I've only watched 3 episodes as that's all that's out as of right now but let me tell you i was blown away by the style, animation and the originality put on it while keeping the original RWBY in tact. I love how they added an original character just for this show, The Nightmare Hunter is such a cool looking character and i cant wait to explore them more maybe even in the mainstream show too. Being a fan of RWBY for 6yrs I'd just like to say this is a dream come true and i can finally call RWBY an anime without anyone getting annoyed. I also love how they've only released 3 episodes of a 66m running time which is close overpassing the original with 110m with that having 16 episodes . I can't determine yet if this series will favourite over the original but so far i rate it an 8/10 while the mainstream RWBY i rate a 10/10. I still wish Penny said her iconic salutations quote, idk maybe in future episodes. I'm still blown away by the attention Rooster Teeth and RWBY have been getting lately, well deserved.
7 Reviews
It's kinda good but...
BlackWind-20013 August 2022
I feel like a lot is missing from the original. The fights aren't as entertaining, in fact they feel rushed (and for the most part skipped). The character building is non comparable. In fact this re-make makes me want to go back and rewatch the original cause it's way better even tho the quality of the first seasons of the original was kinda meh (but the fights and story made up for it, this on the other hand is the other way around). If anything, I'd recommend you to watch the origial. Tho I suspect if you watch this you're already a fan from watching it, like me. I'll probably continue following this tho as my favorite character hasn't showed her face yet and I'm excited to see how she's pictured.
Watch the original first
a_sad_cow2 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Unnecessary reboot that adds little and leaves out a lot. The art and voice-acting was on point - indistinguishable at most parts and arguably better at some. The original music was rather iconic and didn't need to be replaced.
The original writing was as rich and complex as anything out there. This version has been simplified to either the high school or grade school level of understanding. We don't need exposition like "you're our leader *wink*". We don't need a single complex character to be completely unraveled via a few episodes of dream exposition. And with all that they're skipping, even the phrase "best friends" rings a little hollow.
However, if you simply see this as bonus scenes with a slightly different style, it's a nice little filler before rewatching the original - which I am doing presently.
The original writing was as rich and complex as anything out there. This version has been simplified to either the high school or grade school level of understanding. We don't need exposition like "you're our leader *wink*". We don't need a single complex character to be completely unraveled via a few episodes of dream exposition. And with all that they're skipping, even the phrase "best friends" rings a little hollow.
However, if you simply see this as bonus scenes with a slightly different style, it's a nice little filler before rewatching the original - which I am doing presently.
I love RWBY, but this isn't it
direwolf-1798612 September 2022
I enjoyed the first 8 real seasons and eagerly await the ninth. I heard about this and looked forward to it. While the animation is better than the first couple seasons of the real show, the story isn't great. It rushes through the intros and loses the character development. Then it spirals out of control on some weird dream thing that just never ends. I'm going to finish watching it, but it has not been enjoyable in the least. Maybe now that the dream stuff is done (I hope) it will improve.
I highly recommend the real series and the quality does improve from season three onwards, but the story is SO much better. This is just not the same quality of story as the real thing.
I highly recommend the real series and the quality does improve from season three onwards, but the story is SO much better. This is just not the same quality of story as the real thing.
Absolutely fantastic anime that has left a lasting impression on me
legendoftotalwar9 March 2023
Absolutely fantastic anime that has left a lasting impression on me. RWBY is an anime that stands firm in the testimony of time just for its art style and unique story alone. The show's narrative, world-building and power systems are stellar; it is very straightforward to understand and get hooked into. It has some of the finest fight scenes in all anime; the opening, ending, and songs are fantastic. The characters are very well developed, all with a genuine depth of mindset. This is a must-watch show for anyone that likes high fantasy, action-packed, and heartfelt moments with absolutely no filler.
Immense Wasted Potential!
mitchell595412 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
RWBY Ice Queendom is a RWBY spinoff, but this time done by an actual anime studio in Shaft. That means the show is actually good, right? Wrong! Despite being done by a studio known for masterpieces like Madoka Magica and the Monogatari Series, Ice Queendom might be the worst thing I've seen from this franchise. When RWBY volumes 1, 5, and 8 are all things I'd rather revisit than this there is a serious problem. Also, there will be some minor spoilers.
It sucks because this is a series I was looking forward to. I've been a fan of anime my entire life and have been a RWBY fan since 2016. I've often wondered what RWBY would be like as a tradition al anime. So, when this anime got announced I was excited. When the first promotional image of an evil Esdeath Weiss my mind went wild. I wondered if this would be an alternate timeline to the original timeline, like a RWBY version of Flashpoint. But no. Because that's an actually cool idea.
Instead, the first few episodes are a clumsy readaptation of volume 1. The last episode is a readaptation of the first episode of V2. And the remaining 8 episodes are the RWBY version of The Cell or Inception, which sounds a lot cooler than it is. Essentially, Weiss gets trapped inside her dreams by this new nightmare grim, and it's up to her team, and Team JNPR, to rescue her, whilst fighting an evil version of Weiss.
Now, does that sound like a plot that should last 8 episodes. This is the creators taking what should be a 1-2 episode arc (3 episodes at most) and extending it to 8. So, you can imagine how bad the pacing is in this. That's the biggest problem with Ice Queendom. It's incredibly boring, tedious, and pretentious. Admittedly, the dream world they're in can be inventive, but even that gets old really fast.
On top of that, it's just not animated that well. All the best animated bits are in the trailer. Overall, the animation ranges from average to subpar. That's bad because the action, especially in the early volumes, is one of RWBY's key strengths. Even the character designs weren't that great, in my opinion.
I don't think Shaft was the right choice for this. Yes, they've done great stuff before, but not much really super action driven, at least not like RWBY. After watching Lycoris Recoil, I think A-1 would've been a better choice. Or Trigger.
What really annoys me is that there are people in the RWBY fandom that defend this, saying it's good enough. But then in the same year you see something like Cyberpunk Edgerunners, which is also based on a divisive Western property, and how great that was. When you compare that to Ice Queendom the difference in quality is night and day.
That's why I hate Ice Queendom. Because this was their chance to bring in a new fan base. The greatest barrier RWBY has always had to attracting new fans has been its look. The animation, especially early on, is quite rough, and it puts many people off it. They had the chance to have a RWBY series in traditional animation to get those people onboard, and they squandered it with this garbage side story.
There was so much else that could have been done with a RWBY anime. This either should have been a complete alternate timeline, like I previously mentioned, or it should've been a straight-up readaptation. If this had been a straight-up readaptation of volumes 1&2 that would've been much better. This could've been an adaptation of the recent VIZ manga by Bunta Kinami. Also, they should've gone to a different studio like A-1.
RWBY is a franchise I've always thought had potential. I've always been fond of the world and characters of the series. It's why I've been a fan for so many years despite the series' myriad of problems. It deserves better than this. Imagine if RWBY got the same treatment as Cyberpunk did with its anime. That would've been truly amazing.
It sucks because this is a series I was looking forward to. I've been a fan of anime my entire life and have been a RWBY fan since 2016. I've often wondered what RWBY would be like as a tradition al anime. So, when this anime got announced I was excited. When the first promotional image of an evil Esdeath Weiss my mind went wild. I wondered if this would be an alternate timeline to the original timeline, like a RWBY version of Flashpoint. But no. Because that's an actually cool idea.
Instead, the first few episodes are a clumsy readaptation of volume 1. The last episode is a readaptation of the first episode of V2. And the remaining 8 episodes are the RWBY version of The Cell or Inception, which sounds a lot cooler than it is. Essentially, Weiss gets trapped inside her dreams by this new nightmare grim, and it's up to her team, and Team JNPR, to rescue her, whilst fighting an evil version of Weiss.
Now, does that sound like a plot that should last 8 episodes. This is the creators taking what should be a 1-2 episode arc (3 episodes at most) and extending it to 8. So, you can imagine how bad the pacing is in this. That's the biggest problem with Ice Queendom. It's incredibly boring, tedious, and pretentious. Admittedly, the dream world they're in can be inventive, but even that gets old really fast.
On top of that, it's just not animated that well. All the best animated bits are in the trailer. Overall, the animation ranges from average to subpar. That's bad because the action, especially in the early volumes, is one of RWBY's key strengths. Even the character designs weren't that great, in my opinion.
I don't think Shaft was the right choice for this. Yes, they've done great stuff before, but not much really super action driven, at least not like RWBY. After watching Lycoris Recoil, I think A-1 would've been a better choice. Or Trigger.
What really annoys me is that there are people in the RWBY fandom that defend this, saying it's good enough. But then in the same year you see something like Cyberpunk Edgerunners, which is also based on a divisive Western property, and how great that was. When you compare that to Ice Queendom the difference in quality is night and day.
That's why I hate Ice Queendom. Because this was their chance to bring in a new fan base. The greatest barrier RWBY has always had to attracting new fans has been its look. The animation, especially early on, is quite rough, and it puts many people off it. They had the chance to have a RWBY series in traditional animation to get those people onboard, and they squandered it with this garbage side story.
There was so much else that could have been done with a RWBY anime. This either should have been a complete alternate timeline, like I previously mentioned, or it should've been a straight-up readaptation. If this had been a straight-up readaptation of volumes 1&2 that would've been much better. This could've been an adaptation of the recent VIZ manga by Bunta Kinami. Also, they should've gone to a different studio like A-1.
RWBY is a franchise I've always thought had potential. I've always been fond of the world and characters of the series. It's why I've been a fan for so many years despite the series' myriad of problems. It deserves better than this. Imagine if RWBY got the same treatment as Cyberpunk did with its anime. That would've been truly amazing.
Very interesting yet slightly different from the original
damiller1889431 July 2022
I absolutely love watching rwby and seeing this series in a different version is pretty good so far. I have noticed some changes in the anime version story-wise that were not part of the original rwby series. They definitely added more dialogue while mainly sticking with the plot, which is very good. Some of the new things they added have me already asking "where are they going with this?" when it wasn't part of the first rwby series. But I do highly recommend watching rwby: ice queendom if you love anime version over cgi.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
