RWBY Volume 5 Review

 

 



Hey, everyone.

 

The long-awaited day is finally here, the day of my RWBY Volume 5 Review. So, despite the fact that I did mini-reviews and critiques for each episode, why write this review? Well, this review is supposed to encompass Vol. 5 as a whole and speculate on what's going on behind the scenes of RWBY and what we may be able to expect from Volume 6, which is probably already in production.

 

Before I get to the meat of my review however, I would like to first cover some commentary I have seen from other fans. This commentary comes from the RWBY fanpage I help administer on Facebook. I wish to cover this commentary because I want to give it a voice to those who don't verbalize their criticisms and to validate their criticisms because if they feel this way, it is certain there are others in the fanbase who feel similarly.

 

1. "They just overcompensated the time for what they wanted to put in. Volume 4 was super rushed so they wanted to slow down, but they realized they had too much time towards the end."

 

This is an interesting criticism invoked by the fact that I thought pacing was one of Vol. 5's major issues. The reason why I call it "interesting" is because this fan seems to sum up the pacing issues with Vol. 5 quite well. There is a lull in the middle of the season where not much of anything happens. It's less noticeable when you watch the entire season in less than 14 weeks, but that dinner scene in Episode 7 is still sort of long while the whole episode is short. Quite short in fact as the whole episode was just over 12 minutes long whereas most episodes in Vol. 5 have an average runtime of 15 to 17 minutes. Not to mention, there is a lot of talking from episodes 5 to 9.

 

However, I would like to call your attention to the point in this critique where the fan says Volume 4 was "super rushed." I didn't feel like Vol. 4 was rushed at all. The cutting and editing was weird because our heroines where so spread out and in different parts of their separate journeys, and the cuts were really abrupt, which all led to a feeling of a more rushed season. However, when I watched Vol. 4 in one sitting last summer, I didn't notice any issues with the pacing, but I do remember being bored in a few places. So, I would say that Vol. 4 had better pacing than Vol 5.

 

2. "I felt like history repeated itself and RT's blind to the fact that [their] quest for money has gotten more negative views as well as the fact [their] fans are becoming more hateful."

 

I'm not too sure what this fan means by history repeating itself unless he is referring to Rooster Teeth's greed. I haven't been a fan of RT as long as many others, so I can't say if they went through a greedy phase before, however I have been quite vocal in my criticisms of the way RT is handling Rooster Teeth First these days. I admit I would love to be right in this regard, validated for my keen observation, but there was a time when I thought I was overreacting. But this fan here seems to have picked up on the same thing as well as noticing that the fanbase has been quite critical of RT's more recent business methods.

 

I also wanted to address this fan's idea that RT's "fans are becoming more hateful." While I can't say anything definitive in regard to this as the only fanbases I really see are the ones surrounding RWBY and Achievement Hunter, I would say that these fanbases aren't becoming "hateful" so much as they are becoming "spiteful" or "scornful," which I think is due to the fact that no one seems to be listening to the complaints of the fans and RT just keeps marching ahead. If this is so, there will come a point where the fans will say enough is enough, and RT will start losing money. RT has to remember that their fans are more than just customers, they are also the audience, the audience that helped them build their company. You typically don't want to bite the hand that feeds.

 

Now, for this last one, it's actually a comment chain of four comments.

 

3. "Add to that list the fact that characters forget about using their weapons and abilities."

 

Reply: "Not really. Their abilities are just more consistent now and their weapons can't work on everything. Also something that's been made more consistent."

 

Reply: "So Ruby sending Yang to run past Mercury instead of using her SPEED SEMBLANCE is more consistent? Mercury being able to kick Ruby out of that semblance yet not being able to react to Yang running away is more consistent?"

 

Reply: "Ruby's semblance went from 'speed blitz' to 'limited flying and splitting into three.' Weiss continues to be less of a magic fencer (as she was already established during her debut) and more of a barely helpful summoner. Blake doesn't fucking move like a cat. Yang changed from kickboxing to breakdancing, and Emerald's head somehow doesn't explode from making an illusion that affects at least 10 people."

 

Despite the disagreement here, these four comments do raise a good point, which is actually the question of how do Semblances work and evolve, and what are the actual abilities of weapons on Remnant? I mean, in Volumes 1 and 2, the girls' weapons had no problems whatsoever with gigantic trees, steel sheeting, and even blocks of stone and cement.

 

As for the comment regarding Ruby's speed versus Yang's versus Mercury's ability to stop either of them, this is pretty spot-on and really shows the limitations in the writing of Vol. 5, specifically the plot point of mother versus daughter, Raven versus Yang. You're not supposed to be able to see the plot working when you watch a movie or read a book. If there are too many conveniences like this, it starts showing real hard. 

 

 

 

 

As for Yang's change in fighting style, it didn't seem that drastic to me. Yang's fighting style has always been high energy. Not to mention in Vol. 4, she learned from Tai that she doesn't always have to go through an obstacle, but can go around it. Unfortunately, we only get to see her having a real fight in two places this volume, once in her character short, which takes place in the past, and then in episode 4. The problem with episode 4 is that Shay D. Man and his fellow gang members really aren't a match for Yang, so she may not have been going all out. The Ursa in her character short was definitely tougher, and the best exhibition of Yang's prowess is the "Yellow" Trailer, but she was younger in both instances, "going through" her enemies instead of around, and in the trailer, Junior had far more men than Shay did. Plus, since Yang was once regarded as a "party girl," if her fighting style did change to look like dancing, it would actually be super fitting.

 

Coming to Weiss, I think the criticism of her summoning abilities versus her abilities as a swordmage are all apt. Like, I didn't get the feeling she was at the top of her game when fighting the Lancers and then when she was fighting Vernal, it felt like she was jobbing super hard. While Vernal may be stronger and more experienced, Weiss can do time dilations and use her glyphs to slow or even stop momentum; either ability would've been a major boon against Vernal and with the use of both, she would've completely pwned Vernal. So, why didn't she? Oh, that's right; the plot. We have to get Vernal down in the vault with Raven and Cinder so that Raven can win with a savage burn, and so that Cinder nearly kills Weiss allowing Jaune to activate his Semblance. Suffice to say, Weiss felt a lot more powerful and lethal in the first three volumes, except for her battle against Flynt.

 

Regarding Blake's movements and Ruby's being able to split into three, I don't have anything substantial to say about either, but I would like to next examine our character's storylines in Volume 5.

 

Character Storylines

 

So what's so important about the characters' storylines? Well, let's go back to Weiss for a second. Not only does she seems to have been nerfed, but she didn't have much agency in Vol. 5. Once she crash-landed on Anima, her story was told through Raven's and Yang's stories. Weiss lost her agency this volume whereas she had a ton of it back in Vol. 4. What really makes this loss of agency standout is the fact that Weiss was given her own character short, which all things considered, would've been more appropriate for Vol. 4 since that's where she actually got stronger, and it was on her own. The only reason why she's able to rejoin the fight at the end of 5 is because of Jaune. Not only that, but after she comes back, we don't spend any time with her in her super powered state. We don't get to see her kickass in such a way that would justify the presence of the amazing power up Jaune gave her.

 

Next, let's go to Ruby. What did Ruby do this volume? ...You know, I can't think of a single, damn thing she did that was meaningful or impactful to the story. Not to mention, besides the first episode, most of Ruby's story is told through Yang's story and Ozcar's story. Which means that Ruby also lost her agency this volume whereas in 4, she had a ton of it.

 

 

 

 

The only members of RWBY that had any agency were Blake and Yang. I think I can forgive this in Blake's case since she is the least developed of Team RWBY, and being so emotionally guarded, she purposely goes out of her way to stay out of the spotlight. However, I do have some beef with Blake's story in that it was a redemption arc for Ilia and Blake's character short was actually Ilia's. It also irritated me to see that the budget only ever kicked in when there was a fight with Ilia. And then, it did suck that there was no real standoff with Adam versus Ilia, Blake, and Sun. There was a standoff, but it wasn't a RWBY standoff, and by that I mean there was no over-the-top battle sequence, which is one of the cornerstone traits of RWBY.

 

Moving onto Yang, Yang becomes Team RWBY's MVP this volume, but not because of her forceful personality or her desire to always stand by her baby sister's side. No. Yang stood out this volume because Raven was this volume's MVP. Hell, you could say Raven was this volume's main character. After her introduction in episode 4, everything major that happens in Vol. 5 happens because Raven had a hand in it. She's the force that reunited Weiss and Yang, she 's the reason why Weiss and Yang reunited with Ruby, and she's the reason why Vol. 5's climax could happen. She's also the one who defeated Cinder, helped Yang's character progression along into the next stage, and enabled Team Good Guys to get their hands on the Haven Relic. Without Raven, much of what happened in Vol. 5 couldn't have happened. Well, those things could have happened, but then it would've meant that Team RWBY would have actually needed to develop as characters so they could overcome Cinder which actually would've been more difficult to write, but would've made for a much more satisfying story.

 

Now, I would like to take some time to examine the tone problems with Volume 5 before I go on to say what I think the real problem with Vol. 5 is.

 

Tone

 

For those who don't know what tone is, it's kind of like the theme or how a story feels, such as drama, comedy, action, thriller, and so on. The tone of RWBY is actually kind of hard to nail down. If we look at the original trailers, the "Red," "White," etc. trailers, it seems like loneliness or acting alone is a big theme in the story. Another thematic element that is constantly pounded into our skulls is action. Every trailer has over-the-top, high octane, and highly stylized action. But when we get to Volume 1, these themes are toned down a bit. I mean, we still have some great, highly-stylized action, but it's not every episode, and while there's a theme surrounding the idea of growing up, our four girls become fast friends, indeed. Not to mention, we see plenty examples of anime-stylized comedy.

 

I know RWBY is essentially American anime,
but unless your art style is actually anime,
you shouldn't do things like this.

 

Things become all the more confusing when we get to Volumes 4 and 5, especially when we consider the tonal disparity between these two and the first three. The first three, well, the first two-and-a-half are actually sort of light-hearted and generally fun. I remember the first time I saw the intro to Vol. 3 and I thought there was something wrong with it because of how f*cking dark it was, especially the opening song, "When It Falls." And when I think about it, the opening songs for both Volumes 1 and 2, "This Will Be The Day" and "Time to Say Goodbye," were also really sort of dark and serious which contrast significantly to what actually happens in those volumes. But, because I thought they were so badass, I gave them a pass. I actually didn't like "When It Falls," so I was much more critical of it.

 

But, the thing that super-duper, uber bothers me about Vol's 4 and 5 with regards to their tones is the moments of forced comedy. I understand that we can't have everything be super serious, because if it was, the audience would stop taking the show seriously every time it became more serious, like Dragonball Z. But when Ruby laughs at Jaune for his hoodie, when Qrow falls over when seeing Leo and RNJR screams, when Yang's arm blasts Nora against a wall and she laughs at it, and when Shay D. Man bounces off the ceiling and floor after Yang socks him one, I get a little confused knowing we're in a post-Penny, post-Pyrrha, post-Cinder-is-totally-a-murderer, post-Blake-deserting-her-team-and-best-friend sort of world. You know, the one where Ren and Nora are orphaned by a Grimm straight out of a nightmare and then take revenge on it. A world where Qrow is placed in mortal danger with no immediate medical help. A world in which Raven, a main character's mother, killed the last Spring Maiden and a world where Hazel is willing to kill Oscar to kill Ozpin. This is some serious sh*t, and I don't appreciate the childish jokes that are made to lighten the mood. Especially when it's painfully obvious that the VA's are forcing their laughs because the situations their characters are in are just straight-up not funny.

 

Not to mention Jaune's hoodie is literally a monument to his murdered girlfriend.
Thanks for being an assh*le, Ruby.

 

The moments that I actually found funny were the ones where Blake caught Sun and he calls her his hero before she scorns him, the part where he catches her and insists she calls him her hero, and the part where she slaps him. And from Vol. 5, one part I found legitimately funny was when Sun pinched Ilia in retaliation for stabbing him and she gets offended. Or the time Weiss tells Raven she's really obnoxious, or when Qrow passes out from drinking. What's the difference between these moments and the ones above?

 

I guess it's the fact that they're not necessarily funny, or rather, they seem natural--they're the sort of "things" I would expect to see in a darker iteration of RWBY. Like, I would not expect to see a food fight in this darker version of RWBY, nor would I expect to see someone smack a Corgi with a flamethrower as if they're in the World Series. RWBY is a much more mature show now, and that should pertain to its comedy. It should be more subdued, more natural, more realistic. There should never be a scene in this version of RWBY that is written with the sole purpose of making the audience laugh or diffuse the tension because it always comes off as trying too hard and being immature.

 

Okay, with that out of the way, I can now address what I think the real problem with RWBY is.

The Real Problem

 

Although I am able to only see problems with the tone, pacing, and characters jobbing to enemies that they should have no problems conquering, I fear that the issues I see as well as the ones picked up on by others is indicative of a much more serious underlying problem.

 

Originally, I thought the problem was the fact that Volumes 4 and 5 weren't directed by Monty. However, after doing some research, I discovered that Monty didn't direct Vol. 3, for obvious reasons. And while I don't know how long it takes to make a season of RWBY, I'm sure it's not beyond possibility that Monty still had quite an effect on the production of Vol. 3 whereas Vol's 4 and 5, his effect is likely diminished to just being the original creative force behind RWBY as well as writing all the source material. (If you've ever heard of "Monty's notebook(s)," that's what that's about.)

 

But that's what brings me to what I think the real problem is with Vol's 4 and 5--there's no Monty. And I don't mean that so much in a physical sense as I mean that in a creative spark sense. It seems like the "soul" or the "heart" or the "balls" of RWBY are missing from 4 and 5. To some extent, you could make an argument that the soul, heart, and balls are all missing. The only thing that holds up 4 and 5 with the first three volumes is the music, but everything else is off. I mean, the characters are still the same, but they should be since the show is still being written by Miles and Kerry. But there's still an inherent characteristic, a certain je ne sais quoi, that the show has been missing since the end of 3.

 

I know people are saying that we should give CRWBY a break because they are trying their hardest to soldier on without Monty, but 4 and 5 seem to prove that the CRWBY can't do this without Monty. So, as blasphemous as it may be to say this, I think RWBY needs a new Monty. Someone who has studied Monty's work and knows his techniques; someone who can take over his work and see it finished as Monty intended. I really don't think Miles, Kerry, or Gray can stand up to the task. Miles is too much of a fanboy so I don't trust him to take risks, Kerry seems kind of distant as every interview I've seen him do he seems like he doesn't care, and I don't think Gray is connected enough to the project. I feel like he's Miles' and Kerry's safety net. Ergo, none of them can fill the shoes of Monty.

Conclusion

So what is there left to say about Volume 5? Well, it wasn't great, but it was better than Vol. 4. If you're the TL;DR type and you scrolled right to this point, let me sum up what I thought of Vol. 5 with a simple ranking system.

1. Volume 2
2. Volume 1
3. Volume 3
4. (Bit of a gap)
5. Volume 5
6. (Bit more of a gap)
7.
8. Volume 4

If I throw in the trailers, it looks more like this:

1. Volume 2
2. Volume 1
3. "Red," "White," and "Yellow" Trailers and Weiss Character Short (CS)
4. Volume 3 or Ruby CS
5. Ruby CS or Volume 3
6. Yang CS
7. Volume 5 or "Black" Trailer
8. "Black" Trailer or Volume 5
9. Volume 4
10. Blake (Ilia) CS

RWBY Chibi I won't rank because it's non-canon. But aside from that, there are a few clear patterns in my list. For one thing, I really don't seem to like Blake. I actually do like Blake, in fact, I like her more now than I did back in the day, but I still don't like her as much as the other three. The other thing we can see is that the more serious or graver pieces are closer to the bottom whereas the more fun or less serious ones are closer to the top. I've already discussed tone and I may or may not go into how Blake could've been a better character in a separate post, but this really does put my thoughts and feelings into an easy to understand image. And it wouldn't surprise me if other RWBY fans have similar lists.

And before you accuse me of "being nostalgic for the old days because I don't like change," let me tell you that I became a fan of RWBY in the summer between Volumes 2 and 3. My introduction to RWBY was watching Vol's 1 and 2 back-to-back, which I did quite a few times before the release of 3. After 3, I quite enjoyed the first six episodes, and while I was gripped during the last six, I don't have fond feelings associated with them just like how I don't have fond feelings associated with 4 or 5.

I have very little motivation to go back and watch the last half of three, unless I'm looking for a good cry, and I have no motivation to go back and watch 4, unless I want to skip through to all the fight scenes. With Vol. 5, I may just be burnt out, suffering from RWBY fatigue, or I'm still too close to its finale to care. But I'm not crazy about 5.

While I would love to see RWBY go back to what it was, I know that it cannot because that would mean undoing Pyrrha's death, and you just can't undo Pyrrha's death. I've heard a few times about how in the past Miles and Kerry were promising that RWBY would end up becoming much darker, and all I can think of is why. Why did they feel the need to go darker with it? I would've been as content as a cucumber if everything more or less stayed the way it was in Vol. 2. However, a better question for CRWBY is if the intention was to always go darker, why did RWBY start out so lighthearted? And what does this mean for the future of the show?

I sincerely do hope RWBY gets "better" or makes the change into adulthood. These puberty seasons are rough. And while the fighting in 5 was more reminiscent of Monty's "no wasted energy" style, it's still got some ways to go, hence why I advocate the locating of a new Monty. I'm worried about 6, but I'm still hopeful. RWBY's not dead yet.

Keep writing, my friends.

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RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 14 Critique and Review

Hey, everyone.

So, finally after a long, long wait, Volume 5 Chapter 14, "Haven's Fate" was released this past week and it was... quite disappointing. Seriously, this is the worst RWBY season finale ever. That's not to say that there still weren't parts about it that I liked, but it was pretty meh or less. So, let's talk about it. I'm going to treat the entire episode as one scene, and to keep things that I thought could've been better short, I'm just going to cover all the things that bothered me the most. So, if I don't mention something in "What I Liked," then you can safely assume I either don't care about it or I outright didn't like it.

Critique

What I Liked

1. Blake and Sun: Although this is a very small thing, I did sort of like the way Blake and Sun interacted in this episode, especially the part where Blake stops Sun from running after Adam and the part where Sun turns Blake with his tail. In the former, there was something tender about Blake that I quite liked, almost as if we saw a softer side of her. As for the latter, I just think Blake's squeal is cute. I can't explain why I think that, I just do.

2. Raven and Yang's Confrontation: So, I totes thought there was going to be an epic battle between these two, and you could argue that there was a battle, it just wasn't epic. Anyway, it was nice to see Yang stand up to her mother and push Raven to her breaking point. Not because I wanted to see Raven cry or hurt, but because it's nice to know that for as bad and as tough and as powerful as she is, she's not wholly invulnerable and what her daughter thinks of her does mean something to her. And it's nice to see she has some regret and remorse for the way she left Tai and Yang.

3. After Credit Scene: Speaking of Tai and Raven, this is the last part of this episode that I tentatively like. I say "tentatively" because it depends on what CRWBY is going to do with it. Now, after credit scenes haven't really been considered canon until Vol. 3's, but even then, only Vol. 4's where Oscar meets Qrow in the bar is the only one that has been confirmed since we got to see it in Vol. 5. So, who knows whether or not CRWBY are actually going to make a scene where Raven and Tai have a heart-to-heart, but I honestly hope they do. If it happens in Vol. 6, I'll say I like this scene. If it doesn't, then screw this scene.



 

What Could've Been Better

1. A Bad Ass Case of Battle Blue Balls: It's incredibly disappointing that we never got to see a proper fight in the Haven hall between Team Good Guys and Team Bad Guys. It always happens off screen except for a few key moments, and what action there is seems to be stinted or forced or there's just something off about it, like when Hazel destroys Weiss' Queen Stinger and she just stares at it. Was that supposed to be shock or fear? I don't know because Weiss' face is neither of the two and she doesn't make any vocal reactions. There's not even a gasp or sharp inhale. It's such a wasted opportunity that we never got a big, properly budgeted battle scene in the hall.

2. Black and Yellow: So, we finally have a reunion for Team RWBY, but in all honesty, it doesn't feel good; there's no emotional payoff. It doesn't feel like there was any struggle for the girls to reunite which sounds weird because there was a struggle and an emotional payoff when Weiss hugged Yang, and then when Yang hugged Ruby, but now that all four are together... there's nothing. And I don't know why. It could've been because of the awkward and clunky dialogue, "So, Blake: what are you doing here?" Or it could've been because Yang just accepted that Blake was back without there being a resolution between them. It's too simple, too quick, too dirty. Yang and Blake need to have a long talk, and that's what should have happened. I would've gladly given up some of Cinder and Raven's battle to have a more fitting RWBY reunion. I know RWBY is about the fighting, but these characters are, well, characters, and they need to be developed along with their relationships, and this reunion wasn't properly developed.

This moment ruined the reunion.

Questions/Insights:

1. The Haven Relic: I find it quite fitting that the relic of knowledge should be designed like a lantern as if to "light the way." And I'm guessing that it can be used as a weapon by bestowing upon the beholder knowledge about whatever that person wants. In a war, that's very useful intel. But, these are mere speculations. We are still forced to ask the questions what do they do with it now that they've got it, and will having it make it more difficult for them to hang onto it?

2. Atlas: At the end of the battle, Oscar tells Qrow that they now need to protect Atlas and I have to ask, why Atlas? Why not Vacuo? How does Ozpin know that Salem is going to target Atlas next? Did he read next season's script? Or is he just saying that because Atlas is the next closest? Well, that doesn't make all that much sense since I'm going to assume Remnant is round which means the distance between Haven and Atlas or Vacuo is probably about equal. Not to mention, if distance is a consideration, why didn't Salem attack Haven first instead of Beacon? Maybe it was because Salem new Amber was too young and inexperienced and would make for an easy target, or maybe she didn't want a fully developed Ozpin coming for her sweet ass? Actually, that makes a lot of sense. But it doesn't explain why Oz thinks Atlas is next. If it is Vacuo, that would subvert everyone's expectations.

And what will happen to Cinder when she runs into Salem again?
I hope it's quite painful.

Review

 

Well, what can I say? I've already made note of what I liked and what I didn't, and I mentioned that if I didn't bring it up, I probably didn't like it, so what can I say? The episode sucked. But, I'm not going to say what I think of Vol. 5 in general. Not yet, anyway. I want to re-watch this volume and do an overall critique and review. I'll try to keep it as succinct as possible seeing as how I've already picked out all the small things, and I'll try to analyze what this volume did right, what it did wrong, and whether or not it was effective.

 

But, anyway, you guys, that's it for this week. I'll see you next week (hopefully).

Keep writing, my friends.

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RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 2 Critique and Review

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here.

Anyway, this past Saturday, RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 2 came out to the masses. I actually saw it on a different website a week earlier. (No, not Rooster Teeth's.) So, as you can imagine, I've been sitting on this review for a week. I'm actually writing it on the eve of Chapter 3 so all my insights and questions are still relevant before I get to see Chapter 3 and that way, I won't feel stupid for trying to suppose questions that have already been answered. Anyway, moving forward I think I will be writing my critique/review in a different format. I'll break the episodes down by their major scenes and then talk about what I liked, what could've been better, and then offer any insights or questions these scenes may inspire. So, let's get on with it.

Critique

Scene 1: Evil Council

What I Liked: Alright, so the in the first scene, Lionheart and Watts hold a secret meeting/council with Salem and for some reason, Cinder's there too. What I liked in this scene was Professor Lionheart's cringing because I honestly think his fear will turn into hatred and then self-loathing, and then he'll turn good again. I don't want to see him become another Wormtail from Harry Potter, and I hope instead he does redeem himself. Some of the smaller things though that I liked about this scene is that Watts mocked Cinder, we know for sure that she lost her eye now, we know what the purpose of the Seer Grimm is, we know that Watts can make a tail for Tyrian either suggesting Tyrian isn't really a Faunus or Watts knows a thing or two about cybernetics--perhaps both--and, the last thing I really liked is Salem admitting Ruby could be more than a worthy adversary for Cinder. I'd love to see round two and see Cinder lose again.

What Could've Been Better: I think Salem is losing her touch. She's no where near as scary as the first time we saw her, and I think that's because she showed too much emotion in this scene. Like, she actually looked and sounded happy in this chapter. And, she showed that she too doesn't know everything like when Watts admitted that he learned of Spring's location through Qrow. Maybe "a little birdy" is a little too far for her mind to reach, but if Salem knows who's in Ozpin's posse, she should've been able to piece it together. A villain who doesn't know everything or who can't jump to conclusions on their own is more terrifying than one who can't. A truly terrifying villain should be in control at all times or at least the air they are, so then when something happens that is outside of their control, the audience knows how f*cked they are.

Another problem I had with Salem was her threatening Lionheart. I mean, he helped to find Spring and was just urging her to find Spring before Qrow does. Why did she feel the need to choke him and threaten to kill him? Has he become short with her minions as of late? Even if so, who cares. Is it really that important to keep him that far under her boot? I don't think it is unless there's something to Lionheart that we don't know.

Questions/Insights: The only major insight in this scene is the hint about how powerful Ruby's silver eyes can be. Now, Salem has said things before that make it sound like Cinder hasn't reached her full potential, but if the power of the silver eyes could match the power of the Maidens, what does that mean for the world of Remnant and the relics? Where do the silver eyed warriors fit into the creation story? I really hope we get more info on the silver eyes.

Scene 2: Lancer Fight

What I Liked: Onto the Lancer fight, there are a few quite satisfying things to see here. The first is the gravity Dust crystals. Gravity is one of the those types of Dust we haven't seen and we're not really sure what it does. In Chapter 2, it makes objects defy gravity; in RWBY Chibi, it threw Ruby back several feet. But, since RWBY Chibi isn't canon, I'm going to guess that defying gravity is actually what gravity Dust does. It was also exciting to see a new Grimm and the battle scene was pretty spectacular, especially the ending where Weiss' Gigas performed Omnislash on the Queen Lancer.

And finally, I really liked seeing Weiss' glyphs being used as shields to slow the airship before it crashed and as a way to keep her rooted to the airship without falling. Since Weiss is my favorite character, I do try to understand what all the varieties of her glyphs do, and black does stupefy me a little since in Vol. 3 Ch. 1, it looks like Weiss' black glyphs helped her kick what's-his-face across the arena unless they were actually there to stop her from flying after him.

What Could've Been Better: Now, despite the fact that I was excited to see a new Grimm, it is a bug Grimm. What's wrong with that? Well, tell me: what's the lamest type of Pokémon? Bug, right? I rest my case. Another problem is that the Lancers that hooked the Atlesian airship didn't try to pull the airship apart like they did to the ones from Anima. Why? It could be because the Atlesian one is made of metal, but I suspect it was actually because of plot armor. If the Lancers could pull the hull of an airship apart, and they can hook into metal, they should have been able to tear the Atlesian airship apart. Also, that part where Weiss used an avalanche to kill the Lancers was stupid. I was hoping for something more like out of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I was hoping the islands would move together or not all the Lancers could squeeze into the space and kill themselves. That would've been cooler. And my last problem with this scene was that Weiss extracted the Dust from the cartridges before loading them into Myrtenaster. Why is that a problem? Because it's inefficient. It would make more sense to load the cartridges straight into her sword. Now, maybe they were rifle cartridges and Weiss had to separate the Dust from the projectiles, but I don't think that's what happened in this scene. And how exactly does the hammer on Myrtenaster trigger the Dust without a primer attached to it? It could be that the hammer pushes the Dust into a small recess that then allows it to flow down along a hollow channel in the blade, but without ever seeing what the other end of the hammer looks like, who really knows.

Questions/Insights: This scene didn't offer any insights, but it did provoke a question out of me: why was the cargo ship unofficially carrying Dust? The pilot said he wasn't officially carrying Dust, but in actuality, he was. Why is that the case? Is he a smuggler? Does he actually work for Raven and her bandits and he was delivering Dust to them? I mean, why else would he have all that Dust and be on his way to Anima? Unless the original plan was to go to Mistral, but he seemed awfully committed to making it to that shore/beach. I think he was on Raven's payroll.

Scene 3: White Fang Betrayal

What I Liked: Despite the fact that I don't have much respect for bad guys regardless of who they are, it was interesting to see Hazel trying to reassure Sienna and then later tell Adam that no one needed to die. He also seemed a lot more charming and talkative than he did when he was at Salem's evil council in Vol. 4. Maybe he doesn't much care for Salem, but I did enjoy his honesty, boldness, charm, and aversion to murder. I also liked how Sienna saw the White Fang attack on Beacon for what it actually was: a failure and good reason for humans to hunt down the White Fang with prejudice rather than a successful campaign. I actually quite liked Sienna because she believed in a sensible use and show of force rather than an all-out war, and I sincerely hope Sienna somehow comes back from the dead to rip off Adam's face.

I also enjoyed how Hazel now doesn't seem to be willing to trust Adam. Perhaps Adam's fall will come sooner than later since he's not being completely honest with Hazel.

What Could've Been Better: Adam's obvious hubris is obvious. It's pretty clear that while he may be popular, with him at the helm of the White Fang, they may be a lot more dangerous, but I agree with Sienna, the White Fang cannot win a war against humanity and especially not when most Faunus would fight against the White Fang. So, it's pretty obvious Adam has set himself on the road to ruin. Not to mention, everyone saw his plan to kill Sienna from a mile away. He had no reason to climb those stairs other than to kill her. Sienna should've been suspicious. Also, I don't care for his new clothes. Some in my RWBY FB group have suggested that he looks a bit like a Sith now, and while that is true, to me he looks like a lowly Sith warrior, not a Dark Lord of the Sith. Or at the very least, he doesn't look like a leader anymore like he did when he had his Yakuza suit. He just looks like a punk or a sh*tlord now instead of a cool guy. (I mean, he wasn't actually cool, but he did look like it.)

Questions/Insights: I only picked up on one insight in this scene and that was the fact that the leader of the White Fang is called "High Leader." I don't know about the rest of you, but I get a Nazi "der Fuhrer" vibe off that title. I mean, "Fuhrer" does mean "leader," and Hitler was called "Der Fuhrer," or rather, "The Leader." That's not too much of a jump from "High Leader." Makes one think the White Fang is about to start taking inspiration from Nazi Germany.

Scene 4: Raven Returns

What I Liked: The only thing I liked about this short scene is that Weiss ran into Raven. Why do I like that? Well, remember, Yang is out looking for Raven which means there's a good chance Yang will find Weiss, too, and we get that much closer to team RWBY reuniting. Add to that, if you remember in my last critique post, I mentioned how everyone seems to know who Raven is and that she's Yang's mother. So, I do wonder if Weiss knows as well. It does seem like Raven knows who Weiss is, but does she know that Weiss is on Yang's team?

What Could've Been Better: Do you remember how last time I criticized the fact that with Chapter 1 we had now seen most of the scenes from the Vol. 5 trailer? Well, now we've seen all of them. Which brings back all those questions I asked last time: are there going to be more trailers, is all the really important stuff only in first two chapters, or is the rest of Vol. 5 going to be packed with revelation after revelation? Doesn't really matter what ends up happening--it'll still be interesting to see, but I'm really hoping it's either the first one or the last one.

Questions/Insights: All questions are above.

Review:

So, what did I think of it overall? Well, when I first saw it, I liked it better than Chapter 1. But after doing the critique, I felt negative about it. Now, on the eve of the release of this post, I feel sort of ambivalent. I mean, I love the new information and the hints that are dropped, but the presentation needs a little work. So... yeah.

Anyway, that felt fairly organic, so I think I'm going to follow the same format hereon out for the rest of Volume 5. So, expect the next critique and review of Chapter 3 next Thursday. Also, I'll be bringing back the edited versions of RWBY: The Novelization this Friday. So, until next time...

Keep writing, my friends.

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RWBY: The Top 10 Reasons Why Yang Should Be Your Favorite Character

Hey, everyone.

So to finish up my Top 10 Reasons Why This-Character Should Be Your Favorite series, we have the last member of Team RWBY, our sunny, little dragon, Yang Xiao Long. Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for their help in making this list. If you want to join RWBY Wonderland, click this link: https://www.facebook.com/rwbywonderland/. And, if you guys want to make sure you don't miss the next series of RWBY posts, subscribe to my RWBY mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. But if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch.

Alright, then. Let's finish this bitch.



"Yang? Is that you?"

1. "Oh! I'm so proud of my baby sister!"

Yang and Ruby make for interesting siblings. Their proportions are different, their weapons are different, their hair is different, hell, they don't even have the same last name. But despite these differences, Yang still looks out for Ruby with great enthusiasm and she's been doing so for a long time. While we aren't told exactly when, I would estimate that it has been somewhere between 10 to 12 years ago (since Volume 1) when Summer was killed. This effectively cemented Ruby and Yang together as they no longer had a mother to rely on. With Yang being the older and likely feeling guilty for nearly getting the both of them killed, it's apt to say that Yang has practically become a surrogate mother to Ruby.

Something that struck me the other day was that it's never mentioned why Yang thinks it's the best day ever that Ruby gets to go with her to Beacon. Most older siblings would be annoyed if their little brother or sister got moved so far ahead that they ended up going to school together. But not Yang--she's super excited about it. We could assume it's because Yang just has that upbeat of a personality, but it's more likely Yang is relieved that she won't have to leave Ruby behind to fend for herself. I mean, do you remember in Players and Pieces where the Nevermore filled the battlefield with its quills? Do you remember how Yang rushed to help Ruby, and then the tight hug she gave Ruby after Weiss saved her from the Deathstalker? Yang hugs Ruby a lot in Volume 1. Then there's the part in The Shining Beacon where Ruby mentions that Yang used to read to Ruby every night before bed, an activity that is usually performed by a parent.

Another strange thought I had was that because Ruby is so much like Summer and Summer was the only mother Yang ever knew, and so by cherishing Ruby the way she does, Yang is holding onto and cherishing the memory of Summer. No longer able to love her mother, Yang turns to her baby sister and makes sure to love Ruby the way Summer deserved. Hence, Yang becomes the over-doting big sister.

"Please, stop..."

2. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about and who care about you."

Monty had an interesting idea behind introducing the characters of RWBY. It was his intention to make them all look like stock, one-dimensional characters, and then as the show went on, to fill them out. Not many writers have the balls to do that since most readers, editors, and publishers won't even give a writer the time to set something up like that. Once they look stock, no one thinks to read on or care about what happens to them in the story.

When we're introduced to Yang, she's supposed to come off as the super extraverted, quintessential party girl. Always looking for fun and always on the move. But Yang is more than that. She deeply cares about her friends and family, and their relationships are very important to her. Remember when she started crying in Destiny when she thought Blake didn't believe her for being attacked by Mercury? Yeah, a skin-deep, party girl wouldn't do that. A party girl also wouldn't have a never-ending search for the mother she never knew. While Yang could have lived her life as she saw fit and think of Raven as dead to her, she doesn't. Yang genuinely cares about her friends and family, and she feels the sting of rejection or disbelief quite deeply. All of which will make Yang and Blake's reunion very interesting to see.

3. "Wait! Yang! Is she alright?"
"Uh... She's uh... She's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just going to take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her."

Yang is a strong girl. Physically, but also mentally. She has such a strong will that you could call her stubborn, such as in her fight against Neo. And while Yang did take some time getting used to only having one arm, she didn't let it interfere with her day-to-day to life, and she hated how her incident with Adam left her with PTSD. Not wanting to be pitied or looked after by Tai, she took a chance on the prosthetic arm from Atlas in an attempt to re-forge her life and achieve a degree of normality that was more normal than being without it. Something I've mentioned elsewhere is that a good indication of Yang's inner state is her hair since it's so important to her and her vision of self. When it was tied up, so was she. But when her hair flows freely, that's when she's ready to burn brighter than everyone else.

4. "Yes, Junior. I have several. But instead of 'sweetheart,' you can just call me 'sir!'"

You ever seen Persona 4: The Animation? Do you remember the scene where Yu and Yosuke are sharing a tent with Kanji and he gets irritated with them for thinking he's gay, so he declares he's going to go sleep with the girls since they had more balls than them? Yeah, Yang is one of those girls that Yu referred to when he said, "For some girls, that is true."

Whether you call it balls, confidence, daredeviltry, or brash, Yang isn't afraid of doing what needs to be done in order to achieve her objective. She'll grab a guy by the balls, she'll destroy his club, she openly declares that she'll be turning heads, and she'll put herself at risk to help her friends. Of course, though, if Yang can have fun while doing it, she's going to. Let's not forget how she giggled after being launched off the cliff in The First Step.

Yang's favorite ballet is the Nutcracker.
(Is it true that Barbara actually grabbed Jack's balls once?)

5. "You're Yang Xiao Long. My sunny, little dragon."

Whenever we see Yang, we usually see her smiling and having fun. She's very positive and upbeat, and very few things get to her. In fact, it's unusual to see her bothered by something or even hurting. When she was bested by Neo, lost to Adam, and Blake didn't believe her or worse, ran away, those were all difficult moments for her. She's not one to sweat the small stuff. She can even take a jab thrown her way about her arm and her hair. Yang is emotionally resilient, and she can almost always find a reason to smile.

I need a better system than Print Screen.

6. Bumblebee

Did you honestly think I was talking about the ship? Well, if you read the Top 10 Reasons Why Blake Should Be Your Favorite Character you wouldn't have. (Maybe I'll do a blog post on why I hate the ship so much and why it's actually a terrible idea.)

But, anyway, Yang's got a bike. And bikes are pretty cool. While I may not like bikers for their impetuous attitudes, I find it difficult to squash my desire for a motorcycle. I have fond memories of being a kid and zipping around my neighbor on my bike. What could be better than strapping 1000 CC's of power to that experience. And so, just like with Ruby and scythes, the cool factor of Bumblebee helps make Yang cool(er). And as far as we've seen, she's a safe and responsible driver, but very capable and skilled when the time comes. Which is more than we can say for the Fake AH Crew and their talents on bikes. (To be fair though, most of those blunders are Gavin.)

7. This Porridge Is Too Cold

Just like how Ruby is a great interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, Yang is a great interpretation of Goldilocks. In fact, I'd say Yang is a huge improvement on the original. For one, she isn't a stupid kid who committed a B&E, raided someone else's food, messed up the ass grooves on their favorite chairs, and then invited herself over for a slumber party. And the only notable thing about Goldilocks was that she was a dumb blonde and a criminal. Yang's neither of those things, and her hair has more meaning to who she is than just a color. Still though, I'd love a direct reference or joke back to Goldilocks in RWBY. The scene where she killed a couple of Ursas isn't enough.

8. "Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night."

Well, I told you all it was coming, and here it is: Yang is the sexiest member of Team RWBY and possibly the whole show. Which is a bold statement considering Yang has some pretty stiff competition from the likes of Neo and Emerald. Hell, even Glynda has a number of very committed fans. But for me, the victor is Yang, and it's not just because of two very large and obvious reasons. She's got a great ass, too! No, I kid. Although it did look good in the Yellow Trailer. But the reason why I saw Yang is the sexiest character is because she has both a banging body and a fun personality. Everyone wants to have fun and we all prefer to be around pretty things rather than ugly, so that instantly makes Yang a winner across the board. True, my RWBY waifu is probably Weiss and Ruby is the most adorable, but who wouldn't want to at the very least date Yang? It'd be a good time.

Did you know that Monty based Yang's dress off one
Marilyn Monroe wore?

9. Dumbass: I'm a master of Karate! Hi-ya!
Smartass: I'm a master of Ka-chuk.
Dumbass: What's Ka-chuck?
Smartass: *Pulls out a shotgun and pumps it*

The Ember Celica. Who in their right mind would strap a shotgun to a gauntlet? I criticize, but just like combining a rifle with a scythe, it's actually a great idea. It combines a long range weapon with a short range one, and who wouldn't want to attach a shotgun to a gauntlet. I'm pretty sure a lot of people think the hidden blade from Assassin's Creed is one of the coolest things ever, so why not attach a shotgun to a gauntlet? Never mind the fact you're strapping a shotgun's recoil straight to your arm. But, hey, if we're going to get that picky, we're going to have to dismantle every weapon in RWBY. So let's just enjoy the Ember Celica as it is and imagine ourselves punching someone we really don't like with them.

10. "With each hit, she gets stronger. And she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special."

Yang's semblance. The ability to take damage and then dish it back twice as hard. It's a pretty good one. Admittedly, it has some flaws and Yang isn't always strong enough to take the hit, but come on, she's a friggin' Super Saiyan! And what's more, she's a female Super Saiyan. There aren't any of those in DBZ, and if Yang could fire a Kamehameha (my autocorrect recognizes Kamehameha but not saiyan), it'd be the hypest shit. In fact, I'm kind of surprised no one has done any art of Yang using the Kamehameha. (Fan artists! Don't let me down!)

But anyway, we've all had those moments when we get so pissed, we give people that "You're so dead" face and we want the vehemence of our anger to be reflected in how hard we hit them. There'd probably be a lot fewer trolls if that was true. Too bad we aren't all Super Saiyans, but at least Yang is.

"Oh! Looks like Yang is angry. And you wouldn't like her when she's... upset."

And there you have it. The Top 10 Reasons why Yang should be your favorite character. It you guys think I missed any, go ahead and add them in the comments below.

Keep writing, my friends.


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