A Year Later: The Death of Monty Oum and the Continued Success of RWBY

By: Johnathan Mendez on 4:42 PM

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"RWBY" Logo alternative. (Source)

Internet media giant Rooster Teeth ended the third volume of its anime-inspired series "RWBY" last week. The difference this time, however, is that it's the first volume to have been made since the death of "RWBY" creator Monty Oum in 2015.

Monty Oum died on February 1, 2015 following an allergic reaction he sustained thanks to medication used in a routine check up. He was in a coma for about 10 days before being taken off of life support by his family. He died at 33. The internet community and Rooster Teeth were devastated. Fans created tributes for the man and Rooster Teeth did as well.

Oum was hired in 2010 to animate Rooster Teeth's main series "Red vs. Blue." Eventually, he pitched his idea for an anime-style series to his boss Burnie Burns. That series ended up being "RWBY", which Oum wrote and animated for two volumes before his death.

According to the RWBY Wikia, the show's plot focuses on Team RWBY, a group of girls who are learning to fight monsters known as the Grimm. The show had a very light-hearted focus at first, generally falling into the action-comedy genre of videos. In the third volume, however, "RWBY" takes a severe 180 and focuses much heavier on the drama aspects of the characters and how they must deal with the world falling apart around them. "Like other continuity-heavy sagas out there, RWBY will grow up over time," says Gray Haddock, Head of Animation at Rooster Teeth in a journal that he posted on the site.

(Source)

This plot evolution of "RWBY" was always there from the start. In yet another journal (which came earlier), Haddock explains that the team of animators knew the direction "RWBY" well before Oum's death; Oum had even begun animating parts of the new volume. "His story ideas will live on," says Haddock in that same journal.

And his ideas have been living on. According to the Wikia mentioned earlier, the team for "RWBY" was expanded greatly after Oum's death. Writing duties were given to Rooster Teeth's main writers Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross, both of which are currently in charge of writing "Red vs. Blue." They worked with Oum prior to his death, and understand where the story needs to go.

Thank you all so much for watching #RWBY3 this year. I'll post a sappy journal later, but for now know that you all mean the world to me <3

— Kerry Shawcross (@kerryshawcross) February 13, 2016

Following the end of Volume 3, Burnie Burns, the former CEO of Rooster Teeth, confirmed that the show would be continuing on for at least another volume in a nicely sarcastic tweet. 

I super double promise that if we ever end a popular multi-season show, we will let everyone know in advance. https://t.co/Fwg8M2hBqy

— Burnie Burns (@burnie) February 12, 2016