Review: RWBY Vol.4 – Chapter 10 “Kuroyuri”

In the new tradition started in Volume 3, we’re once again getting the “obligatory flashback episode”.

Spoilers Below

The episode begins with Oscar leaving his farm with a bag in hand while telepathically conversing with Ozpin as he tries to comprehend the idea of leaving his house and seeing the world.

Oscar feels scared at the idea of leaving while believing he’s doing the right thing and suddenly a thunderstorm breaks out and he runs to an ATM/Ticket device to access some funds but is unable to get a ticket. Ozpin warns him to be at his guard when he encounters a large brute that we the audience know from Salem’s Evil council as “Hazel”.

At first, Oscar thinks Hazel is going to Mug him only instead for Hazel to use his super strength to smash the machine and give him his desired ticket and says to him “Don’t let such a small obstacle block your path.” As Hazel leaves, Ozpin explains to Oscar that he has a history with this individual and that she shouldn’t be taken lightly.

We then cut to the destroyed village of Kuroyuri with Ruby, Jaune and Qrow are attempting to go around for help as Qrow is suffering from Tyrian’s Scorpion Sting. They both seek out a pharmacy in this ruined abandoned city, Ruby wonders why Ren wouldn’t want to come here and Jaune tells her he has a “pretty good idea” towards why.

A flashback begins when the camera zooms in on a dead dried up lotus/lily-pad thing with the scene transitioning to what it use to look like and we see Ren as a child with her mother for the first time.

Ren openly expresses interest in planting this flower in the garden but his mother believes it’s better if they leave it untouched tells him to pick up something for their father’s return knowing that coming home to a gift would make his father’s day.

Judging from how the town looks in the village, It was quite colorful & vibrant place as the camera zooms out to give us a clear idea and Ren goes to a series of merchants who all turn him down and as he stares at some cakes in a bakery, he hears some people yelling at someone and he goes to check it out and much to Ren’s surprise, He encounters some douchey children who proceed to rapidly bully a small ginger girl and we the audience are easy to figure out that the ginger is Nora.

Nora ends up biting the finger of one of the bullies for trying to take food she could’ve of scavenged for when the bullies push her to the ground, As Ren tries to run away in fear, he bumps into his father.

Ren’s father shows up stopping these children from bullying Nora and both the kids & Nora run away. Ren’s father then comfort’s & teaches him some much-needed wisdom and says “Sometimes the worst action to take is no action at all” then tells him to go home since he has obligations to speak with the Mayor leading Ren to sulks a bit in what he witnessed.

The flashback briefly ends when we cut back to how Kuroyuri looks now with Jaune & Ruby with zero success at finding a place for medical attention Jaune prepares himself in case of any oncoming threats and out of nowhere, Ruby apologizes.

Ruby places the blame on herself for putting all of them in danger but Jaune never holds her accountable for any of it given the unpredictable nature of their trip and points out to her that despite everything that’s happened, She’s still here and that her determination inspired them to come with her on this adventure.

It then cuts back to the rest of the flashback as we see a photograph of Ren’s family and then to young Ren sleeping only to wake up from their town being under attack with his mother telling them they have to go.

His father shows up and we finally learn that Ren’s father’s name was “Lee” who turned out to be an archer and suggests that they need a “huntsman” given the scale of this ‘beast” they’re encountering since these are low-level hunters then tells both is wife and child to leave for safety and just as Ren’s mother tries to comfort their child, the building falls on top of her and it cuts to black only to quickly cut to Ren’s father carrying him to safety.

Ren demands answers to where their mother is but his questions fall on deaf ears to his father who’s gravely injured while running and we get random scenes of the town being under attack by an unseen force and trips on the ground telling Ren he has to run as Ren notices a creature on a Horse with glowing eyes.

Ren’s father says to him “You have to be brave now, do you understand?” and gives him a blade encouraging him to take action before he gets back up and says “your mother and I love you”.

Ren runs with a knife in hand away from the danger as his father tries to make a last stand against this monstrosity that we’re only seeing shadows of.

 

As Ren runs to safety he see’s Nora about to be attacked by Nevermore Grimm when he notices that same flower lily-pad thing, his body suddenly turns black & white then monotone, which for some reason makes him invisible to the creatures, and rescues Nora saying “we have to be brave” and as Nora hugs him, she ends up being covered in this aura which makes her also invisible to the Grimm’s presence.

Not only does this Semblance power work but the horse/centaur-like creature that killed his father walks by them without noticing them. It’s a sweet moment when Ren goes to get a wooden Hammer for Nora as her form of defense which further explains why Nora has an affinity to Hammers given that her weapon now is a Hammer that doubles as a grenade launcher.

The flashback ends and it then cuts to Ren in the mountains with Nora. Nora expresses concern for Ren when he notices a cave close-by and Nora quickly gets to the cave pointing out that there’s wind blowing out of it.

Ren proceeds to catch up and as they talk, a piece of fabric blows into Ren’s face and he notices a purple crest on it and he recognizes it to be from Shion Village (the wrecked village that Team RNJR discovered the aftermath of eight episodes ago).

Nora tells him that Shion Village was weeks away from them and Ren proceeds to run in the cave and as Nora catches up, they notice the Cave is a small graveyard of sorts much to their horror

Ren recognizes an Arrow he picks up off the ground along with a giant animal hoof and an open path opposite from them and the episode ends in traditional cliffhanger fashion when Ren notices bush’s & trees moving and Nora holds his hand in an effort to comfort him.

Overview

I liked the start we got with Oscar slowly accepting what Ozpin’s words and how he begins his journey. I felt worried yet excited upon seeing Hazel approach Oscar. Out of all the new villains, Hazel’s the one I’m quite curious about given that Ozpin had some sort of established history with him.

With the way Ren’s Semblance powers worked, I couldn’t help but think of that Shitty M. Night Shyamalan movie After Earth with the whole “fear is a choice” philosophy only, in this case, it’s more literal because Ren can shut out his emotions so the Grimm can’t sense him or anyone within his vicinity.

Sometimes TV shows (this includes anime) have a tendency to delve into using this particular unspoken rule: Showing a flashback of a specific character will either explain what certain events in their life shaped them into who they are or forebodingly build up towards their inevitable demise and people all over social media are already predicting another potential character death at this point.

With the way things are structured, this season seems more focused character progression opposite of the 3rd season which was built from how the previous 2 seasons were structured. In theory, I think this is setting up for the next couple of volumes. We now know even more about Remnant with Weiss being in Atlas, Ruby wherever the fuck she is, Blake at menagerie, and Yang back home. The story has further expanded beyond the four schools. So when in theory when the next volumes come around, chances are RT can get into all the crazy shit once the character development is over.

This was still a terrific episode and important in showing Ren & Nora’s backstory (even if it feels like they’re potentially delving into that “unspoken rule” about flashbacks). Plus, I loved Ruby allowing herself a moment to let the pain in a little. Her apology was sad but well written.

We’re two episodes away from the season finale so episodes 11 & 12 better top themselves before it’s over.