Discussion RWBY / TropesCToD

I was wondering if we should update the Call-Back and Continuity Nod tropes since they do seem a little outdated. Either that, or we remove them from this page since they look like episode examples to me.

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This was added to Central Theme:

As RWBY evolved overtime, the story is revealed to have a central theme for each arc (which is 3 volumes long for each so far), as well as a few overarching ones:

• Unity. What does it actually mean to be "unified"? On a smaller scale, this is represented by the Huntsman teams, being intended to create groups of True Companions who will fight together to protect humanity from the Grimm. On a much larger scale, this is examined with the 4 Kingdoms' unity being extremely fragile, something that only becomes evident when the CCT goes down, and each nation is left to fend for themselves against Salem. Ozpin, Salem and Ironwood also examine this idea, given how each of them have created unified groups to oppose their enemies, but their respective personality traits influence the pros and cons of their unity. There's also Ozpin's overall goal of unifying humanity in preparation for the Brother Gods' judgment, something that has disturbing implications under the surface.
• The unreliability of Stories and Information. Stories and information play a huge part in the series, with Salem and Ozpin acting as the narrators for several of the episodes and World of Remnant lore. The series establishes overtime that everyone in Remnant has unreliable and incorrect information to varying degrees, with Ozpin and Salem especially being highly unreliable. Because their biases and views color their understanding of the situation, any information they give is filled with misinformation or lacks the full context. Every character in the series ends up suffering as a result of this flawed information.
• Change and Growth. A recurring theme of the series is how willing and able is one to change or grow as a person, the challenges and difficulty of doing so, and the disastrous consequences of failing to do so. The villainous characters, such as Roman, Adam, Salem, Watts, Jacques, and Ironwood are all shown to be people who are too inflexible and unwilling to change their beliefs or understanding of the world, and thus bring a great deal of unnecessary harm to themselves and others because of it. By contrast, the Heroes are shown to be people who will do their best to grow and change as people, even if they don't always do it perfectly, and even if they end up regressing as people at first. Blake is a notable case of this, being slow to open up to her new teammates after leaving Adam, only to regress backwards due to her trauma from Adam's abuse, before retaking control of her life and finding a way to free herself from his grasp.

Is this confirmed or audience analysis? While it's been confirmed that each Volume is based on a specific theme, there's been a lot of fandom speculation over the years about what those themes are, and analysis based on what individual fans think might be the themes of those volumes. The reason there's a V7 entry is because that one's definitely a confirmed objective example rather than subjective reviews/YMMV entries.

For example, the only confirmed "unity" theme that can be objectively troped is that Ozpin is The Chosen One, who has been tasked with a divine mission to unite humanity, so he has been trying to guide the world to that end, has set up Huntsmen Academies based on that concept, created the Vytal Festival to encourage unity on a global scale, the Big Bad is trying to divide the world to destroy it, and the Atlas Arc is an exploration of how teams that are rooted in this concept are superior to teams that are brought together based on cold logic instead of through developing true bonds of unity.

Meanwhile, the idea that the heroes change and grow while the villains are inflexible is very much a fan-made observation. There is a "keep moving forward" theme that the heroes keep trying to honour and keep encouraging each other to do, and they make their biggest mistakes when they don't do that or regress, so that's an objective observation. There is a propaganda theme (unreliability of stories, and paying attention to the storyteller's agenda) in RWBY: Fairy Tales of Remnant that is constantly lampshaded by Ozpin, but the way the above entry applies it to the main show is rooted more in audience analysis than objectivity because it's not entirely accurate to what we see in the show (what we do know from the show and what the creators have said is that the theme here is actually "everyone is human and therefore no-one is immune to screwing up, including the Big Good and the Big Bad, so blind loyalty is a bad thing").

My suggestion would be the following:

• Unity: Professor Ozpin is The Chosen One who has been divinely tasked to guide humanity to unity and harmony, which the Big Bad seeks to divide and destroy humanity. To that end, Ozpin encourages people to work together, learn from each other, and find ways of understanding each other. He encourages people to never forget the reasons for the Great War and to remember that people should uphold the concept of unity through diversity. Ozpin created the Huntsman Academies to encourage team-work over individualism, and the Vytal Festival to encourage the world to share and embrace different cultures and live together in harmony. The Atlas Arc explores how teams that are rooted in Ozpin's unity themes are superior to teams that reject the notion of True Companions and are instead brought together based on strategy and cold logic.
• Humans Are Flawed: Some people in this world appear to have all the answers and are unquestioningly followed or respected. Ozpin, Ironwood and Salem all have at least one follower with Undying Loyalty, and others who have faith that they can always solve the problems that occur. However, every character is shown to be capable of handling situations badly, making mistakes, and sharing inaccurate or biased information with their allies. Even the Big Bad and Big Good can struggle to maintain allegiances when their own flaws, secrets and biases are revealed, and blind loyalty is actively portrayed as being a bad thing.
• Keep Moving Forward: The heroes constantly reinforce and teach each other the importance of always moving forward: always learning, always improving, always assessing one's own strengths and weaknesses, and always helping others to do the same. When heroes make their biggest mistakes, it's usually because they're regressing from this path, such as Blake's instinct to run away from her problems, and Ozpin's instinct to isolate himself when confronted with his past trauma and mistakes. While the villains often don't move beyond their grievances, Volume 8 explores what happens when certain villains do make the choice to grow and change. Cinder's development makes her more dangerous than ever, while Hazel and Emerald turn their backs on Salem to help the heroes.

Edited by Wyldchyld If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

Well, I'm sure this won't be controversial at all... because nobody will bother to read this post in all likeliness.

But anyways, should we add the Double Standard Abuse Femaleon Male trope regarding Blake's treatment of Sun? Aura or not, she physically abuses him throughout Volume 4, something that would not be seen as remotely funny with genders reversed. Heck, it fits both the trope's Laconic description and a "Straight" example pretty much word by word.

Apathy is Death. Worse than Death, because at least a rotting corpse feeds beasts and insects. Hide / Show Replies