Yes, I do intend to have writing on Sketchy Details again. I needed to get into the flow of drawing every day. Now that I'm confident in that, I can shift some focus back to media criticism. RWBY is an original animated series from Rooster Teeth, an online comedy and gaming video creator with tons of original animation. This series, so far, has two volumes, released on Netflix as two two-hour animated films. Instead of a straight forward review of all the things I watch on streaming media, I'm going to break down my reaction into three ideas.
3 Thoughts on...RWBY
1: Children Will Love This Show
RWBY is like Harry Potter, only with young children and teenagers training to be tough warriors to fight against the Creatures of Grimm, ancient beings of unimaginable evil. The first character introduced in the series is Ruby. She fights with a gigantic scythe and so impresses the dean of the premiere fighting academy that she's skipped ahead two grades to accelerate her training. She's accepted as an equal by her new peers and even has her older sister excited to train by her side at the school. The common enemy is the Creatures of Grimm and the students all take that very seriously. It's a positive, empowering experience for Ruby and one that sends a strong message about self-worth and hard work.
2: Adults Will Love It, Too
RWBY is not a straight-forward children's show by any means. There are plenty of allusions and social commentary that will sail over the heads' of younger viewers. A big recurrent element of the series is the politics of energy, represented by magical dust called Dust. These elements enhance the world rather than distract from the story so everyone can get as much out of the series as they want.
3: That Animation
The quality of animation is exceptionally high considering this is a low-budget independent series. I had major flashbacks to the beautiful cel shading that dominated the best of the Dreamcast. It did take me a little while to warm up to the minimal shadows in the design, but that's merely personal preference.
Verdict
Anime fans will find something to latch onto immediately with RWBY. It's reminiscent of series like Soul Eater and Sailor Moon without outright copying those ideas. The color coordination with characters and names is well done and the weaving of Grimm fairy tales into character back stories is clever. I say it's worth a try for anyone and everyone. If it doesn't catch you in the first 12 minutes (technically the first episode), then you can always switch over to something else.