RWBY V7 C1

## Plot

We pick up this volume right where we left off at the previous one, down to a similar or even the exact same shot and line. That's because this was originally going to be the volume six finale, but it got cut because all of that new asset creation for Mantle was too much for the animators, who already had way too much on their plates if you ask me. Anyways, the woman on the other end of the comms tells the group to go to a docking bay and meet a security team there. If they land in a stolen ship though, a security team wouldn't let them anywhere near Ironwood. They might even take Weiss back to her father. She tells Maria to put some distance between them and the fleet while she calls Winter, and they start heading down to Mantle. They see a recorded announcement from Ironwood on a holographic billboard, and note how tired he looks. He has a new outfit too, and a beard. He promises to keep everyone safe. Security robots and drones patrol the city, which no one likes. The others want to ditch the ship and hide in Mantle for awhile, but Weiss is confident that her sister can take them to Ironwood. However, Blake points out that Winter is also on the billboards, telling everyone that failure to cooperate with Atlas officials is a punishable offense. She also has a new outfit, and even though we don't see a lot of it, I already love it. Qrow doesn't think it's a good idea for them to talk to Winter or even Ironwood until they learn what's happening here. Also, Qrow's new voice actor, Jason Liebrecht, is pretty much spot on, at least for me. No getting used to required. I seem to be like that with a lot of actors, even if I'm worried that I'll just picture them as a different character, particularly if they use the same voice, but nope! Maria says she knows someone who can help them. While on their way to meet with whoever she's talking about, there's a rather prominent shot of some graffiti on a wall that says show your teeth. Maybe the White Fang are still active in this area, especially since the Faunus are mistreated and abused the most in Atlas? Weiss says there aren't usually this many soldiers in the area, but it's safe to assume that she's never actually been down to Mantle before, so she has no idea what their situation is usually like. After losing the Great War, the people of Mantle needed a sign of a brighter future, and it doesn't get much brighter than a floating city in the clouds… unless, as Nora notes, you're the one looking up at it, stuck on the ground, like the miners. Blake says the whole city seems awful, which two drunk guys overhear. One of them says that Atlas is the greatest kingdom in the world, the other kingdoms can rot for refusing their help, and if they don't like it here, there's plenty of room out in the frozen tundra. Before Ruby can admonish him, Blake tells her that they can't make a scene and apologizes. However, when he says that a stupid Faunus like her could never understand his situation, he's thrown into a nearby dumpster… by Weiss, who says that it was worth it. They finally reach a pharmacy and meet the guy Maria was talking about. He's an expert in prosthesis, and fixes her eyes every ten years, although he doesn't remember her at first. His name is Pietro, and he's like Cyrus Borg from Ninjago, including having a walking spider leg like wheelchair. It turns out that Maria stayed in the back half of the train to see if the others needed her guidance with the Sphinx. Pietro works at the pharmacy when he's not helping advance the future of Atlas up in the clouds. He prefers helping the locals and working on fun projects. They tell him that they came to Atlas to talk to General Ironwood, and ask him what's been happening here. Everyone was affected by the Fall of Beacon, including James. He's scared, probably even downright paranoid. Someone dismantled Atlas security code, making them look like traitors to some, and fools to others. Whoever did it is either a genius, or one of their own, and Pietro and Ironwood fear that it's both. Weiss asks how the council or Winter Schnee feel about all of this. The council is so scared that they're going along with it, although the representatives from Mantle have strong objections. Before Pietro can elaborate, he recognizes Weiss. He gets distracted easily, because when Yang tries to get him back on track, he recognizes her prosthetic, and is surprised that she painted it. He's the one who made it. He recognizes the girls as Team RWBY. His daughter told him about them. Before he can clarify, they hear an alarm outside and see that saber tooth tiger like Grimm are thrashing the security forces, so they step in to help. Blake remembers that her weapon is broken, so she folds it into its gun form. Before she's attacked by one of the Grimm, it's killed by a green laser, which kills all of the remaining Grimm. The lasers came from a flying girl, who is revealed to be… Penny, alive and well with a new design. I love this. This is too wholesome for words. Pietro is her father. She hugs Ruby, who is surprised that she's alive. Pietro rebuilt her after recovering her core when Amity Coliseum came back to Atlas. Now she's the official Protector of Mantle. Before she can catch up with everyone, she has to leave to deal with another alert. Ren senses something, but before he or anyone else can react, they're all tied up with bolas except for Qrow, who takes his weapon out, but he's also tied up, and five Atlas specialists approach them. Pietro recognizes them as the Ace Ops. Their leader is a man named Clover, who has a four leafed clover emblem, a horseshoe, and a rabbit's foot. They confiscate everyone's weapons, and Clover even takes the Relic of Knowledge, although he most likely has no idea what its significance is. They're being arrested for arriving in a stolen ship, making an unauthorized landing, and using their weapons despite most of them not being officially licensed Huntsmen. Pietro wants to talk this out, but Clover tells him that they can when they get up to Atlas, and they're loaded up on a transport as prisoners, ending the episode. The new opening is amazing and I love the song, as usual. It's called "Trust Love". *Keep dreaming 'bout a better world You keep wishing for some clarity Always hoping that a lightning bolt Is gonna save you from this gravity You're holding out for some romantic life Maybe you'll wake up in a world of charm Oh, but what's here can set you free You don't have to dream! Your life's a masterpiece If you just believe! And all you see is all you need Right now, your hopes are shattered Just pointless ever after But in time, you'll find, through love Your power just shines! When you don't know where to turn to And you're sure all hope is gone When the day you waited for won't come And the dark won't yield to dawn Trust love! And open up your eyes Trust love! The truth is there, but sometimes in disguise!* *The way's uncertain, but we're together* *Moving toward the light When we trust in love and open up our eyes* And of course, it ends by reminding us all that this show wouldn't exist without its creator, Monty Oum, and showing us the Staff of Creation.

## Review

I personally really liked this episode. I'm just so glad to finally have new official, main show RWBY content. Sure, I've played some of the games and have heard about the books and stuff, but that's not really my thing, and I'm… very frugal, so I don't have any merch either. It just feels like each hiatus lasts longer than before, especially now that we no longer have RWBY Chibi or World of Remnant. Also, I discovered Reddit and Twitter during this particular hiatus, so… that was quite a trip down the rabbit hole for me. It wasn't all negative, and it wasn't all RWBY related either, but some of it really rubbed me the wrong way. Anyways, I loved the new opening. It's basically an anime style intro, and I love it for that. The song is a lot more hopeful than I expected it to be, but I'm fine with that. As a fellow RWBY fan, seeing that huge group shot made me giddy, but as a writer, it also made me freak out at all of those characters, and those aren't even all of them. I really need to watch this a few more times to digest everything from the opening alone. It definitely had a shadow/silhouette theme, and I loved how it showed team RWBY's progression and personal growth through their outfits. I love their new ones, along with Ironwood, Qrow, Winter, Jaune, Nora, and Ren's. Yes, I even like their new hair. Yes, even Jaune's. It could always be worse. He could be bald, or have a mohawk. I loved all of the background stuff, like the news about the Dust embargo, an upcoming election against someone described as a hero from Mantle, and the other as an Atlesian tycoon, or about an outer wall being damaged, or the body of a dead journalist being found. Regardless of whether or not any of it ends up being important, it helps build the world through visuals, not exposition, although there's still some of that, not that I really mind. I can't wait to see what happens next.