RWBY THE OFFICIAL MANGA 1 by Bunta Kinami – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great to read, but some visuals that were difficult to parse out into elements and movement.
Expected Release: July 21, 2020
Recommended: yes!
For those who like the supernatural-hunter kind of manga, for very clearly defined character personalities, for some intriguing lore and monsters, and of course for anyone who’s seen the Rooster Teeth production it’s based on
Summary:
In the world of Remnant, monsters known as Grimm wreak havoc. They’re kept in check by Huntsmen and Huntresses, highly skilled warriors experienced in monster extermination who utilize their special abilities on the field of battle. Ruby is a ferociously talented young girl who comes to Beacon Academy to hone her skills and serve as a Huntress herself. Alongside her sister Yang Xiao Long, rival Weiss Schnee and newfound friend Blake Belladonna, Ruby leads Team RWBY, the coolest new group at Beacon! Ruby takes her first step on the road to becoming a Huntress by enrolling at Beacon Academy, eager to take on the battery of tests, challenges and difficulties that follow. Ruby knows her talents will take her to her goal, but is she ready to clash with Weiss Schnee, haughty scion of the Schnee Dust Company?
Thoughts:
I’m in an unusual position I think, as I have been aware of this series since it started with Rooster Teeth. However at that time I didn’t enjoy the animation style they used, and wasn’t able to watch more than a few episodes before being turned off despite what seemed like a promising plot. So when I heard there was a manga version of it… WELL. That sounded perfect – I could finally get the story without the animation!
Which leads to my one issue with this. With some of the panels, it was really difficult to parse out what was happening. This is in part due to the line and shading styling used, which can make the page really full and busy in complicated scenes. Since there are a lot of action scenes here (unsurprisingly), it was enough of a problem to bring the whole experience down a bit.
That said, though, the characters are an absolute delight and I am so interested in the story behind it all! I want to know more about each of them individually, and about how they’ll work together, and what the school is like, and what’s up with Ruby’s past, and find out what’s going on in Jaune’s brain. 🤣 God, I laughed so much. I also gasped and had that wide-eyed moment of fright when the sheer size of the Nevermore was revealed.
Oh, right – there are also some very obvious references and meanings with the names. Don’t expect much subtlety!
Definitely a fun read, and to be honest, I’m so interested that I plan to load up the RT animated version and give it another shot. Because I just have to know how it goes on!
Thanks to NetGalley and Viz Media for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
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