Shorts Review: RWBY – Volume 4:”The Schnee Dust Company”.

We’re one week away before the last RWBY-related thing of 2016 so let’s dive in!

Spoilers Below

Qrow once again as the narrator delves into another “info-dump” in the form of a history of Weiss’s family company that she’s supposedly the Heiress of. The Schnee Dust Company. (SDC for short)

There are surprisingly fun moments where you feel like Qrow has broken the fourth wall and even laughs sarcastically when he finds out he has to talk about them next. At one point, Qrow unleashes a wave of brutal honesty towards the 1-percenter shit-wits of the company but tries not to get carried away. 😛

Qrow explains that Remnant is highly dependent on Dust for the sake of its survival since it’s used as both an energy source for vehicles & cities and a weapon to combat the Grimm, Because of it’s importance, It’s almost impossible to get Dust without the Schnee’s snowflake crest of approval on it.

The company goes further back and started with a man named Nicholas Schnee who was a “dust miner turned soldier” that seized an opportunity when “The Great War” was on the rise and the King of Mantle was in a “Transformative Period” to become Atlas.

Atlas found themselves at the “forefront of technology” but in the process depleted most of their natural resources. Nick found a solution to their crisis. Nick dedicated a good chunk of his life in the study of mining, combat skills and had a thirst for knowledge in whatever he could get his hands on in an effort to help his people so they wouldn’t be dependent on others.

When Nick’s father passed away, he inherited a small fortune which helped jumpstart his plan into action by setting up an expedition to find a Dust Source and give back to his Kingdom. It was a success and in a “time-skip” the name Schnee became synonymous with “Quality, Affordability, and Trust”. It’s even revealed that Nick went to combat school to train feverishly so he could oversee every expedition and personally deliver the supply to the people himself. (Now that’s dedication!)

Because of the burning passion of Nicholas, he gained a monopoly but later retired to be with his family and because of a series of health problems, passed down his assets and company to a man named Jacques who later married into the family and took the Schnee name as his own. (Kinda weird since usually most married traditions have the wife take the husbands last name, not the other way around.)

While Nicholas was humble and ambitious, Jacques was a “cunning businessman” who convinced Nicholas that he was a better successor. But like most cautionary business stories, He Became a success at the cost of the company’s soul.

Jacques took ruthless measures to become a success such as subjecting employed staff (and implied faunus) to cheap labor and dangerous working conditions with only winning on his mind and not caring about the very people he employs.

The narration ends with a silhouette of Weiss and Qrow says “The Schnee name still means something today. But as for what it’ll mean tomorrow… well, your guess is as good as mine.”

Overview

Things we learned from this:

1. The Schnee Dust Company is only two generations old.

2. Jacques isn’t even a real Schnee, he married into the family and took their name.

3. The Schnee family is descended from Santa Claus if the glowing description of Nicholas Schnee is to be considered. (And the fairytale & fantasy references that RT likes to throw around with the show.)

And finally 4. The fact that Weiss’ grandfather was extremely relentless with reaching his dreams for the sake of others with his company just adds more to why Weiss is quite rebellious towards her father. Not only that, but Nicholas Schnee was incredibly selfless in his goals. Still, he was a good man and one that Weiss would be proud to be related to – and after seeing the episode Tipping Point, one that Weiss will hopefully take after.

Weiss has made it abundantly clear that she wants to make the legacy of her name mean something again. And if you think about it, she’s gone to combat school just like her grandfather did. If anyone is going to do something to improve the Schnee name, it’s easy to assume she’s the one. 🙂