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Scorpio3002 Since: Jan, 2001
09/02/2016 13:39:10 •••

Season 3: Stronger weakness, weaker strength

I wrote two reviews for season 1: a mid-season, and a retrospective. They were a product of my disappointment: I was crestfallen to see a show I was so hyped up for turn out so bad. Bland characters, stale storytelling, and severely lacking in the one thing I came for: fights. Seriously, the ep. 8 fight is the only one worth mentioning.

Now season 3 is in the books, and I didn't even write a review for season 2. There's one reason for this: I'm less inclined to write something for the purposes of gushing than criticizing (unfair of me, I know, but when I can't see room for improvement, I usually don't have much to say). Season 2 stunned me. The step up in quality was so drastic, I don't understand how it happened: I know the budget got bigger, but good writing is the one thing you DON'T need a budget for. As far as I know the writing staff didn't change, so I can only speculate that S1 was the work of writers who were still learning their craft. The fights were also more frequent, bringing Monty's greatest strength back into the forefront. It was a huge improvement in all phases, a night-and-day difference from the previous season, and it made the loss of Monty Oum all the more tragic.

And now we come to season 3, and since I'm writing a review of it, you can infer that I have something to gripe about. Or rather, in this case, something to mourn. The tragic irony of season 3 is that Oum's supporting cast took a huge step forward, and the writing improved by leaps and bounds, even above season 2's accomplishments, but they couldn't fill the gap that Monty left. It's a show that improved its weaknesses, but lost its greatest strength. Monty was a one-of-a-kind fight choreographer, and while Season 3 has some really good fights, there's nothing that approaches his caliber. His greatest talent was animating a deadly, supernatural sort of teamwork: the shield/sniper combination in Haloid, or the slingshot move in season 1 both come to mind. In season 2, RWBY even called out maneuvers that the team had practiced. That kind of teamwork is nowhere to be found in season 3, and team JNPR even seems to lampshade it in the first round of the tournament. Instead, we get good individual duels, but it never rises above shonen-faire (although it does rival some of the genre's best).

The end result is a show that has outstanding writing and fights which are "merely" really good, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there are other shows that do it. RWBY was the only source for Monty's unique brand of violence, and if he were still alive, the combination of the writing and his brilliant fights could have achieved a show unlike any other. I will continue to watch, because now the writing is good enough to be the show's driving force (I'm genuinely curious where this is going, which I couldn't say after the previous seasons) and the fights are still good enough to liven things up, but I can't help but mourn the show that might have been.

Knightofbalance Since: Aug, 2015
06/19/2016 00:00:00

Yeah, I gotta say, the fighting scenes really took a nosedive. But, as you said, the writing somewhat makes up for it and hopefully the animators get some practice in before Volume 4. But still, I\'m pretty sure RWBY broke at least an eight of the laws of physics that Gurren Lagann did.

Anyway, I liked your review.

Serocco Since: Mar, 2010
07/09/2016 00:00:00

I\'d argue that the writing for the characters improved dramatically. Almost every single one has moved so far beyond their initial archetypes that they\'re practically a force unto themselves now (Yang being more mature and responsible; Blake being quiet rather than stoic and later becoming cheerful while still being quiet; Weiss still being haughty and snarky, but being much nicer about it; and Ruby being a competent leader rather than an idiot hero). The deconstruction of Jaune and Pyrrha, the fleshing out of several other major characters, and the character dynamics/interactions are night and fucking day compared to V1.

Although I can say that, from what I saw of the trailer for V4, the animation is... not Monty, no, but it\'s still RWBY, with the speed, cinematography, and choreography back in action. Here\'s hoping the quality continues to improve.

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
fairygirl567 Since: Sep, 2015
07/11/2016 00:00:00

I\'m sorry I can\'t agree with this review, while people have different views from mine on things I love, I think this season and this show are improving greatly. The animation is better, the drama is better and the fact it ended on such a big sad cliffhanger made me wanting more. The fighting scenes and the fact the red head big bad was brought back just to be eaten by a bird were a bit much I\'d most certainly watch it again:) Hell, I just bought the DVD a while ago. While I don\'t hate you for your opinion, I can\'t agree. I guess I\'m just a fangirl :)

Scorpio3002 Since: Jan, 2001
07/21/2016 00:00:00

Serocco and fairygirl, you seem to be arguing against opinions that I never voiced. Quite the opposite, really: I agree, the writing is excellent, and the characters have become far more fleshed out. But this is missing my point: the thing that made this show unique was Monty\'s fight choreography, and that has been lost; nothing in V3 came close to his genius. I mean, look at Flynt Coal. Would Monty have ever put in a fighter who just stands there and blows his horn? Or Ironwood, whose whole gimmick is that he just shoots Grimms with a pistol?

The writing has improved, drastically in some ways, but the show has still lost its core strength; the one thing it had that no other show possessed. There are lots of shows with great writers, but there are no shows that can do what Monty did. He was, perhaps, the greatest fight choreographer of his time. No matter how good the writing gets, Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross are not going to emerge as the greatest writers of their era. It\'s like if Lebron James were to retire: no matter how much the rest of the team improves, there is no making up for his absence.

I\'ve actually heard some people say that the fight scenes improved from V2, and my first reaction was to dismiss them as delusional. In hindsight I can almost see where they\'re coming from, though: Pyrrha\'s fight with Cinder was one of my favorite fights of any of the seasons, but its successes came from the writing, not the choreography or animation. I suppose it\'s possible that Monty\'s style would have gotten in the way of that: his fights always seemed to occur in a sort of vacuum, focusing less on the stakes of the outcome and more about how cool the fighters were, but I think he would have been able to work with the writers and adapt his style to their tone. Now, sadly, we will never know.

There is always room for another show with great writing and characters, and I\'m happy to have it, but that\'s just what it is: ANOTHER show with great writing and characters. We will never be able to watch the show this might have been, with great writing, characters, AND Monty\'s mad genius.

Tomwithnonumbers Since: Dec, 2010
07/23/2016 00:00:00

I feel Scorpio nailed it with the summary of season 3.

I\'m hopeful though, with the improvements RWBY\'s creator have made in all these other areas, and with all of Monty\'s work as a guide, that in season 4/5 they\'re going to be able to up their choreography game too. Not as high as Monty would have taken it, but enough to keep the show unique

Serocco Since: Mar, 2010
09/02/2016 00:00:00

Very fair points by Scorpio.

Also, gotta give a shout out to the much better voice acting over the years

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.

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