I was totally hyped up to watch Vol. 5 of RWBY, and now , it’s here ! ! ! So much has happened before Vol. 5 , so I won’t even try to summarize each Volume. Google the summaries for each volume or better yet, bingewatch on YouTube, or Netflix. I know purist anime fans thumb their noses at this “monstrosity” that is RWBY , a wanna-be American -made anime…….for me, this is a lost opportunity to enjoy an exceptionally good story and plotline , not to mention superb, well-detailed, and fast fight scenes, and more importantly ( for me , at least ) the absence of highly sexualized female characters and offensive fanservice . This is pure adventure /fantasy sans anime tropes and clichés.
So okay, the first and second volumes’ graphics are not impressive. It is after all Rooster Teeth’s first foray into ” anime ” . But there are definitely marked improvements in subsequent volumes, and in fact, the backround scenery of the city of Mistral in Vol. 5 is gorgeous.
Above is the city of Vale , location of Beacon Academy ,in Vol.1……. kind of minimalist, right ?
Above is the city of Mistral from Vol. 5 . Definitely with lots of details.
Trailer of Volume 5. It does look like the trailer gives away Vol.5’s plotline.
To date, we are officially on the 3rd episode of Vol.5 ( although I’ve already watched 4 and 5 ) . On Vol. 1 to 3, we see the destruction of Beacon Academy ( RWBY’s school…. the death of its headmaster, Prof. Ozpin, and a major character, Pyrrha ) . Volume 4 deals with survivors’ journey to Mistral, specifically to another academy, aptly called Haven Academy. They’ve arrived in the kingdom of Mistral where they plan to seek refuge , but will soon discover Haven is not safe anymore.
On Episode 1 of Vol. 5, we see the ” resurrection ” of Prof. Ozpin, who has now possessed a willing surrogate’s physical body , a 13 year old farm’s hired help , Oscar Pine (? ), and , without fanfare, has immediately let his former students know of his existence. The mystery here is, who exactly is Prof. Ozpin…… is he an aura, or a wandering spirit ? He reveals that he is indeed a spirit and the spirit of all those he has possessed , and he is, in fact , more than a thousand years old who has been cursed with immortality for failing to defeat Salem, the major antagonist of this series. Ozpin, aka Oscar , has to train the surviving students of Beacon Academy in combat skills ( and Oscar himself ) , pronto, because he knows Haven Academy is next to be attacked by the same evil forces that destroyed Beacon Academy.
Why is it imperative to protect the academies ? These academies train students to become Hunters/Huntresses. Hunters are needed to protect humanity from Grimms. Grimms are creatures of destruction. Their sole purpose for being is to destroy humans. The Students that are accepted to train are those that have already unlocked their aura and Semblances , the only power that can be used to fight the evil forces that threaten the existence of humans. Combat skills are equally needed to fight the evil forces, hence, the academy.
I rate RWBY a high 9 /10 despite its flaws. You can watch it on Rooster Teeth on its You Tube Channel, or on Netflix ( Vol.1 & 2 ) in movie format.
Thank you for reading.
Renxkyoko's Space 
Glad you like it. Although, I still take issue with the possessing part. “Willing” is an interesting word when it refers to a 1,000-year-old spirit and a 13-year-old boy.
Some might argue the boy is too young and in no position to assess what he’s getting himself in for. In previous episodes, he didn’t seem all that “willing”. Similar stuff is currently being hashed about in the news with regards to people of/in power asserting themselves onto others. But, this is a cartoon and I understand the aim of having young heroes at the center of the action.
But again, glad you are enjoying the series. I’ve stopped watching it but may resume after it ends depending on how it goes. And I mean the whole series, not just this volume.
LikeLike
Oscar seemed to be a bit unwilling at first ( who would be willing to be possessed, anyway ) and now that he has met Ruby Rose’s group, he will know he’s on the side of the good guys. I’m sure he also knows what’s going on in the world, and that he’s not safe at the farm. I ‘m sure that Ozpin does not possess just any random person. He knows Oscar’s character, and what he can do in the future. And I’m sure Ozpin knows Oscar has the potential to unlock his own semblance. The kind of semblance a person possesses depends on the character of said person. That’s why Ozpin will never possess a bad guy.
One problem I have with RWBY is the lameness of their weapons. It’s only when their aura is unleashed that they themselves become effective. But it’s limited and lasts only for short time. Then the final weapon, their own semblance…. it’s so much stronger , but again , limited. Ruby Rose’s semblance is potentially the strongest in their world. Unfortunately, the nature of her semblance and the power it can unleash is indicated through the color of her eyes…silver. There are only two who have this color….. Ruby Rose and her mother, who is deceased.
Anyway, I’m wondering why they cannot produce more effective and powerful weapons. Their bladed weapons are more effective than their guns. And because their blades are more effective, they need to be more skillfull in close contact combat. This is the part where it doesn’t make sense. There is advanced technology they can use to make effective weapons.
LikeLike
You speak as if these guys worked all this stuff out, but from their own words out of their own mouths, they say they’re making it up as they go and do so based on the nebulous motivation of what looks cool. One of their oft-repeated goals (again, straight out of their mouths) is that they wish they were better storytellers . . . except, they’re not making any effort toward that goal.
All that stuff about Oz and the kid? That wouldn’t fly in a court of law. It doesn’t fly with me. And, why not possess a bad guy? You infiltrate the enemy and take out one of their ranks. Perhaps the guy high on something, the guy with the deadly tail. That way, at the very least, we’d have one less annoying character in the series. Honest, I don’t even know how Salem puts up with having him around.
Look, I don’t hate the series. I liked the first part of it and even enjoyed watching it, but the haphazardness of it and inconsistent motivations, abilities, and the unnecessarily complicated fight sequences get annoying after a while. At some point, I want them to pay attention to the plot at least as much as I’m paying attention to it.
As for the weapons . . . again, they appear to be chosen not because of effectiveness, but because they look cool (to the people writing the series).
I don’t recall ever seeing armies marching with scythes . . . swords and lances and bows and arrows and guns are a lot more effective weapons, even at close range. Especially at close range, the scythe seems near-worthless. About the only thing it seems really good for is to slow the person down after they’ve been hit and are tumbling along the ground.
I should stop. I don’t want to ruin anything for others . . . Then again, no one ever listens to me or otherwise, everyone would hate the movie Titanic.
LikeLike
There is one other aspect to consider when examining the Oz/Oscar relationship.
The whole time that the original Oz was “alive” we never once got the idea of a duality of identity. Oz was Oz, not Oz inside of some poor bastard.
One might conclude that Oz’s personality completely took over the original host’s personality. That poor bastard was no more or if some remnant was still left in there, probably relegated to some mental prison.
In the first few volumes, it’s never presented as a partnership between spirit and human; we never hear any collaborative discourse like we do with Oscar (unless I completely missed it). Moreover, the people closest to Oz never let on or even seem concerned for this other human.
Even when Qrow meets Oscar, he doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of the kid. To him, it’s Oz, period.
But, even assuming your argument, why not possess Ruby, this supposedly uber weapon of great power? What better way to teach Ruby how to harness and direct her power than from within? Or, why not John? That would at least make him effective and potentially useful.
So many questions and I have as many theories, but none put Oz in a good light. He’s a vampire, plain and simple, and apparently, people are OK with that.
LikeLike
My understanding of Prof. Ozpin and the body he possessed is that the ” owner ” of the body had willingly turned over to Ozpin his entire being to become Prof. Ozpin. I assume that in time, Oscar will do the same. Like, oh, what the heck, I’ll be you, and you’ll be me. The morality and ethics of this situation will not matter anymore, otherwise, Houston, we have a problem. Or maybe, this dilemma will be part of the story. That is, Oscar will hold on to his body and mind, and will never turn over his entire “self ” to become another person. That’s actually a good plotline. We’ll see.
However, if that’s what ‘s in the author’s mind, I highly doubt this conflict will figure in this volume. All the characters will be busy fighting off the evil forces and protecting the rest of humans from getting annihilated . I don’t think Oscar will have time to reflect on his situation. So far, he’s also training and making himself strong as Oscar. Ozpin said so himself. Oscar has to be strong too, and if possible, he gets to unlock his own semblance as soon as possible. ( conversation from Vol. 5, Chapter 4 )
LikeLike
Like I said, don’t want to spoil it for anyone. It’s more defending my reasons for letting it drop . . . and because I’m pissed off – every day there’s less and less entertainment that agrees with me. Soon, I’ll be 100% relegated to the role of grouchy-old-man-that-hates-everything-and-sits-around-talking-about- how-good-things-used-to-be-and-why-everything-now-sucks . . . which, it does.
LikeLike
The grumpy old man made me smile. ^^”
About the scythe……. I bet it’s a weapon she’s most comfortable with. My weapon of choice in God of War series ( 3 games ) is the weakest, a whip , but that’s the one I’m most comfortable with. Likewise in Tomb Raider. My weapon of choice is bow and arrow, and not the high powered guns that I have already acquired early on. I just upgrade the bow and arrow when I can.
LikeLike
TMI, TMI!!
LikeLike
What’s TMI ?
LikeLike
Something about being into whips . . . never mind; just a stupid joke where my brain reacted without thinking and went for the joke before I could stop it.
By the way, I don’t play video games so I have no idea about the mechanics of play. Me, anything that allows me to “touch” the opponent at a distance (like a .45 slug) would be way up on my list.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh. I don’t know if it’s the same as S & M. Or, Dominatrix thing ? o_O”
I like the bow and arrow so that I can go on stealth mode and shoot without making any sound.
Kratos’ whip on God of War is made of steel chains that is about 2 meters long or maybe 1 1/2 meters. It’s Greek mythology theme, so there are no guns.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This looks really cool. No I understand what you meant, and why you love this one so much. Definitely going to check this one out at done point 😊
Oh….and I finally got a prompt to follow this blog woohoo! 😊
Great post!b😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s why I always plug this blog on my other blogsite. Unless the readers follow manually ( @ disperser had written ” how to “, ) readers will not be able to follow.
I love this ” wanime ” ( western anime ) because after watching so many animes with crazy plotlines, RWBY is simply so refreshing…. no double barreled knockers, panty shots , etc. …….
By the way, have you watched BLAME ! yet ? It’s a Netflix original anime. I love that, too ! ! It’s a post apocalyptic survival of the human race. Watch it before they yank it out off their roster. Netflix does that even to their originals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, no problem at all, I’m just glad to finally be able to follow your blog 😀
It really looks cool and very interesting, so I’m definitely going to check it out at some point. And it’s nice to sometimes have something really refreshing.
Yes I have watched Blame!. It wasn’t bad, but I expected a little bit more from it. Still it was pretty enjoyable and the animation itself was very good 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Blame! should have a sequel. It’s actually just a small part of that world…. and we can tell it’s not the end…. the main character is still alive ( we thought he was dead, right? ),and will continue his journey of finding that special gene, the one that’s not contaminated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully it will get a sequel at some point. It was certainly cool enough to give it one 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person