(Before I begin, I'm aware that I'm making this review after already doing retrospectives on volumes 2-4, for some reason I had thought I made a review on this, but it seems I never did, so here we are :D)
When it comes to most RWBY fans and their opinions on RWBY, you may notice just how mixed and varied each idea in the show is. I can guarantee that if you look up something like "every RWBY volume ranked" or "thoughts on (RWBY character)", that almost every single post will be so much more different from one another.
While it's not exactly a bad thing. It does make the overall "norm" surrounding the show very confusing. But even with that said, almost every RWBY fan (as well as critics/fans of indie animation) can agree that RWBY had an amazing beginning! Even Rooster Teeth themselves were skeptical of what others would find from this show, and were genuinely surprised to see the praise it got.
To clarify, this volume is by no means my favourite, but seeing so far how volumes 4-onward are going, I can see why many would find this volume to be one of (if not) the best in the entire series. I even recently rewatched this volume all over again to make sure it was just as amazing as I remembered. Sure enough, I was right!
RWBY Volume 1 is a great example of how to introduce characters, especially for a series that has volumes that usually last 2-4 hours each. I didn't find one flaw with how these characters were shown off to the audience in their first appearance, and was happy with just how smoothly developed they eventually grew into becoming teammates.
When doing these reviews, I try to be as spoiler free as possible, so hopefully I am committed to that idea thus far. With this acknowledged, this Volume is a prime example of how to perfectly hook in an unsuspecting audience. RWBY Volume 1 is nothing like any other volume off this show. Yes, even though Monty had a specific charm in his writing with the first 3 volumes, I would still argue that Volume 1 is much different compared to every RWBY volume I have seen so far.
While this mostly does work for the most part, it strangely enough could also be what drives people away. You see, RWBY is not something like Madoka Magica, the shift in tone/genre isn't going to drastically change into the show around an hour or so in. Instead, it comes in a slower (but in my opinion, much more smoother) pace.
The reason for me comparing it to an anime like Madoka Magica, is that RWBY is very popular for its very dramatic and intense shift around seasons 3/4 (or even arguably volume 2). But because of that, people may instantly believe by the end of Volume 1, that the entire show may centre around this slice of life comedy surrounding these girls that include a few fight scenes here and there.
That by no means makes me believe that this Volume is bad, because in absolutely no way do I find any major faults with this volume in the slightest. But even so, I feel like this should be acknowledged to the unsuspecting RWBY fans who (rarely) tend to move away from RWBY by Volume 4. So because of this, if you have never ever watched RWBY before, be aware that this Volume is not going to be like the rest of the show, and in fact, is going to be the only kind of volume that is directed the way it is.
Volume 1 of RWBY is an amazing start, but shouldn't be considered how the rest of show should be when moving onward. But even with that one flaw aside, I still adore this season. I mean, it's hard to not find genuine love for a show so good that I currently consider it the greatest show of all time!
