User blog:RaijinRising/Summary of RWBY V2 Cast Commentary

(This is a Repost of a forum post I made a while back. I am reposting this so that it is easier to find than combing through the many pages of forum posts on this wiki.)

Hey all. Because I own the Beacon Arc Steelbook (collection of Volumes 1-3 on Blu-ray), I watched the Volume 2 Cast Commentary. I know this wiki makes an effort to chronicle all the commentaries (or more specifically, MiniDaggers did, if I recall correctly?) I did not take word-for-word notes, but I took general notes just so that there can be a place online where people can get the gist of what they said.

The Cast Commentary had Lindsay, Kara, Arryn and Barbara. It's not all interesting, but some of it is a peek behind the curtain, usually coming from Lindsay or Barbara. If I heard something about the production of the show that seemed slightly worthy of putting on the wiki, I made sure to include it.

I also went and looked at all three volumes' runtimes. The DVDs give the cumulative runtime of the volume when you select Play Movie.

The DVDs' cumulative runtimes do not include every opening credits and every end credits. They include only the first episodes' volume-opening credits (which play at the end of the episode) and the finale episodes' end credits. This helps get a true understanding of the volumes' lengths.

V1 runtime: 1:52:50 (1hr, 52min, 50sec)

V2 runtime: 2:32:19 (2hr, 32min, 19sec)

V3 runtime: 2:56:55 (2hr, 56min, 55sec)

V3 is literally an entire hour longer than V1.

Below is a bullet list of their conversation points, separated by episode, written as it happened and with little to no polish after the fact. Anything in parenthesis is a note from me, not what they were saying.

Ep1

(I'm not sure when they said this, but I'm adding it in after watching the whole volume. They said a few times that Blake's character is often told by her expressions because she talks rather little.)
 * The reception of V1 versus V2 at conventions
 * They talk about the growth of production value over the show's run, considering the bustling downtown Vale compared to what it was like in Volume 1.
 * They say voice actors JJ and Adam Ellis as Merc and Tukson were on screen.
 * Appreciating the RT Easter eggs scattered throughout the volumes.
 * They watch the absurd food fight and say how it was cool to open the show with it.
 * Kara notes the character development with Weiss and Blake specifically as the first time they've smiled, especially Weiss.
 * They talk about the oddity with changing character's voices partway through the show's run (Ruby especially) and the audience's struggle separating the character from the VA (Yang especially)
 * Yay for having Jessica Nigri, who is very different from her character.

Ep2


 * They talk about how the updated environments show the increased production value, specifically Beacon's courtyard compared to its Volume 1 counterpart.
 * Lindsay's dedication with her scripts and organization as VA and how the other three prepare for recording sessions
 * Ironwood being voiced by Jason Rose, friend of the company, who appears at many cons they are at
 * They did a table read for the card game scene before they recorded anything
 * Volume 2 had more comedy because V1 had to do more exposition whereas V2 had more room for it.
 * They make fun of Russel "That's a big ursa!" Thrush
 * Arryn found ShannonMcCormick intimidating in the Blake/Oz scene. Lindsay found him as more of a teacher role as a VA veteran, and Arryn agreed.
 * They appreciate the "we're not ready" scene, especially the animation in all the gestures.
 * They say it's odd people think that Cinder passes as a student, but Lindsay counterargues Michael Jones still looks like he's in high school.

Ep3


 * Yay new outfits, but we couldn't cosplay them for RTX because people hadn't seen them.
 * They love how easy Monty made things for cosplayers, because Weiss's snowpea and Neptune's outfit are/were available online, and he makes pockets and pouches on them.
 * The elevator had the symbols of the kingdoms.
 * They note Weiss' putting on a face for her family and her wearing her hair to the side in rebellion.
 * They look forward to RWBY: Grimm Eclipse, considering it's surreal that they will be VAs for it too, and it's crazy RWBY is getting a Japanese dub

Ep4

(Michael Jones makes a cameo, saying one thing barely on mic. Pretty inaudible but recognizably his voice)
 * They talk about the Penny reveal.
 * Barbara almost swears as they try to keep things PG
 * Barbara asks why Blake has four ears, and Arryn says it makes sense. They make some jokes.
 * Omg Gray voiced both Torchwick and the lieutenant giving speeches in the same scene.
 * Barbara says Michael is typecast as blonde characters with abs (mentioning Fairy Tail)
 * Barbara calls out the motorcycle as Bumblebee.
 * The team attacks as ship names, and it's anime-esque that they call out their attacks.
 * They make fun of Weiss' pun attempt

Ep5


 * They talk about all the faunus types they want to see.
 * They admire the Pyrrha/CRDL fight.
 * They talk about RWBY not wearing just their school uniform but also another article of clothing that makes them more like them with it. (Ruby's cape, Yang's stockings)
 * Lindsay said they incorporated more mocap into their fight scenes in volume 2 because in volume 1 it was mostly Monty and hand animation. (Though Monty did do his own mocap as noted by CRWBY's stories of him endlessly wearing it and Monty himself noting/tweeting how he did Neo's spins in it in the train fight.)
 * They laugh at Jaune playing guitar.
 * They said Meg's dog, Penny, did Zwei's lines. (Meg Turney, probably, considering she has a dog named Penny and worked at RT at the time.)
 * Talking about Pyrrha and Jaune's dynamic.

Ep6


 * Lindsay says "there's so many moments based on us (the VAs) as characters."
 * They laugh at Blake followong the laser.
 * Barbara said the direction for saying hi to Blake was the same as introducing Ruby to Blake in V1E3.
 * They admire Nora's pajamas and cosplayers
 * Barbara loved the emotions of the JNPR scene
 * Barbara says the Blake and Yang scene was the first time they really got into Yang's character on screen.
 * Lindsay says she listens to Red Like Roses Part 2 to get into character and how important it is for Ruby's character.
 * Lindsay dissects the difference between Blake and Yang and how emotionally important that scene was.
 * Lindsay says Cinder using glass in an upcoming episode is a reference to Cinderella
 * They sing High School Musical
 * They laugh about the Weiss/Neptune scene and compare it to the Bachelor "Will you accept this rose?"
 * Barbara did the mocap for Ruby struggling to walk in heels
 * They talk about the dance attire.
 * "I knew you'd look better with a tie." Callback
 * Lindsay jokingly asks if anyone thinks Sun tickles Blake's ears with his tail. (This should have been a Chibi skit.)

Ep7


 * Lindsay likes that they have a moment where they can relax
 * Barbara says she likes how Ruby's dress evokes her default outfit's aesthetic
 * Lindsay says the Schnee house must be very museum-like, the sort of very cold and don't-touch-anything.
 * Lindsay says they don't have set birthdays but would love to know when Team RWBY's birthdays are.
 * They talk about only seeing Kerry when looking at Neptune.
 * They laugh at Jaune wearing a dress because it brings to mind Miles wearing a dress.
 * All four talk about their own high school dances.
 * They like Cinder's stealth outfit and commenting on her booty.
 * They like that Cinder is fighting by herself and gets her own hands dirty rather than others'.
 * They imagine a RWBY version of Mean Girls, saying which RWBY girl would be which character.

Ep8


 * Arryn says CRWBY had to make her actually laugh because she can't fake laugh. They talk about the mentality of laughing and what laughing can make happen in the psyche.
 * Barbara says she did a lot of mocap for the dance, for Yang, Jaune. (Not in a commentary, but somewhere else she has said she did Neptune.)
 * They admire Oz's office and Lindsay says someone made Ozpin's desk and put it online.
 * They love Zwei and talk about everyone's reactions to him.
 * They talk about interactions at conventions, especially about cosplayers when they say they voice the character that person cosplays.
 * Arryn says Ozpin is like Dumbledore, and Lindsay even says "he is a huge, powerful wizard. He's amazing. He just keeps it on the DL."
 * They talk about Ozpin's demeanor with Glynda right after the food fight.
 * OMG Velvet.
 * OMG Oobleck. They love him and Team RWBY's reactions to him.

Ep9


 * They make jokes about Oobleck's outfit.
 * They talk about the world of the show expanding with Mountain Glenn.
 * Barbara says Zwei is voiced by Penny and "I think also Luna." (Note: We know it's by two based on the credits, but I'm not sure Luna is the other one. That being said, I think CRWBY may have credited Zwei's VA dog Penny two different ways. Barbara says Luna belongs to Jon Risinger, who also had Bella at the time.)
 * Barbara says the scene is very anime because of the slicing scenes.
 * Arryn appreciates Blake's later use of Dust, and Lindsay says Sun's semblance is similar to hers.
 * They admire Joel Heyman and his performance as Oobleck.
 * They talk about how it's sometimes odd to see a VA after hearing the character, citing Samatha Ireland as Nora after hearing her do CT in RvB.
 * They talk about doing two characters' voices in the same session (Ruby and Kimball, Blake and Dr. Grey)
 * Lindsay says she likes Oobleck's conversation with Ruby but mistakenly says these Grimm have souls instead of saying they have minds/intellects.
 * They find Zwei's walk cycle very cute and funny with his stubby legs
 * They imagine the Mountain Glenn trip but with Port.

Ep10

(Ironwood and Glynda scene at the landing pad) (Ruby falls underground)
 * Arryn cracks open a soda to start it.
 * Lindsay hinted in an Afterbuzz interview (that also had Kara) that maybe the tech that Penny uses could be used later on, and people took it that Ironwood is clearly an evil mastermind and is using the tech for bad motives, but Lindsay says "Dude, even I don't know" (what's going on in the writer's room to that extent). Lindsay says they don't know a lot of things mostly until their character gets involved in that aspect of the plot. Barb says she only reads her parts because then she finds things out with the plot. They don't know future volumes
 * They all do get bad vibes from Ironwood though.
 * (RWBY has campfire "why are we here" conversation)
 * Lindsay asks if Blake gets hairballs and if Neptune eats fleas off of Sun.
 * Barbara mentions the origin of ORF's voice in X-Ray and Vav. (Gosh, this commentary is old.)
 * Lindsay was asked to ad-lib lines for when she holds Zwei like a periscope. "Three lines means 'I don't know.' Four barks means 'I miss the OC marathon back in the day and I don't know what happened.'" and stupid stuff for twenty minutes.
 * (They get to the point with bombs and Torchwick)
 * They compare Ruby to Dora the Explorer based on nobody seemingly caring that she's gone for an extended period of time. (Like Dora's parents would)
 * Burnie is nearby but is never heard on mic.
 * Lindsay says the Ep4 fight was her favorite.

Ep11


 * Arryn says her favorite fight is when they all fight individually on the train.
 * Lindsay gives a shoutout to Perry, the one with glasses on top of his mask, and they get into a conversation on glasses and contacts.
 * (Ruby reconnects with the group)
 * They reference Quagmire from Family Guy without knowing his name.
 * Arryn believes she saw a faunus with bat ears and one with dik-dik ears (deer ears.) She mentions it like fanmade characters, not canon ones. "Outside characters" was the phrase she uses, leading them into a conversation on faunus OCs.
 * They make fun of famous/infamous lines like "I'm a victim" and attempt to play each other's characters.
 * (Okay now it sounds like she was being serious that the bat and deer faunus are canon. She sees a WF member atop the train, whom Weiss attacks, as a bat faunus.)
 * They cheer on Zwei as a fireball doge, laughing about it.
 * As Yang starts to fight Neo, they talk about Neo's design and Barbara says Yang is supposed to be 5'7" tall as far as she knows, and Pyrrha is taller than her. They argue if Weiss or Ruby is taller and say animation has a size chart, (which I know is on the wiki in most character image galleries)
 * Lindsay fantasizes again about Torchwick and Ruby becoming friends and going to Six Flags or something like that.
 * They appreciate the shot of Weiss suspended in the air, about to get chainsawed as it cuts away.
 * Raven drops in and they aren't sure if they can say her name or not. They don't do it, but they give vague ideas of how she must be powerful. (Technically, we didn't know what her relation was back then so it makes sense, but we did get her name in the comprehensive end credits because of the end-credits scene).
 * Lindsay gets excited for the potential of recording with more than one person in the booth. And she appreciates Miles' rendition of Weiss to make up for not having that.
 * "I'm a victim" in sarcastic jests.

Ep12


 * They talk about a drinking game.
 * Arryn realizes Yang's self-fist bump move is to injure herself and make herself stronger.
 * (The commentary cuts out for a bit as Jaune begins to fight)
 * Lindsay rips on the "junior detectives" line and they all question what Sun and Neptune are there for. (Like... the festival... but not really because it's so far before when he actually gets there.)
 * They admire CFVY, especially Coco. They talk about their personal fashions.
 * Kara believes a NERF gun is the inspiration for Coco's minigun because "I've seen Monty playing with a NERF gun that looks identical to that."
 * (I believe the commentary audio is de-synced from the video because they mention "Port is back" a good seventeen seconds before he shows up on screen. This likely occurs from when the commentary audio cut out as Jaune fought earlier, but when the commentary audio reappears, whatever editor did that... didn't place it exactly right. This might be a problem if we ever do write the full commentary out)
 * Barb says all Glynda did this volume was clean stuff up. And then that champagne that isn't from the region in France is just sparkling wine, not champagne.
 * The Team RWBY overlooking Vale scene reminds Arryn of something from Soul Eater, leading into conversation of anime they've watched.
 * They say RWBY is doing well on Crunchyroll, in the top five and above HunterxHunter.
 * Lindsay and the rest appreciate RWBY's success, calling it weird when not finding the right word for it. Barbara says overwhelming. Kara says a cashier recognized a Weiss sticker on the back of her phone.
 * Kara got a fish and named it Wish as a combo of Weiss and Fish, but calls it Wishy because she believes names of pets should be two syllables.
 * They go into other pet names.
 * V2 credits roll and they give thanks for the audience tolerating their tangents. They give farewells as their characters.