RTX 2015 came and went, leaving us with some exciting news for volume 3 of RWBY. Although we didn’t get an official trailer, we were treated to some interesting footage. With design reveals of new characters, as well more production news to accompany that, it is clear that we are in for a treat with this volume.
Firstly, we were shown a five minute long scene from volume 3. This footage confirmed that a major part of the show’s third volume will be the highly anticipated Vytal Festival Combat Tournament. Reminding me of the the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter, this is bound to be one of the best story arcs in the show yet. This footage also introduced a new team comprised of interestingly designed characters. However, it is unclear which of the four kingdoms of Vytal this team is from. It might have been said in the audio, but, as this was leaked footage, the audio was hard to make out.
However, the biggest RWBY news of the convention came in the form of images. We were shown images of both the arena that the combat tournament will take place in, as well as the festival grounds themselves. However, the revelation that got me most excited were the new character designs. We were shown images of both Qrow (Ruby and Yang’s uncle), and Winter (Weiss’ sister). Based on her character design alone, Winter Schnee is shaping up to be one of, if not my favorite RWBY character. Winter will be played by Elizabeth Maxwell, and Qrow will be played by the legendary Vic Mignogna.
On a more tragic note, information was released on the situation with the character of Ren. There were three options as to what they could have done with the character. They could have made him become mute after an accident, killed him off in between volumes, or changed his voice actor. It has been officially announced that Monty Oum’s brother, Neath, will be replacing the late Monty as the voice of Ren. I am glad they went with the third option, and chose someone so close to Monty for that matter.
In conclusion, it was confirmed that RWBY Volume 3 will be released in the last quarter of 2015, though an exact date was not given. Although I was disappointed that we didn’t receive an official trailer, I completely understand the situation the RWBY team must be in after Monty’s passing, and am grateful that we got anything at all. Although I don’t expect it to, RWBY Volume 3 doesn’t seem like it will disappoint.