We be bloggin'

Taking a small break from anime reviews for today, I thought I’d instead turn my attention to something that recently came to a close—RWBY volume 7. Now, because Star isn’t a fan of RWBY, and because my brother is only fun to rant to for so long, I thought now is the perfect time. Oh, and as always SPOILER ALERT.

So to say off the bat, volume 7 is probably one of the best we’ve had in a while (IMO). But that’s not to say it was perfect. First off, the entire first half of the season was not only slow to me, but also entirely forgettable. While yes this was just so they could set things up for when shit hit the fan, I still honestly can’t tell you much about how this season started. But once we hit the schnee manor things got more interesting. For one, we had the return of Whitley and no offense but if even one of you calls him Shitley I will fight you. This boy, while yes annoying, clearly has more to him than meets the eye and I will protect this little snowflake to the end. I was genuinely delighted to see a different, more troubled side to Whitley when his father was taken and away, and while I’m a little sad they didn’t go further with that in this volume…well they aren’t out of Atlas yet so I’m sure there’s plenty of time for that to come.

Oh also in case you couldn’t guess, this rang will skip around a lot. So this next portion is praising to goddess the existence of Marrow. Again, yet another good boy that has blessed us with his presence. Out of all the ace ops he seems to be the one who is closest to RWBYJNOR. I deeply enjoy this and low-key hope that he teams up with them again next season. Like I know the ace ops ended up fighting team RWBY but we can all agree that Marrow went easy on Weiss, though she woulda kicked his ass even if he hadn’t. Like, my snow queen can hold her own but it was pretty clear Marrow didn’t want to be fighting.

Also speaking of Weiss, my QUEEN. She didn’t have a ton this volume but I just friggin love her period. From her sassing her father, to her talk with her mother, to going to the movies with Jaune & Oscar, to just being the sheer badass she is, I loved every minute of her. And her absolutely fire new outfit. Please give me more of Weiss next volume. And her and Whitley please.

But now onto probably the most important thing I have to rant about volume 7. I said it to my brother in the first goddamn episode. I DON’T TRUST THAT MOTHERFUCKER AND I WAS RIGHT.

Who is said person I’m talking about? Ironwood. Now, my man had some great scenes in the beginning and he seemed like an alright dude. But no. Then he had to go crazy from fear (saw it coming) and shot a literal child off a cliff (getting Star Wars vibes here). And not just any child. NO. It had to be Oscar, my sweet baby boy Oscar (#stan4life). But also like, that ended up being a pretty epic scene for Oscar in the end. And also probably the most screen time he’s had in like three volumes (or ever). I see some great and terrible things coming for our boy. But I’m so here for it. I mean, he has a landing strategy you guys! (also side note but let’s take a moment of silence for yet another one of Blake’s future predicting book titles: The Boy who fell from the sky). Oh and that scene of Oscar asking Ozpin how to save Atlas? Dios mio! I swear I will be happy if he gets AT LEAST an ep dedicated to his plight to save it (also there’s a snow prince who is gonna need some saving).

Then there’s that ending. Like. Excuse you Rooster Teeth. Did you just bring bad Salem (tits out) and an army of grim riding in on a demonic whale to ruin some shit? That cliff hanger was both not cool and simultaneously the coolest way to end a season. The pure foreboding it brought was killer (much like I’m sure Salem will be when she touches down in Atlas). The image of the whale also gave me uneasy feels because y’know Penny is there. Speaking of Penny, now THAT is some character development. To be honest I wasn’t a huge fan of Penny before she got dissembled but now that she’s the protector of mantle? I’ve absolutely loved her. To see her grow into her person has been a delight, and to see her become the winter maiden (called it)? Legit so fulfilling. I could not be prouder of her.

Overall, this season had it’s ups and downs but ultimately I enjoyed it. There were definitely weak points due to plot lines that didn’t feel totally fulfilled, and there was also that achingly slow pace in the beginning, but overall I found that the final few episodes made up for it as it picked up speed. I’m really hoping that the more tedious parts of this season were not just set up for the end of volume 7 but perhaps even into longer narratives in volume 8, after all I have a feeling they’ll be in Atlas just a liiiiiiitle longer. If there is anything to complain about, it’s that I’m not quite sure what the underlying meaning of this season was. I’m assuming it had to do with fear (i/e Ozpin’s speech). But there was also that weird plot line about duty over bonds vs. bonds over duty that was happening between Ace Ops and RWBY. When RWBY defeated the ops it made it seem like bonds were more important but then we backpedal when it turns out Ironwood’s fears came true and Salem had come for them, so it seems like doing their duty may have helped them. It’s an interesting little thing happening but I’m always gonna say Ironwood is wrong because I never trusted him to do the right thing.

Anyway, this was my rant on volume seven of RWBY. Though honestly I could go on forever about how shit Ironwood is and how great Oscar is doing. Alas, I shall end it here.

P.S. I stan the bees who were a literal light all season