Article by Merry Wu
Photo by Niko
Video by Baldwin A. Saintilus
New York Comic Con was the place to be for many excited fans of the webseries-hit “RWBY” from Rooster Teeth Productions’ Animation Studio! For those who are not familiar, “RWBY” is an American anime-styled CG-animated web-series about a group of four girls in their first year at a legendary academy where they will learn to fight monsters.
Creator of “RWBY” Monty Oum also did previous work on another Rooster Teeth series called “Red VS Blue” alongside “RWBY” writers Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross.
The first trailer entitled “RED” appeared more than a year ago, prompting excitement for this new project. Since then the first episode was released this summer in July and gained more than one million hits on YouTube. The series can also be seen on their main site or even on Crunchyroll, the leading streaming site for popular anime series, such as Naruto, or even Korean dramas. New episodes are released weekly on Thursdays, attracting hundreds of viewers within seconds.
Since the release, the popularity of this series has accumulated fans from all over the world to await the release of Volume I of the series on DVD and Blu Ray and a soundtrack CD in November 2013.
Following this well-received news, hundreds of fans of the series received a special opportunity to meet Monty Oum, Kerry Shawcross and Miles Luna, the team behind “RWBY”. Many waited on line at their booth in the exhibition hall to receive autographs and express their love for the series!
The team also held a full panel on Friday night to talk with the fans, show the latest episode of “RWBY” and hold a Q & A session with the audience. Topics ranged from the production style to how Monty’s personal experience helps him with his work, and how all three were brought closer together after working on RWBY.
They also discussed the characters involved in Volume I and their creative process for developing the story of “RWBY”.
What was great was seeing how welcoming and humble the team was towards their fans. They joked with them and were very open about answering any questions. As a member of the audience, the pride and love they had for their work completely came across, and they were expressly surprised that its popularity had even prompted a Chinese Dub created by fans!
As a fan of anime, I loved the series and what intrigued me was the story. At first, one would think that RWBY wouldn’t be any different from the typical series, but it has its well-executed surprises that make it unique. One does not have to be an anime fan to actively be interested in it. The CG animation visuals can catch anyone’s interest: it is very different to see and the music is top-notch. What really makes you stay is the story.
A great way they have captured the attention of audiences was including with each main character a reference to a well-known fairytale to initially catch one’s interests. As the character is introduced, however, there comes with it a better understanding of their personality, and one grows to love them for their individualized quirks and traits. Though Volume I is about the relationship of the characters and how they work together, it is exciting to find out more about this vast world they created and the story that takes place within it.
It was a great pleasure of mine to interview the team about their work. To start watching the series or for more information, visit http://roosterteeth.com/home.php
You can watch the interview below:http://youtu.be/zguARJC7Gm8
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