RWBY Ice Queendom Review: An Unfortunately Faithful Adaptation

gamerant.com:

There are no greater critics of RWBY than RWBY fans themselves, and anyone that's stuck with it since Volume 1 can't deny that they are a bit of a fan. It's not the kind of series that fans would necessarily recommend to those outside the fandom, but when projects like RWBY Ice Queendom get announced, it's hard to contain some excitement that the series might get some sort of rebirth.

When SHAFT suddenly announced a new TV anime based on Rooster Teeth's web series, with Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass writer Gen Urobuchi attached, it seemed impossible to fail. There were some who even speculated it could surpass the quality of the original, having roped in creators inspired by Monty Oum's work to create a labor of love. Not only that, but the series would serve as an original story that mostly works as a companion piece to the original canon. It would bridge the gap between the first two volumes and look to address matters of continuity therein. But after 12 episodes, the most that can be said is that Ice Queendom ended up being very faithful to what RWBY was: a mixed bag.

FEATURED: How RWBY: Ice Queendom Differs From The Original Show

RWBY's appeal is pretty simple, regardless of one's take on the quality of the brand: it's about pretty girls fighting monsters with the power of friendship (and guns, blades, and bladed guns). And taking the four original trailers solely on their own merits, that appeal was crystal clear to audiences and even the creators of Ice Queendom.

Takanori Aki of Good Smile Company recalled in an interview with Anime News Network about his limited interactions with Monty as the series was taking off, before he passed away. It's clear hearing from the staff that Monty's work, and the inspiration he took