RWBY (Season 2)

RWBY's first season was pretty slow-paced, but it was necessary to introduce all of the characters. Thankfully, Season 2 takes a more arc-driven approach, resulting in one of the most fun, action-packed seasons in the show.

Season 2 of RWBY is divided into three arcs. The first four episodes involve the team investigating a plot by the Big Bad of last season, Roman Torchwick. The next three are about the school holding a dance, while the new Big Bad Cinder plans her own heist. The final five episodes are about Team RWBY going on a field trip only to uncover what these two bad guys were planning. Every single one of these arcs were great, they were packed with fun action and enjoyable character moments. My favorite of the bunch was probably the first arc, the investigative tone was a ton of fun, and it fleshed out a ton of characters like Weiss, Blake, and Penny. The second arc was a bit more small scale and slow-paced, but it had some amazing heart-to-heart scenes between the characters, and the dance was a lot of fun. The final arc was probably the weakest in my opinion (with the exception of one episode), but I like how it explored Team RWBY's motivations for being huntsmen. Splitting the season up like this could have made it feel disjointed, but the writers do a good job of tying the arcs together. Season 2 also introduced a bunch more characters to flesh out the school like Neptune, Emerald and Neptune, and Team CFVY, but most of them were likable and fun additions.

It helps that this season contains far more action than the first, with most of the setpieces being easily some of the show's best. This was Monty Oum's last full season of RWBY before he passed away, but he really pulled out all the stops here. There's the ridiculously inventive food fight, the phenomenal teamwork in the Paladin fight, and the sheer intensity of the fight on the trains. However, I do feel like the action did end up detracting from the story at times, especially during the finale. Breach started with a ton of Grimm being left to destroy the city only to quickly turn into an Avengers-esque showoff session for the cast. Don't get me wrong, it was a ton of fun, but it also immediately removed all of the stakes. The animation definitely improved compared to Season 1, with stronger lighting and better facial expressions, but it was still pretty rough around the edges at times. The soundtrack was just as good as the first season, with highlights such as the Opening theme, Boop, Shine, and Caffeine. 

Most of the episodes this season were at the very least enjoyable, but these were some of my favorites:

Best Day Ever: For a while, this episode's food fight was easily my favorite action scene in all of RWBY (Season 7 changed that, but we'll get there in a bit). It was a great way to re-familiarize the viewer with everyone's abilities, giving all of the characters a chance to shine, and was packed with creative uses of all kinds of food and silverware. Oh, and the music was top notch too.

Painting The Town Black: With last episode having Penny reveal to Ruby that she's a robot, this episode starts strong with an emotional moment between the two. Soon after, we get a hilarious reference to Yang's trailer, a thrilling car chase, Neo's first appearance (best character!), and one of the great showcases of RWBY's teamwork in the final battle. It's a fast-paced and ridiculously fun ride from start to finish.

Dance Dance Infiltration: I'm not gonna lie, the animation was really janky at certain points in this episode. However, I think the fun stuff makes it all worth it. The dance allows for tons of fun and charming character interactions, and Team JNPR's choreographed dance is easily one of the show's funniest moments. We also get the first confrontation between Ruby and Cinder, ending the second arc on a high note.

No Brakes: Easily the season's best episode, No Brakes is a relentless flurry of intense action with some of Monty Oum's tightest animation. Every member of Team RWBY gets something to do, Neo really gets to show off her fighting chops, and the final cliffhanger is one of the scariest moments in the show yet. If only the finale didn't immediately mitigate all of its stakes.

Overall, Season 2 was a massive improvement on the first, with more character interactions, a faster pace, and a ton of phenomenal action, even if it struggled with maintaining its high stakes at times.

4/5 Stars