RWBY - Questionably Animated Authorial Intent

We dig into authorial intent, the challenges of animation, and fan work (and entitlement) as we talk about Rooster Teeth’s RWBY and its fans! ## Episode Outline **Topics:** RWBY (obviously), Anime, Linguistics, the _Tales of_ series, authorial intent, dudebros, expectations and fan work ### Fandom Facts “RWBY (pronounced "ruby") is an American anime-style web series and media franchise created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. The show is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors (called "Huntsmen" and "Huntresses") to protect their world from monsters called Grimm. The name RWBY is derived from the four main characters' forenames: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, as well as their associated theme colors; Red, White, Black, and Yellow. Following several promotional trailers, the first episode was screened at the Rooster Teeth convention event RTX and then released on their website in July 2013.” ‒ [Wikipedia - RWBY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RWBY) * A fan survey from about a year ago gives us [some idea of the demographics](https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/6ckube/rrwby_user_survey_results/) (and other interesting tidbits about the fandom) with over 700 respondents: * 86% of respondents identified as male (and a non-zero percentage as assholes: Attack Helicopter) * Almost 86% are under age 24 (67% are between 18 and 24); if we do some math, its reasonable to assume that means that folks probably started watching between ages 13-19 (i.e. five years ago) * Just over half (55%) watch Rooster Teeth’s podcast ### First Impressions #### Z: I knew absolutely nothing about RWBY before starting the research for this episode. I’d seen some cosplayers and had no idea who they were until someone told me, but had no idea that it was a web series or “anime” or whatever. Also, had no idea that it was something Rooster Teeth did - and had no idea how big Rooster Teeth is until digging into the research for this episode. #### T: I couldn’t even tell you what my first impressions of RWBY were, not because it was so long ago, but because a lot of life happened between now and then. I was following along pretty closely for a period, though digging into the research, that was probably only the second season. I … definitely was watching for the Anime-ness of it all. ### Famous Last Words What did we have to say about next week’s topic, _Beyblade_ with only our first impressions? **G:** How much is focussed on the battle tops in the anime? 50/50? 90/10? **T:** Is Beyblade still running? If so, what innovations have there been in battle tops? **Z:** Is there a world championship tournament? If so, who is the world champion Beyblader? ## Where can you find us? Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but specifically... * If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others! * Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast` * We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast) * We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!) * If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) ## What is "Fanthropological"? Every week, Fanthropological delivers about an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation! We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture. ## What is Livestream for the Cure? Since 2017, Nick and Justin of the [Epic Film Guys](http://www.epicfilmguys.com/) have dedicated a block of time each year to livestream their podcast and other content in order to raise funds for the Cancer Research Institute. This organization researches immunotherapy with the goal of curing all forms of cancer. They are among some of the most reputable charities out there with a rating of 92% on [CharityNavigator.org](https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3417). Last year's Livestream for the Cure 2.0 (**check it out [here](https://fundraise.cancerresearch.org/fundraiser/1583313)**) was a resounding success. In 30 hours live on the air, the Epic Film Guys raised over $5,000 for cancer research and an additional $780 for Perry Johnson, a fellow podcaster who guested on the event and was diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer shortly before it began. Because they smashed their goal and because of their amazing community of peers and fellow podcasters, they decided this year’s event should be even bigger and better. The 3rd Annual Livestream for the Cure will be held from May 17th through the 19th, and the Epic Film Guys will be live for FORTY hours as they try to hit their biggest goal yet and raise $7,500. The event will be held live at[ https://twitch.tv/epicfilmguys](https://twitch.tv/epicfilmguys) and will include dozens of fellow content creators and podcasters who are joining them to reach this common goal. They will be live for 40 hours from the following times (all are EST): **May 17th: 10:00 AM to 2:00 AM** **May 18th: 10:00 AM to 2:00 AM** **May 19th: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM** Follow the event on[ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1303610656446934/) or follow[ @livestream4cure](https://www.twitter.com/livestream4cure) on Twitter for updates and guest information. Links for merchandise (all proceeds go toward the total) and other information will be coming in the near future. To make a donation before and during the event, visit [LivestreamfortheCure.com](https://fundraise.cancerresearch.org/fundraiser/1947095). Let's make this the biggest year for the Livestream for the Cure yet! Together, we can make a difference! ## Credits * ["The Metal Emperor"](https://ocremix.org/album/72/badass-boss-themes-volume-iii) by [Chernabogue](https://ocremix.org/artist/12540/chernabogue), [AngelCityOutlaw](https://ocremix.org/artist/13851/angelcityoutlaw), and [Furilas](https://ocremix.org/artist/14980/furilas) from [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org) used under [ocremix.org content policy](http://ocremix.org/info/Content_Policy#If_you.27re_using_our_content_elsewhere_.28.22Terms_of_Use.22.29%E2%80%A6) * All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!