RWBY: The Official Manga, Vol. 1

I love the RWBY universe and so I was so excited to read this manga. I enjoyed it. Since it’s not a direct translation of the animated show I was a bit worried but I think it it ended up being very enjoyable!

I have to start off by saying that I want to eat this artwork. It is stunning and lends itself perfectly to the endearing story. AND I WANT TO EAT IT.

I honestly hadn't heard of RWBY before they/Rooster Teeth teamed up with Smite/Titan Forge Games, so when I saw ViZ's gracious offer to read their first manga, I thought, 'Sure, why the heck not?' I wasn't disappointed and am, in fact, now hooked. Bring in the other installments that cannot come sooner, as well as the anime, which doesn't have the drool-inducing artwork, yet appears just as fun. I adore the references to other wonderful bits of culture (Glynda and Ozpin, Arc and Nikos, etc) and the naming of the specific Grimms (hello, Nevermore, why yes, I do love you so). The concept is straight up my alley, my cup of tea, including favourite things and nice chemistry and four badass ladies being badass without the demeaning tropes - my goodness, the sisterly relationship between Ruby and Yang is, to quote Yang, deliciously adorable.

I have always wanted to get into the RWBY series but was never sure where to start. This manga is the perfect starting point for people new to the series and a run read for fans as well. I loved the characters and their developments. They were each a joy to get to know. The artistry of the series is excellent. There was the perfect balance of action and the battle scenes are exciting. I love the premise and the world. This is a super fun read. I highly recommend it.

First of all, the art style for this is gorgeous. They did a great job at translating how the characters in the anime look onto the page. While the story closes follows the early on adventures in the show, the scenes flow slightly differently which helps with this format. Even if you aren't already a fan of the anime, people can find themselves enjoying the story of these four females learning and growing together while fighting the evil of their world.

RWBY is packed with action, brimming with gorgeous illustrations, and a fan-favorite must read for those who have seen the anime!

Okay. Full disclosure. I was intrigued by the description of the book, but I had no idea as to its popularity until now. I am just blown away by the story and after watching the anime, the illustrations in this manga are spot on!

I am sure that fans of the anime series will love to have the manga series lining their bookshelves. The storyline in this book remains unchanged from the anime. There is still the same sense of excitement as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang (RWBY) battle the Grimm and the Nevermore as part of their initiation in their first year at Beacon Academy. So, of course, because it is a series, you will have that cliffhanger of an ending with Roman Torchwick gracing the last few pages. Can't wait to read Vol. 2!

A fantastic read and I am so excited that I got to experience the popularity of RWBY in manga. Thank you NetGalley and Viz Media for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Great to read, but some visuals that were difficult to parse out into elements and movement.

Recommended: yes!
For those who like the supernatural-hunter kind of manga, for very clearly defined character personalities, for some intriguing lore and monsters, and of course for anyone who's seen the Rooster Teeth production it's based on

Thoughts:
I'm in an unusual position I think, as I have been aware of this series since it started with Rooster Teeth. However at that time I didn't enjoy the animation style they used, and wasn't able to watch more than a few episodes before being turned off despite what seemed like a promising plot. So when I heard there was a manga version of it... WELL. That sounded perfect - I could finally get the story without the animation!

Which leads to my one issue with this. With some of the panels, it was really difficult to parse out what was happening. This is in part due to the line and shading styling used, which can make the page really full and busy in complicated scenes. Since there are a lot of action scenes here (unsurprisingly), it was enough of a problem to bring the whole experience down a bit.

That said, though, the characters are an absolute delight and I am so interested in the story behind it all! I want to know more about each of them individually, and about how they'll work together, and what the school is like, and what's up with Ruby's past, and find out what's going on in Jaune's brain. 🤣 God, I laughed so much. I also gasped and had that wide-eyed moment of fright when the sheer size of the Nevermore was revealed.

Oh, right - there are also some very obvious references and meanings with the names. Don't expect much subtlety!

Definitely a fun read, and to be honest, I'm so interested that I plan to load up the RT animated version and give it another shot. Because I just have to know how it goes on!

Thanks to NetGalley and Viz Media for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!