While giving the members of Yosuganosora Animation Studio a vacation, Kamiyā Yuu stayed home alone to plan things out. As the animation director, he was the soul of the production. Without his specific instructions, Yosuganosora Animation Studio could barely move forward at all.
At present, Kamiyā Yuu first needed to personally draw the storyboard drafts for the 'RWBY' movie version and establish the overall outline and structure of the story. Only then could Yosuganosora Animation Studio follow his lead and begin production.
The structure of the main series differed greatly from the promotional shorts. The most critical issue was the plot.
Creating a storyline capable of supporting the entire worldbuilding and cast was no simple task. One had to know that after the academy arc of the original 'RWBY' aired, many people completely changed their attitude from when they watched the trailers and labeled the work mediocre. 'RWBY' was still 'RWBY'—the fight scenes remained just as exciting—but it was criticized because of its overly cliché school storyline.
Just when the plot finally began getting exciting in Season 3, creator Monty Oum passed away due to a drug allergy.
As a result, 'RWBY' met an "untimely death," surviving only by relying on the popularity it had already accumulated. The original production team was scattered apart, and those who remained were suppressed.
So then, was 'RWBY' overall a lighthearted story, or was it a serious story with a profound thematic core?
"Legends... are stories scattered throughout the river of time.
Since ancient times, humanity has loved telling stories of heroes and villains, yet they easily forget that they themselves are merely remnants and byproducts born from a forgotten past.
Humans born from dust were strong, intelligent, and wise, yet awaiting them was a merciless and cruel world—the unavoidable darkness, and the creatures of destruction known as Grimm, who coveted humanity and everything it created. The two forces clashed, as darkness sought to cast short-lived mankind back into nothingness.
Yet even the faintest spark of hope is enough to ignite change. Humanity was resilient, resourceful, and endlessly creative, eventually obtaining a treasure capable of overcoming hardship. This power bore a fitting name—' Dust.' Holding the wrath of nature in their hands, humanity illuminated a path out of the darkness.
As the shadows receded, mankind began to grow, develop civilization, and most importantly—multiply and thrive."
This was the opening monologue of Episode 1 of the official 'RWBY' series. From those opening lines alone, Kamiyā Yuu could vaguely sense the kind of story Monty Oum had wanted to tell and the thematic core he wished to convey.
Sitting in his office and thinking deeply, Kamiyā Yuu recalled rewatching the opening narration of 'RWBY' within his consciousness space. His right hand moved slightly as he wrote down his own thoughts:
"In a certain sense, 'RWBY' and 'Dark Souls' share a similar thematic core despite taking different paths. If one had to use an analogy, then 'RWBY' represents light, while 'Dark Souls' represents darkness. 'RWBY' is more direct, whereas 'Dark Souls' prefers to explore the twists and complexities of human nature, using darkness to interpret light."
"The dawn that pierces through darkness and the fading embers swallowed by darkness—both contain the element of hope."
"Monty Oum was probably a 'Dark Souls' player too. Come to think of it, using such a youthful voice for the opening narration of 'RWBY' really doesn't fit. It would be more appropriate to use the hoarse, weathered voice of the old woman from 'Dark Souls.'"
Kamiyā Yuu shook his head and laughed at his own pointless speculation.
Although the thematic core of 'RWBY' had already been declared right from the opening, the original series itself never fully expressed that point. This was also one of the key reasons why the main series felt mediocre.
If Kamiyā Yuu had to rate the original 'RWBY,' he would probably only give it a seven out of ten—barely qualifying as an excellent work.
As for the worldbuilding, 'RWBY' achieved originality and intrigue, yet the main series failed to emphasize those strengths.
The fight scenes were one of the few major highlights of the main series, and they had once left Kamiyā Yuu watching with great excitement.
As for characterization, there were simply too many characters introduced, making everything feel cluttered and chaotic. The web of relationships was equally messy.
For example, the suddenly prominent "male protagonist," Jaune Arc, the blond guy. Despite not contributing much, he had more screentime than the four main heroines combined, and his personal storyline even carried a distinctly American-style hero flavor. Meanwhile, the four heroines never received the same treatment.
Back then, Kamiyā Yuu had complained for quite a while that he was there to watch cute girls, not some blond guy.
As for the plot, the overly monotonous school life and interpersonal drama were the kind that could easily make viewers drowsy. Various plot threads were stretched from the first episode all the way to Season 3, and just when things finally exploded, Monty Oum passed away.
These inherited negative elements from Japanese anime made Kamiyā Yuu unwilling to follow the original route.
Based on the original setting, he needed to design a storyline that was more compact and better able to highlight the thematic core.
At the very least, it needed to live up to that grand and impressive opening monologue, didn't it?
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No matter what kind of ending an outstanding work possesses, it inevitably contains a deeply memorable thematic core. However, most works choose tragic endings to emphasize that thematic core. Perhaps this was simply human nature—people easily forget beautiful things, yet can always remember even the slightest unpleasant memory.
The representative examples of this type of work were the productions of KEY from Kamiyā Yuu's previous world. Nearly all of their works ended in tragedy or ambiguous conclusions. The only one with a genuinely happy ending, 'Clannad,' still insisted on first creating a tragic ending before resetting everything through the power of the "Illusionary World."
Among anime with excellent plots, strong thematic cores, and genuinely good endings, the only one Kamiyā Yuu could think of was probably 'Fullmetal Alchemist.'
As for works like 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion,' 'Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day,' and '5 Centimeters per Second,' whether their endings counted as good or bad depended on personal interpretation.
Of course, there was no doubt that the latter examples left stronger impressions on viewers because of their endings.
No matter what, Kamiyā Yuu did not want to alter the original ending of 'RWBY.' One could already tell from the opening narration that this was a story about light overcoming darkness, which was why Kamiyā Yuu disagreed with the direction taken in Season 3 after Monty Oum's death.
Abandoning the academy-setting approach of the original work and building upon the Remnant world setting, how exactly should this new story develop?