RWBY Thread III: Time To Say Goodbye

Stop: So gotta few things that need to be said real quick.
so gotta few things that need to be said real quick.
We get a lot of reports from this thread. A lot of it is just a series of people yelling at each other over arguments that have been rehashed hundreds of times since the end of the recent Volume. And I get that the last Volume - and RWBY in general, really - has some controversial moments that people will want to discuss, argue about, debate, etc.

That's fine. We're not going to stop people from doing that, because that's literally what the point of the thread is. However, there's just a point where it gets to be a bit too much, and arguments about whether or not Ironwood was morally justified in his actions in the recent Volume, or if RWBY and her team were in the right for withholding information from Ironwood out of distrust, or whatever flavor of argument of the day descend into insulting other posters, expressing a demeaning attitude towards other's opinions, and just being overall unpleasant. That tends to happen a lot in this thread. We want it to stop happening in this thread.

So! As of now the thread is in a higher state of moderation. What that means is that any future infractions will result in a weeklong boot from the thread, and repeated offenders will likely be permanently removed. So please, everyone endeavor to actually respect the other's arguments, and even if you strongly disagree with them please stay civil and mindful when it comes to responding to others.

In addition, users should refrain from talking about off-site users in the thread. Bear in mind that this does not mean that you cannot continue to post tumblr posts, for example, that add onto the discussion in the thread, with the caveat that it's related to RWBY of course. But any objections to offsite users in the thread should be handled via PM, or they'll be treated as thread violations and infracted as such.
 
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How would y'all rank/rate the volumes so far? (Obviously volume 6 will be tentative for all of us since it has the potential to plunge in quality or soar to new heights)

I would go for:

3 > 6 > 2 > 1 = 4 >>> 5

3 was amazing the greatest RWBY can ever hope to be, everything was good.

6 so far is very good and may even live up to 3, seems to be losing steam which is a shame because its highs (episodes 1, 3, 5 and 6) make volume 3 proud.

2 was very good, basically volume one 2.0 and how the series should've been from the beginning

1 and 4 were palatable with seperate flaws imo. 4 had too much focus on boring nonsense which made most of the volume a 5/10 but the 4 action scenes were really good and elevate it.

Volume 1 is kinda crap outside the fights, designs and humor. But that's like everything that was in the volume, everything else is stuff that the volume lacked. (Better to have no plot than a bad plot, at least as far as my ratings and enjoyment go)

and volume 5 is one of the worst fictional things I've ever experienced.
 
3 was likely the best, but I actually really liked most of 4. It was the first time that RWBY actually seemed to be about more than just fight scenes and high school nonsense. There were moments of actually profound emotional impact. The follow up in 5 balls that up really good, but at least it finished strong. I also don't remember much from 1 or 2 beyond the broad strokes of the plot so I can't really comment on them.
 
I think the reason they wanted to avoid a cliffhanger was that they wanted to have a time skip at the start of the next season and it'd be easier to pull that off without having to do the second half of the Fall of Beacon to start off. Plus the emotional core of the FoB is the sheer amount of loss that the characters go through. Having the major deaths, Yang losing an arm, and team RWBY splitting up being followed next week or the week after with a new episode that carries right on going mutes that response.

I wish they'd have cut all that junk from the last episode of volume 3 and used it to extend adam vs Blake and yang and cinder vs. Ozpin, we didn't need to waste so much of the last episode on stuff that doesn't matter (silver eyes exposition that's irrelevant for years, a main villain who has done nothing for years, etc.)

As for Adam, while I don't think his character is given enough credit by people as a dangerous threat it's also not a good thing to make him out to be cool. A character like Adam is ripe for being made into a Draco in Leather Pants by a fandom (just look at Kylo Ren) so giving him too many cool moments risks making him too appealing to the fans. So while Adam is portrayed as dangerous I've yet to see anyone treat him as cool because of it, while I'd be damn certain that if he had a bunch of fight scenes where he just kicked the crap out of people every other fanfic in the RWBY fandom would be about his redemption and hooking up with most of the cast.

Adam is supposed to be cool. He's a villain in a fantasy action show, villains tend to be hella popular when they're good (see: roman and neo)

All of the characters are supposed to be appealing and compelling, even the villains. Just in a different way than the heroes.
 
Adam is supposed to be cool. He's a villain in a fantasy action show, villains tend to be hella popular when they're good (see: roman and neo)

All of the characters are supposed to be appealing and compelling, even the villains. Just in a different way than the heroes.
Adam is very compelling, but not in any way that makes him someone people want to be around. The ideal villain is one that you like to see but would prefer to have an inch of bulletproof glass between if you were to meet in real life. I think RT has done a great job at making Adam a dangerous villain without making a bunch of fans wants to be around the sociopathic, racist, domestic abuser. I mean to draw an obvious parallel, people write smutty fics about Ramsey Bolton of all people, while I've seen almost nothing in that vein for Adam.
 
Adam is supposed to be cool. He's a villain in a fantasy action show, villains tend to be hella popular when they're good (see: roman and neo)

All of the characters are supposed to be appealing and compelling, even the villains. Just in a different way than the heroes.
Why would one want a child grooming abuser and backstabbing mass murderer to be cool and appealing though?
I mean to draw an obvious parallel, people write smutty fics about Ramsey Bolton of all people, while I've seen almost nothing in that vein for Adam.
Adam has a bit of a fan base like that with a straight up blog called Adam did nothing wrong that is sadly not a joke and fans who defend him stabbing Blake and chopping off Yang's arms as "They attacked him first" ETC, but it isn't as omnipresent as Draco In Leather Pants was and became less popular after V3. Though I still see notes & tags going "Fuck V3 Adam!' and insisting the guy we were introduced to as a mass murdering liar was totally morally grey before V3.

For reference I do get where some critique is coming from, IE having the face of the none passive resistance to bigotry be a child grooming abusive murderer is problematic, but accepting that, that is kinda of problematic isn't the same as agreeing there was ever any hint of moral greyness or goodness to him as a person that wasn't HC.
 
Why would one want a child grooming abuser and backstabbing mass murderer to be cool and appealing though?
Adam has a bit of a fan base like that with a straight up blog called Adam did nothing wrong that is sadly not a joke and fans who defend him stabbing Blake and chopping off Yang's arms as "They attacked him first" ETC, but it isn't as omnipresent as Draco In Leather Pants was and became less popular after V3. Though I still see notes & tags going "Fuck V3 Adam!' and insisting the guy we were introduced to as a mass murdering liar was totally morally grey before V3.

For reference I do get where some critique is coming from, IE having the face of the none passive resistance to bigotry be a child grooming abusive murderer is problematic, but accepting that, that is kinda of problematic isn't the same as agreeing there was ever any hint of moral greyness or goodness to him as a person that wasn't HC.
...Did Adam groom Blake? I only ask because we don't actually know how old he is or when he met Blake.
 
...Did Adam groom Blake? I only ask because we don't actually know how old he is or when he met Blake.
We don't know for sure, but Blake would have been 12 at most when the WF became violent and she left her parents, Adam was her mentor, commanding officer, idol and partner all at once and they were in an abusive relationship before the series started so I would argue he did. Especially as he was clearly high ranking and an adult before the shift happened.

I know someone will jump on Ilia in a background shot in the trailer looking like canon and while I don't think it was a good choice to not model a new Ilia for the scene, I can see why they opted not to make, rig and texture a whole new model just so she could appear in some background shots.

Regardless, the timeline puts Blake at twelve when she left her parents and we know Adam was starting the mask thing before that shift even happened, and served as mentor, ETC so he was presumably, at a minimum 17 and still way, way too old and in far too much of a position of power to later be dating Blake.
 
3 was likely the best, but I actually really liked most of 4. It was the first time that RWBY actually seemed to be about more than just fight scenes and high school nonsense. There were moments of actually profound emotional impact. The follow up in 5 balls that up really good, but at least it finished strong. I also don't remember much from 1 or 2 beyond the broad strokes of the plot so I can't really comment on them.

It's interesting that you mention highschool nonsense. The way most people felt watching the jaune bully arc was how i felt when i got an entire season of: daddy issues weiss, emo blake and depressed yang instead of what i signed on for.

Yang, a trained warrior, mopes around because she lost a fight instead of being productive. A character whose whole thing was anger/passion/action becomes super passive. Yawn.

Weiss enters a situation that ends the only way it was ever going to end or ever could've ended and instead of just leaving immediately she dicks around until her father is mad enough to take her out of the will first. (Did anyone really not see it coming considering that winter got out of the will in the exact same way?)

Blake becomes the most unlikable character in RWBY, abandons her friends to go home to her parents, because they'd never look for you at home, in the faunus country. And your clearly not huntsmen parents are in less danger than your trained fighter friends lmao. Also yeah fuck sun for trying to help you, nevermind that you would be dead without him because of the sea dragon.

Adam is very compelling, but not in any way that makes him someone people want to be around. The ideal villain is one that you like to see but would prefer to have an inch of bulletproof glass between if you were to meet in real life. I think RT has done a great job at making Adam a dangerous villain without making a bunch of fans wants to be around the sociopathic, racist, domestic abuser. I mean to draw an obvious parallel, people write smutty fics about Ramsey Bolton of all people, while I've seen almost nothing in that vein for Adam.

Imo the ideal villain is one you can understand and sympathize with no matter how dark and evil you make them. I see it like a challenge, how screwed up can you make them and still have the audience cry upon their demise

I always liked how Bleach and Naruto could make you feel for the villains.

Although I thought adam and cinder were supposed to be action villains who are supposed to be cool, badass and exciting though, rather than the dramatic kind but the kind of show RWBY is has unfortunately shifted.

Why would one want a child grooming abuser and backstabbing mass murderer to be cool and appealing though?

Welcome to fiction, where genocidal maniacs can become your best friend after a few arcs.

Where a dude who is introduced trying to ritualistically sacrifice a teenaged girl for a dark magic spell that'll gain him ultimate power was so popular that his spinoff show lasted 5 or 6 seasons.

I once saw an anime where in episode 1 or so a terrorist blows up a school full of teenagers mid day to win a competition and by episode 11 or so that same terrorist (who is female btw) is being shipped by the show with the police detective assigned to her case. Believe it or not this isn't even remotely close to the epic levels of karma houdini that she achieves by the end (but the rest is spoilers), it's awesome. She's great.
 
When do they say how old she was when they became violent? I honestly don't remember that.
Everyone save Ruby is 17 when the show starts, Blake explained to Sun that the WF changed five years ago and we know based on her discussion with her parents that when her parents stepped down and went to Menagerie, she stayed with the WF.

Welcome to fiction, where genocidal maniacs can become your best friend after a few arcs.

Where a dude who is introduced trying to ritualistically sacrifice a teenaged girl for a dark magic spell that'll gain him ultimate power was so popular that his spinoff show lasted 5 or 6 seasons.

I once saw an anime where in episode 1 or so a terrorist blows up a school full of teenagers mid day to win a competition and by episode 11 or so that same terrorist (who is female btw) is being shipped by the show with the police detective assigned to her case. Believe it or not this isn't even remotely close to the epic levels of karma houdini that she achieves by the end (but the rest is spoilers), it's awesome. She's great.
You're talking to someone who isn't exactly a big fan of Vegeta and has no idea of what the other example is referencing.

It was more that he's very gross in a real way over the more fantastical "I blew up a planet" way, and is also just generally kinda scummy, underhhanded, smug snake kinda guy at least to me.
 
I'm just gonna drop this hot take for ratings:

1 = 4, both are awkward starting stories, but it's remembered fondly
2 = 5, both are pretty okay but then things went to shit in the end.
3 = 6, both are GOAT with drama all around.
 
It's interesting that you mention highschool nonsense. The way most people felt watching the jaune bully arc was how i felt when i got an entire season of: daddy issues weiss, emo blake and depressed yang instead of what i signed on for.

Yang, a trained warrior, mopes around because she lost a fight instead of being productive. A character whose whole thing was anger/passion/action becomes super passive. Yawn.

Weiss enters a situation that ends the only way it was ever going to end or ever could've ended and instead of just leaving immediately she dicks around until her father is mad enough to take her out of the will first. (Did anyone really not see it coming considering that winter got out of the will in the exact same way?)

Blake becomes the most unlikable character in RWBY, abandons her friends to go home to her parents, because they'd never look for you at home, in the faunus country. And your clearly not huntsmen parents are in less danger than your trained fighter friends lmao. Also yeah fuck sun for trying to help you, nevermind that you would be dead without him because of the sea dragon.
Way to miss every point running and being so dismissive of actual emotional trauma. That's far more interesting than "bunch of kids in a school for Hunters". I went to high school once already, I see no reason to watch people go through it some more.
 
Regardless, the timeline puts Blake at twelve when she left her parents and we know Adam was starting the mask thing before that shift even happened, and served as mentor, ETC so he was presumably, at a minimum 17 and still way, way too old and in far too much of a position of power to later be dating Blake.

Assuming we don't have an official age, there's no way adam is older than 21. Nothing about adam suggests that he's significantly older than a teenager aside from wearing a blazer.

The way he acts and dresses does not suggest mid 20s.

You're talking to someone who isn't exactly a big fan of Vegeta and has no idea of what the other example is referencing.

It was more that he's very gross in a real way over the more fantastical "I blew up a planet" way, and is also just generally kinda scummy, underhhanded, smug snake kinda guy at least to me.

It's actually an anime trope to beat someone up then forgive them and let them join your best friends club. Not just a dragon ball thing. So it applies to vegeta but also a whole ton of other characters like hiei, akihiko kayaba (sort of), most naruto villains, the most popular bleach villains in each arc, etc.

The other two references were 1. Klaus the main character of the western fantasy drama "the originals" spin off of "the vampire diaries. He's basically the vampire devil but he reforms eventually.

2. Minene AKA Ninth from future diary/mirai nikki. So the premise of the series is that god is dying and if he dies before choosing a successor all of reality collapses, so he creates death game. Ninth is a wanted terrorist and gets chosen

Way to miss every point running and being so dismissive of actual emotional trauma. That's far more interesting than "bunch of kids in a school for Hunters". I went to high school once already, I see no reason to watch people go through it some more.

Comedy SoL was at least entertaining to me in the mean time while they were conserving budget for the cool stuff. Grounded angst and melodrama was really boring to me, because it simply doesn't fit the characters or universe.

If they wanted to make a teen drama, then do so. I loved Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars was solid when the plot made sense. But trying to fit a teen drama into a fantasy action show made about as much sense as if in the middle of DBZ we went on a mini arc of krillin dealing with his feelings of inadequacy and having an existensial crisis for several episodes... meanwhile in the background with brief cuts to it, vegeta and trunks fight cell.

But hey, that's just my opinion. You are free to prefer drama as a space filler than dicking around at school, different strokes :)
 
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Assuming we don't have an official age, there's no way adam is older than 21. Nothing about adam suggests that he's significantly older than a teenager aside from wearing a blazer.

The way he acts and dresses does not suggest mid 20s.
If a sixteen year old tries to seduce a twelve year old, that is still incredibly fucked up and wrong.

It's actually an anime trope to beat someone up then forgive them and let them join your best friends club. Not just a dragon ball thing. So it applies to vegeta but also a whole ton of other characters like hiei, akihiko kayaba (sort of), most naruto villains, the most popular bleach villains in each arc, etc.

The other two references were 1. Klaus the main character of the western fantasy drama "the originals" spin off of "the vampire diaries. He's basically the vampire devil but he reforms eventually.

2. Minene AKA Ninth from future diary/mirai nikki. So the premise of the series is that god is dying and if he dies before choosing a successor all of reality collapses, so he creates death game. Ninth is a wanted terrorist and gets chosen
Yeah and it is also not one I am overly fond of, nor has much of anything indicated it is a thing in RWBY.
 
The uniforms, the fact they use bells to dismiss class, all the stuff Psyga mentioned, the fact they seemed to have no choice in what classes they took. It's all very high school.
 
Somehow I get the feeling that the only reason they are 17 is so they could give us fanservice without us giving them the side eye. It's why apparently two years have passed since volume 3 so now it's no longer skeevy for Ruby to have a boob window because she's now 17.

Even though it's been a problem since volume 4, but what can you do?
 
Somehow I get the feeling that the only reason they are 17 is so they could give us fanservice without us giving them the side eye. It's why apparently two years have passed since volume 3 so now it's no longer skeevy for Ruby to have a boob window because she's now 17.

Even though it's been a problem since volume 4, but what can you do?
The age isn't really determinable by timeskip because RT gives no shit for timelines period.
 
Somehow I get the feeling that the only reason they are 17 is so they could give us fanservice without us giving them the side eye. It's why apparently two years have passed since volume 3 so now it's no longer skeevy for Ruby to have a boob window because she's now 17.

Even though it's been a problem since volume 4, but what can you do?
The age isn't really determinable by timeskip because RT gives no shit for timelines period.

Or you know the fact that being 17 makes more sense given the nature of their job.
 
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