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Avinia Since: Mar, 2012
10/13/2013 09:49:18 •••

Not Quite a Classic, But It's Getting There.

The Good:

  • The episodes are designed around particular subjects. That helps the writing. If it was a normal anime episode in smaller bits, it would be less contained and more confusing.
  • The voices of the actors fit the character. Jaune is Jaune. I personally can't imagine anyone else playing him. Characters like Nora and Ren are perfectly in tune to their voices (Go Monty!) and are smooth in their byplay and move the episode forward.
  • The fight scenes are epic. Each one pays close attention to how it's structured, with everyone in their place, which is really good compared to some other fight scenes where someone is missing somehow.
  • Spotlights. Every character is getting their own screentime. Some have less because they need to develop their character less (like Ren, Nora, Yang, and Blake) and others need a little more time to understand their motivations (Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss)
  • There are minor antagonists and major antagonists. Life would get very boring if it was only monsters they had to fight.
  • Music. Self-explanatory.

The Bad

  • The writing. Some of the episodes are stellar as they are (Episodes 1, 4, 8, and 10). Others aren't so great (12? I'm looking at you.)
  • Lack of consistency in characterization. Jaune is the biggest offender in this. Sometimes he comes off as capable, sometimes he doesn't. While I understand that he's trying to find even ground, that's no excuse. And if Jaune doesn't tell the rest of his team, he's doing them a serious disservice. If he trusted Pyrrha, he should trust the rest of his team as well.
  • Not enough time on minor things. You don't see characters freaking out over their love life or their family, though Hunters might have the money and stuff to not worry about family. The team arguments should have focused on the team moving forward and fighting their differences together.
  • Lack of background characters. Black figures are cheap and take less time I get that, but even a little colorful decoration (earrings on one, bracelets on another) would go a long way.

Is RWBY good? Yes. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, though it's slowly getting there, thanks to the Wham Episode giving it a push into a new direction. I love this series, and I even like the antagonists, but there are certain things that will break the show for me. I just hope the next episode isn't it.

MFM Since: Jan, 2001
10/09/2013 00:00:00

"Music. Self-explanatory." No, not really. If someone knew what you were talking about with the music, they have probably already seen the series, or at least enough of it to form an opinion of it, and thus wouldn't need a review. If you're attempting to inform the uninformed with this review, just saying "music" as a pro won't explain anything to them.

Avinia Since: Mar, 2012
10/10/2013 00:00:00

@MFM Fair enough. At the time I was writing this, I expected people to know at least who Monty Oum was, and who Jeff Williams was as well, and have an expectation of good music to go with it. My apologies.

omegafire17 Since: Apr, 2010
10/10/2013 00:00:00

The reason for the lack of background characters is to save animation time and money. Monty himself says (or at least implies) that speed is more important to him than most else... hence, unimportant background characters are shaded black as a stylistic choice.

I find it amusing, and an interesting quirk personally :)

Also, where's the lack of consistency in characterization with Jaune? So far his only competence is in leadership (8), and barely enough instincts to hold himself off for a short time (again, 8)

Avinia Since: Mar, 2012
10/10/2013 00:00:00

@omegafire17

When I say inconsistent, I mean in references to who and how he reacts to people. His tactical knowledge and instincts I understand are fine, but there are short times after that where he is more competent than the writing allows.

I think the black characters are pretty cool, but that little bit of color would make it a bit fun.

It'd give us a drinking game, at least.

omegafire17 Since: Apr, 2010
10/10/2013 00:00:00

After that would mean between Episodes 9 and 12, since he showed those qualities in 8, if I'm not mistaken.

Hmm... I guess I still can't see it yet; what are the examples?

Avinia Since: Mar, 2012
10/12/2013 00:00:00

@omegafire17 Sorry for the late reply. Episode 11 - He ignores Velvet, something that is out of his character. He knows that she was there and he noticed it. He was already characterized as a nice guy from when he first met Ruby, but throughly ignores the Faunus, which rubbed me personally the wrong way. Episode 12 - He was asleep in class. Jaune is shown to be remarkably resilient and has more than enough energy. While it could be attributed to his exhaustion, Jaune was still asleep.

  • He also was too easily startled by Cardin. When someone's angry, they don't just stop being angry and upset and become scared at a sudden appearance. If anything, Jaune should have gotten somewhat angrier.

Episode 13 - That actually puts his characterization back on the right track. Even though he spends most of the episode with Pyrrha upset at him, he goes back to his actual roots and stands up for his companions.

omegafire17 Since: Apr, 2010
10/12/2013 00:00:00

Overall, I think his behavior in 11 and 12 can be attributed to his big secret finally catching up with him, and he's losing focus. Plus, in 11, he was focused on putting up that 'I'm fine' face for his friends, so he didn't have much effort to direct at Velvet.

And not necessarily, about the anger; different people have different reactions to that sort of thing. Plus his anger could have easily drained away after he'd expressed it, as frequently happens when revealing big things

Avinia Since: Mar, 2012
10/13/2013 00:00:00

After going through the episodes a couple of times, I've decided that even though it rubs me the wrong way, you're right in those regards. I was relating him to a friend of mine just like him in characterization, and judged him by that standard. While it irritates me, I'm better able to think about his reasons. Thanks for the help, without it I might have lost interest in the show.

omegafire17 Since: Apr, 2010
10/13/2013 00:00:00

Well, glad I could help :)


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