RWBY: Volume 4 (2017 Video) User Reviews

Its not the best, but its still great

[starwarsrebel-83150 · 8/10 · 15 November 2017]

While RWBY Volume 4 by no means held up to the magnificence of the preceding Volume 3. It still manages to tell 2 great stories, the stories for Weiss and Yang. The other story, Blake's, was seemingly lacking in any substance, feeling more like filler because Blake needed to be in this volume. And until the end of the volume with the great backstory for Ren and Nora, the RNJR/Qrow story line was definitely lacking.

Weiss' story is by far the best of the two good stories. It shows how after her experiences at Beacon, she no longer wishes to be a part of the high rise society that is the people of Atlas. Her relationship with Klein is touching, we finally get to see Weiss sing, something she hasn't done since the White Trailer, and her relationship with Jacques brings an added weight to what she said in volume 1 "I'm a victim".

The other story that I personally liked was Yang's. Yang probably had the hardest time coping with the events of The Fall of Beacon. As she is the only member of Team RWBY to actually lose something, her arm. The first part of Yang's story shows that she is scared to move on from her past, because she developed PTSD. Then when she receives a robotic arm, she feels as though everyone is trying to get her back to "normal". She does eventually put on the arm after overhearing her fathers discussion with Port and Oobleck, feeling as though she's the reason Tai hasn't gone after Ruby. And the relationship we see between Tai and Yang is just phenomenal. There are two sides to the father spectrum in RWBY, Tai and Jacques, being polar opposites towards their respected daughters.

Aside from the four main characters, the new villains are great. We don't really see much of Hazel or Dr. Watts, but that will change in Volume 5. But the real stars here are Tyrian and Salem. Salem is terrifying, every time she was on screen, I felt chills. You know you have a good villain if their mere presence is enough to send chills down your spine. And Tyrian was, in my opinion, comical. Every time I saw him, I knew that the scene was going to involve good old fashioned maniacal laughter, and not to mention that we finally get to see two trained Huntsmen go all out on each other, via the Qrow v Tyrian fight, was one of the most enjoyable parts of the volume.

So while Volume 4 was not a masterpiece like Volume 3, it was still enjoyable seeing how Team RWBY all dealt with the Fall of Beacon, and still had plenty of great moments.

My Score: 8/10

A Step Back

[shotgun-69216 · 7/10 · 8 October 2017]

After the intensity and level of the previous volume, this one was a little disappointing. A lot has changed, and with the deaths of last volume, that was entirely expected. With everything going on, it just makes sense in how the characters took the turns that they did. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake all had strong stories (especially Weiss), but Yang's story felt a little weak. I'm not saying it was bad, but given everything that happened, and how little time is spent with her, that story just feels like it's missing something. Then there's the new villains. Most of them we still don't really know a lot about, but Tyrian gets some good screen time. He's a strong enough villain, especially as we watch his already damaged mental state worsen towards the end, but I almost feel like he was trying be a copy of a familiar Dark Knight villain. Oh, and there's Salem. She's intimidating, and obviously has some serious power, but I don't feel like she's a solid character yet. She's just there. Overall, this feels like too much story, though. We get a lot of exposition, and plenty of world-building, but with only 12 episodes, it felt a little too much. On top of that, the pacing took a hit. For a 2-hour volume, it felt a little longer. However, the backstory for Ren and Nora was great, and overall, the volume was good. I wouldn't say it's bad, and I wouldn't say it's the worst of the series so far, but it's definitely a step back from what made Volume 3 so great.

Just an argumentative bridge between Vol 3 & 5

[redlikeroses · 6/10 · 26 August 2017]

First of all, sorry my lame English; it's not my native language, but I try my best. OK, RWBY Vol 4 has problems. RWBY, since its start, has been becoming darker and darker. Volume 1 was simple, but funny. Volume 2 was a bit more serious in its story; but its atmosphere was still similar to Volume 1. In Volume 3, in my point of view the best RWBY Volume up to now, was way darker, the tension was at its high; the end was amazing. Volume 4 tried to make something like that, but it's too bland and has too much fails to be more than an argumentative bridge. Volume 3 left so many questions and things undone. Volume 4 was going to solve that. Instead, it opened more questions. The story Volume 4 tells could have been told in six or seven chapters. But there are twelve chapters. That makes the story line boring at times.

*Spoilers start here* The Nora and Ren's past doesn't fit with the characters and it lacks impact. Qrow should have been died. I don't say it because I hate Qrow, in the contrary, he is one of my favorite RWBY characters. But I waited like three chapters since he was poisoned; I was waiting for his death. It would have mean a lot to the story: we saw how superior the new villains were. Just expert huntsmen, like Qrow, could fight them with a chance to win. The death of Qrow would have mean that RNJR was alone. Alone versus the villains. Oh, yeah, I have to talk about the villains. The new villains aren't even nearly as good as RWBY Volume 1-3 antagonists. Tyrian, for example, is just the "psychopath villain that laughs" cliché. Salem is "ok" as a villain, but we don't know anything about her... or the other villains. But, the good points: >The animation is "better" than Vol 1-3 (I, personally, don't like that cheesy style, but it's well done.) >Qrow and Yang moments are interesting. Yang has a great character develop. >Most time I could tolerate Weiss, Oscar and Blake moments. >Soundtrack is still as good as always. So, 6/10. I write this at 26/08/17, when Volume 5 has not been released. If Volume 5 results a 7/10 or higher and you liked Vol 1- 3, watch this to follow RWBY story line. If Volume 5 results just another average volume, then I'll stop watching RWBY. That's all.

Bland. Just Bland.

[drudesandstorm · 1/10 · 31 August 2017]

There was so much people loved about the original RWBY. The lighthearted feel, the lovable and realistic characters, the jokes, so much was lovable. Then, Volume 4 took over. Sure, stuff had happened in the months we missed because the team was too lazy, I mean because it ignored Ruby. Ruby turned from the cute, lovable, silly main character to just a bland person with PTSD. Nobody bothered developing Yang, they just said "she know has depression". Weiss' change was long but great, it should how she changed overtime. But they dumped so many characters. CFVY, Neptune, Adam, and plenty of others. I found no joke. Sure, Ren and Nora got a backstory, but they all changed. Jaune became a skilled fighter, Ren just got sad, and Nora was no longer the obsessive but cute with a dark side. She was just bland, like everything. The new outfits are bland. It's all bland. The action looked nice, but the scenes were bland. I know the characters aren't gonna die, so the fight scenes were the same as exposition scenes. Nothing sparked my interest. This isn't RWBY, this is blandness the anime.

Not the same (From a concerned fan)

[noahcwest · 1/10 · 18 April 2018]

I was excited when i stumbled into this show in late 2016, i really was. i watched up until the newest episode and followed along. the season felt lackluster that's why, I was excited for volume 5 (That's a completely different story.) The action scenes were bad. The only stakes to keep me watching were, will weiss escape her father? Will Qrow (one of the main characters at this point) die?? this volume just felt bad. maybe, it had to do with the greediness of rooster teeth. they took this show and ran it through a corporate filter as soon as Monty passed.

Show, Don't Tell.

[nintendoguy-08230 · 25 July 2019]

Usually I try to refrain from talking about stuff I don't care about, but oh my word this is probably one of the most excruciatingly uneventful series of episodes of anything I have ever seen. To put in perspective, I'd rather watch Endless Eight from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya all over again, in its entirety. But anyway, onto the actual volume.

I honestly thought the ending to Vol. 3 was a little bit of a bad omen. The worst thing about that was that when it seemed there was going to be a big fight with Ruby and Cinder, but then Ruby witnesses Pyrrah's death, she basically goes super saiyan and the screen fades to white. Then, we cut to Ruby waking up in her bed, where Qrow informs her what all has happened since she went "super saiyan". A scene or so later, we see Yang in her bed, and we quickly see that her arm is missing. Furthermore, Weiss and Blake were nowhere to be found. Then, Ruby sets off with (the remaining) members of JNPR, venturing to Haven. Cut to this demonic narrator lady named Salem who's foreshadowing all the evil and chaos she's gonna execute and that's basically where Vol. 3 ends. I know this isn't about Vol.3, but it's essential to talk about the end of Vol. 3 to understand Vol. 4's problems.

One of the first things we see in this volume is Cinder and her gang basically under new management, this time they're basically just Salem's little puppets. OK, so we're only a few mins into this and the big baddies who caused so much destruction last volume are basically trying not to piss Salem off. This might've been to give the idea that Salem is going to end the world if Cinder and her gang just killed a kingdom, but when we were just introduced to Salem and she doesn't do anything all that threatening to give you the idea that she means business. Vol. 4 is really just 2 things; half of RWBY on a journey, and the other half lingering around their respective households. Ruby is basically on a road trip during the entire volume, with the other members of JNPR. Blake's arc was actually fairly interesting, where she ventures back home and... basically lingers around her house. Well, even so, it was a lot more eventful than the some of the other storylines, and you get quite a bit interested because it sets up for something to come of her unfinished business with Adam and the White Fang. As for Weiss and Yang, they really didn't have much of a purpose aside from as stated, lingering around their house and acting rather displeased a lot of the time. Fortunately by the end of Vol. 4, they come around and get back into their living. As for Ruby, she still is venturing with JNPR all the way to Haven, on FOOT (like seriously Yang was seen riding a motorbike at the end of this volume, did they not have anything for quicker transport?). Eventually they came across a creepy scorpion/human hybrid dude working with Salem, and severely wounds Qrow, even though it looked like a flesh wound when you actually saw the fight. Not too long later, we end up in the home village for two of the members of JNPR a climactic final fight of the volume, which was destroyed a longtime prior. Ruby and JNPR fight with this absolutely insane Grimm creature, which is like the Headless Horseman, but with a head, and creepy as heck. This was absolutely the highlight of the volume, because it is genuinely a great fight. Of course RIGHT after they kill the Grimm, military personnel arrive in ships and escort Ruby and JNPR to Haven Academy, how convenient!

I didn't hate this volume because there are redeeming moments, but I obviously didn't like it, and thought it was really just filler. But as I implied throughout the post, part of the problem of Vol. 4 is that it tells us all these things that happened at the end of Vol. 3, but it never showed us a lot of these things that happened, and it expects us to just go along with everything that is made out to be a big deal this volume. It really just feels so disconnected from what the previous volumes have led up to here.