RWBY by Rooster Teeth is returning October 24th! Set on the fictional world of Remnant RWBY focuses on students training at Beacon Academy to become monster-slayers known as Huntsmen and Huntresses. They are training to combat the numerous villains that inhabit Remnant, as well as horrific monsters known as Grimm. In season three the Vytal Festival is finally here, pitting teams from the various schools against each other in competition.
Focusing on fifteen-year old Ruby Rose, the series follows her time at Beacon Academy where she gains an early invitation to this highly sought-after training. Ruby is placed on team RWBY consisting of Ruby, Weiss Schnee the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, Blake hiding-a-secret Belladonna, and Ruby’s older sister, Yang Xiao Long. Each character wields over-the-top melee weapons which typically also transform into projectile weapons. Ruby designed her own scythe, as seems to be the norm.
I discovered this show one day when my youngest son and I were perusing the Rooster Teeth web site to find a quick show to kill some time. With short, 7-15 minute episodes, great visuals, and excellent combat scenes, we were hooked, devouring the first two seasons in just a couple of days. Eager to see when season three was coming out, we were horrified to discover the way-too-early passing of the genius creative mind behind the show, Monty Oum.
Monty Oum came to Rooster Teeth from a game design career. He contributed action sequences on a few seasons of the wildly popular machinima, Red vs. Blue before creating two seasons of the original Rooster Teeth production RWBY. In February of 2015 33 year old Oum passed away after suffering an allergic reaction to a medication administered during a medical procedure.
This horrific loss clearly left RWBY’s fate in question. Rooster Teeth always stated that RWBY would continue, and now we have a set date. Not only was Monty Oum the creative genius behind the show, choreographing gripping and visually stunning action sequences, but he played the voice of Lie Ren, a student at Beacon Academy. Poignantly, for season three, Monty’s brother Neath Oum will voice this character. Monty is still an influence on the coming season.
“Monty was heavily involved in shaping the future of the world of Remnant. His story ideas will live on, and you will also be able to see some of the animation he’d begun working on for Volume 3. For some time, the team has known the direction in which the next volumes will be headed, and Rooster Teeth is committed to bringing these tales to you.” – Gray, Kerry, and Miles of Rooster Teeth
So, if you’ve been waiting for the return of RWBY your wait is over. The new season premiers October 24th for Rooster Teeth sponsors at RoosterTeeth.com, and October 25th for everyone else. If you’ve never seen RWBY, try episode one. It’s only twelve and a half minutes long. Be warned. The characters have apparently not been through Beacon Academy’s Reasonable Armor 101 course yet. The series did result in a couple of conversations with my sons concerning why a school might want to have a dress code. We, however, found the characters interesting, with strengths and weaknesses, each bringing something to the team. Monty Oum’s action scenes were a pleasure to behold and I’m eager to see how Oum’s style translates into season three in the hands of RWBY’s creative team.
For a glimpse of season three, here’s a clip from RWBY Volume 3 depicting team combat in the Vytal festival arena.
