surgeworks

Good things come to those who wait...?

2024-03-09T17:41:34Z

RWBY, it seems, has not been totally canned.

Warner have given Rooster Teeth until May to close their studios. Rooster Teeth's RWBY team ("CRWBY") have expressed a desire to maintain control of the IP, but Warner is still looking to sell it.

Dillon Goo--who worked on early RWBY for Volumes 2 and 3, and works closely with Shane Newville--has expressed an interest in buying RWBY. This has the support of at least one ex-RWBY voice actor already.

Whether Dillon and Shane can actually do this, or what they would do if they did, is up in the air. Dillon's studio is relatively young and unlikely to have much money, especially given what Warner's asking prices will be. If they could secure investors, then maybe something could come of it. There wouldn't necessarily need to be a continuation of RWBY or a full reboot; they could simply buy it to make some funds off of merch and make different RWBY content.

Either way, it seems that I chose the exact right time to post my final thoughts on RWBY. I know that many fans of the current RWBY, driven by spite as they are, are insisting that "CRWBY" be brought along if RWBY is to be bought out (this is a terrible idea), seemingly not realize that Dillon and Shane are "CRWBY".

I imagine Jessie James Grelle is not the only person to feel like a Dillon Goo RWBY is worth believing in more than what RWBY looks like right now. The number of ex-RWBY fans most likely outnumbers the remaining diehard stans by a very, very wide margin.

Personally, I'm vying for a hard reboot from Shane more in line with what Monty envisioned. Some things are fate, and this seems like one of those things.

comments

Rooster Teeth Breathes Its Last

2024-03-06T17:28:36Z

Variety.com reports that Jordan Levin, Rooster Teeth's general manager, has sent out the memo that the company is now shutting down.

This of course comes as absolutely no surprise, barring the peaceful expiration of that one cynical part of me that believed this company would never bite the dust. Rooster Teeth was a company that engineered its own demise on many fronts, and I documented many of those while I was recapping their most successful franchise. Warner is currently looking to sell the rights to RWBY and other RT content...so who knows what's next? At least we know that Rooster Teeth can't hurt anyone any more.

I'm looking forward to some posthumous exposes.

comments

Updated ToC

2024-02-14T16:19:04Z

Just linked all the posts for the Persona 3 Spork to the Table of Contents on my journal. I'll link them to each other within their post headers soon, too.

comments

RWBY Final Thoughts: Legacy

2024-02-02T01:32:32Z

RWBY Final Thoughts: Style | Table of Contents
____________________

Nine years ago today, Monty Oum died of an allergic reaction. Today is a day of mourning for fans of his work, including RWBY.

There’s no sense in waiting. Let’s finish this and heal.

( Now it's time, to say goodbye )

comments

RWBY Final Thoughts: Style

2024-01-30T04:59:30Z

RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part II) | Table of Contents | RWBY Final Thoughts: Legacy

____________________

Before we can finish up on RWBY as a whole, we have to go over style—the ways in which it was presented to the viewer. This one’s important, because it has a lot to do with the parasocial relationship Rooster Teeth have always relied on. Someone new to RWBY and binge-watching in 2023 could probably analyze a plot, but it takes someone like me—who’s been with the show since its beginnings—to really spot certain things I’ll be telling you about now.

( Despite everything, I'm still proud of my RWBY recap. )

comments

RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part II)

2024-01-25T20:14:47Z

RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part I) | Table of Contents | RWBY Final Thoughts: Style
____________________

Hey, welcome back to the Final Thoughts for RWBY. Last time, we finished up the main cast, so now we’re gonna tackle everyone else.

( Around fifty-ish travesties, give or take. )

comments

RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part I)

2024-01-21T15:06:05Z

RWBY Final Thoughts: Story | Table of Contents | RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part II)

____________________

Characterization was a major weak point of RWBY. You can tell after having been in the game as long as I have that Miles and Kerry just don’t have an equal amount of love for every character. They’re very protective of certain characters and very disdainful towards certain others, and it shows quite often.

( Could've been iconic, instead it was demonic... )

comments

RWBY Final Thoughts: Story

2024-01-15T18:52:41Z

RWBY Retrospective Part 2 | Table of Contents | RWBY Final Thoughts: Characters (Part 1)
____________________

The Vision

Once upon a time, back in the day, RWBY was this slapdash animesque show put together on the fly from all of the crazy, inspired things shooting out of Monty Oum’s brain and occasionally tinkered with by his two good pals Miles and Kerry.

( But this is not a pleasant story and that's not how it ends. )

comments

RWBY 2023 – Volume 9 Retrospective (Part II)

2024-01-11T16:04:17Z

RWBY 2023 Retrospective (Part 1) | Table of Contents | RWBY Final Thoughts: Story
____________________

Continuing on from where we last left off, we're advancing on our journey of RWBY's most immortal moments, but this time the badge is one of disgrace.

While there were some sparks of quality here and there (mostly in Season 7) after RWBY took its swan dive, the vast majority of things RWBY gets remembered for post-Volume 5 are overwhelmingly negative, proofs that the show was just never going to be what it was meant to be, and never going to regain the quality and fun that it was once known for.

I have twenty moments today that broke me and essentially spat in my face after all the time in my youth growing up that I spent faithfully watching this show and expecting greatness or at least goodness.

( This is why we can't have nice things. )

comments

RWBY 2023 – Volume 9 Retrospective (Part I)

2024-01-06T17:59:52Z

Volume 9 Final Thoughts | Table of Contents | RWBY 2023 Retrospective (Part 2)
___________________

Back in June of ‘23, I posted a retrospective on RWBY, with the total point tallies and examinations of what they were saying about the show thus far. I also included a lit of my top 15 moments from the series up until that point, with a fond nostalgia for what I used to love about the show. I openly wondered whether such a list would be possible to make using material from Volumes 5-9.

So, with RWBY finally behind us, did I find more standout moments to applaud as I did when looking back over the first five volumes? Did I find anything worth returning to more than once for the sake of a spork?

Well, not many. I found ten in total and even then it was kind of a stretch. All eligible moments are sourced from any point later than the latest examples cited in the last post like this, since we already did one. The other twenty...well, let’s just call them the ultimate disappointments—twenty reasons not to watch RWBY at all. Those will be sourced from the whole show.

( Some good? Maybe if you look hard enough. )

comments

RWBY - Final Thoughts Table of Contents

2024-01-06T15:41:22Z

RWBY

Created by Monty Oum
Written by Monty Oum (V1-V3), Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Kiersi Burkhart (V7-V9), Eddy Rivas (V7-V9)
Directed by Monty Oum (V1-V3), Kerry Shawcross
Music by Jeff Williams (V1-V8), Steve Goldshein (V1-V3), Alex Abraham (V1-V8), Casey Lee Williams (V8, V9), Martin Gonzales (V9)
Starring the voices of Lindsay Jones, Kara Eberle, Arryn Zech, and Barbara Dunkelman

Show’s over, guys. You witnessed the end with me. The slow and steady disintegrating of a titan and now we're standing amongst a pile of rubble.

But when it came time to write my final thoughts for the series as a whole, I just kept writing, and kept writing...it never stopped. So, fuck it, we might as well give it its own Table of Contents. Throughout this recap, I kept up a steady stream of supplied history and context, and I continued to do so here, so there was a lot to say.

comments

RWBY - Volume 9 Final Thoughts

2023-12-01T23:23:26Z

58 – Volume 9 Finale | Table of Contents | RWBY: Final Thoughts
____________________

Welcome to my Final Thoughts on RWBY, Volume 9. Now, regardless of whether or not this ends up being the last volume of RWBY, it won’t be my last Final Thoughts on this show—I have one I’m cooking up for the show as a whole.

But before we get there, we have to observe the abomination that was Volume 9. And there is just so...so much.

( Our last Final Thoughts for RWBY? Not quite. )

comments

RWBY 58 - Volume 9 Finale

2023-11-28T17:26:47Z

57 – Volume 9, Episodes 7 and 8 | Table of Contents | Volume 9 Final Thoughts
____________________

Alternate Title: The Most Ungraceful End

Last time we left off, Volume 9 had finally decided to stop playing around and just become flat-out unpleasant. Let's see if we can somehow top it in the volume's last two episodes.

( The filler ends, clinging to a dim hope of a tenth season )

comments

RWBY 57 – Volume 9, Episodes 7 and 8

2023-11-25T16:47:17Z

56 – Volume 9, Episodes 5 and 6 | Table of Contents | 58 – Volume 9 Finale
____________________

Alternate Title: Paper Mario & Ruby Lets 'Em Have It

Other Alternate Title: I Think I'm Going To Be Sick

Last week's episode provided us a lot of questions. Will the cat be an ally? Will Jaune be the hero for once? Will Ruby make any actual move towards developing as a character? Was all of this necessary? Will there be a gay wave that finances RWBY enough to greenlight Volume 10? The answer to all of these questions is no, but unfortunately, I've got to spork anyway.

It won't come up until Episode 8, but please be aware that a character commits suicide in this recap. That's your forewarning, and a more substantial one than Rooster Teeth gave, which was merely about 'distressing themes'. I mean, it has those too, plenty of them. You name it, Episode 8's got it. Excessive violence, trauma, manipulation, suicide, uncomfortably rape-y imagery... I'll put another warning ahead of the actual episode.
( I will not forgive them for this. )

comments

RWBY 56 – Volume 9, Episodes 5 and 6

2023-11-23T02:22:47Z

55 – Volume 9, Episodes 3 and 4 | Table of Contents | 57 – Volume 9, Episodes 7 and 8
____________________

Alternate Title: Rooster Teeth Play Their Hand

We are now halfway through the season as of this episode. I haven’t even started writing this and I already have a headache.

Last time...god, what the fuck happened last time? Oh, right, uh, acid trip character “development”. Well, let’s get into it.

( I don't appreciate feeling used. )

comments

RWBY 55 – Volume 9, Episodes 3 and 4

2023-11-18T13:59:31Z

54 – Volume 9, Episodes 1 and 2 | Table of Contents | 56 – Volume 9, Episodes 5 and 6
____________________

Volume 9 continues, despite how much we wish it wouldn't.

( You know, it's not 'character development' if you actively prevent the characters from changing. )

comments

RWBY 54 – Volume 9, Episodes 1 and 2

2023-11-14T14:14:41Z

Volume 8 Final Thoughts | Table of Contents | 55 – Volume 9, Episodes 3 and 4
____________________

I shamelessly pirated this, so the links I give may go dead if the videos are taken down. Just let me know if they fail to work.

V9E1, "A Place of Particular Concern"

We open on a blank screen with that female voice from the trailers.

( This is the story of a show that had a lot of problems. )

comments

RWBY Volume 9 – Table of Contents

2023-11-12T17:34:16Z

RWBY Volume 9

Written by Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Eddy Rivas, and Kiersi Burkhart
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Connor Pickens, Dustin Matthews, and Paula Decanini
Produced under Rooster Teeth

Alternate Title: The One Where Everyone Stopped Caring

RWBY, Volume 9.

Originally, these recaps were posted concurrently with the volume's release in the first half of 2023. Those posts have been preserved, so you're welcome to browse them if you want my original reactions. Of course, this Table of Contents will instead have links to posts wherein these recaps are compiled into more complete forms and some edits are made here and there for the benefit of hindsight. And before that, we need a recap of events inbetween Volumes 8 and 9, so you know why this is probably going to be the last volume of RWBY, outright.

( Regardless of what word from the company is. )

comments

Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part II)

2023-11-11T15:56:28Z

Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part I) | Table of Contents | Volume 9

____________________

Welcome back to the Final Thoughts for Volume 8 of RWBY. We left off with the Characters slot about three-quarters done. Let’s finish that up now.

( Here's the part where I tell you why Volume 10 isn't happening. )

comments

RWBY Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part I)

2023-11-09T16:20:05Z

53 – Volume 8 Finale | Table of Contents | Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part II)

____________________

*pacing back and forth*

*stops for a moment, facing the computer, then continues pacing*

( I'm sure Blake can tell us what the word of the day is. It's 'spite'! )

comments

RWBY 53 – Volume 8 Finale (No Gifs Version)

2023-11-09T03:20:27Z

52 – Volume 8, Episodes 11 and 12 | Table of Contents | Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part I)

____________________

With this post, Volume 8 will be finished. All that will be left will be to do the Final Thoughts and Volume 9… However! There’s also my own advisory, which is that this post contains mentions and descriptions of violence and gore. Please be warned.

Also, this is one of my most image-heavy posts ever, since it’s a finale that’s, well…a nonstop mess. Constant action it would be a disservice to not relay to you—resulting in a post layered with over 50 of the fucking things. So here's a gif-less, text-only version for viewing accessibility.

Well. Let’s do this. There’s another epilepsy warning in front of this one.

( I don't think I've ever been quite so disgusted with a show. )

comments

RWBY 53 – Volume 8 Finale

2023-11-09T03:12:05Z

52 – Volume 8, Episodes 11 and 12 | Table of Contents | Volume 8 Final Thoughts (Part I)

____________________

With this post, Volume 8 will be finished. All that will be left will be to do the Final Thoughts and Volume 9… However! There’s also my own advisory, which is that this post contains mentions and descriptions of violence and gore. Please be warned.

Also, this is one of my most image-heavy posts ever, since it’s a finale that’s, well…a nonstop mess. Constant action it would be a disservice to not relay to you—resulting in a post layered with over 50 of the fucking things. I might post a gif-less version later.

Well. Let’s do this. There’s another epilepsy warning in front of this one.

( I don't think I've ever been quite so disgusted with a show. )

comments

RWBY 52 – Volume 8, Episodes 11 and 12

2023-11-03T21:07:46Z

51 – Volume 8, Episodes 9 and 10 | Table of Contents | 53 – Volume 8 Finale

____________________

Somehow, Salem has been defeated, but we still have four more episodes. Well, she’s not dead, but her whole operation literally got blown to smithereens. And it will not be the last thing. We are again keeping the blue text because I am that maddeningly furious with what’s going on here.

( Oh sure, let's just break ALL the rules! )

comments

Please just leave me alone

2023-10-30T16:05:15Z

This is my journal and I should be able to post here freely.

I can spot your activity on my other socials and I know you're cyberstalking me.

You got what you wanted. I'm off the comm, and my friends left. There's nothing left to take away so please, just leave.

comments

RWBY 51 – Volume 8, Episodes 9 and 10

2023-10-29T20:59:21Z

50 – Volume 8, Episodes 6, 7, and 8 | Table of Contents | 52 – Volume 8, Episodes 11 and 12

____________________

Alternate Title: HE WHAT?!

Welcome back. *long sip of tea* Let’s get into it.
( This is the episode the RWBY fandom's patience finally splintered for good. Click here to find out why. )

comments