TIme to See What the Hype Is About - RWBY Review

The anime community, while many times being divided into it's separate groups, occasionally has times where it comes together and collectively squees over something new. This was pretty much the standard reaction to RWBY, the cel-shaded anime that the entire anime community has been freaking out over the past few months. RWBY is made by Rooster Teeth, the team known best for their work on the popular internet series Red Vs. Blue. RWBY was released in a series of 5-minute shorts on a weekly basis and as I said earlier, caused the anime community to freak out and collectively cream their pants (might have also been a mix of Attack On Titan and Kill la Kill too). I had only seen trailers for the show and believe me I was pretty excited for it. Unfortunately, the summer came and went, in which I didn't have internets for most of that time. So I decided that I'd just watch it when it had come to a conclusion. So after watching it, what did I think? Well, it certainly deserves the hype.

Our story begins with our protagonist, Ruby Rose, caught in the middle of a store robbery. Feeling no other choice but to step in, Ruby garners the attention of the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, a school which trains young men and women to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, defenders of the world against monsters. Luckily for her, Ruby's older sister, Yang, is also in her year at Beacon thanks to Ruby being skipped ahead two years because of her skill. During her time at Beacon, Ruby meets a whole cast of characters. After the traditional anime bonding moments she ends up being assigned to her own team to fight monsters known as RWBY (an acronym for each member's name: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang). The plot is paced pretty well. The action is what draws people to the show but it also makes sure to do the traditional anime service of fleshing out characters and developing them as well. Watching the series in film form was definitely the way to go as well, watching it in one sitting from start to finish gave it a more uniform feel and it was certainly easier to keep track of everything that was going on. The whole thing has an runtime of just under two hours which makes it easy to digest in one sitting. The whole thing feels a lot like Soul Eater in the fact that it's school which trains kids to use weapons and it has a similar cast of goofy characters. It should also be noted that this is only the first season of the show so the first season feels more like establishing the framework of the show rather than moving along a consistent plot. It's more about seeing the girls of Team RWBY figure out how to get along with each other and fleshing out each of their individual characters. There is a plot in the background about a group called "The White Fang" and a race of people known as "The Fawness" who have animal features and are looked down upon by society. So there's plenty of potential for an outstanding, overarching plot but it looks like we'll have to wait for the second season to really see it. Regardless of this, I still thought RWBY's plot was really entertaining. It's clear that this is an anime made for a western audience but it's good to see that it retains the Japanese charm that makes anime so great. The show certainly can take a serious tone but it's at it's best when it's lighthearted and the characters are messing around. I'm sure the second season will get a lot darker but I really enjoyed the light tone of this season.

The four members of Team RWBY from left to right: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang

This being an anime, it's not surprising that each of the main characters fall under typical stereotypes and tropes. Ruby is the classic ditzy but strong protagonist. Weiss, the friendly rival and tsundere, Blake the quiet one, and Yang the loud and boisterous member of the group. However, in this series that's hardly a bad thing. The character's interactions with one another are fantastic, each feels like they bounce of each other. Conversations are quick and snappy, this show is certainly not afraid of being snarky and even parodying itself at points. If I could come up with any comparison, it feels very Buffy the Vampire Slayer or anything Joss Whedon. I really do like Ruby as a protagonist. For one she's absolutely adorable but can quickly flick on her badass switch when the situation calls for it. In fact, you can say that for all the characters. Theres also a whole cast of supporting characters: the bumbling knight Jaune, the silent Ren, the wacky Nora, and the intelligent Pyrrha. Nora might actually be my favorite character, not to mention that her weapon is absolutely amazing. Once again, you can say that about pretty much every character. Everyone's weapons turns out to be a firearm of some kind in addition to whatever other weapon it already was. RWBY's strength really does come from it's characters and like I said earlier, since this season is all about establishing the show's premise and it's characters. I found Blake to be a bit of a boring character, at least in comparison to the other characters on the show. Yang on the other hand was an always exciting character especially in scenes where it's just her and Ruby. Theres no easily dislikable characters on the show, unless you count the bully Carden but I don't think you're really supposed to like him. The characters really stand out and that is a credit to fantastic design and writing.

Visually, RWBY is a fantastic looking show. The cel-shaded style certainly seperates RWBY  from anything else out there right now. At first you might think you're just looking at another show like ReBoot or Code Lyoko but RWBY better than leaps and bounds. The animation is smooth and fluid and the action scenes are beautifully done. In slower scenes the animation can sometimes feel a little gofy but it adds the charm of the show. The character design is phenomenal as well. Sure, I assume some guy somewhere had a lot of fun designing all the beautiful girls in the show but just saying that is insulting to the brilliant character design. It has a style all it's own which is something rarely seen in anime nowadays. You can watch the series for free on YouTube, however, if you have a Blu-Ray player, I highly recommend putting down the 15 bucks for a copy. The Blu-Ray definition really does the series justice and to be honest, it's the best way to watch it. The voice acting as a whole is great, however there are some moments when the dialogue feels a little stilted. However, those moments are few and far between. The voice actors clearly had a lot of fun with their roles and every character feels alive and entertaining. RWBY's soundtrack is fantastic as well, really setting the mood and stepping up when the action shifts into overdrive. From an AV standpoint, RWBY really is one of the best out there which says a lot considering this wasn't made by an anime studio but a crew who's most famous for what they've done on Youtube. Rooster Teeth really impressed me with their work on this series.

RWBY, without a doubt deserves the heavy amount of praise that it has received from the anime community. Sure, it's not perfect and can be rather goofy at times but RWBY possesses a great charm that keeps you plugged in. I really have to hand it to a group like Rooster Teeth for going above an beyond here. Theres enough here for anyone who's a huge anime fan or someone who has a casual interest in the genre. It's clearly meant for a western audience and isn't afraid of parodying itself frequently. If you're looking for a fun, action-packed series with fantastic visuals, look no further than RWBY.

My Score: 5/5