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In the world of Remnant, superpowered hunters and huntresses train to fight terrifying monsters known as the Grimm. Spunky and fun-loving Ruby Rose, the leader of Team RWBY, has been accepted a full year early into the greatest training school in Vale, Beacon Academy, where she builds strong friendships and learns how to protect herself and others from the Grimm. But, as the first volume’s opening suggests, “Beware that the light is fading / Beware, as the dark returns” (( RWBY Vol. 1 opening RoosterTeeth, 2013. )) Ruby and her friends soon realize that Remnant is both magical and dangerous. Loss is inevitable.
Highly inspired by Japanese anime, RWBY is a web series created by the late Monty Oum and released on Rooster Teeth’s website in 2013. The show features fast-paced fight scenes and 3-D animation and draws inspiration from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. With its eighth volume now at a mid-season break until February, RWBY is still highly popular among fans.
While the school setting sets the stage for typical slice-of-life hijinks (and RWBY does include its fair share of laughs), the show also carries undertones of serious topics. Loss and the inability to grieve properly are just a couple of the nuances of the show. RWBY is a fun, action-adventure cartoon that heavily emphasizes the power of friendship (a typical anime trope) while illustrating ways to move past loss.
Blindsided By Loss
Despite being a happy-go-lucky teenager, Ruby has experienced loss. Her mother passed away before the first episode, and while Ruby’s pain is subtle, she does carry it throughout the show. Ruby regularly visits her mother’s grave, but thanks to her close family (her sister Yang, her Uncle Qrow, and her father), she seems to have already moved through the stages of grief. However, Ruby maintained much of her innocence by the third volume, not having to experience much loss at all — until the death of her best friend, Penny.
The tragedy occurred during the school festival, right in front of Ruby’s eyes. The shock of the moment is clearly seen on Ruby’s face and stays there long after the moment passes. Penny’s death marks a major turning point in RWBY as a series. Until this point, the plot develops slowly; we get to know the characters before gradually recognizing the danger. Poor Penny is the first major character to die onscreen, which takes viewers by surprise and places them directly in Ruby’s shoes.
The shock is numbing. Sometimes tragedy can strike out of nowhere, as Ruby is now all too aware. But thankfully, Ruby’s shock does end. She can help the rest of her friends fight off a Grimm attack right after losing her best friend, showing a strength she didn’t know she had or needed. Because Ruby made many friends at Beacon (and from other schools), she can find the strength to fight side by side with them.
Even after the festival’s traumatic events are behind her, Ruby’s response to losing Penny and getting into more danger is to apologize to her other friends, as though the tragedy is her fault. Her friend, Jaune, gives a comforting response.
You’re still here. Despite everything you’ve lost, everything you could still lose, you chose to come out here because you felt like you could make a difference. You didn’t drag us along. You gave us the courage to follow you.
Jaune Arc (( RWBY Vol. 4 Episode 11, “Taking Control” ))
Ruby’s drive to help others gives her the strength to move forward — if not past her loss, then despite her loss. Her love for her friends, specifically, makes that decision the obvious choice: to keep fighting alongside the ones she cares about. Sharing experiences and battles with her friends is a way for Ruby to heal from her losses.
Masking Grief
It is often said in RWBY that a person’s Semblance (their superpower) tends to match their personality, and Lie Ren is no different. From the first volume onward, Ren has been a quiet and contemplative member of Team JNPR. However, Volume 4 explores his backstory and reveals his Semblance, which makes complete sense for the loss he has suffered.
As a child in the peaceful village of Kuroyuri, Ren had a loving family and a happy life. But all that was taken away when a monstrous Grimm, the Nuckelavee, destroyed his home town and killed his family. Only he and a hungry little girl were able to escape, thanks to Ren’s ability to mask emotions. Because the Grimm are attracted to negative feelings from humans, Ren’s Semblance is incredibly useful for hiding from monsters and staying alive.
He can keep himself and his friends from being seen by the Grimm. However, this Semblance has negative repercussions as well. Keeping emotions hidden from others, even from himself, hinders his ability to communicate what he feels. As a result, Ren tends to avoid his problems rather than face them. This leads to a horrific moment when he is forced to face the Nuckelavee once again with no idea how to confront his loss.
While Ren tries his best to fight the Nuckelavee alone, he loses himself in rage, leaving no time to formulate a plan for defeating it. The monster seems unbeatable. The panic and pain blind this normally cool-headed fighter to the point where he is unaware of his imminent defeat.
Thankfully, Ren is surrounded by his friends and teammates this time. Nora forces him out of the fight to calm him down enough to refocus. As the Nuckelavee continues to loom just beyond their conversation, she reminds him that he is not alone. And though Ren doesn’t say a word during this exchange, it’s obvious that through their friendship, Nora is able to reassure him that this is a fight they can win together when she says, “We can do this.” (( RWBY, Vol. 4 Episode 12, “No Safe Haven” ))
Together, Ren and his friends defeat the Nuckelavee with renewed focus. Through the pain of old wounds, Ren sees that facing his past with his friends’ help will help him grow despite his grief. His internal monologue illustrates this new understanding as he deals the killing blow to the Nuckelavee.
For my mother. For my father. For all those you’ve slain…For myself. (( RWBY, Vol. 4 Episode 12, “No Safe Haven” ))
Lie Ren
Of course, moving past the denial of one’s feelings is no easy task. Ren continues to struggle with communication and fear in later volumes, which is an obstacle that might take a lifetime to overcome. But thanks to the understanding and love of others, Ren is overcoming his loss at his own pace.
Moving Past Loss
While losing loved ones through death is a common occurrence and an inevitable monster for everyone, death is not the only type of loss, and it certainly isn’t the only kind featured in RWBY. Blake and Yang each have their own inner demons to wrestle with, and their traumatic experiences are linked to each other.
Loss Of Identity
As an ex-member of a murderous terrorist group, Blake came to realize on her own that she and her so-called “friends” in the White Fang were wrong to fight hatred with more hatred and violence. When faced with the fact that her significant other was incapable of understanding others’ pain, she severed her link with him, losing the part of herself who identified as a violent fighter for justice. Blake symbolically separates her train car from Adam’s, disappearing from his life and leaving her old one behind.
Blake rededicates herself to fighting for justice by becoming a huntress and fighting Grimm, but the ties to her past still remain, and she feels the pain of it through isolation. However, when her teammates and friends, especially Yang, break through her walls, she finds someone new to fight for. Blake might not be a member of the previous White Fang, but she eventually decides to remake the organization into a group fighting for peace instead of violence.
Loss Of Self
Perhaps the most energetic member of Team RWBY, Yang prided herself in her physical strength, as her Semblance is essentially a power boost. But on the night of the school festival incident, she loses her arm, trying to protect Blake. The loss of Yang’s arm is a huge blow to her ego and self-worth; her PTSD and sadness surrounding the incident nearly stop her from accepting a prosthetic arm as a gift.
Much like Blake’s self-reflection, Yang needed to take the time to accept her new normal and to understand that being disabled does not make her a weaker woman. As soon as Blake and Yang accept these changing parts of themselves, they are able to find each other again, stronger for their self-reflection and ready to promise each other to be better people — together.
Stronger Together
RWBY continues down a harrowing road for its characters. But there is one character who has suffered loss repeatedly; Ozma, a centuries-old immortal, reincarnates into different bodies until he can vanquish an ancient evil that is impossible to beat. Over the years, Ozma has built and lost many families, friends, and even the love of his life. And yet, through the friendships he forges with trust, determination, and the undeterred belief that humanity is stronger together, Ozma can keep moving forward.
It would be a shame to discuss RWBY and the subject of loss without mentioning the one who brought the world of Remnant into being. Monty Oum, RWBY‘s creator, animator, and voice of Ren, passed away unexpectedly in 2015, forcing Rooster Teeth to continue the show without him. Co-writer Miles Luna stated that after Monty’s passing, everyone working on RWBY had to “grow up fast.” (( ‘RWBY’ After Monty Oum Was the “Scariest Thing Ever,” Says Rooster Teeth, Inverse )) As this was around the time of Volume 3 and the major tonal shift in the show, Monty’s death may be partly responsible for RWBY‘s more serious topics. The feeling of having to mature quickly is reminiscent of Ruby’s need to grow up fast as well.
One would be hard-pressed to find a character in RWBY (or in real life) who hasn’t lost something of great importance or felt some terrible pain. However, every one of these characters, and every one of us, confront their losses in their own unique ways, eventually leading each one to a similar conclusion. Through loss, hardship, and friendship, the characters of RWBY live and learn the same lessons that everyone must, at some point or another: Loss hurts. But the storm will pass. And we are stronger together.