It’s been a while since I watched RWBY. I like to wait until all the episodes are out and binge it rather than follow week to week… and I usually end up sorta forgetting about it for a while. No big deal. It’s always there when I want to see it.
There was a thing though going on with RWBY, something about it made it less satisfying to me than it had been in the past. Season 5 had some fun revelations and some interesting changes but I could never shake the feeling that something was off
Was it the story? Maybe. While the story did advance, it seemed to do so slowly to the point that I almost wanted less episodes. It’s not really a good thing when you want less of something you enjoy. If anything Season 5 was a downer chapter and the result of previous defeats, which is fine, but it never ever seemed to pick back up… which wasn’t.
But maybe it was the combat? There wasn’t a lot of combat and what combat there was wasn’t always great. The battle at Blake’s mansion was decent. I really enjoyed Yang’s slow motion beatdown of Raven’s lackeys, but the season’s two biggest battles, that of Team Cinder vs Team RWBY and that of Raven vs Cinder, let me down. I appreciate a battle going against our heroes, but the long running battle at the academy basically saw none of our heroes land a solid hit. Weiss in particular fared extremely poorly to the point that she barely even put up a fight at all. And even when the tide of battle turned to favor the good guys we still didn’t see them get any definitive shots in.
Plus, I continue to be dismayed at Ruby’s lack of speed / rose petals.
The fight between Cinder and Raven was flashy, to be sure, but ultimately I felt it lacked substance. Again, no really good hits from either side. It was more like it kinda just ended without either side really changing. Yang talking her mother down was pretty interesting, though.
Overall, it felt to me that while Season 5 got from a Point A to a Point B, it just wasn’t as fun as it should have or could have been. But oh, look, this post is titled “RWBY Season 6, isn’t it? Why talk all about Season 5? Because I wanted to set the stage for this:
I really enjoyed RWBY Season 6.
Combat, Story, Fun, and even general Animation Quality seemed to kick up a good notch or two. I loved the two part fable episodes. I loved the fight between Blake, Yang, and Adam. I loved the silliness and the emotion and the seemingly impossible situation our heroes and the entire world now seem to be in. Oh! And Ruby got to zip around again, rose petals and all! Maybe my enjoyment also had something to do with Team RWBY finally getting back together. Maybe I can’t pin down the exact reasons, but I really did feel that Season 6 was a lot more satisfying than Season 5, and that I am actually anxious for the next season to come out. I can’t wait!
There is one other thing though. I like that it seems most of RWBY’s cards are now on the table. I like that I don’t yet see the way for our heroes to win. And… maybe somewhat oddly… I am hopeful that the series is starting the wind down. Yes, that’s right. I want RWBY to wrap up. Not because I’m tired of it or dislike it, but because I feel like it’s near the best it’s ever been and because I feel like the best stories have beginnings, middles, and ends. I am hopeful that RWBY has a strong ending in mind and is working its way towards it. Better to go out with a BANG than with a whimper, right?