User blog comment:IamThorn/Tell why Raven is not Yang's mom./@comment-9464517-20150128202120/@comment-25555436-20150129200230

Yeah. Originality is important to keep the audience interested (except the Japanese audience, and to almost the same point Otakus and Weeaboos).

I don't know for how long Monty thought about how RWBY would be, I don't know if he has ever decided to read TvTropes or something, I don't know if he even cares. But originality is a blessing, for everyone involved, and creating a cliché storm is a terrible idea.

Which gets me wondering, has Monty said in an interview or something, what inspired him to make RWBY?