Welcome to another round of Design Blox Studio’s Character Analysis discussions! This occasion we’re talking about RWBY! A hit web animation series made by the late Monty Oum.
Today we’re going to talk about Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose. If you’re confused, don’t worry, hopefully we’ll clear it up as we go.
We’re going to talk about the colors and name meanings for each members of Team RWBY.
So starting off we have…
Ruby Rose
[Left image gotten from RWBY’s Tvtropes Page, Right image is from the RWBY Wiki]
As you can see, Ruby has Red and Black in her design as it’s in her main color scheme but believe or not, she’s not a evil character nor edgy. She’s one of the main protagonists of the story, combined with usually being the perky one in the room, positive and besides being the leader of her team, she’s the heart as well. With her kindness managing to eventually get through Blake’s early defensive walls and Weiss’s ice queen exterior. What’s hilarious is how many viewers assumed Ruby to be edgy or dark when she’s quite the opposite.
Speaking of, the Red color can symbolize energy along with passion, which Ruby clearly shows to people she meets, along to her friends and family. Another is action, which Ruby can obvious do with the sniper scythe she wields and soon learns how to do hand-to-hand combat without it. With elements of the prior, Ruby motivates a lot of people around her, even if it doesn’t work on everyone she meets, it makes a big difference regardless.
The color, or rather shade of Black can symbolize protection and strength, which Ruby showcases by wanting to be a Huntress to protect others. The shade can also mean authority, Ruby is the leader of her team as previously stated. It also has mystery in the pile as well, like Ruby’s silver eyes, quite the choice in color there, huh? Hm~
Ruby’s name also calls back to the gemstone that can come in a red color, along with rose for the same reason as well. A rose symbolizes love if red but if black, death. Also her wielding a scythe can make people think she’s evil or scary like the Grim Reaper, but much like the symbolism of a rose, the Grim Reaper as it’s more tender meaning. A Grim Reaper is just doing their job, letting souls rest. While Ruby doesn’t do the exact same, she does want people to rest easy as the dangers in the world are subdued. With red giving a warning to the brain, in this case, it’s to Ruby’s enemies.
Ruby is inspired from Little Red from the “Little Red Riding Hood” story. (Even if the trope has been done many, many times, I still think a butt kicking Red Riding Hood is awesome!)
That’s it for Ruby!
Next up is the one who wanted to lead the team originally…
Weiss Schnee
[Left image gotten from RWBY’s Tvtropes Page, Right image is from the RWBY Wiki]
Weiss, as her name sounds, it sounds like “ice”. Her colors is mostly White and Icy Blue/Cyan but her Vol 1-3 attire contains red as well in her design as well.
Weiss strives to be perfection, the shade of White symbolizes perfection. She’s aloof to others she sees as beneath her, she’s icy like the cold blues in her palette, hence her nickname “Ice Queen”. Despite her rich upbringing and being a frequent target of attacks due to it by the White Fang, she also bad talked the Faunus. When Blake rebuttals her side of the situation before running away, Weiss still hears her teammate out and when they found Blake again, Weiss changes her tune, from listening to Blake. Showcasing even if icy, she does have a good heart beneath. Goodness is another tied with the shade of White. Weiss, even if mean, will do good at the end of the day.
As for the Blues, Weiss is not only loyal to her family name to bring it back to the glory of her grandfather’s before her father stained it, Weiss is also loyal to her team even if she’s icy in the beginning about it. Another term symbolized with the color Blue is confidence, which Weiss often has a lot of. In fact, her scare was gotten by defeating a Grimm possessing Giant Armor, a test from her father, she had to beat it in order for him to be convinced to be able to attend to Beacon Academy. Honesty is another and well, the “Ice Queen” will often let you know how she thinks if given the chance.
Weiss means “white” in German and Yiddish and her last name Schnee means “snow” in German, giving another layer to her nickname “Ice Queen”.
Weiss is inspired from Snow White from the story “Snow White”, to which her name roughly translates to.
Weiss does soon shade off her “mean girl” attitude and we do, we see she’s someone living in a rough life. Not just due to the attacks but also living with an abusive father. She wants to sooner do her own thing than to follow him fully as time goes on.
That’s all for now! See ya on the next post!
Do you want to read someone else with a snow related motif? Read about Noelle Holiday!
