RWBY Discussion: Weakly Written Weaknesses

Let's take a look at how the writers of RWBY handle character flaws and weaknesses!

[@ewannoel4963]

Well o wouldn't say Wiess forgot her fighting style, the animators and writers did

[@Shayan51561]

In volume 4 & 5 miles and Kerry were storyboarding the fights which is why they look so bad and animators aren't allowed to be creative with the fights that's why the volume 6 and 7 fights are better overall since then they gave the animators leeway and let them animate the fights how they see fit. So it's Miles and Kerry's forgot not the animators

[@WillJohnson321]

@@Shayan51561 It's kinda funny. The majority of the problems come from the writers (who suck at writing) placing their will over the product. Another example of the apparent "ego problem" the higher ups of RT have.

[@KrazyKelor]

Same thing.

[@sommoulin87]

PLS

[@shineyorkboy]

A lot of the good elements of the writing seem like they're there accidentally. Ruby being bad at hand to hand fighting doesn't even make sense. She has the upper body strength to swing around a massive scythe and the speed to hit like a truck. She should be able to take out whole rooms of mooks as easily as the Flash.

[@lightdragoon88]

Which is why I state her weakness is holding back against people.

[@twiinsiink]

Agreed in every way! I get the idea of "Ruby's a weapon nerd, so she just doesn't care about training in hand-to-hand" but yeah, she should still be able to do some serious damage without Crescent Rose.

[@Victor-056]

@@twiinsiink Yep. Another problem with 'Ruby is a Weapon Nerd, So she terrible at CQC', has the person disregard the fact that when a person learns how to use a Weapon, they first master unarmed Combat. I learned that the hard way. Even a Fluid Stance requires a Strong Root, otherwise, Ruby would End up getting Crescent Rose in her Eye, or cleaving herself in half.

[@jordanjone6272]

@@Victor-056 I like the way you thi k and crow taught ruby how to swing Crescent rose so there must be a way for her to fight and you heard in episode 2 of volume 1 how she state that she can use Crescent Rose instead of talk to people giving the hint that she relied on her weapon than most people.

[@furyberserk]

@@Victor-056 A person doesn't need to master unarmed combat to know how to use a weapon. They master the basics such as spacing and vulnerability and defense, but the weapon and hands are wildly different in those terms.

[@shallowcinema8359]

Rens guns seem to be more of a distraction than an offensive weapon.

[@deathxanamon7211]

Heck Ren has become the weakest character in the group, when in the very first fight he was shown in he looked to be one of the strongest by killing a giant two-headed snake all on his own, heck he killed that thing without his weapons

[@deathxanamon7211]

And I like Ren he is awesome

[@winter9716]

I would like to think that the gun portion of his weapon is a harassment tool and the blades are used for lethal attacks.

[@hueningbahibitch3694]

Ren is the weakest in the group, soooo

[@ryomyoo2196]

@@hueningbahibitch3694 i dont see Ren that way? i think his weapons are silent

[@servantrider7044]

Why are fans so much better at writing RWBY than RT?

[@Vigriff]

Because we genuinely care about the state the series is in.

[@skelepunner745sans5]

It says something when the fans care more about the show than the writers

[@guilhermeteodosio40]

Throwing a man over a store is literally the first thing we see Ruby doing, and then Season 5 pretends she can't fight

[@thomasraines1396]

Not just season 5, she jobbs to some random schmuck in Volume 2.

[@juanpablorobayo9891]

Semblances: Very strange abilities, could have drawbacks, can have glaring weaknesses. Weiss' family semblance: Literally fucking Magic

[@Yunfarron78]

I think my biggest issue with Yang is that RT really doesn’t know what to do with her. When Monty conceptualized her, Yang was obviously a Monk archetype character. I mean that she’s a very technical fighter, she’s constantly reacting and punishing mistakes and is able to create openings for herself and dictate fights. However, RT has been trying to force her into a Berserker sort of role (which could only be the reason as to why they are pushing the “Your semblance is a glorified temper tantrum” narrative when it clearly isn’t) when that doesn’t seem to be what she is. Sure, she can tank hits and get stronger from it, but in most of her fights, we see her actively avoiding damage with blocks, deflections, feints, and movement. She isn’t really a “brawler”, so much as a Muay Thai practitioner. Heck, the fight with Neo was an excellent study in that Yang doesn’t have a problem fighting people that kick (which is exceedingly stupid considering Yang is very well versed in kicking) but that she has a massive issue when she can’t dictate the fight or can’t mentally psyche out her opponent. I know it could seem that way, but opponents that primarily kick simply have a different sense of timing due to utilizing the longer limbs of their bodies as opposed to an opponent that punches. But once you adjust to that timing? It’s rarely a problem, and if she had a problem fighting people that simply kicked, then how is she expecting to fight people with weapons or even Grimm?? Just a bad excuse, IMO. I think THAT would have been a far better use of that time with Tai as it would’ve played right into her problems with her PTSD. Mostly because both of these things are out of her hands. And as a character, she doesn’t do well with things that she is forced to confront when she would rather not. Just like her fighting style, she either confronts or avoids. Not runaway, but she definitely tries to redirect a conversation or completely shuts it down. She can’t deal with these issues in such a way. She has to deal with them as they happen and adjust accordingly. And while Yang is an adaptive fighter, it takes time for her to adjust. This is true outside of fighting as well, and isn’t something that can truly be “solved”. I think seeing her coming to terms with that and working around it would have been far more enjoyable while still validating some of what Tai said. And Weiss...oh that sweet child. Let Weiss FENCE AGAIN! Please! It is such an underrated art but so beautifully effective. They want to push the “Weiss is totally a black mage” thing but she’s more of a red mage. She can cast and her “spells” (semblance abilities) are powerful, but she was a fighter first. She used superior tactics and awareness to do what she did best as a duelist. I’d hazard to say that Weiss is probably the best 1v1 duelist on the team (Yang is better at 1vMany, Ruby is...Ruby, and Blake is the ambush fighter). Seriously, a fight between Weiss and Neo would be amazing! Seeing both of them struggle to control the battlefield while dancing around each other while waiting for the opponent to mess up first? Oh man, that’d be amazing.

[@littlepocketstudios8569]

I wish Wiess was never able to summon. That's not her style. Summoning is good for is she needs a window smashed or like she used the lancer to fly ruby closer to the grimm. But someone needs to tell her to cut it out with the summons. It hurts more than it helps....

[@i_am_you_you_are_not_me6043]

Little Pocket Studios. I disagree, Wiess’s summonings are one of her biggest strengths. It’s her timing on when to use them that’s her weakness. If Wiess was able to pull off all of her summonings it would have given a bigger advantage in all of her matches. It’s her timing on which to use it that talent that hurts her.

[@WillJohnson321]

I feel you're totally right on the Yang points and your explanations are very insightful. I also agree with your Weiss point in that she's more than just "a caster". Monty developed the characters fighting styles with intricacies and depth which the other RT crew don't grasp. They change the characters' fighting styles to be simpler, completely missing what made their combat so good in the first place. There was detail and complexity to fighting styles, now it's "swing at opponent unless you're Weiss".

[@Yunfarron78]

@@WillJohnson321 Thank you! Monty was a choreographer, so it makes sense that many of the fights he did or oversaw had a flow that's still missing. His were dances, not exactly fights and I feel as though that aspect/vision was what allowed such intricacies. His RWBY fight scenes never really had much talking in them, which gelled since his prior work also had little voice interaction. He certainly wasn't perfect, but his ability to bring out a character's personality through their fight scenes/gestures was what brought me to RWBY. And I'd hazard to say that it was why a lot of people started watching, too. When you watch something like Haloid, there is NO dialogue, but it's still a joy to watch. RWBY's getting there, but I don't think they'll have enough...ooomph to pass that finish line, you know?

[@WillJohnson321]

@@Yunfarron78 Honestly, I don't see RWBY existing for much longer. RT has been in some financial troubles for quite a while now due to their lack luster approach to things and have spent all the good faith fans gave them. Add to that their actions and behavior (employee mistreatment, RT faces publicly berating people online, and more) has lead to them gaining a negative reputation with the public and it's a recipe for inevitable disaster. My guess is that the show will be cancelled or a final season will be quickly forced out the door before RT sells any of their I.P. rights that are still viewed as valuable to other companies to try and cut their losses. They've been hemmoraging viewers and workers for literal years now, with even some of the faces or well known people recently leaving the company. Even if my prediction doesn't happen, it certainly doesn't look good for RT, that's for sure.

[@rand0md00d3]

Weiss' summoning should've been someone else's semblance. For example only Winter having the summoning semblance in the Schnee family. Weiss is just way too op rn.

[@jeffhughes7104]

It would be great if Winter was the only one that can achieve all of those glphys where as the other schnee members have only been able to achieve one of the glphys. This would set Winter as an absolute prodigy and everyone would have a clear understanding as to why Weiss looks up to her so much. As it is now Weiss and Winter are pretty much the same. Except for Experience.

[@jonathandoherty8594]

They could even had have Winter be good at both glyphs and summoning while Weiss can only master glyphs which would let them give Weiss a way to work through her father's standards for her to be perfect and allow her to grow by herself and become self confident without comparing herself to Winter.

[@ausernamethatgoeswithmypro5124]

So op that she loses to every fight she's been in.

[@program4215]

@@ausernamethatgoeswithmypro5124 Artificially. Which makes it even worse. If Weiss wasn't so OP in theory then it would make more sense for her to lose fights. The fact that Weiss has so many abilities and skills but still loses every single fight no matter how improbable is one of the greatest flaws with her character's depiction in the show. If she stopped forgetting how to fight right before every battle she would be ridiculously overpowered.

[@avocadoadmiral6142]

*A username that goes with my profile pic* that’s her actual semblance

[@Celebi50]

What really gets me the most about this whole path they took with her Semblance is that they’ve also like stripped her of everything I liked about her in the first place. She never seems like she has fun when she fights anymore, she isn’t as flashy as she used to be, she like doesn’t use it at all. Yang’s attitude was my absolute favorite part about her ever since her trailer, but they went this grimdark route where she’s too serious to have fun and I don’t like it at all tbh. I hope her old character starts to resurface at some point or whatever Edit: I’m talking about Yang lmao

[@twiinsiink]

Agreed, I miss happy Yang.

[@malikoniousjoe]

Celebi50 I miss character existing in action scenes in general. They talk during fights now, but they actually say nothing and their personalities begin and end with angry or shocked.

[@nymradjoshuadaulayan883]

True!! That is so true!! I agree so much. I miss my old, precious Yang.

[@minine6508]

Absolutely

[@1OtherMr]

I love how ambiguous that comment can be

[@gigabyteguru2452]

Its actually kind of funny because Yang DOES have a weakness built into her semblance that's been there from day one, and it DOES kind of play into loosing her arm, but they completely missed it. For Yang's semblance to do anything she needs to take damage. That's a serious flaw. Her arc could have been her trying to work around the issue, and could have ended in her actually learning to focus her aura into her hands so she can build up power by attacking or defending. Not only does this mean that she becomes more powerful, but it gives a reason for the enemies who know her abilities to focus on her first, to try and take her out before her power ramps up, letting her better fill her "team tank" role. It would have been even better if this had finally clicked for her after or even during her fight with Adam, due to how similar their semblances are. Having the formerly very headstrong, "smite the darkness" character come to a quiet moment of realization that the only way to gain power is to use a technique created by an enemy, especially one with Adam's history with Blake, would have been amazing, and it would have made for some nice post fight dialogue with a bit of guilt and uncertainty from Yang, and maybe even a half-hearted joke from Blake about how her ex boyfriend and her new girlfriend have the same power, leading the two of them to organically become closer. It could have been great people, it could have been great.

[@taddad2641]

.. whcih is kinda what they did? relying upon her semblance meant being reckless. and reckless got her hurt.

[@andrewlance3898]

@@taddad2641 No, her semblance and her recklessness are completely separate issues. What Gigabyte Guru suggests lets her deal with her recklessness while also making her semblance more useful. RT gave Yang an arc that amounted to "Your semblance is something you shouldn't use unless it's desperate", which means she now uses her semblance less. Wouldn't it have been more interesting to see Yang deal with her limits and become more powerful rather than start imposing arbitrary limits on herself? It'd be like if Aang from A:TLA had an arc of "Never use the Avatar State, even though you're the Avatar" rather than "The Avatar State is powerful but dangerous, and you need to learn to control it and use it better". Aang learning to control the Avatar State develops his character and expands his abilities rather than limiting them

[@eyeoftheswarm5708]

That’s actually a good point, and I’ll definitely use that in my story maybe even one of my characters point this out to her.

[@boomaggeddon937]

They really did Ren dirty in every volume that wasn't 4. His weapons do nothing against the grimm and he loses basically any fight against another opponent. His semblances only real use is to hide from grimm, and it isn't even that powerful of an ability when Jaune isn't around. They say he's a ninja, but Blake does everything he does better. She has two weapons with ribbons for added mobility, her sembalance grants her even more mobility and a get-out-of-jail-free card to dodge attacks she wouldn't normally be able to dodge as long as she has the reflexes for them, and they can be used with dust for added utility. tl;dr: Ren is just value brand blake

[@andrewlance3898]

I think that was an intentional display of modesty on Monty's part, seeing that Ren was voiced by Monty. If Ren dominated too many fights and scenes, it could have been seen as a self-insert character upstaging the main protagonists. Imagine if Monty had treated Ren the same way Miles treats Jaune, giving him a disproportionate amount of screentime and writing to the point of being an imposter protagonist. Of course, Monty's not voicing Ren anymore, so that's no longer an excuse

[@Step43099]

Andrew Lance Assuming that Miles puts Jaune in the spotlight intentionally. He’s not the only writer and he’s not the director

[@AngelicAvenger]

Personally I think a large part of the problem is that most of the semblances are just generally poorly defined in what they can and can't do. Basically, it's been 6 volumes and I'm still not entirely sure how the main character's magic power works. Ruby's semblance is supposedly speed, but it's super nebulous how fast she can/does move, or if the rose petals are in any way related. While she's in petal form, can she fly? Sometimes it seems like she can and sometimes it seems like she can't. What happens to Ruby if the petals get damaged somehow? I'll be honest, for the entire first 2 volumes I thought the petals were an artistic choice to signify she was using her semblance, basically as an alternative to just adding speed lines. I didn't fully believe she was actually, in-universe, literally TURNING INTO petals until someone specifically mentioned in in one of the later volumes (Qrow, I think). And she's the main freaking character. RT could do a significantly better job of conveying the strengths and limitations of the principle casts' semblances. For example, does Blake literally blink out of existence after making a clone? Because at the end of volume 5 she baits Adam with a clone, and his swing goes right through the clone but it ALSO goes right through where she reappears. So was she actually intangible somehow? How was she not still hit by the slice? Weiss can manipulate time! How does every fight not immediately end with her slowing her opponent to a crawl then casually stabbing them because they're moving at a fraction of the speed of everyone else? Having actual definition on what their powers are would naturally make it easier to identify what the weaknesses are.

[@maxentirunos]

They don't want to because while it would prove their ability to write good, they are too amateurish and don't want to take the risk of locking themselves down about what a character can and can't do. The example of Blake is also prominent. She was just able at first to let something behind when dodging, then she was able to make the dodge illusion different with dust, then she suddenly could use them has shadow clones to jump higher or letting one behind while disappearing completely, letting the opponent fight and kill it before understanding it was just a clone. Even Pyrrha that was in only three volumes had this problem with her semblance. first, it was electromagnetism with contact, then magnetomancy without contact, then it came back to a middle ground of magnetomancy with contact needed

[@AngelicAvenger]

​@@maxentirunos See the Pyrrha thing I'm more willing to give a pass because it works essentially the same way all the time. It was established she can move metallic objects with her brain, and that's what she does. That's logically consistent enough for me.

[@VernulaUtUmbra]

@@maxentirunos Blake has always been able to use them as shadow clones to jump higher. She did that in the Nevermore fight in volume 1.

[@alinahlamis783]

I've always thought that Weiss' glymphs (at least the special ones, like the time/polarity one) were a combination of her semblance and dust (kinda like how Blake used dust in the train) since it would make sense for her to have an affinity for them given her family's business and Myrtenaster's construction, but I dunno, guess not. I really wished they didn't add the hereditary summoning thing, kinda goes against our initial outlook on the show where everyone is unique in their own way (weapons/outfits/semblances). Also, I just really like the idea of Weiss overcoming her family issues using _her own_ strength and creating her own legacy with it rather than through something that's inherited. And fine, if they really wanted to have the bloodline semblance thing...have Weiss _not_ have it, have her be 'the girl who has everything' in the eyes of others but not exactly in the face of her family, they kinda already did that anyway with the White trailer.

[@westmccann6814]

I literally had an argument about this exact thing a month ago. My friend kept insisting that I'd have to be an idiot to not just ASSUME things about the characters that the show never says and when I explicitly found the actual scenes he used as evidence he accused me of ignoring his points and deflecting the issue. I appreciate this video a lot but some people cannot be reasoned with.

[@able_archer01]

Your friend sounds like he works for RT...as a writer for RWBY.

[@adrianroque6990]

6:45 and the irony of the situation is that....really, Jaune isn't actually THAT BAD of a fighter! Sure he's not doing flashy fifty hit combos like his friends, but he's not exactly a complete pushover either. He lost to CINDER, that's about it. And Cinder is strong enough to kill Pyrrha. But seems like CRWBY is determined to have him remain the unarmed "strategist" cause he's too weak to actually contribute to a fight anymore just because they said so :/

[@twiinsiink]

He's also not really needed as a strategist either. Ruby and Oscar are both also active in coming up with game plan strategies (and usually Ruby's plans actually ends up working).

[@thoughtricity4296]

The saddest part to me is that the whole point of his arc with Pyrrha was to become a better fighter. I was certain that the plan for Jaune was to become a really strong fighter following the release of his aura. That along with his continued training should have allowed him to become one of the best fighters on the team. But unfortunately, they backseat him as only a "strategist", and then let other people do the strategizing.

[@vincentabramo7175]

Twiins iink I hope that there comes a time when Ruby's plan backfires and Juane steps up. Oscar has a time limit of being Oscar because he will eventually be absorbed by Ozpin. However, they never delved into why Juane piqued Tyrian's interest in Volume 4. Maybe with Tyrian being involved in Volume 7, we will get some clarification. Also, what if Juane's weapon gets broken like Gambol shroud did? the vacuo relic is a sword after all.

[@mori8344]

@94cruzin Well, Pyrrha was also the one who was "fated for victory" and won countless championships back in her old feeder school... It stands to reason that of her grade she had the most potential, but defeating Ozpin is probably the most impressive part of it, you're right about that.

[@axis1247]

@94cruzin Pyrrah was stated to be the strongest of their entire generation. Beating Pyrrah was a big deal because it meant that Cinder could take down anyone at Beacon that wasn't a teacher or one of Ozpin's agents, and after her full maiden ascension even they weren't an issue.

[@UnifiedEntity]

Freaking Weiss......out of nowhere relying on summoning and ditching her ballerina like fighting style....sigh.

[@redlock1353]

If they wanted Ruby to feel weakened after the Fall Of Beacon, they should have just destroyed Crescent Rose. Say something like they couldn't recover it. Not only would it be a crushing blow to Ruby (her love for it is quite apparent, it would be like killing off a puppy) from then on, Ruby would have to use another weapon to fight. Some would have Ruby just get a downgraded scythe (like an actual farming scythe from the shed), but I think V4 would have been better if Ruby left on her journey to Haven with only Penny's swords. V4 would then be about her trying to use swords instead of a scythe, which would open up the possibility for her to train with Jaune at first and then with Qrow. Who knows, I'd even probably have Ruby use Harbinger (Qrow's scythe) at some point, like the Tyrian fight. Slashing with a weapon that switches from sword to scythe to show how much she's grown. A flurry of roses rains as she and Tyrian attack at an incredible speed. It seems like a neat and tidy solution.

[@jeffhughes7104]

That would be disastrous from a marketing stand point. Cresent Rose is pretty iconic for RWBY.

[@redlock1353]

@@jeffhughes7104 That may be true, but there are ways to circumvent it. Ruby may have Crescent Rose as a main feature, but her primary identifier is her red cape. I personally would have Ruby carry all of Penny's swords all around her body. I think the green lights on the swords would really make Ruby pop out more in promo art. It wouldn't be that big of a loss. It'd probably be a new point of interest. I'm thinking if Ruby could make a sort of big double bladed staff from the swords, it would fill in the gap after Crescent Rose from a design perspective. Later on I'd probably have Ruby wield Harbinger until she can reconstruct Crescent Rose, so that people don't complain that she's not using a scythe anymore. Have her carry it around like a Buster Sword. Maybe have her just carry around an arsenal of swords. It'd be a nice way to change her design up a little.

[@Victor-056]

Agreed. Maybe even have her when she rebuilds Crescent Rose, add in traits from Harbinger to allow it to have more Modes than just being a Scythe or a Rifle. Maybe even take a Leaf out of Jaune's Book and use Penny's sword(s) to add to the construction, making Crescent Rose much stronger than before, While also being Lighter and faster than before. And frankly, we have had countless Anime before RWBY where the Character(s) lose their Iconic weapon, and later get it remade, but designed to fit their new fighting style gained from it's absence. The weapon is still Iconic, it just has a new upgrade to it. RT has no Excuse. 'Iconic'? Ember Celia was 'Iconic' to Yang, and she only has One now, it's Sister no Longer in use. Blake just got Gambol Shroud smashed, and Nobody is complaining. The only ones who retain their 'Iconic weapons' are Weiss and Ruby, and Weiss is for some reason, focusing too much on her summoning, which kinda Kills off much of her individuality, since making her rely on Summons, rather than her other glyphs, means she is trying too much to be like her Older Sister Winter, rather than being 'Weiss'. And if you ask, Jaune upgraded Crocea Mors, which technically is his 'Iconic Weapon', and no body complained. Anyone suggests Ruby Temporally looses Crescent Rose, and everyone loses their minds.

[@jordanjone6272]

Filip Zemiakovic+ I like that and what if after she lost Crescent rose she get her mother scythe and she upgrade with penny swords from Crescent rose remains

[@redlock1353]

@@jordanjone6272 I dunno. Getting a new scythe she isn't accustomed to could work too, but I also think swords would be a better change of pace for at least one Volume, so that it's clear she doesn't have the upper hand in the slightest. After that, she could have any scythe in the world (preferably with a sword mode in it). And I know Summer and Ruby are almost identical, but I doubt Summer would also have a scythe. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out she did, but I would be a bit disappointed.

[@t.r2603]

Better question in the later half of this video: These people are often surrounded by deadly beasts and even deadlier human/faunas enemies. Why don't these people arm themselves with secondary or three types of weapons. Hell in the real world soldiers are often given a knife, pistol, alongside their primary. These people should have batman level utility belts to carry stuff. Especially when you get absurd laws of physics breaking things like Coco's minigun/purse. Lose Cresent Rose? Ruby should be like a human swiss army knife.

[@younghusk1968]

This is RWBY: "Let's open a bunch of interesting plot points and not explore them".

[@lucasrobin2788]

With regards to Ruby's inability to fight without Crescent rose - We now actually have a very solid way to overcome this issue. Maria Calavera, set up as Ruby's spiritual precursor with the whole Grimm Reaper / Scythe / Sliver eyes / Combat skirt / Ruby's Mentor thing, used gravity dust to get around this problem, as she could summon her scythes back to her using it. It would work very well for Ruby to lose Crescent Rose in a fight, almost die, then only just grab it back / have another character save her and then grab it back. Her and Yang talk about her inability to fight without it, Maria says 'or just never lose it' and then gives her the gravity dust in her cane. They modify crescent rose, give Ruby some bracelet or something with gravity dust in and boom - Gravity Dust Crescent Rose. Not only that, but imagine Ruby able to swing Crescent Rose around semi-telekinetically! Her fighting style has gotten stale (only so many directions you can swing a scythe effectively) but this would give her access to so many more moves.

[@twiinsiink]

I was thinking that too!

[@silverYolo]

This works even better considering ruby already uses gravity dust a lot (or use to anyway)

[@StickmanChmook]

IF that happens I might be interested in watching the series again, because that would be fucking awesome.

[@joshuafrazier3904]

Only thing is Ruby actually has hands as shown by her literally tweeting a random goon through a window. Like sure she won't beat Mercury or Yang in hand to hand but she shouldn't be trash at it.

[@rayhanbrair4243]

Atonished by two things: you're analysis AND the good background music ( but, for real, real nice pov you bring)

[@twiinsiink]

Thank you!

[@ohkyoungsun]

mannnnn, I remember when in the food fight ruby created a cyclone that singlehandedly defeated all of jnpr with no problem and she created a crack on the wall and stuck them there maaaan

[@EGRJ]

I figure that whole scene wasn't exactly canon.

[@SwitchbackCh]

The worst thing about all of this regarding character perception and knowing what to do with them is that it seems rather obvious to viewers what the characters seem like, but the writers who spend hours on them every day don't. Adam is the absolute worst example of this. He always gave the impression of a revolutionary and a ruthless leader from the start, not a selfish ex-boyfriend. Some people say that the evil ex was intended from the start, but even if that was true, they chose the worse of the two characterisations to flesh out. One's more nuanced and interesting, and the other is one-dimensional and boring to watch. I'm sorry, but anyone who says they prefer the cardboard evil ex Adam is clearly settling for less when they had all the ingredients there to have more. The writers seem to completely lack a solid roadmap for these characters and appear to be writing stuff for the cast either on the fly or in reaction to the fandom. People were memeing Ruby being useless without her weapon and what did they do? Address directly that. Then people complained Ruby never mentioned or trained her silver eyes, which is way more important than hand-to-hand? Directly addressed next Volume. But now her silver eyes are overtuned and ruin any tension from the Grimm, so naturally fans will start complaining that Ruby's silver eyes should have a cost or weakness, and I can BET that's exactly what they'll address the next Volume or two. Everyone got hyped about Weiss' summoning? They focused entirely on that to the detriment of all her other skills. Fans want Neo to return? They got it. Fans want Bumbleby? They got it. Fans hate Adam (because of how their own writing screwed him the past 3 Volumes, mind you) and want him gone? Boom, your wish is our command. The writing of every Volume seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the complaints towards the previous one. Like, don't you know how to write your own freakin' characters without fans telling you what to do? It's frustrating, predictable and worst of all, not genuine or organic. It only became apparent in Volume 6, but I really hope every Volume isn't just going to be damage control for the last Volume in the first half, only to create entirely new problems in the end half. That's what happens when you don't have a single, cohesive direction for your main characters. I can bet you that they were purely preoccupied with pairing Blake and Yang up for fandom points, but probably have no idea where to take their relationship after this, so they'll just end up like Ren and Nora, with just some "cute" lines sprinkled in but everything else remaining essentially the same. Um, excuse me. Rage aside, this is an excellent video. You were spot on the whole way. On the note for Ruby working around her weaknesses, I had a fanfic-y idea where if someone trained their Aura well enough, they're able to bind their Aura to their weapon and when separated, have the ability to "call" their weapon back to them, Thor or Kratos style. Not to toot my own horn, but I'd watch that over a boring punching lesson for Ruby any day.

[@twiinsiink]

I completely agree with what you said about damage control. I've struggled to put those sorts of thoughts into words, and you nailed it.

[@soarel325]

Ruby now being able to use her powers with no downside also makes Cinder and Salem into non-threats, too.

[@ScrappyPom]

Oh god that Blake and Yang supposed romance. They going to either screw it up, or forgot everything unless other reminds them otherwise.

[@frankg2790]

The worst part about Bumblebee is that there were no hints of such a relationship in the previous Volumes. I do not care if it was in the big book of ideas that Monty Oum had for the show. Throwing out an established relationship for the sake of appeasing a minority of fans is lazy and hackney, a complete disregard for established continuity.

[@ScrappyPom]

@@frankg2790 Oh please don't forget their notorious forgetfulness, like what they did with Blacksun along with many other things. And I do not believe if it was part of Monty's outline, because they may or may not make shit up.

[@soarel325]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. You’re absolutely correct that Yang never “relied” on her semblance. It NEVER caused any problems for her. It is not a weakness whatsoever. It is absurd for them to insist that her using her semblance is some sort of problem. The one time Yang lost, against Neo, it was because she WASN’T able to use her Semblance. She got her arm cut off by Adam because Adam has an OP semblance, not because of her using her equally OP semblance. Hell, that wasn’t even a fight. You nailed it regarding Weiss too. The way they’ve treated her character is disgusting. There is nothing the summons do that Weiss can’t, and tons of things only she can do that they can’t. Remember when she could bind opponents with glyphs so strong that even the knight couldn’t break them? Remember when she delivered an attack on the knight which completely destroyed it with one strike? Remember how Weiss’ semblance is so versatile that it has spells for incredibly specific scenarios like unlocking and locking doors? Remember when Weiss could WARP FUCKING TIME ITSELF in V2? Oh, and fun fact, did you know Weiss’ semblance wasn’t originally intended to be hereditary? In a V2 Q&A livestream, Monty was asked if the semblance was hereditary, and he replied claiming that it wasn’t, and that it developed naturally through her childhood. They changed the plan between V2 and V3. Given how summoning was not part of Weiss’ character before V3, I suspect that was also an addition made for it. Man, remember when Ren could use Aura magic offensively? RT doesn’t, apparently. Given how much they’ve retconned Aura I assume they may have written it out of the show. Uuuuuugh, Ruby’s artificial “weakness”. The weakness is completely nonexistent (we have seen her kill two of Roman’s goons in V1E1 with her hands and feet, and drop-kicked a Grimm to death in V3E11). As you point out, even if this did actually exist, why is this only considered a weakness for Ruby? Nora, Weiss, Blake, and Jaune don’t fight unarmed, but it’s not considered a weakness for them. It’s stupid for it to be considered a weakness for Ruby but not them. Basically everyone except for Yang, Ren, Hazel, and Arslan (the V3E1 jobber team leader) has a fighting style built around using their weapon. Why is Ruby treated as special for her lack of skill unarmed, while everyone else is just fine?

[@UnifiedEntity]

I remember looking forward to more fights with Ren in volume 3 and on....but Monty passed.... But yeah, this dude stopped a Grimm with a Aura force field with his hands or something.

[@lilchristuten7568]

They make Weiss rely heavily on summoning because it is easier to animate that than everything she was doing, it really just screams laziness, that is probably the same reason they had Yang's "overuse" of her semblance be a problem, Yang doesn't just get stronger when she activates her semblance, she gets faster too and she does a lot of quick, and sometimes over-exaggerated movements; and that takes time and dedication to animate. I don't really see Nora having a problem with hand to hand combat, and I see Blake having very little difficulty with hand to hand combat especially considering her semblance, unless she carries a lot of dust with her I think Wiess is completely useless without her sword, and Juan is just starting to learn to use his sword.

[@malikoniousjoe]

Soarel WHY WASN'T HER TRAINING FOCUSED ON SILVER EYEEEEES

[@wave5751]

It did in the Adam fight. Lost an arm too. If she didn't rely on her semblance, didn't let it control her she'd still have an arm.

[@lilchristuten7568]

@@wave5751 She charged in and got her arm cut off, that has nothing to do with relying on her semblance, it has to do with fighting someone who is just better than her as fighting, and who has a sword that can cut through her aura. Nowhere is it suggested that her semblance was controlling her that would mean that it has a will of its own.

[@wamba2652]

Remember when Ruby knocked a guy out of a window without her scythe in episode 1.

[@UFOANGEL]

I always like seeing fans critique shows they like you see things other people wouldn't you aren't bashing you wish for improvement because you care. I wish some of the writers of RWBY could look at videos like these and learn.

[@twiinsiink]

Thank you!

[@UFOANGEL]

@@twiinsiink You are welcome.

[@malikoniousjoe]

UFOANGEL Sadly that won't stop the FNDM from throwing a fit every time someone points out these crippling problems with the show. I don't think any of us would be here if we didn't like the show at some point right?

[@UFOANGEL]

@@malikoniousjoe I agree a lot of fandoms are like this you can't have an honest opinion of a game or show without people jumping down your throat.

[@djohnthesalty]

Ren literally lost all of the flare that made him such a unique character. A master of martial arts and graceful technique, only to be turned into the guy who throws pebbles. Yang's mastery of hand-to-hand combat is completely overlooked when her quick reactions and power are seen as nothing but brute strength. Yang's semblance is nothing more than a comback factor for Yang, not something she really relies on. If she's losing, then she has the strength to get back up and start hitting harder. She doesn't go into every fight thinking about how she can take as much damage as possible. Ruby, my god, I miss Ruby's fighting style. She's become really reliant on her semblence on its own, not really her MASTERY OF ONE OF THE COOLEST WEAPONS EVER. What ever happened to the epic momentum changing stunts that flings her across the battlefield. Honestly I went back and watched the trailer vids and the fight against the bird during the first season and it was sooooo fucking cool. I haven't even seen a single one of the main 4 RELOAD. Remember that they had to do that? Yang finding a way to reload or change ammunition during a brawl was sooooo cool. Ruby changing ammunitions to give her scythe more kickback, allowing her to speed up even more. Weiss spinning the cool wheel thingy to have a different effect instead of magic circles. Remember when her semblance turned Red when it was holding and launching Ruby? wasn't that so cool?! Where tf is that now?Jaune's progression as a fighter has been overlooked as well, and oh my god his semblance reveal was dog shit. They could have had him do a speech or dialogue where he talks about how he doesn't care if he's the hero or not, he just wants to help his friends survive and then be the support powering up the auras of everyone around him. Instead, he just deus ex machinas weiss's stupid wound that she got. The characters are becoming less and less of what they were in the beginning. So much so that they feel like downgrades. Honestly I think they forgot how to fight sometimes.

[@TDJunkie226]

Yang using her semblance being shown as a weakness is like if I was in a life or death situation and used a gun to kill the person attacking me, and some jackass told me to man up and fight him barehanded

[@justing.3541]

You know what would have been an amazing weakness for Yang? Have her be afraid/nervous about fights. She seems comfortable fighting for the entire series. But after she looses her arm make her just overcompensate or loose it when shes backed into a corner. Ie. her Aura is gone. Volume 4-5: have her hesitate or not act until shes in danger. even then she is sloppy or over agressive. Volume 6: Have her be more refined and better but overcompensate by having her push herself way past her limits protecting blake in every situation. Volume 7: Have her and Blake confront her fear of fighting,what happened to her,etc and have her start working through it. Occssionally having characters talk to her about it. Like Qrow or Ruby.

[@Al-ir6vb]

Interesting point. Another video you did on how Aura works would also be able to fix certain problems. Yang- Kicks could be an established weakness for her along with her temper. Basically she could tunnel vision and focus on strikes she is used to (torso and head shots) instead of her legs. Having enemies repeatedly low kick her or sweep her takes her off balance and can do chip damage enough that she can't really power up but her Aura grows weaker each time. With enough chip damage on her an enemy could then back up and use a huge power move to knock the rest of her HP out. Another weakness on the same vein is someone like Neo being able to repeatedly throw her off balance. (She's back btw!!) Keep throwing the boxer off balance and they can't align their bodies correctly to make full powered attacks. Blake/Ruby- They could have the weakness that they are basically ambushers forcing themselves into an active combat role. You do not run up to people and shoot when you have a sniper rifle! ANY FPS will tell you that! Blake is similar. Both would suck to fight because they are basically negging your guys from the shadows. Crescent Rose is the freaking incarnation of death!!! Do you have any idea what it would be like to be shot with anything *close* to a 50 cal?! Now, imagine you are trying to fight some rando teenage chicks and Aura or no one of your dudes is *down* or *dead*. Add to that some ninja chick freaking doing silent kills on your dudes and they just disappear and even cause a huge explosion (burn dust)! They would be an utterly terrifying combo! Weiss- Weiss is actually pretty okay for a single reason. Aura limits. She is basically the mage. Her semblance allowing her to use Aura more effectively is actually just 'free casting'. Cinder does it all the time (dust woven into her clothes). However, unlike a mage, she doesn't have an MP bar. She has to use her HP which she doesn't have a lot of or at least she uses more per fight. This could be a major weakness like how other mages are weak physically and must rely on dodging and or using smart solutions while hiding behind meat shield Barbarians like Yang. There! Weaknesses and 'flaws' for our main girls that are easily worked around if they just use some freaking *teamwork*!! Ruby/Blake need to learn that it is okay to run away and play to their strengths. Weiss needs to learn to rely on her team to attack and defend effectively. Yang needs to either figure out a work around for the pot shots to her legs (shin and knee guards/learning to use kicks herself) or rely on her ambusher teammates to do threat management. All they would have to do is throw some Bumblebee in there and not only are you trying to low kick this one chick you have to worry about her friend suddenly appearing behind you and shaking you. That or her sister suddenly knocking out half your Aura in a single shot... Eh... whatever. As for Ren and Nora it would have made sense that Ren had clips of Lightning for her and that is why his guns are rapid but not especially powerful so he would have a better chance at recharging her. Jaune doesn't have a gun and Pyrrah was more worried about Jaune staying alive. As for Ren's guns... while they don't make sense by themselves they do make sense when combined with Nora. As stated in the video he seems most comfortable with knife fighting. His guns are basically just knives with Uzi's attached... Add to that his own semblance and stealth takedowns and him prioritizing creating openings for Nora... Ren is fine the way he is... The only thing I would maybe do different is maybe have his guns attach and make a bow to pay homage to his father, and perhaps give him a 'finisher' blow rather than just weak slashes and Aura strikes. Actually it could have been interesting if he was more proficient with Aura or used it more in combat. Stuff like Aura slashes where they create an arc of energy, or free casting to create IEDs, or even something like Soul Eater's Black Star Big Wave attack where the opponent pushes their Aura into them and makes them explode on the inside... Opponent: Oh no! You found my only weakness! Tiny knives! Ren: *suddenly strikes his opponent quickly with his guns then backs up* You're already dead... Opponent: Wha-? *Blood soaked gore explosion* Ren: Told ya... how do you like my 'tiny knives' now? *Bitch*.

[@dapperparraper860]

I would argue that ruby should at least know some basic fighting techniques without her weapon, she doesn't need to be yang levels or anything, but you can't always run away from a situation even with superspeed(especially if you need to save someone.) Although technically every hunter should learn at least a little hand to hand combat I guess Weiss has her glyphs, but people like Blake idk. Although, I do agree ruby should have a more dodge based fighting style. Also you would think if hand to hand combat is such an important skill they would have a hand to hand sparring class or something, I mean this school literally allows you to fight grimm in classrooms so it wouldn't be out of place or anything.

[@twiinsiink]

Fair. You make a good point.

[@Slayer398]

Considering Qrow was her teacher and we know how good he is, it also makes no sense that he would leave Ruby with such a glaring weakness as no ability to do anything if she loses CR during a fight. You may as well throw into the jungle with a bloody, porkchop around her neck....

[@KeeKage37]

What about making a harness or something that can make it so she doesn’t loose her weapon? Or keep other smaller weapons on her?

[@Jediahbear]

I'd like to see Weiss depend less on the summoning the larger things. She can summon smaller grim and more than one at once. There will come a day where she's outnumbered. And she can't be multiple places at once. But she can summon more than one grim.

[@DarknessXER]

Jeddy Bear or at least Winter was able to multi summon as seen in the Volume 5 Weiss trailer

[@Cityweaver]

Spider-man is the perfect example for this discussion. He has a set-in-stone list of powers with corresponding flaws/circumstances that his fans are EXCITED to see him overcome. A Spider-Man fight isn't worth seeing if halfway through it, he doesn't run out of webbing. A Spider-Man villain isn't at their most dangerous if they aren't pushing him to use his agility, strength, senses and scientific intelligence to their limits. To be honest, it's hard to even name "weaknesses" of Peter's... He's smart, strong and fast enough all in one to take down people stronger, smarter and faster than him. He's almost incorruptibly good enough to impress Doctor Doom and Loki. His ongoing "weakness", which literally can't be overcame is that he is, mentally, a working-class schmuck like the rest of us and he doesn't have the confidence or certitude to handle the constant stress of BEING Spider-Man without a little mental breakdown and cooldown... and then he eventually feels guilty for not being "better than that". That can't be undone, overcame. He can't rewire his brain to think differently about himself. And it's completely impossible to NOT BE stressed about Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Vulture, Mysterio, Hydro-Man, or the Kingpin coming after his soul, so he makes a joke, kisses his wife and goes back to work.

[@janiyaharielle8964]

I like how they point out that yang uses her semblance too much but Blake literally uses her semblance in every fight scene she’s had. OKAY ROOSTERTEETH 👌

[@advanced1998]

I bet miles would just ignore this. Thank you for doing the work to try to explain and improve a show we all want to do better.

[@DarknessXER]

Rose Miles does appear to take criticism poorly from what I have seen. Although he probably gets bombarded by the useless critics whom do not state what he can improve upon. It is also nigh impossible to meet everyone’s expectations.

[@vincentabramo7175]

thank you for bringing up Weiss spamming the summoning! her fencer style is what inspired my Oc named Orlena seraphine. she has a colichemarde sword/ rifle and must use her wits in battle. her semblance is situational like nor a except she can absorb fire/ red dust and envelope her body/ weapon with flaming armor. the weakness is its time duration ( only a few minutes) and vulernability to water or ice.

[@mintimin8707]

I used to make OC's a lot. Just have fun and make them as realistic as possible!

[@mikedanielespeja6128]

I made one as well, Mal(dude btw, short for Michael). He was inspired by both Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha, as well as took bits from Naofumi. So he just uses two shields as weapons. But the thing is, there is a pressure plate-like thing disguised as an emblem on the middle of it, that, after making physical contact with something, makes ot spew out activated dusts from chambers inside it. I also made him crud by giving him a semblance which basically a skkn change for his aura. He, however, uses it to great effect by utilizing it as a pseudo-illusion semblance which makes him a bit harder to hit.

[@lightdragoon88]

I say Ruby semblance is also a problem, but a problem story wise. Her speed is to good in fights. As shown against Grimm (showed best in her V4 trailer) she has great skill in her speed and can use it in many ways to fight and kill Grimm. Against humans this skill is god tier and can easily best most character. Now the problem here is story. Characters like Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Tyrian, etc. cannot die at these points in the story due to well...story. So as in seen in every one of these fights Ruby does not use her Semblance at all during the fights. heck in the V5 finale she literally stands still for 90% of her 'fights' This is an organically flaw of not wanted to fight people, but instead of saying anything about that it 'oh you need to fight without your weapon.'

[@MrRemicas]

Qrow. Tyrian. Winter. Raven. Cinder. All these characters have been shown to be faster than Ruby, *without* a Semblance. Even Weiss and Nora can have similar bursts of speed. Mercury and Roman have shown with quick reflexes you can intercept her. Most of the time Ruby uses her Semblance to ger from point A to point B, she can't attack at the same time. Except when she does a wind effect, but then she needs room for that. Ruby's Semblance ISN'T overpowered. It is quite useful, but there's plenty of way to counter it. So while it can give Ruby an edge it's not an instant win button, especially when top-tier fighters top it easily.

[@lightdragoon88]

@@MrRemicas wait how have they been show to be faster? They have faster reflex yes, but not faster speed when Ruby goes full speed on her semblance.

[@taddad2641]

will agree that the series design for the flaws need some work. but i have seen FAR more poorly designed flaws in other similar series. course i guess these days we have the likes of hero academia. though apparrently the writers have the show and working to taek it more into account. also it could be they are implying that ruby doesn't really know how her own semblance works.

[@andreaniccoli8669]

You are right. The tension in the show feel fake when you know that Ruby should be stronger and faster of how she is. The writers let her her slaughter minions but when the villains arrive she suddenly got nerfed.

[@whatteamwildcats4033]

"Ruby struggles with hand to hand combat and that's bad" This is a setting with guns available, and she carries a weapon that keeps her at a distance/has a gun. The issue was already fixed, I don't get why they wanted to fix it again

[@TheAngryAsianAnimations]

And later they would introduce Adam's weakness, a weakness that would make no sense whatsoever.

[@docterlancedamiray333]

and that is dead

[@docterlancedamiray333]

and that is dead

[@somerandomboi7045]

@@docterlancedamiray333 death*

[@CrystalRubyMoon]

I love watching tea about RWBY. Still baffles me that to this day, Miles and Kerry still haven't hired a new writer who could do so much better than them.

[@Pbness]

During this entire video all I could think of is My Hero Academia. All the points you bring up My Hero does so well, of course there's a few stumbles here and there but overall the characters weaknesses are either overcome or worked around. Some weaknesses need to be overcame and some can't be fixed, so instead you have the characters work around them. I think a good example of this is Momo Yaoyorozu. During the second arc of the series she's beaten in a fight, and not a slight win for the other team, no, no, no, she gets totally _destroyed._ And that takes a toll on her (fighting) confidence. A little context to anyone who hasn't seen My Hero Academia, Momo got into UA (the school that this anime/manga takes place in) via recommendations. Getting into UA via recommendations is a huge honor and it says a lot about your abilities. Those who get in on recommendations are usually the strong fighters, an example of this is Todoroki but I won't get into that now. All you need to know is that it's a huge honor and it means you're strong. So far, up until this point, we (the viewers) have seen Momo use her power (called a Quirk) and her wits to overcome any challenge she's faced so far with ease. But then she looses, gets totally destroyed, you can see by the way she walks off the stage once she looses (and with her thought bubble too) that, that fight really took a toll on her confidence. This is something that is carried with her until another arc happens, the students final exams. Every student has to fight a teacher in pairs. Long story short, Momo gets paired up with Todoroki (another student who got in by recommendations) and you can see she's visibly shy, she lacks confidence, and just goes along with whatever Todoroki says with little to no protest. Eventually Todorokis plans have fallen short and he's gotten captured. Momo has to find a way to free him and then either capture or run away from the teacher. During this part we're shown that something that boosts Momos confidence is planning and seeing her plans succeed. Once Todoroki agrees to do Momos plan her confidence immediately gets better. While this issue gets resolved really fast it shows a lot about this character. She values her intelligence (before this she's shown studying, geeking out over having a study party at her house, and having done the best in her class on the test they had to take), likes planning things out, thinks highly of her peers, ect. I think this is why My Hero Academia is so well received, it's because it's able to have character weaknesses without it feeling forced. (Shit, this got really long and half of it is a fucking summary of an episode, I don't like it when I do thaaaat.. My bad. )

[@fightingmedialounge519]

The problem is that she wasn't really shy in the beginning.

[@weirdo5933]

I fucking hate that Weiss has to be completely still to hold up a summon and I hate that she just summons and let’s the damn thing fight for her. They had such an opportunity to have her fight WITH her summon and make some amazing fight scenes with her glyphs but they just end up making her a giant neon “Hit Me” sign whenever she does summon.

[@twiinsiink]

And it's double dumb because Winter can still fight with her sword and shit, so what gives?

[@weirdo5933]

@@twiinsiink maybe it’s the “ All Inconsistency’s Cannon” at it again

[@GoblinLord]

imagine if Yang fought someone who can kick AND punch

[@ausernamethatgoeswithmypro5124]

Oof

[@mikedanielespeja6128]

*maniacally laughs in OC*

[@GoblinLord]

@@mikedanielespeja6128 good one

[@lolstalgic9602]

Tifa Lockhart?

[@johnking9943]

I have a rather odd theory on why Rooster Teeth chose to have Yang stop relying on her semblence: Hear me out, but when they switched animation software to Maya, maybe they couldn't figure out how to make Yang's hair glow the way it did when she used her semblence. Sure, they figured it out eventually (As Volume 6 proves), but either they couldn't figure it out or wanted to save it for another twist that they thought would give them more ratings? And so, they give her the subplot of relying too much on it so they don't have to animate her using her semblence for a time. What do you guys think?

[@twiinsiink]

Sounds plausible. They seem to struggle in regards to consistent effects like that (especially after the jump to Maya). Sometimes fire is actually modeled, sometimes it's a JPEG, sometimes it's 2D animation. So, yeah. They not knowing how to have it glow could definitely of been a factor.

[@KeeKage37]

Makes sense.

[@Daniel_Nye]

Tai seems to think Yang is One Punch Man or something.

[@emiledlund9559]

Daniel X. Nye Poor choice of comparison

[@HxH2011DRA]

Wow you solidly explained my biggest problem rwby, amazing

[@anti-consumertechnologies4857]

Man, I really enjoyed Volumes 1-3. My friend introduced the series to me while Season 3 was still airing, and I caught up in about 2 days. From there, I was on the edge of my seat till the end of the season, and couldn't wait for volume 4. Then, I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. There are a lot of different things that go into it, but it just doesn't feel like RWBY anymore. Not the RWBY I became obsessed with anyway. I had to force myself to finish volume 4 because I wasn't having fun, and I got less than halfway into volume 5. Of course, the show was never perfect, but it used to be a lot better than it is now. I need to stop watching RWBY videos because I always just end up sad about RWBY's current state. It always sucks when something you enjoyed loses what you enjoyed about it. I guess it isn't exactly related to the video, this is just what came to mind when watching, and I kind of wanted to vent.

[@twiinsiink]

If you haven't seen volume 6 yet, I really recommend it. The middle and ending could be better, but the first 6 episodes are definitely worth the watch.

[@MrXhukari]

Yeah I totally agree; the first 3 volumes are the ones I remember most. With Volume 3 I felt they knew how to proceed with RWBY after Monty's passing, but then all the issues of volume 4-5 made me give RWBY an ultimatum, where if Volume 6 didn't improve enough, I'd just walk away from the show... It was good enough for me to stay interested, but its now on thin ice; if it worsens again I am just going to drop it -- won't be worth the time at all.

[@anthonyteasley3837]

Also ONE problem with ruby suddenly sucking in hand to hand combat she didn't originally, in episode 1 She beat the shit out of a goon with her fists

[@thomasraines1396]

Weiss’s only problem now is that she constantly jobbs but that’s not written as a problem, just a thing that happens. I always thought Yang’s weakness were people like Neo who constantly move around her, dodging all of her hits, using her momentum against her but apparently it’s kicking but she beat Mercury who does nothing but kick. Ruby sucking at hand to hand combat is invalidated by her first fight in the series where she beats the crap out of two guys before even drawing Crescent Rose. Also Nora or someone else should just carry a small taser like Killua from Hunter X Hunter when he needs a jolt of electricity.

[@Stivonim]

the real problem with RWBY is that people have super powers called semblances like being a a literal magneto or creating shadow clone but when some body is using maiden powers people are shocked because they never saw magic before.

[@molberding5]

This is the exact same problem as "power escalation": once the character has surpassed one goal, the writers have to come up with some new obstacle that they need to overcome. If they aren't fighting something stronger than them, then they're stagnating, meaning we know that they'll win every fight. If they don't stagnate, then every fight will end up being pretty much the same thing (character is at Level A, new villain/obstacle comes along at Level B, character improves/develops new ability to surpass Level B, rinse and repeat). It may help keep a series going for a while (like Dragon Ball), but it can end up be pretty boring in the long run (as the show itself says, "How many times is Goku gonna surpass his power level?") If they really wanted to take Tai's words to heart (fight smarter, not harder), then they would make an obstacle to move AROUND, not THROUGH. And with Adam gone, her PTSD could be that obstacle. If she's suddenly fine just because she got rid of her source of trauma, then they have officially lost sight on why she had it in the first place (and also really insensitive to people who do have post-traumatic stress, since they'd basically be saying "just get over it"). In other words, the most important part of overcoming an obstacle should be HOW they do it. If the "how" isn't interesting, then the struggle wasn't that challenging.

[@Lupirio23]

Opened my eyes to the HOW and WHY these are terrible. Very informative. Although I took Yang's arc to be "Don't jump into EVERY fight (and/or) recklessly." Being the tanky bruiser she is; powering her semblance up is par the course. I figured the start of her problem was that she just leapt at Adam without gauging his ability or setting herself to defend against his counter (though seriously; did Adam power up with every clash of Blake's blade or does a couple of pistol rounds really make him THAT powerful?). The payoff at the end of V5 was she didn't stop to engage Mercury as she may have done with every opponent prior and instead keep herself focused on her objective. But if I am indeed wrong; then damn that was a stupid weakness.

[@twiinsiink]

You've looked at it in a very good light! If they had gone about the arc like you described, then I wouldn't be nearly as disappointed in it as I am. The problem is that the show focused on "using her semblance too much is a bad thing" rather than "you need to judge how/when to engage your enemy".

[@Gamesfan34260]

Adam just powers up that quickly, if you look at the Black Trailer, a few rounds from the big robot was enough to slice through EVERYTHING around him, not just a single target, ALL of them. Adam is a glass cannon of the highest caliber, you DO NOT survive a hit from him if he lands a clean charged shot, it's practically an insta-kill every time he strikes with a powered up attack to the point where they clearly had to nerf his ability to...well....aim.

[@enforcerstarwolf5792]

tai said that when she relied on her semblance she became predictable making her telagraph her moves making it easier for human/faunas enemies to fight her but when used against grimm she is unstoppable

[@jackferring6790]

My opinion on this is twofold; one hand I get the base idea; since Yang's semblance gives her more power the more hits she takes, overrelying on it could be dangerous, but on the other hand it feels like Yang has been semi-retconned to her losing her tactical skills while using it. other than that I agree that the show doesn't handle weaknesses very well.

[@iactuallywanttofuckingdier6601]

I honestly can't remember the last time Wiess stabbed someone with her sword

[@namelessqueen2949]

10:47 that aged well xD

[@athqna8625]

Neo is back now, so maybe we can get a rematch

[@twiinsiink]

It'd probably be cool, so I hope so.

[@Soulbone3]

honestly, there's a lot of stuff that's just a series of missteps volume 4 onward, and i think the loss of monty and rt getting rid of shane and distancing themselves from monty's wife (the two who knew to the letter what monty's plans were) is why. it's becoming clearer and clearer miles and kerry don't have a clue what it is they want to do with the show.

[@ProjectLethargic]

Blake would do great with hand to hand, we see her slap people all the time

[@thomasraines1396]

And her axe handle punch is shown to be super effective.

[@ewannoel4963]

I'm sure we can all agree if Monty were still with us the show would have been a lot better

[@DarknessXER]

Ewan Noel the fights would certainly have more flair. I know that much

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Probably not.

[@williamharmon4039]

The fights would be, but Miles and Kerry were the ones writing the story even before Monty's passing. In fact, the Volume 2 finale where the Grimm were reduced to fodder getting vaporized in single hits was reportedly the aftermath of M&K toning down Monty's action scenes to keep it from getting too unbalanced.

[@HarmonicVector]

Tai bringing up Yang's Semblance strategy is a literal mimic of the people pissed that Yang won over Tifa in Death Battle, because at that point, her semblance basically worked like this: > Be Yang > Get hit by 11 or so Limit Breaks in sequence > live > turn on Semblance > Annihilate Tifa with the force of step 2 all at once And that pissed people off. So when she gets hit with the depression arc, this was where the DB fandom got their kicks in.

[@XonixDerps]

I feel like it WOULD of worked to give Yang the whole ( relying to much yatta yatta temper) if yang.. really was punished for it? Thruoguh half of what I remember Yangs weakness ltierally given her power is the more hits she takes in the stronger she gets but if she gets knocked out its over - but that almost never happens nor are we shown any real damage to her (because of aura usually till Adams op semblance) I guess what Im saying / wishing was that RWBY was more storyish I guess? Like dont just show cool powers Yang for example but show the negatives about them.. Yang barely has a negative because I guess shes been lucky enough that every hit was either weak as fucking shit or missed her temple.. In fact I kinda wish they did make Yang more of a berserk-er like Ty said so that we can see her become more calm/calculated rage as the story went on

[@flareb99]

Weiss is the most powerful non maiden powered Character we see yet never wins a one vs one, Ren should have been an aura master but for some reason decided to go with a chump, Jaune should be trained or they should have gone with Monty's version of Jaune who in volume 3 would have been really good at fighting, Blake in a fighting sense is really balanced, Nora has no direction when it comes to fighting that to me is a problem

[@Burscutum]

Good video! It feels fair, not just a shit fest, or a circle jerk. You explain the issues and give some suggestions that are realistic and interesting ! Your videos are great, thank you! [Also that LoZ background music is 👌]

[@twiinsiink]

Thank you so much!

[@dbutiting527]

This made my eyes see more clearly now. Thx for explaining cause I needed this.

[@twiinsiink]

Glad I could help :)

[@hiagain1463]

Why does Weiss never use her time dilation? She used it once in Volume 2, it was brought up once in Volume 3, and then vanished from the story. Heck, I almost forgot she could do that!

[@DylanoRevs]

This is off topic, but Weiss reminds me of an Atlas vehicle that has also been forgotten like the rest. THE ATLESIAN PALADINS!! Where the fuck were they??

[@englishmuffin7]

I love your viewpoint on these, and it actually helps me out since I'm working on a story :)

[@twiinsiink]

Nice!

[@justing.3541]

Loved listening to this while cleaning. Good lecture and has some good points in it. Making me reevaluate charecter designs im working with.

[@twiinsiink]

Thank you! I also like listening to our older videos while I do the dishes, so I'm glad I can help make your chores more entertaining.

[@alextryfonos]

Great video once again! I would love to see an updated one maybe analysing how the show has handled weaknesses from the volumes since this video aired (6-8) and to see if you think the show has improved, gotten worse or if it has more potential to get better with weaknesses!

[@stormy_person7530]

I feel like the idea of "you rely on your semblance too much" COULD have been an amazing plotline for Yang... if only her semblance worked even slightly differently. If it was something like her literally burning through her aura or sacrificing a large chunk of aura in order to activate, it would work well, and Taiyang's points would all be made; she's sacrificing her defense and ability to keep fighting in exchange for what essentially forces her into a berserker rush that a prepared opponent could wait out and wait for her semblance boost to run out of steam, making her low on aura, overextended, and tired from said rush. But with a semblance that works from her absorbing her opponent's attacks to strike back, that's seriously never gonna work, since it's not something she has to sacrifice to use, it's something she can just call upon in order to take advantage of her own weaknesses. Weiss's summoning is basically them looking for the ability to add "character development" to Weiss during Season 4 since RT seems to think that character development for Team RWBY in particular is getting an outfit change, a weapons upgrade, or a new ability. I would much rather have Winter be the only Schnee with summoning and have Weiss's glyphs be uniquely able to use time dilation, as a way to make their fighting styles distinct and to accentuate how Winter cares more about her status as a combat specialist in the Atlas army, while Weiss cares more about her role as Team RWBY's support group member, being able to massively boost the effectivity of her allies.

[@metageek7878]

am I wrong to want to travel to alternate timeline only to see how the series would go with Monty still around

[@keshagriffin3375]

No no, you got a point.

[@HarpyDancer]

I think Yangs overusage is her semblance actually makes sense because her semblance activated when her aura is depleted: the more attacks she takes (the lower her health is) the stronger she is. So when she activated her semblance, she is also lowering her aura which makes her weaker and more prone to damage and possibly losing. Yangs semblance is SUPPOSE to be used when she has no other chose while on the other hand Weiss’s semblance is suppose to work in tandem with dust. Weiss’s glyphs and dust usage actually enhance her abilities. I do agree tho that Weiss using summoning too much should have been addressed as a character problem. And that a character like Ruby does not need to learn how to fight at close ranged without Crescent rose

[@collink4752]

So I fence in high school, and it’s soooooo painful to see Weiss use a rapier, and SLASH ENEMIES. rapiers are rounded with a pointed tip, which means the most she’ll do when slashing is scratch the opponent, never mind behead a Grimm.

[@thomasraines1396]

They’re stabbing weapons.

[@fahriandikadir5799]

Ah yes it's not like her rapier is also a gun right

[@kaiserhundkek2531]

You just gave me so much for my fan fic thank you

[@foxtrot7349]

In volume 4 they gave nora an upgrade which gave her hammer electricity in the first episode... Unfortunately never used again

[@tidebringer4517]

I feel ruby should have made penny’s old sword into a rope spear as a backup in case crescent rose is thrown off to the side by an enemy

[@anxiousbean33]

I don’t think Weiss has a summoning problem I think it’s more of, when she was trapped in her room she could only do one thing to train Summon. She got rusty at her old fighting style because she couldn’t fight anyone like that in her room. She relies on her summoning because she has forgotten how to fight like she did after being stuck in her room. I think over the next couple volumes Weiss will use more of her old fighting style as she gets better at it again

[@twiinsiink]

Personally, it seems like your head-cannon handles her development better than the show. On that note, I hope you're right and we'll get to see Weiss stretch her fencing muscles some more soon.

[@anxiousbean33]

Twiins iink why thank you 😊

[@ken7007]

@@anxiousbean33 hell yeah man the writers just gave her amnesia that's all

[@ausernamethatgoeswithmypro5124]

It's pretty hard to forget how to do something you were trained to do your whole life.

[@2thicc4u_94]

Or another thing that could have happened is that Weiss got too cocky and over-confident in summoning and thought she could take anyone down with summoning, and so trusted it more than fencing.

[@uzumakiblade9695]

This video was needed, Your doing Gods work in the RWBY world. Your awesome

[@twiinsiink]

Thank you!

[@uzumakiblade9695]

@@twiinsiink No problem, keep up the amazing videos

[@drakefaleon2773]

Oh you have opened my mind to many things

[@wolfpixl]

99% people talking about the weakness bout the characters Me : (notices hopes and dreams background music)

[@jfduug4994]

These are some good points, I like the way you think

[@ymeynot0405]

+Twiins iink Just a reminder, Yang uses her semblance in the arena fight, then only a few (maybe less) hours later she fights Adam. Ask and a boxer how much energy they have after going a few rounds. They aren't at full strength for another fight.

[@twiinsiink]

She spent most of that time sitting around resting in her room. Her aura should be totally healed up by the time she finds Adam.

[@ymeynot0405]

@@twiinsiink I don't remember them ever stating Aura recovery rates, but if I remember correctly, state of mind does affect your Aura.

[@twiinsiink]

@@ymeynot0405 They've never gone into Aura recovery rates, or mentioned how state of mind can effect it. But if Weiss can get rekt by the White Fang Lt on the train and then be okay enough to survive the train crash a few minutes later, I think it's fair to assume Yang had plenty of time to heal after her fight with Mercury.

[@ymeynot0405]

@@twiinsiink I thought state of mind was covered when Pyria was training Jean. -- p.s. thank you for having a respectable conversation. As opposed to a shouting match.

[@twiinsiink]

@@ymeynot0405 Oh, maybe Pyrrha mentions it? They play real fast and loose with the rules of Aura, so it's hard to say for sure. p.s. No problem :)

[@adventurersitem-shop3050]

They did say that her rushing into combat with out thinking was her problem didn’t they? I believe that is where they were getting at when Tai said she relied on her semblance to much. Yang just rushed in to fight Adam relying on her power with out thinking and paid the price for it.

[@GhostEmblem]

Smashed it, well done!

[@rhysjonsmusic]

Honestly these writers deserve an award... for how awfully written this show is. I'm not even meming here, it's actually impressive how much they managed to fuck this show up. How many interesting concepts they manage to utterly fuck up, how many organic plot points they manage to create entirely on accident. And simply getting plotlines that literally write themselves (Yang losing an arm cause she rushed headfirst into battle without planning, maybe Yang should work on not running headfirst into every fight) AND STILL FUCK IT UP

[@sandwormy]

honestly such a bummer they made weiss forget how to fence and stuff, the white trailer was literally the reason why i started watching the show bc her fighting style was so sick, now it's just..... bleh ):

[@SallinKari]

The thing that confuses me is that Yang had clear weaknesses and it's not 'I can suddenly hit you so hard you're not getting up again.' They try to say she suffers against people who use kicks in their fighting style but that's bullshit. She didn't struggle with Mercury who uses pretty much only kicks, what she struggled against is highly mobile fighters. The reason why Neo wrecked Yang's shit wasn't because Neo occasionally kicked Yang, but because she could weave every hit and jump out of Yang's range with no issue. Yang could only attack with her fist if Neo let her get that close, and could completely negate her ranged attacks. Neon caused her trouble for the same reason, able to dodge any ranged attacks and only moved within close-combat range when Yang wasn't in a position to counter. In other words, Yang can't exert control over the battlefield so if she runs into a situation where the other person is, she is forced to fight on the enemies terms with no way to counter except hoping raw force from her semblance can overcome this. She literally only won against Neon because she blew up the arena and force Neon to be unable to move without tripping. If Neon didn't trip, Yang would have not been able to do anything. That's something she can work. Perhaps she could introduce grappling so if she has trouble catching someone she just needs to get a hold on them to bind them for a beatdown. Perhaps new equipment to help her out. Some grappling hook like things might be good since she does like using swing to amplify her hits, and could be used to set up tripwires like how Blake does with her weapon. Yang could even learn if from Blake. They're suppose to be really close so why not? Other then that, why not use dust to change her projectiles. Instead of just blowing everything up, use ice rounds to create obstacles or even cover, limiting the enemy's options and forcing them to close the gap and keep them in Yang's threat range.

[@spyrothetimelord]

it's funny you mention ruby hasn't learned when to run from a fight considering her stance in volume 7's finale. so much agree

[@diversityproductionz]

thanks. hadn't thought about these on my own

[@Busk_SprayPaint]

Wiess: Time Dilation? The hell is that?

[@sybaen5931]

I cringe so hard whenever I see Ruby headbutting Mercury. The dude that rarely, if *ever*, uses his fists instead of his legs... Throws a punch... just to give some ridiculous pay off to the weakest 'training arc' I've ever seen. Seriously tempted to go back through and watch all of his fights. That legitimately might actually be the first punch he's ever thrown on screen. I can't for the life of me think of another instance where he does.

[@handhelder823]

Actually in the fight against Yang, but he is far more effective in it. Btw, i still hate how they massacred his skill and style

[@thomasraines1396]

It was so stupid.

[@KeeKage37]

Personally I think that the statement that “Yang is weak to kicking fighters.” Is just wrong. She’s fought them before and won. We’re Yang has trouble with is evasive fighters. Those that focus on evading her blows and counters. Because that’s were her rushing tactics tend to bite her.

[@twiinsiink]

Monty said she's weak to kicking, it's not like I just made it up

[@KeeKage37]

Twiins iink True, but like you said it doesn’t make much sense.

[@AdeptArcanist]

I think the argument about Yang’s semblance is more about her semblance being focused around tanking blows, and that backfiring when she assumed she could tank Adam.

[@adriannaranjo4397]

S1-3 Yang: Monk/Thai fighter "Modern" Yang: Berserk brawler that needs to _control_ herself S1--3 Weiss: Fencer with glyphs to enhance her natural prowess "Modern" Weiss: Mage/Glorified summoner S1-3 Ruby: Uses her weapon's size & weight to advantage during battle and her semblance to get out of sticky situations "Modern" Ruby: Needs to use her fists because Crescent Rose is now a paperweight

[@Angi3_6]

I thought the next obstacle Weiss needs to overcome is how she plans to rule the company while being s huntress.

[@igoroliveira9778]

LOVE. THIS. VIDEO.

[@FullTimeNaozari]

Great vid!

[@grantlauzon5237]

I think it would be smart if yang used her semblance to absorb small blows then activate it on a small (but fast) blow as a surprise. Turn a quick/light attack into a dash attack heavy attack to surprise the enemy.

[@mannsama7084]

Yang's issue was because to use her semblance requires her to be damaged. Relying on it means taking unnecessary damage which is a risky strategy.

[@anthonypalmasano1884]

I think the idea behind yang over relying on her semblance should be replaced with her working through her anger issues, she got mad and rushed in and Adam cut her arm off, and while absolutely understandable it would be great to see them give an arc that they've built up before, it'd have been so *easy* to integrate into the plot.

[@rafaelasilva6615]

YES! Just... yes to everything you said! It's like the writers know or care about how to write character growth, so they just pull a bunch of flaws out of their butts and slap into whoever needs a new arc.

[@MiraSmit]

I think that with Yang's semblance the issue is that she gets stronger the more damage she takes. So relying on taking damage can be very risky and should be used sparingly. That said, same could be said for all semblances since once you're out of aura you should have no semblance or dust to work with with. The problem however is more prevelent in Yang. But indeed some weaknesses are better to be worked around. A jack of all traits is a master of none. That and RWBY's writing stopped making sense quite a while ago.