Anime & Manga RWBY General discussion thread.

[Bear Ribs]

Eh, I don't see much overlap between the RWBY and Harry Potter fandoms TBH. I see much more overlap between RWBY and the anime fandom. Anime was beginning to blow up in the West around that time, with Crunchyroll's rise in popularity, the explosive popularity of Attack on Titan, Fate/Zero, and Sword Art Online, and Netflix deciding to put popular shows like F/Zero and SAO up for streaming.

I don't really see the anime fandom and Harry Potter fandom as particularly separated myself. The people that loved Naruto and wrote fanfic about him wrote fanfic about Harry Potter and Ranma Saotome too.

I also feel you're putting the anime boom far latter in time that it was. Toonami got it's start in 1997, Princess Mononoke was released in theatres in 1999, well over a decade before RWBY appeared. The anime boom had been well underway a long time before RWBY showed up. What RWBY really hit was the rise in home production and small-time operators as technology caught up to where a few people on a shoestring budget could actually make something like RWBY instead of it requiring a major company's resources.

I don't think RWBY needed an overarching big bad or a dark lord or anything. It could have different arcs with different villains. Torchwick was a simple, charismatic thief who only existed for the first three seasons, and to this day appears to be the well received villain in the franchise. The White Fang were also a far more interesting antagonist faction than generic doomsday cult #9123, even if they were utterly botched.

Agreed, it doesn't absolutely need a Dark Lord but it does need enemies beyond the Grimm, beings with some characterization and plots and the like, instead of the cast just fighting dumb animals. Villains of the season like Torchwick would work.

 

[Terthna]

I agree. Escalating the threat too far past the original premise is risky in writing, it can be done but has a high chance of opening up gaping plot holes by making previous storylines irrelevant because of the change in scale.

That said RWBY actually needs Salem or similar. Without an intelligent villain, the main threat is non-sentient Grimm and they don't provide much characterization or opportunity for growth. They're more akin to a mobile natural disaster than a character, so you have to generate all of the drama via people who are ostensibly on the same side fighting each other, and RWBY's attempts at doing that have proven to be terrible (See: Ironwood). It also makes very little sense in the context of RWBY, typically in, say, a Zombie movie (These have the same problem and generally it's humans who should be on the same side that do the most damage), you have small survivor camps and warlords and such because civilization was wiped out only a few months ago and society hasn't adapted to undead yet which is where the drama comes from. RWBY's aesthetic requires an advanced civilization with enough technology for transforming gunscythes, and gynoids, and combat mecha, which precludes the zombie apocalypse method of drama.

They didn't need an obvious villain to fight; they could have very easily written a compelling story without one, and the key is dust. Dust is what the people of Remnant use to fight off the Grimm, and nearly every aspect of their technology relies on it to function, but it's something they mine out of the ground; meaning it's a consumable resource that they could conceivably run out of, especially considering how little of their world's surface they actually have safe access to.

In fact, what if they already have by they time RWBY starts, and are surviving off of rapidly dwindling stockpiles of the stuff? They can't very well tell the people this, as that would drive them into a panic and draw in the Grimm that much sooner, so they pretend everything is fine, even as they're desperately trying to find some way to forestall the inevitable.

Now I don't know about you, but I'd be willing to give a show like that a shot. The first couple of seasons could be about team RWBY discovering the horrible truth; maybe have Cinder be some sort of morally grey character, who's goal is simply to expose the truth, even through doing so would destroy everything. Or perhaps she just wants to steal dust (with the help of Torchwick, who thinks it's just about the money) so that she can ensure that the people she cares about can weather the coming collapse for as long a possible; either way, fighting and defeating her could have carried ramifications for the main cast that would have left the audience on the edge of their seats, and would have been perfect for a season finale.

Ultimately though, none of this speculation about what the story should have been matters; because even the best plot outline will be ruined by terrible writers, which is what Miles and Kerry proved to be in the end.

 

[Urabrask Revealed]

The White Fang were also a far more interesting antagonist faction than generic doomsday cult #9123, even if they were utterly botched.

Thr White Fang were a bunch of privileged minorities chimping out over being treated the same as everyone else. As the Left loves to say, when they become accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Thr White Fang were a bunch of privileged minorities chimping out over being treated the same as everyone else. As the Left loves to say, when they become accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

The idea of humans discriminating against people with animal characteristics sounded interesting, but they never really did anything with it. There wasn't any racism against Faunas in the show (the only thing I could think of was that one bar in season 4 that said "no Faunas"... and that was it). It felt fake and superficial.

The idea of there being a divide within a civil rights movement, like Martin Luther King Jr. vs Malcom X's and the Black Panther's rhetoric, also sounded interesting, but again, they never really did anything with it.

I feel that making the Faunas out to be the majority population of Haven undermined the idea of Faunas discrimination. Remnant has a very small population. You have four major cities that have more than ten thousand inhabitants, and the rest of the world is dotted by a few villages, with only the biggest villages being like 100 to 200, maybe 300 people. And before the plot of RWBY began, there was cheap and easy airship, train, and ship travel. If there was serious discrimination against the Faunas, they could pretty easily go to and assimilate into Haven and I don't think there'd be major economic or cultural problems as a result of that (well, it also doesn't help that the villages and cities of Remnant are hardly differentiated from each other culturally. Remnant seems to have the same, modern West monoculture). Faunas could also pretty easily leave human settlements and found their own villages too. I think Faunas as a repressed minority only really makes sense if there isn't really anywhere for them to go, so they're stuck in a crappy situation.

 

[Bear Ribs]

They didn't need an obvious villain to fight; they could have very easily written a compelling story without one, and the key is dust. Dust is what the people of Remnant use to fight off the Grimm, and nearly every aspect of their technology relies on it to function, but it's something they mine out of the ground; meaning it's a consumable resource that they could conceivably run out of, especially considering how little of their world's surface they actually have safe access to.

In fact, what if they already have by they time RWBY starts, and are surviving off of rapidly dwindling stockpiles of the stuff? They can't very well tell the people this, as that would drive them into a panic and draw in the Grimm that much sooner, so they pretend everything is fine, even as they're desperately trying to find some way to forestall the inevitable.

Now I don't know about you, but I'd be willing to give a show like that a shot. The first couple of seasons could be about team RWBY discovering the horrible truth; maybe have Cinder be some sort of morally grey character, who's goal is simply to expose the truth, even through doing so would destroy everything. Or perhaps she just wants to steal dust (with the help of Torchwick, who thinks it's just about the money) so that she can ensure that the people she cares about can weather the coming collapse for as long a possible; either way, fighting and defeating her could have carried ramifications for the main cast that would have left the audience on the edge of their seats, and would have been perfect for a season finale.

Ultimately though, none of this speculation about what the story should have been matters; because even the best plot outline will be ruined by terrible writers, which is what Miles and Kerry proved to be in the end.

You could certainly make a show about that and I'd be willing to give it a shot as well, but it wouldn't be RWBY. Given the base premise of the show is teenage girls in improbable outfits doing spin-kicks and flips while swinging around even more improbably weapons, you have to have a source of drama that can be solved by teenage girls kicking, shooting, and stabbing it. A lot of pushback I see about Salem already seems to me to be related to the fact that she doesn't appear to be beatable via kicking, shooting, and stabbing (or any other means) and thus undermines the base premise.

A Malthusian scarcity drama would be an interesting show and a neat departure from what's common on TV, but you can't spin-kick scarcity into submission so it doesn't work in RWBY, nor supply the kind of action they want to produce.

 

[Terthna]

You could certainly make a show about that and I'd be willing to give it a shot as well, but it wouldn't be RWBY. Given the base premise of the show is teenage girls in improbable outfits doing spin-kicks and flips while swinging around even more improbably weapons, you have to have a source of drama that can be solved by teenage girls kicking, shooting, and stabbing it. A lot of pushback I see about Salem already seems to me to be related to the fact that she doesn't appear to be beatable via kicking, shooting, and stabbing (or any other means) and thus undermines the base premise.

A Malthusian scarcity drama would be an interesting show and a neat departure from what's common on TV, but you can't spin-kick scarcity into submission so it doesn't work in RWBY, nor supply the kind of action they want to produce.

I think a talented writer could do it; there's no shortage of reasons for why people might fight amongst themselves in the face of impending doom, and there's always the Grimm, if only because they always need to be pushed back. A solution for the over-arching problem could be a subplot they build towards over the course of the entire show; thereby giving the audience something to think about beyond the fight scenes, which would still be the main focus.

Mind you; I'm just spit-balling what would be, in my mind, the ideal RWBY. If someone actually had pulled what I'm suggesting off, the show would probably be considered a masterpiece; or at the very least, really damn good.

 

[Navarro]

Grimm qua Grimm are uninteresting as antagonists though, since they're just basically D&D dire animals.

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Grimm qua Grimm are uninteresting as antagonists though, since they're just basically D&D dire animals.

Generic monsters to chop up yeah, but they are aesthetically cool to look at.

Season 6 introduced an interesting Grimm called "the Apathy", which was conceptually cool. Rather than being yet another monster to chop up and forget about, it was instead unfightable. As it neared you, it drained you of your willpower to fight, until eventually you collapsed to the ground and couldn't be bothered to move or even breathe as it clawed its way across the floor to eat you. Reminds me of the Sha from World of Warcraft. If the Grimm were more like that - manipulating humans and feeding upon them - that would've been really interesting. Maybe a Grimm of Pride that makes people prideful and arrogant (which leads to their downfall), or a Grimm of Want, driving people to tear themselves apart or go to war trying to acquire something or someone they desire. Etc.

Could have had unique world building about how society reacts to this (like how in WoW, the Pandaren had to adjust to become very calm and zenlike to prevent the growth of the Sha). It doesn't really make sense why Grimm are said to be drawn towards negative emotions... but you have broadcast television in Remnant that incites negative emotions in people (like bad news).

Then again, the show was predicated upon cool, flashy fight scenes, not being a fantasy novel. So conceptually unfightable grimm like the Apathy have to be one-offs I suppose.

 

[Zachowon]

Next volume won't be till next year.

https://bumbleby.com/chris-pratt-to-voice-ruby-rose-in-new-animated-feature/

And well this news cake out recently

 

[Terthna]

Next volume won't be till next year.

https://bumbleby.com/chris-pratt-to-voice-ruby-rose-in-new-animated-feature/

And well this news cake out recently

Next volume may not happen at all; or if it does, and it's not the series finale, you're probably not going to get one. Rooster Teeth is in dire straits right now as a company; and while they are trying to stay afloat, I don't see it happening.

 

[Zachowon]

Next volume may not happen at all; or if it does, and it's not the series finale, you're probably not going to get one. Rooster Teeth is in dire straits right now as a company; and while they are trying to stay afloat, I don't see it happening.

RWBY is about one of the few series keeping it afloat

 

[Terthna]

RWBY is about one of the few series keeping it afloat

It's one of the few shows keeping Rooster Teeth relevant; as far as I'm aware, it's not doing much for their bottom line.

 

[Zachowon]

It's one of the few shows keeping Rooster Teeth relevant; as far as I'm aware, it's not doing much for their bottom line.

That is true. AH, one of their biggest I don't think has been making as much as they used to

 

[Bacle]

Second trailer of the anime adaption is out, looks pretty good.

 

[Circle of Willis]

Crunchyroll uploaded the first three episodes of the new RWBY anime onto Youtube as a one-hour video, free to watch.



As someone who was thrilled by the trailers & Volumes 1-3 back in 2012-15 but has since increasingly dropped off, this looks pretty great IMO, even though it's mostly a condensation of some of the trailers and Volume 1 (the first really new storyline only starts in the third episode).

I've also got to wonder if Crunchyroll getting to air the first three eps well ahead of Rooster Teeth themselves, combined with RT's other troubles in these past couple years, is an indicator that the new penny-pincher in charge of Warner Bros-Discovery (and by extension RT) is looking to sell the IP to them or even a Japanese studio, whether it be SHAFT (who made IQ in the first place) or someone else.

 

[Free-Stater 101]

Volume 9 is being held back again with a definitive release date of early next year.

Also, a trailer!

 

[Zachowon]

So there has basically been a teaser clip for Volume 9.

 

[Urabrask Revealed]

So there has basically been a teaser clip for Volume 9.

A new one?

 

[Zachowon]

A new one?

It is from 4 months ago.
Has a talking mouse

 

[Urabrask Revealed]

It is from 4 months ago.
Has a talking mouse

Like... this video here?

Volume 9 is being held back again with a definitive release date of early next year.

Also, a trailer!