corbeau scene redraw + yapping about him in the dlc
ive had this prepared like 5 days after the dlc came out but i procrastinated posting it 💀💀💀 BUT YAY ANOTHER CORBEAU ANALYSIS IS FINALLY HERE !!!! perhaps a continuation of my previous corbeau analysis post
oh my god this dlc is heaven for anyone who likes corbeau he gets so much screentime and he has so many new lines 😭 i knew he was gonna play a significant role in the dlc but I DID NOT THINK WE WOULD BE SEEING HIM THAT OFTEN???? he called us to his office way too many times and i like the excuse he gave, face-to-face meetings are indeed better than zoom meetings + seems like theres lumiose citizens (children especially) who really admire corbeau while others get spooked seeing him and philippe on the streets. he was smiling when he said that too cuz he knows damn well why
the scene where he first appears is already peak in every single way, from lida asking if someone borrowed money from him again to corbeau hearing her to everyone immediately turning to taunie/urbain because even corbeau lampshades their decision to kickstart the base game's most insane arc by borrowing money from the rust syndicate of all people, this is literally corbeau's first appearance in the dlc and its so funny LMAOOOOO THE RIVAL IS NEVER GONNA HEAR THE END OF THIS
once again we see corbeau's moral grayness shine throughout our interactions with him. his concern for protecting lumiose is once again emphasized, and given his dialogue about investments and clients it seems like one of the main ways he helps lumiose is by contributing economically. and this time he's even more adamant that "he's not a hero" and reminds us that he puts people in debt so he can use them to shape lumiose the way he wants: once again this is corbeau's tendency to word things vaguely and threateningly because he just wants to save lumiose from destruction and help it thrive. this strong motivation of his gives an in-universe explanation on why he's at the forefront of hyperspace data analysis.
also corbeau is so kind to ansha lmao you can really tell when you compare his dialogue with her and his dialogue with us. i feel like he would refer to himself and philippe as "uncle" around her kinda like how mable refers to herself as "auntie" with us. he's always affirming ansha's feelings, calls on us to ensure her safety, reminds us to thank her and hoopa for the donuts, and compliments her mega donut proposal. also when he sees ansha's little donut shop and asks her if she would like him to invest in it so it can grow into a successful business... like how lysandre once did for him... my heartstrings 😭😭😭 and philippe thinking corbeau's joking when he's completely serious LMAO
corbeau's soft spot for kids is so cute and he's gentler with them but he takes the stricter approach with teenagers like the rest of team MZ who are beginning to assume independence and enter the real world. yet its still clear that he cares about us too since he constantly tells us to take a break and hit the hay while he cooks his sleep schedule to analyze the hyperspace data. and thanks for all the compliments man we are indeed the greatest trainer ever.
i suppose him and the rust syndicate never experienced that creepy darkrai dream because they were up all night doing data analysis. this entire dlc gives me so much fanart ideas i wanna draw corbeau up late at night staring at charts and spreadsheets while eating his homemade sushi, overseeing the rust syndicate perfecting the donut recipe, playing with ansha as she draws him, redraw that one scene of him and jacinthe, like wow i have content for days
imo the biggest strength of the dlc was seeing more character interactions, especially with characters we never thought would interact much or develop any meaningful relationship. in regards to corbeau specifically, his interactions with grisham caught my eye... he calls grisham "grish" like he's already acquainted with him. they both have ties with lysandre and it's definitely plausible they talked to each other about him before (yeah i really need to refine my knowledge on team flare lore because i can't give any in-depth commentary without it but i bet there's some foil relationship between corbeau and grisham or something). also its so funny how corbeau shuts down grisham's accusation of collecting data on him reveals it was philippe's perceptive palate that managed to figure out grisham's secret ingredient. i love how he mentions the importance of privacy these days because damn right but i also assumed during the debt arc that he collected any data he could about taunie/urbain and team MZ because how did you get our phone numbers bro. and how did you know lida was originally from hoenn. you definitely did a bit of snooping around to get that info. i headcanon that when someone worryingly asks what he does with the data he collects from his clients he's like "hey im not that evil i would never sell your data to third parties and after our business is done we always delete it from our servers". corbeau definitely has the means and skills to dig up private information but its funny how, according to this line, he won't do so because that's too far even by his moral standards. his entire character is basically subverting expectations to a silly degree, even if i think that our initial expectations of him being dangerous/scary hold truth.
griselle's one interaction with corbeau was also funny lmao, calling him out for being so frugal with his order, based on hyperspace side mission 183 (pretty sure our interactions with characters in hyperspace are not actually with the characters themselves as they are in real lumiose but their subconscious thoughts, which can be derived from memories/past experiences) its revealed that corbeau and philippe have been taking money out from their personal savings to help with the rust syndicate's finances so i guess that explains why he's pinching pennies at nouveau cafe lmao. more corbeau and griselle interactions would be so entertaining since they both have similar witty, sarcastic ways of speech. also corbeau ragebaiting mable by calling her professor LMAOOOOO i need more interactions of them too. this dlc is feeding me so well
im probably gonna make a separate post about this later but im obsessed with the few interactions corbeau had with jacinthe + the new info we're presented about them lets me draw new parallels between their characters... i think even before the ange floette thing the top ranking za royale trainers were already acquainted with each other in some way, at least to the extent that they knew of each other's existence and what they do, but it was nice seeing corbeau interact a bit with canari and ivor. that one bit where we get to hear corbeau's thoughts on every top ranking za trainer by is definitely my favourite piece of dialogue with him. i also wish we knew the specifics of how he connected with korrina but thats because i just wanna know everything about him. its funny how he calls her ms mega stones.
by far the most insane lore we got of corbeau was the implication that HE WAS ONCE TAKEN CARE OF BY GIOVANNI?????? WHAT????? this feels like a headcanon that is somehow canon. it does make sense that giovanni was likely the one who inspired corbeau to become a businessman that uses underhanded tactics. but now i have even more questions about corbeau's past because how did he even get in giovanni's hands in the first place. why is gio out here during side quests where is silver amongst all this. how did corbeau himself even arrive in lumiose in the first place. how long and how exactly did giovanni take care of him, other than by telling him stories about the myths of johto and hoenn. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS TELL ME MORE
anyway this entire dlc feels like a fever dream fanfiction especially catered to corbeau fans. im losing my mind at literally the smallest details the average person won't care about. like he gets slightly irritated when the waiting time for the scan is longer than expected. he said morning sunshine to us (we all went crazy during that part). they spawned him on top of the table. he speaks so casually like a young adult despite being a yakuza boss. he says "operation mega donut" with such seriousness. you can ragebait him by saying that he's the one who wants to see rayquaza so bad. his neck crack from the trailer is back. he has like 3 different ways to adjust his glasses. the one cutscene he's in really made me realize how much he puts his all for literally everything: his run, his pre-battle martial arts looking pose, his high-jump pokeball throw, his commanding pokemon pose where he grips his fist tightly, and finally his mega evolving scolipede pose all have so much power to it he is not holding back. i definitely have to go back and update this blog later because even i cant keep track of all his lines i loved. this dlc is just chock full of corbeau screentime and its everything ive ever wanted. ohyeah and you can literally cosplay as corbeau. did i mention im going insane yet
all in all im in love with how corbeau is portrayed in the dlc, he is doubly oozing with charisma, playfulness, sweet-talk, competence, responsibility, and a concern for lumiose's wellbeing. i was really looking forward to some new corbeau content in the dlc and i think i got much more than i asked. so thank you pokemon legends za mega dimensions dlc
Laying awake thinking about how Corbeau has his own nicknames for the other characters. Mr. Justice. Princess (/sarcastic). Grish. Ms. Mega Stones. Little Lady/Mademoiselle. There may even be more I’m missing but it’s such a silly detail in his dialogue that I love sm
don't you just love it when your two favourite characters interact
its straight up comical how much corbeau cant stand jacinthe, and it becomes even funnier when you realize how easily ragebaited corbeau is so he's just constantly seething whenever jacinthe speaks. based on my analysis of their characters and reading between the lines, i think it makes complete sense for corbeau to hate jacinthe too:
1. jacinthe character analysis
(i already did a corbeau character analysis here)
the first hint we get regarding corbeau's perception of jacinthe (as well as jacinthe's first name drop) was during the main mission where corbeau has us deal with the SBC members before he shoos them off for being so pretentious that they resort to giving unsolicited battle advice to random children. corbeau's dialogue suggests this wasn't a one-time occurrence: "i've heard word you've been acting like you own this place. too bad you had to go and lose to a kid." you can imagine SBC members regularly approaching random trainers to lecture them on "the proper way to battle" uninvited, and it's clear from their dialogue upon losing and the children's dialogue that the SBC members are nuisances who like to one-up themselves and their organisation, even doing so when "people are on edge these days, what with all the wild pokemon showing up in town". corbeau sent us to deal with their shenanigans as an act of community service, as if the SBC's a weed that needs to be plucked in his eyes.
of course, being the leader, jacinthe is the embodiment of the SBC. she places her personal battle tournaments as being on the same level of importance--if not more--to saving the entire city (either from rogue megas or the ange floette thing). some people interpret jacinthe as an ultimately decent person with a noble goal--"to help every resident of lumiose become the best trainer they can be"--but my interpretation is that she only has this as her goal because battling is a strong interest of hers, not necessarily because she has good intentions to help others. that's precisely why her and the SBC use pushy and forceful methods that seem counterintuitive to their goal: they're not actually here to help, they're here to glaze themselves and feed their egos, as rich elite socialites do. if jacinthe's interest was anything else, then she would just make that her goal while remaining just as pushy and fae-like as she is now. so i think it's all very self-serving in the end rather than altruistic, it just so happens that her goal can bring about something beneficial.
hence, jacinthe at her core sees herself and only herself as deserving of utmost importance, and coupling this with her extensive wealth and influence allows her to enact extreme measures to achieve her desires (stalking the player character with her personal holo-tech, basically holding everyone captive at the hotel until her tournament is fulfilled, and whatever the hell she is doing with lebanne). this inflated ego means it's straight up impossible for her to understand how the perspectives, opinions, and desires of others are different from her own. she thinks that everyone around her is as obsessed with herself as she is: she assumes we were disappointed that we had to pacify the rogue megas with lebanne rather than her, that we love the sound of her voice, that the right to battle her forever is an objectively worthwhile reward... its all about jacinthe, she and her.
we also see her conceit manifest as a saviour complex, especially when she joins us to save lumiose in the end-game. she glazes her social status as an elite who's "responsible for guiding the masses", she gladly takes the pyroar's share of credit for saving lumiose while leaving everyone else as a footnote, and who can forget her comment on wanting to change lumiose city into "jacinthe city"? straight up insane LMAO that alone is already indicative of how self-absorbed jacinthe is, and the scariest part is she's powerful enough to possibly enact her goals into fruition. the fact that she speaks in such a polite tone amidst all of this probably makes her even more infuriating to deal with, like she's some walking ragebaiter that no one can take action against due to the authority that comes with someone of her status and power.
2. corbeau and jacinthe's dynamic
2.1: similar power, different intentions, similar methods, different goals
on the surface level corbeau and jacinthe share similarities: they're amongst the highest ranking za royale trainers, they're the leaders of their respective organizations, and they're both influential, rich, and powerful. however, when we go deeper into the iceberg, we find an interesting foil relationship going on.
corbeau aims to use the rust syndicate to benefit lumiose city, while jacinthe uses the SBC with the intention of fulfilling her own desires. interestingly, while they both use coercion and force to get their way, they have opposing attitudes to it: corbeau sees force as necessary to make lumiose citizens better appreciate and contribute to their city, while jacinthe sees force as necessary to satisfy her own personal desires (i.e. participate in her tournament), nevermind if it'll bring societal benefit or not. corbeau full on acknowledges he's not a good person because of his methods but he does stuff that's actually of service to lumiose, while jacinthe acts like she's a positive contribution to lumiose society when she and her organization are more of a disturbance than anything. hence, i think corbeau acts a bit more altruistically since he knows that dirty work needs to be done to help lumiose--he's not doing it to feed his ego or establish a power dynamic of forceful vs forced--but jacinthe fundamentally cannot be altruistic because she is incapable of separating herself and her interests from anything.
2.2: similar present-day yet different pasts
corbeau's intolerance for jacinthe is further illuminated when we consider their backstories. growing up in the absolute bottom rung of the social ladder corbeau internalized that people won't be willing to help others unless they are forced to, and jacinthe exactly proves his beliefs. she wont help others because she prioritizes herself first and foremost, and when she does help others she'll glaze herself in the process all while causing disruptions that ultimately lead back to her desires (e.g. when she keeps appearing in hologram form to pester us about her tournament, or when she brings up a concern about her tournament while the whole ange floette thing is going on in the background). every one of jacinthe's actions ties back to her self-absorption in which she believes her interests take precedence over all else.
corbeau's whole modus operandi is forcing people to do good that'll benefit lumiose, but he can't do that with jacinthe because she's a rank above him. he can get rid of lower SBC members but he ultimately has no power over their leader; on the other hand, he's the one who's forced to comply to her desires by entering her tournament (its kinda funny how the literal yakuza have to bend to her will while taunie/urbain have the audacity to insult her lmao).
while we don't know much about jacinthe's backstory its highly likely that she was born into wealth and spoiled into oblivion (naveen did say that the SBC largely consists of the children of elites and socialites, so their leader probably is as well). this is why corbeau and jacinthe act so differently despite the aforementioned superficial similarities: corbeau poured blood, sweat and tears to climb the social ladder while jacinthe was at the top from the start. corbeau has personal experience living in the trenches as a marginalized member of society (poor, orphaned, homeless), and it's because of that experience that he wants to protect lumiose city and its residents. on the contrary, jacinthe was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and if you know anything about rich people it's that they're apathetic and ignorant to the struggles of those below their social standing: in jacinthe's case she's only really helping others with a self-serving mindset, and while one could argue that impact is more important than intent, she also likes to distract people from the actual issue at hand by bringing up irrelevant matters like her tournament... we don't see really her act in service to lumiose (except during the endgame) but we do see her utilizing her personal private use holo-tech while everyone else uses the public one, threatening to buy hotel Z just because we won't comply to her wishes, and blatantly desiring to relabel lumiose city to "jacinthe city".
2.3: the more obvious stuff: type matchups and appearance
one of the more obvious elements of corbeau's and jacinthe's dynamic is their type matchups. fairy is weak to poison, yet jacinthe is above corbeau. the rust syndicate itself has themes of poison and steel types, the only two types fairy is weak to, yet the SBC (who mainly specialize in fairy types) remain on top anyway. corbeau's the one that's most likely to dethrone jacinthe given the type advantage + his rank proximity to her, but we still see that she advanced to rank c before corbeau did.
maybe in the past when jacinthe was rank d they both had a promotion match and jacinthe ended up defeating corbeau, so she got to rise up to rank c. this is just a little headcanon that fits nicely with the information we're presented about these two characters, but nevertheless, the fact that corbeau is below jacinthe symbolizes that he lost or is not strong enough to defeat the pretentious stuck up elite that resembles everything he stands against, even though he has the type advantage. so he can't succeed in battle against her, he can't use his typical methods of coercion against her, he can't do anything to curb her power and influence: if he can't defeat the one person who represents the antithesis of beneficial to lumiose, how could he possibly achieve his goal of protecting it? jacinthe's entire existence is a threat to his values, and his forced compliance to her wishes only serve as a reminder of that.
another thing i find cool is how corbeau and jacinthe have complementary designs. they're both primarily purple but in different shades: corbeau in darker, jacinthe in lighter. this honestly made me realize how much they complement each other in other aspects, and i guess it symbolizes their overall characters as well: corbeau's pretty shady and uses immoral tactics like fear and force, but after we get to know him we find out he's not exactly as bad as we thought him to be (not that i think he's good like a saint). jacinthe's very polite and serene, but after we get to know her we find out she's not as good as we thought her to be (not that i think she's bad like the devil).
also while writing this i realized that their designs are probably meant to be a microcosm of their foil relationship because god they complement each other in like almost every single way, from their hairstyles (corbeau: dark coloured and flows one side, jacinthe: light coloured and flows both sides) to their clothing choices (corbeau: black and darker purples, more drippy like, jacinthe: white and lighter purples, more frilly like) to their skin colours (corbeau: light, jacinthe: dark). ironically the symbolism in their designs is what i noticed last while i noticed their beneath-the-surface dynamic first LMAO. their designs are probably what drew most of us to like them in the first place and now i have an even greater appreciation for these characters individually and in the context of their relationships.
3: conclusion + extra thoughts
the dynamic between corbeau and jacinthe is unexpectedly elaborate and i love when i can analyze my favourite characters together. even better that they have a clear foil relationship going on. corbeau doesnt see himself as a hero yet his actions are often for the cause of lumiose, while jacinthe sees herself as a hero yet her actions are often for the disruption of lumiose. corbeau wants lumiose to thrive for the better and to serve as its protector, while jacinthe wants lumiose to be a battle-fest and to serve as its ruler. corbeau's antagonism towards jacinthe seems ironic at first given how similar they are on a surface level, but dig deeper and you'll unearth their gems of differences that really make you realize why he reacts so strongly towards her: jacinthe's a microcosm of everything corbeau stands against.
as if their interactions can't get funnier, i just love how jacinthe literally does not react to corbeau's hatred in kind. she just speaks to him in the same polite tone she uses with everyone else and i like to think that ragebaits corbeau even more. it's also nice how corbeau doesn't hesitate to express his hatred right in front of her, and in their very last interaction corbeau just caves in and complies with jacinthe taking all the credit for saving lumiose lmao. he's so done with her and the terms he uses to describe her ("princess") are just the cherry on top.
i need more jacinthe and corbeau interactions so bad. not sure how the legends za dlc will go but i hope we get more jacinthe and corbeau. it's interesting to see that they both act as foils to each other in many ways and i just like this coincidence that two of my favourite characters have such interactions with each other
ive revamped my analysis of corbeau and jacinthe's foil relationship, improved the grammar and language kinda + added some new realizations + separated the entire thing with headers and subheaders !
dlc is coming out in like 6 days so i hope we get to see these two again... they intrigue me so much and i just love character analyzing
PLZA: Corbeau's Design, Worldviews, and Japanese Mythology
While his initial debut in the Legends ZA trailer may have screamed "Tumblr Sexyman", there actually are some interesting layers into how Corbeau's character might be inspired by Japanese folklore and Shintoism.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this I have only just beat Corbeau's boss fight, and have yet to finish the game. So this may be updated later on, and be mindful of sharing spoilers!
I don't think it takes a genius for one to look at Corbeau's outfit for it to scream, "poison type user". However despite the initial trailer having him showcase an Arbok, what I found quite interesting was that is ace is a Scolipede.
The question that rang in my mind at the time was, "why a centipede?" A snake pokemon would already fit really well for the archetype of a yakuza character- sneaky, silver-tongued, venomous, and manipulative, but a centipede seemed like an odd choice. However upon looking up the symbolism of centipedes, what I found was actually quite interesting.
According to Japanese mythology, centipedes have quite a textured reputation- and at their best can be symbols of strength, while at their worst are signs of corruption. In most cases, they are creatures associated with impurity, pollution, and death. The most common myth describing them being the Ōmukade, a giant centipede with a venomous bite strong enough to take down dragons. In real life contexts, if you lived in a building that was damp, dark, and not maintained well, it was likely these venomous little critters would move in- similar to how a cockroach may take up residence if cleanliness isn't maintained.
However centipedes have a positive reputation in some circles as well, being adopted by samurai as a symbol of strength and progress, given their fearsome armoured appearances inspiring courage.
...and given the design of Mega Scolipede, well, I can't help but draw associations with it's armoured body and pronged helmet giving the imagery of samurai armour.
(Image sources: Bulbapedia and The Samurai Museum)
Given our beloved head of the Rust Syndicate seems to be very Johto-like in design (one of the Japanese inspired regions of the game), it seems very fitting!
Corbeau oddly enough has some interesting lines as well before his boss fight.
(Source: Release-Fire on youtube)
This line in particular stuck out to me. Leading into our promotion match we've been running errands for the Rust Syndicate as a way to pay off our debt, revealing not just to actually be community work, but Corbeau revealing some tidbits of his backstory in how he had no home growing up. He may be a yakuza- but he seems to deeply care about Lumiose as a whole, wanting to clean up the "grime" of the world and make the city a home for everyone. But why word it like this?
Well it turns out in Japanese Shintoism, there are concepts like kegare, a term directly tied to the belief of spiritual uncleanliness, pollution, or defilement. While the condition is encompassed within and overlaps with the concept of tsumi (taboo violations), instead of being a deliberate act of evil done by the user out of free will, kegare is more so the natural exposure to pollution that one encounters in life, such as disease, blood, or death. However there are different variations on the type of kegare exposure that include guilt or just simple bad luck. (Oddly enough purification rituals to remove tsumi/kegare involve the use of water, which brings to mind all the sludge piles in the game you have to wash away with water type moves...)
If you've played the video game Sekiro, you're probably yelling at me about the connection between centipedes representing kegare directly, as the game is directly inspired by Japanese mythology, showcasing corrupt monks turning into monstrous centipede enemies. However I want to put an important distinction here, as when it comes to English translated sources there's no mention of centipedes and kegare having direct connections. It seems this to be a common misconception by Western fans of the game, as all mentions of them together just link back to this game. While centipedes and kegare may overlap in concept when it comes to pollution, they are not one in the same.
(To put this into perspective for Western readers, a good comparison to this may be rats. We know from Western culture that rats could symbolize decay, pollution, death and disease, but they're not exactly animals that would say....represent the Christian concept of "sin". They might overlap, but they're different things.)
Going back to Corbeau, it seems these Shinto beliefs have influence over his character and worldview. When he talks about his role and duties, he talks about the grime of the world like a natural phenomenon; something that is inevitable to avoid, but something that must also be taken care of. And it seems very much Corbeau views this as his moral duty- he doesn't have to be the good guy, but he also knows if he doesn't do the work, likely nobody else will. And who else understands that corruption best than someone who lived on the streets first hand?
And I think that adds some interesting layers to such an already fascinating (and what seems to be fan favourite) character! It's already so fun seeing the Japanese and French influences on the game, but I think little details like these add even more layers to how these characters may have been created in the concept stage.
Anyway that's all I got for now, if you made it this far- thanks for reading! I wanted to share these interesting tidbits I found while researching for Corbeau's character, and I personally haven't seen anyone mention these things yet. If you also noticed some details in the game that I missed that may be added onto this (barring spoilers, of course) feel free to add on!
this is an awesome and detailed analysis, i can't help but eat up the connections with japanese mythology !
pokemon always surprises me with how fleshed out their characters are when you dig deeper into their cultural, religious, and linguistic symbolism. just as i thought i couldn't like corbeau more, every detail i learn about him just makes me further appreciate his character.
Lebanne - How dare you talk about Lady Jacinthe like that!
Jacinthe - Labanne dearest, leave us be. Go bark at the squirrels.
Lebanne - as you wish, Lady Jacinthe. *leaves*
Corbeau - is, is she... actually about to bark at squirrels?
Jacinthe - no.
in the distance - *muffled barking*
Jacinthe - yes.
I saw your Small Comic about Corbeau and the Budew Show... I need the continuation, I can't stop thinking about it because it was really funny and i can't really think what the End was look like.
By any chance you draw the Aftermath of the Comic? I like how you Draw Corbeau :D
Hi anon, thank you for the ask! Here's some more shenanigans for everyone to enjoy <3
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