ANALYSIS : RWBY Train Fight

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Let's take a closer look at RWBY's Volume 2 Train Fight! Let's take a look at the directing, animations, and cinematography that all came together to make this fight one of the best in the series!

[@nuvaboy]

Okay, yeah, now I _really_ miss pre-summoning Weiss

[@curtistrinh5654]

You miss pre weiss only summoning instead of using it to supplement her I think her summoning of the knight arm to protect velvet was so PROMISING

[@lucasrobin2788]

Weiss would benefit massively if they smashed Myrtenaster to pieces. She has like 12 different semblances because of it (summoning, solid glyphs, telekinesis, time dilation, ice constructs, stone constructs, fireballs, hard light shield, snowflake bolts, and the forgotten abilities from the White trailer) and it's too much. They can't give her a decent fighting style because she's too many things - tank, offensive, defensive, support, fast, strong, slow, stationary, mobile - too much! If they took away Myrtenaster, she'd only be able to use plain glyphs and summon. THAT would be so much better. Her fighting style would look like Doctor Strange style glyph combat, where instead of using them to channel elements, she's blocking and striking with them. Her summons give her solid utility, like using the Queen Lancer to fly or the Arma Gigas for fighting larger opponents.

[@christianjamessoriano5093]

Basically she has a wand not a rapier

[@shesjustafrienduhhafriend8655]

@@lucasrobin2788 that will give her less abilities because she has way to many and never uses the op ones so i agree

[@zap4th368]

@@lucasrobin2788 plus we could even see her make a NEW weapon. one that fits her current fighting style more. maybe a more wand like one like gilda has where it can be used as a focus and is infused with a specific dust type.

[@zweitfire]

i love when characters just grab their enemy and body them onto the ground, it's the most satisfying thing in any fighting media.

[@tempusmars6272]

I wish all action shows fight with the brutality of a yakuza game. That's what Rwby needs, a dragon of Dojima

[@cashordeals3672]

That was most broly 😂

[@thomasraines1396]

It is.

[@augustbeller]

I remember seeing a post about how Yang struggles against opponents that specialize in kicks...but I don’t think that’s accurate. More over she struggles against opponents who specialize in pissing her off😂

[@valerie_sees]

The way that this is actually accurate XD

[@calacalamari3977]

see, she was supposed to struggle against kick users. thats why in the trailer the white girl lasts a little longer against yang, or why mercury is meant to be her foil. its just the show never actually... shows us that detail about yang

[@Step43099]

@@calacalamari3977 they kinda do, but there’s only like 3 characters that use kicks. It was a pretty flimsy weakness to begin with anyway just like her sisters supposed weakness

[@SaiyanGamer95]

There's also the fact that while Yang primarily punchs, she does use kicks on occasion as part of her fighting style. Also, I believe Monty styled Yang after the Monk class in RPG games; strong, fast, capable, able to make their own openings, and are skilled in unarmed combat (which includes kicks, as well as punches).

[@littlemayo7136]

@@Step43099 Doesn't make any sense that Ruby doesn't know hand-to-hand combat literally in her trailer she dropped kicked the Beowulf and she's also used multiple kicks in the first episode she beat up two grown ass man without using her weapon and they were both armed

[@MizIconique]

Neo is definitely the Tai Lee of the RWBY series

[@ChloroPhobeTarantino]

That's a really good comparison that I never thought of! It's especially brilliant because Cinder is super-obviously much like Azula.

[@allisonbelter1286]

@@ChloroPhobeTarantino and Emerald and Mercury sort of combine into Mai.

[@chideraomeh]

@@allisonbelter1286 I was gonna disagree but that makes sense, he pretty has Mai's traits that Emerald doesn't have

[@ProxyDoug]

I always saw her that way

[@neopolitanicecream4871]

I have not watched avatar on schneeflix yet but I assume it's a compliment ✨

[@PolyChromium]

You forgot how Neo's dropkick breaking the 180 rule creates the illusion of the camera spinning around, because we see her starting the kick, then there's a camera change, then the kick connects, so it makes the audience feel disoriented like Yang, but in a way that doesn't actually confuse them

[@brianford4914]

Yang vs Neo is the fight that got me into RWBY. A friend showed me it because they knew I like Zoning and counter tactics and I loved the fight. Neo dodging and never letting Yang get too close to her and always reacting to anything Yang did which would lead to her next move. Yang throwing punches to try and hit her and close the distance is so fun to watch. Along with the fluidity and constant action speed of the fight made me want to see RWBY.

[@boop3nowurded538]

Im sorry you got disappointed w the later seasons.

[@boop3nowurded538]

I love monty, but greatly dislike rwby now. I wish he didnt pass so soon. He had so much life left to live

[@orionriftclan2727]

Honestly, I have to say, Neo is the only character I can think of instantly that has single digit hits that has been here for a while, basically, neo is probably the (objectively) single smartest fighter in Rwby with probably one of (objectively again) the most powerful semblances, also just loves egging on the opponent making them yangry and trip up

[@distantant]

@@orionriftclan2727 Probably the funnest to watch as well. The fencing and counter attacking style is so fun to watch when she is overwhelming her opponents. They absolutely destroyed that in the newest parts though where it felt like they cared more about aesthetics than the actual fights. JNPR was such a let down where her semblance usage was the only enjoyable part of the fight.

[@Ethan-nl2wg]

The most disappointing thing about this fight for me was how Roman was nerfed. In his fight against Sun and Blake, he had no trouble being able to deflect and counter all their hits, until Blake attacked right after sun. Yet here Blake defeated him so easily. Still these fights are awesome, even though Weiss makes some questionable decisions I still enjoy her fight, and her rapid hits with time dilation is my favorite moment of all these fights.

[@andrewlance3898]

I think the goal was to highlight how Blake has developed since Volume 1. However, they could have made it stronger by 1) having more of Roman's tricky combat style on display, and 2) have Blake get the dust clones a few episodes prior to this, perhaps during her 'obsessed with defeating Roman' arc. Then it'd put more emphasis on 'Blake is stronger' now

[@shesjustafrienduhhafriend8655]

Roman has always been a weak fighter thats why hes always running away or uses his lackies so blake beating him easily makes sense tbh

[@dreadrath]

I think it was mostly because Blake pulled a fast one on him by using all that dust Weiss gave her (Which isn't part of her usual kit) while Roman thought she'd fight the same way she did the previous time. Its not so much that he got nerfed, he just got tricked and was a little too cocky. Yeah he's a pretty solid defensive fighter, but he was never a front liner or heavy hitter (He's got Neo for that) he knows just enough to buy time for an escape, reflecting his role as a thief, that and he makes up for his weakness with trickery and cunning. I did used to think he threw the fight on purpose so he could get arrested, but on reflection that doesn't make much sense.

[@christianjamessoriano5093]

@@shesjustafrienduhhafriend8655 did you even watch the show in the Episode where they stop the cargo ship Roman was deflecting and attacking blake and isn't Rom a decent fighter

[@christianjamessoriano5093]

@@shesjustafrienduhhafriend8655 did you even watch the show in the Episode where they stop the cargo ship Roman was deflecting and attacking blake and isn't Rom a decent fighter

[@BlackReaper0]

9:50 Opening the umbrella also limits Yang's vision. In 10:04 for example Yang probably can't see Neo at all, which is probably part of her strategy to make Yang mad.

[@whoosie2003]

Tell me why I never realized that neo changes her eye color before her fight with yang

[@neopolitanicecream4871]

That's understandable **Changes eye colour intensely**

[@piamia3665]

Unpopular opinion: I LOVE the weiss fight scene, I think it could've been executed WAY better but imo it also shows her elegant fighting style

[@UnifiedEntity]

How is this unpopular?

[@piamia3665]

@@UnifiedEntity in the video the girl was expressing how she really doesnt like that fight scene, and as you can see my comment only got 7 likes, so...

[@UnifiedEntity]

@@piamia3665 Well she doesnt like the fight scene because of how its shot. She never says the choreography is bad or doesnt make sense or doesnt do a good job to make it a fight.

[@piamia3665]

@@UnifiedEntity No, she said how she doesnt like Weiss' confusing, unnecessary twirls, that the starfish jump was unimpressive and complained about the handstand weiss made over the guy when he was knocked down

[@piamia3665]

@@UnifiedEntity 22:05 she even called the most engaging segment of the fight "not good", so.... what are you on about? Lmao, did you even watch the video?

[@muckles9998]

The next one should be the number one fight in the show.....the food fight between team rwby and team jnpr🥖🍔🍗🍟🍕🌭🧃

[@orangemarissa50]

Yesssss!!! Best fight ever 😄🤙

[@mrshotakun5158]

🗡️🐟

[@pisscvre69]

they spoiled us in season 2

[@wolfblaze6227]

I am very late to this vid, but I notice Neo is constantly in an exaggerated cat stance. Basically, a cat stance means you keep most of your weight on one foot, and the other ready to kick and act as a counterweight. Suits her style perfectly.

[@greyeyedgirl1046]

Ok, ~ Weiss thoughts~ I think it still doesn’t make sense that she lets chainsaw dude stand up because he says he’s trying to kill her, BUT I think she does this because Beacon-arc Weiss is all about form and finesse and dueling-focused. (Remember in early V1 when Weiss corrects her form and waits for perfect timing aloud and then gets mad at Ruby for just going in and killing the grimm first?) I think the writers are intentionally showing that she’s immature as a fighter, relying too much on strategy and trying to perfectly execute moves (all these spin attacks look practiced/rehearsed, like she’s stringing together combos) almost like she expects someone’s behind her grading and critiquing her technique, which is why her fighting is confusing and doesn’t make sense even though she’s talented and has some cool moves. So although I think it’s partially allowing Blake to have her moment confronting Torchwick from a writing standpoint, I think that Weiss’s focus on dueling instead of fighting to win is what causes her to lose despite starting from an advantage in speed and skill, as well as having Blake’s parry create an opening early in the fight. I interpret the shots of her smiling as her knowing she is better and giving her opponent a chance to stand up so she can show off, like in a duel, not a fight to the death. Which is why I think when she gets grabbed by the face she’s terrified and thrown off to the point she can’t recover. I think this gets better for her as she gains experience and confidence in later volumes. Wow, didn’t mean to write an essay here, but I think this fight highlights especially for Weiss and Yang the weaknesses in their fighting styles that they are forced to work on in later volumes.

[@debott4538]

Thank you, I was about to point that out as well. I think the way Weiss learned her fighting was more like a sport. Hence, letting her opponent get up after being knocked down. It's very honorable, especially since the guy is with White Fang.

[@villalba874]

Ah yes...back when RWBY was just dumb fun, where hitting a dog with a blunt object, setting it on fire and launching it like a rocket would not earn you a visit from the ASPCA.

[@valerie_sees]

Zwei is a battle dog, he's used to being used as a weapon, he probably was specially trained to do so. Though I do see how taboo that part of the episode was XD

[@TheVTable]

Yeah, Cause RT probably thinks dark means not to have fun

[@dieutam1204]

@@TheVTable so u should know Monty Oum really like Game of throne and he had a lot of dark idea to put in, RT only make it brighter.

[@snakeslife-uroborodjinn790]

@- SageAegis - Even Game of Thrones is more fun than modern RWBY. I could laugh at hot pie and Poddrick in that show. I haven't been amused by anything in RWBY in 3 years.

[@cjnf11]

Zwei is an unknown entity, he was sent via mail in a tiny cylindrical container, which also had the room for dog food cans and a can opener. And didn't mind it at all.

[@MollyMock]

Sweet! Now do the food fight!!

[@slushisimcambi2521]

Omg yes! One of the best fights in the show.

[@KokaKola633]

@@slushisimcambi2521 couldn't agree more!

[@santanalopez4073]

Slushi Simcambi Aww hell yea That has to be one of the most fun fights of RWBY

[@fishnewt1331]

I think the way they could have made Weiss’s fight better is if they changed Weiss’s attitude in the fight to something similar to Neo’s attitude. He made the comment about killing a Schnee. If she had the attitude of superiority over this random thug, it could have looked like she was taunting him the way Neo did, with the only difference was that she underestimated her opponent, which her overconfidence would be her undoing, whereas Neo was watching Yang and studying her. Making sure to keep control of the fight. Weiss’s moves looked similar to dancing of sorts and that motif probably would have looked better for someone showing-off, rather than someone overly serious.

[@frogradar]

I think the reason noone talks about the fights in 1-3 in any critical sense is because they are FUN and good to watch. Volumes 4-(i'd even say)7 are just not fun to watch. The camera work is shoddy, the action is never as fun paced, the characters use their weapons (like you said) as if they either weigh a tonne or weigh nothing. The Raven vs Cinder fight for example, I do like it but I think the most annoying flaw (FOR ME) is how the weapons don't have impact. The two swords sound like two scrap metal bars pinging off eachother. The absolute force and speed R and C are clashing at should have alot more oomph to them. I do love when the song kicks in and we get those slow-mo shots of Raven having fun and being an expert fighter. Also I do like your theory about the time dilation thing because the characters already move fast, sounds legit. But the "canon" reason is that after the time dilation ends the character is afflicted by a massive slow down in their own movements. Overall, the characters in volumes 1-3 completely nailed "rule of cool" in which all of their fights (well, most and those were Monty animations) were flawlessly cool. Yes you ripped into Weiss's fight but it doesn't change the fact that we got to see Weiss's style. Shes very flexible herself, she is able to take full control of her own bodies centre of gravity while dealing decent strikes and thrusts with her rapier. Unfortunately it's an animation style that none of the animators have managed to copy which is why nobody likes watching Weiss fight anymore, because she's shit without Monty. The Winter style on the other hand is slightly different, in that she is far more efficient in slashing rather than thrusting which is far easier to animate for general animators. The train fight showcases incredible animation and how different the three girls fight to eachother, and it is a lost art. Noone will ever put that much effort into that fight choreo again, and this is why nobody goes into actual in-depth talks about it because when you watch these fights, you are having fun and you are in awe at this. Loved this review though and I hope to see more because listening to your analysis on different scenes on a tech level is very enoyable.

[@noxyoshi]

R.I.P Monty. I miss seeing his level and style of fluid combat in animations.

[@thedaemonwolf1814]

I've got a couple of problems with your logic, if you don't mind: 1: Time dilation slowing down the character after it wears off is complete bull. Weiss used it on Blake in an _earlier fight_ and when it wore off (indicated by losing the slight blur and purple shockwave slashes), she was immediately able to quickly dash-slash Torchwick's Paladin alongside Ruby. 2: There's more than one way to show a character moving really fast. A number of shows, movies, video games, and the like have super speed be represented by slowing down or even stopping the world around the super-speedy character to show how fast they are. And with the CRWBY's underwhelming efforts in animation since Volume 3 ended, it'd be a great excuse for their laziness and easy to use to make a good fight faster than they'd normally be able to animate. Additionally, the glyph being called "time dilation", rather than just "Haste" or anything along those lines, implies the ability to be potentially quite a lot more versatile than simply speeding up one or two fighters. The rest of your comment is quite true though, especially the fact that despite Weiss' fight being a mess, it's still really fun to watch.

[@frogradar]

@@thedaemonwolf1814 Point 1 is not a point made by me. It was stated by RT themselves to shut people up about Weiss not using it anymore

[@thedaemonwolf1814]

@@frogradar Of course it was... I apologize on that front, then. Sorry.

[@mrparadise2947]

I agree with you about the train fights, I love them some of the ABSOLUTE best in the series, but I do think Weiss' and Blake's have some issues, Blake's mainly just being how Torchwich became SIGNIFICANTLY weaker this volume and Weiss with the Camera placements and questionable fighting choice, Yang Vs. Neo is EASILY top 3 fights of the series for me. But I actually REALLY enjoyed volume 7's fights, ESPECIALLY the fight between Qrow, Clover, and Tyrian (Which is the BEST fight in the entire series imo). But I can see where you're coming from with your reasoning for not liking them even though I completely disagree.

[@TheDimensionDweller]

Yeah, the Yang vs. Neo fight is still one of my top favorites in the show, nice to see it analyzed in depth!

[@calvinsmith9070]

Neo: oh your approaching me? Instead of running away you choose to come closer? Yang: I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer. Neo: Oh, then by all means come as close as you like. Everything is a Jojo's reference.

[@bradlyhaskell9821]

or is it that Jojo's references everything?

[@antondevonlh]

WHEEE! 20:08 I Died! XD Wonderful review of this fight, I am super hyped to see more of these! I feel like Wiess's fight was a "well, we need someone for Weiss to fight" issue. Banesaw has a real "villain of the week" feel, and never comes back again. If I want to be charitable, maybe this is playing off her "noble confidence" arc, with her moves more designed to style on this terrorist than beat him? This is the first time she actually fights the White Fang on camera (Roman in the Paladin doesn't really count), so perhaps a bit of that Schnee snootiness gets the better of her, resulting in a loss that... never gets brought up again for reasons. Look, I admit it's a stretch, but at least it can kind of fit, right? Anyway, can't wait for the next video, keep up the awesome work!

[@andrewlance3898]

I remember one video (I think it was from Twiins Iink) suggested they should have had Adam fight Weiss. Blake and Adam get to have their moment of surprise seeing each other, Adam could keep the "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee" line, and we'd be much more forgiving of Weiss getting bodied if it was by the man who DISINTEGRATES GIANT ROBOTS WITH A SWORD

[@seventhcyborg]

I feel like a lot of Weiss' early combat style was very definitely influenced by sport combat, rather than real tried and tested combat styles.

[@NasonStClair-qj3iw]

@@seventhcyborg Actually Weiss’ fighting style was inspired by Monty himself. He was a fencer who was left-handed and tried projecting it on her fighting style.

[@yiannis5972]

I think Wei's is doing the noble gentlemen rules of a fight where you weight for the opponent to be ready and don't cheat

[@kanden27]

I think for most of the fights that makes me like them. It’s the music. I liked the Raven/Cinder fight when the music picks up. “This is the end! Here’s where you die!”

[@3Katapa]

10:04 Neo is literally doing that move where the big dude puts him hand on the little dude's head to distance him. God I love Old Neo.

[@dasherplayz4471]

18:24 have the writers forgot that Blake can do stuff like that.

[@thomasraines1396]

Most likely yeah.

[@adriannaranjo4397]

Getsuga Tenshou

[@cjnf11]

They forgot a lot of things, it could be an entire essay on this subject.

[@eslamvszombies1713]

I feel the move Neo made on Yang is possible, it's just you need to be flexible and strong enough to make it. IDK, maybe it's not possible. Weiss really needs her time dilation in some fights like use it as a combo against Salem or a very strong Grimm. Neo also should have this style back against Yang if they did a rematch but at the same time we see Yang counter Neo's style and lands hits or any stun to be able to defeat Neo as a result of Tai's training.

[@neopolitanicecream4871]

Idk I'm kinda a magic bitch ✨✨✨

[@Valiguss]

Yeah but rn I doubt she could beat neo seeing as what we have recently seen puts neo roughly on qrows level(as in like we make a tier list they are the same tier, neo is like the bottom dregs of that tier but she is there and thst puts her leagues ahead of yang)

[@awkwardorangedrawz5914]

FRICK, I just LOVE your analysis videos as well as your sister's!

[@ShadowlinkOG]

I was today years old when I realized Neos' eyes switched colors after she blinked... HOW DID I MISS THIS

[@Luckystomp1]

Do more of this! It was interesting to see a breakdown of every angle and cut to see how much all these things impact the fight and viewing experience compared to normal speed

[@SliceOfRandom]

I love you content but THIS made me subscribe. It's the one thing about the series people aren't discussing, what with all the recent volume(s) drama, and I am completely obsessed with it! A fight's choreography can do more storytelling and character development than an entire season run, and I'm pretty sure if I look hard enough I can pull up a solid piece of evidence :/

[@Friedrich-enjoyer]

I find it really cool a video that make a deep analysis of the fight in RWBY. Amazing job as always.

[@rellikbackwards2308]

Do Mercury vs Yang from V3 which is imo one the most underrated fights in the whole series.

[@handhelder823]

Would have been my pick. Ot was wonderful

[@rosheacarrington1604]

true it was hyped by the vol 2 op

[@Step43099]

YES I AGREE

[@Little_Eris]

I’m still kinda disappointed we never even got a Weiss and Emerald fight in the series despite the opening showing us they will fight.

[@mercury2157]

tfw we're probably never going to get a real rematch, and even if we do, it won't be animated by Monty

[@chaostourist2951]

i wish Raven lived up to her awesome intro at the end of the train scene. This was a good video. I hope there's more, I'm curious to see you analyze post-monty fights. I never realized how off Weiss's fight with the bane guy was, i was always too mesmerized by her twirlig flips. It'd be interesting to see you do a video on the Pyrrha vs Cinder fight.

[@KiiwisChan]

Mini fun note When Yang tries to throw Neo she retracts her Gauntlets to properly catch her

[@renscott3899]

it would be really cool to see your top 10 best and top 10 worst RWBY fights! i love seeing your opinions on these things

[@pocketwatched]

Hello! It's me again! I've been loving watching your content! It allows me to notice so many subtle details that I'd never noticed before. Regarding The Lieutenant grabbing Weiss, I believe that Weiss's time dilation has a drawback that you are slowed down when the speed boost wears off, which which explain this otherwise completely ridiculous grab he pulls off. I'm not sure if it was confirmed, but in the paladin fight, when Blake gets accelerated to cut the missiles, you see that her hair and ribbons go from fast>slow motion at the end of the move, despite everyone else being shown to be clearly in real time (also makes the ability far more interesting). Also, Yang puts away her gauntlets again when grabbing Neo, just like the last time. What a neat little detail :)

[@lylabroflovski4132]

Oh my god this was so amazing and interesting, i really want more. Maybe the yellow trailer could be fun to analyze?

[@sparkierss3189]

I really liked the analysis! Thanks my guy!

[@ProxyDoug]

Neo vs Yang is my second favorite fight on the show after Blake and Sun vs Torchwick

[@insertyoutubechannelnamehe7422]

Thank you so much for this video. I grow tired of people not talking about the deep nuances of the fights and simply offering shallow non-constructive anecdotes about them and never touch on the technique and strategies the characters use in their combat. Please please more videos like this :)))

[@kiyanwrytte1564]

My thoughts on Weiss' fight is that she needed to do those spins because her weapon is so thin and would lack power if she just does normal jabs. So she needs the extra momentum from those spins.

[@Gopher286]

Your analysis videos are amazing! The fights are neat but you walking us through them is more interesting than the story for me.

[@mirza2975]

I will still never understand the weiss and banesaw fight like they really embarassed her like that

[@frogradar]

Weiss is embarassed in every fight. She never wins and it's kind of annoying, then again she's from Atlas and they seem to have a theme of being STUPID.

[@valerie_sees]

Trueee, like why did Weiss stop mid air like that? It was so akward to look at how completely frozen she was, denoting that time has slowed down, but then banesaw somehow is now agile enough to grab her mid air, in the slowest grab i have ever seen, might I add, and have her beaten by ONE single hit, when she has knocked this guy for 4 times now. Banesaw's aura is seemingly impenetrable at this point smh.

[@dreadrath]

Its any wonder she mostly uses summons now, that fight must've scarred her for life.

[@monotonesammy]

@@valerie_sees I was honestly trying to come to a conclusion on why Weiss stopped in midair like that. I know it was a slow motion shot, but it doesn't come across well when the character is FROZEN. If anything, it looked more like a drawback to time dilation, which they probably SHOULD have used as the excuse for that.

[@KitsyX]

@@valerie_sees It was for dramatic effect to show she was going for a big attack... While he's slow and clumsy with the chainsaw, he seems reasonably quick generally... Weiss left herself open and the guy took advantage... It was shown slower to probably give it better impact... I dunno, it worked for me... Weiss generally seems better as a support character... Her normal attacks are quick and skilful, but they don't do much damage... Her dust attacks are pretty strong, but may be easier to avoid by decent enough fighters... Her summons hit pretty hard, but they usually have cast time at first, then aren't always the easiest to control... She's better against Grimm than people probably... Kinda like Ruby... Ruby also does poorly in 1v1 human fights so far, but she and Weiss do well against Grimm normally.

[@thomasraines1396]

I like how Weiss is set up to be killed (the guy wants to “kill a Schnee”, has her set up to be cut in half) but the scene cuts away and the next time we see them Weiss is just.. alive for some reason. It’s for plot reasons obviously but it’s still funny.

[@Everythingwillsurelybealright]

I loved this! It's so great to see someone break down every individual shot and analyse why it does or doesn't work. It's an incredible level of insight I didn't think anyone would work so hard to give, so I'm beyond thrilled that you did it! It was fantastic, and I love that I now I understand WHY some of these incredibly iconic shots landed so well. And hot damn does it make me MISS Weiss' old fighting style.

[@sumsum3873]

This might be one of my favorite videos of yours so far. Great analysis!! I love more in depth stuff like this

[@freelanserns187]

My favourite part of the Blake versus Roman fight was when Roman tries to talk Blake down and then Blake has none of it and kicks him in the side of the head , that's like the only strike in the whole show that actually feels real

[@keitsskorner4461]

Since I’m a fan of Weiss because of her fighting style and weapon of choice, I’ll try my best to explain why she does the unnecessary twirls. 1. She does it to do more force into it. - Since her weapon is usually fast, twirling around can gather more force. 2. She does it to confuse enemies. - Reacting to fast movements in a short amount of time is hard to do, so when Weiss’s twirls not only she confuses the enemy but also imply that her back is not exposed. Not making her just a person who just stands. 3. Twirling gives you more options to choose and keeps the enemy guessing. - If the enemy did react quick enough of her twirl there are a lot of moves Weiss can do (Gather force and hit, Preparing to parry the opponent, Using momentum to get her in positions of the fight, etc.) 4. To assert dominance - This is more of a joke but what this is what I thought (the other was also my opinion why Weiss do the twirls) but she does it to unintentionally toy with the enemy cause doing unnecessary movements while you’re getting hit and thrown to the ground enrages the enemy.

[@KitsyX]

Personally I think Monty just thought it looked cool, but maybe one of those lol. I personally think Weiss is too serious about fighting for it to be about asserting dominance or whatever though... I feel like she'd only do stuff for specific and direct reasons... I think she's also relatively insecure, despite her outward demeanour, so I don't think she'd do anything deliberately overly risky due to confidence either, intentional or otherwise. I may easily be wrong though.

[@tearindrop673]

@@KitsyX I also agree that it's just because it looks cool lmao. I think people over-analyze and pick apart these fights way too much, when in reality, the animators were probably just like "ok this looks cool so lets do this". And her fighting style is based on ballet/acrobatics where they do a lot of spinning and flipping so it makes sense she does it a lot

[@CaitieBear_Arts]

I think my favourite part of Neo’s fighting style is using her opponents momentum against them~ which makes sense because she is tiny~

[@mariapazgonzalezlesme]

This is one of my most favorite fight of all volumes. I could gush about it for hours.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

This fight makes me wonder how it would go if Neo fought a dedicated grappler; as Weiss vs the Lieutenant proves, a serious counter to quick and evasive opponents is the use of command grabs, and seeing how fighter as agile as Neo handles that threat would be really interesting

[@cocosdestruction]

Well... at least Neo remembered social distancing.

[@Seabellswish]

Neo vs Yang on the Train is remains one of my top favorite fights in RWBY to this day. Everything about it is just so satisfying to watch, especially because Neo's fighting style is just so beautiful. I love how she toys around with Yang, while also making sure not to damage Yang too much until the end so that she can't use it against her. Also Neo's just like super cool

[@darthbrandon224]

please do another fight analysis 😩 maybe one from a newer volume to show how things have changed since volume 2. this is probably my favorite video you’ve done and the type of rwby content i’ve been looking for!!

[@thejudgmentalcritter6584]

Mmmmaybe that exact video is in the works for next week! ;)

[@new111naruto]

Love your vids! Keep it up :D

[@Mark-fc7tu]

It's one of the greatest fight sequences in the show. I miss those days.

[@gormaline1024]

PLEASE do this with more of the fights of this series! I adore some of the fights from this show and im trying to learn animation (including fight animations) and this is so helpful!!!!!!

[@poketdoom]

Torchwick isn’t that bad at fighting, he clapped Ruby before he died to plot armor

[@KitsyX]

Well Ruby was fighting Neo as well for a while before that and Ruby has never been super strong against skilled human opponents anyway... I'm not sure that's a great comparison... She's a lot better when fighting Grimm normally, given how slow her weapon is to use or how it's better at range than close up.

[@curseofgladstone4981]

to be fair she had already had the crap kicked out of her by him and neo working together. and she was then unarmed when she fought him alone.

[@curseofgladstone4981]

better example in my opinion is against blake and sun where he was mostly holding his own against both and winning one on one

[@kana22693]

Torchwick holding his own against Sun/Blake was a more impressive feat. Ruby herself was arguably the weakest member of team RWBY back in the day before her semblance evolved into intangibility, she was only accepted into Beacon because of the potential of her eyes and because she was as skilled as a decent student while still being 2 years younger than everyone.

[@poketdoom]

@@kana22693 Neo is also his henchmen, so Torchwick should be around equal, the only reason he got captured was because it was part of Salem's plan

[@jsigg4106]

This is something I've been trying to do myself. Break down the fights I love to see what I like, what can be done better, and what works. As someone who wants to animate fights eventually (in my never so present free time) I want to know good practices and techniques before spewing out a poor result

[@bideru1903]

0:05 Personally, I actually love that fight. And song is really awesome too. It's literally the only reason I watch Volume 5 at all for rewatches

[@shesjustafrienduhhafriend8655]

I love how in depth this is snd this one of my fave fights in the whole show i wish weiss will use yime dialation stain

[@beanbrain6162]

I just thought of something that would have been cool Velvet and Yang having planned sparring matches so Yang can get used to different sorts of fighting styles like Neo's Like what Phyrra and Jaune did Velvet's semblance allows her to mimic other's movements, and she made her camera weapon to copy their weapons - surely she's studied all sorts of fighting styles with different weapons Maybe she's copied the weapon and skill set of very agile people like Neo? And then she could help Yang with going up against smol, agile, flippy kicky people?

[@tacticstories7159]

That weiss landing you complained about was for me at least a nice shot. It conveyed the elegance of her landing and the backflip that followed afterwards.

[@abbeyrose8757]

Okay I have a lot to say but drunk me + ADHD.... I can't figure everything out I want to say right nowww. This was wonderful. The fight scenes are a favorite part for me and hearing someone else talk about it is so fun even if I don't fully agree ugh. Gets my mind working lol 💙 Keep posting pleaseee

[@murakuma7612]

I have to disagree with your comment on the 180 camera change with the Weiss scene, I feel as though having that POV switch actually emphasized her weapon more, it put focus on the sword while also adding to the impactful blow that comes right after. The latter being a similar technique done with Neo's fight with yang, the change in POV helped make the hit look heavier like it can actually bring down these giant opponents.

[@oohgs_0h]

This is such a great video! I love this fight, and your commentary was really good.

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

I really wish they’d had time to really build up Neo more. Imagine if her eye color switching was implied to give her different powers or style based on which eye is which, but it was just Neo forking with everybody.

[@tkpt37]

I have one gripe. Roman Torchwick is clearly fast, and his previous fight with Blake proves that. That is all. (I’m defending my favorite character, don’t yell at me 😂😂😂)

[@ezool18]

how a character fights shows a lot of, not only their personality, but also the animator's grasp of that personality. have you considered doing an analysis of comparing the evolution of a specific character's fight scene in vol1-3 vs. vol4-8? (for example, neo's fight here vs. her fight with cinder later?)

[@thesittingtraveller3467]

6:00 You could say that with a lot with other reviewers, it's only how pretty the colors are, aka how good is the sakuga.

[@dolphinsniper]

Really hoping to see more of these, as a bit-by-bit breakdown of the RWBY fights isn't something we see. This is very unique, and the way you speak about the compositions and shots really shows us that you know what you're talking about! Honestly, though, I do wonder what you think of some of the later Volume fights, as from the looks of it, you don't seem to like them too much. Or at least, not key moments of them.

[@agcofe9724]

Her saying “wee” is kinda cute

[@xaiverbres7335]

I would love to see a fight analysis on torchwick v sun and Blake. Torchwick was a phenomenal fighter which combined with his wit made him my favorite character. In every fight he’s in he rarely takes more than one or two hits (I’m excluding the paladin fight, it wasn’t really “him” fighting), and those are always due to something unexpected happening, or when he gets caught monologuing. My favorite example is the fight at the docks; he holds his own agains two dual wielding opponents, only getting hit by cheeky shots from someone butting in. Literally sun came at him with a gunchuck rush and torchwick parried *everything.* There’s also the fact he sniped ruby from probably over a hundred yards with little more that the stability of his arm and a crosshair on a monocle six feet from his face. I dunno what the streets were like for a crime boss to need to fight like that, but I’m sad that he bounced right off Ruby’s plot armor.

[@TwilightWolf032]

18:58 Let's be honest here, Rowan was probably just enjoying being stepped on by a goth girl with cat ears, that's why she could hold him...

[@Hashbrown1682]

Remember when Weiss was mobile and capable fighter? Pepperidge farm remembers

[@KitsyX]

And yet she was only shown to win a 1v1 against a skilled person recently... lol. While this looks better, I'm not sure that she's technically any worse off later... She's just focusing more on slower, heavier attacks now... But yeah, it would be cooler to get some more speed and mobility again.

[@Hashbrown1682]

@@KitsyX or you know have her remember all her other glyphs that she's been using effectively

[@mattobitohall]

Weiss vs Banesaw became a little more interesting to me after hearing your analysis and seeing her mentality in the Bunta Kinami manga where she says that as a Schnee she needs a "perfect partner", Weiss's fight could have been displaying a character flaw like overconfidence or being to focused on being flashy and perfect which made her scene more erratic than it needed to be. Your assessment has her scene as a bad example of cinematography, and I agree with that and am not trying to disagree; I am basically asking if doing something like the weird camera work on purpose could help establish character personalities or is useful in any way? Weiss's actions in the fight itself just make her seem overconfident and being overly meticulous on her attacks, which seemed to be related to her main character flaw in the early show.

[@CRIS_IS_ON_INFINITE_EARTHS]

11:24 Yoooooo I hope somebody makes fan animations of these match ups, they actually sound kinda interesting!

[@elusivo3347]

I think it would’ve been surprising and better if when Weiss knocks down the lieutenant the first time, but as she follows Blake. The lieutenant offscreen pulls a 180 and the rug under us with a surprise attack of actively picking up his chainsaw and toss it to Weiss, nearly hitting her as it hits the wall near her. Which makes it clear to Weiss and us, the audience that the lieutenant is merely a weak foe. That’s why Weiss stays behind to fight him, she can’t advance through the train unless she takes down her enemy.

[@shelbybayer200]

That scene before Oobleck hits Zwei, our little doggo buddy looks back at him as if saying "I want join in too, Let's do this Doc!!" Type of thing

[@umbracolt6364]

i love this plz do more

[@technoneko8108]

Neo has always had my favorite design, personality, and fighting style. Nice to see a break down of that

[@Spoogebro]

Also at 12:40 i have to disagree with you. the shot serves to show the wind of weiss next attack so that in the shot following her hit feels like it has more weight. all her quick strikes were easily deflected by chainsaw. it shows to how weiss is quick to adapt to her opponent. the white lines that follow her rapier when ever she swings and stabs make it easier to follow the sword. idk why she lets him get up other than for the audiences sake. all the cuts and twirls she does is to show that she can attack quickly from different angles. she is pretty dumb in this fight tho

[@Vortexiiixii]

What makes him think he has to hit Zwei. Its like Obleck tell himself "do it, hit him."

[@jaernihiltheus7817]

I like to rationalize weiss's performance in that she's still mostly used to "proper" fighting. She's giving her opponent time to recover because that's what high society sparring does. She makes unnecessarily flashy moves that are kind of dumb because she was trained to fight in that showy way, and it's worked out for her so far. It's kind of like a martial artist getting mugged and not thinking of going for the eyes or nuts, because even though you *know* there are no rules in this fight, your muscle memory still acts like there are. It could've been done *WAY* better, but if this was the intention of the fight then it works on paper.

[@P.W.Periwinkle]

5:46 The missile knows where it is, because it knows where it isn't.

[@metadaneholtzman7816]

Any else noticed that Yang's Two punch and knee combo was the exact same as Washington's in his Fight with Texas?

[@orionriftclan2727]

Washington v Yang, just a hand to hand? Who'd win

[@NoRegs30]

Showing the Raven vs Cinder fight is saddening since we are currently seeing one of the best fights in RWBY while also seeing an attempt at making that kind of fight in modern RWBY It really makes me sad

[@boss6044]

I want to see more reviews like this!

[@jeremiahg360]

I really love this I hope you do more

[@ragingmonkeycritic]

4 months later and not another fight analysis? I'd love to see this become a series

[@thejudgmentalcritter6584]

Mmmmaybe I'm planning on another one next month ;)

[@ragingmonkeycritic]

@@thejudgmentalcritter6584 👌

[@wingadept8793]

I think I have a possible explanation in regards to the backshot with Weiss at 12:14. This is a merely guess mind you Critter. But my guess is that they did the camera shot right there to show Weiss winding up as it quickly changes camera afterwards in which we see Weiss deliver a fierce uppercut to emphasize the impact of the attack. That's my guess anyways.

[@True-Awkwardness]

I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE TURN IT UP

[@chronenojysk5107]

“You cannot break the 180 rule in Weiss fight scene” Me: If it’s cool. Then it’s legal.

[@MultiAlerocks]

Finally, I get to kill a Schnee

[@jordanrichardson2367]

Nah it’s Fffffffffffinally, I get to kill a Schnee

[@HornedRabbit]

at 26:00 i don't think Yang is recoiling to evade i think she is just off balance after putting too much into that throw, just another example of Yang thoughtlessly going for big swings only for it to leave her wide open for punishment. Also just shows Yang's boxing style, she would be slugger, someone who relies on big swings and power to knock their opponents out. Sluggers are also know to struggle against "out-boxers" or people who evade blows and capitalize on mistakes, which is exactly what Neo does the whole fight. Another fun boxing tidbit, is Sluggers beat out swarmers and that's kinda how Weiss' fight plays out. She tries to flood the fight mindlessly with as many small strikes as she can only to come up short to Banesaw's stamina and get hit by his big swings.

[@autumnfaraday5649]

The reason why Torchwick doesn't just let go of his cane is because he is very much NOT a fighter. His fight with Blake and Sun on the docks is the only time we see him properly fighting, and even that was with his cane. Without the cane, he presumably doesn't stand a chance. I think the reason why Weiss does so many twirls is to gain momentum. The trade off of her speed is that she's one of the lightest fighters on the show, so striking in a way that's similar to Blake, for example, won't have the same amount of power. It's also a callback to her background. She's high class, and a performer at that. Even her outfit is like a ballerina's, which is why her fighting style is like a dance. The fact that she wears heels may be a reason why she jumps instead of running around an opponent- she's more likely to be taken off her balance than boot-wearing characters like Yang or Ruby.

[@floraflowergarden]

Maybe Weiss was watching to make sure Blake got out safely?

[@jjfrenzy789]

Please make more of these analysis videos!!!

[@pcdeltalink036]

It may not have ultimately helped her but honestly the leg grab by Yang always felt awesome. It's a move many people may not think to try and, to me, it showed not only was Yang running out of ideas but she was willing to resort to more unorthodox moves if it meant she would finally get a lead over Neo. It also impressed me, given how tunnel vision Yang can get, that she had the idea to even try such a move to begin with.

[@romulusnuma116]

I miss Roman even when he's out classed he's still so fun to watch

[@dreadrath]

Dude had an angry kitty cat put a blade to his throat and he kept his composure. He may have been a minor villain, but he certainly had presence and personality.

[@romeda5156]

I thought volume 1 showed that Roman outclassed Blake and the only reason Blake beat Roman was because of the dust clone that he wasn’t expecting her to her to have catching him of guard.