Frisk of Light

An Animation Analyst(Varies alot but a few examples are RWBY,Danganronpa,MLB,Fairy Tail etc) |Age: 19 | He/Him Bisexual

[everafterfrisk]

Are the RWBY Mangas Canon?

Going over stuff like the Ice Queendom Manga(2022),RWBY Anthology Manga(2017,RWBY Manga(2015) and Finally "RWBY Official Manga(2018)"

I'd say despite minor changes here and there

They are overall canon to the series

"RWBY Manga(2015)"

-Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross were involved with this Manga's Development

Ambiguously canon(described by Rooster Teeth as being "not non-canon" and "canon until it's not")

- Ruby's Fight with Cardin emphasizing a flashblack to Ruby's past when Yang had to protect her from the Grimm at a young age which is reflected by Volume 2 Chapter 6 Burning Candle

Yang: (off-screen, while her younger self looks petrified) "There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time".

As the Beowolves leap into the air to devour their young prey, the familiar sound of a gun-scythe follows the sight of them all being cut into pieces by a caped warrior. His bird-haired silhouette fades away to present day, where Yang has just finished drawing a clockwork eye.

-Chapter 3 has Weiss fighting the Arma Gigas and claiming that her father only got her into Beacon due to her proving her capabilities

-Chapter 4 Jacques is confirmed to have faced threats of white fang terrorist activities

☆Weiss highlights this notably in Vol 1 Chapter 15

-Chapter 5 highlights the Black Trailer with Blake and Adam going their separate ways

Chapter 6 has the team being visibly aware of Blake's Ears making this take place at the end of Volume 1 to the start of Volume 2

Chapter 7-8 had Yang's Fight with Junior like the Yellow Trailer

Chapter 10 provided more Blake and Ruby bonding moments like

☆Blake encouraging Ruby's interest in Weapons during their fight against the Eight Headed Grimm Snake

Rwby "Official Manga"

(2018)

- Glinda saving Ruby during her encounter with Roman & Cinder

Just like in V1 Chapter 1 "Ruby Rose"

- Chapter 4-5 Team Rwby & JNPR worked together against the Grimm Bird like the Chess and pieces episode

- Chapter 6 Encountered Sun Wukong in the same way as like in "The Stray"

Rwby IQ Manga(2022-)

- ^ Chapter 1 gives insight of the Creation of Crescent Rose prior the beginning of the series alluding to Volume 1 Chapter 3 "The Shining Beacon"

Ruby: (giggling)"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it".

- Ozpin's Mention of Ruby's silver eyes as well as expanding on that scene

How there were Silver Eyed Warriors in the past who have been legends and expressing a similar line in Canon that Strength alone doesn't guarantee Victory

- Expanding on Yang & Ruby's Home life with Taiyang as well as Tai & Oz having some sort of history together[Alluding to his time as Team STRQ]

-the Appearance of Zwei,Ruby's dog, lives with them at home

Reference to Volume 2 Chapter 5 Field Trip

Yang: I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together!

Ruby: Ooooh! Something from home!

Ruby zooms over to Yang and wraps herself around Yang, trying to take the cylinder from her. The package opens, and another cylinder, hairy and black, falls out onto the floor and starts to shake. The object suddenly transforms into a corgi. Team RWBY leans in, staring at it.

The animal barks twice. While Weiss and Blake continue to react with great shock, Ruby and Yang react excitedly, with Ruby jumping in the air. Ruby, still airborne, is depicted among a changing blue background and four shots of the dog, two full body shots and two headshots. She then poses as she shouts the dog's name.

Ruby: Zwei!

Blake: He sent a dog?

Weiss: In the mail?

- Chapter 2 has Weiss fighting the Arma Gigas just as she's done in the White Trailer and within the Icequeendom anime

-Adds onto Weiss's Rocky relationship with Whitley [Whitley making fun of her for failing to live up to expectations during her Arma Gigas]

-Weiss's/Ruby's argument are more or less the same

-chapter 3 has Weiss doubt Ruby's leadership skills like in the OG & IQ series

Rwby Anthology (2017)

stated, by Kerry and Gray, to be "very much in tune with the show" and that "very minimal feedback had to be given on canon stuff".(26:15)

As well as side stories they didn't have time to put into the show

Red like Roses: Volume 1

-in the "partner" side story,Roman was taken into custody and RWBY & Co are at the school dance

☆Referencing the Episode "Dance Dance Infiltration"Vol 2 Chapter 7

In the "Just trying to help" side story, Weiss confirms that Ruby and Cardin has fought before

☆ Referring to the Cardin v Ruby fight from the (2015) Manga

Mirror Mirror: Volume 2

- in "Snow White's Melancholy" & "The princess, Showcases Weiss's Neglection from childhood

- in the "Who is the Ice Queen meeting?" Side story, Weiss is shown training in secret so she wouldn't be considered a liability due to her loss against the White Fang Grunt

☆Referencing Vol 2 Chapter 11 "No Brakes"

- in the "Soft Warm Ears" side story,Weiss is still adjusting to the new change that Blake was a faunus and at the end she begins to embrace it freely (touching Blake's Ears).

☆Takes place after the events of Vol 1 Chapter 15 "The Stray"

-In "The Moon" side story, Weiss has a talk with Winter about her training and making connections

☆Referencing Vol 3 Chapter 3 "It's Brawl in the Family" & Chapter 4 "Lesson Learned"

From Shadows: Volume 3

In "the Monster" sidestory,Goes other Blake's Grim past as a white fang member with Adam remarking Faunus as Monsters

It also expands more on Ruby's & Blake's relationship

+Where Blake recalls her convo with Ruby in Vol 1 Chapter 3 and wanted to learn me about Ruby's way of thinking as she believed that just this once

A Fairytale can become reality.

In "Friend" Blake connects with a lost cat and ended up happily crying after he found his new home

+Which could parallel how Team RWBY became Blake's "new home"

In "Curosity killed the Cat" side story, Weiss mentions a train accident

☆Most likely alluding to Volume 2 "No Brakes"

In "Proof of a Black Cat", Yang provides Blake a way to open up more leading to Blake to be a bit less pessimistic and welcoming her as a teammate [Seemingly after Burning Candle]

I Burn:Volume 4

In "You can't have that bear", Yang battles and is fully aware of Melanie & Miltia

☆The Twin sisters she fought against in Junior's Bar during the Yellow trailer

In "Semblance Challenge" Ruby points out that Yang destroyed Roman's Paladin

☆ Notably referenced from Vol 2 Chapter 4 Painting the Town

In"The Reader" side story, it plays on Yang's perspective as a child dealing with her harsh reality of responsibility after summer never came back.

[melty-artz]

Love this movie.

[t00nified]

Meeting Kids With Dog Dads LONG comic post incoming, I apologize in advance Crossover of the century my guys I think George and Harold would flip their shorts if they met Geek and Sherman

Plus, Sherman needs more friends! And I think these kids could all get along real swell

[astheriiiart]

desperate

[sleepy-dino12]

Patreon voted on fluff last month, so I finally got around to finishing it!

Support me on Patreon!

[stinglesswasp]

Day in the life - morning 🌄

[sailorb00]

So badly coping with RWBY hiatus already that I doodled my dream RWBY Beyond episode about a cheeky monkey faunus and his tired older cousin as they make the journey across the desert to Vacuo ✨️👉👈🥺✨️

[storybookprincess]

one of the best ways i’ve found to combat that inherent depressive pessimism without veering into toxic positivity territory is simply the phrase “i’m open to the possibility”

this particularly works with anything negative i’ve forecasted. “i woke up feeling like shit today, so my day is gonna suck” isn’t a particularly helpful thought, but “it’s a great day to be alive!!!!!” feels hollow and insincere when i have a pounding headache & am running on three hours of sleep

instead i’ll tell myself, “i really don’t feel good right now, but i’m open to the possibility that coffee and breakfast might perk me up a bit.” or “i’m in a lot of pain today, but i’m open to the possibility that my workday might still have fun parts despite that”

sometimes, when your impulse is to slam the door on anything good, but you’re not exactly up to going out & hunting it down yourself, leaving the door open just a crack makes all the difference

[yujateaandpi]

This helped me today hope it helps someone else too

[loonie-loo]

I watched the Hoppers

Random doodles

I love Titus goooodamn

[katemiosh]

[alkirilatori]

Lance and Walter are so cute>:3

[artofbeans]

Nimona is badass and poor Ballister is just very overwhelmed.

Been meaning to do a Nimona piece for a while!

[australet789]

Adrien glazers be like "I want Adrien to not be chopped and boring" and want him to be Luka and not fight for Marinette bfrrrrr

[australet789]

I'm going to grab all of your hands and remind you that in a relationship, someone CAN'T be the other's therapist

That's why Luka and Marinette didn't work out. He was so absorbed in doing nothing, in trying to fix things, waiting for Marinette to become someone that loved him, that he never loved the real Marinette. And he ended up going to another continent because of that.

And the thing is that Adrien and Marinette work because they are the same amount of crazy. He is as obsessed as Marinette is but we only saw glimpses of that with Chat Noir (because of the sentirings). Now that he is fully free, we can see him as fully chaotic

AND WE NEED HIM AS AN ENABLER OF MARINETTE

BECAUSE THEY ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP, NOT A THERAPY SESSION

It needs to be different from how Alya and Luka are to Marinette because girl is suicidal and a defeatist. Marinette doesn't have a plan regarding Gabriel's secret, whenever she asks for solutions she is shone away by adults who should be responsible for that or by her friends who are better emotionally (to an extent).

See when Ladybug lost the miraculouses because of Felix. You know who helped her by not shoving her away but by supporting her and listening? Chat Noir

Marinette needs her Chat Noir. Adrien needs to be her Chat Noir because then, again, it becomes another Luka situation

I'm not saying that Adrien is going to be happy and smiling knowing that Marinette lied. But you are taking for granted Adrien's ability to understand and be emotionally intelligent if you think he is going to blame her fully for that.

BECAUSE👏 HE👏WAS👏A👏VICTIM👏 OF👏GABRIEL👏 SAME👏AS👏MARINETTE👏IS

And he knows he is a victim. Adrien is 100% aware he is a victim but since he was the only one hurt he is trying to shove it away. Now, what happens when he recognizes another victim? That Gabriel actually hurt someone else?

He will be finally be able to move on and not try to forgive his father and fight for himself

We need Adrien to fight for Marinette because it means fighting against the abussive system that started it all. Because it's about the victims (Félix and Kagami included) and not just punishing somebody else that can't be even punished since he is dead.

[emletish-fish]

Jinu's fatal flaw isn't selfishness. It's shame and despair - Part 2.

In part 1, I've talked about how Jinu's introduction doesn't fit the selfish character archetype.

Let's talk about some selfish character plot beats.

A selfish character will have a pet the dog moment around the end of act 1. They do a small deed or gesture that is kind and selfless. The narrative then makes a big deal about it as they realise that they are capable of change. The narrative is signalling early on to the audience that this person can grow past their selfishness. Then we can root for them to get better.

When Kuzco saves Pacha the first time, he notices and Pacha notices and the whole jungle notices how out of character it is for Kuzco to be selfless. The first time Eleanor lets someone cut ahead of her in line, she races home to tell Chidi that she did something nice for someone just because. She is excited by her capacity for growth.

Selfish characters will be pleased if confused by their non-selfish act.

Does Jinu have a moment early on in the narrative where he does something nice for someone?

yes!

Let's talk about the bathhouse save.

Firstly, I'd just like to offer a gentle rebuttal to the argument that the bathhouse save is all part of some machivellian long-con plot on Jinu's behalf to make Rumi trust him.

Which is a take, and haters gonna hate, and all that.

But come on.

It's children's media. They aren't playing 5D chess with seven year olds.

Jinu's goal = weaken the honmoon and get his memories erased.

Rumi is obviously terrified of the girls seeing her patterns. He correctly guesses that they don't know she's part-demon. A discovery like this could break them apart as a group.

A rupture in the hunters as a group is pretty much guaranteed to negatively affect the honmoon. The bathhouse scene would have accomplished his goal with almost no effort effort on his part.

All Jinu had to do was leave!

Rumi was so deep in her terror that she was motionless in horror - she would not have stopped him.

He literally just had to leave Rumi in her situation. Remember he has absolutely no reason to help Rumi at this stage. Rumi was, less than ten seconds ago, really earnestly trying to kill him.

Let's turn the tables to see it from another angle. If Rumi was able to erase her patterns (achieve her goal) simply by leaving a demon in a mess of their own making, would she drop everything and endanger herself to help that demon?

Anyway, all the creators and the voice actors and the animators talk about this scene as a 'save'. The characters in the film act like it's a genuinely good deed that Jinu does. The narrative supports this reading. if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck etc.

Haters can reach for other interpretations, but that's the same as me saying 'the sky is actually green sometimes in the k-pop demon hunters world but it only happens off screen.' I'm free to interpret the movie that way, but this interpretation isn't back up by the text.

Rebuttal finished.

*****

If we were meant to read Jinu as a selfish character on an arc to overcoming his selfishness, then doing an unselfish thing is a very important plot beat. We would have seen him musing about the selflessness of his actions. He would have been surprised by doing a good deed. (Just like we see with Kuzco and Eleanor. They are confused and pleased by their own actions. The narrative points at the unselfish deed saying SEE - THEY CAN BE GOOD).

His post bathhouse questioning would have been more along the lines of 'why did I save her when there was nothing in it for me'.

But he doesn't!

Jinu is way more focused on Rumi and what her patterns mean, than he is on his own capacity for good.

Once again, a character who's never done a good thing in their life suddenly doing a good thing for no reason should provoke CONFUSION in that character.

Jinu is not confused by doing something nice and helping a girl in trouble. There is no confusion about his own actions. He understands what he did and why.

His confusion is about Rumi and her patterns, not his own behaviour.

Because K-pop demon hunters is exploring SHAME, not selfishness. The patterns are a metaphor for SHAME. Both Rumi and Jinu struggle with SHAME.

Rumi hides her shame and Jinu wallows in his.

The narrative is exploring shame, our reactions to it, its effects and healthy and unhealthy ways of coping with shame through these two characters.

This is why Jinu's fatal flaw is his shame, (and the feelings of hopelessness and despair that stem from it), not selfishness.

[emletish-fish]

Jinu's fatal flaw isn't selfishness. It is despair and pessimism.

Part 1 -

When media targeted to children has a character they want the audience to see as selfish, they have a very specific type of characterisation.

Selfishness will be a defining feature of their personality. Their goals, actions, and dialogue will be selfish. They have specific story beats. They will have a mentor figure, they will have slowly evolving moments where they discover the joy that comes from caring about others and forming deeper bonds with them. (The first one usually occurs at the end of act 1, or about 1 third of the way though.)

They are often extremely comical characters.

They will also start their story arcs being incredibly isolated. They will collect people to care about over the course of the narrative. Having good people around them to give them love and support is key to them growing.

Nobody magically improves in a vacuum. Even kids media says:

I also don't want to denigrate kids media. There are some wonderful and powerful and nuanced messages wrapped up in cute metaphors in kids media. However, because it's kids media, these themes are painted in broad and obvious and age-apropriate strokes.

But the selfish character archetype doesn't just apply to kids media. Adult media with a ' selfish' character will also use this template.

So, with all that in mind, let's look at Jinu's characterisation and story arc.

We meet Jinu in a pretty hopeless hell dimension. The demons are ruled by a terrifying and tyrannical leader who can control their bodies, see through their eyes and force thoughts into their heads. He incinerated and tortures them at will.

So not a great situation. It's also interestingly one that Jinu has very little power in.

Normally selfish characters are introduced by being selfish and throwing their weight around, abusing their power over others or generally being rude. The don't mind being called selfish because they happily are. Kuzco is downright gleeful about being selfish. Eleanor puts down 'good people' as twerps and losers.

Jinu isn't presented like this. Jinu is clearly respected in the demon world. The other demons make way for him, listen to him attentively, and look to him for leadership. He is also introduced with a animal companions.

(very Disney princess coded. The direct opposite of the selfish!character).

This opening scene establishes several things:

Jinu is clever. He's the ideas guy.

Jinu is respected well enough in the demon world.

Jinu is very musically talented.

Jinu is brave enough to pitch a novel idea to a tyrannical king.

Jinu hates the tyrannical king but must be subservient to him.

The dialogue tells us his voice is important and that Gwi-ma likes to insult him by calling him selfish.

Let's get into that.

When Kuzco or Eleanor Shellstrop are called selfish in their early scenes, they don't deny it. They sometimes revel in it. Selfish characters think selfishness is a way of life. They aren't ashamed of being selfish because they consider it the only way to be.

Conversely - Jinu hates it.

He keeps a very cool facade Infront of Gwi-ma but his mask slips upon being called selfish. He's clearly deeply insulted and annoyed. He says his next line of dialogue with an angrier edge to his tone.

Jinu does not like being called selfish or revel in his selfishness. He considers selfishness to be an exceptionally shameful and undesirable trait.

Which is why Gwi-ma saying it.

Gwi-ma is a shame demon, not a truth demon. He uses things that people feel the worst about to demoralised and control them.

It is Not True that Mira is inherently unlovable and doesn't deserve a family.

But Mira feels it is and it's the worst thing for her.

So that's what Gwi-ma uses against her.

It's Not True that Bobby was incapable of taking care of the girls. But he clearly took his duty of care seriously and feels that he fails them.

It's Not True that Zoey will never fit in and will always be too much and not enough.

But once again, that fear and shame is something deeply engrained in her.

So Gwi-ma uses it to control her.

So we have an established pattern of Gwi-ma using whatever will make a person feel hopeless and ashamed against them, regardless of whether it is true.

What he uses tells us something about each character.

Mira values love and family. (Feeling unworthy of it is her worst thing.)

Zoey values community and belonging and being liked and accepted. (Feeling rejected is her worst thing. )

Bobby values care and competence and being useful. He loves his girls. (Feeling he failed them is his worst thing. )

So what does this tell us about Jinu?

Keep in mind that Gwi-ma does this exact same trick to him, and the movie shows us how it works with three different examples. All four of their eyes (Jinu, Bobby, Mira and Zoey), are animated the exact same when Gwi-ma talks to them, so I think it's reasonable to draw parallels.

In the first instance, Gwi-ma tells Jinu he's failing at taking care of his family. He's not good enough to look after them. The subtext is that Jinu personally, due to his own failings, is at fault for their situation.

This tells us that Jinu loved and valued his family the most, and like, Bobby, took his duty of care very seriously. Feeling like he was failing them was his worst thing.

The absolute tragedy is that, in this case, Gwi-ma is half right.

Jinu is failing at taking care of his family. Their situation is dire.

Gwi-ma is wrong about it being Jinu's fault. But Jinu doesn't see it that way. (This tells us that he also has a tendency to take responsibility and blame himself.)

Joseon period caste system was absolute. The Confucianistic model relied on everyone knowing their place and having zero options for social mobility. Jinu and his family are cheonmin class. They are on the lowest rung of society. They cannot aspire to more than poverty and drudgery.

Cheonmin had the lowest life expectancy, the highest infant mortality, and Starvation was a common cause of death in their caste. Hunger was weaponised by the aristocracy to force them into indentured servitude and slavery.

Many cheonmin signed themselves into slavery for the chance at regular meals for them and their family.

This is what Jinu does. The job he takes at the palace would have been a slave position.

So we know that Jinu loved his family and was desperate to provide for them and get them all out of the gutter and fed regularly. He sold his soul and himself into slavery to achieve this.

(and still failed - that is not the face of someone who expected their family to be turned away. That is someone who is shocked and horrified).

We know that being told he is selfish and that he failed them is still effective punishment even 400 years later.

This tells us that Jinu deeply feels that being selfish and failing the people he loves is the most shameful trait.

Selfish characters don't think their selfishness is wrong in the beginning.

Jinu already knows this.

So from his very first scene, he's failed all the selfish character beats.

I think it is more useful to think of Jinu as a Deuterantagonist to Rumi.

He is her narrative foil, mirror and parallel.

When they are introduced. Jinu wants to erase his humanity. Rumi wants to erase her demon side. They are on a parallel journey from self-hatred to self-acceptance.

Jinu is Rumi's dark mirror because he shows us what happens when shame is allowed the consume us and become our whole identity.

Jinu tells us the patterns (shame) consumed him. And he feels that he can never escape his shame.

Jinu's problem isnt selfishness. It is that his deep feelings of shame have blocked out any chance for hope or self improvement or growth for centuries. He feels despair. He believes his situation is hopeless and change isn't possible.

His journey in the film is about overcoming this despair and self hatred.

To be continued in Part 2

[hellothere172]

Jinu was a starving artist.

I believe Jinu has always been talented.

I’ve seen lots of different interpretations of Jinu’s voice/musical ability. The general consensus seems to be that Jinu was gifted his voice and talent (or at least better voice and talent) by Gwi-Ma when he accepted the deal.

But if we take a deeper dive into what was actually said in the movie, it paints an interesting picture:

“I let you keep that voice, Jinu. And you dare to mock me with it?”

Keep. That’s the keyword here. If the creators wanted to make it clear that Jinu was gifted his voice in exchange for his soul, wouldn’t it have been much easier to convey that by having Gwi-Ma say “I gave you that voice” instead? I think that was an interesting choice of words.

Of course, it raises a few questions. Does Gwi-Ma have the ability to strip Jinu of his voice? Has he threatened to do so before to keep Jinu in line? I would venture to say yes, especially considering the physical/bodily control Gwi-Ma is shown to be able to assert over his demons.

“Overnight my fate was changed. I was praised for my voice, even by the King himself.”

This quote especially strikes me as indicative of what’s really going on with Jinu. He never once says that his voice got better. He says that he was finally praised for his voice.

If we think about Jinu’s circumstances, the time he is from and the Joseon caste system, raising above his lowborn status would’ve been out of the question. Even with his remarkable musical talent. The chance of being “discovered” was near impossible, since cheonmin often lived separately from the upper class.

I believe that what Gwi-Ma gave Jinu was opportunity. He opened up the door for Jinu to be discovered by someone of high standing. Someone who could get him into the palace. Someone who could finally give him the recognition he’d longed for. All while simultaneously leading Jinu down the path to abandon his family and drown in shame.

I believe that’s why Jinu was so good at being an idol. He loved it. Putting aside his main goal, it seems like every aspect of idol life was fulfilling to him. He seemed excited to pitch the idea to Gwi-Ma. He must’ve worked on it for years. He looked genuinely thrilled to win awards for his music. It wasn’t just a mission to him. He was passionate about it.

It’s almost like he wanted to prove to himself that, if he had been born into better and more fair circumstances, he could’ve turned his talent into something lucrative. It’s almost like he wanted to prove to himself that if it weren’t for his social standing, he could’ve provided for his family doing something he loved.

Jinu did not only starve in body during his human life. He also starved to be recognized for his natural talent. He was born into unfortunate circumstances that never allowed for that talent to thrive.

In my opinion, Jinu as a starving artist serves his story better, and is more conducive to demonstrating his motives throughout the movie. It adds layers to the tragedy and depth of his choices.

[hellothere172]

Sorry, just crying about the way the official KPDH Junior Novelization humanizes Jinu