The RWBY Reviews: Episode 1

"Even the smallest spark of hope, is enough to ignite change."

That's how Monty Oum's new series, RWBY (click the link to watch) kicks off on Rooster Teeth, famous for the Red vs. Blue series. Monty, a longtime affiliate and friend to the team at Rooster Teeth, definitely had this show planned for a while. But before we cover that, let's cover the episode...

The cursor from The Sims apparently is humanity's salvation. So, yeah, we're screwed.

We start off with a bit of background on the world, and the history of humanity leading up to today. Humanity was born from dust, and the moment they set foot on the world, "The Darkness" attacked. They fought back with crystals that contained magical powers (though they call it, "nature's wrath"), aptly called "Dust". Beating The Darkness back, humanity established civilzations across the planet. But, with a foreboding tone, the narrating female says that the lights have gone out, and Darkness is creeping back into the world...

"Seriously? They spelled my name with a 'w'? Noobs..."

Cut to a city, years later. An old man's Dust shop is held up, and we meet our protagonist: Ruby Rose (Think Maka Albarn from Soul Eater with enough smug to be mistaken for a moon). Our sassy sythemaster lays the smackdown on the robbers, before chasing their ringleader (a readheaded man with a cigar, flare-gun/cane, and bowler hat) across a rooftop. We are then introduced to someone who is referred to as "A Huntress", someone for whom Ruby has some heavy admiration. The first thing she does after her life is saved, is ask for the Huntress' autograph.

...Which is apparently Hunter code for "Put me in the goddamn corner".

The scene changes to a dark room resembling an interrogation chamber, where the Huntress and a man who introduces himself as "Professor Ospin" speak to Ruby about her unique skills. We learn that Ruby is learning how to be a Huntress herself, and that, while she's two years away from joining her sister at "Beacon", which is apparently an advanced school for Huntsmen and Huntresses. Ospin seems to think she's got some serious talent, though, and accepts her on the spot.

"Hey, Ruby, do we get paid? We get paid, right? Ruby?...Ruby, you're drooling."

Another scene change, and Ruby is with her elder sister, Yang, on the vessel bound for Beacon. Ruby expresses nervous excitement, mostly stemming from the fact she was advanced two years with no questions asked, when she's nothing special. Yang reminds her she's still pretty special, before a news channel cuts to a report about the robbery that Ruby foiled. They move on to a report about a terrorist group called the "White Fang", staging an attack on some kind of protest, before the feed is cut. The Huntress, naming herself Glinda Goodwitch (ten points on that one, Monty), welcomes the students to Beacon, and the adventure is set to begin.

"Help me, Ruby-won Kenobi: you're my only hope."

Story-wise, RWBY seems to be set to follow not just Ruby, but a four-man valkyrie tag-team of badassery based around colors: Red, White, Black, and Yellow. Four trailers were released prior to episode one, the first at the tail end of Red Vs. Blue Season 10. While Ruby and Yang Rose (Yellow) are the first to be seen in the series proper, Blake Belladonna (Black) and Weiss Schnee (White) are also set to be part of the team. Blake appears to be a former member of the White Fang, and Weiss appears in her trailer to be a singer. How the two will eventually form the team with Ruby and Yang is unclear at this point, but it's possible their paths will intersect during Ruby and Yang's studies at beacon.

The full cast. For the record: Dibs, dibs, dibs, aaaand dibs.

On the tech side (where I'm no expert), Monty and the team at Rooster Teeth definitely put a lot of man-hours into this work. The trailers are elegant and flowing, almost like calligraphy paintings. That art style translates into the show seamlessly. A curiosity is in the background art. Non-essential characters are silhouettes, the moon is shown to be heavily damaged, and the building style envokes a sense of spookiness. The technology of this world is drawn sleek and imaginative, with the weapons geared toward multiple functions. For example, Ruby's scythe (the magnificent piece of folding bloody glory it is), can be used in melee, or ranged in a rifle style. Another example is her sister, Yang, who seems to utilize shotgun gauntlets.

"This is, quite literally, my boomstick."

Overall, this is a series with promise. I've had an issue with shows that don't leave me wanting more lately, and RWBY has certainly fixed that. I'm eager to see where this show goes from here, and how the characters come together. If the credit roll is to be believed, the show will focus on more than just the RWBY Valkyries (Yes, I'm sticking with that), and also on a few other characters, namely a blonde boy in a pretty neat hoodie and his friends. 

"To boldly hunt where no hunter has hunted before..."