Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. It’s RWBY time again! With the untimely passing of Monty Oum many people were wondering what the state of the series would be. Will the series continue or will it end on a cliffhanger? Well a few months after Monty’s death Rooster Teeth announced that the series would continue seeing as how according sources Monty had already written the whole story out in advanced and gave it to his most trusted friends to continue his work should something happened to him. With this announcement everyone was excited but at the same time worried. Usually when the creator of the show leaves the quality of the show drops tremendously and everyone notices it and with a series as popular as RWBY loses such an influential figure you can bet everyone was paying close attention to this season. Let’s see what’s next for RWBY and her friends and take a look at RWBY season 3.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening for this season is “When It Falls” by Jeff Williams ft. Casey Lee Williams. Out of all the openings so far this is my least favorite because I can’t understand a word of what they’re saying. It has the same problems as the second opening of Attack on Titan, the music drowns out the vocals completely to the point where I can only make out what Casey is saying only at a few spots. Never let your vocals get drowned out by the music. Now despite this the song does match up with the dark theme and events of the season quite well. As the season goes on we will see how everything falls apart around our main characters. Their enemies have finally launched their attack and everything that they’ve fought to protect is falling all around them. The ending this time is once again multiple songs throughout the series. Once again showcasing the music of the series done by Jeff Williams who always does a good job with the music.
Episodes 1-4
So the season starts off with Ruby going to visit the grave of her mother Summer Rose with her father in the background. It’s a touching scene as she talks about everything that’s happened in the last two seasons and how she misses her (in a strange way it’s as if the series was doing their own little send off to Monty saying that we’re gonna miss you but we’ll continue your legacy. Thanks for the memories). After that it’s time for the Vytal Festival where teams from different kingdoms fight against each other all in the name of peace (kind of contradicting themselves with this tournament). The tournament is split into 3 rounds. The first rounds are team battles, the second rounds two on two battles, and the final rounds one on one battles. Our first fight is RWBY vs some team I don’t care about (scene here: //youtu.be/SWacdFlVs3s, hmm~. Music: A. Fighting: C-. Hopefully this will improve as the season goes on). So team RWBY wins their round and moves on in the tournament. They decide to go get something to eat at the festival where they run into Emerald and Mercury who also won their round and want to know who’s representing them in the next round (and Emerald even shows how she really feels about them by calling Yang a bimbo. We’re calling Yang the bimbo now? Isn’t that a little cruel? Okay maybe she’s not the most intelligent but she’s at least the wisest member of the team). They then go to a ramen restaurant where Weiss tries to pay for their food but her credit gets denied (oh the embarrassment). Luckily team JNPR comes by and offers to pay for their meal. They’re also in the tournament and are about to fight next where Nora explains the worst possible outcome for them (scene here: //youtu.be/wuLBRigqX5A). We end the episode with team JPNR getting ready for their match.
In episode 2 the fighting continues with team JNPR’s fight (scene here: //youtu.be/5_BF789hJuE, Nora has the power~. Somebody get an ambulance for those guys. You have those in this world right?). After that it’s Sun’s team (ironically named Sun) turn to fight (where they do a nice shootout to Pirates of Caribbean. Scene here: //youtu.be/y4F4jqvrdPg, not the best finish but a win is a win). After the matches Weiss looks up in the sky, sees an Atlas ship and rushes out of the stadium. In another part of town at a bar a drunk huntsman is watching the matches and he’s not all that impressed with them (same here). This badass drunk is Qrow the uncle of Ruby and Yang voiced by the ever great and talented Vic Micnogna.
In episode 3 after rushing outside we see that the person inside the Atlas ship is Winter the older sister of Weiss and a captain working under Ironwood (so Winter has come both literally and figuratively). Now at first Winter seems like she’s this mean and cruel older sister who only cares about upholding the family name but in truth she’s actually quite thoughtful. For example, when Winter asks Weiss how she’s doing and she goes on a tangent about her studies Winter stops her saying she doesn’t care about that but rather how Weiss is doing. Is she eating healthy, has she taken up hobbies, is she making friends stuff like that is what Winter asks and what she’s concern about. That’s pretty cool especially for a person in her position which requires her to keep her feelings locked up and distance herself from others. As they’re walking Qrow takes out the soldiers following behind them and provokes Winter into a fight (scene here: //youtu.be/GKzR9BwFBQo, so the nickname Ice Queen runs in the family. Way to keep the legacy going Weiss. Also, great fight scene. We’re finally getting somewhere). So the fight gets stopped by Ironwood (//youtu.be/5Q_2nrp9OTg) and Ozpin comes in to dispel the crowd and have a word with Qrow (but not before we have a cute Ruby moment (scene here: //youtu.be/oJQYvT0Mq7g?t=30s, 1:00: burn~). So after the formalities are out of the way we see the group discuss the dangers of Cinder and her group and how they’re right under their noses at the festival with Qrow openly saying he doesn’t like how Ironwood threw Ozpin under the bus and is showing military force believing that it’s gonna make people more scared. Meanwhile Mercury goes to tell Cinder about Qrow’s arrival but she says it’s nothing to worry about (he’s only one drunk, what can he do?). She then hacks into the tournament’s computer system and arranges for Mercury and Emerald to fight against team CFVY’s Coco and Yatsuhashi.
In the opening moments of episode 4 it’s Mercury and Emerald against Coco and Yatsuhashi where Mercury and Emerald bury them (scene here: https://youtu.be/41QtMwuZVcM, this is like Triple H level of burying here). After that it’s family time as Ruby, Weiss, and Yang spend time with their family members (kind of feel bad for Blake. Getting the short in here). Ruby and Yang just hangout in their room with Qrow and play videogames with Qrow saying in his own little way that he’s proud of them but they’ve still got a lot to learn. As for Weiss she has tea with Winter where we find out her family are summoners (scene here: //youtu.be/Zt2UYmH7oyU). So Winter tries to help Weiss with summoning where they don’t get the results they want. Weiss talks about how their dad cut her off from money which Winter says that she too was in a similar situation with him and that this is his way of trying to get Weiss to talk to him. Winter tells her she now has two paths. Continue to rely on her father and his money, or forge her own path and explore the world more discovery who she really is (I vote for the ladder path). That night Winter departs with Weiss seeing her off and receiving a call from dad which she rejects.
Episodes 5-8
Nothing much to say about episode 5. We get to see Penny again where she tells Ruby she wants to stay at Beacon and Cinder discovers that she’s a robot and changes up the plans. After that it’s time for Weiss and Yang to take on Flint and Neon of team FNKI (no doubt standing for funky) who seriously underestimate Weiss and Yang. For a majority of the fight Flint and Neon own Weiss and Yang but are two lovely ladies manage to pull an upset in the end. In one cool moment Weiss actually sacrifices herself to keep Yang in the match who goes on to beat both Flynt and Neon by herself. So Weiss and Yang win as well as earn the respect of Flint and Neon (cool. Let’s do a jam session in the future. We’ll party hard, big city style). Near the end of the episode Pyrrha is on her way to meet Ozpin who wants to talk to her about something very important.
In episode 6 Pyrrha goes to Ozpin’s office where Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood are there as well. She’s ask to name her favorite fairy tale as a child to which she recalls “The Story of the Seasons”. In the story these 4 women befriend and take care of an old man (got to sell those girl scouts cookies somehow) and as a reward for their kindness the old man granted them powers over the 4 seasons (oh so he gave them magic. (Shizuku): Dust damn you! *Punches Nitsuj* We do not bring magic into this show remember? This is RWBY bitch). Ozpin tells her that the story is true and that he needs her help in order to save one of the maidens. Ozpin’s group takes her down to a secret lab and show her Amber the Fall Maiden who had some of her powers stolen putting her life in a comatose state. Since the powers of the season is transferred to the last person the maiden is thinking about they’re afraid that once Amber dies her last thought will be about her assailant or the powers will seek to reunite with the power that was stolen thus falling into the wrong hands. That’s where Pyrrha comes in. They want to use Atlas technology to transfer Amber’s aura into her body however there’s a low chance this will work and there’s a high chance that if it does work Pyrrha won’t come out of it as the same person since her life and Amber’s life will intertwine with each other. She’s told to think about it for the time being but must give an answer before the festival is over. Speaking of festival, it’s time for the one on one rounds with Yang representing team RWBY (makes sense. She’s is the team’s strongest fighter) going up against Mercury (shotgun fist vs shotgun feet. Let’s see who wins. Scene here: https://youtu.be/2qu2bqU0k3M, well Ruby did say to break a leg). So despite Mercury trying to attack Yang from behind she gets pinned as the bad guy because (I still don’t know how) Cinder somehow fixed the cameras to make it look like Yang attacked Mercury first (how does that work? They were in front of a live audience and not that far from the audience, someone in the front row had to have seen Mercury attack first?).
Episode 7 kind of serves as a prequel to all of the events that have happened so far. We see how Cinder found Emerald a regular thief and Mercury the son of a mercenary and recruited them to join her cause of destruction. After that they went to the White Fang hoping to have them join but Adam says no and tells them to leave (you will regret this). Sometime later they attacked Amber where we see Emerald has the power to show people illusions (well this explains what happened to Yang last episode. Sneaky bitch). We also see that Mercury has bionic legs (man we are learning a lot about the villains this episode. Still wish Roman was here). They manage to beat Amber and Cinder uses some technique to absorb Amber’s powers. Before she can absorb it all Qrow comes to the rescue and Cinder escapes (scene here: https://youtu.be/21kIyNagC7c). She then goes back to the White Fang and after threatening to burn the camp down Adam agrees to join them. We return to the present where we see Mercury is really fine, Yang’s actions are all over the news and the Grimm are approaching the city (we got a war coming).
In episode 8 we find out that after the results of episode 6 Team RWBY is disqualified from the tournament (well, now the tournament is in the air now). Yang tries to tell them she didn’t attack Mercury on purpose but no one believes her accept for Ruby, Weiss, and Blake (even though she was hesitant at first but believes her). This whole thing has Yang feeling really bad that she actually cries a little bit (oh my God I feel so bad for her). Qrow comes in to tell her that he’s seen her mother Raven (who just happens to be Qrow’s sister) and says that if Yang wants to meet her he might be able to help. After that we focus on Team JNPR where Pyrrha is still struggling with her choice on what she wants to do. We get a nice moment between her and Jaune where he tries to help her sort out her thoughts (hell he even holds her hand) but that doesn’t work out so well (now Pyrrha’s crying? This episode is too sad for me. Two of my top 5 favorite characters in this show are crying and in one episode to boot). That night at the tournament Ruby goes to watch the match where she spots Emerald in the audience which is odd because it was said she went back home with Mercury. Ruby thinks something is up and sneaks backstage only to run into Mercury who has fixed the matches so that the next match is Pyrrha vs. Penny (and with Pyrrha’s powers she’s gonna tear Penny apart).
Episodes 9-12, specials, and RWBY Chibi
Things take a bad turn for the group in episode 9. After Ruby managed to get pass Mercury she makes it out to the stands just in time to see Emerald use her powers of illusion and trick Pyrrha into killing Penny (scene here: //youtu.be/Uk2yrQpkmHg. Damn! I was just kidding about the tearing up part. This season is taking no prisoners). So during this shocking display of human on robot homicide (I always thought it would be the opposite) Cinder takes control of the broadcast and goes on this whole spill of how the kingdoms are close to war with each other and fills their heads with doubts on who to trust (this is such a brilliant plan. With just three people she’s managed to bring an entire kingdom of people down). This doubt attracts all the Grimm to the city (we got another invasion on our hands folks) and they’re not the only people who have shown up (oh yeah, it actually gets worse). Adam and the White Fang show up with more Grimm and Neo manages to sneak on the ship holding Roman and frees him (is it wrong that I’m happy he’s free again? Scene here: //youtu.be/GXVnUWyt7BM). Also, there’s a dragon Grimm heading towards the city that can create other Grimm by shedding its body (the day just keeps getting better and better).
Episode 10 is an all-out war as Grimm have invaded the city and students are heading towards the city to defend the citizens except for Ruby who jumped on Roman’s ship who is using that ship to command Ironwood’s droid army (they’re executing order 66). Back in the city Blake has come face to face with Adam where we find out the two used to date (lucky bastard) and Ozpin gets Pyrrha because now they have no choice. Pyrrha must become the Fall Maiden.
The fighting continues in episode 11 as Ruby takes on Roman and Neo on the ship and gets a beating but manages to win in the end because she causes Neo to fly off the ship and Roman gets eaten by a Grimm (scene here: //youtu.be/-hLjX5pZv48, oh that is bullshit! You take the best villain in the show and give him this kind of death?). Back in the city we see Ironwood’s ship crashing stopping the droids and we get to see Velvet’s weapon they’ve been building up since season 2 (and it’s actually a pretty cool weapon. Honestly it’s probably the best scene in season 3) and Weiss actually manages to summon the arm of a giant knight (it’s a start. Scene here: https://youtu.be/hLU-8l3m1Uw). Just when it seems like everyone is getting control of the situation disaster strikes. First, Adam cuts off one of Yang’s arms as she was trying to save Blake from him (scene here: https://youtu.be/QACKAHen1vI, oh he is so dead). Blake manages to escape with the injured Yang feeling bad about what she allowed to happen to her friend (not as shocking as the second part though). Second, Cinder manages to kill Amber and gain the remaining powers of the Fall Maiden so now she’s the new maiden (we’re fucked).
The final episode starts with Ozpin fighting Cinder (scene here: //youtu.be/IwvJynIrTqU. Alright we finally get to see Ozpin fight. It’s short but still cool. Seeing Ozpin fight is just like seeing Yoda fight for the first time. It’s something we’ve always wanted to see but it’s such a short fight that it leaves you wanting more). Ruby manages to reach the evacuation platform where everyone has gathered except for Jaune and Pyrrha and Ruby and Weiss go back to find them (in the area crawling with Grimm that are so dangerous that even the White Fang are pulling out). Jaune and Pyrrha manage to make it outside but they see Cinder head to the top of the tower meaning she’s already beaten Ozpin and Pyrrha decides to go and fight her alone (no). Jaune tries to stop her (no) but she kisses him (no no no) and pushes him into a pod launching him away (damn it Pyrrha you are setting off so many death flags right now). Despite Pyrrha’s best efforts (and hands down the best fight sequence in the season) she’s still no match for Cinder and in the end is killed by her hands (fuck). Ruby reaches the top of the tower too late and watches Cinder kill Pyrrha (scene here: //youtu.be/GhL8tn6T3ag, now two of my favorite characters are dead. And to add insult to injury my ship burnt out at sea by a power hungry whore. Shoot me now) where in her rage and sadness she unleashes an amazing power that makes the entire screen go white (*Yoda impression* strong with the censorship light this episode is). Ruby wakes up back home to the sight of her dad (Yin-Yang: Woof. (Nitsuj): Very subtle Yin-Yang. Very subtle indeed. (Yin-Yang): Up yours ya perverted D-listed internet celebrity! Unlike you I don’t go chasing after every skirt that comes my way). She gets told by Qrow that she unleashed a power so amazing that it actually froze that dragon Grimm in place. It’s still alive and the Grimm are now making Beacon their new home but still it’s not moving anymore so that has to count for something. He then goes on to talk about Ruby’s silver eyes and how rare they are in their world. Legend says that those with silver eyes are destined to be great fighters and are the natural enemies of the Grimm (so they do fear something). Ruby than goes to check on Yang who tells her that Ozpin has gone missing, Weiss got taken back to Atlas by her dad for safety, and Blake has disappeared on them (the band has broken up). Yang pretty much has lost all hope in the future saying that there’s nothing they can do (don’t go Shinji on me Yang. I’ve already lost two people that I’ve cared about. Don’t make me hate one of them who’s still around). Fall ends and winter comes where Ruby has decided to team up with Team JNPR and go to Haven which is where Cinder has established base at to end the season where Cinder gives us some daunting dialog about how she plans to crush all their hope and watch as the world burns.
Just like the second season this season also gave us more World of Remnant specials giving more insight into the world of Remnant. This time narrated by Ozpin himself these specials really weren’t that informative as the first ones. What made the specials so great in season 2 was that it touched on stuff that the series never talked about all that much. Thus, it became very informative and interesting to hear it, adding something new to the world of RWBY. These specials while not bad add nothing new to the series. The only two I found worth checking were the Cross Continental Transit System (scene here: //youtu.be/yiJU9QeG89g) and The Four Maidens story which is a damn good story and needs to be turn into an actual book (scene here: //youtu.be/2bBSQA3uXVo). Other than these two the others were either stuff we already knew or didn’t really care about. Again, I really wish they would have explained other stuff like the previous war, the moon, or tell us a little more about the other kingdoms like what their setup is like. I mean, it’s clear that Atlas is a military kingdom but how did it become one? In the end there are 4 and probably a fifth one on the DVD but I say skip the first two and just watch the two I mentioned earlier.
Next let’s talk about RWBY Chibi. Was season 3 too dark and tragic for you? Do you want to see that light and comedic side you came to love in the first two seasons? Well RWBY Chibi has you covered. Coming out this past summer RWBY Chibi is where all the lightheartedness of season 3 went. In this miniseries the whole gang participates in a series of comedic shorts in chibi form. While all the characters from RWBY make an appearance this was a non-cannon spinoff. In fact, they even acknowledge it a few times. For example, there’s a short where Pyrrha returns and team RWBY is shocked by this saying they thought she died until Nora shuts them up saying it never happened. The series is good. It’s funny, cute, enjoyable, and it leads to some good character interactions as well as the show making fun of itself. My favorite short of them all is the shadow people where team RWBY actually acknowledge all the shadow people from the first season and talk about how weird they are and how some of them even look like them. The shorts aren’t too long although I wish they were because they’re so good and funny so they’re definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a laugh and something to cheer you up after the events of season 3.
Final Thoughts
Wow. Talk about a dark turn of events. This is definitely the darkest season of the series so far as everything has fallen apart for the group. Their enemies have completely outsmarted them, everything they’ve worked so hard to protect has been taken from them, and their forces have suffered a heavy hit both morally and physically. The death of three popular characters was proof that this series is taking on a more serious tone for the future and we need to prepare ourselves for it. The characters still maintain their personalities from the first seasons which while not entirely bad is a little disappointing. I was hoping to see a little bit of a change among them like Ruby becoming more of a leader, Weiss developing more of a close bond with the others, Blake opening up to the group more about her past, and Yang showing off more sage advice like she did with Blake last season. I was basically hoping for the girls to figure out their roles on the team sort of like JNPR. Ren is the team’s speed fighter, Nora’s the power, Pyrrha’s the ace, and Jaune is the heart. The backstory of the villains was nicely done into how they formed, where they came from, and how they came into power but I wished they would have explained Cinder’s backstory a little more. They never mentioned how she met Roman and where he fits in all of this. Also, what exactly is she? She’s clearly not human and I’m not gonna react negatively to this as I’m positive they’ll explain this in the 4th season. Qrow is awesome. He’s easily the best badass character in the series and it’s nice to see where Ruby and Yang get their personalities and ideals from. The same can be said with Winter. I like how she’s not that strict older sister who only cares about achievements and nothing else. She actually shows a deep care and love for Weiss and wants her to be happy while forging her own path and not the path of their father. Both Qrow and Winter can come across as strict and a little hard at times but you can tell they love their family and want them to be strong and safe once they step out into the world.
Once again the animation is great here. Each season it just keeps getting smoother and smoother to look at. The music is a hit as always. I love the jazz version of I Burn. The fight scenes started off mediocre but as the season kept progressing they got better. The two best fight scenes are near the end with Velvet’s fight scene which was a showcase of Monty’s work (great shout out right there) and the fight between Pyrrha and Cinder as you can just sense the raw emotion of Pryyha in this fight and how even though she knows she’s going up against this powerful foe she has to at least try to stop her because it’s her duty as a huntswoman. Other perks I liked about this season was getting to see Ruby and Yang’s dad finally, seeing some new and interesting characters, and diving more into the mythos of their world. Like I said I love the story of the Four Maidens (seriously, make this a book) and Ruby’s eyes will definitely lead to something interesting down the line.
Is it better than the last seasons
I like this season more than the first season but I still like the second season more than this one. While this season was definitely darker and pushed the series in a more serious direction I was disappointed with the lack of character interaction. We get a few character interactions here and there but none lived up to the interactions like in the second season with the characters opening up to each other and everything. The fight scenes were also better in the second season plus the second season gave us a dance scene. How do not have a dance scene in the third season to top the second season is beyond me.
Final Score
The final score for the third season of RWBY is a 7.5/10. Slightly lower than the second season but still a great season nonetheless that pulled the series into a new light and one that I look forward to seeing where they go from here. With the fourth season set to come out next month and getting a sneak peek I’m excited to see what happens next for Ruby and her friends. Can they find a way to let the light shine in their dark world or will the world be stuck in the dark like Cinder had intended? Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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