As if it wasn’t enough having clothes, books, mugs and everything you can imagine, since 2017 Rooster Teeth has made a partnership with VIZ Signature and compiles a series of mangas which have been drawn and written by fans of their star series, RWBY! As a fan I could not be more pleased, since I love mangas, so let’s get to it!
Judging by the name of the compilation, you could only imagine that many volumes would get made and hadn’t been different: so far, we have five volumes release – four, separately, dedicated to each member of team RWBY and now (in 2021) it has been released the fifth volume. It’s worth mentioning that all the manga stories are fanfiction, but they all have been thoroughly checked by writers of the main show.
The first volume (Red Like Roses) has Ruby Rose on the spotlight – the leader of team RWBY – and in this manga all stories are told from her perspective. The plots are built around the character and her interactions with her teammates and teachers at Beacon academy. For the ones who already know the series, you probably have already noticed that if we’re talking about this school, it means everything happens around the first three volumes of the show; the volumes which represent the initial arch of this vast universe.
The next volumes (Mirror, Mirror; From Shadows and I Burn) depict the stories of the other characters of team RWBY, respectively, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. All mangas follow the same idea as the first one, focusing on the perspective of each of the girls and her adventures between the moments of the episodes from the series. It’s worth mentioning there are many moments which the mangakas do some fanservice in a very cute way and those scenes are there for the delight of the fans who were wishing for something more relaxing. After the initial arc (also called The Beacon Arc), the show got a more serious
and somber tone, in many different aspects. Many fans miss this chill and funny vibe that the show had. Although, the series still carries these vibes in its essence, it’s not the exactly the same as before. Talking about humor, the mangas have a especial part dedicated to the spin-off of the main show, RWBY CHIBI (which is also a Rooster Teeth production) – puns and jokes with the characters and the plot is something you are sure to find here, alongside a lot of fun!
The fifth volume (Shine) is the only one which I haven’t got (yet). As soon as I get my hands on this beauty, I’m going to write an especial post dedicated to it alone. For now, all I can say is that this manga portraits team JNPR – beloved by many – especially because o Pyrrah Nikos (if you don’t know what I’m talking about: watch the show and you’ll know what I mean!). I believe the reason of this manga being a single version for all the four characters is that, eventhough they’re very dear to the fans, they don’t seem to be the main characters of the show. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren are fan favorites, but I don’t think it would be a wise decision to release a volume for each character, though I reckon many fans wouldn’t agree with me here because of the enormous amount of fanfiction material made!
I strongly recommend these beauties to the people who want a chilling and a certain nostalgic feeling from the first volumes of the RWBY show, with a grain of fanservice and astonishing arts! It’s a stand-alone experience, which you don’t need to have watched the series in order to entertain yourself and have a good laugh, especially during such trying times. Being able to have fun and just forget about the world a bit is extremely healthy. All people involved in this project made a fantastic job on the artistic side and at the end of each volume there a message from the voice actresses and, of course, a message from Neath Oum – Monty’s brother, creator and developer of RWBY who sadly left us in 2015.
Be sure to add this items to your collection if you follow the show and want to, not only buy them, but have a good laugh and chill for a moment!
