Alright, I think we all know the gist by now. This isn’t the first time I’ve done a Top 10 list of my favorite characters in a given game/show, so I won’t ramble on for too long. This time we’ll be looking into the incredible animated show, RWBY.
Let’s get into it!
10) Raven Branwen
Raven is such an immensely interesting character, which is incredible given she’s largely only in a single Volume. We hear a fair bit about her during Volumes Two and Three, and then she’s got a brief (but enjoyable) scene in Volume Four. However, come Volume Five, and she’s largely the main character alongside her daughter, Yang. And it’s that relationship with Yang that really makes her standout as a fantastic character, alongside the thousands of other layers of characterization. She’s someone that you really just need to keep peeling back to get the center of, which makes her fun to think about!
9) James Ironwood
While he might only be here at the #9 spot on this list, make no mistake that Ironwood is a fantastic character (and one of the show’s best written). There have plenty of Fallen-From-Grace characters in the entertainment medium before, but Ironwood’s descent into extremism is one of the most sympathetic and morally gray (to be clear, his actions are still awful, and ends-justify-the-means is never good, but it’s very interesting given the context). Because of the invincibility of RWBY‘s overarching antagonist, Ironwood’s heartless (he is an expy of the Tin Man, after all) actions are all the more nuanced. Who wouldn’t be compelled to go to any means when the alternative is an impossible war?
8) Winter Schnee
I’ve loved Winter ever since her short appearance in Volume Three, and I was thrilled when she re-entered the plot as a major character in Volume Seven. With no intention of making any ice-related puns, she’s just so cool. She’s an absolute stone-cold warrior on the battlefield who moves with impeccable skill and grace, she’s a cool-under-pressure military authority figure, and she’s a stern but compassionate older sister. Her relations with Weiss and her father are equally as fun to see play out, but it’s her unexpectedly close connection with Penny that elevates her to another level. The whole idea of Winter realizing that Penny was always more human than she is brilliant and tear-jerking, and Winter coming into ownership of her new powers is goosebumps-inducing.
7) Qrow Branwen
It’s pretty awesome how much Qrow becomes involved in the plot of the show post-Volume Three, which is doubly-cool because he himself is awesome. He’s hyped-up a bit during Volume Two, and he definitely delivers with a standout brawl against Winter Schnee in his Volume Three debut. From there, he continues to be a lovable (if not sometimes incorrigible) uncle and role model to our core four heroines. I love seeing an adult character done well in what is ostensibly a Young Adult production, and his continued presence through the story leads to plenty of cool action scenes and good laughs. I’m especially fond of his focused character arc in Volumes Seven and Eight. Can’t wait to see more of him!
6) Ruby Rose
Ruby took awhile to grow on me, but by the latter half of the show, she became one of the most consistently engaging characters to witness. While it’s a cruel-sounding descriptor in theory, there’s a lot of merit in the ‘Break the Cutie’ trope, and Ruby embodies that really well. She’s the living personification of hope and optimism, so to see that ideology thrown back in her face time and time again, and to see her tested and pushed to her limits is equal parts compelling and heart-breaking. Of course, all of this culminates in her unforgettable character arc in Volume Nine, easily the standout part of that season. Even putting her character depths aside, Ruby’s got some of the best quips and fighting chops around!
5) Blake Belladonna
For a very long time, Blake was my favorite of the central four heroines, and though she’s since lost that spot, I still love her a lot. For starters, and most plainly, I just love her design. Black is my favorite color, her sleek swordmaster design is super cool, and the cat ears are just a nice quirky touch. I’ve also always liked withdrawn and reserved characters who are coaxed out of their shells by their close friends and allies. Also, to go back to the sword part, I’m a huge sucker for people in fantasy who fight with swords. It’s basic, but I still love it.
Blake also ends up embroiled in some of my favorite plotlines of the show, such as her rivalry with Roman Torchwick in the early seasons, and her showdown with Adam. I like her relationship with Yang quite a lot too (even if it does take an inordinate amount of time to slowly build-up). I find her interactions with her family and fellow Faunus to be fascinating, and I adore the occasional moments in which her cat-traits slip out (like being distracted by a laser pointer, or being afraid of Ruby’s dog).
4) Roman Torchwick
It might surprise some people to see Torchwick only at the #4 spot on this list given how much I love him and talk about him IRL, but after my recent re-watch, I just can’t justify keeping him at the #1 spot. To be clear, I still adore him, and I don’t like him any less, it’s just that I like a few other characters more now. So rest assured, Torchwick is still at the very top of my Halloween costume list (and I even already have the hat and a close-enough cane, so I’ve got a leg up in that department).
Silliness aside…yeah, Torchwick is awesome, and probably one of the best starter villains in any show I’ve ever seen. He’s the perfect balance between being charismatic and not-quite-world-threatening, but still a genuine opponent who shouldn’t be trifled with. He’s got class and plenty of fun quips, but there’s just enough Saturday-Morning-Cartoon energy to never be too put-off by him. He’s also got world-class style, and an impeccable vocal performance. And need I say more about his fantastic leitmotif?
3) Neopolitan
Every single thing that Neopolitan does/is is incredible, which is impressive given she has no spoken lines in the entire show. And yet it is a testament to just how phenomenally expressive and well-designed her character is that she ends up having more personality than some other people with hundreds of lines of dialogue! Truly, Neo is the embodiment of charm and sass, and the ways in which she emerges from the shadow of being Torchwick’s sidekick into blossoming into her own fully-realized threatening foe is great to see play out.
One thing Neo excels at is making an impression. From her out-of-nowhere first appearance saving Torchwick in the mid-season Volume Two showdown, to her ruthless beatdown of Yang on the train, to her excellent combo attacks with Torchwick at the end of Volume Three, to her unexpected reappearance in the limelight in the later seasons, Neo is always a treat and always a threat to be taken seriously. Her elevation to main antagonist status in Volume Nine is the icing on the cake, and she gets really twisted there too.
2) Cinder Fall
Man, Cinder is such a phenomenal villain, and one of a very rare archetype that I wish was more prevalent in the entertainment medium. Said archetype being the Villain’s Journey Antagonist, or a villain who undergoes just as much of a defined character arc and strength progression as our protagonists. It’s easy to forget, but Cinder’s only slighter older than our core four heroines, and her inexperience in the field of villainy is plain to see through her repeated failures. And yet she just…doesn’t…quit!
At first, Cinder is a cool and intimidating presence, but perhaps a bit bland. I don’t dislike her role in the early volumes, but its her shriek of disbelief when Ruby’s silver eyes blast her at the end of Volume Three that cements her status as my favorite villain in the show. Because she only gets more incredible from there, trying over and over again to best our heroes while struggling with her own fantasies of power, delusions of grandeur, pride and arrogance, and the heavy weight of childhood trauma pressing down on her. But like I said, she’s a singularly-driven character who won’t ever quit, and she keeps coming back stronger because of how she learns from her mistakes.
You wouldn’t be incorrect for suggesting that Volume Eight is very much Cinder’s season to shine, and indeed her performance throughout that season is stellar. I love her through the whole show, though, and cannot wait to see how her story ends.
1) Weiss Schnee
The Ice Queen herself, Weiss Schnee, is here to take the top spot on this list.
It’s funny, but I’m not exactly sure how to put it into words with regards to how much I like Weiss. Even my initial watch-through of RWBY, years ago, had me connecting with Weiss in ways I wasn’t expecting to. Since then, my love and appreciation of her character has only grown.
In recent years, I’ve learned how much of a sucker I am for the trope of taking a haughty and pretentious character and having their walls be broken through various humbling circumstances and close camaraderie with friends willing to look past that icy (pun slightly intended) persona. She’s arguably the main character alongside Ruby in Volume One (easily getting the most development), and she just continues to impress from there.
For one, her style and combat prowess. I think her outfits are some of the slickest in the show. Likewise, her fighting capabilities are really fun to watch play out, as she utilizes her ice-casting and sigil-creating to great effect for really creative set pieces. Secondly, though, her character interactions are some of the most enjoyable to me. Her de-frosting and caring attitude towards her close friends, her slowly-building rapport with Jaune, her idolization and eventual mutual admiration for Winter, her willful disobedience in relation to her father, and then her realistically strained relationships with her brother and mother. And then you add in her status as the heiress of her family’s massive corporation, and said family’s history with oppressing the Faunus race? There’s a lot going on, and it’s all very interesting to dive into.
Apparently, I’m not alone in my love of Weiss either, because she’s the central character in the fully-anime spinoff that released two years ago, RWBY Ice Queendom. That entire spinoff deeply explores the psyche and inner workings of Weiss, and it’s a very interesting character study that peels back a lot of her layers.
Anyway, to bring my rambling to a close, Weiss is great!
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 