User blog:SomeoneYouUsedToKnow/SYUTK's V4E6 - The Point Where It Tips - Impressions/Recap

As Volume 2 prophetized 2-3 years ago, there's a point where it tips. A small yet critical point, where balance is lost, and even a bit of weight will make one crash.

A point that carries a significant change, and creates great development, leading to a momentum that changes things severely. Never to be stopped. Never to be the same.

The real question now is:

Volume 3's Finale already did all that. Will history repeat, or not?

Language of Truth:

(Crimson) Red is Truth, Fact in the eyes of the user.

(Cornflower) Blue is a guess, an hypothesis, pondering and wondering.

I have decided to stick with Crimson for Facts from now on. Many thanks to the 0 people who voiced their opinions in the last blog of mine on which Red color was better. If your eyes bleed as a result of the Crimson, not my problem, majority voted.

And with that, our story begins.

1.a Walking and Walking, with a side of Walking and some extra Walking on top
We start our day with the RNJRs, out of Higanbana and back into the road. Half a season and not even close to Mistral. And first thing we discover this episode is that Ruby is dumber than we thought.

''Ren: Ruby? How long did you think this journey was going to take?''

''Ruby: I don't know! I grew up in a small area, I've never been this far away from home!''

''Jaune: Right, but... how long?''

''Ruby: Maybe like, uh... two... weeks?''

It's one thing to fail at reading maps (which I can accept). It's another to think it would've taken them 2-3 weeks to get from Patch to Haven mostly on foot. I mean, sure, the continents look smaller than Earth's when you look at the map, but it's still obviously a distance too long to get there so quickly on-foot.

Then, they notice a village. Conspicuously strange since according to Jaune (who I assume does know how to read a map) they shouldn't have hit a village yet. As the buildings "seem" damaged, they assume the worst and run to help, leaving behind that precious map that was their only hope to not get lost (Good job Jaune).

1.b The Demon Lily
Sooo....remember how when people saw Mt. Glenn, everyone thought the ruins felt more like a construction site than actual ruins? Weeeeell....now we get exactly that. The buildings look like they were abandoned in the middle of construction and painting, instead of actually damaged.

The town is completely empty in everything but buildings. No people, no animals, not even Grimm. Making this a trap would be too obvious.

Nora eventually finds a sign in the middle of the village, that reads: ONIYURI. Like seemingly everything in Anima, this is asian, japanese specifically. For the uninformed:

-The Oni are Youkais, which are similar to the Fair Folk, though the closest equivalent could be said to be the Roman Genius or Greek Daemons.

Onis, one of the most well-known youkais, are the japanese equivalent of ogres, and their name is variously translated as Demon, Devil, Ogre and Troll. Stereotypically, they are brutes with iron clubs and a single horn. They are hideous, very strong, and plunder food, riches and women from villages. I've heard they have honor though.

-Yuri. Now, everyone with the mentality of an 8 year-old thinks of lesbian relationships when they read that, but the word is japanese for "Lily". (Fun fact: Lilies can be toxic for cats. Careful, cat owners).

Overall, Oniyuri = "Demon Lily" (if you want to say it like a japanese person, try to say it like a spanish person, phonetics are about the same).

(Th e M or e Y ou Kn ow )

Anyway, while neither Nora, Jaune and obviously Ruby haven't heard of it, Ren apparently has. He summarizes it as: Anima's Mt. Glenn. AKA Mistral's failed expansion attempt. Though given the size of Oniyuri compared to Glenn...they barely managed to do anything.

...Well, not exactly Mistral's; the story is that the rich guys got tired of their useless government being useless. They used their wallets to try to build a city, with hope of it becoming a new kingdom at most, a better place than Mistral at least. (Although, this makes me wonder just who thought it was a good idea to give it a name like Demon Lily. That's like naming a hospital "Night Terror").

Of course, Grimm happened. Though according to Ren, "not just any one". Implying the state of Oniyuri was caused by a special, specific Grimm. Was I right? Did that footprint they recognized in Shion come from a Trojan? In any case, it's obvious Ren has some hot beef with that Grimm. Well, it's slightly implied that his parents died by it's hoof, so that makes sense.

Since there's nothing there, they keep moving as more birds fly above them and an invisible opera singer sings a wail in the background.

2.a Ein Lied von Eis und Feuer
We discover the invisible opera singer was none other than Weiss Schnee, in the middle of a theater's stage, with 3 spotlights focusing on her, creating shadows directly and diagonally behind her, as she stands in front of Atlas's emblem, and the audience enjoys with their bored faces. (And I just realized every part of that paragraph ended with a syllable involving E).

Like we expected, the lyrics are a subtle, subliminal "Fuck You" to Papa Schnee, basically saying she's not going to be a slave, a pawn, she's her own self, and he has no control over her. (Sadly, unlike some of us wanted, it's not some pop-rock song that defied expectations.) The question now is: Will she practice what she's preaching?

Now, you likely noticed but, her singing voice is not her VA. It's Casey's voice. While the reasons behind this are understandable (does Kara have enough singing ability?), the difference in the voice is.....stunning.

This makes me wonder though, how will this scene be translated in the Japanese dub? Will Weiss suddenly sing in english after spending 3 Volumes speaking Japanese? Or will the song be covered? And if covered, would it be by her JPVA? Or will they hire a JP Singer to do it?

Although the Anime Industry puts very high expectations on their VAs, and the networks and studios notice that pop music and youth-centered stories are "in", so, very often in anime, songs are sung by VAs, and some companies won't even hire voice actors unless they can sing as well.

Watching Weiss from a balcony at the stage's left, are Jacques and Willy. Willy stands, giving a sarcastic clap with a condescending gaze, while Jacques doesn't even give any groans of increasing discomfort.

Weiss does nothing but turn around, put a sad face, and walk away. Which only tells me she's not practicing what she preached as much as she should.

2.b Chairs? What is that? Some Vacuan Cuisine?
We get to the exhibition gallery...with an absolutely minimal amount of chairs and tables (only a real Atlesian could endure standing up for so long, I assume). Just like in real life, every man wears about exactly the same outfit. Unlike real life, most women do the same.

After following unimportant people around, we see Jacques talking with some business guy, with Weiss bored at his side and Wally looking at him deeply from the other side. Now, the conversation seems to be about Faunus, SDC, Atlas and Mantle. We don't hear the full discussion, but from the bits we hear we get this:

1-SDC Faunus are paid the same as the rest of the mining staff. Which implies <font style="color:#6495ED">all SDC Faunus are miners. A job so simple in a position so low you can hire illiterates to do it with no real problem. Think about it.

2-"The bigger issue here(...), is our society as a whole.(...) Atlas, Mantle, you can't deny the economic disparity between the two". This we already knew.

3-''"...I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue of compensation as much as it is one of opportunity..." > "Look, no one asked them to move here." > "But companies like the SDC promised jobs".'' <font style="color:#6495ED">So...people in Mantle have a problem with employment? As everyone capitalized on Atlas, Mantle lost work force, companies moved away, it's economy suffered, and the lack of work oportunities compared to Atlas only makes things worse and convinces people to leave.

Now, in the middle of that talk, Weiss sees a drawing of Beacon, but JacqueMate Schnee holds a tight grip on her arm as she tries to leave. After asking her where she's going, Weiss says she's "a little thirsty", while giving a look and voice that makes me believe she's become a Puppy Faunus. Not even Jacques of Blades can endure the puppy eyes, and lets her go.

And as she walks away, we get <font style="color:#DC143C">the dumbest-sounding laugh in RWBY, from Jacquelope Schnee himself.

2.c SHOW THE WORLD WE CARE
Weiss approaches the drawing that, personally, makes the trees near Beacon look more like a swamp. However, she barely gets close to it before we are introduced to Rockstar-Wannabe Henry Marigold. The 3rd guy so far that has tried to romance Weiss on-screen. And despite being less obnoxious than Jaune and less "by-the-book" than Neptune, Weiss doesn't accept him.

If there's one thing I will applaud him for, is for being the only guy in all of Atlas that isn't wearing something white, grey or blue. <font style="color:#DC143C">No no, he's wearing all black and red. (His hair's still kinda blue though). I notice his vest has some pattern on it, a symbol...looks like a flower...a flower chandelier? Most likely a Marygold, but of what kind?

<font style="color:#6495ED">Mmm.....black-and-red, last name's a flower, has a flower symbol, tries to act nice to get Weiss (at least initially), cool clothes and haircut, tryhard at romance, rather awkward....I feel he's like some mixture of Ruby and Neptune... ..oh god, what kind of monster are they breeding?!

Weiss is not interested in him...I assume it's because of what she said Volumes ago, that she thinks every guy who approaches her doesn't do it for her but for her name and state. She gives him barely more than the cold shoulder, like she barely tolerates his presence. <font style="color:#DC143C">Such bad attitude, girl, you'll end up marrying a dog at this rate.

Of course, given his completely non-chalant, ignorant attitude, not even having any idea (or care) about the charity, only "coming here for the drinks and food and extraordinary company", with a face that screams "punch me pls", I don't blame her. <font style="color:#DC143C">Even Neptune is better.

Weiss eventually has enough, and tells him to leave. So he does, thank the gods. Then Weiss starts to go to her happy place, reminisce of Beacon.....and then a Consolation Prize Wife says words that break the internal silence. Among them, one stands out:

"If they’re so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance.". Granted, it's hard to argue against this given <font style="color:#DC143C">they placed only 2 faceless mooks as border patrol to stop the incoming Grimm Horde.

Weiss does not stand by this, and starts to rant, catching everyone's attention. Jacques Sparrow tries to stop her from "embarrasing the family", but she struggles out and falls (quite harshly, yet strangely without a sound). And in the process, summons a pig, all ready for Christmas Eve.

CPWife yells at him to arrest Weiss for "being insane", that she should be locked up (already done), but he dismisses it because she's the "only one making sense" (Or rather, the only one who actually cares).

Then he thanks Jacqueson 5 for the party and leaves, while Jacquass instead tries to give his best Alexander impersonation to Weiss. <font style="color:#DC143C">He doesn't have THE Gaze, but when you're lying on the floor, it works just as well.

3. Amidst the Lilies, Lies the Demon
...After taking who-knows-how-long to leave, Ren senses something and tells oRNJes to stop. Using the Force, he feels Tyrian approaching, and they pull out their weapons. <font style="color:#XXXXXX">All while Ren's crotch is pasted right in our face.

Does Tyrian enter in their face? From behind them? Nope, he freaking <font style="color:#DC143C">jumps over the wall and buildings. I had mixed-to-negative thoughts about Blake casually jumping many meters into the air, and this doesn't make me change my mind.

To summarize things: <font style="color:#DC143C">He kicks everyone's asses before crash-jumping into an nearby building. He also teaches Ruby that blocking with the middle of a scythe is not a truly-great idea, and gives Jaune a big look deep into his eyes (that hopefully will not bring more creepy fanart).

He expresses no interest in Ren nor Nora, some interest in Jaune, and finally states his plan of taking Ruby to a faraway land. Jaune states menacingly that they won't let him, though I find it hard to take seriously when he shows those <font style="color:#DC143C">teddy eyes.

Then he proceeds to <font style="color:#DC143C">kick everyone's asses again, but before he beats Nora, Ruby abuses Friendly Fire to buff her up with lightning. Then she tries to smash Voldo, but he pulled a scorpion tail out of his ass, apparently strong enough to hold back the hammer. And then he takes off his jacket, and proclaims to not be with the faceless mooks of the WF, but instead with his "Goddess". Ruby thinks Cinder, but we know better.

Then Tyrian proceeds to <font style="color:#DC143C">kick their asses again and is about to KO Ruby, while a crow approaches. But...

Cue cliffhanger.

Conclusions
-Ruby, I always felt you were far from the brightest banana, but you're not helping me think otherwise.

-Given Oniyuri was not on the map, apparently....maybe Mistral never even acknowledged it? Granted, it wasn't even close to finished either.

-Rooster Teeth needs to learn how to make ruined villages look ruined. Following that: <font style="color:#DC143C">GRIMM, YOU ARE DISAPOINTING. The Grimm supposedly wreck not just mankind, but man-made stuff. And yet, we've seen 2 dead villages, and they are way too intact.

Shion, I excused it since there were also Bandits, which could have killed some Grimm as they left (and some people), and at least 1 Hunter, thus there would be less Grimm alive. (No excuse for not eating the people however).

But Oniyuri doesn't have the same excuse. Even Mt. Glenn looked more like a ruined city than Oniyuri. Oniyuri looks more like if they simply stopped paying the workers less-than-halfway through the construction, not like if monsters ravaged the land.

For 2-and-half years we thought Grimm were useless at doing their job: killing people. Now, I feel they are useless at doing the second part of their job: breaking things. But oh well, baby steps.

-Weiss singing scene.....part of me understands (Opera is a style fitting the entitled aristocracy), but the other part of me is disapointed. I expected something more....Hoshidan or Nohrian. I mean, Weiss is the daughter of the guy with the most Dust on the planet, and they can't even try to do that? Come! On! RT!

It was a great oportunity to make a musical scene like those. She has Glyphs capable of causing new Bullshit as the plot demands, and enough Dust to make a desert. Put that to good use!

-<font style="color:#DC143C">Please. No more love interests for Weiss. 2 losers were more than enough.

-Well, it seems Winter came....and left to never return. There's barely been a mention of her name so far since Volume 3. Even in a place like the charity concert, where she could've easily appeared with no problem. <font style="color:#6495ED">They haven't forgotten she exists, right?

-The Boarbatusk looked....different. More oval, bigger in general, I think with less curved tusks pointing upwards. I dunno, I liked the old design a bit more. <font style="color:#DC143C">This one looks too much like Pumba.

-Now that I think about it, weren't Marigolds yellow-orange?

-Jacques's name....works for so many things when writting.

-Tyrian is...extending to new horizons. Don't think about it.

-RIP Nameless Higanbana Waitress. V4E4-V4E5, "She hoped there would be a happy ending. Wasn't paying attention".

-Aura.....mmm, I haven't noticed before, but it looks more like sparks now when hit. Kinda cool, makes it easier to know when they got hit and how hard in a stylish way.

-"Qrow is an Animorph" confirmed......WHY. Although, I wonder, was it Semblance or some magical BS? Granted, I'm not sure which one is worse.

-When did Qrow's eyes turn so...pink? They feel more pinkish than they were before. Could be the lighting though.

-I didn't mention this here, but Tyrian has revealed himself to be part of Neo's race of Eye-Shifters. His eyes change from yellow/gold to Purple, for even less understandable reasons than Klein and Neo. I don't like the idea of this guy being related to Neo.

Speaking of Neo....

'''-<font style="color:#FF69B4">WHERE'S NEO?? <font style="color:#FFFAFA">6 EPISODES AND NO NEO. <font style="color:#A0522D">THIS IS HERESY. '''

PS: In the process of writing this, I discovered Vic Mignogna sung an english cover of the D.N.Angel theme song.

If you wonder why this came so late: Blame my internet. Can't decide between going at full speed and ditching me for hours.