DVD Review: RWBY Volume 5

Better late than never!

RWBY Volume 5 is really where Rooster Teeth truly went all in on making the show it’s new flagship series. Which an instant global fandom, mountains upon mountains of merch, multiple comics in development, and a much (maybe over) hyped Japanese rebroadcast were all more than enough to prove the property had legs to stand on. And while V5 is likely one of if not the most divisive season yet, this home release that marks the fifth year makes it clear that the next stage of the RWBY phenomenon is just getting started.

This is the first of the releases since Volume 1 to not be a Blu-Ray and DVD combo pack, which I guess just goes to show that DVDs are just not worth bundling anymore. It’s a shame and inconvenience for people like me who are used to that, but it was probably coming sooner or later. This time, the season is split into two discs and it and its commentaries are put on Disc 1. We still have a Director’s Commentary and a Crew Commentary, but like Volume 4, no Cast Commentary. This is especially disappointing since those were by far the most amusing commentary track of the first few seasons. I know that the main four actresses might have conflicting schedules which makes coming together for this harder than it used to be, but I really hope it’s something they plan on bringing back for a future season. Also, something multiple fans have brought up is the lack of a “movie mode” like previous seasons, likely due to the increasing length of episodes making it clearer and clearer that this is not really a movie. Still, if enough fans ask for it, maybe it’ll come back.

Along with their comedy sideshow, RWBY Chibi, airing in the months beforehand, RT also brought in extra behind the scenes segments called CRWBY: Behind the Episode and a Talking Dead-esque recap show called RWBY Rewind. There didn’t seem to be room for the Rewind segments on the second disc, which is a shame since they felt as much as part of the experience of watching the show week to week as the other parts. They also added in all of the Character Shorts involving Weiss, Blake, and Yang on that disc, but not Ruby’s oddly enough. Also weird is that her short is only available on OTHER RT shows in the “Trailers” section, even though I’d hardly say it qualifies as that. Maybe they’ll put it on an RWBY Chibi release whenever that happens.

This release seems like they’re trying out some new stuff with their future discs now that they have extra room for just Blu-Rays, but whether the less liked changes are just growing pains or steps too far is hard to say just yet. If you like the show, pick it up when you get a chance.