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So, I attended the RWBY Volume 5 premiere on Oct. 12th. Besides critiquing the first chapter of Vol. 5, I thought I would also review the overall experience of seeing RWBY in a public theatre and what the extra content was that was promised in ad. So, how did it all go? Well, it was an interesting night to say the least. It felt a little strange to see RWBY in a movie theater. I know RT has hosted such events before, but I've never attended them before. I attended this one because I saw it as an opportunity to connect with other RWBY fans and maybe get some insider information on RWBY that I hadn't known before.
The evening started just fine with me arriving at the theater with time to spare. When I got inside, I thought I would have to scan my receipt that I printed out so I could get my ticket. Instead, all I had to do was flash the copy of the receipt to the clerk, and she told me where to go. Down the hall, I followed five others to the theatre, three guys approximately my age and two very short girls. It was there I got a bit of a disappointment.
These days, all the new fangled move theatres have you reserve/choose a seat when you buy it. I'm not new to this phenomenon, but apparently I don't understand the layout of the seat selecting image. For whatever reason, they put the front of the theatre at the top of the screen and the back of the theater at the bottom. This makes no sense to me for reasons I don't fully understand, and I ended up buying a seat in the very front row rather than the very back. However, there was a silver lining: I was the only one in my row, I was as far as could be from those very short girls who turned out to be very annoying with some of their comments and laughing at dumb jokes, and I had the perfect spot to bootleg the whole evening. It's too bad I hadn't thought ahead like that.
Anyway, the commercials before the show droned on. I must say, I don't give an ass rat's about Firstlook or whatever crap they bring before me. But, I did see an interesting ad for Chevy trucks where two other trucks were being carried by a third. Soon though, show time arrived and the theater went dark, but nothing happened. Instead, we sat there before a huge Chevy logo as some country or pop song started playing. There was one after it, and people were complaining about the wait. My way of looking at it is that because we were there to see RWBY and not a movie, they had to make up for the lack of advertising by flashing us with a Chevy logo. But, eventually it came to an end, only for a crummy commercial for whatever company it was that organized the event to pop up. A timer then appeared in the corner of the screen and alerted us all that we were 30 minutes for the start of the show--there was a collective moan.
As I tried to jump on the Facebooks to tell my Facebook RWBY group (RWBY Wonderland) what was going on, someone cracked the joke we had time to watch all of Volume 4 before the start of the show. A guy behind me hopped on his phone and blasted "This Will Be the Day." Mercifully however, the timer in the corner got down to 26 minutes, and the show started. So, what did we see?
Well, we actually watched the last three episodes of Volume 4 first. I swear, I almost had an epileptic seizure when Cinder was throwing around her fire at the start of episode 11. But anyway, each episode was followed by commentary from Miles and Kerry, and occasionally Gray. I don't recall anything specific they said except for the fact that Miles confirmed that Blake did regress from Vol. 3 to Vol. 4. The whole time I was shaking my head, thinking, "Boy, if he only knew how much that pissed off the audience and how much they really don't like Blake." Following that, we eased on in to Weiss and Blake's character shorts which sort of confused and troubled me. It troubled me because I hadn't learned any new secrets like I was hoping to, and it confused me because you don't usually see trailers for the show you're about to watch when you're at the theatre ready to see it. Looking back, I also find it strange that we weren't show Yang's character short or at the least teased with its existence. I didn't know about her character short until Sunday following. I would've thought that that was something they would've told us about, or maybe even showed to the people who had paid $14 to see Vol. 5 premiere in the theatre. Anyway...
At long last, we got to see Volume 5 Chapter 1. So, what did I think about it? Well, let's take a look at it.
What I Liked
1. Mistral
Originally, I was quite pleased with the fact we got to see Mistral, and then I remembered that we do get to see Vale. But then I remembered that most of the shots we have of Vale are from street level. We never get that overarcing view of Vale, but we do with Mistral and it is gorgeous. I don't know how realistic is that humans built their homes and city into the cliff faces themselves, but it did look nice.
2. All Four Girls
So, unlike Vol. 4 Chapter 1 where we only got to see Ruby and Weiss, this time around we get to see all four girls in one episode. True, three of them are all on the same continent, but they're likely to be separated by hundreds of miles. Vol. 5 Ch. 1 proves you don't need to only show two girls per episode in order to keep their stories straight. In fact, it would probably be better to show more than just two per episode, as much as possible, so we don't go several episodes at a time without checking in on a character which does sort of make the story feel more disjointed than it actually is. So, Ch. 1 does prove there is a graceful way of showing all four girls in one episode despite the fact they're in different places.
3. Blake's Story
So, when I saw the scene with Blake and Illia, and Blake said that Illia would have to force her to leave Menagerie, I thought, "Oh, good. Blake's story might actually go somewhere this volume rather than no where at all. And it'll be relevant to the whole story rather than just Blake herself." So, here's to hoping Blake's story does go somewhere, but I will be honest, the scene shown in the new intro of Sun and Blake looking bored in the middle of Menagerie doesn't fill me with a lot of hope.
4. The Connection between the Relics and Maidens
Now, I believe in an earlier post, I speculated as to what the connection is between the relics and the Maidens. At the time, I thought why would the Maidens exist when the relics exist and they seem to be so much more important. Well, thanks to Qrow we now know that each relic can only be accessed, and presumably activated, by a certain Maiden and this whole "scheme" does add a whole new layer of complexity to Salem's plan because if she wants control of all four relics, she needs to find four girls, all loyal to her, and willing to become Maidens. But, I still wonder, why does the connection between the relics and Maidens exist? From a writing perspective it makes sense, but what about from a story perspective? How did the Maidens and relics become so intertwined and why would anyone design the "system" to work like that?
5. Jaune's Aggravation
It's no secret I'm a bit of an Arkos shipper. Well, I don't consider myself a shipper because as soon as that kiss happened I was like, "BOOM! Canon!" I had the same reaction after Sun and Blake went to prom together, and now with approval from Bellamomma, they might as well just get married. But anyway, I still feel like Jaune hasn't been give the closure to Pyrrha's death that he's due. And I don't feel like there's been a lot of closure for the audience either. Yes, he's upset and aggravated when Prof. Lionheart tells him that Cinder's files were forgeries and lies which does show that Jaune is still thinking about Pyrrha, but we still don't know all of Jaune's feelings on the matter and about Pyrrha herself.
Another thought I had after it was revealed that Lionheart is a traitor is that he could be lying to Qrow and RNJR about Cinder's file being a forgery. Now, he probably isn't lying about Mercury and Emerald since they were both street rats, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's later revealed that he lied about Cinder. While not everyone receives training from the academies, Cinder had to learn her skills somewhere and I recently read on the RWBY Wiki that Cinder is supposed to be Asian because she's actually from Anima. (To be honest, she doesn't look that Asian to me.)
6. After Credits Scene
So let's talk about the after credits scenes in RWBY. In Vol. 1, the scene showed us Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald approaching Torchwick which was a preview of coming attractions. But, it's almost certain that the Vol. 2 one where Yang meets Raven isn't canon, and Vol. 3's isn't really important enough to mention other to hint at the fact that Qrow could turn into a crow. But the Vol. 4 scene hinted at the meeting of Oscar and Qrow, and the reuniting of Ozpin with Qrow. To be honest, I thought the after credits scene of Vol. 4 already happened when V5C1 started so you can imagine my confusion at not seeing Oscar anywhere. But, I'm glad to see it was incorporated in there and I hope this is something the CRWBY does from here on out in RWBY. I want to see more relevant or trailer-like after credits scenes.
7. Getting to the Plot
So, is it just me, or does it feel like we're getting to the plot a lot faster? The speed of the plot of Vol. 4 could be described as glacial, and even when it did happen, there wasn't much to see. But now in Vol. 5, it seems like things are happening fast. I didn't expect Qrow and RNJR to meet with Lionheart in the first episode and drop the information that he knew where Raven and the Spring Maiden were; I didn't expect to see Yang, and I am glad she didn't get herself into trouble, but I didn't expect her to already be in an area of Anima where her Raven could; and I just didn't expect to see all four girls in one episode. And having Oscar meet RNJR right away along with telling Ruby about her silver eyes further helps to speed up the plot by bringing back a very important element to the front of the story when it was ignored for an entire season. Overall, I'm glad to see that the plot is moving faster.
7. New Intro
Holy crap. The new intro. It's no understatement to say it's excellent. It's got an aggressive, hard rock song where Casey is singing in a deeper, more sultry octave than what we've heard from her before and it all suggests a more aggressive and more mature storyline in this volume which I'm looking forward to. The new intro also seems to hint at whom our Spring Maiden is what with the one scene with the unknown girl and Cinder glaring at each other, and there is contention suggested at between Yang and Raven which will be really satisfying for the audience. We've been waiting since Vol. 2 to get answers from Raven, and now it seems like we'll finally get them. Hopefully, Yang will beat Raven's ass to the ground if she doesn't like them. That'd be pretty cool. And lastly, the new intro does hint at a reunion for our girls as well as a more direct confrontation with Salem and her faction. So, it doesn't look like Miles and Kerry will be following the 3-volume pattern I've suggested in some of my earlier blogs, and that's a good thing.
What Could've Been Better/Confused Me
1. Too Many Jokes
The first thing that sort of bothered me in this first chapter is that there seemed to be too many jokes, or that the jokes were inappropriate. Just like how Ruby laughed at Jaune for his hoodie, I found most of Nora's comments unnecessary and more cringy than actually amusing. And then the scene with Qrow and Lionheart scaring each other was a little over the top, and I don't think it was all that appropriate for Qrow to get drunk when he's the best huntsman in a town that is already lacking protectors and he's supposed to be supervising his niece and her team. They seemed forced and out of place as if Miles and Kerry are trying to keep the humor in RWBY, but I don't think it's working.
2. Time Zone Discrepancies
This is a small bitch, but it does seem to me like the sun on Remnant doesn't know what it's doing. Assuming that the same amount of time has passed for all girls, I would like to know why it's dark on Menagerie when it's bright as d*cks in Mistral. Looking at a map of Remnant, they should be in the same time zone. So, when it's day in Mistral, it should be day on Menagerie. Or am I just crazy for noticing?
3. We've Already Seen Most of the Trailer
So, when the Vol. 5 trailer came out, we got quite a few scenes and sound bites. I had assumed those would've been spread throughout Vol. 5, but they weren't. Instead, most of them were in the first episode which begs a couple of questions: 1. Is chapter 1 the only chapter with any real story to it, 2. Will RT be releasing periodic trailers for a couple of episodes at a time like they did with Vol. 3, or 3. Could they really not give us anything from the later chapters for fear of ruining the story for us? Regardless of what the reason is, I think it disappointing because now we won't be looking and waiting for those scenes during the volume. On the other hand though, we won't know what to expect.
4. Familiarity with Raven
Now, this is something that confuses me a little, and that's that RNJR knows that Raven is Yang's mother. It makes sense for Ruby to know, but why would Jaune, and presumably Ren and Nora, know? And, just because Qrow says that the Spring Maiden is being held captive by the Branwen clan of bandits, that doesn't necessarily mean they're led by Raven or even that there's a single Raven Branwen on all of Remnant--there could be two, we don't know. It would've made sense for Ruby to ask a question to clarify Qrow's statement rather than having Qrow and Lionheart carry on talking about Raven and assuming RNJR knows who she is without addressing it. True, Jaune did ask the clarifying question to demonstrate that, but it would've made more sense for Ruby to ask that question since she's almost related to Raven.
5. Gas Station/Bar Scene
There are a few things that bother me about the gas station/bar scene. For one, it's a gas station/diner/convenient store/bar, and by the owner's own admission, it's out in the middle of nowhere. I can understand a gas station being out there, but not a bar or diner. That's ridiculous because who the hell are your customers going to be, especially in a spit of land that's close to a bandit clan and susceptible to Grimm attacks? The other thing that really bothered me is that they're on Anima, probably somewhere near Mistral, and it has already been established that Anima is supposed to be Asia, so why do the bartender and scuzzy guy have Western American accents? Shouldn't they be Asian? And while I'm glad Yang didn't get into trouble for punching the drunk, the way the CRWBY added humor into the scene with the guy bouncing off the walls and ceiling was pretty absurd, unless that's his Semblance. But, I did like Yang's hand shaking to show that she's not totally over her problems and getting into a real fight does bother her a little. Not sure what I think about Goldilocks joke or the fact that Yang punched the drunk guy before he even managed to touch her hair--that's kind of overkill.
6. Suspicions of Oscar
My last problem with the first episode was how Jaune, Ren, and Nora were all suspicious of Oscar when he asked about Ruby. Why would they automatically assume he's up to no good? He's dressed like a country bumpkin, he's a few years younger than them, and he's acting quite sheepishly. I can understand them being suspicious, but with the way they almost turned aggressive when Oscar asked was too much. I mean, Oscar didn't even ask if Ruby could come out to play in a creepy manner, but they were ready to jump all over him. It's like, come on, what's he going to do?
Conclusion
So, what's the conclusion? Overall I liked the first chapter and it certainly gives me hope for the future of RWBY, but going to the movies to see it is really unnecessary. I don't think I'll be attending future premiere events because there's no enough reason to go. It costs money, quite a bit of time, and there's nothing that useful to be gleaned from the experience. Watching RWBY from the comfort of my own home is the only way to do it.
So, for next week I'll be critiquing and reviewing Chapter 2. I may mix up the way I do the review so that I look at it scene by scene and pick out those things which I liked and could've been better along with two new sections called "questions" and "insights." So, be on the look out for that, until then...
Keep writing, my friends.
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