Drop everything! Whatever you are doing right now, unless you are a nurse or a traffic warden, stop doing it. The trailer for RWBY Volume 6 has finally arrived! Bask in its gloriousness. Bask! The animated web series created by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth continues on into its anticipated sixth season. Though, the fifth volume had its ups and downs, it led to the reunion of Team RWBY, and set up the next step of their journey across Remnant. Though the trailer is fairly short and only teases what is to come, there’s still enough to pick apart and get hyped as hell about. All aboard folks, the hype train is pulling out of the station!
Disclaimer: Obvious spoilers for all previous five volumes of RWBY ahead, as well as speculation for the sixth.
The end of Volume 5 saw the reunion of Team RWBY at long last – Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Having acquired the mystical Relic of Knowledge from Haven Academy, our heroes are now off to Atlas to secure it, and the hidden Relic of Creation. Now reunited, the team are on their way, but the trailer hints their trip won’t be an easy one. Let’s bullet point our way through the trailer, and examine what gorgeous details lie within as October 27th approaches.
- Speaking of gorgeous, the level of detail in the snowy environment are breathtaking. The animators have really outdone themselves. The mountains and snow-covered forests implies our heroes are in Solitas, the northern most continent of Remnant.
- We hear Salem delivering another unsettling speech about humanity, and how we must remember what drives us in life like love, justice, and reverence. This might be a nod back to when Salem gave such speeches in the “World of Remnant” minisodes, before it turned out the narrator was evil. As she speaks, we see glimpses that fall in line with her words.
- Team RWBY, Uncle Qrow, and Oscar Pine (aka Professor Ozpin) walk through a snowy wood, looking a bit lost. The trailer focuses heavily on a train battle against Grimm, which doesn’t appear to go very well for our heroes. Another clip shows the train wrecked on the mountainside, Team RWBY now on foot. Yang’s motorbike is in one piece, but has an mysterious old woman perched on it as Yang pushes it. More on her later. Also, Weiss is the only character to wear sensible related clothes for the environment. Blake’s still wearing her halter top for goodness sake. Also, Weiss is wearing a red scarf, which appears to honour her late grandfather Nicholas, founder of the family mining company.
- Team JNPR – Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren – are along for the train trip as well, though they might be separated from their friends during the train battle.
- A platoon of dead White Fang members lie slaughtered in Sienna Khan’s throne room. Adam Taurus later shows up in the trailer, so I assume he is the culprit.
- The “reverence” scene is most intriguing. A group of Faunus are seen bowing down and praising a character, who appears to be able to fly or levitate without wings. Perhaps this newcomer is a unique Faunus, or uses gravity Dust to fly?
- It turns out Salem’s speech is actually aimed at someone. More specifically, it appears she is talking to Emerald Sustrai, likely still reeling from the apparent death of Cinder Fall. It has been speculated that Emerald has inherited Cinder’s powers as the Fall Maiden. Emerald probably wants Cinder back, but Salem’s calm yet chilling words about trying to put her own desires above her own, will shut down Emerald. That, or the return of the delightfully creepy Tyrian will shut Emerald up.
- The trailer quickly jumps into rapid fire action beats, showing the Grimm attacking the train. Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Qrow are seen fighting the beasts off. As said earlier, it looks like the train will crash. Ruby is standing amongst the wreck, with the Relic of Knowledge nearby. One of my favourite fan theories is that each relic is actually the symbol for the Four Kingdoms – the Relic of Knowledge is a lantern, the Relic of Creation resembles a paint brush, the Relic of Destruction is a sword, and the Relic of Choice are a pair of axes with a floral wreath.
- Adam Taurus is back again. He gained his own character short earlier in the year, though little really came of it. But, Adam appears to have slaughtered his own kind, and without Blake to scream at, he is now shouting at furniture.
- Oscar has collapsed in the snow, looking quite desperate or afraid. He reaches out towards Team RWBY, who are regarding him with disturbing amounts of anger. Yang, Weiss, and Blake are pretty much in battle mode, while Ruby looks shocked. I suspect Ozpin will do something rather dire, which will have consequences for the team. In the background is a building of some kind. Another thing to point out is that the Relic of Knowledge can become pocket-sized, Ruby carrying it around on her belt. Yes, let’s accessorise the ancient MacGuffin.
- We cut to the train’s interior where passengers are running around like the ticket inspector just arrived. While Jaune and Nora are present, the focus is on the old lady from earlier. She resembles an Inuit, sporting a braided ponytail, rocking a pair of cool techno goggles, and carries a staff of some kind. Like if an elderly Katara and Maz Kanata. Who is this old woman? Well, I am guessing she might be the Winter Maiden. The rules of the Maidens are a little complex, but it is possible this character, if she is the Winter Maiden, has simply held onto her powers for a long time.
- We also glimpse a trio of new characters, who appear to be criminal in nature. A pudgy, blonde-haired woman sporting a fan and a bowel of ice cream. She is flanked by two bodyguards or enforcers, a bearded man and a girl with long brown hair, who clearly like purple clothes. The woman is speaking with a cloaked character, whose colour scheme resembles that of Velvet Scarlatina. There is a wallet with spilt money on the table, so perhaps these characters are trying to broker for tickets out of the country. Qrow did say that Mistral has the largest black market in the world. They probably would be selling train tickets since Atlas closed its borders in Volume 4.
- Oscar screams out a dramatic “NOOO!” as Salem, in her cathedral of darkness, reaches menacingly for the camera.
- In a final shot, Team RWBY and Qrow are on the roof of the train, ready for battle. Blake asks Ruby what the plans is. Ruby replies, “Don’t let anyone else die!”
One thing that is painfully absent is any sort of tension between Blake and Yang. Both look like they can at least stand in the same room without killing each other. Only time will tell. RWBY’s Volume 6 begins on October 27th, 2018, and will be exclusively be available on Rooster Teeth’s website. Be there, or be square.
Are you excited for RWBY’s sixth volume? Are you gonna raise the roof or raise hell? Leave a comment below or on our Twitter feed.