Review: RWBY Season 2 Wrap Up

Spoilers Below

Well, the end of the season kind of snuck up on me for this one. Not only did I miss the post from Rooster Teeth saying that episode 12 was the season finale, but it really didn’t feel much like a season finale.

But here we are and the end of the season and it’s time to look back on what Rooster Teeth presented us with during the last season.

Story wise this season was meatier than season one. While the first season largely introduced the characters, the school ,and the world around them. This season had much heavier storylines with Cinder and crew’s evil plot, all the interpersonal issues leading up to the school dance, more characters to use, and just better storytelling. Between the dance and the trip to Mountain Glenn we got to see a lot of development into Team RWBY especially, but Jaune and Pyrrha had quite a lot of character building as well. I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface with a lot of characters though, such as Nora and Ren and team CFVY but there is always season 3 for them to get screen time. The only real disappointment looking back though was Penny. She had this cool thing going where we found out about her being a robot and her involvement with Ironwood, but then she just disappears after the dance. Sure, the way things ended for the season make me believe she is going to be a big part of the tournament coming up, but I’d like to have seen just a little more from her story than just her being out of the picture completely.

Animation was THE big improvement though for this season. I mentioned it in past reviews that they really upgraded things after the first season. No more “blank” background people. Even people in the background got some kind of animation. The surroundings were deeper and better animated, and the movements of the characters improved as well. Sure there were some spots now and again where there was some collision issues, perspective problems, and the like, but they weren’t a constant. In other words these guys weren’t making the same mistake over and over again. The pacing of these shows were incredible as they knew when to go fast and heavy and when to slow things down a bit for better effect. The fight scenes during this season were amazing and a big strength for the animation crew of Rooster Teeth. The action of the first episode this season is only topped by the last episode of the season. Knowing that, that puts a BIG expectation from them to really deliver when this tournament gets started. I’m drooling at the prospect of what kind of action they will deliver in that series of episodes.

Another strength of this show is how they managed the time they did have. This show did in anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes what some shows couldn’t really do in 30. They paced themselves out very well and even in the sillier moments they didn’t waste their time. They knew when to reveal things and hit major plot points without using filler and making useless scenes. And as we see they know when to keep stuff for later and not blow everything right off the bat.

Now that the season is finished, you really begin to see the difference in this show than a lot of the shows on TV and the ones I watch. A lot of those shows have the plotline they use for the season and things get resolved, even if there is the larger plot in mind. Bleach, One Piece, Naruto and the like typically had story arcs that lasted a season and finished up as the season ended, but played into the larger storyline. Here, especially with the finish of this season, that’s not the case. A big part of the season was wrapped up during the dance, and the storyline around the secret base didn’t feel much like it’s own storyline, like it was leading to something bigger. Granted the two episodes that did wrap that up were amazing, but that’s a big reason why I was surprised that episode 12 was the finale. It felt like it was the means to an end, not the end of the means.

The weak point for me was easily the World of Remnant shorts. I didn’t like these one bit and hope they do away with them next season. If they were on their own then I would be more forgiving of them, but using them instead of episodes was a big mistake. They weren’t very informational, often said a lot but really didn’t say anything of note, and really interrupted the flow of the action and story of the show. I felt, and still feel, they came across as time fillers and padded out the episode count for the season instead of adding any substance. If I were to recommend the series to anyone I’d tell that person to skip over those eps because they aren’t essential to much of anything. They are like the miniature wax food you see in Japanese food joints, sure they look good, but it is not recommended nor wise to consume them.

Looking over this season, it was fantastic! It worked out all the kinks from the first season and showed what this show can really do. It had a perfect blend of action, comedy, a great over all arc, and a well done blend of all the individual storylines that kept my attention every week and wanting more. The characters aren’t one note, annoying, plot devices, but layered characters that add their own elements to the show. The setting in well crafted and amazing and the producers use it well. The high points for me this season was the first episode, the last two eps, and the dance episodes, while the low lights were the WOR shorts. Beyond those shorts there wasn’t a whole lot that made me cringe or get really turned off. It was a hit every time. But those shorts were part of the deal so I do have to take something away from my over all rating of the season. I’m hoping that next season they scrap that idea and just focus on what we as viewers really want, the show!

See you next season!