Snippet 177
Perspective: Top 10 Worst Semblances of RWBY
Genre: Meta
Note: We were going have some salt and pepper with your commentary.
Tags: Top 10 Listing, Semi-Ranting
[Cues: RWBY V2 Opening (Instrumental)]
Semblances. Devil Fruits. Quirks. These aspects give characters their superhuman abilities. They are the special flavor to their respective shows. Yeah well, RWBY's spicing has not worked out in its favor as some of just either really disappointing. Whether due to poor execution, the characters being not so bright in their usage, or just not being a useful power to have. This is the Top 10 Worst Semblances in RWBY.
Here's the ground rules: Every mentioned semblance across the show, comics, and novels are on the table, they will be judged by its lack of effectiveness and usefulness. I won't judge it on basis on how the characters use them. As for how the writers handles them? It will play a minor role. Just be prepared for my personal opinions, silly or not.
So, let's begin!
[Cues: Nujabes – Feather (Instrumental)]
Number 10 – Carmine Esclados's Telekinesis
Let's start with something disappointing, a cheap knock off. Carmine has a few things going against her, she looks like Yang's half-sister and her semblance is a rip off of Glynda's. We were under the impression that all semblances were, for the most part, unique. Of course, I don't expect the novels to follow the rules considering how much they retcon stuff. The reason for her being at the bottom is while it is a crappier knock off of another semblance, it's still based off telepathy which is an awesome power. Give it up to RT for making it lousy.
Number 9 – Scarlet David's Gliding
For Scarlet of Team SSSN, people did not even realize he had shown his semblance in the show. No, it had to be until the novels to blatantly explain it. That alone is a bad sign. So Gliding works if the user is it in the air allowing them to land on their feet perfectly. No, it's not the power of being able to fly. No, that would be more useful. At the most, this Semblance could be best used if one is flung in the air or have to jump off of a cliff. This reminds of Knuckles the Echidna's gliding, but the thing that did not make that useless was the add-on of being able to climb walls and being able to harm enemies while gliding. Scarlet doesn't have that…just gliding…which puts him at the bottom of the list, but above being a knock off.
Number 8 – Xanthe Rumpol's Golden Touch
Another character from the novels. [Cue the eye rolls.] I'm going to bother with this for too long as she's basically in character, a knock-off of Glynda just being more of a total tightwad. Her semblance however is rather original. The power to turn things into gold would be a useful power, but there's one downside that puts it on this list. It's irreversible. Now, I would not have an issue with this, but Xanthe is a full-blown huntress. That kind of downside you would expect from who someone who hasn't mastered their semblance [basically, a huntress in-training]. If not for the downside, it wouldn't be on this list.
Number 7 – Elm Ederne's Aura Roots
Any possible benefits this semblance has for me outweigh the benefits. For one, this semblance renders you immobile which already is a determinant in a series were the action is constantly moving. This semblance allow doesn't increase strength or give any boosts other than making you an immovable roadblock. But there's also the fact that if the ground breaks, it's completely useless. Also, take into context that she has to be barefoot to use it…barefoot in Atlas. Yeah, if RT was realistic with the fact that Atlas is supposed to be cold…she'd have frostbite.
Number 6 – Emerald Sustrai's Hallucinations
The irony to this semblance is if not for Neo's semblance essentially doing the same time as Emerald's but much superior, this would be on my best list…probably at the bottom considering it's flaws. You can't fight while using and using it on more than one person gives you strain that can knock you out. With those crippling weaknesses, this semblance is only really used for a surprise. But, someone is well aware of that weakness, they would only need to literally fight Emerald and she can't use her semblance.
Number 5 – Lie Ren's Tranquility
Once again, the novels are being referenced. This time…for it's retcons shooting what was a great semblance in the foot. With Grimm being retconned to being attracted to aura, this nullifies the advantages over Grimm that Ren's semblance would have had. Takes a great semblance and makes it subpar.
Number 4 - Nora Valkyrie's High-Voltage / Adam Tarsus's Moonslice
Now this is a bizarre tie, but I'm going somewhere with this. Both these semblances have something in common. Both require the outside source to make them useful. For Adam, it's his sword. For Nora's, it's being electrocuted. And…yeah, that's pretty much the crux to what makes them bad semblances. While Adam's dead and there's no point to expanding on his semblance, Nora is an egregious case of the writer's doing nothing to have this semblance grow or evolve in anyway. If you look at the show, Nora barely uses her semblance because it's painfully obvious she can't use it. You'd think she would carry the means to use it, like Adam does with his sword, but no. [Apparently, in V4, her hammer was apparently upgraded to circumvent this issue. Argument still sort of stands.] That's what make Nora's initially arguably worse than Adam's, but seeing they have the same issue…they had to share a spot.
Number 3 – Yang Xiao Long's Burn
Arguably, this semblance is the worst of the main four. Originally, I was going to tie this one with another character, but I ultimately decided not to. Yang's semblance has a bit an oddity because in not exactly being well-defined in the early seasons. Here's the kicker, it's a redirect of damage taken meaning in the order to get the maximum output from it, Yang has to get beaten to near-death to unleash a monstrous attack. And yes, it can be stored for later, the show never states whether it can be stored indefinitely. At it's core, the semblance is completely unreliable to have and that's the worst kind of semblance to have.
Number 2 – Hazel Reinhart's Numbing Agent
This was what I was going to tie Yang with, but I opted not to. Because this semblance is arguably even worse than Yang's. Remember all that Dust stuff he did in V5? Yeah, that's not his semblance. His semblance is that he is unable to feel pain. And any psychologist will tell you why not feeling pain is a bad thing. Hazel basically has to be hurt himself to get any results. Sure, his aura 'replenishes', but that's going to be null and void in a fight. Because that aura is going to be ebbed through the stabbing of dust crystals.
Before we get to number 1, I want to give a few dishonorable mentions.
Tock's 60 second invincibility semblance: Same problem as Emerald's semblance as it only works as a surprise. If Tock tells a person what it does, the opponent can simply use run away and hide someplace else. Plus, shattering of all of aura leaves you wide open.
Maria's Preflexes: Yeah, this should be an awesome power. However, in theory, Maria would literally be untouchable to any human opponent. Tock beating her doesn't make any sense.
Sienna Khan's Grudge: While yes, this semblance requires that opponents have to be weakened because it activates…I'd say that semblance is a better version of Yang's. Not that it helps it was only revealed in Amity Arena.
Number 1 – Clover Ebi's Good Fortune
The king of knock off semblances. I had to place this semblance as number one as from the beginning, I knew I had to place it here. This semblance is supposedly the opposite to Qrow's, but the rules are even more inconsistent. If it's supposed to be the opposite, then good luck is going to happen for everyone around Clover not just for him. If he's supposed to have constant good luck, then…well….a lot of things in V7 would not really happen. But the nail in the coffin that seals it for be is because he's dead, they will never explain fully how it works. It will be left a sub-par and half-baked idea. Sealing it's fate as RWBY's worst semblance.
-o-
For every bad semblance, there's a great one right around the corner. I may do a best semblances list…but I think I may not do ten. I may just limit that to less than that all considering. Thanks for reader, and do you have your own takes on the worst semblances? Leave a review below.
(A/N: Because at the end of the day, there's just so much to unpack.)