#so so incredibly humbled by the work of crwby

[its-a-branwen-thing]

And we’re done another breathtaking season! What a ton to unpack. Some quick thoughts below the cut:

Penny is a maiden! She’s so pure and she deserves it so much. I feel like having a maiden on their side will do a lot to help the team out. I love that it ties into her Pinocchio allusion of becoming a “real girl.” Also aura being gender less until chosen upon but the body that it occupies said YES.

Winter with her hair down was *chefs kiss*. Also, she held her own against a maiden. Sister’s got some wicked moves. I loved the entire fight with her and Cinder and Penny. It really solidified Penny’s resolve to save people and definitely mad her acquiring the maiden powers feel much more lovely and earned. The aerial battle was stunning. And her small exchange with Weiss? I see these two next season, and I cannot wait for what will develop. Winter is loyal to Ironwood still. Weiss is not. And Whitley and their mother are still at the manor, presumably. How will this family saga play out? AHHHH!!

Also, we all agree Freya is the blue fairy? And I love that they gave her some agency at the end. She willingly transferred her powers to Penny even though Winter is the one she’s seen the most. Shows how you can’t buy trust you have to earn it.

RWBY did not do much this episode, really. Outside of Ruby herself who silver-eyed Cinder. I liked that detail of having her being unable to unlock it during the megoliath fight but to really use it here, where it mattered (not that the megoliath didn’t matter but...you know what I mean).

OSCAR AND OZPIN. Wow are these two something. I loved Ozpin’s return and I thought his fall from Atlas was visually breathtaking. Amazing job, CRWBY. His speech on fear left me with feelings. I’m so excited to see where his next arc takes him, being separated from the group and all. I also loved that he didn’t fight Ironwood. He totally tried to reason with him. And Ironwood shot first. And everyone’s been pointing out that you can see the moment Ironwood lost his “heart” by the light fading from his eyes. (Aside from, you know, shooting a child?!) I wonder how he and Winter and the remaining Ace Ops will fair next season? What a climax for them. Also Ozpin’s unlocking of his magic again? (I thought it was Oscar’s semblance at first but it does bear striking similarities to Ozpin’s defense bubble in V3). That was stellar! Now he’s down on the ground and he’ll have to regroup, Ozpin in tow, with the rest of the team.

Neo’s fight with JNR was underwhelming only in that...it didn’t seem to have as much at stake? I loved the fight but the character dynamics of it were just not as harrowing as Cinder v Penny & Winter. But I loved the details of her fighting! She’s a great fighter and she ultimately succeeded in her goal in the end. She got the relic and gave it to Cinder so now Salem has a relic and a maiden, and so do our heroes. The issue is Salem’s faction is united and Oz’s is not. There’s a maiden on one side (RWBY+) and a relic on the other (Ironwood+). Also, Ren crying at fighting Nora didn’t feel necessarily like he was crying because it was her and he couldn’t bear to hurt her but because he’s conflicted about what that means for himself. If he can’t fight because of love, won’t they lose? I like Ren’s arc with Nora extending into the next volume. His last line was what we were all thinking but still, our heroes secured a win with their safety and their (somewhat) unity.

Cinder’s commitment this season is 100%. I have to say, this episode felt absolutely more cinematic than the others. It felt like we won, like we lost, and so much more. It felt heroic and triumphant while at the same time seemingly hopeless. I loved it to death. And Cinder’s line delivery was amazing. i love how desperate she was. I love the constant reference to hunger (which she also made of the maiden powers when they were split with her in V3. She said she liked the feeling). Hate Cinder but also now love her. Merc, Hazel, and Em have to be here with Salem too, right? How is her reunion with Emerald going to go? I’m totally invested in their dynamic and now, with the lamp in their possession, how that might work with Emerald’s character being an obvious allusion to Aladdin (I think)? Lamp, genie, Aladdin, one question left? Let’s do this!

WATTS IS ALIVE! Wow, I did not call that. I mean, maybe I should have? Super glad for it though! he’s a great villain. Anyway, what a comfy prison cell?

Qrow was far more apathetic this episode than I thought he would be after the delivery of the last line of the E12. But I loved it because it really made it seem like he’s healing. And I loved Robyn’s support at the end as a subtle reminder that he’s not alone. I predicted them taking Qrow down a dark path in V8 but I feel like I couldn’t be farther from the truth. He had Clover’s pin (which hurt) but he didn’t seem angry. He seemed sad. And sadness is better than anger, it means he’s likely going to get past blaming himself and have a new arc within prison Atlas. Definitely want him to fight with Robyn and the Happy Huntresses and eventually face Tyrian again. I also predict he’ll have a confrontation with Ironwood. He keeps calling him James and Ironwood said this episode only friends refer to him as James, you can call me Daddy General which also feels like a confirmation of his full antagonist status for the audience as well. He isn’t a friend anymore. Also maybe Winter and Qrow interactions again? I’ve discarded my shipping goggles for all these cases so i just hope for conversations of whatever nature the writers want.

And now--Salem. What an appearance. She really did come to Atlas! And on a wailord whale nonetheless! I feel like it’s big enough that she could literally just knock Atlas out of the sky? How are they going to reconcile that? It’s not like she can just lay siege, she’s got a Grimm big enough to like body slam the city of Mantle. I wonder how this is going to go? I always through they’d face Salem on the dark continent towards the end of the series but this is a stunning conclusion to her V6 stinger, visually and story-wise. How are Ironwood’s forces going to fend her off? What is her plan? I wonder if she is going to capture Atlas and Mantle’s going to have to be the one to free their “city in the sky” from the tyranny of the Grimm Queen Salem? I would speculate on our heroes heading away to Vacuo or such, to get word out, which might be something they’re going to send someone to do so we can have a Gandolf arriving at Helm’s Deep type situation when Vacuo’s forces arrive, but that seems wrong as Oscar asks how they can save Atlas, and I’m sure our heroes are thinking the same thing.

Okay, I’ve loved RWBY since I first watched it back in 2014, but I have to say this is the first time the show has felt like a blockbuster. Maybe it’s because I’m listening to the Divergent soundtrack rn, but I feel like this whole series has evolved and grown so much and the amount of love and energy and time and passion has been given is felt. It’s wonderful to see. It’s great that Monty’s amazing legacy is carrying onward. I’m so excited to be on this journey with the creators and other fans--what a ride, guys! Onward to the hiatus and the eventual release of the V7 soundtrack V8!

#rwby #rwby quick review #rwby 7 #what an amazing finale! #im going to write about this for weeks my dudes #so so incredibly humbled by the work of crwby #rwby spoilers

[rerwby]

RWBY Volume 4 Commentary Play-by-Play

Chapter 1:

Kerry talks about how each episode had a ‘fuck you’ shot, which is a particular shot that was difficult to create across all departments.

I’d say the whole volume was a fuck-you shot to the fans but

In a little conversation about how much they’ve planned in the show, Kerry talks about how they’ve actually been hanging on to team WTCH (Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Hazel) since the beginning.

I’m leaning towards believing this since Salem was one of the first things conceived for the show, so her team would follow. Makes you wonder if Miles was always gonna have his “crazy” Tyrian though or if that came later.

I doubt it because I don’t believe Monty would make characters as boring as Hazel and Watts right from the start.

Regarding Oscar and his story this volume, Miles and Kerry had more rewrites with him than with anything else in RWBY, trying to figure out the right way to present it. At one point, Oscar’s first major scene was going to be in chapter 7, instead of 4.

Yeah it’s not breaking news to say that they did the opposite of what would be a good idea.

Mentioned in the commentary, but in more detail in the special features, is the fact that CRWBY had a rough start to the volume due to the new production pipeline, which continued for several episodes.

According to Miles, the Petra Gigas was originally supposed to appear in the Emerald Forest during Volume 1. It was supposed to be a part of the giant nevermore/deathstalker fight, as was a giant Bourbatusk.

Wondering how they would have fit 4 whole monsters in that fight, but I guess that’s why they ended up splitting two bad guys between teams instead.

On that note, they talk about how incredibly different the original 4 episodes of Volume 1 were compared to what we got, and that Fennec and Corsac were originally Volume 1 villains.

Just saying that I believe this. They said that Roman originally played a smaller part in Volume 1? How was this possible? Insert more villains.

On the origin of the Geist, Kerry talks about how, at the time Monty was working on the White trailer, he and Miles were thinking of ways for it to make sense, and came up with the idea of a poltergeist Grimm. They say that particular Geist is called an Armor Gigas.

So Weiss fought a Grimm in her trailer it turns out. Idk how to feel about that. In a way it makes sense because, as we’ve seen with Winter’s summons, the Schnee summons are light versions of Grimm. It makes little sense though when you consider that the Geist inhabits inanimate things and therefore the armor isn’t a natural feature of the Grimm.

The crown on Jaune’s shield was first inserted by layout artist Rachel Doda when creating the storyboards. Kerry thought it was a perfect touch and decided to include it in the official design.

Iunno what fatal flaw to focus on here. Is it how this makes it sound like Jaune’s god damn weapon model design was THAT important that Kerry noticed? That it implies melting Pyrrha’s armor down was a last-minute thought? That the plot hole of Pyrrha fucking disintegrating and therefore leaving no armor or cape for Jaune was made entirely because Kerry liked how a shield looked?

Chapter 2:

In regards to the infamous map, Kerry mentions that in one version of the script, RNJR was going to lose the map in a fight of some sort. A similar was also supposed to happen in Chapter 6 involving Tyrian, but decided against it because of how busy CRWBY already was.

So instead of losing it for a reason they just lose it for the sake of it. Cool.

According to Miles, Jaques is loosely based on Jack Frost, something they try to hint at in the way he keeps his study.

The name kind of gave it away without any other hints.

Kerry says that writing the final scene of chapter 2 was the first time he cried while writing. Likewise, Miles said he lost his shit while performing mocap for the scene. Apparently everyone who worked on it had a pretty strong emotional reaction to this scene.

 Wow. The people working on this show were seriously so disillusioned that they thought Pyrrha’s relationship with Jaune earned that kind of reaction. Not even gonna mention how the existence of the recording makes no sense, especially since Pyrrha signs off on it. Why would she do that on a generic fighting guide. I can’t believe how attached these people were to the Alpha Hets.

Chapter 3:

On the topic of writing RWBY with multiple different storylines all taking place at the same time, Miles called it a ‘scary experiment’ but is happy overall with how it turned out.

I can’t say anything more than what’s been said on this.

I also have nothing to say on the technical stuff. I’m really not versed enough in it.

Miles talks about how they tried to have Salem feel a bit motherly, and not overly cruel, because she’s “better than that” and that she has a certain way of talking to each of her lieutenants.

She seemed pretty cruel to me lol. They need to have Salem do more before they announce these kinds of intentions, because now they’ve just given us a preconceived notion and they won’t have to write it that way.

Chapter 4:

Apparently Yang’s eye color was decided because of Taiyang’s and Raven’s eye colors. Red and Blue making purple.

This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever read.

Burnie is apparently very invested in voicing Taiyang, and takes it very seriously. He would go over the script with Miles and Kerry before recording sessions and they talk about how Burnie will listen to Yang’s lines and efforts, and try and make Taiyang’s similar, as a way of representing how Yang was influenced by her Father. It’s also mentioned that Joel is similar when it comes to portraying Oobleck.

Wow! Joel and Burnie, two voice acting veterans who formed RT, are invested in their roles? Don’t get too shocked by actors who actually try, guys!

When it came to naming all the villages in Anima, they wanted to keep the theme of Mistral being heavily inspired by Eastern influences, so they named villages after the Japanese names for certain flowers.

Blah blah magical mystical Asia land

Originally, the inn and the pub were the same building, but were separated when they couldn’t figure out how to fit Raven into the scene.

Can you imagine if we had to see RNJR somehow not notice Qrow like twenty feet away from them? Thank god he sat in that pub across the street.

Chapter 5:

Miles says he cried while writing Blake’s reunion with her parents, and that the Belladonna’s are some of his favorite characters.

I mean iunno that scene didn’t scream emotional to me but I also have daddy issues so

Fennec and Corsac, as mentioned earlier, were characters originally conceived pre Volume 1, being the 2nd and 3rd Faunus thought about after Blake.

Makes you wonder if by the time of their conception, Faunus were a thing or if Monty was just making up furry OC’s.

Chapter 6:

In the charity scene, Koen says that there are around 100 different, unique people in the room, each with differing clothing.

Jfc guys went kinda overboard there. Didn’t look like 100+ when I watched it.

When describing Henry Marigold to concept artist Erin Winn, Kerry told her to draw a ‘posery, imposter Neptune’.

That’s about what I guessed yep. Now is there a reason for it to be Neptune? To show that Weiss grew past her affection towards him? Or because it was the first person who came to mind? Who knows.

Tyrian’s jacket, despite being one of Kerry’s favorite design aspects, was a real hassle for the animators and the rigging team, so much so that he was animated without his jacket on, and then would add it afterwards.

I remember when capes were in Kingdom Hearts. Then they realized they were too much work so they removed them to avoid continuity errors and such. It was a smart and humble move, because the capes looked cool. I guess Tyrian’s jacket was just really that awesome though.

Chapter 7:

The original plan with Ozpin was to not reveal him as having anything to do with Oscar until the very end of the Volume.

Just gonna keep reminding us of that huh guys?

This episode was the first time proper reflections were used in a mirror in any Rooster Teeth production. Before they would simply fake it.

well that is a legitimately very interesting fact

When it came to Tyrian swearing, some thought went into whether they could get around it, originally having him say witch instead. Ultimately, Miles and Kerry decided it was the right time for things to get a bit more mature.

Best decision they ever made, thank god.

I love the idea of Miles being all modest and going “ah yes time to be mature.”

Chapter 8:

Miles says the whole campfire scene was probably the most difficult thing in the Volume to write, simply due to how much they needed to cover. Also, Kerry says more people worked on this scene than any other in the Volume.

The RWBY writers struggling with exposition?

The two brothers was Miles’ idea, and his first major contribution to the series, obviously one of the first parts of the show that was conceived.

And it was made known that Miles conceived one of the worst parts of the entire story. And he just copied it from a Grimm Tale.

Miles was the one who wrote the majority of Blake scenes in Volume 4. When she’s slapping Sun, Miles only intended it to be soft slaps on the shoulder, so he was quite surprised by the end result.

 Isn’t this why you, like, direct your scenes? To avoid miscommunication like that?

Chapter 9:

Apparently there were several colour combinations the were tried with Ilia that “did not work”.

Apparently the animation crew’s passion is graphic design.

All the patches of mud on the ground were originally water puddles, but Kerry forgot that while the scene was being animated.

Again, directing.

Chapter 10:

In the scene with Nora being bullied, Miles jokes about that if you feel bad about it, those other kids likely died the next day. To follow that up, Kerry then mentions that they actually considered to have one of those kids lying face down on the ground in the background during the attack. Damn.

Idk how to feel about this but it is kind of disturbing that Miles would be so quick to make that joke.

According to Miles, they actually described Ren’s father in the script as “A handsome Hanzo looking motherfucker”.

guessed everyone who knows of overwatch’s existence

One of the ideas they had that didn’t make it into the episode involved Ren’s father going to see the mayor. Since he’s a hunter, and he had just returned from a hunt, Li was going to talk to the mayor about how they didn’t find any animals and it was almost as if they had been spooked away, and that they should get a Huntsman to come and investigate.

That probably would have made some sense.

According to Kerry, Jaune and Ruby’s moment was originally going to end with them hugging, but was cut due to time and Kerry not wanting people to “worry”.

So Lancaster gets shot down completely, cool. Cool thing of a creator to do. How dare we imply Ruby and Jaune are close after all they’ve been through.

Chapter 11:

Recording Tyrian’s efforts in this episode was a ton of fun according to Miles.

Yeah I bet Miles loved Tyrian.

Kerry’s “proudest accomplishment of this Volume” was having the photo of Whitely on Jacques’ desk be face down after Ironwood slams down on it.

Cool?

Kerry talks about Sun’s abs (as you do) and actually reveals that, contrary to popular belief, they didn’t remove them, but instead Sun’s model was made to be more muscular and they would be picked up by lighting and shadows instead.

Pretty sure Sun’s torso is a tube with the new models.

Chapter 12:

When talking about the fight, it’s mentioned there were several different versions of it. They don’t go into detail, but Kerry does mention that Qrow was originally supposed to do something, but Miles reminds him it’s something they can’t talk about.

God, what is left for Qrow to reveal? We got his weapon’s forms, his Semblance, his transforming thing, what else? Tbh my bet’s on Ozpin’s cane. They planned for him to use the cane but decided against it because of their artifact bullshit.

#rwde