Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-4010415-20170717151617/@comment-25936766-20170718000936

Alright, I've finally been able to watch the short, and before I get into whatever's the current conversation, I'll post my mixed thoughts on it.

Visually, it looks better. Especially the special effects for the blizzard and the Fire Dusted Blade Beam thing Weiss did. The animation team also got better with the expressions.

However, I did not like the fight. Not because it was bad; by it's own merits, it's good. The reason I don't like it is because the more I watch it, the more and more I feel it's even less like the original style Monty gave the show.

It feels "impressive", but not "mind-blowing" and hardly "flashy". We don't get many amazing camera angles to make things cooler either, and at times it feels more like someone's just standing there doing nothing but stepping left and right. (And while that was the case, it hardly makes things better).

The animation team also made the animation more fluid, but to a point where I feel it's more uncanny than impressive. The way Weiss moves reminds me of Whitley, more than anything.

Basing myself solely on this, I'd say the V5 fights will be good. But they won't feel like RWBY fights. They will be more boring and less outstanding.

More on the "world building" side of things, Weiss at one point did a Blade Beam with her weapon, not so different from the ones Blake makes, only that hers was made of Fire. So we know that yes, Aura techniques like Blade Beams can be mixed with Dust. That's good.

But on the "consistency" side of things, the way Myrtenaster used the Fire Dust feels....different. Less like it's channeling the Dust by itself, and more like Weiss is the one channeling on the blade herself.

Another problem is...well, this was a flashback. Judging from Weiss's love of thrusts and minimal use of Dust, I'd say that's her from -V1, but then there's a problem: Look at her Fire Blade Beam. The size, and the power, anihilating an entire wave of Beowulves instantly, along with melting the ice in the area, even on the areas multiple meters away from the Beam.

And yet she never did such a thing for the entirety of V1-V3. And every other time she did something of possibly-comparable power, it was via Glyphs, never an Aura Technique.

Her skill seems inconsistent. If that's Pre-V1 Weiss, she feels too skilled compared to V1 Weiss. But it cannot be Post-V3 Weiss either, because Weiss was pretty noobish during the fight compared to her V3 self, especially by the end where she had no idea what to do after she lost her weapon.

This skill/power inconsistency doesn't make me be too hopeful for the others. Next we'll have Blake going all "Naruto Uzumaki" on her enemies.