RWBY

[Ito 2438]

Can we just talk about how awesome this show is for a bit?

 

RWBY (pronounced "Ruby") is an anime-styled American CG-animated web-series created by the Rooster Teeth Productions' animation studio.[1][2][3] The series is created and directed by animator Monty Oum. Episodes are released every Thursday on Rooster Teeth's website and simulcasted on Crunchyroll. One week after release they are also uploaded to YouTube. The first episode of RWBY premiered on July 5, 2013 at RTX 2013 and was released on the Rooster Teeth site on July 18, 2013.

The story takes place in the world of Vytal, which is filled with supernatural forces and shadowy creatures known as "the Grim". Prior to the events of the series, mankind waged a battle of survival against the Grim before discovering the power of a mysterious element called Dust, which allowed them to fight back against the monsters. In the present day, Dust is used to power magical abilities and weapons. Those who use these abilities to battle the Grim are known as Huntsmen or Huntresses.[1] The series focuses on four girls, each with their own unique weapon and powers. Together, they form a team at Beacon Academy in the city of Vale, where they are trained to become Huntresses alongside other similar teams.

[Original Saku 1593]

I still don't get the hype for this... it doesn't even look all that good and from what I've seen the animation is godawful. To me it just comes off as Americans trying to imitate Japanese style animation and failing at it horribly. If I'm wrong about any of this then please somebody explain to me why?

[Ito 2438]

I think your missing the point. This isn't some big animation house doing this...this is a small staff of people doing an indie animation, it's never going to look as smooth as something with a big budget. That said, I think it looks good. It's done in a cell shaded 3D style, and if you are trying to look at in terms of what other anime normally do, maybe you will not like it...but I kind of think that that is a crap reason. I honestly think that the art direction is very good and it is presented really nicely. Is anime the main inspiration for the series. Yes. But why is it taboo when Americans try and do something in a Japanese style? And since they don't follow it by the numbers, it is failing? I just don't agree with any of that.

 

Is the story deep and complex? No. I'm not going to claim that this will impress anyone by its amazing story writing...but I can say it is on the same level if not better than most of the shit that has been coming out of Japan lately. And who cares. It's fun and it feels fresh.

And I think that is just it. RWBY might be taking concepts we have seen a ton of times over, but it's changed it in a way that makes it feel new and not like a rehash of something I have watched before. I get a similar feeling while watching it as to when I was watching anime in early high school, which is not a feeling that I have had in a LOOOONG time.

[Zeus 7997]

I think your missing the point. This isn't some big animation house doing this...this is a small staff of people doing an indie animation, it's never going to look as smooth as something with a big budget. That said, I think it looks good. It's done in a cell shaded 3D style, and if you are trying to look at in terms of what other anime normally do, maybe you will not like it...but I kind of think that that is a crap reason. I honestly think that the art direction is very good and it is presented really nicely. Is anime the main inspiration for the series. Yes. But why is it taboo when Americans try and do something in a Japanese style? And since they don't follow it by the numbers, it is failing? I just don't agree with any of that.

 

Is the story deep and complex? No. I'm not going to claim that this will impress anyone by its amazing story writing...but I can say it is on the same level if not better than most of the shit that has been coming out of Japan lately. And who cares. It's fun and it feels fresh.

And I think that is just it. RWBY might be taking concepts we have seen a ton of times over, but it's changed it in a way that makes it feel new and not like a rehash of something I have watched before. I get a similar feeling while watching it as to when I was watching anime in early high school, which is not a feeling that I have had in a LOOOONG time.

 

On top of all this, my friend and I were having a conversation about RWBY. We characterized the feeling behind this show as one of a man making his dreams come true. You can feel the passion in everything, including the extremely janky scenes that he didn't have time to fix up. And you can definitely tell the labor he put into the fight scenes, which I would say are done extremely well.

I can't even get to the story yet because it hasn't gotten started. It feels like there will be a lot going on once it does. Hopefully if it gets more funding it can get to the point where episodes are longer than a few minutes.

But yes I'm biased. Yes my wallpaper is RWBY. And my avatar is red like roses. I'm obsessed.

[Original Saku 1593]

All I'm saying is that people are hella overhypeing it like it's the best thing ever, and really it's just mediocre at best... but that's my opinion. Also I don't think it's taboo for Americans to try to emulate Japanese Style animation, although tbh I never seen a series that has pulled it off or one that I've liked at all for that matter.

 

Is the story deep and complex? No. I'm not going to claim that this will
impress anyone by its amazing story writing...but I can say it is on
the same level if not better than most of the shit that has been coming
out of Japan lately.

 

Seriously? I really don't think you've been watching the right series then... because even the shittiest series from the past few seasons are mildly better than this show and the best ones leave this shit in the dust. Sorry that's just how I feel about it. If it has better story, plot, characters, animation, and art then it's the better anime, while this show IMO is weak in all of those categories. I really feel the reason why this is so overhyped is just because a lot of people want to like it so much and keep telling themselves that it's good until eventually that's how they see it as. and don't get me wrong I can see how one would want to like this show but no amount of denial is gonna make me overlook it's flaws that's for sure.

 

Also Zess makes a good point that I didn't really consider, the fact that it's one guy that does this show, and not to mention it's only a few minutes each episode so he probably doesn't have alot of funding or time to do everything he might want to. in that case I can say that yes it's rather impressive in that regard. Still that doesn't justify the sheer amount of hype this is receiving and that is exactly my point.

 

 

[Ito 2438]

Seriously? I really don't think you've been watching the right series then... because even the shittiest series from the past few seasons are mildly better than this show and the best ones leave this shit in the dust. Sorry that's just how I feel about it. If it has better story, plot, characters, animation, and art then it's the better anime, while this show IMO is weak in all of those categories. I really feel the reason why this is so overhyped is just because a lot of people want to like it so much and keep telling themselves that it's good until eventually that's how they see it as. and don't get me wrong I can see how one would want to like this show but no amount of denial is gonna make me overlook it's flaws that's for sure.

 

Really? I'm all ears for suggestions. I have found nothing in the past year that is even what I would consider worth watching except for stuff that is either sequels to previous stuff or a new season...and even then it is pretty thin. IMO, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, and Kids on the Slope are the only exceptions to that, and that is from the past year and a half.

But I don't want to derail the topic too much. All I can say is that I came in to RWBY not giving a crap about it outside of thinking the art direction was cool. My friend had shown me a trailer for it earlier this year, I kind of thought the end product would end up being crap, and it fell completely off of my radar. Then about a week ago I found stumbled across it and gave it a try. The first episode I liked, but it didn't really fully hit me in till about the 3rd or 4th episode. Just the overall feeling is just so great. Do I see it's flaws? Yes. But I am of the view that it's flaws make it what it is and make it so enjoyable. I will relate it to indie games...the feel of this show is something that seems like it could only exist in the indie space. A huge team, a lot more money, and corporate agenda behind it would kill what it is.

I guess if you don't see it, there is nothing I can do to change your mind...and that's cool. I just really think you are missing out on something special.

[Original Saku 1593]

Oh I've seen like the first 3-4 episodes and I don't see this something special... but to each his own I suppose.

 

Yeah I would be happy to recommend you some of my recent favorites but obviously I have my tastes and you have yours, so I don't really know how well they will match. I will say this though, those three series you mentioned are all recent favorites of mine so maybe our tastes are more similar than I think... I've actually been thinking of making a separate thread from the "currently watching" thread for just this, ex. recommendations / discussions / critique etc. because as of right now we have kinda just been using the one thread for everything above. I just don't know if people would actually use it or just keep posting in the usual thread instead since that thread is rather active most of the time.. I think I'm still gonna think on it it for a little while before I do anything.

 

edit1: As for recommendations I'll PM you some solid series I think you might be interested in, so i don't derail the topic anymore than I already have

 

edit2: PM sent.

[Ito 2438]

Side note: Saku, I totally think you should make that thread!

 

Man, episode 11 was a really short...it was disappointing.

[Zeus 7997]

Clearly the worst episode by far. I was actually disappointed at how much nothing happened in four minutes.

[Ito 2438]

Yeah, it really was a disappointment. I mean, it was clearly set up to show the "bully" character and the new bunny chick, but man, they could have made it a bit longer and more interesting.

Also, I still can't figure out why they made Jaune's character design so bland...I really hope they change it here in the future, cause his current one reminds me of something they would give to a minor npc in a video game or something.

[Ito 2438]

Just finished watching episode 12...right now Jaune and Pyhhra's "relationship" is feel a little forced, and the situation with Cardin seems just too stereotypical...not a terrible episode, but still noting I would have called all the great. I hope that take it somewhere more interesting soon.

[Zeus 7997]

I was more satisfied with this week's episode than last week's episode. Last week there was a whole lot of nothing going on. At least this week we got some more character development out of half of JNPR. I'm expecting this arc to go on for one more episode so either Cardin should get his legs broken or CRDL as a whole should be fleshed out and we should see if they put Winchester in his place or if they're all jerks too.

Also I need more Blake and Yang in my life. Yang hasn't said all that much in the last four episodes. Bring back my buxom boxer gal! Pyrrha's cool and easily one of the least stereotypical characters out of everyone we've met so far but she feels very one-dimensional, as if there's a part of her that we don't know (possibly because we know absolutely nothing about her too other than that she's sprung for Jaune).

 

I can't wait for the tournament to get here so Torchwick's plot will be revealed and we can get back to the fighting. I like the fighting.

[Ito 2438]

May, today's episode was soooooooo predictable. Cardin gets his ass handed to him, Jaune mans up, all goes well...I don't understand why I still like it as much as I do XD

Also, I love how this is pretty much just you and I talking, Zess lol

[Zeus 7997]

I saw this week's episode coming a month ago. I'm glad it happened so we can move on to less predictable things because this arc took way too long to wrap up. The episode's length was also a bit on the short side but nothing near as short and uneventful as episode 7. At least I got a short fight out of it.

Next week has to lead into the finale so I'm expecting at least one great episode out of the last two.

 

Also, I love how this is pretty much just you and I talking, Zess lol

We'll convince some people sooner or later

[Zeus 7997]

ER. MAH. GERD.

This episode solidifies my belief that RWBY would be so much better if all episodes were ten minutes long and aired every other week. The amount of ground they covered in this episode alone is more than some of the three or four five minute episodes that we got earlier in the season. If their budget/production crew for next season doesn't increase enough to make eight to ten minute episodes a week viable, RT should really think about switching up their release schedule for next season.

As you can tell, I loved this episode. Totally worth the two week wait.

[Ito 2438]

"...says the girl wearing a dress"

"It's a combat skirt"

::high fives::

"yeah!"

Omg, I just about died laughing there.

This episode was substantially better than the last few...I think the wait for the next season is going to be painful. I feel like I really should buy this on bluray when it comes out...I think the support will go a lot further than it would with buying a regular anime DVD and I want this show to go far.

[Ito 2438]

Dat season finale

[Zeus 7997]

Dat season finale

 

[Zeus 7997]

But as for actual discussion this is the post you want to read. I posted it on the RWBY subreddit and I'll put it here as well because I believe it's worth reading.

 

I'm a fan of anime and I'm a fan of RWBY. If I weren't, I wouldn't be
subscribed to this subreddit. My reaction to Volume 1 was overall positive, but
when taking the volume as a whole there are recurring elements that should be
addressed for both the Blu-ray release and the upcoming volume. I hope RT takes
my thoughts into consideration for both things because I've been mulling over
them for a while and this is the perfect time to put the pen to the paper.

As for the Blu-ray release, these are the things that RT *should* be preparing
for:

* Combine those episodes with "Part 1" and "Part 2" into one episode. Too much
of the time, one of those episodes are extremely short. I didn't mind it as a
webseries if one episode one week was longer than another episode another week,
but it would bother me to no end if I got a RWBY boxset and the episode lengths
were that inconsistent. If the episodes were envisioned as one and it took two
to three weeks for them to complete it fully, it would make sense to package
them together.

* Go over the season and optimize some of the low-hanging fruit that the team
didn't get to during the show's run. For example, there's one scene where
everyone in the classroom magically swaps outfits for a frame. There's another
scene in a different episode where Weiss' face bugs out for a quick half a
second. These are small things that I hope are fixed for the Blu-ray release.
Those small polishes would go a long way towards cementing RWBY's legitimacy.

Now for the next season:

* More consistent episode lengths

It really hurts pacing and animation quality when the episodes lengths aren't
all the same. It's clear when they spend more time on one episode than another
because the way the show was set up, some episodes just are more important than
others. The show also got caught up a bit too much in side arcs that span more
episodes than they should have (*coughcoughJaunecoughcough*) and not enough
time on story arcs that should have been explained more
(*coughcoughBlakecoughcough*). By having a consistent amount of content per
episode, this has a twofold effect:

1) It makes RWBY feel more like a show and less like a webseries and gives it
legitimacy.

2) If Monty and co. plans out the entire season in advance (which it seems like
they are), if they plan for it right they would have a good idea of how fast
the story would have to move each episode in order to hit all the important
plot points before the volume wraps up. Animators can then play around with
their schedules and add in more material if they have the time and resources to
do it.

* Biweekly release

I know this is an unpopular opinion but hear me out. These last two episodes
were fantastic. RT did a great job with them. It shows exactly what they're
capable of when they give themselves the time to do it. The actual *quality* of
the last two episodes far surpasses anything else the season has provided,
short of episodes 1 and 8. I believe episode 1 was on the level that it was
because the crew had enough time before the regular release of the show to get
it to that level of quality. Episode 8's quality, however, was achieved by
sacrificing the quality of a few of the episodes leading up to it, most notably
episode seven which barely counted as one in my mind because it was over in
three minutes. I don't think it's good form to sacrifice one episode to make
another one baller. This goes back to the point of consistency I brought up
earlier. If they need two weeks per episode to get every episode to the level
of epicness we got these last two weeks, I for one will gladly wait that extra
week. Give us a small teaser on the off-weeks, conduct an interview or make a
fan short. If RWBY junkies desperately need their fix every week, there's got
to be a better way to do it than to rush episodes out the door before they get
to the level that we know Monty can achieve.

And we know he can do it. We all saw Dead Fantasy.

* Redirect the focus to some of the main characters

I made this point yesterday and I'll make it again today in case anyone missed
it. Some characters need more development. I'm a little saddened that we never
got back to Nora because she was one of my favorites. I'm more pissed that
Yang, who comprises of one-fourth of the name of the show, got absolutely no
spotlight this season. And when it comes down to it, we don't know too much
about Ruby either. A story is driven by a protagonist's purpose. I have yet to
puzzle out what Ruby's purpose is. For the upcoming volume, I hope there
is more of a focus on Ruby as a character because as the main character she can
use some development.

And for that matter, the antagonist also needs to rise in prominence, which
leads me into...

* Unleash the Kraken!
(NOTE: Kraken means story)

It took until the end of the season for a real threat to appear. Until then,
the volume has comprised of small arcs that loosely tie together. That's a big
no-no in terms of story development. The antagonist definitely needs to be a
top tier threat to RWBY and JNPR, and maybe even to Beacon itself. And that
threat needs to happen fast. Once it's established, all the small tangents can
sprout up as the crew sees fit and they can tie them together in a way that
makes sense.


I know this read like a bunch of negatives but I love this series and I want to
see it grow. In order to do that, there are issues that RT needs to tackle
before it gets too far along to fix.

[Ito 2438]

I totally agree with your sentiments. I LOVED this season, but there was a lot they could have improved on.

First off, I totally agree on giving more time between episodes...I would much rather wait a bit longer for a better product. the entire Jaune plot should have been one episode and we could have waited a couple weeks for it. Speaking of that, the Jaune "arc" was easily the weakest part of the entire season. The plot was so basic it was nuts...the kind of stuff you expect to see in a children's book or something lol.

One huge area where this show needs improvement in is the male character design. We have 8 "main" character, 6 of who are female. That leave Jaune and Ren. Jaune feels so stock and his visual design reminds me of that of a npc character in an rpg (read that as not a lot of effort was put in). Ren has gotten barely any attention so far, and what we have seen really isn't much except to get the "man of few words" stereotype.

And I think when it comes down to it, the show either needs to get:

1)More budget

2)More time

3)Move faster

4)All of the above

I really enjoyed this season, but if the plot doesn't start moving a little faster, or if we don't get more episodes, I think this will feel like it will drag on. I know that this is the first season, but I really do feel like nothing much happened.

[Original Saku 1593]

So this season is over correct? I plan on watching them all at once in one go sometime in the next week...

[Zeus 7997]

Yeah it's finished for now.

[Ito 2438]

Ordered my copy of the bluray

 

I'm working on going through the series with my girlfriend right now...she wants to cosplay as Yang lol

[Ito 2438]

Can't... contain it... any longer... must... share!!

Hey everyone -- Rooster Teeth is very proud to announce that work has already begun on RWBY Volume 2. Monty is busy planning all sorts of insane action, Kerry and Miles are putting the finishing touches on the scripts (brace yourself for the feels, believe me), and the rest of the production team has begun to assemble.

RWBY Volume 2 will premiere at RTX2014, in Austin, Texas, July 4-6. Details here, tickets on sale this Friday, January 31st. The volume's online debut will happen very shortly thereafter, and we will announce the date as soon as we have it. Volume 2 will run for twelve chapters of about twelve minutes each, and what's more, each week's web release will contain an entire chapter. We are anticipating the web release schedule will present a full chapter per week for a few weeks, take a week off, come back for a few more weeks, etc. But during those "off" weeks, you'll still be getting new story content from the world of RWBY. More on that later... ...yeah, I know, already teasing again -- sorry. (Warning: Not really sorry)

Just because the premiere is this Summer doesn't mean we won't have anything new to share with you until then. We've already started recording, concepting (that's a verb, right?), modeling, storyboarding, and even animating. Over the coming months, we'll continue to tease you mercilessly -- er, I mean update you on what we're up to with a series of production video journals, giving you a peek at who's involved, and how it's all going. The journals will also announce the winner of the Velvet Battle Gear Design Contest, then follow how Velvet's new look is turned into an actual production asset, and even watch her new model get animated for the first time!

With all that said -- thanks to all of you for watching, as well as keeping the world of RWBY going between volumes. Everyone here is constantly blown away by the art and stories and cosplay and RP-gaming and... well, let's just say it means a lot to us.

And lastly, the team would like to take this opportunity to thank our exec producers, Matt and Burnie, for letting us all visit the world of RWBY again, and so soon. Their constant support and guidance during Volume 2's launch has been invaluable.

Ruby and the gang are waiting for us to tell the next wave of stories, so we better get back to it. More catching up soon, ok?

-Gray

Nice to hear that the new season will have a little bit different format and that it will be coming out sooner than expected!

[Zeus 7997]

That means they listen to our complaints!