So to finish up my Top 10 Reasons Why This-Character Should Be Your Favorite series, we have the last member of Team RWBY, our sunny, little dragon, Yang Xiao Long. Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for their help in making this list. If you want to join RWBY Wonderland, click this link: https://www.facebook.com/rwbywonderland/. And, if you guys want to make sure you don't miss the next series of RWBY posts, subscribe to my RWBY mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. But if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch.
Alright, then. Let's finish this bitch.
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| "Yang? Is that you?" |
1. "Oh! I'm so proud of my baby sister!"
Yang and Ruby make for interesting siblings. Their proportions are different, their weapons are different, their hair is different, hell, they don't even have the same last name. But despite these differences, Yang still looks out for Ruby with great enthusiasm and she's been doing so for a long time. While we aren't told exactly when, I would estimate that it has been somewhere between 10 to 12 years ago (since Volume 1) when Summer was killed. This effectively cemented Ruby and Yang together as they no longer had a mother to rely on. With Yang being the older and likely feeling guilty for nearly getting the both of them killed, it's apt to say that Yang has practically become a surrogate mother to Ruby.
Something that struck me the other day was that it's never mentioned why Yang thinks it's the best day ever that Ruby gets to go with her to Beacon. Most older siblings would be annoyed if their little brother or sister got moved so far ahead that they ended up going to school together. But not Yang--she's super excited about it. We could assume it's because Yang just has that upbeat of a personality, but it's more likely Yang is relieved that she won't have to leave Ruby behind to fend for herself. I mean, do you remember in Players and Pieces where the Nevermore filled the battlefield with its quills? Do you remember how Yang rushed to help Ruby, and then the tight hug she gave Ruby after Weiss saved her from the Deathstalker? Yang hugs Ruby a lot in Volume 1. Then there's the part in The Shining Beacon where Ruby mentions that Yang used to read to Ruby every night before bed, an activity that is usually performed by a parent.
Another strange thought I had was that because Ruby is so much like Summer and Summer was the only mother Yang ever knew, and so by cherishing Ruby the way she does, Yang is holding onto and cherishing the memory of Summer. No longer able to love her mother, Yang turns to her baby sister and makes sure to love Ruby the way Summer deserved. Hence, Yang becomes the over-doting big sister.
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| "Please, stop..." |
2. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about and who care about you."
Monty had an interesting idea behind introducing the characters of RWBY. It was his intention to make them all look like stock, one-dimensional characters, and then as the show went on, to fill them out. Not many writers have the balls to do that since most readers, editors, and publishers won't even give a writer the time to set something up like that. Once they look stock, no one thinks to read on or care about what happens to them in the story.
When we're introduced to Yang, she's supposed to come off as the super extraverted, quintessential party girl. Always looking for fun and always on the move. But Yang is more than that. She deeply cares about her friends and family, and their relationships are very important to her. Remember when she started crying in Destiny when she thought Blake didn't believe her for being attacked by Mercury? Yeah, a skin-deep, party girl wouldn't do that. A party girl also wouldn't have a never-ending search for the mother she never knew. While Yang could have lived her life as she saw fit and think of Raven as dead to her, she doesn't. Yang genuinely cares about her friends and family, and she feels the sting of rejection or disbelief quite deeply. All of which will make Yang and Blake's reunion very interesting to see.
3. "Wait! Yang! Is she alright?"
"Uh... She's uh... She's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just going to take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her."
Yang is a strong girl. Physically, but also mentally. She has such a strong will that you could call her stubborn, such as in her fight against Neo. And while Yang did take some time getting used to only having one arm, she didn't let it interfere with her day-to-day to life, and she hated how her incident with Adam left her with PTSD. Not wanting to be pitied or looked after by Tai, she took a chance on the prosthetic arm from Atlas in an attempt to re-forge her life and achieve a degree of normality that was more normal than being without it. Something I've mentioned elsewhere is that a good indication of Yang's inner state is her hair since it's so important to her and her vision of self. When it was tied up, so was she. But when her hair flows freely, that's when she's ready to burn brighter than everyone else.
4. "Yes, Junior. I have several. But instead of 'sweetheart,' you can just call me 'sir!'"
You ever seen Persona 4: The Animation? Do you remember the scene where Yu and Yosuke are sharing a tent with Kanji and he gets irritated with them for thinking he's gay, so he declares he's going to go sleep with the girls since they had more balls than them? Yeah, Yang is one of those girls that Yu referred to when he said, "For some girls, that is true."
Whether you call it balls, confidence, daredeviltry, or brash, Yang isn't afraid of doing what needs to be done in order to achieve her objective. She'll grab a guy by the balls, she'll destroy his club, she openly declares that she'll be turning heads, and she'll put herself at risk to help her friends. Of course, though, if Yang can have fun while doing it, she's going to. Let's not forget how she giggled after being launched off the cliff in The First Step.
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| Yang's favorite ballet is the Nutcracker. (Is it true that Barbara actually grabbed Jack's balls once?) |
5. "You're Yang Xiao Long. My sunny, little dragon."
Whenever we see Yang, we usually see her smiling and having fun. She's very positive and upbeat, and very few things get to her. In fact, it's unusual to see her bothered by something or even hurting. When she was bested by Neo, lost to Adam, and Blake didn't believe her or worse, ran away, those were all difficult moments for her. She's not one to sweat the small stuff. She can even take a jab thrown her way about her arm and her hair. Yang is emotionally resilient, and she can almost always find a reason to smile.
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| I need a better system than Print Screen. |
6. Bumblebee
Did you honestly think I was talking about the ship? Well, if you read the Top 10 Reasons Why Blake Should Be Your Favorite Character you wouldn't have. (Maybe I'll do a blog post on why I hate the ship so much and why it's actually a terrible idea.)
But, anyway, Yang's got a bike. And bikes are pretty cool. While I may not like bikers for their impetuous attitudes, I find it difficult to squash my desire for a motorcycle. I have fond memories of being a kid and zipping around my neighbor on my bike. What could be better than strapping 1000 CC's of power to that experience. And so, just like with Ruby and scythes, the cool factor of Bumblebee helps make Yang cool(er). And as far as we've seen, she's a safe and responsible driver, but very capable and skilled when the time comes. Which is more than we can say for the Fake AH Crew and their talents on bikes. (To be fair though, most of those blunders are Gavin.)
7. This Porridge Is Too Cold
Just like how Ruby is a great interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, Yang is a great interpretation of Goldilocks. In fact, I'd say Yang is a huge improvement on the original. For one, she isn't a stupid kid who committed a B&E, raided someone else's food, messed up the ass grooves on their favorite chairs, and then invited herself over for a slumber party. And the only notable thing about Goldilocks was that she was a dumb blonde and a criminal. Yang's neither of those things, and her hair has more meaning to who she is than just a color. Still though, I'd love a direct reference or joke back to Goldilocks in RWBY. The scene where she killed a couple of Ursas isn't enough.
8. "Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night."
Well, I told you all it was coming, and here it is: Yang is the sexiest member of Team RWBY and possibly the whole show. Which is a bold statement considering Yang has some pretty stiff competition from the likes of Neo and Emerald. Hell, even Glynda has a number of very committed fans. But for me, the victor is Yang, and it's not just because of two very large and obvious reasons. She's got a great ass, too! No, I kid. Although it did look good in the Yellow Trailer. But the reason why I saw Yang is the sexiest character is because she has both a banging body and a fun personality. Everyone wants to have fun and we all prefer to be around pretty things rather than ugly, so that instantly makes Yang a winner across the board. True, my RWBY waifu is probably Weiss and Ruby is the most adorable, but who wouldn't want to at the very least date Yang? It'd be a good time.
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| Did you know that Monty based Yang's dress off one Marilyn Monroe wore? |
9. Dumbass: I'm a master of Karate! Hi-ya!
Smartass: I'm a master of Ka-chuk.
Dumbass: What's Ka-chuck?
Smartass: *Pulls out a shotgun and pumps it*
The Ember Celica. Who in their right mind would strap a shotgun to a gauntlet? I criticize, but just like combining a rifle with a scythe, it's actually a great idea. It combines a long range weapon with a short range one, and who wouldn't want to attach a shotgun to a gauntlet. I'm pretty sure a lot of people think the hidden blade from Assassin's Creed is one of the coolest things ever, so why not attach a shotgun to a gauntlet? Never mind the fact you're strapping a shotgun's recoil straight to your arm. But, hey, if we're going to get that picky, we're going to have to dismantle every weapon in RWBY. So let's just enjoy the Ember Celica as it is and imagine ourselves punching someone we really don't like with them.
10. "With each hit, she gets stronger. And she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special."
Yang's semblance. The ability to take damage and then dish it back twice as hard. It's a pretty good one. Admittedly, it has some flaws and Yang isn't always strong enough to take the hit, but come on, she's a friggin' Super Saiyan! And what's more, she's a female Super Saiyan. There aren't any of those in DBZ, and if Yang could fire a Kamehameha (my autocorrect recognizes Kamehameha but not saiyan), it'd be the hypest shit. In fact, I'm kind of surprised no one has done any art of Yang using the Kamehameha. (Fan artists! Don't let me down!)
But anyway, we've all had those moments when we get so pissed, we give people that "You're so dead" face and we want the vehemence of our anger to be reflected in how hard we hit them. There'd probably be a lot fewer trolls if that was true. Too bad we aren't all Super Saiyans, but at least Yang is.
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| "Oh! Looks like Yang is angry. And you wouldn't like her when she's... upset." |
And there you have it. The Top 10 Reasons why Yang should be your favorite character. It you guys think I missed any, go ahead and add them in the comments below.
Keep writing, my friends.
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