My Top RWBY Fights of All Times
Finally, after a long and exhaustive investigation, I can write a post paying tribute to the work of my favorite RWBY's animators while I talking about my favorite fights of the entire series.
Small Warning: I'm not going to include fights done by Monty Oum because this time, I want to focus on the other animators of the series. The information presented was corroborated through interviews, blogs, audio commentaries, and the artists' social media. However, I haven't been able to definitively confirm the animators of every single shot of every fight, so some information is subject to speculation.
The great final battle of Volume 3 was animated by Dillon Gu and Shane Newville. Focus on the first one:
Dillon is probably one of the best-known animators on the series despite only having worked on one volume. Among his contributions, we can highlight:
A large part of the Team RWBY Vs Team ABRN fight
The argument between Qrow and Winter before they began fighting and the brief moment between Ruby and Qrow afterward
90% of Mercury Vs Coco & Yatsuhashi
All the students coming together to defeat the Nevermore and fight for Beacon
Velvet Vs Atlesian Paladin
What I love about this fight is what it represents: It's the climactic moment of the volume, when all seems lost and no one knows what will happen, as the moment where Pyrrha showcases not only her physical abilities but also her determination and commitment to doing good.
It's a tense and desperate moment where the invincible girl is backed into a corner by a cruel and powerful adversary, but despite this, she doesn't give in and fights with resilience until the end, while Cinder gleefully enjoys her newfound position, which, poetically, is snatched away from her sooner rather than later.
The first part, where the boys fight Tyrian alone, was animated by Chris Rainbolt, Milliette Gonzalez, Hero Liao and Dustin Matthews, while Qrow's part was animated by Joel Mann, Hero, Melanie Stern and Kim Newman. More specifically:
Milliette animated the first part of Tyrian's assault on Team RJNR, as well as the subsequent parts where he attacks Ren and Ruby with his tail
Chris animated the second part of his fight, before and after Ruby shoots Nora.
In Tyrian Vs Qrow, the first part, up until Ren and Nora try to intervene, was animated by Joel
The part where Tyrian fights Qrow, takes his weapon, and then attacks him was animated by Kim.
The famous "You BITCH" scene was animated by Melanie.
Chris Rainbolt has had a limited career as an animator, having actually started as a camera design artist. Among his brief contributions, he worked on the Paladin failing scene in V3 and a segment of the RWBY Chibi short, "Kick-off."
Similarly, Hero participated briefly in this and the following volume. While I haven't been able to confirm the exact shots he worked on, it's known from the audio commentaries that he participated in RJNR Vs Nuckelavee and Weiss Vs Lancers, in addition to this fight.
Milliette, on the other hand, has had multiple contributions since joining in V3:
Yang and Weiss's conversation with Flynt and Neon before their fight.
Part of the conversation between Pyrrha and Jaune.
The clash of swords between Blake and Adam.
Ren and Nora being pinned to the wall by the Nuckelavee and when it releases its spines.
The first part of Yang Vs Ursa in her character short.
The short training fight between Ruby and Oscar.
Part of the initial fight between Ghira, Blake, and Sun vs. White Fang.
Joel Mann has been working on the show since V2. Initially, he animated quiet scenes such as Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder's conversation about Pyrrha, the opening RWBY dance scene, Ozpin's speech, and the famous campfire conversation between Weiss, Yang, and Blake.
His first action scene came of the season finale, animating the scenes of Team RWBY and JNPR against the Grimm. Following that, he animated part of Qrow vs. Winter, Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder vs. Amber, and about 90% of Ruby vs. Neo & Torchwick (10% is reused animation from Monty), as well as all of Blake & Weiss vs. the White Fang & the Atlantean Knights and Ozpin vs. Cinder.
Within this volume, he also animated many of Ruby's sequences from her character short, such as when she falls onto a statue, shattering it, or shoots the already defeated Beringel in the face, and part of Team RJNR's fight against Petra Gigas.
Kim Newman has been working on the project since V3, and she was the one who animated Nora using her semblance for first time in Ep. 2. She was also responsible for:
The conversation between Team RWBY in their room
Ruby lamenting for not being able to save Penny.
Pyrrha's death and Ruby using her silver eyes for the first time.
Jaune training in the forest.
The part of the reunion between Ruby, Yang, and Weiss.
The argument between Yang and Raven.
Clover revealing him semblance to Qrow.
The last three shots of the conversation between James and Oscar in Ep. 9
As for fights, she did several parts of SSSN Vs NDGO and Weiss & Yang Vs Flynt & Neon, Ruby trying to escape from Mercury, the other half of Ruby's character short, Blake using Sun to propel himself and cut off Sea Feilong's wings, a couple parts of Team RJNR vs the Nuckelavee, Yang fighting an Ursa in her short, Weiss shooting the Lancers and summoning Arma Gigas to finish off the queen, the first part of Blake Vs Ilia, and Sun Vs Ilia.
Finally, Melanie Stern, like Kim, joined the CRWBY on Volume 3, animating the first two shots of the conversation between Pyrrha and Ozpin in Ep 6. Like Joel, this won't be the last time we mention her, but to give you an idea of her work; she animated the second part of Tyrian's collapse in Ep. 11, Vernal's death, Sienna Khan Vs the SDC Robots, the first part of Penny and Winter Vs Cinder, Bumbleby's confession and kiss, and Ruby's Breakdown in Volume 9.
What I love about this fight is how it clearly demonstrates the kind of threat Tyrian poses in a very short time: The first part, while certainly not very memorable, shows how unprepared they are to face Salem's forces despite everything they had already accomplished. A fun and tense scene that opens the way to the adrenaline-pumping and exciting sequence of seeing Tyrian fighting and being almost on par with a totally serious and sober Qrow, in an explosion of skill and chaos where it was clear that one way or another, they were not going to be able to come out completely unscathed.
The confirmed animators for this fight are Joel Mann, Melanie Stern, Asha Bishi, and Austin Hardwicke.
Aside from several parts for this sequence, Joel's only other contribution to this season was a segment of Weiss's fight against Beowolf's summons in his character short.
Austin is the longest-serving animator we'll discuss, having been with the team since Volume 1. He animated iconic moments such as the conversation between Ruby, Ozpin, and Glynda in the first episode, RWBY and JNPR's landing strategies in Ep. 5, and the girls' first encounter with Penny. In subsequent volumes, he animated Blake and Ozpin's conversation, Ruby and Penny talking and walking in Episode 3, Glynda's conversation with Ironwood, and Qrow and the rest of Ozpin's group's argument in Ep. 3 V3, etc.
Regarding action sequences, he animated parts of JNPR Vs BRNZ, the beginning of the fight between Weiss & Yang and Flynt & Neon, Penny's animations during her fight with Pyrrha, Yang losing her arms against Adam, Yang and Taiyang's sparring and in this same volume, Yang Vs the Bandits.
Volume 5 is one of the most criticized seasons, and personally, my least favorite. One of the most common arguments against it is the supposed downgrade in the fights, which, while I understand and agree to some extent, I mostly disagree with: While It's true that this season didn't have that many memorable sequences, there still were several objectively good ones, like Weiss Vs Lancers, Yang Vs The Bandits or The Belladonnas & Sun Vs The White Fang, and above all, we had this fight that ended the volume on a high note in terms of action after the disaster that was the Battle of Haven.
A display of power where we finally see the true potential of Maiden's powers, in a brutal and dizzying sequence where both combatants showcase their skills and, ultimately, their ingenuity (or lack thereof) and philosophy.
This fight was animated by Megan Pellino, Matt Drury and Joe Vick.
Megan Pellino animated the initial part where Neo lunges at Cinder until she tries to hit her and blocks her with her umbrellas
Megan was one of CRWBY's more recent additions, starting work on the final chapters of the previous volume and like Joel and Melanie, this won't be the last time I mention her, but to give you an idea of her later work; she did much of Winter Vs Ironwood, The Hound attacking Oscar and Neo being possessed by Curious Cat, as well as several shots for the first part of RWBY x Justice League.
The sequence that follows, up until Cinder kicks Neo and they both land on the bar, as well as their second round outside the bar, were animated by Joe Vick, who previously animated Qrow fighting the Manticores in the first episode of this volume.
And the remaining sequences were done by my second favorite animator on the show, Matt Drury.
Like Megan, Matt joined the team at the end of Volume 5, animating part of the fight between Ghira and the Albain Brothers. Within this volume, he animated part of the intro, Adam's action sequences in the forest and when he fights the SDC Robots, and when Ruby and Qrow team up to defeat the Sphinx in the first episode.
This fight shines for me not only because of its spectacular choreography but also because of it's context and visual language: Neo, after losing the most important person in his life, is consumed by grief and bitterness to the point of revealing her most reckless side;
Going after Cinder and charging at her with not plan other than to avenge Roman, and as the confrontation progresses, it's possible to see how Cinder gradually gains ground, how she's able to react to all his moves and finally overpower him. Fortunately (or unfortunately) to her, Cinder sees an opportunity and offers her a deal that would begin this unusual, diabolical duo for the next few volumes.
Maria Vs Tock and her Henchmen
This fight (along with the Nevermore sequence) was animated by Megan Pellino, Joe Vick, Matt Drury, Melanie Stern and John Yang.
Joe animated the initial part where Maria jumps and uses her scythes to hook onto the Nevermore and impale herself on it.
The following part, up until Maria manages to crash the Nevermore, as well as when she gets back up, was animated by Megan.
The first part, up until Maria approaches the guy with the gun, was animated by Matt, and the next shot until Tock knocks Maria to the ground was probably done by John.
John Yang joined the team during V5, and he animated the Ozpin vs. Ruby scene in Episode 4, Blake tried to shoot Ilia in the dark, Oscar vs. Lionheart, and part of Ozpin vs. Hazel.
And finally, from when Maria gets up and combines her scythes into one until Tock breaks her mask and destroys her eyes, was done by Melanie Stern.
I'm fascinated by how CRWBY was able to deliver such a fight in a consistent one-minute match. While this was partly due to the time limit, it doesn't diminish the great merit of this encounter. It was the perfect way to showcase the legend that Maria once was, demonstrating her power but making it clear that, in the end, her title came from her vast skill, ferocity, and ingenuity.
The team behind this match consisted of John Yang, Megan Pellino, Matt Drury, Joe Vick and Melanie Stern, who, interestingly, were nicknamed BAY-BAE's during production. Vito Ferber, Nyle Z Pierson and Nicole Morciniec also participated.
John animated Blake and Adam's match in the tower and then in the forest.
Megan animated their match in front of the waterfall.
Matt animated the first part of Yang vs. Adam (reusing discarded animations from V3 made by Monty).
Joe animated the second part of the fight between Yang and Adam.
Melanie presumably animated the first part of Yang & Blake Vs Adam up to the part where they use the Bumblebee tactic and Blake is thrown off the cliff, which was animated by Vito.
John animated the part where Yang catches Adam's sword and snatches it away with a punch, while Nyle animated when he throws it off the cliff and Nicole animated the part where Adam is stabbed.
There's so much to say about this sequence, so much that recently, I makes a whole post to explain it in detail. I hope you enjoy it 🤗
The animators for this fight were Matt Drury, Joe Vick, Peter Dang and Erika Soosaar.
In this volume, Matt again contributed to the opening, Qrow and Ruby's fight against the Grimm in Ep. 1, and part of Ace Ops Vs Geist in Ep. 3.
Joe animated Weiss and Ruby's fight in the mines, Ruby's "Ask Penny about missions" scene in Ep. 4, and the Tyrian massacre in Ep. 6.
Peter Dang had a brief appearance in the final episodes of V4, but it wasn't until this volume that he began to have notable sequences, starting with Harriet's parts in Ace Ops Vs Geist.
Erika was another animator who joined during V5, where she animated a Weiss Vs Vernal, Mercury Vs Yang and Leo's death. During this volume, she played Vine's part during Ace Ops Vs Geist and when he throws Weiss, Ruby and Blake off the platform during their fight in V8 Ep. 3.
Just as Roman demonstrated that you don't need a semblance to be a formidable adversary, Watts here showed that with cunning and ingenuity you can face an opponent who physically surpasses you, and even defeat them.
Unless that this adversary being James Ironwood, a deranged military man with an iron will who will be willing to sacrifice anything to achieve his goals, including his own physical and psychological well-being. This is intentionally reflected in the moment when he loses his arm to stop Watts, who gives us the final foreshadowing of Ironwood's downfall with his gleeful reaction to him words.
(And yes, I know Arthur doesn't have a semblance either because canonically he was never interested in unlocking one, but I thought it was redundant to mention it 🙄)
Qrow, Clover & Robyn Vs Tyrian
Gif by @rwbythroughtheyears
Like the previous one, this sequence was animated by Matt Drury, Peter Dang and Erika Soosaar.
Originally, this sequence was supposed to be a chase that intermittently turns into a fight and was more of a Qrow Vs Tyrian showdown. However, I really like the changes they made.
Although short, similar to his encounter with the RJNR, this battle showcases just how formidable Tyrian is, to the point that it required three top hunters to coordinate methodically to capture him.
This fight was animated by Peter Dang, Joe Vick, Nicole Lacroix and Megan Pellino:
Peter and Joe animated the Yang & Blake Vs Elm & Vine scenes.
Megan animated Ruby Vs Harriet.
Nicole and Peter animated Weiss Vs Marrow.
Like Cinder vs. Neo, what I love about this sequence is the detail, the subtext, and the visual language. Specifically, what fascinates me is how Team RWBY didn't won by being stronger or by luck, but by strategy and teamwork.
Ruby knew that the Ace Ops were stronger than them, so from the beginning she opted for a Divide & Conquer strategy; she took advantage of Harriet's more emotional and arrogant personality to lure her away from her team, knowing that she was the only one who also had the ability to hold her own in a fight. Even though Harriet is faster, Ruby manages to outmaneuver her by opting for an evasive tactic, both to distract Harriet and to make her overconfident and lose focus, which she takes advantage of by using her own semblance at the right moment to partially immobilize her.
While Harriet opted for a direct and destructive approach to try and finish her off, Ruby remained defensive at all times to make her expend the remaining strength she would have after the Battle of Mantle and buy time until her own teammates won their matches and could come to her aid.
Following her sister's example, Yang approached Elm, knowing that both were fighters who relied more on strength, supported by Blake, whose maneuverability allowed her to handle Vine's semblance. Initially, both were at a disadvantage facing the two, until Yang took advantage of Elm's emotional personality to upset her and free Blake, and from there the approach changed: Instead of trying to fight a 2v2, they opted for a 2v1.
While Elm and Vine disagreed on their fighting approaches, Blake and Yang took advantage of this to eliminate them separately. They coordinated their efforts, taking advantage of Vine's pacifist approach and Blake's clones to trick and knock him out. This left only Elm, whose strength was unwittingly nullified because while she attempted a direct fight, the girls used this to their advantage, destroying the ground and rendering her semblance useless and then, they coordinated again and launched a combined attack.
Marrow's Semblance may be incredibly overpowered, but it has a drawback: it only works while he maintains eye contact with him target. This positioned Weiss as the perfect opponent thanks to her use of summons, turning a 1v1 into a 2v1.
First, she buys time using the Freezerburn tactic so she can summon Arma Gigas without Marrow interfering (demonstrating a strategic improvement compared to her fight with Vernal).
When Harriet arrives, instead of taking advantage of the situation and working together against them, their disagreements lead them to clash and waste the opportunity. This contrasts with the girls, who, like Blake and Yang, take advantage on the gap between them: Just as Harriet was blinded by anger, Marrow was blinded by her principles. Even separately, Weiss and Ruby were able to coordinate and support each other in their respective fights at the opportune moment.
This fight represents how much the girls have grown as a team and fighters: They may not have finished the academy like the Ace Ops, but they managed to compensate by going out into the Wildworld and facing all kinds of dangers and adversaries, making them grow not only as individual fighters physically and psychologically, but also strengthening their bond to create a tacit understanding on the field, improving their communication and individual and collective adaptability. And is in this precisely where they far surpass the Ace Ops, as hinted at in episode 4 of this same volume and later confirmed in V8: The Ace Ops lack a bond that allows them to complement each other without a leader.
Clover was more than a captain; he was the glue that kept the team together and functional, as well as their guarantee that they would always have the advantage in any situation. Therefore, the moment he was no longer there for them, they began to fall apart, they let their emotions get the better of them and acted independently, which Team RWBY took full advantage of from the start.
Finally, another interesting detail is how each of the Ops' defeats directly relates to the lessons of the fables on which they are based:
Harriet let her emotions get the better of her and overconfident in her speed, just as the hare let its arrogance get the better of it and ended up losing the race against the tortoise.
Elm and Vine couldn't coordinate and instead of supporting each other, they tried to fight separately, just as the elm thought its own strength was more than enough and ended up splitting because it underestimated the importance of support and flexibility.
Marrow let its emotions guide it more than common sense, just like the dog that impulsively jumped into the river and ended up drowning.
So yes: This fight, besides being magnificently choreographed, is also very well planned and has a very well-achieved narrative significance.
The animators confirmed for this sequence are Matt Drury, Erika Soosaar, and to a lesser extent, Will Sherburne and Andrea Ratsos.
Will animated Clover and Qrow's verbal confrontation before the fight began.
Andrea animated Tyrian freeing himself from his bonds.
Matt animated the first part of the confrontation.
Erika animated the second part.
Personally, I consider this one of the most underrated fights and one of the most misinterpreted scenes in the series, mainly due to its main flaw: The accelerated pace, which makes it very easy to overlook all the factors that comprise it. For this reason, I previously wrote a post explaining them in detail that I recommend reading it in its entirety before reading the following excerpt:
Everything in the story has led to this moment: fears, loyalties, lies, ideologies… Each side at this point takes shape in the three fighters;
James is pushed to his limit and thus becomes the intermediary between Salem and Ozpin, provoking Clover's intervention.
Qrow blindly followed Ozpin for years until the harsh truth was revealed to him, and that almost destroyed him and his family, and now he has to deal with someone with the same level of blind faith, which is the point of the scene: to share Qrow's frustration.
And Tyrian, like Salem, It's the trigger that causes everything to collapse. It's literally Bad Luck Vs Good Luck, but the scales don't tip in either side's favor because Tyrian was there to seize control without them even realizing it.
Back in V6, they showed us that he possessed a high level of emotional intelligence in his conversation with Mercury, something that was also affimed by Miles Luna in the audio comments, and that's reaffirmed here: He saw how Clover naively prioritized Qrow over him and Qrow's frustration with him extreme loyalty, so he took advantage of it. He subtly manipulated them to eliminate any possibility of cooperation, to weaken them, to make that the frustration would blind them until they finally lost sight of him, thus giving him the momentary advantage needed to kill two birds with one stone:
Kill Clover and frame Qrow for it.
A scene, a conclusion that subtly foreshadowed the outcome of this arc: Ironwood's faction will end up destroyed, with his leader falling after a futile attempt to wage a three-way war, corrupted by fear and pressure; Salem's faction, despite the complications, will emerge victorious once again; and Ozpin's faction, though ultimately unscathed, will be left with deep emotional scars after facing great losses, whether Penny or the kingdom of Atlas itself.
(Also, this last part was animated by Adele Kraus and Kaitlin Petras.)
Team RWBY/Jaune Vs Curious Cat
The team behind this epic showdown consists of Melanie Stern, Erika Soosaar, Nicole LaCroix, Adela Kraus, Arryn Troche, Christopher Kean, Megan Pellino, Alex Hoyle and Joel Mann.
Melanie animated the part where NeoCat takes a huge leap.
Erika and Arryn animated the "Ruby Zombies" scenes.
Nicole animated the brief verbal exchange between Jaune and NeoCat before they begin fighting.
Adela animated the fight up to the point where the cat uses Neo's illusions against Jaune; Arryn animated the rest of the fight.
Christopher animated the sequence before they manage to expel the cat from Neo's body.
Joel animated Ruby Vs Curious Cat.
Alex and presumably Arryn animated the final battle of Team RWBY Vs Curious Cat.
I love the first part because it perfectly portrays the real loyalty of the group to Ruby, as well as their guilt, especially Yang's, for not being there for her sooner. It also reaffirms Jaune's understandably ongoing trauma from the loss of his friends, but also his new goal of not getting stuck in his grief and continuing to fight for his remaining comrades.
And Ruby's part is very special to me because of the message it conveys, reflects her new mindset: After questioning all this time whether she could truly be the hero that she and her friends needed, she finally decides to be guided by hope instead of sinking into uncertainty, she decides to leave behind his illusory ideals about heroes and leaders and keep fighting even if victory isn't clear. Just like her mother did, but now seeing herself as her own imperfect self, carrying Summer's memory as an inspiration instead of a suffocating burden.
And the part with her team further reaffirms their bond, both physical and emotional, supporting each other and effortlessly coordinating as the team and family they've become, always there for one another.
Pyrrha Vs Mercury (E5 V2) (Shane Newville)
Qrow Vs Winter (E3 V3) (Joel Mann & Ian Kedward)
Ruby Vs Grimm (Ruby's Character Short) (Joel Mann & Kim Newman)
Team RJNR Vs Nuckelavee (E12 V4) (Kim Newman, Paula Decanini, Ian Kedward & Asha Bishi)
Sienna, Ilia & Adam Vs Schnee Dust Company (Adam's Character Short) (Melanie Stern, Matt Drury, Erika Soosaar & Joe Vick)
Train Fight (E1 V6) (Melanie Stern, Joe Vick, Christopher Pohl, Drew Wooldridge, Kaitlin Petras, Matt Drury & Jonathan Lester)
Penny & Winter Vs Cinder (E13 V7) (Melanie Stern & Vito Ferber)
Penny Vs Ace Ops (E3 V8) (Matt Drury, Hannah McCravy, Adele Kraus & Erika Soosaar)
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to user @hypeathon, as without his extensive, professionally detailed, and incredibly interesting essays, this Top wouldn't have been possible. So please, don't hesitate to support him 👌
