Its good to see you upload another video after what seem to be a long while. It is really interesting to someone like your self review this piece of media as a work of art than a work of production, which a lot of RWBY reviewers tend to judge it by, be it the writers or voice actors, or whichever. I like your more nuance approach which isn't overly negative nor overly positive, hit it just the right amount of both.
I liked it when Ren went all out on Yang and Jaune. Someone finally acknowledges that they're completely and utterly in over their head, that the plan is terrible and that they have fucked more things up than they have saved. And he turns out to be right all along. Atlas falls due to RWBY's incompetence and now there are millions of people stuck in the desert without shelter or water.
38:13 when he said Ren almost turned evil I lost it, cause it showed me that he only looked at that scene in black and white good and bad without the greys in between, that he saw no merit to any of Ren's words and that was a surprising disappointment.
While I love the idea of Penny leaving a message for Ruby with Winter. It wouldn't work because Penny believes Ruby is dead. Because Ruby fell. So in Penny's mind she will reunite with Ruby in the afterlife. Which is just sad for Penny honestly. But I get why you want that moment. I agree. Maybe if Ruby was still fighting at the point Penny died. But oh well. I am curious of what they will do with Jaune next volume with what happened.
Its nice to have a more nuanced take of this show's volume as a whole. Usually I find people either completely ignore the flaws the show has and act like its perfect or act like its a massive pile of garbage that has no redeeming qualities. Obviously anyone can have the perspective they want but its refreshing to see someone have an appreciation for the good aspects whilst still acknowledging its faults as well as well-thought out reasonings for each. I also think u bring a lot of interesting interpretations of scenes and their intentions that make me want to rewatch the show. A very good video
Yeah you got actual RWBY reviewers on UA-cam like THOMAS Vaccaro aka Unicorn of War, Vexed Viewer, Celtic Phoenix, Judgemental Critter, MangaKamen and FatmanFailings, that all treat the show as a dumb show with dumb characters and make fun of it as they review it. Also Unicorn of War and Celtic Phoenix doing fan rewrites. Mediaocrity4 kinda does a similar nuance take on RWBY.
@@itsblitz4437 How does MangaKamen treat the show like that? Did you even watch his video or did you just make assumptions about it based on he said she said? Because he wasn't just bashing the show for the sake of bashing it like some would have you believe.
@@itsblitz4437 Vexed Viewer and FatManFalling, maybe, but from the vids I've seen from Unicorn of War, Celtic Phoenix, and Judgmental Critter, they don't think RWBY is "a dumb show with dumb characters"-- rather, they consider it a "so bad it's good [for improvements]" kind of show. The mocking during their reviews are them losing patience with the elements they didn't like, and overall they respect that it has a place in people's hearts + their own. As for the rewrites-- creative adaptations, rewrites and fanfictions are just exactly that: fan rewrites, ideas to write down that they think might work better than in canon, and individual interpretations.
Shooting Oscar and the random council member is different, yes Oscar is a kid but also has an adult inside of him can control him. He been betrayed by Oscar and his team. So getting rid of Oscar as Ospin makes sense, the council member nah not necessary. Plus he was defenseless no aura no magic, no weapon, so it seems more evil and cold. The scene even emphasis this change in ironwood
I mean the council members were useless anyways. If it wasn't for the fact Ironwoods was such a good character and at this moment it signified the stupid while also comedic spiral staircase he was falling down I'd simply have just gone "Oh no! He killed that guy...! Anyways."
I just finished watching rwby from 1-8 within this week and penny was my favourite character the entire time, if she did say what you said at 49:21 . I would have been absolutely heart broken.
The writers describe Cinder's arc this volume as "returning to her roots" in the commentary, so at the very least, they seem aware of the issues you brought up in your video. I have no larger point to make I just thought it'd be nice to know.
Cinders flashback is problematic, because the huntsman who helped her train was out to get her, even if he knew she was being tortured her whole life. Instead of getting her out. Rwby LOVES to blame victims for fighting back.
I spent the whole flashback with a slowly deepening frown on my face, wondering "wait...is this guy...like working for Salem? Is...is he trying to make sure that this has the worst possible outcome?" He wasn't evil but he was so wrong in his approach, I'm just baffled. I guess it's realistic to depict this from a legal angle but ain't huntsman supposed to be like the heroes for the heroes? She was in hell. Fuckin...do something. _Anything_ to get her out, my drab grey dude.
@@yuukichan12 After Cinder killed her tormentors, I rather expected her getting addicted or something to use killing to solve her problems. That was what I was expecting, that Violence was her go to solution,because it freed her. That's why I first expected that the huntsman would show sympathy, get her out and later learn that she's slowly going nuts. But seeing how he instantly turned his weapon against her, was disgusting! Like what the hell do you expect? People staying cool while they are going through hell?!
@Books and Tv Geek he was definitely meant to be portrayed as taking the wrong course of action, the director's commentary confirmed it. It's just...I can't comprehend Rhodes' logic. It feels that everything in Cinder's backstory was set up in a way to make sure that she was completely broken by the end; feels so strangely hopeless.
First off, music choice is on point for the entire vid. Second, I really like your approach to criticism. You look at both the good and bad elements separately, without letting your feelings on one color the other. You also acknowledge that this story isn't over yet, and that there is still room for further developments to change how we look back on these moments (for better or worse). Third, thanks for sharing your interpretations and thoughts on the volume. I never considered the connection between Penny and suicide, so hearing you spell it out for me was quite enlightening.
Almost certainly your best video yet. Loved every second of it. All 3,226 of them. I did find it pretty funny how frequently you stopped to explain the concept of subjectivity or another equally basic aspect of media criticism because you know for sure that explaining them is 100% necessary for a UA-cam audience. Also not a criticism but it is very funny that at 40:26 since you don't say that him shooting Oscar happened before you made the video, to someone who doesn't know RWBY chronology it sounds like you are refuting the claim of him being evil by pointing out he shot a child as if that is morally good.
Yes!!! Been waiting for this and you didn't disappoint. I respect your respect for the show so much! 👏🏻 You chose all the best music, media clips and articulated your honesty which is the shining beacon of how this fandom operates.. or should. RWBY is a fantastical tale of not only RWBY (or else it would've been bland like HP) but takes 'time' developing immensely rich characters(as you said Ren & Nora = MCs) and IMHO we're not quite done with Penny yet but idk how, I do think she'll get a proper send off with Ruby somehow ❤💚
Awesome video! As per usual you hit beats with characters that didn't fully click with me like Penny and show me a ton of nuance I completely missed. The only thing I would like to lightly contest is your rebuttal to the fairly common dislike amongst fans of Ironwood shooting the councilman. I am without a doubt one of those people but I dislike that scene for a different reason. When Ironwood shot Oscar at the end of Vol 7, it's certainly a villainous moment for him, but one thing that I think is often overlooked is that Oscar, to everyone's favorite tin man, anyway, is just gonna come back. He may be a kid, but he's also the new form of the man that Ironwood just learned has been consistently feeding him lies and half-truths for most of his career. Shooting Oscar may kill him, but Ozpin will come back regardless. It's the simplified, terrifyingly robotic logic here that I think both fuels Ironwood's decision and exemplify how far-gone his compassion truly is. When Ironwood shoots the councilman, he's still getting rid of an obstacle, but that moral safety net/excuse of reincarnation is no longer present. This may just be my interpretation, but I feel some of the subtext from Vol 7 Ironwood is sorta...undermined...? Probably reading into this the wrong way, but I am interested to hear your take on this (sorry if I dumped too much here)
Maybe what people meant instead of “Penny dying” being pointless was “Penny becoming the maiden instead of Winter” since the powers were supposed to go to Winter in the beginning anyway so what was the point? I can kinda see where they’re coming from if that’s the case.
Its wild that regardless of the personal stance of any RWBY reviewer or their content, the comments will consist at least partly of people who need to very vocally express how they don't like the show anymore...
Writing this before I watch: Personally, my opinion is that I really liked the plot and character moments of this one, but thought it really lacked on some of the better parts of RWBY. I really did not like the fight scenes, and thought the music was very lacking. It also felt very rushed in general, and the finale, while bold, was probably my least favorite part. Buuut...I really loved stuff like Ruby and Yang's scene, the scenes with Nora and Ren, honestly, Nora in general was great. There was a lot of good stuff with all characters and I liked all of it because of that. I just wish they were able to give these characters some great fight scenes--😔 also some of the plots felt worse than the previous season, I'm done rambling though, I'm gonna watch. Edit: Okay, that was probably the rest review of the volume I've seen...juuust like last time. Lol. Great job!
I'm just starting the video but I love the deltarune music in the background already Edit: great choice of background music in general. And great analysis!
As someone who is conflicted about Volume 8, this review is exactly what I needed to stare beyond the obvious hatemongering of other reviews towards what we all want RWBY to be, a western anime worth watching.
I couldn't tell you exactly why but you talking about Penny's second death made me more emotional that the moment itself. I don't whether that's the show not communicating it properly or me just being kinda stupid and never picking up on it.
What do you mean Ren almost turned evil?!? I mean I think that your are exaggerating or at least hope you are but like either way Ren was never close to becoming evil at worst he nearly abandoned our main characters because he rightfully recognized that they were severely outclassed and were not ready for this. As shown by the fact they almost completely failed in their goal of saving Atlas and the keeping the relics safe. Of those two main goals they technically succeeded at one if we consider stranding a city worth of people in a desert sandstorm as saving them.
I think the "no more Gretchens" line was Hazel telling Ozpin not to make the same mistakes again. Because Ozpin doesn't tell people about Salem, they are never prepared to face her and die for it; it's likely Gretchen was a victim of this, so Hazel tells Ozpin to whatever it takes to ensure the safety of others.
Finally, a net positive review of RWBY. Literally everyone, myself included, have given up on the main show. Both parties are valid in criticism and value though. Let's be frank, if Volume 9 flops. This series ends.
I feel the need to point out that base on internal logic Watts’s virus is doing the equivalent of taking over Penny’s nervous system which should effectively make her a living prisoner in her own body since the Soul and physical mind are two very separate things in RWBY and increasing a soul’s strength likely wouldn't let Penny gain control of her robotic nervous system I. A similar way to how having enough will power won't move a leg if your paralyzed from the waist down. In Remnant your soul is connected to your mind but they aren't one in the same. I mean theoretically you could argue that the virus works as a separate soul in the body but I feel it's unlikely to work that way.
43:38 I feel like penny and Oscar arcs here parallel each other alot I was shocked penny be came the maiden but happy about it I like how she like Oscar didn't want this from her life she want to be seen as a girl and have friends not be a maiden and the writer's killed her for no other reason then The maiden are to op so we can't have penny stay around and so they could keep fans around. For the v8 cliffhanger because I know that they're going to bring up in volume 9 when Ruby and the others in wonderland Island Ruby's going to find penny dead and she's really going to break down from it and that's the only reason they killed Penny off so Ruby could have a breakdown completely and I know that's why they did this
Man smaller youtubers are much better at video essays than the big dogs, in the small chance you read this what were your thoughts on the soundtrack on this volume that just released.
Ironwood going Lawful Stupid at the end might have been simply because he didn't have any time to reflect, as he was freed pretty much from the moment he woke up and because he didn't know what the kids had planed, he was out when Jaune sent his broadcast and Winter explained their intentions to Jacques. As for why he killed Jacques... well, first I should say that Ironwood killing the councilor and nearly killing Marrow feels like a mix of pettiness and a absolute refusal to deal with inconveniences in anything other than swift, decisive action. Killing Jacques is simply the pettiness overcoming the other part, because oh boy did Jacques make problems for him!
Nice review but the two things I disagree with is about Whitley and Ren. Whitley didn't have a redemption arc, he was left alone with his father (mom gone drinking, winter to military, weiss to beacon), leaving him to only have him. He's powerless unlike Weiss or Winter. And this mother is at least self aware of this and let's weiss know not to forget him. Not to mention when no one else is home, weiss put out his weapon on him to force herself in. Ren also wasn't really evil, he's was making sense but anyone opposed to the group is a "problem", and spitting facts. Weiss used to be racist in Volume 1, so they rewrote her since, so this is something not was not going to stick. This happened with Qrow: You can't steal an airship from Atlus. He was proven wrong. Adam dies despite him being about the radical leader in the white fang: turned ex-boyfriend, making illa take that role and killing him, and continue to bring up the fanus issue. But that's me thinking narratively, outside the show. In the show, you are right, but I know he wouldn't go evil. Also Ironwood shot Ozpin....who happened to be Oscar. RIP Oscar. Qrow and Hazel aren't the only ones to harm him. Also if I was the Shade academy, I'd be keeping everyone away. So far every academy dean has died, leaving power vacuums. With Atlas and Mantle being completely destroyed by the heroes. I mean Beacon still has people and was building, Haven still has people and was relatively quiet, but Mantle and Altas were wiped off the map. I know they narratively needed to go to Shade but why not drop the people in Vale or Mystal where they're relatively stable and not in a desert? That's one rough climate to the opposite. They're also bring the relics together which technically bring the proverbial end of the world. I think this an interesting review.
@Books and Tv Geek well, what were you on about? Ran was moody af till he got back to nora , she was the one having a personal appifiny before she knocked her self into a coma
Nice work and I agree on nora being knocked out, of course they could of had a lot more time and effort in this vol, I actually forgot about half the stuff that happens. P sure it was going for for like 4 months and they were off for like 3 and a half of em. But that's been the norm for a couple of years
As someone who's been disenfranchised with RWBY ever since Monty passed, I think you're noticing some of the same things other ex-fans have felt about the show. As much as it sounds like we don't like anything about the show anymore, we still understand that at least the concepts are there, and those concepts are absolutely solid. There's still something about the story that's important and nostalgic to us, and that's why we still come back even after we've "left". The stumbling point is bringing those concepts to life in an organic way. The writers are good at making JNR's development organic, but that's arguably because that's the set of characters Miles has more experience with, more intimacy with. Team RWBY, however, don't have as much solid development. They feel... different for those of us looking for a more organic flow and feel to the show. Something feels generic, scripted and unlikeable. I could go on, and I'll probably make a video on that (not that anyone cares, and dear god my channel's a heap of unwatchable garbage), but it seems like RWBY has some of the same issues the final seasons of Game of Thrones had- the creative leads were too specialized around one cluster of things they were good at. With the lack of George RR Martin's thorough source material, which was built upon mountains of medieval history and political philosophy, the producers had to take over and create everything themselves. They, like the RWBY writing team, are good at long-term planning and conceptualizing, and they have some other general talents, but what they lack is the mastery of fine granular detail that their source brought to the table. They can do it, it's just not their strong suit. George Martin and Monty Oum both had habits of stuffing their stories full of things that bogged down the pace, which is where the producers' talents shined through- they could take all this detail, organize it, streamline it and forecast future events. That compensated for both George & Monty's long-term storytelling struggles. When both were effectively lost to the producers, they struggled to flesh things out the same way, leaving a sort of emptiness to the characters and scenes. I'm not calling either writing team "bad" per se. What I am saying is that in order to recreate what they've lost, they have to work backwards to do something they're not good at. They should have brought other people into the writing process, people who have the talent they're missing to form a well-rounded team, but that also requires good communication. That doesn't seem to be a strong suit of RWBY's writing team. Case in point- Blake slapping Sun in V5 was supposed to be a friendly reassuring pat on the back. How did that not get across to the production team? From what I've heard, they struggle to work smoothly with people who think differently than they do, which included Monty and his friends. Miles and Kerry picked 2 other writers who think in a similar way that they do, which reduced conflict in the writing room, but ultimately leaves the same deficiency that they have to constantly grind against to fix. That's why people complain about Ironwood coming across as Comically Evil / Chaotic Stupid instead of Chaotic Evil. That's why people complain that team RWBY never really faced consequences for gaslighting Ironwood and undermining his plans, although it could be argued that destroying Atlas and Mantle could _sort of_ be a consequence. The writers can intend for any and all points to get across to their audience, but it appears a lot of very important points are left to be inferred for the more thorough viewers, that a lot of big moments are used to punctuate the underlying plot. The characters stand around gawking when half the big moments happen, and most of those moments are resolved swiftly and moved on from in the span of an episode or two. At that frequency, we stop caring about the big moments because the setup's always the same, and the consequences only ever seem to last when things happen in the last 2 episodes. The fracture in the audience comes from the split between those who get the points the writers try to make and those who don't. Those who do are usually the viewers who are willing to sit down, watch each episode 2-3 times and scan for small details in order to create a mental corkboard-and-string picture of the plot. Those who don't get the points are usually the viewers who only watch each episode once, feel like they've seen the same handling of events and heard the same lines a thousand times before, and walk away sour and bitter that the writers couldn't breathe more life into it. On another note, the reason people call Penny's death pointless is because Penny was already dead before, then she was brought back, stuffed into a number of crazy situations, given the maiden powers, and killed off (what felt like) 3 seconds later, ultimately ending the same way things were supposed to go- Winter becomes the maiden, Penny's dead, and the villains are scoring a win. It's the writers pulling heartstrings like the ripcord on a lawnmower or chainsaw instead of tactfully manipulating the audience, but still ending the same way things would've ended anyways.
I would argue that it's not Penny's death that should be considered pointless then, but her resurrection and by extension all of her screentime in volume 7 and 8. And that would put Penny's time in those volumes in the same level as Bolin's in season 2 of The Legend of Korra, and I'm sorry, that was truly pointless and not comparable at all to Penny's role in those volumes.
Not disagreeing with anything in the review yet, but honestly volume 8 for all its problems, it probably one of my favorites and gives me hope in volume 9 Also, I can’t decide how I feel about volume 8s portrayal of ironwood cuz on one hand it’s not as bad as I was expecting it to be and feels believable and cool to watch, but at the same time I really wish he stayed in that moral grey and eventually had some form of redemption
Oh, thank you, I really wanted a feed back about rwby and not a big manifesto about how its bad writing the show ou how they badly use Ironwood or about many others stuff. I LAUGHED SO HARD ABOUT THE OSCAR PART HAHAHAHA IN 17:10 PART, I liked how you have point out things. OH, FINALLY SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT CINDER BACKSTORY, OMG I WAS WATCH AGAIN THE VOLUME AND I TOTALLY SKIPPED BC IT WASN'T INTERESTING AT ALL. anyway, You raised good points and personally I liked a lot your feedback. Thanks for being decent and not a guy that point a lot of criticize in something that takes a lot of people to do and time to make. I gonna subscribe on the channel.
To be honest I find it weird that you seem credulous enough that you are happy with most characters arcs … Ruby’s boring go nowhere ‘arc’ (where she did almost nothing particularly plot relevant) had to be pleasing to someone I guess. Overall this made me feel that you lack a critical capacity.
Man I could sit here and pick apart every single thing I didn't agree with here, but I'd be here all day. The last time you saw me I was a fan of RWBY. That didn't last with this volume. And figuring out the many many problems of RWBY in verse and behind the scenes. I'll just say not really in agreeance with your takes here.
Am I the only one whose annoyed that Penny died while a literal healer was right there? Like I know why she died thematically I guess but like in verse Penny really has no reason to die there like Jaune could definitely heal her. Jaune, Weiss, and Penny should be able to 3v1 Cinder especially since Penny beat Cinder earlier alone. Like literally all I would need to not complain about this is Penny having a wound I genuinely believe Jaune couldn’t heat like if those claw wounds were more concentrated on her heart or if Penny had more wounds cause I see her death and Im just screaming at Jaune to heal her cause like no Penny Jaune why did you guys just go out without a fight ya’ll didn't even try to find a solution.
In V9, when Ruby, who is nearly at her breaking point, learns of Penny's death, she's going to lose it and she's going to lash out against everyone, especially Jaune.
As a whole, the story of the show and characters are pretty crap. Like how you say that we should not pretend we know more than the creators. Which is true to some extent, but in the case of rwby I believe there are people in the comments who can write a better script. The story, writing, characters the last few seasons have been boring and stoic as all hell, unoriginal and predictable. The show has soo much potential, the animation is fine. But there hasn't been much good fight choreography for us to be able to see k It in motion. A lot of sitting around and boring conversations.
I must say that even as one of those who “have a big brain and got it on their first watch” I STILL was barely keeping up. It’s more like as the events happened my mind went “click” and then “THAT’S what they were getting at.”
I honestly think that for Cinder’s backstory they should have included a ‘prince’ and given her a love interest. Have them meet and fall in love but something tragic happens to them which kickoffs Cinder’s lust for power into the main story. And it stays true to the Cinderella inspiration as well so it is a win/win.
fourty-six seconds and I already agree. People think they can trash on something for hours and hours and leave at that. When they feel like they will get criticized for it, they retract to saying either, "no piece of art is above criticism", or "it's just my opinion", and worst of all "I'm doing it because I love the show". They talk as if they paid to watch RWBY. They talk as if they are investing thousands of dollars every year to make the show better. But the truth is that they made two-hour videos just being idiots, who won't agree with those statements they made in just a week from then on. They think what they have to say will truly save this piece of art... that is already out and shipped. Criticize bad things, and not things who don't know how to be good.
Straight off at 3.24 when referring between rwby to castlevania in terms of pacing not really smart because Rwby was in a War arc and let's face it in a War arc they failed at that cause they technically ignored the war alot while doing your quote "mini episode adventures". So not to defend castlevania cause it's not perfect but when I actually felt satisfied in terms of watching something and was like that's the Atlas arc I wanted, it was the anime 86 Eighty Six. Lena was a better Weiss in the Republic which was better racist compared to Atlas.
Watching you desperately trying to like this dumpsterfire of a show and make excuses for it is as hilarious as it is sad. "Hey, if they did this plot twist it'd be so obvious I cringed every time someone suggested it, and it'd be terrible if they actually did it for all of these reasons! And then they did it! But they didn't make it a reveal, they outright told you they were doing it with no suspense whatsoever, and the way they did it didn't negate any of my previous complaints, so that it makes it okay! And they could've done it worse! A+!", "Hey, the plotlines were all rushed, but production wise they only had so much time, so its okay! Its not like the writers couldn't've slowed things the hell down to make the mid-season finale the actual finale and just do the rest next season!", and so on. The fact that things like the stupidity of the war scene, the atrocious ironwood vs. everyone fight, or the Hound in its entirety, is rather telling.
Yeah. No this volume is trash we have most of the community agreeing on that. But I have given up on RWBY. It just makes me depressed and sad even thinking about it now. I’m just going to rewatch Team SLVR the Red Trailer and the Fan Animations because that’s the only good things we get now.
I'm not gonna go through all your points, but I'm gonna say that I really like your criticism of this show and this volume. Your points are really thoughtful and you have a really good understanding of what the writers want to tell with their characters, rather then just glossing over certain choices and call them lazy or stupid (like certain people in this fandom do) Personally I love Volume 8, I think it's a great volume with a lot of very impactful and powerful moments that surpasses anything we got in the previous volumes so far. I admit Robyn and Qrow needed more time together, the Ace Ops definitely had the shortest end on the redemption arc stick (although I like where they are apparently taking Harriets character), action was a bit lacking in contrast of Volume 6/7 and the pacing felt a bit all over the place, but still I managed to follow through. I actually really love Cinder's character story (not gonna go into your points about her, but that's fine because everyone has their own opinion), Penny had a very strong but risky character arc (cant stop crying about Friend), I loved Winter in this Volume and the overall episodes were really good, none felt jarring in my opinion. I'm really looking forward to see where they are continuing the story and Ruby's character in Volume 9
Easily the best review I've seen of this volume on UA-cam, congrats on all your hard work getting this lengthy video done
The reason Ironwood killed Jacques was because he just really doesn’t like Beerus.
Its good to see you upload another video after what seem to be a long while.
It is really interesting to someone like your self review this piece of media as a work of art than a work of production, which a lot of RWBY reviewers tend to judge it by, be it the writers or voice actors, or whichever. I like your more nuance approach which isn't overly negative nor overly positive, hit it just the right amount of both.
I liked it when Ren went all out on Yang and Jaune. Someone finally acknowledges that they're completely and utterly in over their head, that the plan is terrible and that they have fucked more things up than they have saved.
And he turns out to be right all along. Atlas falls due to RWBY's incompetence and now there are millions of people stuck in the desert without shelter or water.
38:13 when he said Ren almost turned evil I lost it, cause it showed me that he only looked at that scene in black and white good and bad without the greys in between, that he saw no merit to any of Ren's words and that was a surprising disappointment.
While I love the idea of Penny leaving a message for Ruby with Winter. It wouldn't work because Penny believes Ruby is dead. Because Ruby fell. So in Penny's mind she will reunite with Ruby in the afterlife.
Which is just sad for Penny honestly.
But I get why you want that moment. I agree. Maybe if Ruby was still fighting at the point Penny died. But oh well. I am curious of what they will do with Jaune next volume with what happened.
Its nice to have a more nuanced take of this show's volume as a whole. Usually I find people either completely ignore the flaws the show has and act like its perfect or act like its a massive pile of garbage that has no redeeming qualities. Obviously anyone can have the perspective they want but its refreshing to see someone have an appreciation for the good aspects whilst still acknowledging its faults as well as well-thought out reasonings for each. I also think u bring a lot of interesting interpretations of scenes and their intentions that make me want to rewatch the show. A very good video
Yeah you got actual RWBY reviewers on UA-cam like THOMAS Vaccaro aka Unicorn of War, Vexed Viewer, Celtic Phoenix, Judgemental Critter, MangaKamen and FatmanFailings, that all treat the show as a dumb show with dumb characters and make fun of it as they review it. Also Unicorn of War and Celtic Phoenix doing fan rewrites.
Mediaocrity4 kinda does a similar nuance take on RWBY.
@@itsblitz4437 How does MangaKamen treat the show like that? Did you even watch his video or did you just make assumptions about it based on he said she said? Because he wasn't just bashing the show for the sake of bashing it like some would have you believe.
@@itsblitz4437 Vexed Viewer and FatManFalling, maybe, but from the vids I've seen from Unicorn of War, Celtic Phoenix, and Judgmental Critter, they don't think RWBY is "a dumb show with dumb characters"-- rather, they consider it a "so bad it's good [for improvements]" kind of show. The mocking during their reviews are them losing patience with the elements they didn't like, and overall they respect that it has a place in people's hearts + their own. As for the rewrites-- creative adaptations, rewrites and fanfictions are just exactly that: fan rewrites, ideas to write down that they think might work better than in canon, and individual interpretations.
Shooting Oscar and the random council member is different, yes Oscar is a kid but also has an adult inside of him can control him. He been betrayed by Oscar and his team. So getting rid of Oscar as Ospin makes sense, the council member nah not necessary. Plus he was defenseless no aura no magic, no weapon, so it seems more evil and cold. The scene even emphasis this change in ironwood
I mean the council members were useless anyways. If it wasn't for the fact Ironwoods was such a good character and at this moment it signified the stupid while also comedic spiral staircase he was falling down I'd simply have just gone "Oh no! He killed that guy...! Anyways."
Exactly, like on a surface level it makes sense but when you look at the context behind it it just seems overboard
Wanted a long video to listen in the background and this came at the perfect time, thanks
I just finished watching rwby from 1-8 within this week and penny was my favourite character the entire time, if she did say what you said at 49:21 . I would have been absolutely heart broken.
The writers describe Cinder's arc this volume as "returning to her roots" in the commentary, so at the very least, they seem aware of the issues you brought up in your video.
I have no larger point to make I just thought it'd be nice to know.
GUUURRRRRRRL where is my popcorn, this is gonna be good
This is a fantastic review that detailed why this show is really good but also it’s flaws.
Hoping for volume nine news soon.
Yay another RWBY review. Perfect time too because of Volume 9 coming out soon
Cinders flashback is problematic, because the huntsman who helped her train was out to get her, even if he knew she was being tortured her whole life. Instead of getting her out. Rwby LOVES to blame victims for fighting back.
I spent the whole flashback with a slowly deepening frown on my face, wondering "wait...is this guy...like working for Salem? Is...is he trying to make sure that this has the worst possible outcome?" He wasn't evil but he was so wrong in his approach, I'm just baffled. I guess it's realistic to depict this from a legal angle but ain't huntsman supposed to be like the heroes for the heroes? She was in hell. Fuckin...do something. _Anything_ to get her out, my drab grey dude.
@@yuukichan12 After Cinder killed her tormentors, I rather expected her getting addicted or something to use killing to solve her problems. That was what I was expecting, that Violence was her go to solution,because it freed her. That's why I first expected that the huntsman would show sympathy, get her out and later learn that she's slowly going nuts. But seeing how he instantly turned his weapon against her, was disgusting! Like what the hell do you expect? People staying cool while they are going through hell?!
@Books and Tv Geek he was definitely meant to be portrayed as taking the wrong course of action, the director's commentary confirmed it. It's just...I can't comprehend Rhodes' logic. It feels that everything in Cinder's backstory was set up in a way to make sure that she was completely broken by the end; feels so strangely hopeless.
First off, music choice is on point for the entire vid.
Second, I really like your approach to criticism. You look at both the good and bad elements separately, without letting your feelings on one color the other. You also acknowledge that this story isn't over yet, and that there is still room for further developments to change how we look back on these moments (for better or worse).
Third, thanks for sharing your interpretations and thoughts on the volume. I never considered the connection between Penny and suicide, so hearing you spell it out for me was quite enlightening.
Thank you for still uploading videos!
Almost certainly your best video yet. Loved every second of it. All 3,226 of them. I did find it pretty funny how frequently you stopped to explain the concept of subjectivity or another equally basic aspect of media criticism because you know for sure that explaining them is 100% necessary for a UA-cam audience.
Also not a criticism but it is very funny that at 40:26 since you don't say that him shooting Oscar happened before you made the video, to someone who doesn't know RWBY chronology it sounds like you are refuting the claim of him being evil by pointing out he shot a child as if that is morally good.
Omg lol you’re so right, that is hilarious without context. And thanks so much for the kind words!!!
Nice review. I can definitely say that this volume gets better over time.
Yes!!! Been waiting for this and you didn't disappoint. I respect your respect for the show so much! 👏🏻 You chose all the best music, media clips and articulated your honesty which is the shining beacon of how this fandom operates.. or should. RWBY is a fantastical tale of not only RWBY (or else it would've been bland like HP) but takes 'time' developing immensely rich characters(as you said Ren & Nora = MCs) and IMHO we're not quite done with Penny yet but idk how, I do think she'll get a proper send off with Ruby somehow ❤💚
I didn't catch the allegory of suicide with penny story but it's really deep concept and take on the virus. Impressed
Awesome video! As per usual you hit beats with characters that didn't fully click with me like Penny and show me a ton of nuance I completely missed. The only thing I would like to lightly contest is your rebuttal to the fairly common dislike amongst fans of Ironwood shooting the councilman. I am without a doubt one of those people but I dislike that scene for a different reason. When Ironwood shot Oscar at the end of Vol 7, it's certainly a villainous moment for him, but one thing that I think is often overlooked is that Oscar, to everyone's favorite tin man, anyway, is just gonna come back. He may be a kid, but he's also the new form of the man that Ironwood just learned has been consistently feeding him lies and half-truths for most of his career. Shooting Oscar may kill him, but Ozpin will come back regardless. It's the simplified, terrifyingly robotic logic here that I think both fuels Ironwood's decision and exemplify how far-gone his compassion truly is. When Ironwood shoots the councilman, he's still getting rid of an obstacle, but that moral safety net/excuse of reincarnation is no longer present. This may just be my interpretation, but I feel some of the subtext from Vol 7 Ironwood is sorta...undermined...? Probably reading into this the wrong way, but I am interested to hear your take on this (sorry if I dumped too much here)
Maybe what people meant instead of “Penny dying” being pointless was “Penny becoming the maiden instead of Winter” since the powers were supposed to go to Winter in the beginning anyway so what was the point? I can kinda see where they’re coming from if that’s the case.
Its wild that regardless of the personal stance of any RWBY reviewer or their content, the comments will consist at least partly of people who need to very vocally express how they don't like the show anymore...
Writing this before I watch:
Personally, my opinion is that I really liked the plot and character moments of this one, but thought it really lacked on some of the better parts of RWBY. I really did not like the fight scenes, and thought the music was very lacking. It also felt very rushed in general, and the finale, while bold, was probably my least favorite part. Buuut...I really loved stuff like Ruby and Yang's scene, the scenes with Nora and Ren, honestly, Nora in general was great. There was a lot of good stuff with all characters and I liked all of it because of that. I just wish they were able to give these characters some great fight scenes--😔 also some of the plots felt worse than the previous season, I'm done rambling though, I'm gonna watch.
Edit: Okay, that was probably the rest review of the volume I've seen...juuust like last time. Lol. Great job!
Hey Mr. Blizzic fantastic video. I'm always anticipating your takes. Keep up the good work.
Holy fuck, this is amazing. I used to hate Penny's death but your interpretation of it actually made me cry. Great vid
I'm just starting the video but I love the deltarune music in the background already
Edit: great choice of background music in general. And great analysis!
Oh, you're back! Nice, I'm really curious to see what you thought about V8.
Stellar video my friend! I won't lie, you had me in tears a bit with penny's segment.
RWBY Vol. 8 is a weird one, It's not awful and it absolutely has it's moments but the execution falls flat in many ways.
As someone who is conflicted about Volume 8, this review is exactly what I needed to stare beyond the obvious hatemongering of other reviews towards what we all want RWBY to be, a western anime worth watching.
I couldn't tell you exactly why but you talking about Penny's second death made me more emotional that the moment itself. I don't whether that's the show not communicating it properly or me just being kinda stupid and never picking up on it.
@Books and Tv Geek Yep that also pulled on my strings but I felt almost nothing while watching the actual show
What do you mean Ren almost turned evil?!? I mean I think that your are exaggerating or at least hope you are but like either way Ren was never close to becoming evil at worst he nearly abandoned our main characters because he rightfully recognized that they were severely outclassed and were not ready for this. As shown by the fact they almost completely failed in their goal of saving Atlas and the keeping the relics safe. Of those two main goals they technically succeeded at one if we consider stranding a city worth of people in a desert sandstorm as saving them.
You now out of everyone iv seen uv talk about penny death in a very heart warming why I liked thank u
I think the "no more Gretchens" line was Hazel telling Ozpin not to make the same mistakes again. Because Ozpin doesn't tell people about Salem, they are never prepared to face her and die for it; it's likely Gretchen was a victim of this, so Hazel tells Ozpin to whatever it takes to ensure the safety of others.
Finally, a net positive review of RWBY.
Literally everyone, myself included, have given up on the main show. Both parties are valid in criticism and value though.
Let's be frank, if Volume 9 flops. This series ends.
I feel the need to point out that base on internal logic Watts’s virus is doing the equivalent of taking over Penny’s nervous system which should effectively make her a living prisoner in her own body since the Soul and physical mind are two very separate things in RWBY and increasing a soul’s strength likely wouldn't let Penny gain control of her robotic nervous system I. A similar way to how having enough will power won't move a leg if your paralyzed from the waist down. In Remnant your soul is connected to your mind but they aren't one in the same. I mean theoretically you could argue that the virus works as a separate soul in the body but I feel it's unlikely to work that way.
Why am I here? Why does this…. Thing keep pulling me back?
43:38 I feel like penny and Oscar arcs here parallel each other alot I was shocked penny be came the maiden but happy about it I like how she like Oscar didn't want this from her life she want to be seen as a girl and have friends not be a maiden and the writer's killed her for no other reason then
The maiden are to op so we can't have penny stay around and so they could keep fans around. For the v8 cliffhanger because I know that they're going to bring up in volume 9 when Ruby and the others in wonderland Island Ruby's going to find penny dead and she's really going to break down from it and that's the only reason they killed Penny off so Ruby could have a breakdown completely and I know that's why they did this
Is that Ace Attorney music I hear at 7:35? 👀Also, this was a very articulate and well-presented review. Thank you!
Man smaller youtubers are much better at video essays than the big dogs, in the small chance you read this what were your thoughts on the soundtrack on this volume that just released.
It’s finally here
I've been waiting for this!
THE KING IS BACK
Ironwood going Lawful Stupid at the end might have been simply because he didn't have any time to reflect, as he was freed pretty much from the moment he woke up and because he didn't know what the kids had planed, he was out when Jaune sent his broadcast and Winter explained their intentions to Jacques.
As for why he killed Jacques... well, first I should say that Ironwood killing the councilor and nearly killing Marrow feels like a mix of pettiness and a absolute refusal to deal with inconveniences in anything other than swift, decisive action. Killing Jacques is simply the pettiness overcoming the other part, because oh boy did Jacques make problems for him!
I think killing jacque was a bit out of character
Nice review but the two things I disagree with is about Whitley and Ren.
Whitley didn't have a redemption arc, he was left alone with his father (mom gone drinking, winter to military, weiss to beacon), leaving him to only have him. He's powerless unlike Weiss or Winter. And this mother is at least self aware of this and let's weiss know not to forget him. Not to mention when no one else is home, weiss put out his weapon on him to force herself in.
Ren also wasn't really evil, he's was making sense but anyone opposed to the group is a "problem", and spitting facts. Weiss used to be racist in Volume 1, so they rewrote her since, so this is something not was not going to stick. This happened with Qrow: You can't steal an airship from Atlus. He was proven wrong. Adam dies despite him being about the radical leader in the white fang: turned ex-boyfriend, making illa take that role and killing him, and continue to bring up the fanus issue. But that's me thinking narratively, outside the show. In the show, you are right, but I know he wouldn't go evil.
Also Ironwood shot Ozpin....who happened to be Oscar. RIP Oscar. Qrow and Hazel aren't the only ones to harm him.
Also if I was the Shade academy, I'd be keeping everyone away. So far every academy dean has died, leaving power vacuums. With Atlas and Mantle being completely destroyed by the heroes. I mean Beacon still has people and was building, Haven still has people and was relatively quiet, but Mantle and Altas were wiped off the map. I know they narratively needed to go to Shade but why not drop the people in Vale or Mystal where they're relatively stable and not in a desert? That's one rough climate to the opposite. They're also bring the relics together which technically bring the proverbial end of the world.
I think this an interesting review.
@Books and Tv Geek Yes I know. I'll be sure to double check my typing next time but I think the points still stand.
There's some good stuff and fights in season 8. I think they tumbled at the end but it's not a bad watch at all. Things to like there
Ren should of went to ironwood and I'll die on that hill. He could of went off it after seeing what happened to Nora
@Books and Tv Geek well, we didn't get an arc lol. Nora discovered her revaltion before ren got there
@Books and Tv Geek hm?
@Books and Tv Geek oh you mean the semblance thing, I wouldn't really call that an arc
@Books and Tv Geek well, what were you on about? Ran was moody af till he got back to nora , she was the one having a personal appifiny before she knocked her self into a coma
Nice work and I agree on nora being knocked out, of course they could of had a lot more time and effort in this vol, I actually forgot about half the stuff that happens. P sure it was going for for like 4 months and they were off for like 3 and a half of em. But that's been the norm for a couple of years
As someone who's been disenfranchised with RWBY ever since Monty passed, I think you're noticing some of the same things other ex-fans have felt about the show. As much as it sounds like we don't like anything about the show anymore, we still understand that at least the concepts are there, and those concepts are absolutely solid. There's still something about the story that's important and nostalgic to us, and that's why we still come back even after we've "left". The stumbling point is bringing those concepts to life in an organic way. The writers are good at making JNR's development organic, but that's arguably because that's the set of characters Miles has more experience with, more intimacy with. Team RWBY, however, don't have as much solid development. They feel... different for those of us looking for a more organic flow and feel to the show. Something feels generic, scripted and unlikeable.
I could go on, and I'll probably make a video on that (not that anyone cares, and dear god my channel's a heap of unwatchable garbage), but it seems like RWBY has some of the same issues the final seasons of Game of Thrones had- the creative leads were too specialized around one cluster of things they were good at. With the lack of George RR Martin's thorough source material, which was built upon mountains of medieval history and political philosophy, the producers had to take over and create everything themselves. They, like the RWBY writing team, are good at long-term planning and conceptualizing, and they have some other general talents, but what they lack is the mastery of fine granular detail that their source brought to the table. They can do it, it's just not their strong suit.
George Martin and Monty Oum both had habits of stuffing their stories full of things that bogged down the pace, which is where the producers' talents shined through- they could take all this detail, organize it, streamline it and forecast future events. That compensated for both George & Monty's long-term storytelling struggles. When both were effectively lost to the producers, they struggled to flesh things out the same way, leaving a sort of emptiness to the characters and scenes. I'm not calling either writing team "bad" per se. What I am saying is that in order to recreate what they've lost, they have to work backwards to do something they're not good at. They should have brought other people into the writing process, people who have the talent they're missing to form a well-rounded team, but that also requires good communication. That doesn't seem to be a strong suit of RWBY's writing team. Case in point- Blake slapping Sun in V5 was supposed to be a friendly reassuring pat on the back. How did that not get across to the production team? From what I've heard, they struggle to work smoothly with people who think differently than they do, which included Monty and his friends. Miles and Kerry picked 2 other writers who think in a similar way that they do, which reduced conflict in the writing room, but ultimately leaves the same deficiency that they have to constantly grind against to fix.
That's why people complain about Ironwood coming across as Comically Evil / Chaotic Stupid instead of Chaotic Evil. That's why people complain that team RWBY never really faced consequences for gaslighting Ironwood and undermining his plans, although it could be argued that destroying Atlas and Mantle could _sort of_ be a consequence. The writers can intend for any and all points to get across to their audience, but it appears a lot of very important points are left to be inferred for the more thorough viewers, that a lot of big moments are used to punctuate the underlying plot. The characters stand around gawking when half the big moments happen, and most of those moments are resolved swiftly and moved on from in the span of an episode or two. At that frequency, we stop caring about the big moments because the setup's always the same, and the consequences only ever seem to last when things happen in the last 2 episodes.
The fracture in the audience comes from the split between those who get the points the writers try to make and those who don't. Those who do are usually the viewers who are willing to sit down, watch each episode 2-3 times and scan for small details in order to create a mental corkboard-and-string picture of the plot. Those who don't get the points are usually the viewers who only watch each episode once, feel like they've seen the same handling of events and heard the same lines a thousand times before, and walk away sour and bitter that the writers couldn't breathe more life into it.
On another note, the reason people call Penny's death pointless is because Penny was already dead before, then she was brought back, stuffed into a number of crazy situations, given the maiden powers, and killed off (what felt like) 3 seconds later, ultimately ending the same way things were supposed to go- Winter becomes the maiden, Penny's dead, and the villains are scoring a win. It's the writers pulling heartstrings like the ripcord on a lawnmower or chainsaw instead of tactfully manipulating the audience, but still ending the same way things would've ended anyways.
I would argue that it's not Penny's death that should be considered pointless then, but her resurrection and by extension all of her screentime in volume 7 and 8. And that would put Penny's time in those volumes in the same level as Bolin's in season 2 of The Legend of Korra, and I'm sorry, that was truly pointless and not comparable at all to Penny's role in those volumes.
Not disagreeing with anything in the review yet, but honestly volume 8 for all its problems, it probably one of my favorites and gives me hope in volume 9
Also, I can’t decide how I feel about volume 8s portrayal of ironwood cuz on one hand it’s not as bad as I was expecting it to be and feels believable and cool to watch, but at the same time I really wish he stayed in that moral grey and eventually had some form of redemption
Blizzic stans unite!!!! Always good to see you post mate!!
Leaving a like and a comment for two reasons:
"H-bomb out of your ass"
"eVacuoees"
Oh, thank you, I really wanted a feed back about rwby and not a big manifesto about how its bad writing the show ou how they badly use Ironwood or about many others stuff.
I LAUGHED SO HARD ABOUT THE OSCAR PART HAHAHAHA IN 17:10 PART, I liked how you have point out things.
OH, FINALLY SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT CINDER BACKSTORY, OMG I WAS WATCH AGAIN THE VOLUME AND I TOTALLY SKIPPED BC IT WASN'T INTERESTING AT ALL.
anyway, You raised good points and personally I liked a lot your feedback. Thanks for being decent and not a guy that point a lot of criticize in something that takes a lot of people to do and time to make.
I gonna subscribe on the channel.
To be honest I find it weird that you seem credulous enough that you are happy with most characters arcs … Ruby’s boring go nowhere ‘arc’ (where she did almost nothing particularly plot relevant) had to be pleasing to someone I guess. Overall this made me feel that you lack a critical capacity.
Man I could sit here and pick apart every single thing I didn't agree with here, but I'd be here all day. The last time you saw me I was a fan of RWBY. That didn't last with this volume. And figuring out the many many problems of RWBY in verse and behind the scenes.
I'll just say not really in agreeance with your takes here.
Am I the only one whose annoyed that Penny died while a literal healer was right there? Like I know why she died thematically I guess but like in verse Penny really has no reason to die there like Jaune could definitely heal her. Jaune, Weiss, and Penny should be able to 3v1 Cinder especially since Penny beat Cinder earlier alone. Like literally all I would need to not complain about this is Penny having a wound I genuinely believe Jaune couldn’t heat like if those claw wounds were more concentrated on her heart or if Penny had more wounds cause I see her death and Im just screaming at Jaune to heal her cause like no Penny Jaune why did you guys just go out without a fight ya’ll didn't even try to find a solution.
I don't even watch RWBY anymore. I just watch people who watch it.
Hi bliz
This breakdown was great
What was the manga? Was it Kaiju N.8???
If you really wanna know…
Chainsaw Man
In V9, when Ruby, who is nearly at her breaking point, learns of Penny's death, she's going to lose it and she's going to lash out against everyone, especially Jaune.
As a whole, the story of the show and characters are pretty crap. Like how you say that we should not pretend we know more than the creators. Which is true to some extent, but in the case of rwby I believe there are people in the comments who can write a better script. The story, writing, characters the last few seasons have been boring and stoic as all hell, unoriginal and predictable. The show has soo much potential, the animation is fine. But there hasn't been much good fight choreography for us to be able to see k
It in motion. A lot of sitting around and boring conversations.
I must say that even as one of those who “have a big brain and got it on their first watch” I STILL was barely keeping up. It’s more like as the events happened my mind went “click” and then “THAT’S what they were getting at.”
I honestly think that for Cinder’s backstory they should have included a ‘prince’ and given her a love interest. Have them meet and fall in love but something tragic happens to them which kickoffs Cinder’s lust for power into the main story. And it stays true to the Cinderella inspiration as well so it is a win/win.
fourty-six seconds and I already agree.
People think they can trash on something for hours and hours and leave at that. When they feel like they will get criticized for it, they retract to saying either, "no piece of art is above criticism", or "it's just my opinion", and worst of all "I'm doing it because I love the show". They talk as if they paid to watch RWBY. They talk as if they are investing thousands of dollars every year to make the show better. But the truth is that they made two-hour videos just being idiots, who won't agree with those statements they made in just a week from then on. They think what they have to say will truly save this piece of art... that is already out and shipped.
Criticize bad things, and not things who don't know how to be good.
Straight off at 3.24 when referring between rwby to castlevania in terms of pacing not really smart because Rwby was in a War arc and let's face it in a War arc they failed at that cause they technically ignored the war alot while doing your quote "mini episode adventures". So not to defend castlevania cause it's not perfect but when I actually felt satisfied in terms of watching something and was like that's the Atlas arc I wanted, it was the anime 86 Eighty Six. Lena was a better Weiss in the Republic which was better racist compared to Atlas.
Nice review. I was a huge rwby fan, and I feel like it really fe3ll off over time.
Watching you desperately trying to like this dumpsterfire of a show and make excuses for it is as hilarious as it is sad. "Hey, if they did this plot twist it'd be so obvious I cringed every time someone suggested it, and it'd be terrible if they actually did it for all of these reasons! And then they did it! But they didn't make it a reveal, they outright told you they were doing it with no suspense whatsoever, and the way they did it didn't negate any of my previous complaints, so that it makes it okay! And they could've done it worse! A+!", "Hey, the plotlines were all rushed, but production wise they only had so much time, so its okay! Its not like the writers couldn't've slowed things the hell down to make the mid-season finale the actual finale and just do the rest next season!", and so on. The fact that things like the stupidity of the war scene, the atrocious ironwood vs. everyone fight, or the Hound in its entirety, is rather telling.
I feel like you're focusing too much on action scenes compared to the general focus of the video...
@@xtoadsannom6704Better not focus on the video, "Ren almost turned evil" is fucking asinine in every way possible LMAO
Yeah. No this volume is trash we have most of the community agreeing on that. But I have given up on RWBY. It just makes me depressed and sad even thinking about it now. I’m just going to rewatch Team SLVR the Red Trailer and the Fan Animations because that’s the only good things we get now.
Oscar legit carried this volume, his back must hurt from all the weight.
I'm not gonna go through all your points, but I'm gonna say that I really like your criticism of this show and this volume. Your points are really thoughtful and you have a really good understanding of what the writers want to tell with their characters, rather then just glossing over certain choices and call them lazy or stupid (like certain people in this fandom do)
Personally I love Volume 8, I think it's a great volume with a lot of very impactful and powerful moments that surpasses anything we got in the previous volumes so far. I admit Robyn and Qrow needed more time together, the Ace Ops definitely had the shortest end on the redemption arc stick (although I like where they are apparently taking Harriets character), action was a bit lacking in contrast of Volume 6/7 and the pacing felt a bit all over the place, but still I managed to follow through. I actually really love Cinder's character story (not gonna go into your points about her, but that's fine because everyone has their own opinion), Penny had a very strong but risky character arc (cant stop crying about Friend), I loved Winter in this Volume and the overall episodes were really good, none felt jarring in my opinion.
I'm really looking forward to see where they are continuing the story and Ruby's character in Volume 9
Robyn does need a bit more character development or characterization given she is already a hated character in the Fandom.