by: @arkd3v
I liked RWBY Volume 1, Chapter 3, the First Step. This episode follows the day after the sleepover, a treasure hunt through a Grimm-infested forest. You know what that means! WE GET TO SEE GRIMM!
The episode begins with two new characters introducing themselves, Nora and Ren. We get a cute, well-edited scene of Nora bugging the silent Ren as the stoic guy just tries to get ready for the day. I like their relationship; we can tell by how Ren reacts only with a simple question to Nora’s behavior, establishing their long history of friendship. Nora seems like a ball of fun, hyperactive, and full of positivity, but her behavior would likely get annoying, especially bugging Ren all morning. However, I don’t think she needed to verbally describe their relationship as the two’s dynamic establishes that for us.
In the locker scene, we formally meet Pyrrah Nikos, the redhead who watched Jaune in the last episode. She was a top student and even advertised herself on cereal boxes, and she is the sweetest person ever. She is always polite and humble but also shy and meek. She struggles to make friends and is a little overwhelmed when Weiss tries to butter her up so they can team up. Even then, she is very caring and apologizes when she hurts people, even to help them, like when she pins Jaune to a tree to save him from falling later in the episode.
On the topic of Weiss, the show is doing its best to make her as unlikable as possible. She is rude to everyone and only approaches Pyrrah because having her status on a team would ensure her popularity. This wouldn’t be so bad if the animators didn’t overlay cheesy storm clouds and lightning as she grinned over her internal monologue explaining her machinations. You might as well put on a twirly mustache at that point!
The rest of the characters get some good moments, except Blake, who doesn’t say anything in this episode. Jaune tries to be confident to swoon Wiess (ignoring the superior Pyrrah) but fails because the Schnee heiress has an icicle up her skirt (is that how it goes?). When he fails, he sulks and shows some vulnerability to Yang and Ruby, who comforts him as a friend after a nasty rejection. He is also a decent comedic relief, panicking as Ozpin tosses him into the monster-infested forest on a springboard and tells him, “You don’t get a parachute. Figure out how to land.”
Yang doesn’t do much other than continue her characterization from before, doing her best to be outgoing and friendly while pushing Ruby to work on her own. She has a great moment in her efforts to land after being launched into the forest. She puts on sunglasses before flying through the air, using her gauntlets to accelerate the already intense speed so she can fly for fun, doing tricks and then landing. Very cool.
Ruby continues her struggles with finding friends. She at first tries to stick with Yang, especially when Ozpin says the first person they make eye contact with when they land will be their partner for the year. But when that partner becomes Weiss, she takes the situation and tries to make the most of it. It feels a little weird to me, I’d think she would be a bit more awkward, but it shows her more heroic traits. I don’t like how Ruby randomly leaves Weiss so she can get attacked by Grimm, but the next episode will likely explain that in the next episode.
Speaking of, GRIMM! It only took THREE EPISODES to get to the ENEMIES OF HUMANITY, but they’re here. And… I kind of like them. It’s simple, huge black bodies with a bony exoskeleton and blood redline decorating their outer. Add some fangs and claws, and add several of them, and we have a fairly intimidating monster. They are a bit generic but effective grunt monsters in terms of design. Weiss even drops the act when they ambush her, showing how dangerous they are. Grimm must also have stealth at max because they just show up in front of Weiss from the bushes like wolves trained by Solid Snake.
That begs the safety of this test. Ozpin sent kids to their deaths to get a relic. However, these kids have all been in training at other huntsman academies for years, and backdoor students like Ruby have at least combat experience of some level. It also means that if it’s normal to have initiation tests be this brutal for teens, the Grimm is THAT dangerous.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. The animation was good, but the voice acting could be better. I am excited to see more characters, especially more comedy. This may be the funniest episode.
