RWBY Volume 2 #1 -- Special Review

We’re sampling the summer season’s selection! Check out our other pilot write-up’s –

• ALDNOAH ZERO ** SWORD ART ONLINE II ** RAIL WARS ** YAMISHIBAI + AI-MAI-MI


• GLASSLIP ** AKAME GA KILL ** SAMURAI JAM ** PERSONA 4 ** DRAMAtical mURDER


• ARGEVOLLEN ** TOKYO GHOUL ** BLUE SPRING DRIVE

Matt Murphy caught more of the Volume One than I did (I only got to see the first episode), but I’ve always still appreciated the kind of garage band ethos RWBY exudes. Is the product rough around the edges at times? Does it sometimes look like an animation software demo? Sure, but that’s really part of charm.

Lord knows, I’ve seen countless anime that had far more tools and personnel at their disposal, but none of that mattered because there wasn’t any heart behind it. Flash and polish is nothing is nothing without enthusiasm, and I can dig how Rooster Teeth is making the most of what they have. The fight in the cafeteria, with the towering stack of tables and the inventive use of food weapons, is an excellent example of that. You can smell the sweat and taste the tears that went into that - - a small animation crew pushing themselves and their gear as far as they can to entertain you.

== TEASER ==

Story wise, this feels a lot like a lost FINAL FANTASY 7 cut scene, and I’m sure the line of inspiration is very direct. Of course, like any FF game, there’s really only one point of entry, and if you haven’t watched from the beginning, then this isn’t going to be the best jumping on point. Certainly, I enjoyed the bounty hunters’ mean fake-out with the convict-cum-bookkeep, but I also don’t feel like I got enough of a proper intro to either of them to really feel that scene.

And again, that’s fine. More so than any other show I’ve watched on here, RWBY is a series I enjoy for the nature of its existence. It’s admirable of Rooster Teeth to keep the momentum RED Vs. BLUE started to push machinima into new content, and these are definitely getting more flashy and polished as they go along. I’m pumped to see how this Volume,and each forthcoming one, is going to shape up.

Watch "Best Day Ever" and decide for yourself.

from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1prbUzk