them could have been used really effectively, like using Feedback and Chromastone to directly interact with the Lantern constructs, Nanomech being much more effective at hiding than Greymatter, having Toepick (a yellow alien who’s main power is creating intense fear), and just having Rath or Atomix being there at all.

They went against points and facts they had stated prior. They said that the Omnitrix could react to the speed of the Big Bang, yet Hal has no problem outspeeding its transformation time. They said that Alien X had no counter to time manipulation, despite the fact he could do it himself and even did so in the battle. The biggest one was them directly ignoring the failsafes of the Omnitrix. Even though they said that the Omnitrix will turn Ben into whatever alien he needs to survive, they have Ben defeated by Lantern scissors, which many of Bens aliens could have survived easily.

Hal won the fight by travelling back in time and attacking Ben before the fight started. Not only would this not work anyway for reasons I’ve already said, Ben would be aware of this due to the Sotobro Effect. This is “a ripple created in the timestream, that can be detectable by those whose abilities are powerful enough to perceive changes in the timestream”. As soon as Hal travelled back in time, Alien X would be able to sense it and stop him.

Alien X was extremely nerfed. A reality warper, with control over time and space, spends the majority of his appearance punching and kicking. They got his cloning abilities correct, but ignored the fact that a group of Celestialsapiens can make themselves strong enough to survive Multiversal and Omniversal level attacks. They have him almost kill Hal by slowly causing him to disintegrate, despite the fact that he can cause people to cease to exist in the time it takes to blink. They said that the only reason Alien X recreated the Universe was because he couldn’t stop it from being destroyed in the first place, but this is false, Ben was just unaware of what was happening. They also state that Alien X has no defence against mind control (He has three separate minds that act separately from one another), transmutation (He can already transform by himself, like that time he turned into a black hole) and time manipulation (which he can also do himself).

They ignored Hal’s biggest weakness, that he needs to recharge his Ring while Ben with Master Control does not. Alien X could have just trapped him in an infinite loop of time reversal until his power ran out. From what I’ve seen, Hal’s Ring can also be taken off his body relatively easily. Batman, essentially a regular human, can take it off. The Omnitrix has only been taken off by technological geniuses with prior knowledge of the device.

Final Opinion:

While I greatly disagree with the results of the fight itself, it was enjoyable overall. It was nice to see Ben in the spotlight and I hope it allows more Western Animated characters to join. And despite the outcome, people shouldn’t bully the creators of Death Battle about it. Yeah, they messed up, but they’re still people. It’s not the only time this has happened and while it does suck whenever it does, episodes like this are a minority. The majority of the Battles are better, and aren’t cancelled out by the bad ones. I hope that, like Batman Deadpool and Captain Marvel, Ben gets brought back against a new opponent with revised research. While Beast Boy is too outclassed, Blue Beetle would fit much better as he is evenly matched with most of Bens aliens.

[nerdsideofthemedia]

Faunus and the White Fang: The Portrayal of Racism

RWBY has been adored by the progressive community due to the portrayal of 4 strong young women, at least 2 of whom are LGBTQ+. Not to mention the inclusion of other LGBTQ+ minor characters.

Despite this, the show is far from flawless, and it’s time to address what is probably its biggest problem: the portrayal of racism. I suspect this may end up being my most controversial post yet, but, like someone said, “It’s both possible, and even necessary, to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects”.

Before I start I think it’s important to clarify that unlike in conversations about being a woman and LGBTQ+, in this one, I come from a place of no experience, since I am a white European. I do not intend to speak over POC, nor do I claim that my knowledge on the subject is flawless (far from it). Hopefully, this is only the start of a conversation and not the entirety of it.

To be clear: I am not a part of RWBY hatedom. While it’s flawed, I like it, I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t. I am criticizing this aspect because racism exists in real life, so how the subject is handled is important and I don’t want the edgelords controlling this entire conversation because their stance on racism in real life is: it doesn’t exist.

Lazy worldbuilding

Like Bright and Crash, RWBY, for the most part, frames individuals as the main culprits of racism instead of the systems which favor certain groups over others. We see this with Cardin, Cordovin, V1 Weiss, Roman and the village people (in the Adam short). Yes, those racist individuals exist, sometimes like caricatures however, they are far from being the only or even the most relevant type of prejudice.

By putting the blame on very specific characters, racism is presented as something easily identifiable and fixable when it’s neither of those things for a significant portion of the population. People often ignore that though laws have changed, biases didn’t magically disappear, segregated neighborhoods didn’t desegregate themselves and the wealth accumulated before wasn’t redistributed. The racist policies of the past created the now and will affect the future unless we try to fix the system.

Keep in mind that the Faunus Rights Revolution happened after the Great War, so… less than 80 years ago. Considering this timeline, it’s just unlikely the Faunus would be equal anywhere, let alone in 2 kingdoms (Vacuo and Vale) and the only thing we see in Mistral is the possibility of discriminating with the ramen shop owner.

The mere fact this sign exists shows discrimination is possible but that shouldn’t be the only thing shown.

Atlas is the exception. In “Tipping Point”, we can hear a conversation about the Faunus, which mentions economic disparity and lack of opportunity, but it quickly fades into the background.

In terms of race issues, Remnant is wildly unexplored, even the renowned for its racism, Mistral. Maybe the writers just thought digging into politic could make for a boring story or maybe they didn’t want to risk alienating the portion of the audience that listens to edgelords. In either case, it makes no sense to have racism as a major theme.

Justifying racism

“Early men were scared to death of the Faunus, and honestly, it’s not too hard to sympathize with that. Seeing something that looks like you and acts like you walk out of the forest and reveal a pair of fangs, can be a little… upsetting.”

Qrow, World of Remnant about Faunus

This does sound a bit like justifying racism and trying to present as understandable. This is an idea that I see a lot. In a review of a book that had a new species and racism as a theme, one of the complaints was that there was no justification given for the treatment like welfare and gangs. Those aren’t causes of racism – they’re just excuses.  If anything, they have a lot more to do with stereotypes and wealth disparity caused by racism.  

RWBY does make this mistake with Blake’s speech in True Colors, which is reminiscent of when people hold all Muslims accountable for an attack done by one, judging them all for that person’s actions, even though we’d never do that for our own race.

“We’re just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don’t think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us? By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we’re not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.”

Ghira does the same in the Adam character short, claiming Adam’s violence is the reason why people attack them. If you judge an entire race based on the actions of a few – that’s on you.

Um, actually Antifa is the problem

While the White Fang is not the only group of people fighting for Faunus rights (in the first episode, we learn they interrupted a peaceful protest), they are definitely the ones who are given the spotlight and it’s very unfortunate how they’re portrayed. With the exception of Ilia (and arguably Sienna), they are shown to be so radical that they are not only OK with destroying cities, but also mass murder. They are terrorists and don’t even deserve a face.

In contrast, the racists both deal with their shortcomings fast (Weiss and Cordovin), they all are worthy of sympathy and redemption (even Cardin and the ramen shop owner). I think the writers were going for “racists are people too”, which is a troublesome stance to take when you frame the ones fighting racism as flat out evil.

I imagine that Atlas is going to be shown to be more unforgivably racist and the Faunus will be more sympathetic, but… even so, it kind of feels like trying to make a case for “both sides”. Yikes!

Menagerie

I’m not entirely sure Menagerie was meant to be a paradise. It looks like it, Sun expresses loving it, but Blake quickly claims it’s overcrowded. I’ll give it that it seems a lot less developed than the other kingdoms judging by its constructions, but that’s about it. I think that if they were not going for a positive perspective on it, we should have been made more aware of Menagerie’s drawbacks.

To be clear, it’s wrong to force someone to live somewhere they don’t want to live, but I think it’s a bit problematic to present it as a paradise when in the real world, white supremacists are increasing and their way of speaking is by defending a white ethnostate, claiming homogenized societies are better.

Due to the lack of good characterization of the rest of Remnant, it makes it harder to believe Faunus really went to Menagerie due to being too jaded to be somewhere else because of racism.

Adam’s scar

I have written about Adam before and just so we’re clear, I stand by my post – I’m OK with him being there to be Blake’s cruel obsessive ex-boyfriend who wants to harm her and that he basically represents the last obstacle to close Blake and Yang’s arcs of running away and facing abandonment issues, respectively.

This been said, considering the story, the scar was a huge mistake and I have no idea why someone thought it was a good idea. We’re not supposed to feel sorry for him, it doesn’t make us empathize with him – he’s clearly beyond redemption when it’s revealed and it doesn’t tie to his main motivation, his obsession for Blake, which is the cause of him being in the story. The scar would only make sense if he was an anti-villain, someone with a good cause, but evil methods (Black Panther’s Killmonger). That has never been his story though. He’s always put Blake above his cause and ultimately, he meets his end because of his obsession with her, not because she decides to confront him about his methods. Not to mention that if the scar was tied to his motivation, we should have seen it a lot earlier, not 2 minutes before he died.

Giving him a scar that reveals a cruel treatment of Faunus by humans for no other reason than to show racism is going to have a spotlight in the next volume is incredibly cheap and an awful idea, especially when it basically means nothing for Adam himself and doesn’t humanize him at all – he’s literally trying to kill 2 main characters at that point.

“Remnant can’t be racist, because…”

I also want to counter a few bad arguments against the idea there can’t be any systemic racism in Remnant. The examples usually given are Leo being the headmaster of Haven Academy and Neon representing Atlas in the Vytal Festival.

Leo

Thanks to Raven, we learned Ozpin chose the headmasters in other academies, therefore it’s possible to infer Leo was Ozpin’s attempt at fixing Mistral’s racism.

Neon

Yes, she studies in Atlas, but the headmaster is Ironwood, chosen by Ozpin and probably is also fighting against racism as far as the academy goes.

“They wouldn’t allow a Faunus to represent their kingdom”.

The equivalent of “I can’t be racist, I have a black friend”. Allowing a Faunus to go helps with the “we’re not racists, we even have a Faunus representing us”.

Other than Ironwood, I see no one else who could even have a say in that decision.

“She wouldn’t accept to represent a racist kingdom”

This either reveals an incredibly dishonest take or an almost child-like naivety. I am sorry to burst your bubble, but often people do go against their own interests provided the salesmen know how to sell it (there are Muslims who voted for Trump, women who fought against women’s voting rights, etc.). We can have prejudices against groups we’re part of.

Many will gladly go against their groups’ interests, provided they have something to gain (more than a few people spring to mind).

In this case, her decision doesn’t even hurt Faunus as far as we know – it just advances her fame.

“The townspeople weren’t racist since they were wearing masks and had weapons and we never see what’s inside of the truck”

I cannot believe I have to dignify this with a response… First, the inside of the truck is irrelevant. We had no reason to believe it was anything bad and one certainly can’t start shooting someone else just because they find them “suspicious”. Murders have happened because of racist jackasses who wanted to play hero by attacking a black “suspicious” person. Second, it’s Remnant, a place so full of monsters, teenagers are allowed to have weapons. They are clearly needed to go from one town to another. Sure, they could have dropped their weapons, but that still doesn’t change they weren’t attacking, not even in self-defense. Third, Ghira was still in charge of the White Fang and we know that during this time, the methods of the group were mostly peaceful, even if they were already wearing masks.

“They allowed an army of Faunus to go to Mistral”

OK, this is by far the most difficult one to justify, but not because of race – it’s just the authorities should have handled it all by themselves and I highly doubt they would allow civilians to fight against a terrorist attack. As for the racism point, the Faunus clearly warned the authorities, so I think it’s very unlikely they were bad guys and their weapons were awfully rudimentary. It’s not a great explanation, but I don’t think it’s more of a hit on verisimilitude than letting civilians fight.

Conclusion

I think the problems in the portrayal of race is due to a lack of understanding of racism, insufficient worldbuilding which should have been done before beginning to write RWBY and, probably, trying to avoid alienating any groups in the audience, which is not likely when the subject is racism and should not be the goal. This resulted in a mess where it feels like there is a need to frame racism as wrong, yet understandable (WoR), easy to fix, and too worried about holding the audience to task, hence sticking to cartoonish racism. While all of that is already pretty bad, it’s impossible to deny that it isn’t made worse by the rise of white supremacist groups.

I wish the writers will be more careful during the Atlas arc, but I fear we might be entering a white savior’s narrative as Weiss will probably be the focus of it. I tend to give credit to RWBY for putting the minority character at the center of their struggle, but ultimately Blake was there to fight her own and I suspect they will do the same with Weiss – she will fight her father for the rights of the Faunus (at least partially) and she will be the one who ultimately fixes racism…yeah, we might be heading to a white savior narrative.

I am hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. Still, no matter how well the next arc is handled, it cannot fix the past volumes retroactively.

One last note, I think the election of Trump should be more than enough to reveal that racism is alive and well, but if you want to understand systemic racism and the portrayal of racism in media, here are a few links:

7 Ways We Know Systemic Racism Is Real;

Adam Ruins Everything (it’s a video);

NCSC Implicit Bias;

ContraPoints – America: Still Racist (also a video);

Bright: the Apotheosis of Lazy Worldbuilding (video);

Renegade Cut - Green Book - A Symphony of Lies (video).

More RWBY posts:

Filmmaking and Bumbleby

Bumblebee was Always the Plan

Bumblebee was Always the Plan part 2

BB & Renora

Weird Post on Weiss’s Clothes

Foils: Adam and Yang (this one is in wordpress; it was my first one and I didn’t have Tumblr then)

Let’s talk about Adam Taurus (I didn’t post this one on Tumblr because the title and tags could lead Adam fans thinking this was about “his wasted potential” when really it defends the decision of killing him off and explains why it happened)

As usual, the original.

[fma-facts]

definitely-a-human-like-really replied to your post

“Hello everyone, I’m sure many of you have already heard the news, but...”

Is there a reason tho? Like was he an asshole? I don’t know enough about him to form a opinion

In a nutshell, Vic Mignogna is a known creep who has a tendency to behave inappropriately towards his young female fans, often to the point of making people who used to really like him suddenly feel very uncomfortable with him after interacting with him in person. This has been common knowledge among pretty much anyone who’s into anime dubs or frequents anime conventions for over a decade now.

With the recent theatrical release of the English dub of DBZ’s Broly movie (Broly being a character he voices), Vic was sort of brought back into the spotlight, and his unacceptable behavior along with it. People began sharing anecdotal accounts, photographic and video evidence, and calling for him to be essentially excommunicated from the anime community, via the Twitter hashtag #KickVic (which also spread to other social media sites as well). As the whole thing gained traction, this seems to have culminated in him being terminated from both Funimation and RoosterTeeth (RoosterTeeth being the company behind RWBY, in which he voiced... some guy whose name I forgot? Crow? Candle? Blaze? Alistair? Something along those lines? Idk, I have no idea. But yeah.)

Now, I’ve seen a lot of arguments against this, which frankly I strongly disagree with. It also doesn’t help that every YouTube video on the subject is titled something like “SJW BULLIES ARE RUINING ANIME WITH CONSPIRACIES AGAINST INNOCENT VIC MIGNOGNA #ANIMEGATE” or something absurd like that. The main arguments I see are:

1. “The whole thing is a smear campaign started by people who dislike his voice” - As I said, this is nothing new. People have known, and talked about, his creepy behavior for over a decade, and a lot of the allegations come from former members of his fanclub who were very shocked and hurt by their unexpected bad experiences. (I personally first remember hearing about it on DeviantArt sometime around 2013, and if any of you recall the culture of DeviantArt in 2013- especially in regards to sexual assault- you’ll know just how much that says about him.) Hell, this isn’t even the first time people have called for action against him; Some of you may recall when Free! Iwatobi Swim Club first started getting dubbed, there was a petition going around to recast whatshisname shark teeth guy instead of letting Vic play him. Like don’t get me wrong, I absolutely agree that allegations online should always be taken with a grain of salt and with the proper context, and I don’t doubt that some of the “evidence” posted on Twitter is extremely sketchy, and that there probably are at least a few people out there that hate his voice enough to make up lies to get him fired. But it’s definitely not a sudden smear campaign popping up out of the blue, it’s just the continuation of what people have been saying for a long, long time. The only thing that makes it different this time is that with the current political climate (e.g. the rise of the Me Too movement), people are finally starting to listen.

2. “He’s just very physically affectionate” - No. First of all, even if you are someone who’s very physically affectionate, there’s a time and a place for it. Knowing how to behave when interacting with fans is incredibly important for celebrities. His “affection” tends to make people very uncomfortable, and he’s had more than enough time to learn to not do that. Not to mention that it’s not just a matter of touching- he’s said creepy things as well.

3. “They asked him to do it” - Ok, and? Why does that make it ok? He’s the adult here, not them. If a minor asks him to do or say something inappropriate, it is his job to shut that down. The responsibility to interact in an appropriate manner with minors is on the adults, not the kids, and he should know that and take control of the situation. Saying or doing something sexually inappropriate to a teenager because they ask you to is like doing 90 mph on a residential street because your 5-year-old thinks driving fast is fun. It should never be a matter of “they asked for it, so it’s fine”.

And that’s that on the Vickelodeon Malaria situation. I’ve pretty much tried to keep quiet about it on this blog, keep my personal biases out of things and all that, but I think there comes a point when it’s not even a matter of opinion anymore and things need to be laid out. This is FMA Facts, and it’s a fact that adults have a responsibility to not be creepy towards kids no matter what the situation, and it’s a fact that Vic Mignogna consistently fails to fulfill this responsibility.

As an apology for the sudden heavy talk, please accept this lovely live performance of Bratja featuring a reading from Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya.

[a-mellowtea]

Overall Thoughts on Volume 6

I think, this hiatus, I’m going to be trying to take a step back from the RWBY fandom. I did the same back when Volume 5 ended, but that was more so because my opinion on the show was steadily sliding into generally unfavorable. That’s still the case as my overall opinion of both the show and the fandom, but Volume 6 certainly didn’t disappoint me on any level that isn’t purely subjective.

First, the show, visually, is at its peak. Animations that were once a bit stiff and stilted have become fluid and expressive. CRWBY continues to improve their use of choreography, cinematography and structure when it comes to the fight scenes. The core cast sound comfortable in their roles -- of note this Volume, especially Arryn -- and the voice work is remarkably well done. I could write an entire post lauding Alex Abraham, Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams (lemme tell you, I am so proud of her) for both the vocal songs and incidental episode scores, which also continue to, somewhat mindbogglingly, take a step up each Volume.

By all rights, Volume 6′s plot was also very decent. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I will praise Chapters 1-6 (”The Argus Limited” to “Alone In The Woods”) until the end of days, because both the small arcs they contain are incredibly well done. The realization of Ozpin’s past, while I don’t like it on a personal level, is executed as well as it probably could have been. “The Lost Fable” is a wonderful bit of lore that rounds out the world and presents wild new obstacles for the heroes to accept/challenge/reflect upon/overcome. The Apathy are perhaps the best monsters the show has ever had, and the setup was well-paced, suspenseful and genuinely a joy to be anxious over.

While by contrast I don’t think much of the story in Argus -- the finale especially -- was written as competently or as effectively as I think it could have been, and as Miles and Kerry have shown themselves capable of, it didn’t break the Volume. There were enough genuinely good moments -- the group reuniting, Pyrrha’s statue, Yang and Blake vs. Adam -- to, perhaps not balance, but lessen the sourness of the ‘issues’ (some I feel are objectively founded, some of which are opinion, all of which are dependent on perspective).

Volume 6 was, in many ways, similar in style and substance to Volumes 2 and 4 in that they set up a larger conflict through a smaller microcosm. Cordovin and the Leviathan were akin to the Nuckelavee or the Breach in that they felt very ‘monster of the week’; introduced and resolved comparatively quickly to a heftier plot point. Important to note here, however, is that all were miniature triumphs, not in the grand scale, but for the characters. The Breach for RWBY (though presented as a half-victory), the Nuckelavee for Ren and Nora/RNJR, and Cordovin/Adam/the Leviathan for our perspective titular character, Ruby, as well as Blake and Yang. The main thrust of the story is still present in these conflicts, but they are character-driven obstacles. They set the stage for the overarching plot of fighting Salem to take the spotlight again, which I believe is the point.

I will admit that I found myself a little stunned at certain reactions from the characters and/or fandom, especially in regards to Salem and Ozpin, and that’s something I continue to hold a minority’s opinion about. I feel that certain aspects of the fandom have become a bit too overbearing and need some time to re-settle/even out, which is why I’m largely stepping away save for the few projects I’m taking part in/working on (ie, my writing, voicing/editing for abridged projects, directing a few more audio dramas, a potential RWBY Reanimate).

All that aside, however?

I did find a lot of enjoyment in Volume 6.

And though the fandom’s a bit much for me right now, I’m looking forward to Volume 7.

[dragynkeep]

Top 5 worst male characters and Top 5 worst female characters in RWBY, and brief reasons why?

This is the type of ask that’s gonna get me shit but I have known no hubris in my life so let’s go. These won’t be in the case of being intentionally bad, I’m doing more on personal taste and the quality of their writing. 

Worst Male Characters

1. Adam Taurus

Obviously, Adam is at the top of the list for me. His storyline was butchered from a story of racism and vigilantism to a story about domestic abuse, his brand was cheap shock value with very little substance, he stopped being threatening after the Fall of Beacon and instead became a whiny little bitch, and his voice acting is just bad.

He sounds like he’s gonna call me a slur on Xbox Live.

2. Jacques Schnee

Yeah, the abusive rich man who runs slave mines is bad, but that’s not the main reason he’s on this list. I could accept a character like that if the writers made him good, but they didn’t. Jacques wasn’t intimidating at all. He wasn’t smart at all. The man who conned his father in law and wife into giving him complete control of the most powerful company in Remnant is not the same man we get in the actual show.

He’s whiny, cowardly, and a useless villain who’s entire downfall was treated like a poorly made joke, and now only serves as comic relief in the Jailbirds scenes in V8. 

3. Hazel Rainart

Same issues with Jacques and Adam, but less egregious. Hazel was actually a pretty interesting villain in his earlier volumes, and even after his blunder at the Batlle of Haven, he went back to being kinda good in V6 with his protective behaviour towards Emerald. And then V8 came around and I grew to hate how stupid his reasons for joining Salem were, and the fact that he just beat the shit outta Oscar while whining about his dead sister.

Bro, Idgaf about someone I never met while you’re maiming a 15 year old boy because you wanna be mad at the guy in his head. 

4. Qrow Branwen

It’s the same case with Hazel. I actually liked Qrow up until V6, and even then I cared enough to try and see where his alcoholism arc went since it’s a serious issue that affects not only my family, but my people. I started to dislike him after he punched Oscar and kept being horrible to the boy, all without apologising in the end, but v7 and 8 made me really hate him. 

I don’t care for his edgy attitude, and I don’t care that he got his self-help book boyfriend murdered by a crackhead. Add onto CRWBY butchering a serious topic about alcoholism with him, and he’s just sank right down writing sense.

5. Ghira Belladonna

I never liked Ghira. I think the others are higher than him on this list just on the virtue that I liked them, or the idea of them, and the writing just pulled them down so much.

But I never had that problem with Ghira, so the disappointment doesn’t sting as bad. He’s just an unnecessary character that cheapens Blake since she’s now a princess, a useless father who somehow couldn’t get his own 12 year old daughter back even thought she didn’t even bother to change her own name, and then featured live on a tournament channel that the whole world saw. He was a useless leader, his ideology was stupid and almost got him and others killed, and he was so ungrateful towards Adam for saving his stupid furry ass that I completely sided with Sienna calling him the fuck out.

At least he’s not on my screen anymore, but I know that won’t last forever and I gotta look at his dumb face again.

Worst Female Characters

1. Cinder Fall

God, she is the worst villain and character in this show. She’s so flat, her stans are annoying as fuck, her voice leaves a lot to be desired, and the fact that there’s hardly anything to her for seven years makes it even worse now that we finally got a backstory for her, and it’s one we ALL GUESSED.

Who would’ve thought she’d be a Cinderella who killed her abusive family, I am shooketh. 

2. Blake Belladonna

Blake was my favourite girl in RWBY and I’m mad at CRWBY for what they’ve done to her.

It says a lot that a girl still affected by the abuse and trauma of fighting in a terrorist organisation has more personality and backbone than one who’s supposedly broken free of her traumatic past and moved forward. Blake now is spineless, flat, boring ass cardboard cutout of what she once was, who would rather let her human friends defend her from racists than call them out herself like she did to Weiss in Volume 1. 

She’s spoiled, priviledged, annoying, and Arryn has such a flat voice on top of being a gross ass person that I get annoyed every time she speaks. She’s no longer an oppressed minority fighting for the rights of her people, she’s a princess who would rather go to a club with people she didn’t even like than a rally against the man who caused so much suffering to her people. Even her talk with Nora about not letting yourself be taken over by who you’re with romantically is hypocritical, since that’s exactly what’s happened to her since she’s been paired up with Yang.

She couldn’t even have the spotlight of fighting her own VILLAIN, Yang was the one who broke Adam’s Aura and had the big triumphant moment of throwing his sword in the river while she was too busy fucking rock climbing. 

3. Yang Xiao Long

Yang was my second favourite girl in RWBY and I’m mad at CRWBY for what they’ve done to her.

Yang wasn’t super developed in the earlier volumes. Honestly, I didn’t think much until her talk with Blake about Raven in Burning The Candle, and her dismemberment leading her towards depression and PTSD. Come Volume 4, I was alright with the portrayal of her recovery. I don’t think they gave enough time between her trying on the arm and then being good enough to leave, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t bad. 

What was bad was everything after. Yang became a hypocritical, moody bitch who would drag everyone for their bad decisions while ignoring her own. Her PTSD, something VERY personal to me, was ruined and up and vanished by V7 since she’s now killed the man who gave her the disorder so obviously it’s cured! She is always on Ozpin’s case for the birds shit, and then keeping secrets, but then goes and does the exact same thing while giving little resistance to others doing it because they’re family.

Even her argument with Ruby in V8 was tame as fuck. She blamed Ruby for things not going well while ignoring that it was her own dumbass decisions that contributed to it. Ruby didn’t tell Yang to go and spill the beans to Robyn, her stupid cat girlfriend did that, and Yang went along with it while being unrepentant later on when Ironwood was RIGHTFULLY pissed about it.

Add onto v8 then having her worry about how BLAKE thought about her, rather than RUBY, and I just hate her. This ain’t Yang, I want Yang back. 

4. Nora Valkyrie

Nora is just a flat character. Her voice is annoyingly high pitched and screechy, her jokes aren’t funny, and all the things I loved that she got in v4 was later dropped entirely. She had such good moments in V4 that actually made me appreciate her more, and then she just became another hypocrite in v7 who wanted to yell at Ironwood while refusing to look at her own flaws.

On top of her kissing Ren when he was clearly not in the mood to talk, and it made me hate her. It’s not a cute ship moment, it’s a creepy disrespect of someone’s personal space. If it was the other way around, no one would think it was cute.

5. Robyn Hill

Similar to Ghira’s reasons, I never liked Robyn, so she’s low down on the list compared to the others since at one point I loved the others (Minus Cinder but she’s just so bad that she’s #1).

Robyn isn’t a good freedom fighter. She runs in without thinking about things and then proceeds to deny any responsibility of her actions. She won’t accept that maybe her agreeing with the same serial killer that nearly killed her and Fiona, on top of succeeding in murdering some of her supporters and Forest, and starting a fight with Clover in an enclosed space wasn’t a good idea. 

Add onto the fact that she’s really just incompetent. She steals supplies from Ironwood to fix the wall and help Mantle, but after time we see that nothing has been done. 

Christina Vee is wasted on her honestly.