REVIEW ‘RWBY: Ice Queendom’ Season 1 Fails To Deliver On Its Promising Start

RWBY: Ice Queendom is an action/fantasy anime produced by Shaft. The world is under constant siege by the monsters known as GRIMM. To protect people, skilled, powerful fighters called Hunters put their lives on the line to keep the GRIMM at bay. As Beacon Academy’s new year begins, four aspiring students, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake begin their journey to become the best Hunters they can be. But the dangers that await them will prove to be far closer and far deadlier than they could ever expect in RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1.

Before this season officially began airing, the first three episodes were all released at once so viewers could get a taste of what RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 would have to offer. From these introductory episodes, the story does a fantastic job of introducing viewers to the characters, world, and struggles that populate this fictional setting. I had incredibly high hopes for the series coming out of this preview, scoring it my most likely to succeed in my Summer Anime Round-up. Unfortunately, what begins with a bang ultimately gets bogged down by a stalled-out focal plot line that wears its welcome out long before the final credits roll.

Shortly after our main protagonists begin their training at Beacon Academy, Weiss finds herself falling under attack by a particularly nefarious type of GRIMM called a Nightmare. Rather than attacking its prey externally, as most GRIMM do, Nightmares enter a host’s body and drag them into an eternal sleep. When Weiss slips into this endless slumber, it is up to Ruby, Yang, and Blake, along with some support from the other students and faculty, to save their teammate. To do so, one of the Academy’s professors uses their magical abilities to transport them into Weiss’s dream, in the hopes of driving out the GRIMM.

The above plotline carries with it a lot of potential. When we are introduced to the four members of team RWBY, Weiss instantly feels like the most complex and easy to misjudge. Coming from a rich,  isolated background, Weiss often comes across as aloof and uncaring. The chance to peel back the layers of this character by seeing what resides in her dreams feels like a great opportunity to expand upon the character. Unfortunately, this comes apart in several ways.

Narratively speaking, RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1‘s core story falls apart due to the way Weiss’s dream is presented. While it feels like the dream is intended to help explore Weiss’s character, it is made abundantly clear early on that everything the team witnesses has been tainted by the Nightmare. This places a measure of doubt on everything the show explores about Weiss as a character. I wish the show had been clearer about what is genuinely Weiss, even allowing some of the less positive aspects of her dream to be hers, helping her to be a full, complicated person. Instead, one cannot help but feel like we should think of anything truly objectable as being spawned from her attacker, while only the good or sympathetic elements are of Weiss herself.

This confusion becomes even worse since we get little confirmation from Weiss herself if the conclusions the show and her teammates come to are accurate. Rather, the show almost exclusively presents the analysis of Weiss’s character through the eyes of her teammates. Such external examination, especially when done by people who you’ve known for only a short time, feels doomed to inaccuracy.

The other major way this plot ruins the momentum RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 built in its opening episodes is in how repetitive it becomes. With the majority of the series focused on this endeavor, the quest to save Weiss needed to have ample material to keep the story going. Rather than a sprawling quest to save their friend, overcoming countless obstacles along the way, the series instead sees Ruby and company facing off against the same sets of obstacles repeatedly. While I like the intent of showcasing the team failing at some challenges and having to try again to overcome them, there isn’t enough new here to keep the story interesting.

To wrap up this plot’s trifecta of shortcomings we have the ending. While RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 sets up several imposing “boss” style baddies for the team to ultimately overcome, most of these are defeated through unsatisfying methods. Rather than new skills, strategies, or tricks being employed to best these larger-than-life foes, painfully obvious weaknesses and simply punching them harder is the name of the game.

While I’ve railed on for several hundred words about the plot’s shortcomings, RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 is not without its strengths. I genuinely do enjoy the characters. Each one slots into the team well, bringing a unique personality to the group, and creating some strong interactions between them. Even in the show’s deepest struggles, these characters kept enough energy going through each episode to make the journey feel meaningful and kept me feeling connected and committed to the season’s tale.

I also truly enjoyed the visual presentation throughout the series. Characters, the world, and especially the bizarre dreamscape the show spends so much time in are all crafted well. And when the show wants to, the fight sequences can really pop off with some gorgeous animation and camera work.

So, when all is said and done, RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 fails to live up to its early potential. While I found this season to be a slough that left many elements feeling unsatisfying, there was enough good here that, if a follow-up season were to come along I’d be willing to give the folks at Shaft a chance to improve upon what was done here, so the promising cast and world could shine as brightly as I suspect they can.

RWBY: Ice Queendom Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.