| “ | I'm just glad to have my girls back at home. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, expressing concern for Ruby and Yang. |
| “ | You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see, that there's a way around as well. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, about looking for more than the obvious solution. |
Taiyang Xiao Long is a supporting protagonist in RWBY. He is the father of Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. He is mentioned to be a teacher at Signal Academy on the island of Patch where the girls were raised and grew up.
He is voiced by Burnie Burns.
History[]
Early life[]
Years before the start of RWBY, Taiyang was part of Team STRQ, along with Summer Rose, Raven Branwen, and Qrow Branwen. Over time, Taiyang began a relationship with Raven, who would later become Yang Xiao Long's mother. Not long after Yang's birth, Raven disappeared. Some time later, Taiyang began a relationship with Summer, who would later become Ruby Rose's mother.
Taiyang lived with his family on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale, and worked at Signal Academy while Summer went on missions as a professional Huntress. However, when Summer failed to return from a mission one day and was believed by most to be dead, Taiyang was left heartbroken once again, though he continued to care for his two daughters.
Beacon Academy Initiation[]
Taiyang was briefly mentioned by Ruby during "The First Step", who scoffed at Yang's suggestion of making friends with a simple "Ugh, you sound just like Dad".
Second Semester[]
During the second semester of Team RWBY's classes, Taiyang sends the family dog Zwei to Beacon Academy through the mail, along with a letter, for Zwei's well being, as Taiyang has to leave Patch for a few days.
Vytal Festival Tournament[]
Taiyang is seen briefly at Summer's Gravestone with Ruby and Zwei as Ruby goes to visit Summer's grave. Ruby mentions that he intends to go on a mission soon and that he misses adventuring with Summer and his old team.
After the Fall of Beacon[]
In the aftermath of the Grimm invasion of Vale, Taiyang takes care of Ruby and an injured Yang. When Ruby wakes up, he is overjoyed and grateful to have both of his daughters safe and back at home. However, his reunion is interrupted by Qrow, who asks to speak to Ruby alone. Reluctantly, Taiyang obliges and leaves the room.
Some time later, as winter sets in, Taiyang is seen bringing some breakfast to Ruby in her room, but is dismayed to find that she has departed for Haven in order to lead her own investigation, leaving only a note upon her bed.
In the following summer, Taiyang brings Yang a new mechanical arm that was commissioned by General Ironwood. However, Yang refuses to put it on, leaving him disheartened. When he later watches Yang have a trauma flashback in the kitchen, he is visibly concerned for her well-being.
One night, Taiyang invites Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port over from Beacon, talking and laughing about the time when Qrow wore a skirt at school many years ago. They are later joined by Yang, who admits that she is afraid to don her new arm, and is instead trying to accept her current condition as normal. Taiyang tells his daughter that she does not need to let it stop her. Later, as Oobleck and Port leave, Taiyang tells them that he cannot search for Ruby because he has some "things" to look after, looking back at Yang's bedroom window.
The next morning, Taiyang is watering sunflowers when his daughter emerges from the house, wearing her new arm. Smiling, he stands up and says they will "get started". They train for weeks before Taiyang brings up Yang's dependence on her Semblance to see her through fights. He explains to her how relying on it is a handicap and suggests she try seeing her way around a problem rather than through it. In the process, he opens up about Raven.
When Yang shows signs of leaving, Taiyang states that he does not plan to stop her but wants to know what her plans are. Taiyang asks his daughter if she will go searching for Raven or Ruby.
After Yang leaves, Taiyang stays home, reflecting about his former team and his daughters' disbanded team.
It is later revealed that he told Yang how Raven's semblance works.
Appearance[]
Taiyang is a man with blond hair that has two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes which look lilac in the old Team STRQ photo. His facial hair consists of a soul patch and a small stubble along his jawline. On his right arm is a tattoo similar to a heart. His hair was once a bright shade of gold, but in his older age it has notably grayed somewhat, still blond, but just far more subdued.
He wears brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armor, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm.
In his younger days, he did not have his facial hair or his tattoo, he wore an orange bandana around his left arm rather than a red one and wore brown cargo pants rather than shorts.
Personality[]
Taiyang is said to be a bit overprotective by both of his daughters, yet still open and caring. His attitude towards helping others in need was passed along to his children too. He appears to have an eccentric side, as he is stated to do things like sending the family pet Zwei through the mail all the time.
During his period of mourning the disappearance and possible passing of Summer Rose, Yang said he "shut down", showing that he valued her presence greatly and was devastated by her loss. His over-protectiveness of his daughters likely stems from both this and the incident where they were almost slaughtered by Beowolves, had their uncle Qrow Branwen not been around to save them.
Given his eccentric side, the fact that he decided to train Yang as Ruby said in "Round One" and that he let both of his daughters become Huntresses, it is likely he managed to move on from his emotional breakdown to become a better father.
In "Family", he is shown to be very sociable, as he is seen talking and having laughs with Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck at his house. Taiyang can also be blunt, albeit in a good-natured way, toward his daughter. This trait is shown further in "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", when he discusses the flaws in Yang's fighting style during a sparring session and suggests an alternative approach.
Powers and Abilities[]
Taiyang is a fully-trained Huntsman and went on dangerous missions with his team. He now teaches at a combat school, Signal Academy, and takes on missions from time to time. It was stated by Ruby in "Round One" that he taught Yang how to fight. In "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", he is shown sparring with his older daughter in hand-to-hand combat.
His strength is shown when he knocks Yang back in the same episode with a single punch, despite her blocking the attack. He is also very durable, able to take a blow from Yang's robotic fist and still remain standing, despite skidding back several feet in the process.
Quotes[]
| “ | Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei today for you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang. | „ |
| ~ A letter sent by Taiyang to Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. |
| “ | Communication down across the entire Kingdom, no way to contact the outside world, and Ozpin's still missing. This is bad, Qrow. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, to Qrow. |
| “ | Your Uncle Qrow found you unconscious. He got you out of there though. He brought you home safe. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, to Ruby. |
| “ | Uh... She's uh... She's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang to Ruby, about Yang's condition. |
| “ | Things at Vale are under control, but the school? It's... it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it, but it's not disappearing. It's kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang to Ruby, about Vale and Beacon Academy. |
| “ | Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors, but you earned this one all on your own, kiddo. Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this, for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang to Yang, giving her a mechanical right arm. |
| “ | Hey! All the girls said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang on the altruism of his teenage prank on Qrow. |
| “ | If you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own, ha, well I guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang to Yang. |
| “ | You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to stop moping and get back out there, I'll be there for you. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang giving faith and encouragement to Yang. |
| “ | Let's get started. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, when he sees Yang wearing the arm. |
| “ | Once you take damage, you can dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn't make you invincible! It's great when you're in a bind, but what happens if you miss? What happens if they're stronger? What then? Now you're just weak and tired! | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, about Yang's Semblance. |
| “ | Raven was great in so many ways - her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for. I'm proud of how much of her I see in you. But, I'm glad I don't see all of her in you. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, about Yang's similarities with her mother. |
| “ | You both act as if the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see there's a way around as well. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, about looking for more than the obvious solution. |
| “ | I just wanted a better goodbye than a letter. | „ |
| ~ Taiyang to Yang, referring to her leaving similarly to Ruby. |
| “ | Well, despite asking him numerous times not to, I know that Qrow told you where your mother's been at these days. I know how much you wanna see her. I've stopped you in the past, but I won't anymore. And we both read the note. We know your sister's headed to Mistral. So, where are you going? | „ |
| ~ Taiyang, laying out Yang's difficult choice and treating her like an adult. |
Trivia[]
- The Chinese transcription of his name, Tàiyáng Xiǎolóng (Simplified: 太阳小龙; Traditional: 太陽小龍) can be translated literally to "Sun Little Dragon". This has the same literal meaning as Yang's name; the characters tài yang (太阳) together mean Sun. tài (太) on its own can be a grammatical intensifier analogous to "very", or an adjective roughly meaning "excessive", "big", or can be used to refer to elders within the family, which gives the possible translation of "Elder Yang Xiao Long".
- Taiyang is the second family member within Ruby and Yang's family to be a professor at Signal, the other being their uncle Qrow.
- Taiyang shares his color scheme with his daughter, Yang.
- In the Japanese dub, he is voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi.
- Tai doesn't seem to have a semblance; though in his sparring session with Yang, he was teaching her not to rely on one.
Gallery[]
