Featured TV on DVD Review: RWBY: Volume 4
June 9, 2017
RWBY: Volume 4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack
RWBY is an animated series made by Rooster Teeth, the company behind Red vs. Blue. I’ve previously mentioned this show a couple of times on our holiday gift guide. It started out as a good show, but four seasons in, is it still a good show? Or has the quality begun to fade?
RWBY stands for the colors Red, White, Black, and Yellow, which in turn represent four female protagonists from famous fairytales. Red is Little Red Riding Hood, or Ruby Rose as she is know here. She’s young at just 16 years old as of volume four, so she’s a little impulsive. White is Snow White, or Weiss Schnee. She’s the eldest daughter of a rich family and tends to come off as cold to most people. Black is Belle from Beauty and the Beast, a.k.a. Blake Belladonna. She’s an introvert and a bookworm. Yellow is Goldilocks, a.k.a., Yang Xiao Long. She’s the older half-sister of Ruby Rose and is adventurous and impulsive, especially in combat, which got her into serious trouble last season. In the first season, the four ladies were in a training academy and put in the same group, code named RWBY, or Ruby. This season...
This season takes place several months after the end of last season. The bad guys, led by a woman named Salem, had a major victory destroying Beacon Academy. However, both sides took heavy losses, including Yang losing an arm. As a result, the RWBY team is split up for most of the season. Because of this, it is really hard to talk about the plot without running into unacceptable spoilers. Suffice it to say, the season spends a great deal of time with the characters recovering from the aftermath of destruction of Beacon Academy and the personal losses they suffered.
Does it work?
This is an interesting choice and one that not all fans liked. It does give the four leads more time to develop their characters. For example, we learn more about Weiss Schnee’s family, which explains why she comes across as cold. It would be hard to grow up in that environment and be a outgoing person. Since she was one of the less sympathetic characters, this greatly helps audiences connect with her. Both Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are suffering from some form of PTSD, although Yang has a lot worse physical injuries. We even learn more about the bad guys. This does help the overall series.
On the downside, because the main cast is split up so much, there isn’t as much comradery as there has been in past seasons. Since the character interactions have been a major selling point for the past few seasons, this is a reason why some of the fans have been not as enthusiastic about this season. Furthermore, the season sets up a lot of plot threads without a whole lot of payoff. It is a story building season, while I expect season five to have a lot more payoff. Don’t get me wrong, story building is obviously important to the overall quality of the show, but the balance is a little off here. Perhaps the creators knew they were going to get at least one more season, so they made this a build-up for season five’s climax. I’m certainly intrigued with what is going to happen in the future, so that’s a positive sign.
There are four extras on the DVD / Blu-ray, starting with A Grimm Introduction, which looks at the creation of the main monsters in the show, the Grimm. Up next is a production diary. There is a short photo gallery of the crew. Finally, there is a 30-minute look at the world of Remnant.
RWBY: Volume 4 spends more time developing the characters and setting up plot threads than it does moving the actual plot forward. This isn’t a major issue, as long as this pays off next season. Given the quality of the show so far, I’m hopeful that is the case. In the meantime, there are enough extras on the DVD / Blu-ray that it is worth the $15 price-tag.
Video on Demand
The Show
The Extras
The Verdict
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