Obviously the show RWBY itself needs no introduction for those who've read my review on the first volume. This time I want to talk about one of my favorite characters from the show so far, Yang. She was first introduced in the Yellow Trailer in June 2013. A seventeen-year-old girl who sports shotgun gauntlets, rage/super saiyan attack mode, and a flaming heart symbol. She's seen as a party girl and having a little spunk to her personality. Yang's voice actress, Barbara Dunkleman, describes Yang as, "the kind of person who will teach someone how to swim by pushing them in the water." (2013) This is seen at various points in the first volume but let's look at the story we have so far.
Yang is excited to that Ruby is attending Beacon Academy and encourages Ruby to try meeting new people. They split off temporarily and meet up during roll call where Yang asks about Ruby's day. Ruby starts whining about an incident between her and another girl named Weiss Schnee but Yang stays optimistic. That night Yang continues to encourage Ruby to meet new people and goes out the way to get Ruby to meet Blake Belladona at the other side of the room. The meeting went off well and Yang showed great appreciation that Ruby finally met a new person.
Before initiation Yang still encourages Ruby to make new friends but Ruby still has desires to be with Yang. When the initiation starts Ruby and Yang are separated in the emerald forest. Yang and Blake find each other, during a fight with bear-like creatures, and they become partners. The pair soon reach the site where the artifacts are hidden which are used for assigning teams. As soon as Blake and Yang pick out their artifacts, the rest of the cast- Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Nora, Lie, Pyrrha- arrive at the site by various means. The group is attacked by various creatures causing them to split off into four and fight the creatures. After the battle, the teams RWBY- Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang- and JNPR-Jaune, Pyrhha, Lie, and Nora- are formed.
The final part of volume 1 basically includes the start of school life for the girls. They have classes to attend and/or study for, events to attend, and maintaining their relationships. Everything was going great until the team learned about Blake's faunus heritage/White Fang membership which that society looks down on. Gripped with fear Blake goes into hiding and the team tries to find her. Ruby and Yang show concern for Blake's well-being while Weiss's feelings remain unknown. Blake was found and amends were made between Blake and Weiss. Ruby is excited to see that the team is back together and the four push on towards the unknown future.
Yang has a personality of being bright, energetic, and confident in her actions. When she interrogated Junior she did it in a way that one wouldn't expect a teenage girl to do. Also she played him towards the end as the stereotypical "little woman," but she fooled him again. She said, "Oh Junior, I was only playing with you! Don't be so sensitive! Let's kiss and make up alright?"(Yellow Trailer) Junior did take the bait and before his lips could reach hers, she punched him square in the face. Let alone the way I got to see her fight and take out Junior's henchmen was pretty amazing. She also has an "adrenaline rush," that makes her more powerful than normal whenever she gets angry or a piece of her hair is cut. Just seeing her be, "more than meets the eyes," makes her character stand out.
She also cares for those around her especially her sister Ruby. Yang has a kind of "motherly," attitude toward Ruby which Ruby is on and off about. Ruby mentioned that Yang used to read to her at bedtime in Episode 3. Yang also encourages Ruby to try to make friends, "You've got friends all around you, you just haven't met them yet."(Episode 3) Yang was there when Ruby tried meeting Blake which caused Yang feel proud of Ruby. Another caring moment was when Ruby was almost killed by a creature during the intiation event in Episode 8. Weiss saved Ruby and Yang embraced Ruby expressing her feelings that Ruby was safe. Yang also showed joy to Ruby when Ruby became the leader of team RWBY. All of this just shows how much of a mother Yang is to Ruby.
In regards to others, Yang tries to be nice to everyone around her even if she doesn't agree with them. The best example is when the team finds out about Blake's faunus heritage. Weiss is up and arms about it but Yang doesn't care whatsoever about Blake being a faunus. Yang did mention before this situation, "it must be tough being a faunus." (Episode 11) Yang sees Blake as a person and doesn't care about Blake's heritage. Yang also never approved of Weiss's snotty/rude behavior every since they became Team RWBY. The worst of it was when Ruby and Weiss first met and Weiss criticized Ruby to death. Yang did try to bring peace between Ruby and Weiss but there's still tension going on. Yang's current view is that Weiss needs to stop mistreating Ruby and not be so cruel to others.
So far this is all we have seen of Yang's character. Hopefully in Volume 2 we'll see Yang's character develop a bit more. Based on seeing the mother role Yang is playing I think tension may increase between her and Ruby. Ruby could one day be like, "Stop trying to be like Mom," and the two will despise each other temporarily. I also could see that Yang may be trying to do something that she thinks will help Ruby but cause more harm than good. I can only speculate based on the Yellow Trailer and Volume 1. I will add more content or make a part 2 to this analysis. All I can say now is that I'm pumped up for Volume 2 and I can't wait to see how the story progresses!
Links/References
All of RWBY Volume 1
http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Yang_Xiao_Long
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCw_aAS7vWI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoJzEb7qH28
Images from deviant art, google images, and pixiv.
Thanks to Roosterteeth and all the fans of the hit-show RWBY.
I don't own any of this content and I thank the sources mentioned. This material is used for educational purposes only.
No comments:
Post a Comment