Now, I know what you're thinking. Why would I write one about Weiss when this whole mess started with me writing about why Weiss was my favorite? Well, those reasons are all personal to me. They aren't things I'd tell other people. If someone said to me, "Hey, why should I like Weiss?" I wouldn't give them the five reasons I came up with when I wrote my original post. Those answer the question "Why do you like Weiss?" Plus, I called Yang the last one which is confusing to any one who hasn't read the original Weiss post. So, to come full circle, I'm writing this post: The Top 10 Reasons Why Weiss Should Be Your Favorite Character.
But before we begin, I want to remind everyone about my RWBY mailing list so I can keep you all up to date about everything I do RWBY related: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. All who join will get to see the newest versions of RWBY: The Novelization ahead of everyone else. And if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch. The first few will be privy to my versions of the Red, White, and Black trailers before their official release.
Alright, let's get it on!
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| "Weiss!" |
1. "This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! [...] I can see it now: [...] we'll get perfect grades!"
Admittedly, the scene above says more about Weiss' drive and ambition than her intelligence (hence why it's full of blanks), but let's hold off on that for a minute and take a look at what else Weiss says. She calls herself the smartest girl in class and fantasizes about perfect grades. Even in RWBY Chibi, there are at least three skits of Weiss studying. One in particular is the one where she tries to persuade Pyrrha to study with her. Also, Weiss has called Ruby a dolt and a dunce. Hell, we see her taking notes in Jaundice and proudly answers one of Oobleck's questions. So obviously, Weiss has got some smarts, and intelligence is sexy. Well okay, it's not exactly sexy, but stupidity is a huge turn off.
2. "She's smart and graceful and talented. I mean, have you hear her sing?"
Although Weiss is a pretty rich girl, she's not just a pretty rich girl. Rather than lounging by the pool popping bonbons and making eyes at the Vacuo pool boy, Weiss has taken up a few hobbies and made a name for herself with them. The most obvious one we know of is she sings and we know that she's sung for large crowds more than once in her life. Add to that, I would also think she can dance. I get this from the fact that in the Volume 5 Character Short, many of her movements and attacks are fluid and graceful and seem to be ripped straight from a ballet. Plus, she can do all those fluid movements in high heels. I mean, Blake and Pyrrha also wear high heels, but I think Weiss' are taller. And walking in high heels is not a natural skill; it's something that has to be practiced.
3. "This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together, we will be unstoppable. I can see it now: we'll be popular, we'll be celebrities, we'll get perfect grades! Nothing could come between us now."
Just like I said above, this scene is a perfect example of Weiss' ambition. She has a strong desire to be the best and to be recognized for her skills. When Weiss went off on Ruby in Volume 1 because she thought Ruby was too immature to be team leader, I completely understood where Weiss was coming from. She's obviously put in a lot of time and hard work to be as accomplished as she is. As a result, Weiss is super competitive and always wants to win, even when its at something simple like a board game. She's the ambitious sort.
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| The price of ambition and subsequent failure. |
4. "I suggest that instead of fretting over what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills. Perfect every technique. And be not the best leader, but the best person you can be."
Weiss believes in her abilities and she's very confidant in who she is. Therefore it can come as a blow when she doesn't get something she's worked hard for. And while it may have taken Weiss a few episodes to come around and a good piece of advice from Professor Port, Weiss eventually came around and became a good teammate to Ruby and the rest of her team. She set aside her pride and desire for glory and accepted her position as it was. After The Badge and the Burden, we no longer see Weiss fight Ruby for the leadership of the team. Weiss even listens to Ruby's commands such as in Painting the Town, casting haste on Blake, encasing her team in an ice cocoon in No Brakes and she even believed in Ruby's abilities in End of the Beginning. She's come a long way since the first volume.
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| The start of a beautiful alliance. |
5. "It was really good to see you, Winter."
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| Look at how much Weiss is loving this hug. |
So, Weiss isn't the easiest person to get along with. She's pretentious and holds the people around her to a higher standard than what seems reasonable. As a result, Weiss comes off as mean, or at least, haughty. But she isn't. Weiss does have a soft and gooey center like anybody else. And I can prove it. When I was making this list, I turned to "Mirror, Mirror" parts I and II looking for inspiration and lines, and I found this bit from "Mirror, Mirror Part II": "Years of scorn will leave you cold / 'Forget your dreams, do what you're told' / When disapproval's all you're shown / The safest place becomes alone." And then in the pre-chorus, there's this part: "And isolation's / The price you pay / And every friendship / Is pushed away."
So, what does this mean? Well for one, Weiss is actually a victim. But more than that, Weiss' attitude is a defense mechanism to keep others from getting to know her because being alone has proven to be more pleasant than in company, but all she actually seeks is approval. Perhaps that's the reason she's so ambitious, such an insufferable know-it-all, and why she wanted the captaincy of Team RWBY so badly. She just wants someone to approve of her and what she does for once. Even Winter has been a harsh critic, and Winter is the person Weiss looks up to the most. So, despite her harsh exterior, Weiss is actually quite sensitive and is a loving person.
6. "And you, Miss Schnee. A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?"
"It's exactly as you said. I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty."
Another interesting switch from the pretty rich girl stereotype. While it's entirely possible that Weiss became a huntress to escape her father, she mainly did it for the sake of her personal honor. In Mountain Glenn, Weiss even says her father wasn't the start of her family's legacy and she'll be damned if he's going to be the end of it. While Weiss might feel the need to regain her family honor because of her father's dubious business practices, Weiss still chose one of the hardest ways to go about earning back her family's honor and fulfilling her duty to the world of Remnant which meant going against her father.
7. I'm not your pet, not another thing you own
I was not born guilty of your crimes
Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore
I won't be possessed by your royal test
I will not surrender
This life is mine
Looking at both parts of "Mirror, Mirror" really puts things about Weiss into better perspective. We knew from the show that Weiss had a tense relationship with her father and that she wanted to do something he didn't approve of. But after listening to "Mirror, Mirror Part II" we learn that Weiss has imposed herself into loneliness. This theme is carried over into "This Life Is Mine" and Volume 4. Having had enough, we finally see Weiss take control of her own life. Everything about her: her ambition, her duty, and even her desire for approval has led her to this moment in life. And as a result, she leaves behind the comfort of home and even the Schnee inheritance to pursue what she really wants, and that takes a lot of personal strength.
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| I can't wait to see the big one. |
8. "Says the girl wearing a dress."
"It's a combat skirt."
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| Swag activated. |
Alright, so I covered shallow things about Ruby, Blake, and Yang, so guess what I'm going to do here. Well, I'm not going to say that Weiss is the prettiest of Team RWBY, but I will say she is the girliest. Weiss is very feminine which is funny because she has the body of a 12 year old boy whereas Yang has the most womanly body and the most boyish attitude. But anyway, think about it: Weiss has long hair, she wear's a skirt into battle, she practically dances when fighting, she's constantly in high heels, she wears a nightgown to bed, and she called the act of asking Neptune to the dance as unorthodox--Weiss is such a girl. So if you're a sucker for girlie girls, Weiss is your girl.
9. Myrtenaster
Weiss isn't the best huntress or strongest or even the coolest, but Myrtenaster is easily the most adaptable and best weapon in all of RWBY. I mean, think about it: Myrtenaster has a spinning revolver full of different types of dust that can be used to charge the blade and be used to attack or defend. In one moment, Weiss is using a firebrand and setting forests on fire, the next she's blocking an enemy's chainsword or encasing herself and her team in a protective ice cocoon. I'm really curious to see what else the Myrtenaster can do with other types of dust and if there are any other sword-type weapons in Remnant that are like it. (If I was a huntsman in RWBY, I would probably have a multi-action longsword or something myself.) But because of Myrtenaster's design, it is clearly the best weapon to use no matter the situation. It slices, it dices, it manipulates dust, and it makes French fries in the four different sizes.
10. "Oh? And what do you think you've learned?"
"What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyphs."
Just like how I believe the Myrtenaster to be one of the best and most adaptable weapons in Remnant, I argue the same for Weiss' semblance. She can practically use her glyphs in any way imaginable. She can use them as shields, platforms, to control momentum, defy gravity, do time dilations, and of course, summon those she has struck down in battle to fight by her side. And, she can combine her semblance with Myrtenaster and just break the system. With her semblance, Weiss can be a front line soldier, play defense, or act as support for the other members in her team from making Ruby fly or run up Beacon's CCT to allowing Blake to move at speeds so fast she can slice and dice missiles. Tell me: what can't Weiss do? Maybe she can't absorb the energy of her enemy's attack and deal it out twice as hard back, but when you've got glyphs and a multi-action dust rapier, you don't need a lot of other things.
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| Undoubtedly, the best Weiss moment and one of the best RWBY moments. |
And there you have it. The top 10 Reasons why Weiss 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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