Though he was a terrible guy, Adam’s aesthetic was top notch. He looked hella cool and the fight between Adam and Blake & Yang is my favorite in the series.
I honestly hadn't watched the original character trailers until now, when I've been watching RWBY with my mom in the last month-ish, and now having seen the BLACK trailer, I can understand what the big deal was about him. They build him up fairly well (I literally don't know most of the weapons' names outside of Team RWBY's plus a handful of others), but also just the way he fights by firing the sword out of the sheath. I find it interesting how they've 'organically' integrated Yang's arm: after the period of her making it her own, the only two moments I can remember that call attention to it being a prosthetic, i.e. artificial, are when Yang pranks Nora after they reunite in V5, and then when Yang tanks Adam's big blow before she disarms him. Am I the only one who feels like she was able to take that hit without serious injury because the arm was artificial, as opposed to a flesh-and-blood limb that could be injured even if it isn't cut off?
@@SimonPetrikov12 Speaking of which, I'm not the only one who's noticed that experience (which generally means age) really does seem to outrank everything in RWBY? In the vast majority of fights, older and thus more experienced characters almost always win when it just comes down to the combatants themselves, vs. outside "interference" (i.e. Yang) or Maiden powers (Opzin vs. Cinder). Ironwood was holding his own against everyone, Adam's aforementioned durability, etc. At a minimum this extends to how long characters' Aura lasts in fights. The thought first occurred to me when I realized that older characters have more Aura and/or are just trained to use it better, but it does kinda extend to the experience bit. I'm not just realizing something that was already common knowledge, am I? I do that sometimes (see me not realizing Cinder represented Cinderella until we got her backstory). P.S. If you're not familiar, "Experience outranks everything" is a line from Star Wars: The Clone Wars (and a few other shows since) which was first uttered by Captain Rex.
So surprised Pyrrha vs Mercury wasn't even mentioned. The amount of technique and mind-games that both Pyrrha and Mercury performed was enough to tell a story. Both of them testing the waters, Mercury slowly forcing Pyrrha's hand by being more aggressive, Pyrrha fending off Mercury's relentless attacks, and then finally realizing his goal when it was too late. Even though it was just a spar, tension and conflict was created with a few words and subtle facial expressions.
Yeah it's kinda nuts Pyrrha isn't in this more - even if only has honorable mentions. All of her fights are so legendary and memorable. Lol. CRDL vs Pyrrha, Mercury vs Pyrrha, *The Nethermore/Deathstalker Fight* are all fights I expected to see in this list. Overall though the list is very good and is an opinion so im not upset, just surprised. I appreciate most that this list actually includes fights from across the series.
@@undeathghost5627 Fr it's never a full moment whenever Pyrrha is on screen. She basically had 5 different fighting styles to use (Sword, Shield, Sword & Shield, Polearm, Spear) and she never used the same style for more than 5 seconds at a time. It truly shows how much of a genius she was.
That fight was actual on my original Top Fights list way back when, but when I made this updated version I had to bump some fights off the list. That was one of them. Still love it though!
I get why it isn't here tbh. Its a good fight to show us Mercury's character, and Pyrrha's approach to fighting someone and using her semblance, but it wasn't as visually appealing as some other fights is all.
@@worthyedge9307 It visually doesn't look impressive due to the older style, but it's one of those fights where you discover more details the more you rewatch it. Like I didn't realize Mercury used his boots and bullets to propel himself for a flying 480 reverse roundhouse. Or Pyrrha using Polarity to stall her sword in the air so she can block Mercury's kick, hence the surprise in Mercury's face when he sees her sword suddenly spinning in the air for a brief moment. The older fights had details like this every time and it's such a treat for fight choreography analysts like me. The newer ones are great, but they rarely hold a candle when it comes to these small details. They tend to show, explain, and emphasize everything so there's no room for doubt. There's really nothing to analyze because the fight analyzes and explains itself.
I really wish we could have got a special episode featuring the food fight it was truly unfortunate we couldn’t see the full thing because it had to be squeezed into the finale.
@@jcoolguy1548 even if it was, they still probably could’ve done something different with the choreography to show what should’ve been the more tactically sound option of Qrow/Clover against Tyrian. Perhaps a dramatic stray strike from Qrow takes out Clover, or in 3-way scuffle where Clover happens to attacks Qrow making him defend it leads to a Tyrian Killshot. I dunno there was probably multiple ways to go about that fight logistically semblance included or not that wouldn’t have made the decision-making seem so….questionable for me😂😂
Every day I regret that fight, we had one of the best choreographies in all of volume 7, but at what price? 🤷♀️ They killed Clover when she had so much potential to offer for volume 8 😞😞
@@jcoolguy1548There the fence was blown, if you know that you don't control your power, why do you ally yourself with a serial killer who is also the dog of an immortal witch who wants to cause the apocalypse to commit suicide? He should have used logic and allied himself with Clover first and then they made up with each other. If they make volume 10 and Tiryan as Qrow appears, the first one has the upper hand because it will touch his heartstrings by mentioning Clover
The fact that Ironwood v Watts was ranked two was just lovely. Wish they would have leaned more into James’s fall into tyrant more but I get the time crunch.
15. 0:10 Food Fight 14. 3:43 Yang vs Neo 13. 5:20 Coco and Yatsu vs Emerald and Mercury 12. 8:55 Pyrrha vs Cinder 11. 11:55 WBY vs Chess Pieces 10. 14:09 Maria vs Tock and thugs 9. 16:41 Raven vs Cinder 8. 20:30 Yang vs Mercury 7. 22:51 Penny and Winter vs Cinder 6. 24:50 Qrow vs Tyrian 5. 28:49 Team RWBY vs the Curious Cat 4. 31:39 Team RWBY vs the Ace-Ops 3. 36:27 Blake and Yang vs Adam 2. 44:49 Ironwood vs Watts Honorable Mentions 49:22 1. 50:12 Qrow vs Clover vs Tyrian
@@EthanKironus8067 Indeed, most of the time, hunters and huntresses all reliant on their weapon, like disarm them and they'll be helpless, if not trying to escape and regain slight control by reclaiming their weapon. Qrow though, he's the chad. Sword removed, back to the classic. Fist fight! The music was really right on it, and he reclaim his sword like a badass he is. Qrow's one of a kind. Sad, the show's ending and he... well, sad😭
@@areszeudion5153 There's an epilogue that was featured at RTX last year, which essentially carries on a bit from JRWBY getting back. I bring it up because Qrow seems to be doing quite well in it. It's on RU-vid. P.S. We shouldn't give up on V10--Young Justice was officially dead for 3 and 1/2 years before it was renewed/revived, and it took another 2 years for S3 to start releasing, but that happened.
In my opinion, I think Pyrrha vs CRDL should be in this list. The way she manhandled all of them, the fluidness of her movement, and the switching between 3 fighting style is just perfection to me.
OMGGGG the Qrow v Clover v Tyrian was such a valid pick. I have literally been telling people it's the best fight in the series but no one gets it. This fight perfectly showcases Salem's plan, divide & conquer. Everything in the series so far has led to this fight. The siding, the lies, the fear, etc. And like Winter & Penny vs Cinder, each fighter is a henchman that comes from a different side (Oz, Ironwood, Salem), and in a way represent them in the fight. Ironwood takes up the roll as a player in the war between Oz and Salem, hence why Clover intervenes. Qrow trying to free Cover from his blind loyalty to Ironwood (similar to his blind to Oz) while also fighting an old rivel Tyrian (who represents his alcohol addiction/poisoning). Also the clever fact that Qrow and Clover have both good and bad luck and Tyrian acts as the divide between them. It ends with Clover being stabbed in the back, a great metaphor. Also, the choreography in this fight is simply amazing. All the movements are fast-paced and more aggressive than before, it has you worried about all the participants. People often say that RWBY's fight quality dipped but honestly I have never seen this issue and this fight is a prime example. I was so happy when I saw this was your number one pick. I understand your vision.
100% agree! I also love the part where Tyrian is catching Qrow and pushing him back into the fight without a second thought. As if to give him just a little nudge, to not give him a break to think and reflect for a second to realize what is Qrow is doing.
@@aikajennystream7931 I do love that as well, Tyrian plays the manipulation really well. But the person almost most at fault is Clover, he initially attacks Qrow's when he's going for Tyrian, so at that point, Qrow has to be put him down, or else he risks a loss to Tyrian.
No, see, the problem is that the « divide » part comes off as forced, because people are acting out of character. There was nothing to ever indicate that Clover would be dumb enough to go after Qrow (smaller threat) over Tyrian (much much bigger threat). He was always shown to more efficient than that, more intelligent than that. There's no way such a high ranking military officer would be incapable of understanding that helping Qrow take out Tyrian was the only thing that mattered at that point. Plus, everything that led up to this scene was caused by the main cast themselves (not telling Ironwood about important things). The only thing this showed was Tyrian being good at manipulating a fight in his favour. It's certainly an extension of Salem's philosophy, but it doesn't show me anything about Salem herself, only one of her minions, and in a relatively small context. Salem wants to apply this philosophy to everything. This is one fight, and she's not even the one doing the manipulating. So this scene may be an exemple of Salem's manipulation, but not a particularly good one. Plus, the fact that for the manipulation to even work there needs to be a character acting like a complete idiot means that I have trouble giving credit to anything in this scene other than the choreography.
For all those blaming Qrow for teaming up with Tyrion: remember that the minute Tyrion was free Qrow went after him, but Clover was the one who pulled Qrow back basically saying "no fight me instead Tyrion, the BIGGER threat can wait"
51:15 sorry Clover but from that point on you deserve everything that happens to you. Qrow tried to disengage and focus on Tyrian but you wouldn’t let him Him being super loyal to Ironwood doesn’t excuse this, it’s just downright stupidity. He knows how dangerous and unpredictable Tyrian is, he should’ve just allowed Qrow to fight Tyrian and watch them from a safe distance, then once one or the other won, it would’ve been very easy to apprehend both of them
I love seeing these types of compilations because we get to see how all of them have evolved their fighting styles. I also hope that if we get more seasons we get to see a summer fight, that would be so incredible
Blake and Yang vs Adam always will be my favorite. It has everything: great writing, great music, great choreography, great animation and the last unused pieces of Monty’s work rehashed on Maya. 10/10 for me.
A detail I've noticed is that they use wide 2D shots to display atmosphere and simultaneously intensify fights. You can see it 37:33 and 51:57 two fights that were to the death. Some other examples are Weiss vs Vernal in V5 and RWBY vs Cinder & Neo in V8.
Solid picks. Some of my favorites will always be Pyrrha vs CRDL and Ruby vs Neo and Torchwick, both super underrated imo. But that move by Qrow at 51:02 alone puts QvTvC up at the top for me as well. #GREENLIGHTVOLUME10
Qrow vs Tyrian will always be my favorite fight cus it's the first time everyone involved collectively thought "this is what a fight between two real hunters is like"
@@WittyCorvian Agree on the sacrifice part. But still a fight. It's possible that Pyrrah didn't fully grasp what going up against a maiden meant. (She was very surprised Cinder could catch her blade.) She may have also thought it was her destiny to sacrifice herself if it meant buying some time for the backup to arrive. (Jaune was supposed to get help.) In that case, it bought time for Ruby to get in there and put a serious hurting on Cinder and the Grimm.
@@DocMicrowave i'm sure she had a good grasp of what facing a maiden meant, she knew she had no chance after only just gaining the power of a maiden and having zero training with the power she had just gained especially when pitted against Cinder who had ample time to get used to the maiden powers she possessed It is still a fight that i personally wouldn't rank high because it just felt lacking to me and is definitely not top 15 especially when there are much better fights that didn't even make the list such as: -the deathstalker and nevermore fight in volume 1 -the first fight where you see coco and her team fight against the grimm in the town -velvet vs mechs Those are 3 that i can think of off the top of my head
@@WittyCorvian I agree, Pyrrah probably had an idea that there was a chance she wasn't going to survive the encounter. But I think she thought she could at least delay or obstruct Cinder till Glynda, Qrow and Ironwood could arrive, as she told Jaune to get them. So her fight, though a sacrifice, was thought to have purpose. Kinda like with Hazel. He knew he could not take down Salem. But I sacrificed himself to give Oz a shot. I still thought, as fights in the run of the show go, it would rank high in a top 15 list of my own. My consideration of a good fight includes the build up, setup, underlying premise, as well as the choreo and flow. Not to mention the conclusion. Some of the fights mentioned in the RU-vidr's list didn't satisfy that criteria in my view. I thought the QvTvC fight should have ranked much much lower. Length or flashy animation is not enough for me to say it was a great fight. And yes a full agree, there are other much better fights that should have made the list. The fights you mentioned were All great and should have made the list. Notice that all the fights you mentioned in your short list are all pre-V4! Kinda says something about more recent fights. What would you classify as your 3 worst fights in the show's run? Mine would be: - The 'big' fight in the ending arc of V8. Everybody v Cinder - The 'big' fight in the ending arc of V5. Except for maybe the Cinder v Raven part. - RNJR v Nucklevee There are others, especially in V7 & 8. Biggest issues I have in bad fights? Power scaling of skill, strength, ability, or intelligence. Skipping over details with cutaways. Ignoring Lore/history. All for plot, or to force a narrative.
And forget the fact that Qrow teamed up with a murderer...who could've foreseen Tyrian would kill Clover. Would made more sense for Clover and Qrow to team up
@@seasnek7024It would’ve made more sense, if Clover wasn’t making it abundantly clear that he had no intention of teaming up with Qrow and that he would target Qrow over Tyrian. Hell, if Qrow refused he would be the one being 2 v 1’d since Tyrian would have no reason to keep helping him against Clover.
That second fight though was ludicrous. The characters were acting out of character. Made for a flashy but ridiculous fight. The only character acting true to form was Tyrrian. And you could say Robyn as well since she initiated the fight.
No matter how many toxic comments they give or any butt hurt trolls that these fakers of self proclaim fans are. Even if it has it’s flaws, it will always be one of the greatest and most unique shows ever, and I will always shall be most loyal to RWBY to the end. 🌹❄️🐈⬛☀️
Honestly imo , I believe every and all rwby fights are one of a kind to me, and I'd loved them and the fights made by monty, will always be special to me. Thank you for making this. 😊👍🌹❄👥🔥
What's interesting about Tyrian vs Qrow vs Clover is that it makes sense for Qrow to do something like this. He's been in the criminal underworld, and has probably done some underhanded things(despite the tension with his sister). So him teaming with Tyrian makes sense.
i really dont agree., it would make more sense for clover and qrow to team up to kill/capture tyrion other than literally any other outcome. to say otherwise is to make a fool of someone that doesnt deserve it
MAN this was a FANTASTIC list!! I know people miss Monty's choreography, and I agree he was a legend gone too soon whose fights are some of the best in animation, and I also am happy to see people acknowledge there have been some REAL treats in the seasons since his passing. Rest in peace, Monty, we miss you
So so so valid. I love this list - Blake and Yang vs. Adam is one of my absolute favorite fights, it's just such an emotionally charged and raw battle, plus the full display of Adam's abilities and how easily he quips abusive remarks to mentally drag his opponents while giving them a physical onslaught. The way he so easily verbalizes Blake's worst fears and deep-seated insecurities, the parallels in positioning, with Blake alone, aware that Yang is near, as he drives a sword into her stomach. The way that Yang is still so visibly shaken, but is no longer overtaken by emotion. The pure cold, raw, hatred she stares him down with contrasted with Adam's uncontrolled rage towards her. Blake's sobbing, the total forgiveness between them now that their shared demon is literally and metaphorically laid to rest (water under the bridge!!!). I could literally go on for hours about this fight, one of my absolute favorites. That said, the QTC fight is also SUCH a valid number one pick. The choreography is amazing, the aggressive moves as they all play off each other, the cinematography of the whole fight! It's almost reminiscent to the Zuko vs. Azula fight from ATLA for me. The way the whole thing has such a sad, harrowing overtone that you can't help but drown in the almost hopelessness of the whole moment rather than be invigorated by the powerful attacks from all of them. Clover was Crow's self-acceptance, the idea that maybe he could get close to people again, that he could trust and rely on someone, semblance be damned! Then Tyrian poisoning his mind, his reasoning, pulling him back to a dark place where he feels he has to fight his demons alone. The way Tyrian so perfectly represents Salem's plan to divide and destroy! The way Tyrian uses Crow's sword to stab Clover in the back right as he says "I wanted to trust YOU." FUCK dude - PAIN. One of the top 10 moments that permanently altered my brain chemistry. Clover's death is genuinely only second to Pyrrah's for me, with both representing a horrific moment where Darkness wins over Light and forces a fundamental character change - first, on Ruby and Jaune, then here in Crow. The way Crow keeps Clover's pin after, unable and uncaring what anyone thinks of him as he's so emotionally destroyed. The way Robyn is the only one to defend him. GOD. Such a good, heartbreaking fight. Amazing number one pick. Amazing list. Love your channel - keep it up. May RWBY make it out of this horrific shit-show with the WB and Rooster Teeth situation so we can see these excellent characters stories done justice.
Pre-Maya was at its peak with Mercury and no one can tell me otherwise. All 3 of his main fights (Pyrrha, Yang, Coco+Yatsu) Are complete bangers and showcased just how smart and threatening Mercury could really be.
I will say about RWBY vs Ace Ops that I love that you can see their teamwork and strategy crumbled without Clover. Hard. Overall they lacked cohesion as a unit, and individually picked match-ups that were horrible for them. On an individual basis, they weren't all fighting at the top of their game either. It's a good fight, especially because it shows those cracks. Marrow should never have fought Weiss alone. His semblence was particularly countered by hers with just how it worked mechanically, and those drawbacks are probably why he didn't go for it until needed. That and his aversion to how Harriet was acting, his best chance to use it being when she was around is likely why he didn't take those golden opportunities to stop Weiss and Ruby together. It's the type of Semblence you run a strategy around, not abandon to an effective 1v2 and hope he, as the rookie, is good enough to make it work. Vine was centered enough, and on an individual basis he obviously outdid his opponents pretty well. And Elm's temper made her make just a few too many mistakes. Even if she was better than her opponents, she didn't fight like it. The smart thing was for Vine to handle Yang while she kept Blake, but instead she wanted to fight Yang herself and gave Blake her mobility back. Unfortunately for them, as well, Blake and Yang were, frankly, the better team. Wordless strategies, able to team up and synergize regardless of the situation, and constantly forging that during the time skip by always working together. Ace Ops could work together, but not quite as well. And definitely not here. Elm's immobile fighting style definitely didn't help either, so she was left as a bystander as soon as things went skyward. Harriet was the most obvious liability. Ruby's semblence boiled down to an ability to run away, and she works best in a team, despite what her Season 1 self wanted to act like. If she was left to her own devices during that fight, Harriet's semblence and skills would have been far more valuable for moving between fights and giving edges to take down the rest of RWBY. Even in the worst case, the field wasn't good for Ruby's sniping, so her hyperfixating there did far more harm than good. She acted like the absolute best, and maybe her skills could have shown it any other day of the week, but in the end she's probably the #1 reason that the Ace Ops lost here imo. But it was a good fight from choreography, because they showed the first cracks in what the Ace Ops are like without a commanding officer, and with their inability to effectively regulate emotions when they hit extremes. Frankly. They suck because they take orders and that's it. Not enough creativity to be effective combatants without Clover. Speaking of Clover, his fight ruled but the reasoning behind it absolutely sucked. He has the worst targeting priorities and honestly the fact that the fight happened how it did, with Tyrian conscious the whole way through and not just popping up after Clover was weakened to kill him almost out of nowhere or something, incredibly weakens all of his "strategic commander who perfectly syncs the Ace Ops up" build-up that he'd had the whole season... Like, how do you have such horrible priorities? There's no way his order to apprehend Qrow should have superceded the original order of "bring in Tyrian, the literal serial killer who's been causing horrifying amounts of havoc and pain to our citizens and who actually WORKS FOR SALEM." Terrible writing. Hated it. A good fight though.
@@blue-and-kai Adam’s is cool, though I personally prefer Neo’s. Physical illusions are great for catching a person off guard. Plus in volume 9 it evolves to allow her to send clones of dead people and jabberwocks. It’s basically Emerald’s semblance and Schnee summoning rolled into one. Yeah I would like that one please.
You really can't go wrong with this list!! Would I rate some fights differently, yes....... But, still!! I admire your picks!! I will point out one thing...... A good majority of these fights were post-Monty!!! A great showing that the quality of the series never died. Much credit to CRWBY for everything they gave....... And thanks again for this list, Dakota!! 😎🙏🏿🌹❄️🖤🔥 #GREENLITVOLUME10 PS: Honorable mention - Cinder vs Penny at the stadium relaunch in Volume 8!! She had Cinder....... And spared her only because of Emerald!!
Qrow v Clover v Tyrian is both an interesting and honestly valid pick for No.1, more fans could do better with understanding the motivations of that scene rather than just saying 'why qrow fight clover not tyrian' My No.1 is still Bees vs Adam though, no fight has yet to quite equal the emotional catharsis that came from it, as the climax of Blake & Yang's arc over three seasons from the fall.
I always loved that shot in the Pyrrha vs Cinder fight where her sword and shield is brought right in place. Even with her weapons tossed aside, she’s never truly disarmed.
I have to kind of wonder how Pyrrha would have done if she had been fully rested and at the top of her game... instead of stressed to high hell and having had multiple hard fights before her last.
The food fight is unironically one of my favorites. Beyond all the goofiness, we get to see just how broken pyrrha is (was :( ) And just how broken overpowered ruby could be/become. It was a nonsensical glimpse into what those two are really capable of, and it was amazing.
I think the food battle was possible because when you wield a weapon, it’s like it becomes a part of your aura which is like a item enchanted by one’s aura (given the reason for such strong stale bread)
12.- weird to see Cinder with 2 arms, + is a 1 side fight 6.- 26:33 love the casual walk 5.- Juane just leave the chat 4.- 33:31 sounds like the intro of a vs game (i think the same of the "i m more than a name") 2.- my problem with this one is, i dont think the count match the bullets, or he count something else? 1.- deserved i think the list is missing Crow vs Winter
Totally agree with the commentary here (definitely agree we're missing out on Qrow vs Winter); not so much on Pyrrha vs Cinder being one-sided, that's more Yang vs Neo, which Neo was in control of the entire time
Writing in RWBY can be hit or miss for me, but this reminds me that this show has always been putting out killer fight scenes. Also love the entry intros lol
Qrow vs. Tyrian from V4 is my favourite, at least as far as I can evaluate based purely on the fighting itself. Though it might also be because I missed watching V4 when it aired--so I don't have nostalgia--and am only properly watching it now because I'm watching RWBY with my mom; most of my knowledge of V4 prior to now was gleaned wholly out of order. That being said, it does feel like it's at least a little unique in ways that most of the other scenes don't quite have. Could someone please get back to me on this? I want to know if I'm the only one thinking this way. If I had to choose only a couple of less-spoilery scenes to represent RWBY's fight scenes, it would be the food fight and Everyone vs Tyrian (V4). They're each representative of their respective animation engine's qualities; they're also "isolated" from parallel events, meaning it's easier to follow them without the context that, say, Qrow vs Tyrian vs Clover requires. P.S. I saw a comment somewhere on how Cinder uses her Maiden powers so loosely/as the basis of her fighting after she gets them (only relying less after her loss to Raven), while Raven--while she clearly uses hers too--uses it as a support/supplement by comparison. What do you think @ImStrange_ ?
Such great fights!!!! My favorites were Raven vs Cinder (watching two maidens fights was so cool!), RWBY vs Curious cat, RWBY vs Ace-ops, Blake and Yang vs Adam, and OF COURSE Qrow vs Tyrian vs Clover
It’s kinda like comparing Mario Kart Wii to Mario Kart 8. The visual quality has improved exponentially and it’s still fun, but it’s missing the fun and the physics from the older generation.
Loved the Grim Reaper fight so much. Maria's fighting and her weapon is pretty much everything i would love to have in battle. Unfortunately her fate came too soon
LMAO never realised how big the height difference between yang and neo was. also love that a lot of the best fights are from early rwby/when monty was still around! truly peak rwby fight choreography
I'm shocked that Player vs Pieces didn't even make the honourable mentions but was great to watch all the others. Ironwood vs Watts has been my favourite since the week before it even aired (that cliffhanger made it obvious they were going to fight next week and I was already screaming at the computer).
Interesting choice putting so many V9 fights on here. I kinda thought V9 struggled with staging. A lot of the fights felt kinda awkward to me. Other than that, though, I mostly agree.