This article was originally uploaded to the old site on July 1st, 2015.
Yesterday, I had nothing to do, so I decided to give RWBY a rewatch. RWBY is a animated show on the web, hosted by Rooster Teeth. The creator, Monty Oum (may he rest in peace), had nothing under his own creative belt other than two fan videos, Haloid and Dead Fantasy, paying tribute to video games by having characters beat each other up. Well, I guess that would be an understatement.
The videos were praised for their choreography, which was far beyond pretty much anything anybody had ever seen. Monty got a bunch of recognition from it, becoming lead animator for Rooster Teeth's biggest claim-to-fame, Red vs. Blue, and even working on a video game for Afro Samurai. So, what did he decide to do next? Well, make his own show.
RWBY is definitely one of my favorite pieces of fiction to come from the internet, up there with Chris Niosi's TOME (which I would also recommend). It's biggest strength as a story is the excellent characterization. The fight choreography was a step up from his previous projects (and yes, that's possible) and the soundtrack is the best I've heard in a long time (seriously, it's on Spotify, give it a listen as soon as possible). It's overall a very enjoyable show.
Why spill my opinions immediately? Well, I have a point to make.
The show has many, many technical issues.
In Volume 1, the animation in non-fight scenes is very inconsistent, and can range from good to awful. Occasionally, it implements 2D that looks just terrible. Background characters? Nope, only silhouettes.
RWBY is definitely one of my favorite pieces of fiction to come from the internet, up there with Chris Niosi's TOME (which I would also recommend). It's biggest strength as a story is the excellent characterization. The fight choreography was a step up from his previous projects (and yes, that's possible) and the soundtrack is the best I've heard in a long time (seriously, it's on Spotify, give it a listen as soon as possible). It's overall a very enjoyable show.
Why spill my opinions immediately? Well, I have a point to make.
The show has many, many technical issues.
In Volume 1, the animation in non-fight scenes is very inconsistent, and can range from good to awful. Occasionally, it implements 2D that looks just terrible. Background characters? Nope, only silhouettes.
So, wouldn't it be a chore to watch through because of all these issues?
Not in the slightest.
The way I see it, RWBY shows what a new creator can do when he sets his mind to something. He had only made small fan tributes before, and his first major project (at least in the scope of a multi-season show) is engaging, enjoyable, and fun all the way up to where it is right now. These technical problems bring it down from the perspective of a critic, yes, but it doesn't hold back the important parts, and it's still great regardless.
As a creative type myself, I find myself in the same place Monty Oum was in when he created RWBY. His skills weren't up to where they would be ideally, he wouldn't make the best thing he possibly could. So, he could have waited. Or, he could have set out and created it in the place he was in. He obviously decided to make it, but what if he didn't? He died early in February this year from an unexpected allergic reaction. Nobody could have seen it coming.
If he had waited, RWBY would never exist.
As content creators, we cannot wait to make something. We don't live long enough. We have to make the best of the time we have and get out everything we can. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect, which RWBY most definitely wasn't. If we have stories to share, we have to share them.
Volume 2 of RWBY improved on many of the issues RWBY had. The animation stays consistent throughout. The 2D cuts stopped really quickly in Volume 1. There are actual people in the background.
Not in the slightest.
The way I see it, RWBY shows what a new creator can do when he sets his mind to something. He had only made small fan tributes before, and his first major project (at least in the scope of a multi-season show) is engaging, enjoyable, and fun all the way up to where it is right now. These technical problems bring it down from the perspective of a critic, yes, but it doesn't hold back the important parts, and it's still great regardless.
As a creative type myself, I find myself in the same place Monty Oum was in when he created RWBY. His skills weren't up to where they would be ideally, he wouldn't make the best thing he possibly could. So, he could have waited. Or, he could have set out and created it in the place he was in. He obviously decided to make it, but what if he didn't? He died early in February this year from an unexpected allergic reaction. Nobody could have seen it coming.
If he had waited, RWBY would never exist.
As content creators, we cannot wait to make something. We don't live long enough. We have to make the best of the time we have and get out everything we can. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect, which RWBY most definitely wasn't. If we have stories to share, we have to share them.
Volume 2 of RWBY improved on many of the issues RWBY had. The animation stays consistent throughout. The 2D cuts stopped really quickly in Volume 1. There are actual people in the background.
The easiest way to improve at anything is to practice, and making art in itself is practice. If he hadn't made Volume 1 when he did, Monty wouldn't have been as good as he was by Volume 2. He would have died without making such a contribution. And RWBY is still continuing. It's on hiatus at the moment due to the surprise loss, but Rooster Teeth assured us that Volume 3 is coming.
Without the ambition that Monty Oum had, we would be one great show short. So, maybe we should be a bit more ambitious ourselves. On that note, this is your captain, signing off.
Without the ambition that Monty Oum had, we would be one great show short. So, maybe we should be a bit more ambitious ourselves. On that note, this is your captain, signing off.