RWBY (Season 5)

RWBY's fifth season was a bit of a turning point in the series' reputation, it's the point in which a lot of people really started to write off the show. While I don't think it's as bad as everyone says it is, I absolutely understand why it's garnered the reputation it has today.

Season 5 continues where the fourth left off, with Team RNJR arriving in Haven and reuniting with Yang, Weiss, and eventually Blake. Meanwhile, Cinder and her crew are trying to steal Haven's relic, so the teams now have to stop them. There are also a few subplots about Ozpin keeping secrets, Yang reuniting with her birth mom Raven, and Blake trying to stop Adam, Ilia, and the White Fang. Let's start with the good stuff first. Yang and Blake's storylines are excellent. Raven is an incredibly complex and intriguing character who shares some excellent emotional moments with Yang, especially in the finale, and the reveal of her being the Spring Maiden is just great. While I didn't love the Menagerie storyline in Season 4, it's easily the best aspect of Season 5. Blake's rivalry with Ilia is well-written and compelling, and the big final battle is the best action scene in the season. Speaking of which, there are some really solid fight scenes here, definitely more than Season 4. The plane chess is a ton of fun, as is Yang's fight with the bandits. The maiden fight near the end of the season is bombastic and exciting, and the fight between Blake and Ilia perfectly balances great action and emotional heft. We even get to see Sun's gunchucks again, which is always a great time! I also like that we finally get to see Jaune's ability, it's about time.

However, while Season 5 nails a lot of the subplots, it completely botches up the main storyline. The problem with The Battle Of Haven is that it feels rushed and unfinished. Most of the season takes place in the same room as Team RWBY is waiting for the battle to start, and said action is filled with animation errors, stiff choreography, and dumb character decisions. For a big set piece that had been built up to for two seasons and what should be the highlight of the season, the Battle Of Haven is easily the most disappointing part. It also definitely feels like there's a ton of padding here. Season 5 is two episodes longer than most RWBY seasons, and it shows, there are a bunch of episodes (Rest And Resolutions, A Perfect Storm) where nothing ends up happening. I also don't really like the Ozpin's secrets storyline because the show doesn't do a good job of indicating why his giving Qrow and Raven shapeshifting powers is so maligned by the rest of the cast. Later seasons would do a better job of exploring Ozpin and making the characters distrustful of him, but it's not well-executed here at all. Generally, while some of the character work and action is fine, Season 5 doesn't pull off the main storyline well at all, and makes a bunch of baffling plot decisions along the way. If Rooster Teeth decreased the episode count and gave themselves more time to work on the season, I think it had the potential to turn out so much better.

There are a few episodes I like though, such as:

Lighting The Fire: This is the first of all of the reunions in this season, and it's probably the most impactful. Yang finally confronts Raven along with reuniting with Weiss in a great final sequence, but I also really like her fight scene with the bandits that shows how much she's changed in her fighting.

True Colors: Easily the best RWBY episode in a while, True Colors gives us the big Battle Of Menagerie. I already mentioned why I love this episode so much, the fights are great, the emotional impact is strong, and all of the plot threads in the Menagerie arc are tied up in a neat little bow, setting the stage for Blake to finally complete Team RWBY once again.

Overall, Season 5 of RWBY has its good parts, but it's unfinished, disappointing, and just plain bad at times. I don't think it's an irredeemable mess like a lot of people do, but it's easily one of the show's weakest seasons.

2/5 Stars