3.5 stars!

So first, I've had friends and family that loved RWBY for a long time before they got me into it. I was very intrigued about the manga when I saw this!

It follows the anime very well, but I liked how it explained more quickly some things about the world!

Personally, I love both manga and anime equally. I know some people find it easier to get hooked on one or the other, and if that's the case then you'll probably have a hard time picking between these two.

The manga is the exact same, except for explaining more. But there's nothing new or anything that wasn't in the anime!

An intriguing world, interesting characters, and a wonderful story!

Ruby is in school to become a huntress when she is advanced to the next level schooling she must prove herself worthy as she is several years younger then the rest of the students. She has her sister by her side. Ruby meets some of the students but doesn't particularly get along with any of them. As the year starts the students must prove themselves with a placement test/mission. During this they are put into pairs and eventually into groups of four that will remain their group throughout school.

I did not know anything about this series when I read this Volume. At first I was a little confused with the world itself since nothing was really introduced. About halfway through I started to pick up what was going on and put it together. I really loved the serious and funny sides of some of the characters. The character development was a nice start and I appreciate how different all the characters are. They all bring strengths to the story and to their team fighting The Grimm.

The art was difficult to see on some pages but that might have been due to the VIZ label all over the pages. Some of the darker pictures with the Grimm where the hardest to see.

Excited to see what happens in the next volume as the teams start training and possibly introduced to a new evil.

A magical school manga who has an interesting and dangerous way of dividing its students into teams. This combines action and humor in a delightful way while allowing for the character moments that grow the dynamic of the group RWBY organically. It was a pleasure to read this for the first time and I am thankful for NetGalley and Viz Media for allowing me to read the first volume. I have been wanting to read more manga series and this is a delight!

This is my first exposure to RWBY. I have not read any other manga or watched the anime. All in all, it was a good book with a clear story line and interesting characters. The art style made it fairly easy to decipher what was happening.

Having watched some of the original Rwby online I found this rendition to be both true to the original while innovative with its design and ability to tell its story. Given that my real issue with the original Rwby was its art and difficulty in following the story I felt that this story and it’s amazing characters were MADE for manga and this arc proved that.

Definitely a great pick for any original fans or new fans wanting to give this story a try!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bunta Kinami for the opportunity to read the arc of Rwby.

RWBY: Vol. 1 The Beacon Arc by Bunta Kinami is currently scheduled for release on July 21 2020. In the world of Remnant, monsters known as Grimm wreak havoc. They’re kept in check by Huntsmen and Huntresses, highly skilled warriors experienced in monster extermination who utilize their special abilities on the field of battle. Ruby takes her first step on the road to becoming a Huntress by enrolling at Beacon Academy, eager to take on the battery of tests, challenges and difficulties that follow. Ruby knows her talents will take her to her goal, but is she ready to clash with Weiss Schnee, haughty scion of the Schnee Dust Company?

RWBY: Vol. 1 The Beacon Arc is a solid start to an engaging story. A few very important characters are introduced and fleshed out in the midst of settling into school and a very dangerous mission. I think story did a great job of introducing the world this all takes place in, and the characters in their strengths and weaknesses. I liked the variety of personalities and skill sets and think that it does a good job of interesting readers that might never have heard of the series previously. The art is nearly perfect, although I will admit that I occasionally had trouble keeping track of who was who in some of the action scenes, because there was just so much going on. I think this promises to keep newcomers to the RWBY Universe and long time fans happy and entertained.

Having seen a few random episodes I didn't have a ton of background going into the Manga. This didn't stop me from enjoying it and reading through it quick. I think I'll go red it again.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

I loved this book. The art was done very good. I had no issues reading and following the story. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

Thanks to Viz Media for reaching out to me about reading this title for them.

This volume is based on the popular anime of the same name. I have not watched the anime, but was asked to read this and share my thoughts.

This darker spin on a magical girl manga was honestly a treat for me. I really enjoyed the art style for it, as well as the characters. Ruby is a character that you can't help but root for. She just wants to be a hero to those around her, and protect her people from the Grimm, or monsters of her world. Her sister Yang wants to support her, while also protecting her. Ruby's rival Weiss is a very aristocratic character, and has a certain way of looking at their world because of it. Blake is the character that stuck out to me, because I feel like we learn the least about her in this first volume. I am ready to get to know her.

The journey of this first volume was splendid, and I am honestly looking forward to the next volume.

I adore the roster-teeth anime of RWBY this lost a lot of the amazing dialogue, action and humour. See the show skip the manga. I love RWBY.

When it comes to the RWBY franchise, I prefer the show due to its art style, action, character interactions, and backstories. Also, because I want to see the movement of animation. However, after reading the manga version of RWBY Vol. 1, it was like…reading nostalgia. Since I am familiar with the show up to season 7, I can imagine what would already happen, so it was like re-living the beginning of season 1. But after reading the volume, I noticed some differences. First, the styles were different; the first three seasons of RWBY had a 3-D anime-like style, while the manga just looks like a typical anime art style. Second, some moments in the show were not in the volume; because if there were missing parts, I can go watch the show and re-watch it, so I guess the manga wants to save time. Some examples not included is Nora waking up Ren with her bubbly attitude, Yang fighting a gang of Ursas’ in the forest, and some of the fight scenes against the Nevermore and Deathstalker were left out. Still, even though the scene-by-scene is not exact compared to the show, the scenes in the manga are a nice reminder and skip to the parts that target people’s attention: fights, characters, and interactions. Whether you’re a fan or not, I recommend the RWBY manga for its fantasy action and fun characters. If this is what I got from Vol. 1, then I can’t wait to see what other volumes have in store. - Clifford Sutton; Otaku Hourly

RWBY: The Official Manga Volume 1 is written and illustrated by Bunta Kintami, and published by VIZ Media. Based on the RoosterTeeth animated web series created by Monty Oum, RWBY – The Official Manga follows the adventures of Ruby Rose. Ruby is accepted into the prestigious Beacon Academy where she trains to be a Huntress. She soon forms a bond with three other students; her hyperactive sister Yang Xiao Long, the haughty heiress Weiss Schnee, and the mysterious Blake Belladonna.

RWBY – The Official Manga largely sticks to the events that happened in the series, namely the first eight episodes. However, it’s not afraid to deviate from canon. The biggest deviation is how Ruby acts. In the RWBY web series, she’s fairly shy and hates attention. In the manga, she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. The best example is when she first meets Weiss. Weiss insults her after the two bump into each other, and Ruby calls her “a stuck up princess” with “a prissy haircut”.

However, her motivation to become a Huntress remains the same as in the show; she claims she wants to “be a hero who saves everyone, like in the storybooks.” This determination is a common trait in many shonen heroes, particularly Izuku “Deku” Midorya from My Hero Academia. To see it with a female character is honestly refreshing and a good step forward for manga.

While the rest of Team RWBY isn’t as fleshed out as Ruby, they’re still very distinct characters. Weiss puts her pride above all else and slowly learns to soften up and depend on others. Yang is extremely energetic, providing several of the book’s laughs. And Blake, though blunt with her statements, is highly observant. RWBY fans will also see fan-favorite characters in the first volume including Pyrrha Nikkos and Jaune Arc.

Kintami also manages to introduce RWBY’s concepts in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. There’s a lot of history in this fictional world, including the lore behind the Hunters, Dust, and Aura. Kintamani uses the action sequences to introduce these concepts, especially in the back half of the book. Since the action is the biggest draw of the book, Kintami can showcase an element of the lore and then expand on it.

Kintami favors two page spreads for most of her action sequences. This helps showcase the immense size of the monstrous Grimm; more importantly, it makes our heroines’ victories feel all the more impressive. Ruby gets the lion’s share of the action; she appears to leap from page to page, her scythe carving through Grimm with ease. Perhaps the most intense sequence features Team RWBY combatting a Nevermore, a Grimm that looks like a giant raven. Kintami writes the heroines as a single unit, pooling their multiple skills to defeat the Nevermore. It’s truly a sight to behold.

RWBY: The Official Manga, Volume 1 is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the television series. Hardcore Rooster Teeth fans and people looking to hop into RWBY will find a great jumping-on point with this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Great storyline and follows the anime. However, I had to watch the anime first to understand what was happening in the manga. The ARC itself was a difficult to read with the watermark and my media screen only showing one page at a time. The art was dark and difficult to see, but again, that may have been my media. I think it will read much better in print.

RWBY offers a unique and creative storyline. It tells the story of a group of heroine wannabes led by Ruby Rose. They are students of Beacon Academy, a prestigious school that trains huntresses, the guardians of this world. Every Sci-Fi adventure story needs some sort of enemy creatures of course. In this series, these creatures are called Grimms. To fight these heinous beings, these huntresses muster the power of dusts, which came from the stars. It’s like the big bang all over again but in an infinitesimal proportion. That idea is actually pretty awesome and immediately caught our interests. Although the art is nowhere near good, the story offers some female action

This book was pretty good. It jumped around a little bit in the beginning but then it found it's footing. Knowing the characters already helped so if you are unfamiliar with them, this may be a bit confusing at the start. I liked the action sequences quite a bit. They were drawn very nicely. Overall this is a pretty solid book. Nothing I would really go over the top about but also not that bad either. If you're a fan of the show I would say give this a try. If not, maybe skip it.

I was recommended RWBY by my brother-from-another-mother a very long time ago, but I never managed to pick it up. When I saw a version of it on NetGalley, I jumped up so excitedly and hit that request button so many times. I was so pumped to be able to grab a series that my brother absolutely adored (and still talks about frequently).

This book is FUN. It follows 4 awesome people (and some wickedly cool chicks) who fight bad guys as Huntresses and basically save the world. It's a great female led heist that will have you addicted and on for the ride.

The story itself is super fun and the art style works really well with it. I definitely can see why so many people are fans of RWBY. I really enjoyed it! I would love to see the anime adaptation because this seems like the type of book that would do really well for a film version.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Ever since I first heard about the anime several years ago, I've been wanting to get into RWBY.  Due to life and all that comes with it, finding this manga was my first opportunity to dive in.   All I can say is that I wish I had found a way to read and/or watch this sooner.

I was drawn into the story right from the beginning.  Stories and manga/graphic novels about monster hunters are one of my favorites, so discovering Ruby Rose wants to be a Huntress was an instant draw for me.  Add to that she's about to attend a hunter/huntress boarding school of sorts and I was 110% sold.  

Fast-paced and action-packed, this manga doesn't slow down at all.  You're rushing and racing alongside the characters from page one until the very end.  My one complaint is that there were too many characters introduced at one time.  It would have been easier for me to remember who they were if their introductions had been spaced out a little bit more.  However, that is fully on me.  I love Ruby Rose and her sister, Yang.  While Yang is a total manga character (right down to glomping her sister repeatedly), she's a good balance to the more serious Ruby.  Weiss was a bit annoying and grumpy in the beginning, but she's starting to thaw a little by the end.  Blake's an interesting character as well and I'll be waiting to learn more about her and the others in the next volume.  

The artwork was the finishing touch on this already enjoyable story.  I loved how the first few pages were in full color and then switching to black and white.  Those color pages really popped and set the tone for the rest of the manga.  Now I need to track down the anime while waiting for the next volume of this manga to release.

While the story itself is great, it doesn't compare to the animation. There was just something missing, that I couldn't put my finger on.

This was a fun introduction to the world and the characters, but there were places where I felt the narrative was a little hard to follow. It tells the story of Ruby Rose, a young prodigy who is accepted into the Beacon school two years early to train as a Huntress. Once there, she must team up with some unlikely partners and fight monsters all to protect the city of Vale. I always enjoy a training school set up where a character learns to use their powers, and this is no exception. Conceptually, I love the ideas at play here. I also really liked that our main characters are all women and while there are conflicts between them, so far there doesn't seem to be the natural antagonism between the girls that we see so often, which I really appreciated. Instead, this seems like a team of women who will support each other no matter what, which is fabulous. With that being said, I did find the story a bit choppy in places, which made the action a bit hard to follow at times. Coupled with this was the art style, which is quite impressionistic and consequently added to the disjointed feeling of the narrative. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining introduction and I think that now all of the characters and set up are in play, the story will get better and better.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This brought back memories of when I originally started watching the show. I loved the designs and revitalization of the characters. I look forward to future copies.