Set in the world of Remnant,RWBYstars Huntsmen and Huntresses as they protect the realm against monsters known as Grimm. In the series, protagonists in Team RWBY (Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long) form an unlikely friendship that is constantly tested by growing turmoil behind the scenes. Thankfully, they have awesome transforming weapons and magically-attuned Dust to help them strike back at their foes.
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Perhaps one of the most surprising character features inRWBYareSemblancesor genetic mutations of sorts that provide its bearer a whole host of extra abilities that often work to their advantage in combat. With each major and minor character often having Semblances of their own, some abilities just tend to stand out on top.
10Hype (Coco Adel)
Among the newer additions to theRWBYcast, it’s perhaps stylish and bullet-totingCoco Adelthat sports the best fashion. Alongside her Gianduja handbag that can become a rotary cannon, Coco is easily one of the most powerful Huntressesbelonging to one of the best teams inRWBY, especially in terms of firepower. While her cannon’s size makes it difficult for Coco to outmaneuver agile foes, but massive enemies and those relying on sheer numbers are in for a tough time against her.
Not only that, but Coco can also significantly boost her combat prowess through her Semblance,Hype. Through this ability, Coco can use her Semblance to boost the effect of Dust, a resource in Remnant that can cause elemental effects. Through Hype, Coco can significantly boost the raw firepower of her bullets. Not only that, she could even use Hype to affect Dust outside her weapon, allowing Coco to trigger or enhance the effects of Dust sources.
9Overactive Imagination (Neopolitan)
While the muteNeopolitanis often the deadlier companion of comic relief villain Roman Torchwick, she’s no force to trifle with amongRWBYcharacters. Hidden behind her gleeful smile and colorful appearance is a bordering-sadistic go-getter who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Immediately something to note would be Neopolitan’s skill in combat, something that allows her to beon par with the likes of Yang Xiao Long, one of the most well-trained melee combatants in the series.
Neopolitan’s combat prowess is largely due to her Semblance,Overactive Imagination. At its core, Neapolitan’s Aura allows her to conjure visual illusions so believable that others can only dispel them by breaking them head-on. These usually manifest as concrete manifestations that break like glass when shattered. However, Neapolitan’s ingenious use of this ability allows her to even mimic the appearance of others, with her illusion extending to copying their target’s physical properties like mass.
8Pocket Dimensions (Fiona Thyme)
While equally cheerful and socially anxious as much as the next teenager,Fiona Thymeis by no means as timid as her sheep ears Faunus trait suggests. In fact, Fiona is one of the most skilled graduates of Atlas Academy, even with the standardized bladed crossbow staves she uses with the rest of her teammates compared to the more personalized weapons of otherRWBYcharacters.
However, aside from her combat prowess, a huge part of what makes Fiona a force to reckon with is her Semblance:Pocket Dimensions. While the full properties and limitations of her Semblance are yet to be explored, her demonstration of these abilities prove to be useful in most situations. For as long as she touches an object, she can “absorb” this within her body and then release it from her palm at a later time. She does this easily by “absorbing” an entire supply truck within herself with no visible problems. While she uses this mostly outside combat, there’s no reason for Fiona not to be able to use this as she fights. Theoretically, Fiona may be able to absorb projectiles and energy blasts, only to redirect them back to enemies.
7Aura Disruption (Tyrian Callows)
Despite his nature as an otherwise-annoying enemy throughout the latterRWBYseasons,Tyrian Callowsis by no means a pushover. Known throughout Remnant as a vicious serial killer, Tyrian’s membership within Salem’s inner circle allows him to do crime unimpeded. Such was his skill in combat that Salem trusted him not just with the capture of Ruby Rose, but also with the assassination of the Spring Maiden herself.
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A huge part of Tyrian’s skillset has to do with his Semblance,Aura Disruption. Although unofficially named, Aura Disruption does precisely what it says: it allows Tyrian to “burn” or bypass through an Aura of an area of the target he touches. At first glance, this simply allows Tyrian to strike full force without the protective energies of an Aura. However, this Semblance has huge implications with how Auras work in the world ofRWBY. Considered as a manifestation of one’s Soul, anyone can deplete their Aura with exhaustion. With a single touch from Tyrian, a Huntsman with a powerful-enough constitution could be incapacitated in seconds.
6Misfortune (Qrow Branwen)
Embodying the “cool uncle” among the cast ofRWBYcharacters,Qrow Branwenis perhaps the favorite relative of Ruby Rose. Aside frombeing a scythe user like his niece, Ruby, Qrow demonstrates significant battle prowess. In fact, Qrow is considered one of the more renowned graduates of Beacon Academy, and became one of the teachers of Signal Academy due to his prominence. While now retired and generally travelling alone, his solace is mostly for the safety of others, and largely due to his Semblance:Misfortune.
At its core, Misfortune quite literally spreads “misfortune” upon others, warping probability to the disfavor of people around him. Unlike other instances of Semblances, the way Misfortune activates is uncontrollable and non-discriminatory. This means, while most of Qrow’s enemies have had been unlucky due to various “accidents” caused by Misfortune, Qrow and his loved ones are also affected by this ability. While one could argue that Clover Ebi’s Good Fortune Semblance is more effective as it constantly brings Clover “good luck,” his untimely death despite this means Good Fortune isn’t as potent.
5Memory Wiping (Yatsuhashi Daichi)
Among the members of Team CFVY,Yatsuhashi Daichiis perhaps the calmest of all. Due to his tall and athletic build, Yatsuhashi is often feared by people around him, which makes him all the more self-conscious. Beneath Yatsuhashi’s tough exterior is a gentle soul, however, ready to protect his comrades at all costs. Despite having a more straightforward broadsword as a weapon, his sheer strength and combat capability makes him a potent fighter.
However, what makesYatsuhashi particularly dangerous is his Semblance:Memory Wiping. One of the reason why Yatsuhashi remains as calm as possible is through forced meditation, something helps him avoid the indiscriminate usage of Memory Wiping. While mentally taxing, using Memory Wiping doesn’t need Yatsuhashi to physically touch a target, making it an extremely deadly Semblance to use. At its mildest, the Semblance can allow Yatsuhashi to alter and forget memories, with the memories returning for as long as they were cut out. When powered up, Yatsuhashi can even lobotomize individuals, or slowly help someone cure mental diseases over periodic use.
4Photographic Memory (Velvet Scarlatina)
Soft and quiet at heart,Velvet Scarlatinaof Team CFVY was often shunned due to her nature as a Faunus. However, despite her shyness, Velvet gets along with others rather easily, with her softness rather surprisingly absent in combat. When battle-ready, Velvet is extremely athletic and agile, boasting superior hearing and night vision due to her Faunus gifts. Not only that, but she’s an extremely gifted engineer, having created the design for her weapon Anesidora - a feat that impressed Atlas Academy’s James Ironwood so much that she’s always given Hard-Light Dust to charge it.
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With Anesidora, Velvet can take pictures of weapons with its camera and manifest them in hardlight form, technically making Velvet a master of almost all weapons inRWBY. Not only that, this works perfectly in tandem with her Semblance:Photographic Memory.Compared to its real-life counterpart, this Semblance allows Velvet to mimic people’s movements, down to their specific fighting styles. Combined with Anesidora, Velvet can call upon multiple weapons and switch between techniques all at once - allowing her to face the likes ofBlake Belladonna, one of the series’ weapon specialists.
3Telekinesis (Glynda Goodwitch, Carmine Esclados)
It’s not surprising for the same Semblance to manifest in different manners to different individuals, withTelekinesisbeing an example to bothGlynda GoodwitchandCarmine Esclados. Whereas Glynda Goodwitch is the strict but ever-helpful current Headmistress of Beacon Academy, Carmine Esclados is a veteran Huntress who turned to a life of crime.
Similar to their differences in personality and nature, Telekinesis affects them differently as well. In the case of Carmine, she can control others to such a point that she can manipulate weapons in mid-air, create weather patterns, and even form underground tunnels. Meanwhile, Glynda is a master of her Semblance, being able to stop and redirect projectiles, create shields, and even force entire chunks of debris out of buildings as weapons. It’s the extremely flexible nature of Telekinesis that makes it such a deadly Semblance compared to others demonstrated in theRWBYseries.
2Aura Amp (Jaune Arc)
DespiteJaune Arcbeing one of the more combat-averse characters across theRWBYcast, he’s easily dismissed as a weakling compared to his more skilled comrades. However, his membership in Team JNPR makes him no slouch, as he’s demonstrated immense leadership potential, allowing him to coordinate his teammates despite stressful situations.
And one of the most impressive parts of Jaune’s personality would beAura Amp. First appearing as a means of amplifying his Aura for the sake of defense, Jaune would eventually discoverthe multitude of effects his Semblance could do. Thanks to his extremely large Aura reserves, Jaune can transfer some of his Aura to improve those of others, allowing them to heal wounds and recover Aura much faster, and even boost a teammate’s Aura to such an extent that their effects would be amplified as well. When used properly, Jaune may be able to augment some of the most powerful Semblances to godly levels.
1Glyphs (Schnee Family)
One of more interesting sets of characters to come out of theRWBYseries would be theSchnee Family. Hailing as a family of aristocrats from the Schnee Dust Company, they are known for being the biggest exporters of Dust in Remnant. Thisexplains the rather intimate familiary of lead Weiss Schnee with using Dust, which she uses to endow her attacks with various elemental effects.
However, perhaps the most interesting part of the Schnee Family is their inherited Semblance:Glyphs. Aside from being the only kind of Semblance shared across a family, it’s perhaps by far the most diverse among Semblances. With Glyphs, Schnee members can summon magical circles that allow them to do a wide variety of things. Chief among these effects include pushing and pulling effects, allowing Schnee members to accelerate across the battlefield. Evolving this ability further allow the likes of Weiss to “absorb” the essences of Grimm and “summon” them as their allies later on.
RWBYwas released in 2013
