You know, I saw one of the most depressing things I've seen about RWBY in a while.
I was looking through the comments on a social media site by a guy I really didn't like, because I was trying to get a better grasp on the guy, when I came across a comment they made about the ideal person to lead RWBY. And the way he described it was that this person must be: A. A weeb. B. A visually focused creator. C. A fan of action D. Super plugged into fandom culture And E. hyper-fixated on it to 'improve it in all aspects'. The implication being obviously that Kerry is none of these.
And while on the surface, I'll grant most of these could have a point. There seems to be a bigger focus on the Western YA adult side of RWBY's influence. Kerry is more of a writer, not an animator. I dunno about action. I dunno about the whole fandom thing, I think that's one of RWBY's original sins. ... So there is some merit here. But...isn't there something missing? Like, something really big to RWBY?
Yeah, no talk about this supposed ideal person and the actual writing of RWBY. Hell, this person even says that RWBY's real selling point all along was just the action, he seems to not care one iota about the actual plot, characters or the themes of RWBY. This seems to be a recurring element with older RWBY fans too, given that it was a major point in Hbomberguy's RWBY video (aka Harry ripping off old Monty fans). And I guess that makes sense, as Monty was well known for his fight animations, not his writing.
... But that's not the point of RWBY. I've come back to this Crunchyroll interview over and over again as it was my first big exposure to Monty and one part always stood out to me:
Threezero: What motivates you most to continue breathing life into this series?
Monty: The biggest motivation for [RWBY] is the need to tell a story much like those I needed when I was growing up. The stories about not giving up that pushed me along, and the people I'd meet along the way. Knowing how much all the shows and games I'd played all my life has influenced me, it is a great honor to be able to bring something of my own to a generation of people who are also looking for something to believe in. That is why the feedback from the fans only further strengthens the need to make this show the best it can possibly be.
And this lines up pretty well with what we know about Monty. Despite what people say, Monty was very involved in the writing of the show. He's talked about stuff like how Beacon Academy's uniforms were made. Or how 'Keep Moving Forward' became his own personal mantra that became a part of the show.
Does that mean I'm saying that Monty hated the act of animation somehow? No, look back at what he listed as inspirations for RWBY. Many of these stories all had the same kind of 'rule of cool' stuff he pulled in his animations. But they were also sincere and honest stories that would be lesser if you just tore out the cool moments and threw away what was left. Evangelion wouldn't be the phenomenon it is without the iconic weight and feel of the Eva units in battle AND its story about people's connections and the pain of reaching out. And do I need to go off about Gurren Lagann again? There's a reason why these stories resonated with Monty: He probably vibed with the mix between cool moments and sincere storytelling. And he wanted that for himself.
I feel like beyond being a weeb or liking action or being into fandom: What someone needs to have to understand RWBY is someone who respects animation and respects the beauty of the human spirit. You can be as much of a weeb as you want, watch all the classic action movies in the world or be as fandom brain rotted as you can be- if you can't respect animation and the human spirit, you don't get RWBY.
Just really depressing people only seem to care about the 'aesthetics' of RWBY and not what it's actual spirit is.
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