| “ | Dang, I wish I could get possessed instead and take her place. | „ |
| ~ Jaune wishing he could be in danger instead of Weiss. |
Jaune Arc is a supporting character in the anime television series RWBY: Ice Queendom, an alternate timeline spinoff of the American animated webseries RWBY. He is a Huntsman-in-training at Beacon Academy and the leader of Team JNPR.
He is voiced by Hiro Shimono, who also provided the Japanese dub voice for Jaune in RWBY, as well as voiced Connie Springer in Attack on Titan, Zenitsu Agatsuma in Demon Slayer, and Keima Katsuragi in The World Only God Knows. In the English dub, he is voiced by his original voice actor Miles Luna.
Biography[]
Jaune was born to the Arc family, who had a long linage of Huntsmen. He had seven sisters. Like original backstory, he faking his transcripts to get into the prestigious Beacon Academy.
On the airship ride to Beacon, Jaune believes Weiss Schnee is flirting with him when she makes an offhanded, sarcastic remark about him being attractive. He takes this literally and tries talking with her as she is talking with Pyrrha Nikos, angering Weiss. Jaune reveals that he is unaware of who Pyrrha is, surprised when he is told she appeared on cereal boxes. Pyrrha, however, is taken with Jaune, partially due to his confidence and partially due to him not idolizing her and seeing her as above him.
The students are then informed that they will be dropped off at the Emerald Forest for initiation. The new students are sent into the Emerald Forest to retrieve artifacts at a hidden temple. They are also informed that the first individual they make eye contact with will become their teammate for the rest of their time at the Academy. Jaune is sent flying, but is saved by Pyrrha, who teams up with him. The two make their way to a temple and gather their relic, and are joined by Ruby Rose, Weiss, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. They are chased by a Nevermore and Death Stalker Grimm, and Jaune leads Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren to fight it, strategizing mid-battle to help them kill it.
Following the initiation, Professor Ozpin sorts the students into teams based on the relic they chose. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren are sorted into Team JNPR, with Jaune named the leader.
Jaune attends classes and continues to work with his team, including working with Pyrrha to train in combat and unlock his Aura. Seeing Jaune interact with his team and the respect they give him despite his incompetence inspires Weiss to attempt the same with Ruby, who was named the leader of her team, Team RWBY, despite Weiss seeing her as incompetent.
However, soon after, Jaune is found possessed by a Nightmare Grimm. This Grimm traps people within their own minds, feeding on their insecurities and Aura until they die. Teams RWBY and JNPR get help, and Professor Shion Zaiden arrives to rid Jaune of the possession. They link Jaune's mind with Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren's. Jaune's teammates find in a surreal dreamscape, taunted by his own weapons and armor while in the form of a small child with rabbit ears. Jaune's teammates fight off the Grimm from within, causing it to flee and be captured. Shion believes that Jaune's currently weak Aura and lack of Semblance made it easier for the Grimm to be expelled, as it was unable to feed on the Aura, unaware that Weiss is also possessed.
The Nightmare Grimm attacks Weiss, trapping her in her own mind. Team RWBY are sent in to recuse her. Some time later, Team JNPR goes to check on their friends. Jaune laments that he wishes he were possessed again instead of Weiss, willing to take the pain so she would not have to as well as being easier to cure. Pyrrha is touched by his compassion, but realizes that Jaune has definite feelings for Weiss.
While in Weiss' dream, Ruby comes across dream versions of Jaune and his team as Weiss perceives them. In her dream, they are portrayed as "sillies", mewing lunatics that have to be imprisoned to keep order, though they wave to Ruby when she waves at them. As explained by Shion, the versions of people that Team RWBY encounter in the dream are exaggerated expressions of how Weiss perceives them, and not accurate to her true feelings, a version dubbed "Negative Weiss".
After another failed attempt to save Weiss, Ruby speaks with Jaune and his team about what they experienced. She, Blake, and Yang realize they can change Weiss' dream and get what remains of her resistance to fight back against the Grimm. They develop a plan, and want Jaune to go in and aid them. Shion reveals that because Jaune was recently possessed, the Nightmare will continue to see him that way and ignore his presence. However, if he gets too close to the Grimm, he will experience allergy-like symptoms and could die if he gets too close. Jaune goes into the dream with Ruby, Yang, and Blake anyway.
Upon arriving in the dream, Jaune finds himself in a cape and with a sword too heavy for him, representing how Weiss thinks he cannot handle his weapon. He helps Ruby, Yang, and Blake as they fight off dream versions of the White Fang attacking a Schnee train, something that continually happened. In doing so, they alter the dream, and Weiss recognizes this. She alters the dream to allow the train into the inner city, with the walls parting ways to let it inside.
Once inside, Jaune begins experiencing symptoms. He presses on, ignored by Weiss' security forces. He finds a prison for "Sillies", and sees dream versions of his teammates inside. He tricks the guard known as "Dopy Klien" to get in. There he finds the place warm and inviting, as well as finds a yellow relic inside. He frees the "Sillies", including the dream versions of his teammates. He also frees dozens of child versions of Weiss, which represent the childhood feelings she locked away for being too "silly". These child-like representations begin spreading to the security, making them all carefree and rebel against the other security forces. Jaune aids in fighting and distracting the security, being aided by a dream version of Pyrrha. However, as the "Sillies" begin to grow out of control, the Grimm takes over them and tries to use them to attack Jaune and dream Pyrrha. Negative Weiss intervenes, and uses magic to transform the central tower into a giant fighting robot version of her grandfather, Big Nicholas, and attack the invading forces. Jaune and the other Sillies are captured by Nega-Weiss, where they are improisoned again. Jaune uses a coin to open a door to the train, leading the Sillies to safety where the Grimm cannot control them.
Jaune makes his way into the tower, where he meets up with Ruby. Seh reveals that Yang and Blake were banished via portals to the outskirts of the Empire, the relic weas destroyed, and she has no way to get to the Grimm. Jaune leads Ruby back to the train, where she lements that she thought releasing Weiss' true feelings would help her. Jaune explains that part of growing up is putting away childish desires. He is forced to watch as Ruby calls herself a failure as a friend and leader, then slips into a dream, having been newly possessed by the Nightmare herself.
Jaune looks for a way to free Ruby, and realizes his magic sword is keeping the Grimm away. He lifts Ruby towards the blade, waking her up. Ruby, in the brief time she was trapped, was able to connect with the true Weiss and realize that she can travel freely because deep down, Weiss wants to wake up even if Negative Weiss does not know it. With Jaune's help, she steers the train to the central tower until they are halted by Negative Weiss. Jaune helps defend the train until Nega-Weiss' security throws the sword off the train, letting the Grimm grow closer. Just as the Grimm's thorns are about to envelop the train, Yang and Blake return to help fight Nega-Weiss and her forces back.
Jaune is menaced by a Grimm-controlled version of Weiss' father Jacques, but manages to use his giant sword and help from Dream Pyrrha and the Little Weisses to defeat it. As Ruby grows close to defeating the Grimm, it spreads and almost attacks Jaune, Pyrrha, and the Sillies, but Ruby and her team manage to kill the Grimm and wake Weiss up.
Jaune meets back with Team RWBY, including the newly freed Weiss. She is ashamed to learn she was possessed, and threatens Jaune not to tell anyone, to which he informs her that his team already knows. As the dream fades, they all wake up in the real world once more.
Jaune bids Shion farewell, and goes with Pyrrha to train. He trains with her throughout the break between semesters. On the day before the new semester, he engages in a food fight with Team RWBY.
Appearance[]
Jaune is a very tall, muscular man with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. His attire almost always consists of a dark blue Pumpkin Pete hoodie and jeans, with a brown belt and gloves. He wears white and gold armor, primarily a chestplate, rerebraces, and elbow pads.
Powers and Abilities[]
Jaune is a fairly unremarkable combatant, at least compared to his peers, but shows skill in swordsmanship. His biggest strength is his strategic mind and knack for leadership, as he is able to develop strategies and plans mid-fight and command authority when executing them, due in large part to the trust given to him by his peers.
Like all creatures with a soul, Jaune also possesses an Aura, a physical defense generated by his soul. This durable field is invisible except when it is overtaxed, where it flashes yellow. His Aura defends her from attack and can even heal minor wounds, but if it takes too much damage it will become depleted and require time to return. However, due to his lack of training and him only unlocking his Aura after attending Beacon, it is a good deal weaker than his peers'. He has yet to unlock his Semblance, a power tied to his Aura.
However, though it likely will not be explored in the series proper, his canon counterpart has vast potential for combat skill and his Semblance, which is explored after the time frame Ice Queendom takes place in.
Gallery[]
.webp "Jaune Arc's two different outfits (RWBY Ice Queendom).webp (37 KB)")
Trivia[]
- There is an animation error in episode seven, "Dreams Come Rued". Jaune is briefly depicted as wearing a cap and mittens while on the train, though he does not receive these garments until later on in the episode.
