Review of RWBY Volume 1
‘Anime’ is a Western coined word used to define Japanese style of motion-picture animation. It sounds simple to identity, especially when key visual cues such as the big eyes, colourful hair and occasionally hyper-sexualised imagery come into play. However with the rising popularity of anime in the West and it becoming an influence on mainstream media, there have been examples of non-Japanese productions being mistaken for anime, one of the most common being Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. RWBY is another more recent example; it is even categorised as ‘anime’ on the Amazon website. Unlike Avatar, the anime mislabelling is easier to understand as not only is it highly influenced by anime series such as Naruto and Fairy Tale, but also the original creator and director of the show, Monty Oum, has previously worked on the anime Afro Samurai. In fact, RWBY is an American web-series by Rooster Teeth (Red vs. Blue). The series become an instant viral hit when it was first announced in November 2012 with the first episode premiering in July 2013 and producing a wave of loyal fans soon after.
Although Anime UK News normally focuses its attention on Japanese-produced animation and comic books, we decided to take a special look at RWBY volume 1, with a review copy provided by Animatsu Entertainment.
RWBY is set in the world of Remnant, where humans are in constant battle with demons and creatures known as ‘Grimms’. In the past massive, bloody wars were waged until humans found a mysterious, magical element called ‘Dust’ to combat them and build their legacy. In the present day, Dust is a valuable source of power used by hunters and huntresses for spells and weaponry to keep the human race alive, and to train the next generation of warriors. This is where Ruby Rose comes in; at 15 she’s the youngest student at Beacon Academy, having been brought forward by 2 years when she proves extremely skilled with her scythe during an attempted burglary. Alongside her sister Yang, reserved Blake and prestigious Weiss, they must learn to work together and find their place in a world filled with monsters.
There’s enough anime series based on supernatural antics and even more based in schools to fill the whole of Japan many times over, so why give an American anime-inspired show a chance? For starters the cast of RWBY is primarily female, and they all know how to kick arse. They carry a variety of luscious weaponry from giant scythes with built-in guns to a magical espada ropera. Unlike a lot of shows that often start with the main lead(s) completely clueless about what they’re capable of and relying on others to either show or teach them, the girls in this show have already experienced their fair share of hairy situations. This may take some of the fun out in the earlier stages of seeing how they’ve grown into their strengths but it cuts out the tired tropes that come with that as well. Instead we get to see how they hone in their abilities, learn to work together and combine their powers to overcome evil.
Secondly, the main cast have genuine chemistry and aren’t just cookie-cut stereotypes of heroines which came before. Ruby comes across as a bad ass scythe wielder from the get-go due to her debut trailer and episode, but she’s also a hyper fan girl of all type of weaponry with a genuine passion to fight evil and help others despite struggling to form friendships of her own. It’s also interesting that each character is based upon either a fairy tale character or has indirect influences from various mythologies. Weiss Schnee for example is German for ‘white snow’ (or Snow White), making her affiliation with ice-based attacks and her colder nature more apparent. Then there’s the humorously named Jaune Arc, the goofy comic relief male obviously deprived from Joan of Arc. Their school activities largely consist of students working together as teams, so the chemistry and subtle character developments build gradually but shine in the comical moments and quirky dialogue. Despite the short running time of each episode they always make room for each character moment to breathe, allowing the audience to engage with each student and their personality easily, with the odd one liner here and there bringing the whole cast together.
Where RWBY stumbles the most however is the world building; the series opens on a brief monologue explaining the history of the world but doesn’t accomplish enough to make it stand out from others in the same genre, leaving much unexplained for the majority of the run time. It’s only in the latter half of the episodes where a little more information is shared about other races and the types of powers the girls specialise in are brought up. But in both instances it’s either said so vaguely in passing that it fails to sink in, or requires more back story to fully get the weight of it. The ending of the first volume is also rather abrupt, leaving many questions unanswered. It’s supposedly mid-school year, just before a tournament is about to begin; normally those kinds of events are used to close a season but it seems that just as RWBY finds its groove, it ends. One other nitpick is that it’s very hard to gauge how much time has passed across the 110 minutes. The first few episodes fit nicely at the opening term/semester, but then between episodes 7 and 8 there seems to be a time jump which you wouldn’t get from watching it as a film, since the scenes follow on rather quickly right afterwards.
Director Monty Oum sadly passed away earlier this year, but before his sudden passing and RWBY he was known in many fan circles for his highly impressively choreographed pieces centred on video game characters such as Haloid (Halo and Metroid Prime) and Dead Fantasy (Final Fantasy versus Dead or Alive characters). Having your favourite video game characters battling it out to the death is always a recipe for fandom fun but what made Monty Oum’s work stand out is his extreme attention to combat finesse and team work. Anyone can have two characters punching or kicking each other over fancy music, but Monty always took it a step further with elaborate moves, clever magic bending, weapons which morph into another, and a fantastic flow. Not a single moment of combat is shied or fumbled in his works; you see every punch, jump, and flip; seeing it go from one thing to another is what makes every battle so thrilling and tension-filled, making you wonder where it could possibly go next. All of his talent has been transferred into RWBY and every fight, although there are only three, is glorious to watch – but now have the added benefit of the fights playing a hand in character development too. With Monty’s previous attempts it didn’t matter so much as we already know the characters from previous well established works. But in RWBY you can pick up visual cues in their fight style or how they perceive combat as part of their characters. For example, Yang is the type who goes charging in without warning, relying on her fists above all. Nora Valkyrie practically bounces and giggles when she’s fighting, so you know she loves what she does and sees it almost like a game. Then there’s the dynamics and teamwork between the cast; despite Ruby being (arguably) the most recognisable of the cast, and having her name in the title of the show, she’s not the sole focus and she’s doesn’t outshine the others in a brawl. Their different styles work together and make up pieces of a grander mêlée. We lost a great talent too soon when Monty Oum passed, but hopefully his work on RWBY will continue after his passing and influence others as it really is something to experience.
RWBY’s unique art style is primarily in 3D, with anime features such as big eyes and round faces forming the core of each female’s look. There’s also a bit of 2D, almost manga-style character art thrown in at intervals plus some which is used for backgrounds. The style of each female lead is striking and memorable, and each new supporting character introduced is also immediately recognisable. The anime inspiration becomes more noticeable as the series progresses, the big eyes are obviously the main reason it’s mistaken for anime in the first place but when more comedy is brought into the fray in later episodes there are the recognisable traits found in anime such as the ‘kawaii’ faces when Ruby enters fan girl mode. Since RWBY debuted as a web series, it’s expected that the animation budget would not be as high as you’d expect for a regular TV broadcast production. Watching it on a HD TV will take getting used to as you’ll notice the odd shimmering of clothing, hair and items going through character models and backgrounds often looking flat. In odd situations early on when you have two very colourful leads standing in a mass of completely black, non-detailed school students, the differences are visually distracting. To put it bluntly; it has lots of style but lacking in substance, however it’s still striking in its own right.
Music is provided by Jeff Williams, with his daughter Casey Lee Williams providing the voice for all the vocal tracks. Earlier examples of their work in the Red Trailer and first episodes take greater influences from Japan with Asian chimes and haunting vocals not unlike Yuki Kajiura’s work, but in the battle sequences and school environment there’s a greater Western vibe with a big orchestra backing, and the energetic rock opening theme ‘This Will Be the Day’ cementing their music into your brains. Overall the soundtrack is strong and catchy from start to finish; the Williams’ talents complement each other well and really bring out the strongest element of the show (the battles) with grand musical backing.
A unique feature on the RWBY discs, most likely as a result of where it originates from, is that you can either watch the first 10 episodes individually or back to back as a single movie. So whether your viewing habits are to watch an episode whilst getting ready for the day or to binge watch it all in one go, you’ll be catered for here. The blu-ray edition extras include director and cast commentaries for each episode, a behind the scenes feature, storyboards for chapter 1 plus trailers for other Rooster Teeth works. There are also RWBY trailers centred on each of the girls which are worth a watch even after you’re sold on the show as they provide a little character introduction as well as hints at their back stories. The staff also show their love and appreciation for the fandom with a show reel of their favourite fan art and a RWBY cosplay spot. Also it’s important to note that there are no subtitle options at all on the disc.
On paper RWBY doesn’t look like anything out of the ordinary but its beautiful soundtrack, unique art style, quirky dialogue and remarkable battle sequences warrant it at least a look, whether it’s anime or not.
RWBY Volume 1 is out on DVD and Blu-ray from 29th June 2015 from Animatsu.
