Why is RWBY vs Ace Ops one of the best fights in the series?
(Quick note: This is an excerpt from a big post I uploaded previously; if you're interested in what I'm explaining here, I recommend reading it as well.)
What I love about this sequence is the detail, the subtext, and the visual language. Specifically, what fascinates me is how Team RWBY didn't won by being stronger or by luck, but by strategy and teamwork.
- Ruby knew that the Ace Ops were stronger than them, so from the beginning she opted for a Divide & Conquer strategy; she took advantage of Harriet's more emotional and arrogant personality to lure her away from her team, knowing that she was the only one who also had the ability to hold her own in a fight. Even though Harriet is faster, Ruby manages to outmaneuver her by opting for an evasive tactic, both to distract Harriet and to make her overconfident and lose focus, which she takes advantage of by using her own semblance at the right moment to partially immobilize her.
While Harriet opted for a direct and destructive approach to try and finish her off, Ruby remained defensive at all times to make her expend the remaining strength she would have after the Battle of Mantle and buy time until her own teammates won their matches and could come to her aid.
- Following her sister's example, Yang approached Elm, knowing that both were fighters who relied more on strength, supported by Blake, whose maneuverability allowed her to handle Vine's semblance. Initially, both were at a disadvantage facing the two, until Yang took advantage of Elm's emotional personality to upset her and free Blake, and from there the approach changed: Instead of trying to fight a 2v2, they opted for a 2v1.
While Elm and Vine disagreed on their fighting approaches, Blake and Yang took advantage of this to eliminate them separately. They coordinated their efforts, taking advantage of Vine's pacifist approach and Blake's clones to trick and knock him out. This left only Elm, whose strength was unwittingly nullified because while she attempted a direct fight, the girls used this to their advantage, destroying the ground and rendering her semblance useless and then, they coordinated again and launched a combined attack.
- Marrow's Semblance may be incredibly overpowered, but it has a drawback: it only works while he maintains eye contact with him target. This positioned Weiss as the perfect opponent thanks to her use of summons, turning a 1v1 into a 2v1.
First, she buys time using the Freezerburn tactic so she can summon Arma Gigas without Marrow interfering (demonstrating a strategic improvement compared to her fight with Vernal).
When Harriet arrives, instead of taking advantage of the situation and working together against Ruby and Weiss, their disagreements lead them to clash and waste the opportunity. This contrasts with the girls, who, like Blake and Yang, take advantage on the gap between them: Just as Harriet was blinded by anger, Marrow was blinded by her principles.
Even separately, Weiss and Ruby were able to coordinate and support each other in their respective fights at the opportune moment.
This fight represents how much the girls have grown as a team and fighters: They may not have finished the academy like the Ace Ops, but they managed to compensate by going out into the WildWorld and facing all kinds of dangers and adversaries, making them grow not only as individual fighters physically and psychologically, but also strengthening their bond to create a tacit understanding on the field, improving their communication and individual and collective adaptability.
And is in this precisely where they far surpass the Ace Ops, as hinted at in episode 4 of this same volume and later confirmed in V8: The Ace Ops lack a bond that allows them to complement each other without a leader. Clover was more than a captain; he was the glue that kept the team together and functional, as well as their guarantee that they would always have the advantage in any situation. Therefore, the moment he was not longer there for them, they began to fall apart, they let their emotions get the better of them and acted independently, which Team RWBY took full advantage of from the start.
Finally, another interesting detail is how each of the Ops' defeats directly relates to the lessons of the fables on which they are based:
Harriet let her emotions get the better of her and overconfident in her speed, just as the hare let his arrogance get the better of him and ended up losing the race against the turtle.
Elm and Vine couldn't coordinate and instead of supporting each other, they tried to fight separately, just as the Elm thought its own strength was more than enough and ended up splitting because it underestimated the importance of support and flexibility.
Marrow let its emotions guide it more than common sense, just like the dog that impulsively jumped into the river and ended up drowning.
So yes: This fight, besides being magnificently choreographed, is also very well planned and has a very well-achieved narrative significance.
