Oscar Pine is a character in RWBY who first appeared in "The Next Step" of Volume 4. Formerly a farmhand from Mistral, he has decided to help protect the world from Salem. He is also the current incarnation of the ancient warrior Ozma.
Appearance[]
Oscar is a boy who is short in stature. His skin is tanned and he has a faint, perpetual blush and freckles on his cheeks. His hair is dark brown and his eyes are hazel, the main iris being forest green, with accents of burnt orange and yellow around the pupil. As of Volume 7, there is a slight height difference in Oscar where he barely reaches past Ruby by the head as seen in "As Above, So Below".
Original (Volume 4–6)[]
He initially wears a dirty and scuffed white shirt that has laces across the chest. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and there is a pocket on the left tricep. Orange suspenders hold up his olive pants, which are tucked into worn, brown boots. The pants are patched over the knee, and a quilted cloth hangs loosely out of his left pocket. He wears orange gloves, with green straps overlapping across the back of the hand in an X shape, and around the wrist. His neck is wrapped with a torn bandage, though it is noted to not be covering a wound.
Combat Outfit (Volume 6–Current)[]
After arriving in Argus, he changes to a completely different outfit. He wears an olive coat with shoulder pads and a belt both of dark red. Underneath, he wears a white collared shirt and bandages wrapped around the neck. His gloves are a slightly open U-shape with black X-pattern wrist straps. He also wears black trousers and red boots colored orange at the toe.
Image Gallery[]
Personality[]
Oscar seems to be of a calm and passive disposition and generally seems to enjoy his life as a farmhand, working on his chores as soon as he wakes up. He works with a visible smile on his face, implying he enjoys his tasks.
When Ozpin makes contact with him, he initially brushes off any of his requests, wishing to instead remain as a farmhand and not accepting Ozpin as anything more than a voice in his head. However, in "Kuroyuri", he gives in and begins his journey to Haven Academy. According to Ozpin and later stated by himself, Oscar desires to be someone more than just a farmhand.
Oscar seems uncomfortable in new social situations, as shown when he approaches Qrow Branwen on behalf of Ozpin and first conversing with the members of Team RNJR. His slow pace of speech and tendency to look down while talking suggest awkwardness when engaging with strangers. Oscar also sounds nervous when Ozpin mentions he must strengthen his body and Aura.
Oscar has two different versions of himself after Ozpin's soul merges with him. One is his own personality while the other is Ozpin using his body. Each version of him smiles differently than the other and at certain points, their voices mix with each other.[8]
Though he trains diligently under Ozpin's tutelage from within him, Oscar is incredibly frightened at the prospect of the world going to war again. After conversing with Ruby Rose and then Ozpin, Oscar appears to have taken a great step in conquering his fears of war, as Ruby disclosed to him the reason why she fights, reassuring and inspiring him.
In spite of his lack of experience in combat, smaller size and gentle appearance, Oscar does possess a willingness to fight. This is displayed when he agreed to spar against James Ironwood, a man quite larger than him and bearing much more experience due to his militaristic lifestyle. Oscar can also lash out against opponents if he has been attacked or his allies have been attacked. During the attack on Haven, Ruby was knocked out, resulting in Oscar being fueled by consequent rage and determination and using it to fight harder against Leonardo Lionheart.
Despite his training molding him into the disciplined warrior that he will become, Oscar is not without a sense of empathy and compassion even towards his enemies or aggressors. A stark contrast to the more jaded Ozpin, who has suffered betrayals from allies and foes alike. In his battle with Hazel Rainart, he attempts to empathize with the emotionally wounded man despite Ozpin's advisement that Hazel had been too broken for too long to listen to reason. He holds nothing against Qrow's negativity towards him due to Ozpin, and forgave Jaune easily for his outburst. Notably, his trust in others has come to some effect, as he was able to sway Hazel against Salem by trusting him with using the Relic of Knowledge, as well as how honest and straightforward he was when telling him.[9]
After learning the truth about Ozma and Salem, Oscar expresses fear that his life would simply be another repetition of Ozma's mistakes and regrets. He later comes to terms with the fact that he will likely lose his identity soon, but states he will do everything he can to help with what little time he has left. He later demonstrates an awareness of the speed of the merge and declines heavy reliance on his new magical powers as a result.
Since arriving in Atlas, he appears to be naturally accessing more of Ozma's memories, remaining calmer and more collected than before and readily reassuring others in times of crisis or doubt. Additionally, Oscar seems increasingly familiar with the layout of Atlas and their technology, as a previous incarnation of Ozma was the one who proposed the idea of placing Atlas in the sky using the Relic of Creation to begin with.
In "As Above, So Below" Ironwood notes surprisingly that Oscar talks about the previous time in Atlas as if he was actually there, showing that Oscar has unconsciously started to tap more into, and access, Ozma's memories from his previous incarnations.[10]
In "The Enemy of Trust", Oscar is shown to have acquired new wisdom as he tries to convince Ironwood not to abandon Mantle and the rest of Remnant out of fear, and again later when he decides to focus on figuring out how to save Atlas rather than discuss Ozpin's self-exile at that moment. This has shown how much Oscar has matured in his role.[11]
Powers and Abilities[]
Oscar beating a Sabyr in one hit.
In "Necessary Sacrifice", Oscar claims he has fought the occasional small Grimm before on his farm. By the time he and the others arrive in Mantle, Oscar was capable of killing a Sabyr in a single hit.
As a former farmhand, he is agriculturally inclined.
Weapon[]
- Main article: The Long Memory
Oscar's weapon is The Long Memory, unlike other weapons, the cane was passed down to him by his predecessor Ozpin. After training he became skilled in it, even using attacks as fast as him.
Reincarnation[]
Due to the reincarnation process, Oscar's soul is fused together with Ozpin's, and he has access to the former Headmaster's memories.
In "Unforeseen Complications", it is revealed that Oscar can temporarily relinquish control of his body to Ozpin. While he is in control, Oscar's physical body appears to gain the dexterity and motor control of Ozpin and is able to leap and flip in the air; his reflexes are also immensely faster. However, once Oscar regains control of his body, he loses this level of coordination.
Due to Ozpin's merging with Oscar's soul, Oscar will eventually gain all of the former's martial prowess. Oscar has rapidly developed considerable skill and familiarity in the use of The Long Memory as a weapon, with Ruby and Jaune both noting his startling progress over the course of his training.
In both "Lighting the Fire" and "Haven's Fate", Oscar is shown to have a notably different stamina than Ozpin and his teammates. What causes no visible exertion to Ozpin while fighting, can give Oscar varying levels of fatigue after switching back.
By "The More the Merrier", Oscar became formidable enough to take on Lionheart in a one-on-one duel. Oscar's fighting style took on many of the qualities of Ozpin's, particularly his speed, his rapid transition between offense and defense, and his tendency to switch between using one of and both of his hands when striking with his cane. He also possessed a strong defensive Aura cloak, being able to take a direct hit at near-point-blank range from Leonardo's Dust projectile shield with little discernible effort.
Despite this, his Aura can be broken quickly from stronger opponents, such as The Hound, who broke his Aura in two strong hits and knocked him unconscious.
In "Refuge", Ozpin tells Oscar that although it felt like the former was gone, it was not the case, as Oscar was rapidly gaining both his remaining magic and memories, showing that the merge was still ongoing.
Following his capture in "Midnight", when Oscar suggests to sabotage Salem through her inner circle, both he and Ozpin say it at the same time, indicating that they now have the same thoughts.
After Oscar used The Long Memory to destroy Monstra, the large burst of magic accelerated the merging process.[12] By the time of "Risk", there is barely any difference between the two souls. He has taken on much of Ozpin's mannerisms such as looking out the window as well as leaning on his cane. In addition, when the two switch, the transition is instant, with the only indication being a slight glow to the eyes.
Magic[]
Oscar creating an energy barrier using magic.
As the current incarnation of Ozma, Oscar is capable of wielding the same magic as his predecessors. In "The Enemy of Trust", he conjures an energy barrier through magic for protection when uses The Long Memory to burst through the bottom of Atlas. Later, he conjures another barrier to survive his fall. After landing in the crater beneath the City of Atlas, he refers to the barrier as "that power", while asking if Ozpin has come back. The barrier is similar to one that Ozpin conjured in "End of the Beginning".
In "Witch", he fires an energy beam at Salem during his escape from Monstra, though it merely causes her to stagger.
Despite the immense helpfulness of magic, Oscar tends to hesitates in using it due to it causing the merging process to accelerate.
Trivia[]
Allusion[]
- Oscar alludes to Tip (Tippetarius) from The Marvelous Land of Oz. For more information on this allusion, as well as other choices the creators made for this character, see Oscar Pine/Behind the Scenes.
- He also alludes to The Little Prince, which was confirmed by Miles Luna.[13]
Color Naming Rule[]
- The name "Oscar" can allude to a species of fish called the "Oscar", which comes in sub-species and different types of colors, including yellow or velvety brown varieties.
- "Oscar Gold" is also a color, based on the color of the famous Oscar statues.
- His surname "Pine" corresponds to the evergreen tree species of the same name, which are evocative of green colors.
- The name Oscar is a name of Irish origin meaning "deer-lover", bringing browns to mind.
Story[]
- Regarding Oscar Pine and his story during Volume 4, Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross had more rewrites with him than anything else in RWBY at that point while trying to figure out the right way to present it. At one point, Oscar's first major scene was meant to be in chapter 7 instead of chapter 4.[14]
- During Volume 4, the original plan with Ozpin was to not reveal that he had anything to do with Oscar Pine until the very end of the Volume.[15]
- The writers have stated that Oscar has matured so much in his role after the events of Volume 7 and have jokingly called him "Farm Man".[16]
- Oscar's favorite food is waffles. [17]
Character&Design[]
- His English and Japanese voice actors both portrayed Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist.
- Out of all of Ozma's incarnations, Oscar appears to be the youngest.
Miscellaneous[]
- Oscar is the first name of The Wizard of Oz, the character Ozpin alludes to, whose full name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs.
- "Oscar Pine" somewhat sounds like "Ozpin", Ozma's previous incarnation.
- During the Volume 8 Directors Commentary, Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross praised the shot of The Hound attacking Oscar for its brutality. Paula Decanini credits senior animator Megan Pellino for the shot.[18]
- Oscar has an "active mind" due to housing the memories of Ozma's previous reincarnations, so he has gained a bit of insomnia.[19]
References[]
- ↑ Rooster Teeth's Tumblr
- ↑ "Our Way"
- ↑ Miles Luna's Cameo
- ↑ RWBY Archives Remnant Promenade Vol. 1-8 Height Chart
- ↑ RWBY Archives Remnant Promenade Vol. 1-8 Height Chart
- ↑ RWBY Archives Remnant Promenade Vol. 1-8 Height Chart
- ↑ "The Enemy of Trust"
- ↑ Volume 5 Directors' Commentary Chapter 3
- ↑ RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 7
- ↑ RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 9
- ↑ RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 13
- ↑ RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 10
- ↑ Miles Luna on Cameo
- ↑ Volume 4 Directors' Commentary Chapter 1
- ↑ Volume 4 Directors' Commentary Chapter 7
- ↑ RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 13
- ↑ MIles Luna Cameo
- ↑ RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 2
- ↑ Miles Cameo
