#RWBY Volume 1

[matt0044]

Honestly, I feel like "It's a web series, not some Disney spectacle" is the best mentality for RWBY Volume 1. It's rough, it's rugged, it goes it with a lot of heart.

A lot of the critical side of the FNDM seem to have some complaints be about RWBY's ambition in a, "if you can't do it or do it right right away, don't do it at all." It's such a non-risk taking, non-experimental mentality that clashes with how art often is.

Real art, be it one person or collaborative. It can be messy, mistakes are inevitable. But that's what attracts me to stuff like RWBY: the human element. The "low on budget, high on heart" vibe oozing from it.

So long as they're not being a jerk about it, artists should be allowed to get too big for their britches. We mock them but it takes a lot of nerve to essentially tear out a piece of your soul for all to see.

[jedidragonwarriorqueen]

Now that I'm finally caught up I'm rewatching from the beginning whoo whoooooo

[sarahshoots1st]

Beacon Era Whiterose is literally just "I'm so excited to be around you!" x "I can't stand being around you (lying to themselves)." That's some useless lesbianism if i've ever seen any.

[yangfanbb]

🖤💛💜💛

[be-strong-and-hit-stuff]

I've been rewatching the series and felt like drawing our girls from a happier time 🥲

[krismatic]

Red Like Roses Parts 1-3

[enigma2meagain]

RWBY Relic Pieces in Volume 1, Symbolism of the Pieces, and How It Ties To the Broader Narrative.

Did a quick searchup on the symbolism of chess pieces, and taking what I saw into consideration (note that this is very abridged, and possibly not entirely correct):

CRDL and the Black Bishop

Bishops are representative of religion, as well as spirituality, morality, and wisdom, and a direct reference to Cardin's mythological reference, the Cardinal of Winchester. In regards to the broader narrative that RWBY sets up, he can be considered V1's partial representation of the institution of Huntsmen, more specifically the deeply flawed and darker side standing opposite to the better/neutral aspects of Huntsmen that RWBY/JNPR represent, due to being a racist bully who stands against Grimm, yet also willfully persecutes and harms the people he's supposed to fight for, such as minority groups like Faunus and (given Jaune at this point is basically a civilian in huntsmen's clothing and training wheels) the people depending on the circumstances. Also acts as a form of foreshadowing to the other deeply flawed or outright bad huntsmen we'd come to see later in the series, as well as highlighting the lack of wisdom and morality that can blight the institutions that Huntsmen are supposed to be, represent and protect.

The Black pieces in chess always move second, which highlights how the Huntsmen are a highly reactive organization, and how this severely limits their ability to truly tackle the bigger problems regarding threats like the Grimm, Salem, society's deep internal problems, and in the bigger picture, Ozpin's divine mission.

JNPR and the White Rook

Rooks are representative of the land, being symbolic of the fortress that guards a city or land and its royalty, and how they essentially "guard" the other pieces, as well as representing stability. The majority of JNPR come from civilians compared to the likes of RWBY, with this becoming completely the case after Pyrrha's death and Oscar's inclusion, and they're shown consistently throughout the series as having the strongest connections to civilians on a personal level. They also frequently as the bedrock and stabilizing influence, through Jaune, Nora and Ren's friendships and roles as supporting characters. Being white pieces also highlights how as time goes on, they would develop an increasingly proactive role through the questioning of the narrative told to them by the metaphorical "royals" (in this case, Ozpin's secret circle) and the latter's failure to actually protect them.

This is especially notable in regards to Jaune, Nora, and from a story perspective Ren, given how the former consistently questions Ozpin and his inner circle's shadier actions throughout most of V4 - V8, and Nora and Ren were failed miserably and made orphans due to the lack of huntsmen and the society around them failing to protect them, while putting them into a situation where their only recourse is to become part of the system that failed them.

RWBY and the White Knight

Knight pieces are representative of the medieval military, fitting given the status of Huntsmen, as well as being considered adventurous, valorous, and unpredictable due to their unique fighting style allowing them a level of unpredictability that other pieces don't have, fitting of how RWBY are the main proactive force to pushing Ozpin and the true nature of the secret war against Salem out into uncharted territory, forcing them to actually change and grow.

Knights are also often historically drawn from nobility, much like how every major character in RWBY has some kind of tie to Remnant's most illustrious groups or some kind of major player (Ruby and Yang being part of major Huntsmen lineages, Weiss being a rich heiress to the most powerful corporation in the world, and Blake being effectively the Princess of the Faunus, as well as having ties to the most prominent civil rights activists and movements in all iterations of the White Fang).

Much like JNPR, they are far more proactive compared to the royals they serve, actively pushing the latter outside their comfort zone in a two-pronged attack alongside JNPR, but the series also strives to highlight and deconstruct the messier aspects of their relationship as huntsmen (and thus a form of warrior caste/mercenary, with the following tension in that relationship with the people they are trying to protect) and how the unpredictable nature of their changes results in as much positive and messier forms of change, for better or worse.

This got way longer than I thought it would.

[chikorra]

Ruby and her beloved Crescent Rose ~

[hadesisqueer]

“What if ALL of team RWBY faced their old selves” V1 Blake would cringe at V9 Blake making puns to flirt and V9 Weiss would punch her V1 self /j

[ekaarts]

Yang has some… interesting room decorations 😅

Let's see… Books, a candle holder, team JNPR's relic, a pillow, headphones, a painting, Pyrra's shield, Dr. Oobleck's thermos gun, and a hairbrush.

Just what every teen girl has in their rooms😂

I've been watching this show since Volume 4, I practicly grew up on this, but only now did I realized this

[rwbyuser24]

Was Adam's character assassinated or retconned? (Plus, some clarifications)

Something the people tend to say is that Adam's character was ruined. That what he was supposed to be was changed. Some even claim that Ilia's character was supposed to be Adam's. That Adam was the one to originally assume her role. Is it truth?

First of all, while we can say that it was obvious since he beginning that Adam and Blake had some romantic love because "beauty and the beast", we have to understand that Blake was both beauty AND the beast. What's more, RWBY's allusions never were very important for the characters. Where's Ruby's grandmother? Yang never met the full bear family. Weiss never had an evil stepmother (She had an evil dad). Jaune isn't religious. Nora doesn't have brothers.

And so on. So, before it was revealed in Fall of Beacon, we had no reason to assume Blake and Adam used to be a couple.

But, let's go to the proofs. During their first apparitions nothing they do is romantic. Nor Adam is showed as abusive TOWARDS HER. Both even joked.

"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way."

"Don't be so dramatic."

EDIT: We also have him setting up the charges. Which shows that since the beginning of his appearances, he was someone cruel.

There is Adam saving Blake, but that only means that Adam cares about Blake, not that they are romantic.

We have this draw of Blake. It can be an old draw instead of she drawing him now, she doesn't seem to have a pencil in that moment.

Again, nothing indicates that her relationship with him was romantic.

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone."

While mentioning as a mentor doesn't deny the possibility that he is also a lover, certainly we yet have no established that he was also her lover. She also mention that his idea of a perfect future was not perfect for everyone, she doesn't say "not perfect for no one but himself". Which means that at least for some, his vision of a perfect future was perfect for some.

Though, Blake also mentions that Adam was a monster.

"When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran!" Well, we also have this.

"Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out the tunnels. You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?"

"No, but they'll listen to me."

Remember that Cinder's and the White fang's plan was to use the Grimm to attack Vale. That would have put hundreds of faunus in danger. And yet, Adam was willing to continue working for Cinder. Then, we have the most famous scene for this study.

"You're asking my men to die for your cause - a human cause. That is not an idea I am willing to entertain."

Adam SEEMED like he cared about his cause and didn't like the idea of his men dying for a human cause.

And, when Banesaw told him that he will go behind Blake, this is what Adam responds:

"Forget it. It's time I returned to Mistral and…"

Adam just decides to not focus on the fact that Blake left him, and focus on going to Mistral. We can say that he went to Mistral because Blake left him, but there is nothing that seem to indicate that. He just seem not interested in Blake.

"I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right."

Blake mentions that Adam wasn't evil since the beginning. She mentions that he changed with time.

And... then, he appears in Beacon.

"Bring them to their knees!"

He seems excited and willing to participate in the battle. And bringing Grimm. So, let's analyze.

During most of first volumes nothing implied that Adam used to be Blake's romantic partner. Yet, nothing that Blake said seem to deny that either. She is quite vague, and we can even say that it's because of the abusive nature of her relationship with him.

I don't think that there was a change of direction. Let me explain, we have no reasons to think that the writers wanted first one thing, and later they wanted other.

We can say that for example Adam never cared about his troops dying in Mountain Glenn, he only pretended he cared about them. We can say that Blake hide the fact that she used to be in a relationship with Adam because of the abusive nature if her relationship with him.

EDIT: About Ilia stealing Adam's characterization. I read that. That Ilia shares some traits with Adam. Like both like Blake, both can pass as humans, both are empathizable. But, well, Adam have prominent horns, so he can't pass as humans easily. Not sure if Adam was sympathetic or empathizable, he was willing to kill innocent humans in both the train and the breach. That without mention the faunus that might have died during the breach. Yes, it was planned to happen later, but still, it was planned to happen. We can say that Adam was threatened, but he was willing to continue working with Cinder even after the breach. So, that of "Ilia stole Adam's characterization" seem more like a conspiracy theory.

What I think is that the writers should have been more careful in what they established. Adam certainly give some different ideas. Does he care about Blake or not? Is he a lover or a mentor? Does he care about the faunus or not?

There are only two episodes of difference between Beginning of the end (When Adam ignores Blake) and Battle of Beacon (When is revealed that Adam had a romance with Blake). So again, it would be almost impossible a change of direction with the character in a thing of few episodes. The thing is that there was never a change of direction with the character, it's just that the characterization of Adam seem somewhat contradictory.

So, yeah, that is. Adam wasn't retconned. It's just that the writers should have been more careful.

Clarification numer one:

Alright. I'm gonna be brief. Stop using Monty's name. At this point, is amazing I have to give this message but it seems that the people are not understanding something. "Monty had a version of the characters, but RT ruined it" Dude, what do YOU know about what was the version of the story of Monty? We barely have information about what Monty wanted. We have no reason to affirm something like "They are not following Monty's vision". So, please, stop. Clarification number two: Not all the people that criticize Adam's character use the Monty's vision argument. Well, "Argument". Some people tend to generalize and say that the RWDE always use the Monty's vision's "argument". That isn't the case, is just a minority those who use that bullshit.

Clarification numer three: In Twitter I found someone saying something like "What right do the Adam's fans to justify his actions?". I'm paraphrasing. Look, It's simple. The Adam's fans don't defend nor justify his actions. Well, maybe they defend some actions made under Sienna (Like killing the supremacist or his violent actions against the SDC).

But Adam's don't justify him being a pedophile. Nor they justify when he kills innocent people. Neither when he attacks Beacon or Vale with Grimm. Adam fans also DON'T justify his toxic behavior with Blake.

So, yeah, that would be all.

[matt0044]

Nostalgia for Volume 1... befuddles me.

Honestly, I get major whiplash seeing it because… I was there. RWBY was the butt of every joke from weebs for their “cringe writing” (which I do find enjoyment more in hindsight) and even some fans felt that a solid overall plot was one of their pet peeves.

Yet some “critics” will often make snappy posts about “Remember when RWBY was just dumb fun and not trying to be smart?” I mean… I enjoy the amateur web animation vibe but part of it comes from knowing how better it gets overtime outside of the fight scenes.

Hell, Volume 5′s battles might not be top notch but everything else like character details and mannerisms were actually on point. A far cry from the first two volumes that struggled with facial emoting more often than not.

[jedidragonwarriorqueen]

[kyraxyrespace]

[yangfanbb]

Classic Case of how it started vs how it's going

[rebenoscar]

I'm going to be thinking about this for hours