rwbyOS X: Even the Thread Gets a Costume Change!

[Callos_DeTerran]

I RISE FROM MY SLUMBER!

Spoiler: Vol. 7 Ch. 1 The Greatest Kingdom

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So straight up, this is the first volume that doesn't really have a significant jump in animation quality from the previous volumes. This is not a bad thing to be honest, Vol 6 had good animation so I'd rather they just refine what they have and stream-line it rather than trying to upgrade again. Not a bad thing, just something that I have to note right off the bat.

We literally pick up exactly where the last volume left off, complete with being on the plane as they're welcomed to Atlas, flying in to try and meet Ironwood. We get some shots of Atlas and Mantle as they discuss the heavily militarized presence the Kingdom is presenting to anyone coming in. Right away they get into a discussion about actually doing as directed and hoping if they tell the soldiers they need to speak to Ironwood that they'll be allowed to (most don't think they will) or trying to get the lay of the land. Weiss wants to get in touch with Winter but an announcement by Ironwood that's meant to reassure the people plays.

And Ironwood actually looks disheveled, he's got the full beard going on but doesn't wear it well, lines around the eyes, he is (as Ruby points out) tired looking. Dude seems exhausted. Winter is also shown to be in good standing which..everyone treats as a surprise but why would that be? Winter was Ironwood's right hand woman after all. Anyway, after seeing the state of Mantle and Ironwood's address, Qrow points out that he doesn't even know if they should bring the lamp to Ironwood considering that Leo had been in Salem's back pocket for quite a long time and Ironwood seems quite unstable. Maria says they can lay low in Mantle, talk to an old friend of hers, and see where they want to go from there.

Now...here's some big points I give to RT on this. Remember how we keep hearing that the Faunus are discriminated against but we barely see any sort of discrimination? Or how Menagerie is over-populated and not great but looks like a tropical paradise with nothing wrong? Remember how I had some serious problems with that considering how important the whole White Fang storyline was?

Not the case here! Mantle hasn't even been talked about a lot in the series but we still know that its essentially the slums of Atlas after it was no longer the capital of the Kingdom, we also find out why Atlas is hovering in the air like that. Apparently after losing the great war, Atlas' morale was just in the dumps. Considering this is Remnant, that's not just fertile ground for discontent and unrest, its actively dangerous so they did something drastic. They flew up what would become Atlas into the air as both a symbol of what Atlas was capable of and that they could live up in the sky if they wanted to. Which sort of makes sense for a big, grand uplifting gesture but the exact predictable thing happened and it promoted class-ism. The rich and elite live up in Atlas, the poor down in Mantle with in their shadow.

And Mantle shows that. The buildings are crowded, its lit by an almost hellish glow from the mining, everything looks dirty and dingy. We see patrols of the Atlas Knights patrolling the streets while citizens just keep an eye on them, graffiti, kids trying to beat up expensive military equipment. I know there is a long history we're told about for Faunus troubles, but we see very little of it. Mantle? We see it! I almost immediately worry more about the citizens of Mantle than I've ever felt for Faunus but, more importantly to me, Mantle itself feels like it has character. Not as much as like, say, Rapture from Bioshock, but the same vibe. So major probs on that! We also see ads for an election, I'm guessing for the Atlas council featuring a lady that I'm just positive will end up being an important factor in the volume being foreshadowed now. (She's in the new intro for crikey's sake)

We also get the point driven home that Team RWBY and co. is neither subtle nor secretive. Yang gets her picture taken by a little picture robot, which gets it punted by a startled Yang into the street to be run over. They pass a pair of drunks having #drunktalks about the state of Atlas, revealing it has understandably gone into a recession with the Dust embargo but there's vague hopes that'll change but also gives the impression that the layperson of Atlas is generally behind Ironwood but also blaming the other Kingdoms for Atlas' current plight. So Atlas isn't like Haven and Minstrel, this Kingdom already doesn't feel safe, combined with what we've been hearing about Atlas since Volume 3. It all lines up.

We also get one of the drunks accosting the group with a minor confrontation with Blake, where she's asked to let his comments go in order to keep a low profile..but once he spits off to the side and calls her a dirty Faunus, Weiss catapults him into a dumpster saying it was worth it.

So they make it to Maria's friend who turns out to be the doctor that fixes her eyes. Seems to have some memory problems but he also seems to recognize Yang's arm on sight as well as be highly regarded in Atlas. As in he typically works up in Atlas but comes down to run a clinic in Mantle to help out more folks. His wheel chair also doesn't have wheels but four legs that carry him about. Which is cool! He also lays down some more foreshadowing/exposition. Such as the fact that Ironwood has gotten increasingly paranoid, not primarily because of the attack on Beacon though that certainly didn't help matters...he's paranoid because someone didn't just hack the code for their bots but seemed to do it with casual ease. Which means someone who's either a genius, someone who knows the code/system and thus works for Atlas, or both which is what the doctor thinks. We know that its most likely Watts that made the virus and he certainly has the 'insufferable genius' vibe going on but the possibility he works for Atlas is new information.

Weiss brings up that they need to figure out what they're doing and how she doesn't know if she can trust Winter which is..weird, cause nothing has changed in regard to Winter, but brings up the fact the doc has a Schnee in his clinic. Which allows him to correctly identify Team RWBY and he apologizes for the fact that he didn't recognize them sooner with all his daughter has told him about them. Before they can question though, an alarm goes off from a Grim attack which Team RWBY and co. respond to!

So they rush out, wonder what the Kindom defenses are doing as people clear off the street, and take out some sabertooth grim with relative ease, except for Blake who's reduced to supporting Yang since her weapon broke in the scuffle with Adam last volume. The animation is pretty smooth but it doesn't really step up the game, like I said before. Right at the end, when one of the Grim Smilodons is about to ambush one of the people, a green laser comes sweeping in and..

Yeah, Penny is back!

Penny's got a new look, she dices up Grim with lasers, and generally looks like a fusion between a super-hero and a magical girl, all noble and things until she sees Team RWBY and co. Then the old Penny comes out and she tackles Ruby. They also don't really seem to be hiding the fact that Penny's a robot anymore either, though I guess that cat was out of the bag to begin with. Doc explains that Penny is his daughter and her core was salvaged from the Fall of Beacon before RWBY and co. are abruptly ambushed and restrained. Some Atlas special ops soldiers (specifically the Ace Ops apparently) confiscate all of their weapons and rightly point out that our heroes illegally entered the kingdom in a stolen aircraft (they did), disrupted Atlas tech (Yang), and engaged in uncertified Huntsmen activities (they all did) so...they're being arrested. They also confiscate the lamp as well but don't seem to recognize it either. Chapter ends with them all being loaded into the back of a wagon to go off to jail, told they'd get the chance to argue their case later.

Then the new intro plays and its definitely the most ANIME opening of the volume intros, which is pretty cool.

Spoiler: Final Thoughts on Vol 7 Ch. 1

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It kind of carries on the trend from the last volume finale, it definitely wasn't bad but it felt surprisingly subdued, the difference being that works for the first episode of a volume but not the last. I also miss the fact we didn't get any big action or info about what the villain's plans this volume are going to entail but I also dont' think its necessary either. Atlas has been set up for a long time, its a hotbed of activity and plot, we shouldn't need to be told/reminded that Atlas is happening. Mantle is a breath of fresh air, I really feel like RT is getting the hang of 'showing' and not 'telling'..you could say they should have learned it a while back but better late than never!

So Penny is back, which everyone expected and I don't even mind that..but I am disappointed in the route they go. For one because it feels implausible that Penny's core was undamaged after that big arse Nevermore landed on her and however much time passed between her 'death' and them finding her remains. For two, since Beacon STILL hasn't been rebuilt or reclaimed from the Grim, it also feels implausible that they managed to recover the core in the first place considering Vale certainly wouldn't have given it to them and Atlas withdrew into itself, so it doesn't seem likely they sent anyone to even try and reclaim Penny.

At the very least, I would expect Penny to...not be exactly the same in personality. Now granted, this could be revealed to not be the case over the course of the Volume, but I feel like its not going to be. I get the feeling Penny is going be good as new and I'm not cool with that. Its a cheap, fan-pandering moment when they could have some very cool story and emotional beats in the story itself and for Ruby specifically. Maybe they still can, I just have my doubts that's what the plan is.

Largely speaking though, enjoyed the Chapter and I'm very much looking forward to the volume! Not least of which is because not since the Fall of Beacon has the story taken place in a location that has a good, varied supporting cast. We've pretty much JUST been with our heroes and villains over the past three volumes, with the addition of a character here or there but there are a lot of characters and explosive elements in Atlas. We have Weiss in Days of Our Schnee with Jacque and Whitley. We have Ironwood, Winter, and the whole Atlas government. We've got Penny and her father back, likely related to Dr. Watts and Atlas rushing technological development without regard for any potential consequences. We have the Ace-Ops as new enemies(rivals?) who Watts seems to have some interest in. We've got the class divide between Atlas and Mantle. We've got the Council elections for Atlas coming up and what seems like a new character being introduced in regards to that.

Honestly Atlas feels way more developed than Vale did and we only just got there. Oh, and we got a glimpse of the relic in Atlas, what seems to be the spear.