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So, if you didn't hear, Rooster Teeth released a character short for Yang this passed Saturday which is sort of strange since that was also the day Volume 5 premiered on RTF. Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, you can see it here. For the rest of you, for this week's RWBY post, I'm going to be critiquing Yang's character short. I'll be going over what was interesting or what I liked, what I didn't like, how it compares to Weiss' and Blake's character shorts, and I wanted to take this opportunity to address a strange phenomenon in the fandom regarding Yang's seemingly changing bust size. Let's get started. Oh, and by the way, I wrote another post about how RT can fix RTF. Read it here.
Disclaimer: These points are a combination of small and big things that I like or don't like. They're not all equal in terms of awesomeness or suckiness. So not everything I gush about or sh*t on is a big deal.
What I Liked/Was Interesting
1. Old Outfits, New Animation
With Yang's character short, this marks a momentous occasion. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but because all the character shorts are memories of events that came before, specifically before Vol. 1, this means we've seen all four girls in their original outfits in the new animation style. Now, this may seem like a small thing, but the new animation style actually looks like animation whereas the old one looked far more like CGI. In fact, I remember Kerry commenting on the Volume 4 trailer saying that when RT updated the animation, the program, or the engine or whatever, he said that this was the original program that he and Monty wanted to use. Which means, the way our girls appear in the Vol. 5 and the character shorts is the way that was originally intended. And there are some noticeable differences that we can mark off when comparing the two styles, one of which I'm going to be talking about later when I address Yang's bust.
2. The Ursa Major Looks Brilliant
If there's anyone in all of RWBY who has benefitted the most from the animation upgrade, it's the Grimm. The first time I watched RWBY, I actually watched Vol. 1 and I thought the Beowolves were the dumbest things ever because of how their tails were designed. Do you remember how in "Mountain Glenn" the Beowolves would be sniffing the ground and their tails were completely erect? So stupid. The original design of the Beowolves in the "Red" trailer was actually a lot scarier because of how unnatural they were. The animation limitations actually worked for the design. But then in 1 through 3, they kind of looked stupid. But then when we got to see them in the Vol. 4 character short--they looked f*cking awesome. They were actually intimidating and their tales weren't doing anything stupid. And again, with Yang's character short, the Ursa has been much improved. Of course, the Nevermores and the Nuckelavee from Vol. 4 all look great, too. So, I can't help wondering what Deathstalkers and King Taijitus look like now.
3. Ember Celica Has Different Modes
This isn't so much something I liked as it is something I found interesting. In the short, there are two instances of close-ups on Ember Celica where parts shift as if it has different modes. Now, what those modes are, I can't really tell because other than a plate shifting, there aren't any noticeable differences in EC's layout or design. What I think is happening is that in one mode Yang can actually fire Dust projectiles where as in the other one Yang is just using "blasts" of Dust energy. Thinking back to the "Yellow" trailer, Yang used two different types of Dust to get this effect. So the question is, is this an ability EC always had, or has the "Yellow" trailer been retconned?
I do however take issue with the fact that EC looks the same between both modes. What would be cool is if the gun barrels on EC changed depending on the mode. For the projectile mode, they extend outward giving Yang range, but in the "blast" mode, the barrel shrinks or opens up at its end sort of like what we see in the difference between a rifle's barrel and a blunderbuss' barrel. However, I will award the CRWBY some house points for showing us there's more to the characters' weapons than what we originally thought.
4. Yang's Fighting is a Throwback to the "Yellow" Trailer
So, in the character short, we see Yang pull of some pretty fancy moves and their all with the aide of Ember Celica. One minute she's shoot-sliding through the Ursa's legs, the next she shoot-jumps to punch it in the face, then shoot-dodges the Ursa's follow-up attack. We're all familiar with the fact that the characters use the propulsion of their embedded guns to accentuate their fighting, but with Yang, there's something different about it because EC is strapped right onto her forearms meaning that Yang isn't so much using a weapon as she is the weapon. And when she does these swift new moves in rapid succession, we're reminded of the "Yellow" trailer where she used the shot-gauntlets to elbow and spin kick enemies. So, that was great to see because it seems like all we get from Yang these days are her shoot-jumps and leaps.
5. Yang's Maternal/Sisterly Sacrifice
Yang is a very devoted older sister. Or at least she seems that way to me because I've never been smothered in a hug from my sister. And my sister has never taught me how to fight to make sure I can take care of myself. But anyway, Yang's affection for Ruby goes beyond sisterly and is almost maternal which shouldn't be a surprise considering how young they were when Summer died meaning Yang had to look after and take care of her sister. We definitely got a taste of that maternal instinct in the short when Yang threw herself into the maws of the Ursa to save Ruby. And then again with her saying "I've always got your back" at the end of the short. Very heartwarming.
What I Didn't Like
1. What's Going on with Dust
So, what the hell is going on with the Dust? Even in Vol. 4, it was displaying some unusual behavior that we haven't seen before. For whatever reason, the projectiles are now capable of changing direction mid-flight and I don't know if that's supposed to mean something or if it's just a style choice. Either way, I don't much care for it. I really do prefer my Dust to act like regular bullets.
2. Yang's Fighting Seemed a Little Too Fanfiction-y
So, I know I went on and on about how great it is to see Yang fighting in the short like she was in the "Yellow" trailer, but there was a small problem with it. Besides Yang's shot-jumps, Yang only uses her shot-gauntlets the unique "Yang-y" way in the trailer twice: to shot-elbow a guy and then to shot-spin kick another. But in the character short, she was doing it all over the place. Now, you could make an argument that she was doing it to put herself on equal ground with the Ursa because it was so much bigger than her, but for quite a few scenes, Yang is doing her "Yang-y" action all over the damn place. As a result, it felt like it was overused as if I was watching something made by a fan, and not a real fight choreographer. It felt like fanfiction, and not actual canon RWBY fighting. That's probably because I think Monty used to do all the fights originally, or at least direct them, but now with him gone, RT is doing the best they can, but sometimes their work comes off more like fanfiction or as references to the first three volumes rather than original work straight from the creator himself.
3. How Did Ruby Get Knocked Out?
So, there's a part in the short where Ruby uses her Semblance to dodge a punch from Yang and she heads off into the woods. The next moment, an Ursa springs out and Yang starts fighting it. The next time we see Ruby, she's on the ground regaining consciousness, and my question is, how did she get knocked out? Yang calling her name in concern seems to hint at the Ursa having done something, but we don't see the Ursa ever attack Ruby directly. So, what happened? Did Ruby dash into a tree or a rock and knock herself out? Or was Ruby being knocked unconsciousness just shoehorned in there so Yang could have some alone time with the Ursa?
4. Why Didn't They Bring Crescent Rose?
When I first started watching the short, I was surprised like hell to see the Ursa because I thought the clearing they were in was near their house. The clearing itself along with the surrounding flora and fauna all looks like the clearing where Tai and Yang were training in Vol. 4 which was right next to the house. But as is revealed when Yang charges the Ursa, they're not right next to the house; they're somewhere off by themselves which forces the question why didn't they bring the Crescent Rose? I know Yang has a quick answer of she didn't want Ruby to depend on it, but they're both trained warriors in a world where Grimm could be lurking around every corner. Ruby should've had Crescent Rose with her just in case. The fact that she didn't smacks of either irresponsibility on their part or forced convenient writing on Kerry and Miles' part. I get it that they wanted to showcase Yang in the short, but there are better ways they could've dealt with Crescent Rose missing such as Ruby getting disarmed, actually knocking herself out and being too far from Crescent Rose when the Ursa charges, or even just having the scythe off somewhere that Ruby can't easily get to. All of these would've made a hell of a lot more sense. And did Ruby forget about her Semblance? Why wasn't she running circles around that bitch?
5. How Did Yang Beat the Ursa?
Now, this may seem like a stupid question, but I don't understand how breaking an Ursa's arm and then shooting Ember Celica point blank is supposed to kill it. The shot should've gone right into the Ursa's arm and shoulder in which there is nothing vital to survival. Now maybe Yang pushed the Ursa's arm in, dislocated its shoulder which then pushed its ribcage into its heart and lungs and punctured them, but that seems like a really big stretch. Would've made more sense for the Ursa's arm to collapse after being broken and then Yang hits with a second punch to its face or head. Otherwise, Yang should've been killed when she lost her arm.
6. I'm Not Sure About That Song
I don't know if I like the song that features in Yang's short. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I would've preferred something along the lines of "I Burn", either the rock or dance version. In fact, I went back to Weiss' and Blake's shorts to check their music, and Weiss' new song is based on "Mirror, Mirror" whereas I'm not sure if Blake's is, you can only hear it after the short, but a remix of "From Shadows" is playing during the main action of the short. So, I would've preferred a throwback to "I Burn" or maybe even something along the lines of "Armed and Ready." It's possible that the song is, but we won't know for sure until we hear it in its entirety.
7. Could Use A Little More Context on Yang's Situation
One of the things that sort of throws me off about the short is the context of it. In the beginning, we hear Yang's motorcycle. Then we go for a trip down memory lane. Then we come back to Yang on her motorcycle. So what? But the last line of the short is Yang telling Ruby that she always has her back and then Ruby smiles. Again, so what? Well, if you've seen Chapter 1 of Vol. 5, you finally find out who Yang is looking for, and, SPOILERS, it's not Ruby. So, why do we have this meaningful exchange between sisters that Yang is thinking about while on her way to find somebody else? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe she's being nostalgic, but that's a big maybe.
Yang's Bust Size
Oh, boy! The part all the boys have been waiting for, but the one the girls will only read begrudgingly. Are you ready, everyone?! Let's talk about cartoon boobs on a girl who is barely 18! It's like Girls Gone Wild. Except there's no nudity or blatant stupidity.
So, why do I want to talk about Yang's bust? Well, when Vol. 4 was released and Yang had her new threads, it looked like Yang might've had a breast reduction. I remember one commenter praising RT for their commitment to detail about Yang's reduction because if she hasn't been training for 6 to 8 months, then her muscles have atrophied and she's going to look smaller. But there's a problem with this theory. The only times we really see muscles well defined is on Sun's abs, Sage's entire front, thanks to his open jacket and no shirt, and then Jaune's physique when he was wearing a dress at prom. But besides these three cases, RT doesn't take measures to make sure musculature is displayed despite the very active lives of the characters. And this rings no less true for Yang. If RT wanted to show her atrophied, she should've lost mass all over her body, not just seemingly her bust. So, what's going on?
Well, there are two things at play here. One is the animation style, and the other is the confusing nature and illusory effects of clothing, especially women's. Beginning first with the animation style, when it changed in Vol. 4, you may have noticed that some of the physical dimensions and statures of some of the characters changed. Now, while all of our girls look a little taller, the one who seems to be the most affected is Yang--she looks like she grew by six inches.
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| The scale may be wrong, but her legs do appear longer on the left, and she does appear tall on the right. |
Why does this matter? Well, because of appearances. A woman who's 5'2" and has a bra size of 34B may look average, but you put that same bust size on a woman who's 6'2" and because of her larger frame, she'll definitely look small. Similarly, if the bust size is 36D, a woman of 5'2" will appear top heavy, but a woman of 6'2" may look perfectly fine. If my theory of Yang growing is correct, then yes, her bust would appear smaller because she is bigger overall.
Now, moving onto clothing. It's no secret women wear bras. Now, while bras are mainly worn for the sake of support and restriction of movement, they have also become a method of shape wear, like a corset. Don't believe me? Then what do you think the purpose of a push-up bra is? Now true, not all bras are designed to be shape wear, but they do have an effect on the overall shape and, ah-hem, "presentation" of the bust. Some are very flattering; others not so much. And then when you put a top on top of that, whether it be a tee, tank, button down blouse, or sweater, the appearance of a woman's bust will change further. If a woman dresses smartly, she can make her bust appear bigger than it actually is. Similarly, if she dresses frumpy, she won't look very impressive.
So, this is the theory I put forward: Yang's bust was not reduced; it's just an illusion based on her clothes. Because she's a huntress, she likely wears sports bras quite often, whose first purpose is to restrict movement of the bust. And because sports bras do this, a woman's breasts may appear pushed-up, or pushed-in as if she's wearing a corset, when wearing them. Couple that with a low-cut crop top and a form fitting jacket, and Yang looks like she's busting out of her clothes. No pun intended. Put her in some regular clothes however with a standard bra and tank, and her breasts appear normal. However, after she's changed into her, what I'm calling cowboy/bounty hunter outfit, her bust seems to have enlarged again. I posit that she's gone back to the sports bra, crop top, and form fitting jacket. Let's also keep in mind that layers or thickness of clothing and cups can also lend to the appearance of a larger bust. Ergo, Yang's bust is not as gigantic as we all think. It's still pretty big, especially for a girl with such a small waist and butt, regardless of how tight, but then again, she is animated. Animated characters' proportions are often FUBU (word meaning here). In some animes, some girls look like they should be the victim of constant upskirts because their skirts are so short compared to the lengthiness of their legs.
Below you'll find a selection of screenshots of Yang in different outfits, angles, and animation styles. The purpose is to compare how her bust appears in each pic. I think my theory passes the test... to an extent.
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| "Yellow" Trailer and Volume 1 |
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| Volume 2 |
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| Volume 3 |
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| Volume 4 |
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| Volume 4 and Character Short |
Comparison to Weiss' and Blake's Character Shorts
So then, how do all the Character Shorts compare? Should we throw in Ruby's from Vol. 4 just so we have all the major players accounted for? Well then, let's return to the original question: how do they compare? Who had the best character short and who had the worst? And are character shorts a valid option in the future?
Well, as for who had the best, my vote goes to Weiss. She had the best song and we got to see her at a time before her scar. We also saw the planting of the seeds that would lead Weiss to running away from home. There was also a decent bit of action in it and we got to see her use her glyphs in some interesting ways. However, like I've said before, Weiss is my favorite character, so I could be biased. I mean, the song in the Ruby's character short was good, and both Ruby's and Yang's gave the action in Weiss' a run for its money. But the main reason why I saw Weiss' is the best is because her short actually had something to do with her--the context was right on and relevant to Weiss' story from the end of Vol. 4 to the start of Vol. 5. So, guess what that means?
Well, if you guessed it meant that I think Blake had the worst character short because it was actually about some bitch named Illia, you're right. And it had no action, and the new song for it didn't pop up until the end. I mean, I think I know what they're trying to get at with including Illia in Blake's character short, that somehow their relationship is going to become important in Vol. 5, but with the fact that Blake has already left the White Fang, I think it's safe to assume she's left behind all her old comrades regardless of who they are whether they be Adam or Illia. So, that relationship is effectively dead unless they mean to redeem Illia, but if it doesn't go that, I don't care what happens to Illia and I don't care what Blake thinks or feels about her. What would probably have been better is if the flashback contained something between her and Adam, and then going back to present and showing how much better Blake has things now that she's with Sun.
So, where does this leave Ruby's and Yang's character shorts. Meh... somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, I want to say Ruby's was better than Yang's because the writing made more sense, but Ruby's action sequence was more over the top than Yang's. But then again, Yang's wasn't so much about her as it was about her relationship with Ruby despite the fact that Yang isn't looking for Ruby at the start of Vol. 5. So, they're six of one, and half a dozen of the other.
So, what about the last question: are character shorts valid methods of getting extra chapters out there to flesh out the story a bit more? At first, I wanted to say no, because while I enjoy them, I don't feel like they really add anything substantial. But then I remembered Jaune and the fact that his feelings for Pyrrha haven't really been fleshed out. He's been quite quiet about her death and how it's affecting him. I'm not saying that that should be told in a character short, but what I wouldn't mind seeing is a flashback from Jaune's perspective of a time when Pyrrha was still alive. Something we haven't seen before. It would also be a handy way to explore Qrow's and Ozpin's pasts better assuming we can learn something about those without spoiling future parts of the story.
So, what do I reckon? Yes, I would like to see more character shorts, but please make sure they have a point related to the character they're about, and the characters we see in the shorts. They're too short for fluff. Otherwise, they may as well just be full episodes.
Anyway you guys, that's it for my critique and comparison of Yang's character short. Overall, I liked it, but it could've been better. For next week's RWBY post, I'm not sure what I'm going to work on. I do have other theories to go through, but I was thinking of actually changing over to RWBY Critiques full time during Vol. 5. The reason is because of time; I'm sort of running out of it in a particular regard. No, I'm not dying. I'm just low on time whereas I should be focusing on other things. So, I'll probably be downsizing everywhere on my blog, not just in RWBY, hence, RWBY Critiques from here on out. The good news is that while I critique, I can also speculate! And because I'm critiquing behind the public release, there's no chance of spoilers! Course though, some questions will be answered immediately by the next episode(s) and I'll look the fool for not having seen them coming. So... But, until next time...
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