RWBY General Discussion

My only thoughts for Ruby herself is Maka from Soul Eater, though no idea how that works within their rules.

@Mely Oh yeah, I agree the pacing sucks for every season. Volume 3 the least, even if it had some problems. Volume 2 is the one I'm hardest on. In the past, I've criticized Monty's attitude towards things with how his concern was more flash than any substance or storytelling, just running purely on Rule of Cool instead of taking what he considers cool and figuring out how to refine it with storytelling principles.

Weiss would probably fight Melia from Xenoblade. No clue about who Balke would fight. Pyraah is usually put against Carolina from Red vs Blue. Nora could fight Amy Rose, although she was already used. Cinder could fight Azula

I am of the mind that volume 4 was setting up for way further into the future than just volume 5 since volume 3 tied up (or cut off) a whole bunch of threads, so while I see why everyone kvetches about it, I still think it’s ultimately a necessary season that will make the series as a whole more enjoyable

I feel you can do the above and make it better at the same time. It's not an either or thing.

Yep. I like the idea of a slower-paced, character-development and worldbuiliding-focused season, Volume 4 just didn't a very good job of it.

Apparently, .hack//SIGN is an example of this but I've only watched the first episode so I can't really comment.

Does anyone know when the OST will drop?

Eh, people keep describing Volume 4 as Four Lines, All Waiting, but I think that's a trope shoehorn, personally. It would be Four Lines, All Waiting if all the different stories were completely different plots that didn't tie into each other, but they do. There's only one plot, what we saw in Volume 4 was different threads of the same plot. It's like pieces of a jigsaw - everyone had their own section of the board, but they're all working on different parts of the same picture, which has more in common with the Kudzu Plot than Four Lines, All Waiting.

Given what it was doing, I regard Volume 4 to be a necessary action. The strands could have done with more depth and time spent on them, that's the big problem with this show - resource, especially time, but it's pretty easy to see how all the separate strands tie into the core plot and why Volume 4 was structured as it was (which was a pretty standard storytelling technique).

edited 2nd Apr '17 4:27:33 PM by Wyldchyld

I'm pretty sure the plot threads found in the Lines tropes can and do intersect.

edited 2nd Apr '17 4:27:54 PM by Karxrida

Well, perhaps that's a problem with the trope description then. The storytelling split that RWBY used for Volume 4 is fairly standard and traditional, and found in a lot of genres. However, the trope description talks about Four Lines, All Waiting as being the typical Soap Opera structure; and that structure tends to be A-plot, with B-plot, C-plot, etc. filling in the time to give other characters in the cast something to do for the episode while the action focusses on the main plot. That's completely different to what fantasy and sci-fi literature tends to do (everyone's working towards the same plot but they might be in different locations or teasing at different threads of the same rope, which is what RWBY was doing in Volume 4). In a soap, you have different ropes - even if a couple of them knot together every so often.

edited 2nd Apr '17 4:34:50 PM by Wyldchyld

I mean, I think each line was important for different reasons, and was better being shown. The problem was showing them effectively, whether to take attention away from something or move it to others.

It seems like the most common complaint is that somethings were just unnecessary to show which I can understand, but don't fully agree with. I agree that Weiss's storyline was the weakest of the four, but I don't think it was the kind of thing that should have been rapped up in just one episode like some other people think. Maybe trim down somethings to more effectively get across what they did show in fewer episodes, but I'm not totally sure how I would have preferred it to be done besides that base outline.

edited 2nd Apr '17 6:42:32 PM by LSBK

Whether or not the troping is accurate, the crux of the issue remains: Volume 4 was terrible at juggling its subplots.

There's a lot of fat to cut out.

Let's take Weiss's storyline. The problem with her plot thread is that there's little agency on her part— she has to conveniently stumble into important conversations for some worldbuilding, and she just stays in her house until she decides to bail out via butler ex machina. She accomplishes her full summon in her room, with simultaneously too much and too little fanfare.

A better way to do it would have been for Weiss to have her concert, freakout and subsequent disqualification as heiress in one or two episodes. Once she's grounded, have her decide to join up with Winter and spend the rest of her arc planning her way out of the house (which should have tighter security by this point), while she has to put up with her father and Whitley and maybe even speak some with her mother and Ironwood. Then as she makes her getaway, have Weiss summon the knight in the pivotal moment of her big escape.

Something like that, though I'm sure I've neglected some other points. But something like that.

edited 2nd Apr '17 5:40:58 PM by fillerdude

It's also odd that it took 8 months for her to even speak to her family.

edited 2nd Apr '17 5:45:16 PM by VeryMelon

Honestly, I think Volume 4 would have been a lot better if they alternated who the episode focused on.

For example, Chapter 1 focuses on Ruby and only Ruby. Chapter 2 focuses on Weiss and only Weiss. Chapter 3 focuses on Blake and only Blake. Chapter 4 focuses on Yang and only Yang. Chapter 5 is Oscar stuff. Start over. Chapter 10, instead of being about Oscar, could be about any of the other side characters. Chapter 11 could wrap up WBY's plot threads and/or do some villain stuff. Chapter 12 stays more less how it already is but maybe with a more dynamic fight.

Apparently, .hack//SIGN is an example of this but I've only watched the first episode so I can't really comment.

I love .hack SIGN. dot Hack SIGN is the reason I don't like Sword Art Online or Overlord and probably never will.

That said, .hack SIGN is an example of how you can absolutely slow a plot down to an excruciatingly slow pace - and it's sequel, .Hack ROOTS is even worse because literally nothing freaking happens.

Is it that the plot is slow or is it that the plot is character driven and thus what some would consider to be plot development rarely actually happens?

Also, I really need to actually watch it properly after I finish up The Irregular At Magic High School. Right from the very start of the OP, I was like "What the actual fuck is going on here?" and that never really stopped.

edited 2nd Apr '17 6:33:26 PM by Zelenal

I suppose you could call it character-driven.

Sign is better on this front - there are some interesting characters sure, and a lot of dull moments with some character depth hidden underneath them. I've rewatched Sign twice and enjoyed it. Silver Knight-what'shis-face starts off Knight Templar and becomes one of the more interesting characters later on. Sora will actually become Haseo in the next anime.

Roots though, from what I remember, a lot of time is spent on characters speculating about the fate of the World and generally acting as if the game is their actual life. It's not portrayed in a comical manner and a lot of it came off to me as Navel-Gazing. Ultimately it's a build-up to the game but most of what happens is largely irrelevant as most of it's summed up in the game. I've only; watched it through once and almost never looked back.

All I can say for sure is that it's slow. The final 7-8 episodes start getting good and the plot definitely moves, but it's damn slow. Combine that with old, cheesy animation and it really bogs the show down.

I just noticed that the first three volumes are now in a collected steel book titled RWBY: Beacon.

Next three will be titled RWBY: Haven with the final three being titled RWBY: Shade. People will wonder if RWBY: Atlas (or Alsius) will be a thing and RT will make an "announcement" for it that's just a crudely "animated" short poking fun at the shipping.

Fast forward a number of years and we'll be getting a proper sequel taking place many years later focusing on the next Silver Eyes Warrior who's not actually related to Ruby but Ruby's direct descendant along with descendants of several other cast members and an aged Weiss and Yang as he tries bring peace to the city established by Ruby that was meant to symbolize peace between the four great nations.

RWBY: The Legend of Penny 3.0.

They're recording the Volume Five!

Get on the hype train!◊

I wonder how Ruby will sound. She might not sound any different to normal but pregnancy can do funny things to a woman's voice.

edited 4th Apr '17 6:50:09 PM by Wyldchyld

She's pregnant?

Pregnancy can alter your voice?

Her voice actress is, just to clarify that.

edited 4th Apr '17 7:49:03 PM by Thebrawlbro

With Sun's child

Their voice actors anyway.

edited 4th Apr '17 7:51:19 PM by BlackSunNocturne