English Dub Review: RWBY: Ice Queendom “Ice Queendom”

Overview

On her snowboard, Ruby slides down the snowy field. While Weiss, possessed by the Grimm “Nightmare”, created a world in her dreams, which is a reflection of her mind. With the help of Shion, a Huntsman specializing in stopping “Nightmare” Grimm, Ruby sneaks into Weiss’ dream and heads toward the place where the “Nightmare” has taken root…


Our Take

And now we begin episode 4 which marks the beginning of an anime original story. In a nutshell, it takes place between Seasons 1 and 2. With Ruby entering Weiss’s mind thanks to Shion’s help. The pacing has improved and Ruby’s exploration of Weiss’ dream gives more depth to her character, even though we knew some of it during the Early Seasons of RWBY which was later changed for the better in Volume 4.

While it further establishes the rules of this dream world and the limitations it has which almost feel Matrix-like, and mostly involve “dream coins” which Ruby must use sparingly if she wants to survive. But the redesigns of Ruby and Weiss were easily the standouts reflecting mostly everything in that world which is made up of what Weiss thinks of, believes in, and feels so the pressure and the distorted images she has on her friends are accurate and she doesn’t even realize it. Now that’s creepy. This is further exemplified by Weiss not remembering how Ruby’s weapon accurately works when it shoots from behind instead of in front, and with new character redesigns such as Ruby dressed as a snowboarder, while Weiss’s outfit looks like a cross between Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill and M. Bison.

Overall, this was a solid episode. At least compared to the previous ones which were an abridged recap of Season 1. We’ll most likely see Yang and Blake enter the dream world at some point since Weiss is too powerful in her dreamscape and Ruby will most likely need backup. My only question is, why does Ruby have to go alone first when all of team JNPR entered together simultaneously? Was it meant to ease audiences in if we just see through the eyes of one character before other ones jump in? I guess we’ll find out later on.