RWBY Volume 8 makes me sad.
The poor pacing, Cinder’s pointless and unimaginative backstory, Ironwood’s weird-ass
writing, the excessive Oscar torture, the rushed and lackluster animation, the terrible
writing, Ruby and the others just sitting in a manor doing nothing for most of the runtime
(V5 flashbacks), what they did to Penny, and Jaune stealing the spotlight yet again, among
other things.
It’s all a mess, which is especially confusing seeing as how Volume 7, though rife with its
own issues and only decent in even its best moments, was probably the best quality-wise
the show had ever been.
But it’s clear now the show isn’t getting better anytime soon.
And worse than that, it lacks the soul it once had.
Volumes 7 and 8 may technically be more solid, yes, but they don’t have that same magic
spark we’ve all been missing since the Beacon days, and that the writers have desperately
been trying to rekindle and failing at it, because apparently they don’t understand
what makes a good story.
The show is frustrating, but I’ve been silent about it for a long while, despite initially
building my channel off of talking about it.
So… what happened?
Why have things changed so much?
This video isn’t going to so much be about the show’s decaying quality itself, so much
as my turbulent relationship with RWBY, and explaining to people who’ve known of my
work for a long time what the heck is going on.
Because close friends who’ve kept in touch with me know why.
But from the outside perspective, it can seem like I took a very harsh shift, and I wanna
try and explain it.
Like, why am I rooting for the Hound to slaughter everyone in the Schnee Manor?
Aside from him being an adorable good boi, yes he is, he’s so cute, oh my god.
So grab some popcorn, get a drink, and prepare for madness.
By which I mean get ready to listen to me talk about how I got into the show, how I
made my channel, why my views changed so much, and what the hell is happening now.
When I got into RWBY, it was my sophomore year of high school.
One of my friends mentioned an anime-esque web show that he really liked, I gave it a
shot, and I wound up binging all of Volume 1 and what was then available of Volume 2
at the time.
It had me hooked.
There was something magical about the Beacon Days, watching these girls with striking designs,
vibrant colors, and kickass weapons and powers save the day from… well, back then it was
a white guy’s idea of what the Black Panthers were like, which…
wow.
Okay.
“THERE’S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE.”
But that was something that wouldn’t really hit for a long time.
Back then, I was onboard with wherever the story went, because…well one, I just didn’t
know any better about these issues.
Whiteness, hello.
But second, I fell in love with these characters and the world they inhabited.
I’ve always been a sucker for female-led stories (Thank you, Sailor Moon, Winx Club,
and W.I.T.C.H, the OG trinity), and I recognized enough of the superficial tropes to piece
together this messy semblance of a story to construct my own version to enjoy in my own
head.
I didn’t realize that at the time, but I was more infatuated by the idea of RWBY than
what was actually playing out in front of me.
Except the fights, those were genuinely dope.
Through the difficult parts of my life, RWBY was there to help distract me for a bit, or
even to help reflect on things in my own life at times.
I truly loved this dumb show, and I wanted to see it become its best self.
So much so that when I realized I needed some kind of online platform for when I published
my first book, I decided to talk about the media I enjoyed, and RWBY was my main go-to…
but actually not on YouTube first.
First there was a Wordpress blog that like 15 people and a cricket read.
But then in 2017, I decided to venture into the chaotic world of YouTube media criticism.
I did my best to be as honest as possible, critiquing the show while trying to emphasize
how much I did care for it and the people who created it.
I wrote up a script reviewing Volume 1, did my best Ben-Shapiro-but-gay-and-on-crack impersonation
(seriously, why did I speak so fast back then?), and spent long days and nights editing it
in Sony Vegas--or just Vegas now--getting it ready.
And I made sure to do this when the hype for Volume 5 was building up.
Though I don’t think I was expecting so much attention for my inane ramblings about
fake anime.
Arnold, Murder of Birds himself, tweeting about how much he enjoyed my video and sending
more people my way…
yeah, suffice to say it kinda made my past self lose his mind.
I wouldn’t be where I am now without him giving me such a strong push out the gate
and showing his support, and for that I’m eternally grateful.
From there, the success I experienced… it’s still kinda insane to me.
I remember being floored seeing my subscriber count grow, seeing how many people enjoyed
my videos, and meeting so many new people through the FNDM.
Back in those days I’d try to go through my comments and give those little hearts to
as many people as I could, just so people knew I appreciated what they had to say.
Those were the best times, honestly.
The early days are the ones I look back on with the most fondness.
But with my critiques came problems.
See, RWBY’s quality has always made it rather divisive; so much so that there’s a whole
genre of RWBYtubers whose whole brand is criticizing the show in different styles with different
takes.
In my naivete, I thought a gentler approach would be more welcome.
Still honest, but overall meaning well.
That’s what I built my brand on.
I’d get a little harsher following Volume 5 given it warranted harsher critiques, but
generally speaking I wanted the show to do better.
And then… then came Volume 6.
If I drank alcohol, this would be the time I’d reach for a bottle.
Instead I have Coca Cola (not sponsored, I wish).
It’s pretty clear now that I did not have the same approach with Volumes 6 and 7 that
I did before then.
Part of the reason is because I was in a relationship at the time that was very much intertwined
with enjoying the show, and further establishing my involvement in the RWBY fandom.
I’d rather not talk about it beyond that, but it certainly impacted my perspective at
the time.
But Volume 6 did make some marginal improvements here and there, and because I was genuinely
enjoying the show more than I had been, I was blinded to a lot of the deeper-rooted
problems the Volume 6 was still rife with.
In hindsight, my existential crisis when “The Lost Fable” came out should’ve been my
turning point.
Because it was then I saw RWBY was never going to be what I wanted it to be, but in my need
to enjoy the show and defend it fully - as per my brand - I let that warp my thinking
into saying it was okay that “The Lost Fable” was shallow and meaningless.
And that was all cemented by the finale, the Bees, and…
Adam.
See, LGBT representation has always been important to me, and I’m kinda used to people dismissing
it as unimportant and saying gay people shouldn’t expect to see themselves represented because
they’re a laughably tiny minority.
So when we got scraps of the Bumbleby ship at the end of Volume 6, I did genuinely believe
that was the direction CRWBY was headed in, and that we’d get explicit confirmation
of their relationship soon.
A lot of that is also rooted in the fact I was incredibly ignorant when it comes to the
issues RWBY has always had in depicting racism, notably with the White Fang as an allegory
for racism in America.
In hindsight, the fact that RWBY came out in late 2013, right around the time the Black
Lives Matter movement was starting, and RWBY has a very fast production time… yeah, the
White Fang really reads like a white guy’s interpretation of what Black Lives Matter
was - or is, oh my god.
People still think this way.
So when Adam died, I wasn’t so much focused on him as a white guy’s idea of what a Black
Lives Matter activist was, and more on the abuse angle the writers leaned into, likely
to shield themselves from the dumpster fire they created for themselves.
Suffice to say, I let myself believe the writers were trying to do better and would fix all
these problems, have clear, strong LGBT representation, and maybe even have Blake lead a new White
Fang movement in Atlas… and then we got none of that.
But it took a long time for me to admit that because I was high on what we call toxic positivity.
Toxic positivity is a term I’ve learned about through watching a LOT of anti-MLM videos
(MLM meaning Multi-Level Marketing, a.k.a. pyramid schemes), and to summarize, it entails
forcing a positive lens on any and all experiences, even bad ones, and blocking out criticisms
as being too negative.
Sound familiar?
That’s exactly the kind of thing I bought into.
Hell, I popularized the term “hatedom” in the fandom, only to have it used against
me when I stopped blindly praising the show at every turn.
Which admittedly I deserved.
God, I was a dick back then.
I was especially awful on Twitter.
For a long time, I used it as a means of external validation, and was incredibly aggressive
towards anyone who was even slightly negative towards the show.
And for that, to anyone I’ve hurt…
I’m sorry.
It’s probably too little, too late, but I do mean that.
After Volume 7 had wrapped up, and some stuff in my life had changed, I started to look
at RWBY in a new light.
I let myself be honest in how I felt, and you know what?
It felt good.
It felt so freeing to let go of this need to protect the show, because somehow I’d
tied in my own need for validation in with protecting it and Rooster Teeth at all costs,
as these progressive champions.
Oh god, imagine protecting a corporation as a progressive champion.
Oh my god, I really drank the pinkwashing fluid… pinkwashing fluid?!
Oh god, surely there could’ve been a clearer metaphor for that - I swear I’m a writer.
I swear I’m a writer!
What really spurred that on, though, was Hbomberguy’s fantastic video, RWBY is Disappointing and
Here’s Why.
If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to check it out, because he articulates
the show’s problems clearly and concisely.
I may go rewatch that later today actually.
And also he makes fantastic videos in general.
He got AOC to guest star - well not guest star.
She called in on a Donkey Kong livestream he did a long while back as part of a trans
charity, and it was one of the most iconic things I’ve ever fucking seen in my life.
But I think a big reason why a lot of people are so gung-ho to protect the show and Rooster
Teeth as a whole, aside from being made to live off scraps of rep and unfulfilled promises
of a good story, are the parasocial relationships we have with CRWBY.
Hell, the fact we call them CRWBY, while cute, is a huge signifier of the parasocial nature
of the fandom’s dynamic with the creators.
Those unaware, parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships people often have
with celebrities, public figures, and now more than ever in the digital age, content
creators.
You love the work they do so much, you feel like you know them, but they’re not even
aware of your existence.
It’s an incredibly unbalanced dynamic that can be unhealthy and even dangerous if left
unchecked, especially in younger people who aren’t aware of these things.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, we feel connected to the people making this show.
To Miles and Kerry, to the voice actors, to the other writers, and to the animators.
They feel like friends we know personally, especially if you’re a long-time RT fan
who was here well before RWBY came along.
They interact with fans, we love interacting with them on social media.
And so, we wanna believe they’re trying their best and protect them, especially any
creatives who know what it feels like to be put on blast when your work is considered
subpar.
That’s literally the worst fear of any creative.
But those parasocial relationships aren’t healthy, and they keep us from being honest
when the work isn’t good.
And it isn’t.
It hasn’t been good…
I was gonna say in a long time, but let’s be real, I don’t think RWBY ever really
crossed into good so much as occasionally passable.
Especially because it seems a lot of the members of CRWBY, from what I’ve heard especially
from my friends on the ongoings of social media, really, really need better boundaries
with their fandom.
Oh god.
If you want details of my latest views on the show, then I suggest you check out the
White Fang video I did back in October of last year.
My friends Maxwell Media Inc. and Blake, as well as a lot of black fans and people of
color shared their perspectives to help make that message authentic.
But suffice to say…
I’m done white knighting for RWBY.
I mean, I’ve been done with that, but now I’m saying it aloud.
The show’s writing is bad.
But beyond even that, the dynamics of this fandom are insane and downright toxic, and
Rooster Teeth as a whole is desperately clinging to RWBY like a life raft because it’s what
nets them most of their profits, which they could really use now seeing as AT&T has been
looking to sell them off for a while now.
And all this while being unable to protect employees from racist and bigoted attacks,
treating employees poorly with long hours, no overtime pay, pigeon-holed positions, and
no way to safely negotiate, and failing to deliver quality content time and time again.
The fact that when you leave RT FIRST, the first reason they list is “I only joined
for RWBY” speaks volumes.
Is “speaks volumes” a pun?
“GODDAMMIT BARB.”
I do still love the show.
I’ll probably always have a soft spot for these characters, and the world that Monty
created and left behind for us.
But I’m also going to be honest in that I’m beyond done with this company, and the
show itself is a disappointing mess, and it hasn’t shown signs of getting better in
a long time.
If anything, Volume 8 was the final nail in the coffin, for me and for a lot of people.
I really recommend checking out Judgmental Critter’s Volume 8 podcast and also review,
as well as Twiins Iink’s video about leaving the fandom due to how toxic it became.
Apparently someone is so angry, their car alarm went off.
Okay.
Love their work, can’t say enough good things about them.
I really agree with Hbomberguy that it’s the animators who really come in clutch trying
to save the show.
All the people doing the grunt work, being forced to work insane hours to actually produce
the show in spite of the bad scripts and bad direction?
They’re the heroes.
There’s a reason why it feels there’s more story through some of the little animation
touches than the actual writing.
That all said, I was planning on saying that I’m gonna be stepping away from RWBY for
a long while… but I’m not sure.
Especially because there is a lot of my audience that’s been missing my RWBY stuff for a
long while.
And if you guys don’t mind me roughing the show up a bit, I’m happy to make some RWBY
videos again.
I won’t be doing reactions or chapter reviews of new volumes anymore, as it helps me enjoy
and process it a lot better, and also protects my privacy (the same reason I’ve abandoned
Twitter, aside from the wazbag it turned me into - look I’ve been watching a lot of
iCarly and Victorious, okay?
Alright?)
“HEY.
Do you follow me on Twitter?”
“Uh-uh.”
“FOLLOW ME.”
But I can definitely make videos similar to my videos on the Maidens and the Grimm if
you’d like.
Hell, I could probably make a video all about my problems with “The Lost Fable” easily.
In any case, I hope this cleared things up for everyone and provided some much-needed
closure.
*“closure” by Taylor Swift”* I could’ve made a “Much Needed Talk”
joke there, but there’s a time for puns and there’s a time for action.
Despite all the puns I’ve already made, oh my god.
(Yang) “There’s a time and a place for jokes!”
“Was this not it?”
(Yang) “No.
It just wasn’t very good.”
(Weiss) “Well at least I’m trying!” *“this is me trying” by Taylor Swift”*
Going forward, I hope you all enjoy whatever content I have to offer.
Folks who’ve been with me for a long while, you may actually remember a certain novel
I was teasing back in 2018, only to never release because it wasn’t ready at all yet.
I may or may not have made significant progress on that project since then.
May or may not have a little announcement for it next month if y’all are interested.
Anyhow, I’m the Unicorn of War, and RWBY… is a shit show.
That’s right, bitches.
We’re bringin’ back the shit show catchphrase.
“Wait… where are Miles and Kerry?”
(Hbomberguy) “Or in this case, a body pillow.
NO MILES, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THIS IS REALLY EMBARRASSING--” “Ruby Rose is a 15-year-old
girl!”