Your Questions Are...Somewhat Answered - RWBY Volume 2 Reaction/Review

At this time last year I was smitten with a little webseries called RWBY. A little Monte Oum and Rooster Teeth joint production that turned itself into a juggernaut in the span of just a few months in 2013. In my "Best of 2013" article I labeled it the "Best Anime of 2013" despite the regular claims that RWBY is not an anime because it isn't Japanese. (BUT WHY IS IN ON CRUNCHYROLL? WHAT IS JAPAN?!?!?!) Either way, RWBY was some great stuff and packed a lot of punch for what can now be considered the first "indie" anime of its kind. So obviously, with my obsession for this series (I've watched Volume 1 about 11 times at least), I was bursting with excitement for the new season which started in July and finally came to a conclusion last Thursday. Despite being in a den on schoolwork for the past few months, hence the lack of new material on this blog, I feel that a series of RWBY's caliber deserves an article. Here are my thoughts about Volume 2, broken down into pieces.

1.) Many questions and very few answers.

"You'll know when you need to know" Preach Cinder

Volume 1 of RWBY was all about world building and establishing the characters. There was a happy vibe around it as you got to know teams RWBY and JNPR as well as the faculty of Beacon Academy. The idea I suppose was to establish the world and characters so that when the plot really got going, it would not have to worry about the characters not being fleshed out enough. In this case, Volume 1 serves as more of a "Season Zero" or prologue and Volume 2 is what kicks the plot into gear. Volume 2 acts more like the opening 5-7 episodes of other works which love to tease villains and other plot points in order to build mystery and intrigue. As a result, Volume 2 or RWBY feels like it doesn't have enough information for a show which is in its second season. However, when you consider what I wrote above, this becomes more understandable. I guess the issue really stems from the fact that what is actually going on is still very unclear. Cinder was teased at the end of the first season as the Big Bad but now it seems that even she is outranked by Adam, the White Fang member from Blake's trailer. Even so, the motivations of the evildoers are still very unclear. Several plot points got alluded to and their importance remains up in the air. However, one must not forget that this is merely the second season and it appears Monty and Rooster Teeth are committed to this series long term (they'd be idiots not to given how popular the series has become) so we should just let the plot play out. It is much better for a show to keep its cards close to the chest rather than simply going all in right off the bat. Also, it's not as if nothing was revealed this season. We finally found out the story behind Ruby and Yang's mothers, we met several new and soon to be important characters, and we know something crazy is on the horizon. Personally, I think that the more the show builds our anticipation for it, the better it will be when it actually happens.

2.) However, there are many hit and miss moments

One of the complaints I heard about Volume 2 was the abundance of high school drama that took place in the middle of the season. While Blake's character arc during that time was very well done, RWBY dropped the ball when it came to what I call the "Yule Ball Arc" in reference to the dance that took place in the middle of the season. The main drama was about asking girls out to the dance and yes, it did flesh out some good things about Jaune and Pyrrha, it felt flat in the execution. I'm hardly one to get up and arms about the shipping of characters but making Jaune THAT oblivious to Pyrrha's feelings didn't feel right. Also, this mini-arc came right after some pretty action-packed episodes so perhaps the backlash of more comedic episodes was felt there. That being said, RWBY is at its best with the mix and I think the frustration was more people's want for the plot to move forward rather than anything else. Ozpin nearly breaks the Fourth Wall during the ball episode when he speaks of how necessary events like that are (very similar to every filler episode of Code Geass).

3.) So what exactly is going on?

Spanner in the works?

The season ends with Beacon's forces stopping the Grim from overrunning Vale and for now, everything would appear to be peaceful. Of course, there is the matter of why exactly they did it and the knowledge that there is clearly something even worse over the horizon. This leads to some theorizing, who exactly is behind everything? The final episode will have you guessing that Adam is the Big Bad and this is most likely true. However, there is the possibility of an even bigger conspiracy at foot here. General Ironwood's behavior in the final episode is a little sketchy and his quick and efficient response to the Grim invasion maybe implies that he knows more than he lets on. This idea was quickly dashed in my head after his interrogation of Torchwick and the reveal of Adam. However, I cannot entirely forget the possibility since it remains a mystery as to how the White Fang got their hands on military technology or for how the events of the final episode of the season leave Ironwood himself in charge of the tournament. I guess the point being made here is that it is very unclear what the end goal of the villains actually is. The tournament will be the focus of Volume 3 and that seems to be the place where Cinder and her gang are most likely to strike.

4.) The action will always be incredible

OMFG

One thing that you know you can always count on in a Monte Oum work is that the action and fight choreography will always be phenomenal. Volume 2 opens with a food fight between teams RWBY and JNPR in a style that only RWBY can. Not to mention the the final battle of the season which showcased some pretty amazing weaponry like a gatling gun/briefcase. Monty's ability to turn literally any object into a gun is remarkable. Not to mention that he also turned Team Pet character into a freaking wrecking ball of destruction. The fact that every character in the show is a badass in some way really showed this season. However, RWBY does very well by balancing the action with great character development and comedy. I have always said that RWBY is a very trope heavy show, of course tropes are hardly a bad thing. It is one thing to be bad trope heavy but RWBY pulls these tropes off so well that it is entirely welcome. RWBY's formula totally works and this combination, while not entirely unique, is done so well that it must be seen to be believed.

5.) The cast size is hurting some character's screentime

Can we get more of these two next season?

Volume 2 also introduced a fair amount of new characters. The number of named characters at the moment is rather large and in a show which airs episodes of about 10-15 minutes a piece, things begin to get a big cluttered. For example, Team JNPR got the short end of the stick for screentime unless your name was Pyrrha or Jaune. Nora and Ren were relegated to the sidelines. This is a byproduct of introducing so many new characters but also making sure the four principal main characters remain the focus. This isn't to say that the new characters aren't good additions. Ironwood, Neptune, the Cinder trio, and Neo the umbrella girl are all intriguing characters in their own way. It just means that those who were looking forward to seeing more of some of the older characters may be a bit disappointed. Even so, the characters who do get the lion's share of the screentime get some truly awesome moments. It was really cool to see Professors Obleck and Port finally get to fight some Grim. It really speaks to the quality of RWBY's characters that just about every character has a strong fanbase that wants to see their favorite character more and more. There is only just so much screentime to go around and RWBY is managing to balance it as well as it could. Doesn't make up for the criminal lack of Nora in the season though.

6.) So what is the final verdict?

It is clear that Volume 2 of RWBY is clearly just a chapter in what is going to be a long and overarching plot. While this season didn't entirely clear everything up that we wanted, one cannot deny that it was still very enjoyable and the show remains pretty freaking awesome. It's not as if the questions brought up this season aren't going to be answered in the future. Next season promises to be especially action heavy which is a dream for fans of the show. Things are really moving in a positive direction. Sure, Volume 2 isn't perfect and has its fair share of flaws. However, it isn't like Volume 1 was exactly perfect either. Something big is brewing in the world of RWBY and I personally can't wait to see where it takes us. This season earns a 4.5/5 in my book. Can't wait for the next one!