RWBY Volume 4 Retrospective Notes

Yep! I'm doing a retrospective on RWBY Volume 4 on its core theme of Grief. So for now, please enjoy my psycho notes. I am tired.

Character Short:

• Ah yes. The best character short to date. What a hell of an intro to RWBY in Maya.
• We immediately start with the darker tone. A town being ravaged by Grimm. People screaming for their lives. This is the real world. This is Remnant.
• Okay but Ruby riding in on a Nevermore with her scythe is fucking badass.
• Oh this fight is so good. I love the way Ruby’s using her Semblance, and the choreography is legitimately great. Where is this quality of fights in the rest of the volume?
  • The song also adds to the flare. Oh it’s such a beautiful callback to the Red Trailer, even if it’s not aesthetically as interesting. (By which I mean the simple use of color in the Red Trailer, with everything being red, black, and white, whereas here there are lots of greens and browns)
• What a great intro for the Beringel Grimm. The Grimm we’ve seen up until this point for the most part are nowhere near as intimidating and tough to take down as this thing.
• Can we just talk about that iconic shot of Ruby breaking through the window? And the rose petal cyclone? And the glorious takedown? YES.
• Nice little tease of Nora and Ren’s new looks with the concept art. Also, the scroll only works within the local area cuz of all the CCTS nonsense. Genuinely nice bits of info given concisely.
  • I am wondering why Team JNR isn’t present though. I mean, obviously it’s to let Ruby shine on her own, alone, and it fits the mood of the trailer better, but like were the others asleep or something?
• Oh, the models for Weiss, Blake, and especially Yang just… were not there yet. Oh dear. I mean nice glimpses of where they all are but yikes.
  • Still very sad Weiss’ ponytail isn’t centered like it is in the concept art. Would’ve made a nice visual cue for the control Jacques is reasserting over her life.

Chapter 1, “The Next Step”:

• Oh, such a good intro for the volume. We left off with Salem in Volume 3 (Not counting the post credit scene), and we begin her domain for Volume 4.
  • Absolutely adore the “Lusus Naturae” melody.
• Oh Emerald and Mercury. You poor children.
  • Though Mercury looks very weird in Maya. His eyebrows and mouth are just… no. Poor child barely even speaks this whole volume before like two grunts.
• And the other baddies of this cabal. I love Watts solely for shitting on Cinder, and Tyrian is just too much fun not to love.
• Seeing Cinder in this state is so satisfying. I mean I hate it cuz it made me think she’d become interesting now that the sexy facade she had the last two volumes is gone, but nope. Oh well.
• And so Salem enters… on a segway.
  • I wish they were more careful with the camera angles here. Seeing Salem framed ordinarily, doing pretty much nothing, really hurts her presence. Her Maya model doesn’t help. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something so… unthreatening about it. She looks like a normal human wearing a fuck ton of makeup.
• The scars on Hazel’s arm look more like they’re supposed to be arm hair, honestly. Like we all thought that at first.
• “It is because of the Maiden’s power.” See, I know you guys were trying to hide the fact Cinder being part Grimm resulted in this, but you kinda fucked up by making us think Salem was referring to Maidens as a whole rather than the individual bitch Maiden.
• See, I just wanna know where Watts, Tyrian, and Hazel were during Volumes 1 - 3.
• Salem’s comments about Haven and the Spring Maiden give us an idea of what the villains’ plans are. God, this scene is so good.
• Hello farm child. I love you, but my god this was such an odd intro to you. Like… why is any of this hear.
  • I had this idea actually for a potential rewrite where Oscar’s farm is actually Brunswick, so he’s essentially going home during Volume 6 and sees what could’ve happened to him if he stayed and didn’t go to help the rest of the world. Also trauma. When in doubt, traumatize your characters.
  • Oh dear that water does not look good.
• See, as much as I wanna enjoy the forests of Mistral, it all looks the same. The terrain isn’t very interesting, if I’m going to be frank.
• “JNRR” v. “RNJR.” The eternal debate. (RNJR is better)
  • Could also go with RTNJ (“Orange”). Just saying.
• We’ve actually seen the Geist Grimm before, back in the White Trailer, but this is a nice proper introduction to it and the many forms it can take.
• See, what annoys me is they aren’t specific in how much time has passed in any of the storylines, which would be fine if they hadn’t done so many interviews citing six to eight months after Volume 3’s finale. That just kinda messed everything up.
• Oh this fight… this fight has some nice moments but overall is kind of a mess.
  • Ruby why are you using Lightning Dust on a rock monster? Good lord.
  • They don’t really emphasize that Ruby doesn’t really jive with the members of Team JNR, nor that Team JNR is struggling without Pyrrha, which would’ve been a nice reminder of where they are after all their losses.
• And an unnamed village that looks exactly the same as all the other villages. Yay.
  • WOW, A HORSE. AN ACTUAL GODDAMN ANIMAL.
• Why is this Faunus blacksmith doing so well and not being discriminated against in a country that’s supposedly racist. Like, yeah, Atlas is full-on racist, but Mistral had Faunus slaves too, so you’d think they’d be kinda… “diet racist.”
  • It would help further set the tone for how dark the world is, especially after the Fall of Beacon. People could take their fear and anger with the White Fang out on this Faunus just trying to make a living; maybe a guy they’ve trusted for years.
  • There’s also this weird thing where no one mentions the Vytal Festival. No one recognizes these kids from the tournament matchups. You’d think someone would notice Pyrrha Nikos’ team and ask about what happened to her, or about Ruby’s sister brutally injuring an innocent man in front of the entire world.
• I get they wanted a cute funny moment with Ruby and Jaune to emphasize that the show would keep some shred of its old self despite the darker tone, but like oh dear this does not land.
  • Also, how has Ruby never seen the bunny on Jaune’s hoodie before? Does Jaune just never remove his armor? Then again Pyrrha never did…
  • Actually where did Ruby, Ren, and Nora get their new outfits? And why didn’t Jaune get one? This is never explained or implied.
• I like the little mention of the Schnee Dust Company to make Ruby think of Weiss.
• This one joke about the map WILL BECOME SO INFURIATING.
• Weiss all decked out in blue, because she sad. No pop of red. Her own color white is gone. Sadness and despair.
• Oh the Volume 4 intro. My favorite song (“Let’s Just Live”), cleverly shows where all the girls are, but oh dear it’s so janky and bland compared to the other intros.

Chapter 2, “Remembrances”:

• I love seeing the Schnee Manor like this. It emphasizes how cold and lonely this place is. Also nice 2D integrations.
• See, Whitley’s comment mucks up the timeline, because he’s talking as if Weiss literally just got home.
• They just noted their parents fight all the time and their mother is an alcoholic. Oh joy.
  • Odd we don’t see Willow at all this volume. Possibly to show how little she’s present in Weiss’ life anymore?
• Whitley being a manipulative little shit. Get fucked the dutch angle, Shitley.
• Weiss you… you were going the other way.
• Jacques has naturally black hair, as opposed to Nicholas’ naturally white hair. I wish they had little streaked of black in his hair or a thing of hair dye on his desk to further emphasize this.
• OKAY THE PYRRHA THING WAS MEAN.
• How in the hell did no one see the ruined village from afar or the smoke? You weren’t going up hill, and your view wasn’t obscured by trees. WHAT THE FUCK?
• Jaune has an emotional attachment to this place. Okay then. Is Shione supposed to be a big town everyone goes to to get to Mistral quicker? Cuz up until this point they described it like a basic-ass village like everywhere else.
• I do like Jaune talking about his sister more positively now. Oh I need to meet them all and see him with a warrior’s wolf tail.
  • Also nice Sokka reference.
• And so we reinforce the darker tone with the destruction of Shione and the death of this Huntsman.
• The Nuckelavee footprint. Oh you bastards.
• WORLDBUILDING. SUSPICION OF ATLAS. DUST EMBARGOS.
• I wish we got Jacques scoffing at Ironwood’s suggestion of Atlas Academy and Weiss feigning agreement, just so we were clear on what his plans are. Also yay passive aggressively insulting Weiss to deteriorate her mental health. Joy.
• The portrait actually nicely shows Jacques’ naturally black hair, I will admit. AND HE HAS A PICTURE OF WHITLEY ON HIS DESK AND NO ONE ELSE. FUCKING DICK.
• Oh it’s so clear Jacques is using Weiss as a pawn to ease tensions just so he can make sales again. I mean it would be nice because it’d mean international communication again, but like fuck Jacques.
• I LOVE KLEIN SO MUCH.
• The only indication of Ruby having any kind of trauma… sigh.
• While the technicality of how and why Jaune had this training video filmed, it still emotionally hurts. Owwwwwwwwww.

Chapter 3, “Of Runaways and Stowaways”:

• I still adore this episode title.
• I feel so bad for Blake, and I hate how people demonize her. She ran from her family because she was young and convinced she was doing the right thing for the Faunus, and she ran from Beacon because she blamed herself for what happened to the school, her friends, and most of all Yang.
  • Odd we’re so quick to demonize Yang and especially Blake, but Adam gets all the forgiveness and moral complexity in the world. Interesting.
• I love this ship captain. Honestly, I’m pretty sure he noticed Blake’s anxiety and thought “Oh shit! Must prevent Grimm attack!”
  • I wish this was an actual point of contention for Blake. That she believed the Sea Feilong attacked because of her.
• I’m surprised it took Blake this long to ditch her bow on a boat full of Faunus. Lowkey wish some of them maybe tried to reach out, and Blake was just like “POTENTIAL WHITE FANG SPIES.”
• Oh Yang. My sweet, sweet girl.
  • Nice bits of worldbuilding through the TV, I will say. OH GOD GET THE GOAT MAN OFF MY SCREEN.
  • Okay but I love Yang in a ponytail.
• I’m happy Yang didn’t immediately just up at the chance to try on her new arm. Losing her arm was a horrible loss, but the root of it all is still the trauma from the event, along with her abandonment issues being exacerbated by Blake running away.
  • Speaking of which, nice showing Yang adjusting to life without her right arm, only to drop a glass because of phantom sensations and then jumping at the sound of it shattering. OH MY GIRL.
  • Okay but why are the cabinets so high up? Like… who can reach those?
• Oh this fight… this fight is tragic. Like this is not how physics or momentum work.
• As Xiao Long pointed out in her fantabulous video essay, Sun and Blake’s dynamic just… doesn’t work. Sun doesn’t understand Blake’s need for boundaries or how her train of thought works, and Blake just lashes out at Sun. They’re great friends but they’d make for terrible romantic partners.
• Oh this scene. I remember calling Cinder’s Grimm arm (You wannabe Velvet Crowe). But while this scene makes perfect sense in hindsight, back then… oh dear, it’s weird.
• The thing I don’t get is Salem’s fixation of Cinder killing Oz. Salem knows Oz reincarnates, so was she just trying to buy herself more time? Also what did the Seer Grimm say to provoke this question? Who’s even on the other end presumably at Beacon?
  • Plot twist it’s Kathleen. Not Glynda. Kathleen.

Chapter 4, “Family”:

• This first scene is still so weird. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the episode, and honestly it feels unneeded. Even the way they feature Ozpin’s voice doesn’t make sense. There are no effects to indicate it being within Oscar’s mind.
• Oh I love Yang’s nightmare. I just kinda wish they featured Blake running away.
• YES. HUMANIZING THE PROFESSORS. God, such a good scene. Especially love the “Let’s Just Live” melody playing here.
• This is the most realistic familial dark humor I’ve ever seen in any media. Aside from The Last of Us, of course. Oh great. Now I’m crying.
• Yang motivated to try on the arm because of concern for her sister. Daww.
• And Qrow’s subtle self hatred and him scoffing about luck because of his Semblance. Ouch.
• Oh Raven. Back when you were interesting.
  • ALL THE SPRING MAIDEN HINTS. WE WERE FOOLS.
• I wish they had Yang in therapy or something to properly address her PTSD. It would’ve done a lot to point out her abandonment issues as well.

Chapter 5, “Menagerie”:

• Ah yes. This episode. Probably the weakest of Volume 4. Joy.
• Not very crowded, but okay then Sun. I do love the music, though, and Kuo Kuana’s overall aesthetic. Though I wish we got to see this dangerous desert Blake mentions.
• Why Blake is wearing that coat in a tropical environment, I’ll never know.
• EXPOSITION, EXPOSITION.
• You’d think people would figure out who Blake was because of her last name. Or the fact that since she was the daughter of Ghira, she’s probably known about as well. Sigh.
• OKAY BUT THE HUG KALI GIVES BLAKE AFTER BLAKE BEING AFRAID OF SEEING HER PARENTS AGAIN… OH MY HEART. MY POOR GIRL HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH.
  • The melody for the “Let’s Just Live” bridge is playing here. Oh my heart.
  • GHIRA AND KALI CONCERNED FOR THEIR DAUGHTER. MY HEART.
• Sun, you blathering idiot, I love you.
• Oh yay. Creepy cult bros. You know, it annoys me now knowing this was literally their only scene this volume and how little they do next volume. Jesus.
• Okay but I love Tyrian’s coat. And he’s such a lunatic, I love him. I actually recited lines for him earlier just for fun and oh my god I had a damn blast.

Chapter 6, “Tipping Point”:

• DROPPING THE MAP FOR NO REASON AND NOT EVEN BOTHERING TO GO BACK FOR IT. YOU IDIOTS.
  • Seriously, why not just have Tyrian shred the map when he attacked?
• You know, Oniyuri does at least have one distinguishing feature that sets it apart visually from the other towns… a wall. That’s literally it.
• Okay but that transition with Weiss singing and the shattered moon… YES.
• YES, WEISS. SING YOUR DIEGETIC SONG WHOSE LYRICS SEEM NONDIEGETIC EVEN THOUGH THEM IN FACT BEING DIEGETIC YET NO ONE ACKNOWLEDGING THEM KINDA HIGHLIGHTS THE SHITTY SOCIETY YOU’RE TRAPPED IN. 
• Jacques you racist shit. Plot twist: at the end of Volume 6 we learn they LITERALLY PUT THE FAUNUS BELOW THEM. MANTLE IS LITERALLY MILES BELOW ATLAS ON THE GROUND.
• Seriously, they named Henry only to have him be a total throwaway. I know he probably won’t return in Volume 7 (FNKI better or I’m killing everyone), but some small part of me hopes there’s more to his character… which is to say he actually has a character. Even though he’s a pretty big dick here.
• Weiss calling out this assholes saying Vale deserved what happened gives me life. Though I am surprised this woman didn’t mention Vale’s friendliness towards Faunus contributing to the Fall of Beacon, given how racist Atlas is.
• Okay not sure how Ren sensed Tyrian coming, or how Tyrian knew they were going to Mistral. But uh… I’m just gonna roll with this, because I loved Tyrian’s intro and I love this fight.
• Seriously, where was Qrow this whole time?
• And was Tyrian legit about to sting Ruby? Because I thought Salem wanted her alive? Also WHY IS JAUNE NOT DOING ANYTHING? HE’S NOT HURT LIKE THE OTHERS, AND HE’S GOT A HUGE SHIELD, SO WHAT THE FUCK?
• Okay but Qrow’s entrance gives me life.

Chapter 7, “Punished”:

• And at the halfway point we get the point of Oscar’s storyline… wonderful. Took a little too long but oh well.
• “I didn’t say you were normal. I said you were sane.”
• Seriously, where does Oscar live? Like I know he’s on Anima but the geography is so confusing.
• I feel so bad for Weiss. I mean, at least she has the guts now to stand up to Jacques-ass, but it hurts knowing he’s done this to her since she was little.
• HOW DARE YOU SLAP MY GIRL. OH THERE WILL BE HELL FOR YOU IN VOLUME 7.
• Jacques turning this into us vs. them. Either you agree with me and follow my lead, or you’re out of the family.
• Jacques turning this into him being “concerned.” Oh god, it’s so clear he’s perfected gaslighting his kids and making them blame themselves when he manipulates and abuses them.
• Whitley is such a little shit. He manipulated Weiss into acting out so he could inherit the company. Just… ugh. I feel bad because it’s clear Jacques perfected his manipulation in sculpting Whitley into his carbon copy, but still, FUCK WHITLEY.
  • The look on his face when he says “It’s foolish not to do as father asks.” That is just the fact of pure evil. This family is disgusting.
  • I wouldn’t be shocked if Whitley joined the villains in Volume 7, honestly. Lowkey maybe he resents the family name because of what he went through and is fueled on spite, like Adam.
• Okay but Jacques didn’t take Weiss’ sword? Really?
• OKAY BUT THE “Mirror Mirror” MELODY GIVES ME LIFE.
• YES, QROW. KICK TYRIAN’S ASS. Oh this fight choreography is beautiful. Minus that weird moment where Tyrian let Qrow calmly retrieve his scythe. That was… weird.
• I like that the venom didn’t immediately kick in for Qrow. It gives us time to chill with Qrow and hear him out before the stakes kick in. Also YAS RUBY CUT THAT BASTARD’S TAIL. YOU GO, GIRL.

Chapter 8, “A Much Needed Talk”:

• Oh joy. The exposition episode. Gods give me strength in the absence of wine.
• WHY ARE YOU RECAPPING ALL THIS INFO ABOUT THE MAIDENS? WE FUCKING KNOW.
• While I’m annoyed at Jaune not understanding the situation, I understand where he’s coming from, and I like the edge this adds to his character. He hates himself so much for what happened to Pyrrha. The poor boy.
• QROW MENTIONS SILVER EYES. NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THEM AGAIN TIL VOLUME 6. YAY.
• Oh Blake, you sweet child. I love her relationship with her parents, and her just letting everything out. The fact Ghira and Kali were so kind and loving to her after so long… oh I love the Belladonnas. Though I do wish she talked more about her teammates with them, and what Adam said to her.
• Qrow’s reasoning on Salem being a secret doesn’t really make sense. If anything, it would unite humanity against her. Then again knowing Salem is immortal, if the world learned about her and then discovered she couldn’t be killed, that’d be another story.
  • I wonder if Salem kept herself secret so that once the human kingdoms fell, the remains would unite under her and worship her as a goddess. She does basically control the Grimm.
• Qrow coming clean about his Semblance, and why he’s pushed the people he loves away. Oh my god, this man needs a hug.
• Blake slapping Sun is meant to be uncomfortable. Sun doesn’t respect Blake’s boundaries, and Blake—who’s already on edge, and probably picked up some of Adam’s tendencies—lashes out as a result. Another reason they probably wouldn’t work as a healthy couple.
• ILIA. MY GIRL.
• “Well… that’s unfortunate.”

Chapter 9, “Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back”:

• YANG AT LONG LAST RETURNS. Seriously, not having her for so long was just… ugh. This feels like it should’ve been in a previous episode. And seriously, GIVE THE GIRL A THERAPIST.
• I do like Tai’s approach of Yang not over relying on her Semblance, but it feels hollow without addressing Yang’s trauma as well.
• “I saw your fights during the Vytal Festival.” The rest of the world apparently didn’t. Weird Tai never mentioned that one instance where she BROKE MERCURY’S LEG.
• And they finally speak of Raven. Oh it’s so clear Raven leaving just shattered Tai’s heart.
• YES WEISS. YES. Though, again, I am surprised Jacques didn’t take Weiss’ sword and prohibit her from training.
• So Whitley lacks the Schnee Semblance. Wow. I wonder if it’s another implication of how much he takes after Jacques rather than Nicholas, and how both of them DISRESPECT THE MAN WHO EARNED THEM THEIR LIVING TO BEGIN WITH.
• Weiss slamming the door on Shitley gives me life.
• How in the hell did no one hear that window shatter?
• Oh this rooftop fight is… tragic.
• Ilia just… took out her scroll? And Blake just pauses. And Blake doesn’t even consider it to be Ilia til the mask is fully off… sigh.
• “Quit staring and grab it!” WORDS TO BE ENSHRINED.
• “But she doesn’t even look like a Faunus.” Nice foreshadowing on Ilia’s character arc.
• Blake crying over getting her friends hurt again. This poor girl.
• “Without the map, there’s no way of knowing.” MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP DROPPING THE GODDAMN MAP THEN.
• You’d think Ren would know the geography around here. And Nora, too.
• I will say nice that the forests have turned creepier given what’s on its way.
• Seriously, I wish the show gave us actual geography on the map to work with, because right now it’s a guessing game where exactly on Anima everything is.

Chapter 10, “Kuroyuri”:

• Oscar just leaves home. Not a word to his haunt. No confrontation. And we don’t even get to see Oscar coming to terms with this choice. He just does offscreen. This is why people don’t care about his character.
• Really nice reintroduction to Hazel, and foreshadowing his dark connection to Ozpin. Granted it kinda sucks but hey the buildup was nice.
• Kuroyuri is horrifying. Such a creepy and foreboding atmosphere. Seriously, why is this show so good at horror? Jeff and Alex definitely helps with their scores.
• So does Jaune know about Kuroyuri? Did Ren tell him and presumably Pyrrha at some point offscreen?
• That was a nice transition, using the lotus as the anchor. Also OH MY GOD BABY REN.
• OH MY GOD BABY NORA. She has to be from another part of Anima given she’s Norse and this region is very East Asia-inspired. But like… can we please get a more concrete idea of where exactly these places are, and where the cultural differences begin and end?
• Okay but Ren’s dad is hot.
• “Sometimes the worst action to take is taking no action at all.” I WANT THIS FRAMED EVERYWHERE.
• This could’ve been such a nice moment of doubt for Ruby, but it’s almost as if the scene wants to focus on Jaune giving hope to her than Ruby’s feelings.
• Aaaaand everyone’s dying. I’m fine. This is fine.
• I love the very brief glimpse we get at the Nuckelavee. This thing is terrifying.
  • Oddly enough, this thing is Norse in origin, so you’d think this would’ve wrecked Nora’s hometown and followed her. That could’ve been an interesting aspect to explore. Nora blaming herself for what happened to Kuroyuri, and this is why she tries so hard to be there for Ren and her friends.
• So Ren can mask emotions, but it seems odd given it seemed to have calmed him down. I’d like a proper explanation on whether he can actually calm people down, but masking your emotions could be seriously useful when dealing with Grimm.
• The melody of “Boop” in the background gives me life. AND THE TINY HAMMER.
• Renora for best couple. How have they not kissed?

Chapter 11, “Taking Control”:

• I kinda like that the penultimate episode wrapped up all the other stories (Minus Cinder. She didn’t really have a story as much as random scenes).
• Seriously, Cinder had like no story this volume. Granted she’s infinitely more interested here than she is in any other volume, but actively seeing her recovery and her festering hatred of Ruby would’ve been nice. Maybe regret for what she’s done and then quashing it quickly.
• “The last eye is blinded.” That eye of Odin reference though.
• Salem knew saying this to Tyrian would make him way crazier to make up for him losing his stinger. I will say, it’s her one moment of presence in the entire volume..
• The look on Cinder’s face is a fucking red herring and I hate it. I mean, I love it, but I hate it leads to fucking nothing.
• Again, I wish we addressed Yang’s PTSD and trauma. But I do like the question they posed on who she was going to find. I mean, we all knew her goal was to find Ruby, but eh. Also, loving the little “Armed and Ready” melody.
• Weiss, why are you wearing high heels on marble floors?
• I LOVE KLEIN. Though the little Whitley scare was… legit nothing. I wish we got an actual confrontation where Weiss stands up and leaves, but this works fine.
• Foreshadowing for Volume 5 through Jacques and Ironwood’s conversation.
• Ironwood, no. You bringing in your army made everything so much worse. AND NOW HE’S CLOSING THE BORDERS. YAY. TIME FOR WAR, EVERYONE.
• Weiss at least had a goal. I think she just needed to get away from her psycho family to figure out what to do next. I’m pretty sure her next step would’ve been to go to Patch to reunite with Ruby and Yang. I’m also certain she didn’t know about Blake running off, so for all she knows, she’s returning to her team.
• This scene gets me so emotional, because I relate to Blake in pushing people away because I feel like a burden. Blake was a victim of abuse. She hated herself for putting her friends into danger. Yet people antagonize and demonize her so often, it’s just… it disgusts me. Yeah, I agree she was very amorphous in Volumes 1 - 3, but she’s far from the monster people paint her as.
  • Gee, I wonder why people are more willing to give Adam the benefit of the doubt and paint him as morally gray despite his numerous crimes and atrocities, yet Blake so much as makes one flawed, understandable decision - ON PURPOSE FOR HER CHARACTER ARC - and people are instantly ready to lynch her.
• Sun’s whole role was in helping Blake confront her flawed reasoning and letting people back in. He prioritized helping her over trying to get a relationship, and I love him so much for that. They might not be great romantic partners, but it doesn’t erase their wonderful friendship.
• I LOVE KALI SO MUCH.
• YEAH, BLAKE. TAKE BACK THE FANG. I remember getting so excited about everyone headed for Mistral… and then… Volume 5 happened. Oh gods.
• Okay, the framing of this scene is weird. You don’t see where the Nuckelavee in relation to anything else. You’d think someone besides Ren would’ve spot it. Then again, Ren apparently can sense things better than the others, though it doesn’t seem connected to his Semblance. ME CONFUSED.
• Awesome reveal of the Nuckelavee, especially with the “Lusus Naturae” melody.

Chapter 12, “No Safe Haven”:

• PUNS.
• But I love that this fight takes advantage of the heightened stakes from Volume 3, but I’m also happy no one died. Because Volume 4 is ultimately about optimism. Conquering the darkness. If there’s any volume post-Fall of Beacon that no one should die in the finale, it’s this one.
• Oh the teleporting. I love this fight but my god everything keeps moving out of place.
• So the Grimm are blind save for emotion? Is that a thing? If so, terrible design choice.
• Jaune’s clearly still hostile towards Qrow. It’s just a shame nothing’s really done with it, even in Volume 5. OKAY OKAY, FOCUS ON VOLUME 4, THE GOOD ONE.
• OH THAT NEAR SCARE. OH THAT WAS NOT OKAY. But I will defend Nora’s little joke there, because it again serves this volume’s theme, and also it’s fucking cute.
• Nora just calling Ren out to snap him out of his rage… oh my heart. If she hadn’t done that, Ren would be dead.
• I still wish Jaune and especially Ruby got more of a spotlight in this finale. I love what this done for Ren and Nora, but Ruby still needs more character depth.
• Our first glimpse of Mistral. I remember being so excited for Volume 5, seeing the city in full glory. A vertical Ba Sing Se. AND THEN LIKE THREE MATTE PAINTINGS AND A HOUSE. FML.
• RENORA IS CANON. OH THE BUMBLEBY PARALLELS GIVE ME LIFE.
• I still don’t get why people say this and the Volume 5 opening scene contradict each other. I interpret this as Team RNJR chilling at the house til Qrow recovered enough for them to meet Leo at Haven. Does that seem so weird?
• Ruby recapping the volume via a letter to Yang. Oh this is so cute. But while it does make me emotional, and it’s great to hear Ruby interpreting all the volume’s events, but it feels a tad hollow without any action before now to precede it.
  • She just writes a letter and leaves again.
• PILOT BOI.
• Yang is on a ship called the fucking “Pride.” AND Y’ALL SAY SHE AIN’T LGBT.
• Oh that team photo hurts me in the soul.
• Pyrrha would be so proud of her teammates. AAAAAAHHHHHH.
• Okay but how did Emerald know about Ruby’s new outfit? Did Tyrian just give Emerald the details? Would it be that hard to pop her old model in for this scene?
• “You are in so much trouble when I find you.” Oh I love you, Yang.
• Oh this last bit of Leo being allied with Salem’s faction, and Watts’ return. OH WHAT A STINGER FOR VOLUME 5. YOU BASTARDS GETTING US HYPED FOR TRASH.
• “Armed and Ready” was by far and away my favorite end credit song til Volume 6, but it’s still a close second. Oh so good. Works beautifully not only for Yang, but for all the characters honestly.
• I wanna love this post credit scene. Cuz at the time, it was a great teaser for what to expect from Volume 5 with all the storylines converging. But knowing how Volume 5 turned out, and that they basically recycled this entire scene beat for beat… oh god.