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There’s going to be some similarity between this post and its predecessor. They start with the same letter of the alphabet, there’s a lot of martial-arts-like fighting involved, and the reason you’ll probably give up on it after a while is because of a dude.

What is it?

RWBY is an ongoing computer-animated series from the creative minds over at Rooster Teeth, previously best known for their “machinima” output like Red Vs Blue. It first drew attention for its promotional character-specific music videos featuring the late Monty Oum’s deliriously over-the-top anime-style fight choreography. As of this writing RWBY is heading into its fifth season.

What kind of story is it?

On the surface, it’s a bunch of kids who are attending a training academy for overpowered wannabe-heroic types. Behind that, it’s a layer-cake of political shenanigans and evil plots and power plays that the kids stumble into. Things start out moderately messy and over the course of the seasons they really go to hell in a handbasket.

Why do you like it?

Two elements of RWBY are nigh-irresistible to me: Superpowered heroines doing crazy stuff to save the world, and fun characters bouncing witticisms off one another. At its best, the show blends both of these to delightful effect.

Also, there’s some interesting worldbuilding going on. What and why are the “grimm”? Who’s really pulling whose strings? The writing, at least in the first few seasons, is strong enough at that level to keep me intrigued beyond the superficial “fun-train” aspects.

It doesn’t hurt that there’s a kick-ass soundtrack. I love almost all of the season theme songs, never mind the character pieces from the promotional videos. Jeff Williams and his daughter Casey Lee Williams are, I firmly believe, a significant factor in why RWBY gained as much popularity as it enjoys today.

What might one not like about it?

Especially early on, one can tell how this isn’t the product of a high-end animation-production shop with a huge budget. You have to forgive a lot. This isn’t The Incredibles by any stretch of imagination. It’s done with commodity software by a small team using local talent to the best effect they can.

One might also find themselves unable to handle the voice acting and/or writing. I… can’t really blame you. The cast has grown on me but I wholly understand why folks bail on the show after an episode or two.

And then, even if you really dig what’s going on and become attached to the core group of four superpowered girls, there comes a point where you realize something is… changing.

The guy who starts out as the whiny-but-well-meaning sidekick suddenly ends up as a central figure in a show which is named for four characters who aren’t him. And this is where I find myself thinking, “Am I going to stay with this? Will Season 5 be my last, or will they figure it out and refocus on the actual RWBY team members?” Time will tell, I suppose.

Other thoughts about it?

Just… search YouTube for “rwby food fight”. Even if you watch nothing else from this entire show, watch that.

Thank you for that, Monty Oum.

Where can I watch it?

I watch RWBY on Crunchyroll, though there are other options (like Rooster Teeth’s own site, and it was on Netflix for a while).

 

Sometimes what you need is a fluffy bit of entertainment which is nestled gently in the center of the Venn diagram of “comedy,” “action,” and “romance.” A boy, a girl, some rivals, some martial arts… what could go wrong?

For starters, the boy’s not always a boy…

What is it?

Ranma ½ is, for our purposes, a long-running anime series based on a long-running manga series from back in the 1980s.

What kind of story is it?

You could say that it’s the story of two young people who are facing the prospect of an arranged marriage while also facing the fury of all the people who have strong opinions about who, or if, each of them should marry.

You could say that it’s the story of how adding “martial arts” to (nearly) every possible human activity exacts a costly material toll on a town’s infrastructure and inhabitants.

You could say that it’s the story of a bevy of young people and how they deal with their particular shape-changing curses.

I mean, you could say a lot of things, including any of the above options, and it might apply to this show. There’s a lot going on here, most of it ridiculous.

Why do you like it?

At its best, Ranma ½  is a genuine delight. The fights are usually clever, the comedy generally lands punchlines well, and at least in the earlier stretches the “curse” element is imaginatively handled.

What might one not like about it?

There comes a point, and this point arrives at different episodes for different people, where “enough” becomes “too much.” A cast of a dozen becomes a cast of several dozens becomes a cast of nearly a hundred. It’s not like the show starts out owing any allegiance to sanity, sure. But you will probably get worn out eventually.

Let’s be clear: You should enjoy the show while you can. You should also feel no guilt whatsoever about bailing when you feel the exasperation setting in.

Other thoughts about it?

You expect in a show like this that the male lead is going to be the best, toughest, fighter to be found anywhere. What you might not expect is that his intended/arranged bride is among the stronger martial artists in the show. While trying to directly compare any two characters in this show is a waste of energy (remembering that the Rule of Funny and the Rule of Cool are a factor in any engagement), Akane Tendo is certainly no slouch.

Where can I watch it?

This one isn’t at any of the usual expected places. Viz has Ranma ½ on tap for your viewing enjoyment, however.