# RWBY: Ice Queendom

RWBY: Ice Queendom (Japanese: RWBY 氷雪帝国, Hepburn: Rubī: Hyōsetsu Teikoku, lit. "RWBY: Empire of Ice and Snow") is a Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft, based on the American web series RWBY created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. The series aired from July to September 2022. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kumiko Suekane began serialization in ASCII Media Works's shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh in June 2022.

## Voice cast

| Character | Japanese | English |
| Ruby Rose | Saori Hayami | Lindsay Jones |
| Weiss Schnee | Yoko Hikasa | Kara Eberle Elizabeth Maxwell (young) |
| Blake Belladonna | Yū Shimamura | Arryn Zech |
| Yang Xiao Long | Ami Koshimizu | Barbara Dunkelman |
| Jaune Arc | Hiro Shimono | Miles Luna |
| Nora Valkyrie | Aya Suzaki | Samantha Ireland |
| Pyrrha Nikos | Megumi Toyoguchi | Jen Brown |
| Lie Ren | Soma Saito | Neath Oum |
| Professor Ozpin | Kazuhiko Inoue | Shannon McCormick |
| Glynda Goodwitch | Masumi Asano | Tiana Camacho |
| Peter Port | Soichi Abe | Anthony Sardinha |
| Penny Polendina | Megumi Han | Taylor McNee |
| Sun Wukong | Tomoaki Maeno | Michael Jones |
| Taiyang Xiao Long | Kenyu Horiuchi | Burnie Burns |
| Roman Torchwick | Shin-ichiro Miki | Christopher Wehkamp |
| Shion Zaiden | Hiroki Nanami | Kdin Jenzen |
| Jacques Schnee | Madoka Shiga | Jason Douglas |
| Winter Schnee | Ayako Kawasumi | Elizabeth Maxwell |
| Whitley Schnee | Marina Inoue | Howard Wang |
| Klein Sieben | Ken Uo | J. Michael Tatum |
| Adam Taurus | Yuichi Nakamura | Garrett Hunter |
| Lisa Lavender | Arisa Sakuraba | Jen Brown |
| Nicholas Schnee | Ken Uo | John Swasey |
| Narrator/Salem | Kikuko Inoue | Jen Taylor |

## Production and release

In February 2022, a website for a RWBY project, dubbed the "Team RWBY Project", was opened with future announcements listed to come. The following month, an anime series was announced on March 25, 2022. It is produced by Shaft and directed by Toshimasa Suzuki, with chief direction by Kenjirou Okada, visual director by Nobuyuki Takeuchi, animation concept by Gen Urobuchi, scripts written by Tow Ubukata, and music composed by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi. Nobuhiro Sugiyama (Shaft) designed the characters for animation, based on character concepts by illustrator Huke. Sugiyama was the chief animation director alongside Hiroki Yamamura (Shaft), Yoshiaki Itou (Shaft), and Rina Iwamoto. Kana Miyai, Hiroto Nagata, and Kazuki Kawada (the latter both of Shaft) are the main animators. The series aired from July 3 to September 18, 2022, on Tokyo MX, BS11, and MBS, with Plus Media Networks Asia handled the Southeast Asia release for simulcast premiere on Aniplus Asia. The first three episodes were streamed on YouTube from June 24 to 26. The opening theme song is "Beyond Selves" by Void_Chords feat. L, while the ending theme song is "Awake" by Saori Hayami. Crunchyroll streamed the series along with an English dub. Billy Kametz was originally cast as Roman Torchwick in the English dub of the anime, but was later recast by Christopher Wehkamp after his 2022 hiatus and death. On March 24, voice actress Arryn Zech expressed discomfort with being involved in Ice Queendom upon being made aware of the 2015 domestic abuse allegations concerning series writer Tow Ubukata. This prompted Ubukata to tweet in response to Zech. Zech later tweeted again to confirm that she would be reprising her voice role of Blake Belladonna in the English dub of Ice Queendom, stating that she had internal discussions with the staff and that she would be donating her payment for her work to an undisclosed charity.
Pre-production on the series started a few years prior to the announcement of the project, with series writer Miles Luna, as well as other members of the RWBY production team, visited Good Smile Company and animation studios Shaft and Trigger as early as 2018. Original character designer Huke and animation concept writer Gen Urobuchi were initially contacted to conceptualize the project prior to the director and main writer. After Huke had created the concept designs for the series and Urobuchi had conceptualized the main narrative for the series, director Toshimasa Suzuki was brought on board for the project; Suzuki's initial thoughts on Urobuchi's story was that it was "wonderful"; however, as Urobuchi wasn't on the project as the series' writer, Suzuki and members of the production team needed to find a separate writer to finalize Urobuchi's drafts. Tow Ubukata was among the writers whom the team considered contacting, and since Suzuki had worked with Ubukata on Fafner in the Azure and Heroic Age, he was chosen as the series composition and screenplay writer. Urobuchi, Suzuki, and Ubukata were all present during script meetings for the series, and Ubukata (whose main role was to organize Urobuchi's concepts into a singular, coherent narrative) stated that he would add bits of his own creative ideas whenever he could while the latter half of the project had ideas escalated from its initial plans. Suzuki stated that he focused on visual directing, while he left the narrative elements to Ubukata.
Suzuki and Ubukata have commented that the cultural differences between Japanese and American productions was interesting due to different focuses from each respective culture in their narrative writing. For example, the themes of discrimination and racial prejudice were brought up between the two of them in reference to characters Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladona, the former of which holds racial prejudices and the latter of which is the victim of discrimination. As Japanese productions usually do not have a main character who is outright discriminated against, racial issues are usually not a big thematic subject. Ubukata referred to writing the series and consciously keeping the themes of racism and discrimination as a new experience for him.
In July 2022, the series was described as "continuity-adjacent" with opening episodes pulling from the first two seasons of RWBY and then launching into a new story set between the second and third seasons of RWBY but diverting "off the core timeline". The series received a 12 episode order and will be released in Blu-Ray and DVD forms. The Blu-Ray and DVD release, dubbed the "Final Cut" (ファイナル・カット), was originally scheduled for release in January 2023, but was delayed to July 2023 to give the staff time to polish the animation and include new sequences, such as a newly animated opening. The "Final Cut" version also premiered on television in April 2023 as a special rebroadcast.

## Episodes

Ice Queendom's plot is set between the continuity of RWBY Volume 1 and Volume 2, as the first three episodes are in essence a recap of Volume 1 with additional story events that lead into Ice Queendom's original story, and the final episode is set during Volume 2's first episode.
Only one episode was handled outside of Shaft, that being episode 6, which was produced at Yokohama Animation Laboratory.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
| 1 | "Red, White, Black, Yellow" Transliteration: "Shuttatsu" (Japanese: 出立) | Toshimasa Suzuki | Toshimasa Suzuki | July 3, 2022 (2022-07-03) (Japanese) September 25, 2022 (2022-09-25) (English) |
| Blake Belladonna helps Adam Taurus break into a Schnee Dust Company freight train for the supplies. However, she has become disillusioned with his callousness and the current White Fang methods of trying to achieve equality for the faunus; she promptly leaves the group, much to Adam's chagrin, deciding to enroll at Beacon Academy for a fresh start. Weiss Schnee decides to prove her combat prowess to her father Jacques, so he will allow her to enroll at Beacon, instead of her native Atlas Academy (mostly to get away from him and the shadow of her sister); by defeating a Grimm possessing a giant suit of armor. Though she gets a scar in the process, Weiss proves herself, and Jacques reluctantly agrees to let her enroll Beacon. After getting news that her older half-sister Yang Xiao Long has been accepted into Beacon, Ruby Rose decides to go shopping for a gift for her. This leads to her stopping a robbery led by Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal, and getting arrested by Glynda Goodwitch for illegal vigilantism. However, Professor Ozpin sees potential in Ruby, granting her permission to attend Beacon two years early. |||||
| 2 | "This Is Beacon" Transliteration: "Shiken" (Japanese: 試験) | Shuuji Miyazaki | Kousuke Murayama | July 10, 2022 (2022-07-10) (Japanese) October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02) (English) |
| Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all meet on the transport to Beacon, but the sisters get off on the wrong foot with the two. Ozpin reveals that they were partnered with whoever they see first after being dropped into a Grimm infested forest as part of the initiation to find a relic. Ruby and Weiss end up becoming partners much to the latter's dismay, and Blake and Yang quickly become partners. After finding and choosing a relic, everyone is suddenly attacked by a Nevermore and a Death Stalker. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang deal with the Nevermore, while Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren deal with the Death Stalker. Due to them coming up with a plan in the heat of the moment and successfully completing their initiations, Ruby and Jaune are named team leaders and Team RWBY and Team JNPR are officially formed. The negative emotions of Weiss and Jaune Arc attract a "Nightmare," a type of Grimm that feeds off of those with powerful Auras but unstable emotions. Jaune is possessed by the Nightmare, and Shion Zaiden, a specialized Nightmare hunter, uses their tools and Semblance to assist the remaining members of Team JNPR to enter Jaune's Dream and expel the Nightmare, at which they are successful. |||||
| 3 | "A Nightmare Comes" Transliteration: "Akumu" (Japanese: 悪夢) | Kenjirou Okada | Nobuyuki Takeuchi | July 17, 2022 (2022-07-17) (Japanese) October 9, 2022 (2022-10-09) (English) |
| The story recaps the remainder of Volume 1 as Weiss is put to the test by Professor Port against a Grimm, and questions Ruby's leadership. Penny is introduced, and Team RWBY learns that Blake is a Faunus and a former member of the White Fang. Due to this revelation, there are tensions between Weiss and Blake that quickly heated up, leading to Blake running away. While hiding from her teammates, Blake bumps into Sun, who is a monkey Faunus, and tells him exactly why she left the White Fang. Right after the battle against Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, Weiss feels that she has moved on from her past self and has made better connections with her friends. However, it is revealed that she has actually been possessed by a Nightmare in the same manner as Jaune, and it manifests and drags Weiss deep into her subconscious. |||||
| 4 | "Ice Queendom" Transliteration: "Hyōsetsu Teikoku" (Japanese: 氷雪帝国) | Shouhei Fujita | Midori Yoshizawa | July 24, 2022 (2022-07-24) (Japanese) October 16, 2022 (2022-10-16) (English) |
| The unconscious Weiss is put under Shion's care as they attempt to expel the Nightmare. Ruby volunteers to enter Weiss's dream. In the dream world, she infiltrates a large city being patrolled by robots. Her snooping around catches the attention of the nightmare version of Weiss, who acts hostile towards Ruby. |||||
| 5 | "Awaken in a Dream" Transliteration: "Nemuri no Miyako" (Japanese: 眠りの都) | Naoaki Shibuta | Kenjirou Okada | July 31, 2022 (2022-07-31) (Japanese) October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23) (English) |
| Ruby attempts to battle the nightmare Weiss, but is overwhelmed by her power and is ejected from the dream. Ruby decides to enter again, this time with Blake and Yang joining her. Together, they find a red knight chess piece relic, which they surmise could be key in rescuing Weiss. They confront the Nightmare version of Weiss, dubbed "Negative Weiss" (shortened as "Nega Weiss"). |||||
| 6 | "Do You Have a Plan?" Transliteration: "Sakusen wa?" (Japanese: 作戦は?) | Yukihiro Miyamoto | Yuki Yase | August 7, 2022 (2022-08-07) (Japanese) October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30) (English) |
| Blake stays behind to distract and battle Nega Weiss, while Ruby and Yang go on ahead. With the red relic, they enter the place the Nightmare Grimm is residing, however they are accosted by Nega Weiss. A battle ensues in which the red relic is destroyed and Ruby's hand is wounded by one of the Nightmare's vines. The three are ejected from the dream, with Ruby's hand wounded in the real world as well. Trying to come up with a new plan, Ruby, Blake and Yang take some advice from Team JNPR, Sun, and Penny, respectively. The three share their ideas and re-enter the dream once more, this time with Jaune joining due to his experience of being affected by a Nightmare beforehand. Shion warns the team that this could be their last chance to save Weiss as the Nightmare's roots have further spread through her body, and Shion's Aura would not regenerate in time to make another attempt before Weiss is killed. |||||
| 7 | "Dreams Come Rued" Transliteration: "Jiyū no Tame Ni" (Japanese: 自由のために) | Tsutomu Murakami | Kousuke Murayama | August 14, 2022 (2022-08-14) (Japanese) November 6, 2022 (2022-11-06) (English) |
| Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Jaune infiltrate the dream world Schnee Empire once more. Jaune is able to sneak around undetected. With the unexpected help of dream versions of Team JNPR, he locates the yellow relic, inadvertently freeing many child versions of Weiss doppelgangers. They run amok in the city, spreading their childish charm to the residents of the Empire. With the battle turning chaotic, Nega Weiss steps in and unleashes the tyrannical being known as "Big Nicholas". |||||
| 8 | "Where You Belong" Transliteration: "Hiran" (Japanese: 氷嵐) | Kenjirou Okada | Kei Ajiki | August 21, 2022 (2022-08-21) (Japanese) November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13) (English) |
| Team RWBY use the chaos to enter the Nightmare's domain again. Nega Weiss contains the battle with Big Nicholas and sends Yang and Blake outside of the Empire, where they come across a dilapidated building. The Nightmare's vines spread throughout the city, trapping dream versions of Ren, Nora, and a few of the child Weiss's, while also pricking Ruby's left hand. Jaune manages to escape with dream Pyrrha and few more child Weiss's and they take refuge in the train, which the Nightmare cannot touch due to a giant sword Jaune had obtained when entering the dream initially. Ruby loses the yellow relic and regroups with Jaune and the others. Feeling as though she had failed, Ruby falls victim to the Nightmare due to the wound on her hand. The Nightmare destroys the white relic that was in Nega Weiss's possession. |||||
| 9 | "My Dream, Your Dream" Transliteration: "Anata no Tame Ni" (Japanese: あなたのために) | Shuuji Miyazaki | Shuuji Miyazaki | August 28, 2022 (2022-08-28) (Japanese) November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20) (English) |
| Jaune manages to cure Ruby of the Nightmare, and their group uses the train to charge straight to the Nightmare. At the dilapidated building, Blake and Yang find the black relic which releases the dream versions of the White Fang. Ruby attempts to charge through the Empire's forces, but is stopped by Nega Weiss once again. Suddenly, the White Fang arrive to do battle with the robots, and Blake suddenly appears donning similar attire to Adam. Yang regroups with Jaune and the others. |||||
| 10 | "Mirror of Darkness" Transliteration: "Shirayuki Kurohomura" (Japanese: 白雪黒炎) | Naoaki Shibuta Shouhei Fujita | Kousuke Murayama Shouhei Fujita Osamu Sumiya | September 4, 2022 (2022-09-04) (Japanese) November 27, 2022 (2022-11-27) (English) |
| Blake comes up with a plan to let herself be possessed by Jaune's Nightmare, which transforms her into Nega Blake. She proceeds to battle Nega Weiss and the two are evenly matched. Yang, Jaune and their group fight off Big Nicholas and the Empire's forces. Ruby is given the black relic and confronts the Nightmare once more. |||||
| 11 | "Light in Shadows" Transliteration: "Mukiau Mono" (Japanese: 向き合う者) | Yukihiro Miyamoto | Toshimasa Suzuki | September 11, 2022 (2022-09-11) (Japanese) December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04) (English) |
| Nega Blake overwhelms Nega Weiss long enough to sever her connection to the Nightmare, and Ruby is able to defeat it, unknowingly using her Silver Eyes in the process. Back in the real world, Shion manages to extract the Nightmare from Weiss, reverting her personality in the dream world back to normal. With Yang's help, Blake takes control of herself again from her Negative counterpart. Team RWBY then work together to bring down the other Nightmare, and Shion extracts it from Blake. Team RWBY and Jaune exit the dream and wake up in the real world, though Weiss is strongly embarrassed by the incident. |||||
| 12 | "Best Day Ever" Transliteration: "Saikō no Tsuitachi" (Japanese: 最高の一日) | Naoaki Shibuta Kenjirou Okada | Naoaki Shibuta Midori Yoshizawa | September 18, 2022 (2022-09-18) (Japanese) December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11) (English) |
| Life at Beacon returns to normal, and Team RWBY begin to bond more. With the Nightmare Grimm threat neutralized, Shion announces they will travel around Remnant to hunt down more Nightmares. Weiss and Blake make amends and promise to support each other as well as better support Ruby as their leader. On the last day before the new semester begins, Teams RWBY and JNPR engage in a food fight against each other. |||||

## Other media
### Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Kumiko Suekane began serialization in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Daioh magazine on June 27, 2022. The first tankōbon volume was released on September 9, 2022.
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
| 1 | September 9, 2022 | 978-4-04-914616-5 |

## Reception

Writing for Anime News Network, Richard Eisenbeis, Nicholas Dupree, James Beckett, and Caitlin Moore gave mixed reviews to the series' premiere of the first three episodes; Eisenbeis stated that he was "entertained", but that the show lacks the energy of RWBY, while Dupree praised the fight scenes but called the series nothing special and "a mess"; Beckett called the production values "inconsistent"; and Moore called the premiere "not very good." Matthew Magnus Lundeen of Gamerant called the series "special" while re-doing scenes from early Volume 1 episodes of RWBY, praised the art design as an improvement over its source material, and said the series has the potential to be "the best in the franchise" while criticizing the end of episode 3 as "too rushed". Writing for Anime Feminist, Meru Clewis praised the visuals, soundtrack, and expressed interest in the deviations from the original story, but criticized the series' perceived assumption of viewer familiarity with the franchise, characterizing the first three episodes as "infodumps that assume you’re coming from the source material." Clewis also praised the inclusion of new character Shion Zaiden as a positive addition of non-binary gender representation.