(WARNING: This article will contain spoilers from Volume 3 of RWBY, up until and including "Episode 9: PvP". Read ahead only if you are caught up, or if you do not care about spoilers)
The kid gloves have officially been taken off.
Rooster Teeth, known for their more fun loving comedic series such as X-Ray & Vav, Achievement Hunter, and Immersion, has taken one of their flagship shows, RWBY, and given it a bit of a tonal facelift. The anime-inspired show, now in the middle of its third volume, has shifted from a comedic series with high speed action to a darker, more serious show...with high speed action.
The serious turn follows the natural progression of the show, as the characters have become more mature and have found themselves in much more difficult scenarios. Volume 1 primarily focused on the introduction of the main characters of the show, as well as an introduction of Beacon Academy, the main background of the series. Volume 2 introduced us more to the main villain of the show - Cinder Fall (voiced by Jessica Nigri), as well as show off the the strengths and weaknesses of the main characters. The end of Volume 2 showed us that Cinder had a plan in place to disrupt Beacon Academy and those within its walls.
Now, nine episodes into Volume 3, Cinder's plans are taking shape, and the lives of the characters we have grown to enjoy are in ruin.
Volume 3 started by showing off the Vytal Festival, an annual celebration attended by people all over the world of Remnant that includes the Vytal Tournament, a battle tournament of students from the major academies, which is shown all over the world. The tournament begins normally, with Team RWBY and JNPR making it out of the first round, but quickly it is revealed that Cinder and her team of Mercury, Emerald, and Neo, can manipulate the tournament match ups. This, along with Emerald's power of perception manipulation, has caused one of the members of Team RWBY, Yang (voiced by Barbara Dunkelman), to be disqualified from the tournament and become distrusted by the community, and has created the first on screen death of a protagonist, Penny Polendina (voiced by Taylor Pelto). At the end of Episode 9, Grimm have begun attacking Beacon Academy, causing the festival to be canceled, and a message from Cinder to the people in attendance telling them not to trust the heads of the academies or military forces. All of Volume 3 can currently be watched on Roosterteeth.com.
The shift in tone of RWBY prompted Gray Haddock, the head of Rooster Teeth animation, to post a journal on the Rooster Teeth site, discussing viewer discretion going forward.
"If you are responsible for a very young viewer, you may want to start watching RWBY episodes yourself before deciding to show it to a child."
A lot of the comedy may have been taken out in return for a darker series, but make no mistake about it - Rooster Teeth is still hitting this series out of the park. The shift in tone matures the show, but it does not weaken it. In fact, it adds a lot of strength to the series, as the characters have become far more dynamic. It shows their depth and ability to handle tough situations, and it also shows that the main protagonists, who once seemed indestructible, have flaws and can not handle every problem thrown their way. These characters cry. They get knocked down. They distrust others. All the things that make them human and relatable to the audience. Bringing back Roman Torchwick, the primary villain in Volume 1, adds a villain with more personality, which balances off the usually stoic Cinder.
The animation continues to be solid, especially in the battle scenes, but it is refreshing to see that they are not relying on battles to keep the series moving forward. The safe bet would have been to have the entirety of Volume 3 be just the Vytal Tournament, and build more of the other plot points in Volume 4. By moving the story forward in the face if the tournament, Rooster Teeth is telling their audience that they trust that their writing is strong enough to not have to lean on battle sequences for the entire series. Their faith in their writing is well placed, as the characters' personalities add to the combat sequences, not distract from it.
The addition of "Uncle" Qrow Branwen (voiced by Vic Mignogna) has added a new layer to the series. Not only is Qrow's laid back, drunken style in complete contract to the personalities of the other headmasters and leaders in the show, but he also progresses two storylines at once - the back story behind Yang's mother, and Pyrrha Nikos' future and subsequent emotional struggles.
The team of Haddock, Miles Luna, and Kerry Shawcross clearly have a plan in place, but moving forward, it would be nice to see more of fan favorites Team CFVY, primarily Coco (voiced by Ashley Jenkins) and Velvet (voiced by Caiti Ward). They also should not wrap up their conflict too quickly - having the characters overcome obstacles that seem impossible is part of the draw. Given the turns that the show has already made, however, it would be foolish to doubt or question the RWBY team moving forward.
