IQ retold Volume 1 of RWBY only to spend the remaining episodes on a new story involving Weiss being possessed by a Nightmare, prompting her friends to rescue her. As the season came to a close, the opening moments of Volume 2 were recreated, signaling that the original story was recommencing. In an interview with Anime News Network, the creators of IQ didn’t deny the possibility of a sequel, so long as the series was received well. “As Creators, if we have the chance to keep it going, we’ll definitely try to,” said Good Smile Company CEO Takanori Aki. While the fan consensus regarding Ice Queendom may be uncertain yet, RWBY is known for its persistence despite some hiccups.
RELATED: RWBY Ice Queendom Review: An Unfortunately Faithful Adaptation
A New Side-Story
From the concept to even the name, Ice Queendom is heavily Weiss-centric, taking one of the most complex characters in the cast and devoting a story to developing them. This is one of those stories that - taken with its dubious canon status - enhances the original. Some might wonder if possible sequels should center stories around the other three girls. And while the prospect of four short series, each fundamentally centered around one of the main cast could be cool, it wouldn’t need to be so stringently focused on a central character. One of IQ’s greatest strengths was how Weiss’ overarching story allowed every character to undergo some kind of growth or introspection.
It’s more likely that a new season would be a collection of smaller adventures taking place between major story beats. It could allow for some fun adventures and even some slice-of-life stories to flesh out the characters, making it ancillary content to the main story. As RWBY progresses into Volume 3 and beyond, it’s harder to imagine there being time for side adventures. By telling less dire stories about the characters, there’s some creative flexibility to tell more kinds of stories and bring in new directors from around the studio to bring out the best in RWBY. In IQ, some of the dialog scenes were the most entertaining to watch thanks to the imagery and directing. The series could take a page out of Monogatari’s book and commit to dialog-heavy storytelling.
A Remake
As mentioned above, continuing SHAFT’s rendition of RWBY would be more difficult the farther into the timeline. It would either have to take more creative liberties and stop pretending to be canon or take place so far into the future that having watched the series up to its later volumes is required to understand the context.
Alternatively, with the right director, SHAFT’s RWBY could simply tell the original series story again from Volume 2 onwards. This is an appealing idea, but not one that comes without some caveats. For one thing, if it is simply an adaptation of the original, it could fall into similar pitfalls without contributing something new.
RELATED: RWBY: Yang’s Weapon and Semblance, Explained
On the other hand, a remake that attempts to say something new and make minor substantive changes could justify its own existence. Consider Final Fantasy 7 Remake, a faithful adaptation that then reveals that its story is moving in a new direction, inspired by and strengthened by the ties to the original.
How this could be done in the case of RWBY is anyone’s guess and if anything, it could be received by some as merely an attempt to “fix” problems with the original series. While the idea has benefits, it might not fly with the original creators. It might invite too many comparisons between the old and the new and be perceived as a dig at the original
Something Completely New
However, if a hypothetical remake were to diverge so greatly as to be its own story, it could work, without discounting the original. With more creative freedom and less oversight from the original creators, a sequel to IQ could go the way of a Fullmetal Alchemist, taking the building blocks and creating something unexpected.
Obviously, not everyone loves Fullmetal Alchemist 2003’s divergence, but it had a lot of ambition and a darker feel that gave it its own distinct identity in the end. Ice Queendom had a lot of ideas that made it distinct from the original. If those same creative minds aimed their sights toward the grander narrative of Team RWBY, the results could be awesome.
Ice Queendom had some major factors working against it. The animation direction, budget, and correction definitely suffered throughout the midsection, giving it a somewhat cheap look that could take away from the positive moments. If a sequel is in the cards, it would need to be accompanied by a more accommodating production schedule and a renewed enthusiasm for the project.
Perhaps better writers and directors would serve the project. Tow Ubukata did a fine job with character writing, but a writer with a bolder pen could better elevate the story of RWBY. A larger director, more used to working around the limitations of such a niche story, might squeeze the source material for all it’s worth to produce something magical.
Imagine if Gen Urobuchi was the writer rather than just the one behind the story concept, or how the series might look if a director like Akiyuki Shinbo took the reins. Maybe RWBY Ice Queendom could go the way of Symphogear, with a somewhat uneven first season, but evolving into a wonderfully polished action show in later seasons.
MORE: RWBY: The Most Powerful Teams, Ranked
