RWBY (Season 6)

At the time of this review (post-Season 8), Season 6 is my favorite season of RWBY. It just feels like it strikes the perfect balance of everything I love about the show: Amazing action, strong character work, a fast-paced and adventurous feel, and some great emotional beats.

RWBY's sixth season mostly revolves around the titular team traveling to Atlas to show the relic to Ironwood. During which, they go on a crazy train ride, learn the truth about the relics, stumble on a haunted village, fight a mech, and defeat Adam once and for all. I adore the pacing of this season, especially in the first half. Rather than remaining in one location, Season 6 feels like a big adventure composed of several smaller arcs. It's willing to experiment with flashbacks, lore dumps, genre shifts, and jumps between relentless action and somber emotional beats nearly perfectly, and I never ever felt bored while watching it. Despite this, the season also manages to deliver some great character moments, from Blake trying to make up with Yang, to Qrow's drinking problems, to Ruby learning more about the Silver Eyes, to Jaune finally getting over Pyrrha's death. Season 6 also makes up for most of Season 5's faults. particularly when it comes to Ozpin. Not only do we learn just how information Ozpin has been keeping secret from his students, but he's given a far more flawed and morally gray depiction that makes the others' distrust of him far more realistic and understandable. Overall, Season 6 just feels so much more confident than the last two seasons

Halfway through the season, the pace slows down considerably as the team struggles to find a way in Argus. Compared to the amazing first half, this is definitely the weaker part of the season, serving as a bit of a build-up to a massive final battle with Adam and Cordovin's giant mech. However, it has its moments (the Pyrrha statue, the Silver Eyes scene) and I think the payoff is definitely worth it, as not only is the action great, but the season finale is easily one of the show's best yet. Speaking of which, Season 6 is the point in which RWBY's action starts to return to its former greatness. Pretty much every fight here is well-animated, fast-paced, and tightly choreographed. It's not as intricate as Monty Oum's work, but the shift to a more weighted feel works really well for the show. It's hard to pick which fight is my favorite this time, from the teamwork-heavy train fight, to the exciting fight between Cinder and Neo, to the tense Maria vs Tock fight, to the bombastic final battle with Adam. The animation is also the best yet, it's far more brighter and colorful than Seasons 4 & 5. As for the soundtrack, it's not as good as Seasons 1 & 4, but it's definitely up there with one of the best.

I love most of this season, but these are the best episodes for me:

Argus Limited: This was an amazing start to the season that felt like a breath of fresh air after Season 5. It's a fun and fast-paced premiere with amazing character moments (the goodbye at the train station) and some of RWBY's best action in years. The fights on the train show some excellent teamwork between the characters, and the big train crash to end things off bring the season to a crazy start.

The Lost Fable: This was such a unique episode for RWBY. It's way longer than your average episode, narrated by Jinn, and focused almost entirely on Ozpin and Salem. The art direction and transitions use RWBY's animation style to stunning results, and despite the abundance of exposition and lore, this episode manages to feel engrossing and fresh throughout.

Alone In The Woods: I want to see more RWBY episodes like Alone In The Woods. It's a standalone episode about the team fighting a Grimm called the Apathy which causes them to lose hope, and it works perfectly as both a self-contained story and an installment in the volume. I love how the episode explores Team RWBY's lingering feels of doubt at this point in the show while also just being a genuinely great horror story. The Apathy feel like the Redeads from Zelda in animated form, and they're a terrifying threat for Team RWBY to fight. If I want to show anyone why I still love RWBY even with its faults, I'll show them this episode. It's easily one of the best in the series, and I'd love to see more like it.

The Grimm Reaper: I love the opening flashback where we get to learn about Maria's backstory (speaking of which, Maria is absolutely awesome). Her weapons are cool, and the fight with Tock where she loses her eyesight is easily one of the most intense in the series. It's also great to finally see Teams RWBY and JNR reunite, Argus is a super cool and quaint location, and Jaune's sister is absolutely adorable. 

Seeing Red: I'm gonna be honest here and say that I don't really like Adam, I think he's a bad character and am glad he dies this episode. That being said, I'm also glad Adam went down with a fight, and this was one hell of a four-episode-long fight. Apparently some of Monty Oum's old animation was used here and its shows, this is easily one of the best and most intense fights in the series. We also get the final sequence of the mech battle, with Ruby pulling off one of the gutsiest movies yet: Jumping inside the barrel of the cannon and shooting it from the inside. 

Our Way: This was a great finale that wraps up all of the season's storylines in a satisfying manner. Obviously the highlight is Ruby's Silver Eyes scene where we see a beautiful series of flashbacks and our first glimpse of Summer as "Indomitable" plays in the background. However, we also get Cinder and Neo stealing an airship, Ozpin briefly returning, and the big cliffhanger of the teams arriving at Atlas. 

Overall, I love Season 6. I loved the sense of adventure it had, along with the great additions to the lore, the top-notch action, the strong character moments, the emotional conclusion, and some of the show's best episodes. It's still my favorite in the series and the perfect showcase of why I still love RWBY in spite of its several flaws.

5/5 Stars