Volume 1 Opening

The RWBY Volume 1 Opening is a short animation sequence originally played at the end of the pilot episode, "Ruby Rose" and subsequently at the beginning of each episode of Volume 1 thereafter.

The song played throughout is "This Will Be the Day," written by Jeff Williams and performed by Casey Lee Williams.

The pilot episode's intro is an extended version, presenting more of the characters and visuals. This however, was not the case with later episodes, which showed a cut down version.

Scenes

 * The scenes in italics are cut from the shortened edition of the opening in Episodes 2-15.


 * The opening starts with Ruby Rose kneeling at the Cliffside Altar near the Snowy Forest. In the midst of a snowstorm, she looks up and sees a white cloak with a red inside (nearly identical to hers) that looks as if a person is wearing it before dissolving into white rose petals. The moon starts to scatter as the sky changes color, and Ruby darts ahead in a burst of red petals, revealing the title of the show.
 * Weiss Schnee is seen under a spotlight in the White Castle, possibly preparing to sing as she closes her eyes.
 * Blake Belladonna appears next, standing on a branch in Forever Fall forest, then disappearing suddenly when a branch passes over the camera. In the background, outlines of Adam Taurus' mask and face are seen over the moon.
 * Yang Xiao Long looks over the city where The Club is situated, checking her phone before looking up and riding off on her motorcycle, Bumblebee, in a cloud of smoke.
 * Several creatures of Grimm - including dozens of Beowolves, a Death Stalker with an orange stinger, and a giant Nevermore flying at the camera - are seen.
 * Roman Torchwick and a few of his henchmen appear.
 * The scene bursts into fire, and three silhouettes of Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Cinder Fall are visible through the flames, as the camera zooms in on Cinder's right eye.
 * Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang prepare to fight a horde of shadowy creatures surrounding them as an orb of darkness is formed above. Ruby notices it just in time and the four get out of the way as it impacts the ground where they were. Ruby blasts herself forward into the fray, and her teammates follow.
 * Looking at a statue of a man and woman on a cliff over a Beowolf, Jaune Arc is joined by his teammates - Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie - as they all look up to the sky.
 * Ozpin, holding a cane and his mug, and Glynda Goodwitch, with her scroll, look onward while at the railing of the front of the school's airship, which flies off as several smaller craft soar around it.
 * A quick shot of each of the girls in Team RWBY with their symbols (Ruby [[File:ScatterIcon.png]]; Weiss [[File:SchneeIcon.png]]; Blake [[File:ShadowIcon.png]]and Yang [[File:HeartIcon.png]]) appear before a black background.
 * Ozpin and Glynda, Jaune and his teammates, Yang, Blake, and Weiss all stand at the doors of Beacon Academy, and at the front, Ruby wields Crescent Rose, suddenly becoming a black silhouette (with her red cloak unchanged) that twirls the weapon around until she stops and allows the title to appear in the full moon behind her still-flowing cape.

Trivia

 * A "clean" version of the opening, without the credits text overlays, can be found on both YouTube and the Rooster Teeth site.
 * The opening begins with callbacks to the four trailers, with Ruby standing in front of the cliffside altar, Weiss in the castle hall, Blake in the Forever Fall forest, and Yang getting on her motorcycle.