Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-70.164.250.74-20180322215425/@comment-4141313-20180328030013

SomeoneYouUsedToKnow wrote:

The most relevant thing I can recall is MK noting that they needed to give Ruby more focus. And that's only if I recalled correctly. Right on the money. It was one of the three things they felt they needed to improve upon during the AMA. The other two were doing better work on Showing and Not Telling, and Making better Fights that showcase the characters abilities and weapons.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/7x3w4s/crwby_ama_w_miles_luna_kerry_shawcross_and_paula/du59yzn/

As for my opinion on the matter, Ruby seems to only gain minimal devolopment from the subtlest of moments. Such as Leo mentioning "That Poor Girl" as in Penny, Ruby looking uncomfortable, or when Nora was thanking the SDC she suddenly looked upset, the former being followed up on with the talk with Oscar, and the latter when Yang and Weiss showed up. Aside from little instances like that though, Ruby is very much lacking in actual developing moments.

As much as I think the lack of interest in the SEW powers is from a mental block aimed to forget the night she unlocked them, it doesn't change the fact that she doesn't seem to have any damn interest in them. Its why I desperately want us to see another character with SEW powers, either a Seasoned Vet or even another Rookie, just so we could possibly get something from them that makes Ruby interested.

At the Moment, Ruby seems to suffer from the standard Shonen Protagonist Syndrome/Vanilla Protagonist Syndrome. She herself is not the most interesting character in the cast, the other mains and supportings are, yet she is the one designated as protagonist. Think along the lines of Ichigo from Bleach, Shinji from Evangelion, Souta from RE:Creators, Keith for the beginning seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender. She is not given much focus or development, the others are. Even Ren has more than her, and before Volume 3, Ren was more like a Cardboard Cutout meant to give JNPR 4 members and bounce off Nora. Only starting in Volume 3 did he start to feel more like an actual character.

So right now the challenge is that they need to make Ruby interesting enough to keep pace with the other leads and give her substantial development, without ​​​​​​eclipsing the rest of the cast.