Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-190.134.25.241-20131218235813/@comment-24147102-20131222235429

Definitely possible but not having seen Hunter x Hunter myself, I can only say its also just as likely, if not more, possible that Aura and Semblance were inspired by the anime Soul Eater --which RWBY is already HEAVILY influenced by.

In Soul Eater, the power of ones soul can be both projected outward offensively and, with the proper characteristic, be used to defend against anothers Soul Attack. And as far Semblances go, souls in Soul Eater also can have certain characteristics such as healing, the possibility of flight, extreme compatibility with others, flexibility to alter ones own soul, Anti-Demon properties, even the ability to affect the whole planet.